Not only endemics in Cerro Santiago

Besides the endemic species and subspecies found in our last trip to the mountains of the Tabasará range, we also saw more widespread species of birds as you can imagine (read this entry for example).  The group of intrepid birders consisted of William Adsett, Dan Wade and Charles Davies... and for us, every species was special in its special way.  For example, check out this Spangle-cheeked Tanager... beautiful no matter how common it is!

We crossed several flocks, always three to six birds, most of the time mixed with other tanagers, finches and/or warblers.  One of those times, the mixed flock was accompanied by a female Black-and-Yellow Silky-Flycatcher.  This is an odd silky... it looks more like a colorful thrush, and some even think that this species doesn't belong to the family.

One important element in the Tabasará avifauna are the hummingbirds (as you may know by now).  Besides confusing female Selasphorus, we saw more common species.  In fact, the most common hummer all over the place was the Purple-throated Mountain-Gem.  The ground epiphytes along the road through the slopes of Cerro Santiago were frequently visited by these hummers, allowing nice shots (here, adult and immature males, adult female).

Others hummers for the area included Green Violetear, Violet Sabrewing, White-tailed Emerald, Stripe-tailed Hummingbird, Green-fronted Lancebill and Green-crowned Brilliant.  The male brilliant pictured here is quite blurry... but trust me that it was a real jewel glowing inside a beautiful cloud forest along the Continental Divide trail (above 1700 meters above sea level).

Not only the birds were putting a show, we saw some mammals, like this Pygmy-Squirrel in one of those productive forest patches along the road to the Ngöbe town of Ratón.  We still need some help to ID this little friend.

And the critters were awesome too... Dan was our expert in this field, and we learned a lot.  I will end this post with the photo of one of the coolest critter that I have seen.  Enjoy!

Baird's and Bonaparte's aren't Sabine's

A Sabine's Gull was seen yesterday for about an hour or so about 5 miles north of the BBC field trip and 10 miles south of where we were sitting on the end of the pier.  It was a muggy day and nothing was moving around.  But, word of the bird didn't get out until the evening, leaving one of my biggest nemesis and most desired birds firmly anchored its status quo.

I walked the section of beach where it was seen yesterday under much different weather conditions, I didn't really expect to see it.  I didn't.  At times the mist and fog were making it really difficult to see and I was about 15 feet from this Baird's before I saw it as it flushed.  Its flight call sounds like a Sanderling giving the call through clenched teeth.  I found the bird a little further up the beach at Tanner's Creek.

The biggest differences between it and Semipalmated Sandpiper (below from Tiscornia today) are structural:  a longer bill, longer neck, and primaries that extend beyond the tail.  They have much more of a scaled look at distance than the Semi's do though you wouldn't know that due to the distance differences between the two pics.

The semi's shape is a little off hunched into a north wind.

The Sabine's was with Bonaparte's.  I saw 4 Bonaparte's along the Warren Dunes - Weko stretch and we had a few yesterday go by Tiscornia.

Above is a juvenile, below an adult from a few days ago.

A Nice Stay In Madison Thanks To TripAdvisor

 My wife Joan and I stayed at the Madison Beach Hotel over the weekend. I was able to get a good deal through tripadvisor which is my favorite websites to use when I'm looking for places to stay. Tripadvisor has thorough reviews from customers about hotels, restaurants, and other travel related experiences.

  The original Madison Beach Hotel started out as a boarding house in the 1800's where workers from a local shipyard stayed. The hotel was completely renovated in 2012. The rooms are nice and the views of Long Island Sound from the balcony are terrific.

 I wasn't there for the birding but Hammonasset wass just down the road if I wanted to. There were a few peeps around along with Fish Crows, cormorants, goldfinches...

.....and of course gulls which were very well behaved as far as gulls go. 

Cerro Santiago's Selasphorus hummingbirds

As announced previously, in our last trip to the highlands of the Ngöbe-Buglé reservation, in the former eastern Chiriquí province, we saw many Selasphorus hummingbirds... all of them, but one, female-plumaged birds.  In fact, they were not rare... we saw different individuals in eight different sites every day of our trip, including right at the cabin where we stayed.  So, what is the problem?  Well, the problem is that two different species occur in those mountains (well, at least in Cerro Santiago)... and the females are VERY hard to tell apart... you will see what I mean.  It is frustrating... in my first trip to Cerro Santiago, we saw several females... but we were not able to ID them since we never had good views of the tail patterns (check the comments of that post).

The first chance I got to photograph these hummingbirds was in the trail going down into the Caribbean slope, along the Ngwoini creek (at about 1500 meters above sea level, and several kilometers to the east of Cerro Santiago and Cerro Colorado, so supposedly well into the Glow-throated Hummingbird distribution).  We saw there the female pictured above.  Notice the very pale underparts (thought little overexposed).  We also saw a female-plumaged bird by the creek that, after checking the photos, turned out to be a young male (notice the feathers in the throat).  No color in these feathers was evident in the field.

