Still looking for THE heron

It seems that the only thing we did last month was to look for the vagrant Whistling Heron reported elsewhere by Kevin Easley et al.  And last weekend was not the exception!  However, this time accompanied by Rafael Luck, Osvaldo Quintero and his son-in-law Joaquín, we stopped first at some marshes just east of Panamá City, the former Tocumen marshes.  Like other days, we found the typical avifauna of these habitats, but dip on the heron again.  Well, nothing to sorry about because we knew it was very unlikely to find the bird so far away of the original spot, but we did have a nice day photographing all sort of birds species, including HUGE numbers of Wood Storks, Neotropic Cormorants all over the place (see the photo above), and many Cocoi Herons, like the one pictured below.

These marshes are also very good for raptors, and we saw or heard Roadside, Common Black and Gay-lined Hawks, plus Pearl and White-tailed Kites too.  This one was perched close to the road allowing some photos.

The site is the only reliable one for Yellow-headed Vulture close to the city, and we found at least three individuals resting close to the road.

We found no less than six Ringed Kingfishers in one stretch of a creek... soon we realized that they were nesting in the sandy banks.  This image remind me the photos of bee-eaters at their colonies... after all they are related.

We went to the spot near Chepo, but the day was hot and we only found more birders trying, unsuccessfully, to relocate the heron... so we called it a day.  The next day, I joined Karl and Rosabel Kaufmann and, very early, went to the spot near Chepo.  Though we had a good day, we were not able to relocate the Whistling Heron.  We checked miles of dirty roads, finding more Wood Storks and a beautiful Capped Heron sharing the pond with one of the storks.

Again, we saw many raptors, like Roadside and Great Black Hawk, White-tailed Kites, and several pairs of American Kestrels.  Again, notice the absence of spots in the underparts... probably the same individual we photographed some weeks ago in the same spot.

New for our list of the site was this Bat Falcon perched in some wires.  It allowed us to approach closely, a very cooperative bird.

Well, I don't know if the Whistling Heron will be found again... but that area surely will reveal many surprises in the future!

Yoga Lessons With The Mute Swan Family

 "Okay hold that pose for 10 minutes or until you're too tired".

" I'm going to introduce you a couple of new poses now-first one goes like this".

"And I like to call this one the powdered donut".

They've got a lot to learn but you've got to give them credit for trying!

Walking for a whimbrel

As evidenced by my lack of blogging, I haven't gotten much birding in lately.  But, with my family off camping and me having an actual day off, I wasn't going to let the need for a winter coat in July dissuade me from the lakefront.  I started at Tiscornia where a rain shower quickly chased Rhoda and me.  We went south based on the radar and ended up walking from Cherry Beach to Weko, about 5.5 miles if I'm interpreting Google maps correctly.  It's about the peak time for Piping Plover and about the beginning and the end respectively for Avocet and Laughing Gull.

We had seen a pair of Turnstones fly by Tiscornia, it wouldn't surprise me if this was the same pair at the main beach at Warren Dunes.

We saw one group of Sanderlings and the first mixed dabbler flock of the fall, though honestly fewer Sanderlings than I was expecting, this adult with just a few winter back feathers is from Tiscornia earlier in the week.

We were getting towards the end and I was starting to come to the conclusion that most of the shorebirds that hang out are probably in the same areas as the big beach areas that hold the gulls when this bird appeared in front of us.  With the naked eye I thought it would be a Willet.

Nope, a Whimbrel!  I've had Whimbrel in the county about 2/3 of the years; this was a yearbird, my first in a few weeks and my first self-found one this month.  I think Rhoda may have digi-scoped better images than I managed.  It's a bird worth a flight montage though.

  The lighting was pretty tricky with the water reflecting back all the light present in the overcast, I had to really push the exposure to keep the bird from being completely back-lit.  It's kind of an interesting monochrome effect though.

A Birthday Poem for Zick!

 

Listen my friends and you shall peruse

A birthday poemic for Julie Zickefoose.

She's turning today an indeterminate age

so we'll honor her with pictures and words on this page.

 She's an artist of birds, and of flowers, and of bats

She's a birding savant not afraid to wear hats

She can write words that move any reader to tears

she's been blogging like blazes for more than eight years.

It may appear odd, but I feel I should mention

She can never pass by without sniffing rose gentian

For those who don't know, a gentian's a flower

and as an aside, Julie lives in a tower

The view from that tower is something spectacular

or "ossum" in southeast Ohio's vernacular

We've been blessed with two children, Liam and Phoebe

And a Boston terrier who's saying "Hey! What about me-be?"

Of course you're our third kid, Chet Baker, don't fret

Your kisses and gasses won't let us forget

 * * * *

Julie loves music from her head to her toes

She loves rocking out with her band The Rain Crows

As a singer/songwriter Julie's mind is quite fertile

Her most famous tune concerns saving box turtles

At a recent band gig where there might have been ale

The Rain Crows were thrown in the Fayette County Jail

Soon the Crows were set free before facing the noose

When the judge recognized the famous Ms. Zickefoose

"OMG!" Said His Honor "I so totally loved...

that story where you glued down the scalp of a dove!"