The third day, we visited the main road along the slopes of the Cerro Santiago massif, at about 1700 meters above sea level).  There, we were able to have looks at eye level of the canopy of some flowering trees attracting Selasphorus hummingbirds, including this female.

Notice that there was no evidence of immaturity in this individual (no rufous edge to the feathers of the back) and the white underparts, including the belly and undertail coverts.  One of the available references (Ridgely & Gwynne 1976 and subsequent editions) states that the female Glow-throated is paler below than the female Scintillant, but others (Wetmore 1968, Angehr & Dean 2010) fail to describe this.  Wetmore describe for both Scintillant and Glow-throated Hummingbirds the white lateral tufts, present in this individual, a mark shared with the female Magenta-throated Woodstar.

As you can see, we got great looks of the tail pattern.  Notice that most of the right rectrice #1 (the pair of central feathers in the tail) and all the left rectrice #1 are covered by the left rectrice #2.  Also, notice that both rectrices #2 have a clear green margin above the black subterminal band... but most important... notice the rufous (not buff) tip of the central rectrice (there is a better photo of the tail pattern in Bill Adsett's report of this trip to Xenornis).  Why is this important?  Ridgely & Gwynne also states that the female Glow-throated Hummingbird have rufous tail tips to the central (green) rectrices, absent in the female Scintillant Hummingbird. In fact, the most comprehensive work on these birds, "Systematics of southern forms of Selasphorus" by F. Gary Stiles (1982) also shows this difference in a diagram comparing tail patterns of adult males and females Glow-throated and Scintillant Hummingbirds.

sc = Scintillant Hummingbird; a = Glow-throated Hummingbird.

Some say that the females can't be identified in the field, but I think we have a strong case here.  The truth is that it is better to have good looks of adult males with glittering gorgets, and we did it!  Close to the time to leave the site, I saw a male Selasphorus flying above the canopy of a distant tree... and for a fraction of second it turned its head to me, showing a glittering mid red, rounded gorget!  We stayed in the site for a while, but we only managed to see the male a couple of times, always in the move and for just few seconds.  The next day, Charles Davies went to the site and found the perch that the male was using, and got some good photos (fell free to enlarge the next photos).

Copyright Charles Davies, used with permission.

Copyright Charles Davies, used with permission.

Notice the color of the gorget.  Certainly, it is not orange or golden-orange as we are used for Scintillant Hummingbird.  Also notice the tail... it is mostly BLACK!  The color of the gorget may vary according to the light, distance and angle... but the tail color is a VERY good mark (notice Stiles' diagram again).  Also, notice the gorget shape.  All the adults Selasphorus males have erectable gorgets, but the shape and length of the lateral "wings" differ from one species to another, as explained in another diagram of  Stiles' work.  Compare Charles pictures with this diagram and tell me which one fix better?

Gorget shape (typical form with variants shown in dotted lines). Sc = Scintillant Hummingbird; a = Glow-throated Hummingbird; si, f, t = simoni, flammula and torridus Volcano Hummingbirds

We are calling this individual a typical adult male Glow-throated Hummingbird... and I finally have the pleasure to include this species in my Life List (after three years).

The Ship

 I am standing on the shore as a great ship gently glides
 from the harbor and sails toward the horizon. She is beautiful. Sails billowing; and shining bright as sunlight sparkling on distant waters. She grows smaller and smaller until at last, her white sails shine as ribbons out where the sky and water mingle as one.

 And as I watch, a voice behind me says,
 "Well, she's gone." She's gone. Gone? "No," I tell myself. No, she is not really gone. Not really. She is gone only in the sense that I can no longer see her. In reality, she is the same as ever; just as beautiful; just as shining. And deep in my heart I know, that on another shore someone is crying out,
 "Look! Look everyone! Here she comes!" ~Author Unknown 

Birding Binoculars - Top 7 Features To See The Birds You Want

Birding binoculars are the most important piece of equipment in the birder toolbox. A well selected pair of binoculars will give years of service and bird watching pleasure. Here are seven tips that the avid birder can use to select the binoculars that are right for them.

1) Get the instant focus option

When observing birds at long distance, the quicker you can focus your binoculars, the more likely you will make a successful sighting. Be sure to include an instant focus option for your birding binoculars.

2) Make sure the eyepiece is designed for high magnification

The eyepiece is the key to a comfortable viewing experience. Eye relief, the distance between the eyepiece lens and your eye, is critical for reduced eye strain and increased comfort. Make sure the eyepiece you select is designed for high magnification ranges. This will ensure a good match for long range bird watching activity.

3) Use coatings rather than size to achieve desired brightness

In the design of binocular options, coatings on the lenses have a greater effect on brightness than size of the binocular. Since birders tend to hold their binoculars for long periods of time, a lightweight model with fully multi coated lenses will provide a brighter image of the birds being sighted. There are lesser degrees of coatings, but fully multi coated lenses give the best results.