* * * *

Last winter we spent nearly 400 hours

Building a sanctum for all of Zick's flowers

That's less time than we spent in building our OWN house

which is why we refer to this greenhouse as GROANhouse

But when the snow flies and the weather is crappy

inside the groanhouse The Zick is quite happy

Her happiness is dog, iphone and wine, oh!

But she's happier, still, when she's scratching a rhino!

* * * *

When she talks, people listen with enraptured attention

She kneels before butterflies, devoid of pretension

She has fans who will travel long distance to see her

And so many of us still aspire to BE her.

Way back in the 90's when I first met this girl

I had no idea how my life would unfurl

Then we moved to Ohio and 20 years on

It's hard to believe just how fast the time's gone

So to you my dear Julie here's this long birthday verse

After reading it I hope you feel better, not worse.

Too many things in this life we can't choose

But I'm pleased to be known as Mister Zickefoose.

I think of how many lives you have touched

and it's easy to see why I love you so much.

Happy birthday, Zick!

In search of THE heron. Part II

As I wrote before, a Whistling Heron, the first for Panamá and North America, was reported from the outskirst of the town of Chepo a little more than a week before.  After a first attempt last saturday, I decided to stay in home for the rest of the weekend.  However, Venicio "Beny" Wilson called me the morning of last sunday to see if I was interested in joining him and Christian Gernez in a new search for the heron... my answer: of course!

We saw a nice collection of birds of prey again, including the Roadside Hawk pictured above.  They are simply well-named!  This time, we drove directly to the site of the first sighting... passing first by a this beauty:

WOW!  What you think?  It is not the most gorgeous heron ever?  The Capped Heron is restricted to eastern Panamá, and is quite uncommon.  Also, is kind of related to the Whistling Heron that we were looking for... good sign, eh?

Sorry, I simple had to post another photo of this heron.  In fact, this is another individual.  Notice the slightly duller color of the bare parts of this particular individual.  In spite of that, it is still gorgeous.

In fact, we saw three different birds, including one in the very same place where the Whistling Heron was found.  That bird came flying and landed close to the site, disappearing instantaneously due to the overgrown vegetation.  Might it be possible that the Whistling Heron was still in the site and not to notice it?

While waiting, we saw another interesting heron in the site, a Bare-throated Tiger-Heron working in a ditch.  Depending of the angle, also it was disappearing in the tall grass.  Although not completely unexpected, this was also a nice find for the site!

The same was for this Pearl Kite.  Quite common in the area, we saw a pair vocalizing close to us.  This species also came from South America and now is well established in Panamá... the same as the next species.

Yes, the Cattle Egrets aren't native of Panamá, not even of America!  But, as you can see, they are doing extremely well... this individual is showing the bright bare parts indicative of its breeding season.  The heronry is very close the site of the sighting, surely this individual has its nest there (photos of the heronry here).

Did I mention that we saw all three species of anis, including this Smooth-billed Ani?

Again, we spend a terrific day out in the field looking for THE heron... the total list for the two days ascends to 109 species... not bad for pasture lands and marshes!      

Gouldian Finch

The Gouldian Finch, (Erythrura gouldiae), also known as the Lady Gouldian Finch, Gould's Finch or the Rainbow Finch, is a colourful passerine bird endemic to Australia. There is strong evidence of a continuing decline, even at the best-known site near Katherine in the Northern Territory. Large numbers are bred in captivity, particularly in Australia. In the state of South Australia, National Parks & Wildlife Department permit returns in the late 1990s showed that over 13,000 Gouldian Finches were being kept by aviculturists. If extrapolated to an Australia-wide figure this would result in a total of over 100,000 birds. In 1992, it was classified as "Endangered in the wild" under IUCN's criteria C2ai. This was because the viable population size was estimated to be less than 2,500 mature individuals, no permanent subpopulation was known to contain more than 250 mature individuals, and that a continuing decline was observed in the number of mature individuals. It is currently subject to a conservation program.

 

Both sexes are brightly colored with black, green, yellow, and red markings. The females tend to be less brightly colored. One major difference between the sexes is that the male's chest is purple, while the female's is a lighter mauve.
Black headed female Gouldian Finch

Gouldian Finches are about 130–140 mm long. Gouldian Finches' heads may be red, black, or yellow. Formerly considered three different kinds of finches, it is now known that these are colour variants that exist in the wild.Selective breeding has also developed mutations (blue, yellow and silver instead of a green back) in both body and breast color.

Juveniles also have distinctive colors. Their heads, sides and necks are grey, and their backs, wings and tail feathers are olive green. Their undersides are pale brown. Beaks are blackish with a reddish tip. Their legs and feet are light brown. Newly-hatched Gouldian Finches are pink and naked until about 12 days old when the beginnings of feathers start to appear. Very young birds also have blue, phosphorescent beads on the sides of their beaks to help their parents see them in the dark.
Data refer : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gouldian_Finch