4) Look for the sweet spot for binocular size and daylight observation

For daylight birdwatching, binocular size can improve brightness levels up to a point. The 32mm size is the sweet spot for brightness gains from increase of size. Above 32mm, increases in brightness are minimal. If you do much of your bird watching in daylight, you can save on weight by limiting the binocular size to 32mm.

5) Increase your field of view with lower power settings

Within a given family of binoculars (Nikon, Bushnell, etc), as the size and power of the binoculars increases, there is often a decrease in the field of view. The wider the field of view, the easier it is to point at your intended target and get a fix on the bird you are seeking. Be aware of this characteristic as you look at different models within the same family of binoculars.

6) Waterproofing design is a necessity

Bird watching can take place in a variety of conditions, including fog and rain. You will be making an investment in your binoculars purchase, and you don't want to lose that investment due to bad weather conditions. Look for binoculars that are nitrogen filled or nitrogen purged, this is a dry gas that is unaffected by temperature or moisture. Also, make sure the nitrogen is present for the eyepiece as well as the objective lenses.

7) Use a tripod or lower power binoculars to solve hand movement problems

Long range bird observations can be difficult if there is significant hand motion. The first way to combat this movement is to use a tripod, which provides a fixed base for viewing. The second option is to use a lower setting for magnification (7x-8x) instead of high magnification (10x). These choices will ensure that your viewing opportunities will be rock solid.

I hope that these tips will guide you in your selection of birding binoculars that are right for you!

Andre Sylvester devotes his online resources to reviewing the best products and services available for the community of binocular users at http://www.binoculars-for-you.com/. When you visit the site, you will find information to help you in selecting the binoculars that are right for you. To get more information on resources for binocular users, check out http://www.binoculars-for-you.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/706277

No Shame In Putting Birding 2nd

 Summer is the time of year that my interest in birding seems to wane a little. I'm not a fan of humidity, excessive vegetation, or mosquitoes. Instead of trying to convince myself that I want to go birding, I just put it on the back burner for a while. That way I have time to get some tips on how to ride a bicycle properly.....

but still have time to find a catbird on a rock.

 While I'm eavesdropping on a conversation between Abe and Harriet....

....... I might catch a titmouse hiding in the branches doing the same .

 Maybe I just want to check out some flowers for a change...

......that doesn't mean all the birds are going to run away and hide. 

Birding can be anything from a casual hobby to a complete obsession. My interest lies somewhere in between. I find that taking a break from my usual routine helps to build an appetite for birding in the Fall.

Question for birders: Do you ever find the need to take a break from birding?

Pelagic season begins

Light south winds made it a perfect day to get out on a smooth lake on the boat.  While we had vague hopes for Long-tailed Jaeger or Red-necked Phalarope we had to make do with a few groups of juvenile Black Terns.  We've had them out there both times we've gotten out on the lake this time of year.  The blue sky background was harder to montage than I expected.

Next is two views of another bird which had richer brown scalloping to its juvie back feathers.

Black Tern (and Bonaparte's Gull) flocks often will do this erratic slip-slide downward.  The Bonapartes frequently follow it by landing on the surface though I've never seen a Black Tern land in the water.  I didn't notice what the stimulus for it was.

We saw a total of 24; this is the most I managed in one frame.

Birding the Tabasará range. Part II

In my previous post, I talked about the last trip we made to the mountains of the Tabasará range in western Panamá.  In company of William Adsett, Dan Wade and Charles Davies, we explored some forest patches at both the Pacific and Caribbean slopes, finding interesting species.  In this post, I'll show you some of those special (aka endemics) forms and species that we found.

Continental Divide

Ok, probably not all the endemics, since I'll be discussing the status of the Selasphorus hummingbirds we saw up there in another post.  But we also saw the other national endemic living in these mountains: Yellow-green Finch.  It was quite common, we found them several times in three different sites, although in small numbers, usually two or three individuals each time.  This species is pretty similar to the Yellow-thighed Finch, both physical and vocally.

Of the endemic subspecies, the most common (by voice) was the chiriquensis race of Silvery-fronted Tapaculo.  In spite of great looks (for a tapaculo!), obviously we were not able to snap a shot!  The bush-tanagers were also pretty common.  We found several groups of Common Bush-Tanagers in both slopes, sometimes with mixed flocks.  The subspecies found there, punctulatus, spreads along the highlands and foothills all the way to central Panamá, including El Valle de Antón and Altos del María.
I know is not the best photo, but at least you can see the very dark head and the characteristic drop-like postocular spot.

But we also saw Sooty-capped Bush-Tanagers, both along the road to Ratón as well in the Continental Divide trail up to 1750 meters above sea level.  The form present there was once described as a valid subspecies, diversus, supposedly with yellower underparts.  They looked quite similar to the birds found around the Barú volcano in western Panamá, except for the white lateral crownstripe... its looked thinner in those birds.  My photo doesn't shows this, but this photo by William (of a previous visit) shows well what I mean.

We didn't know this, but the Ruddy Treerunners that we saw in both slopes were also represented by endemic subspecies, boultoni.  This form is redder in the under and upperparts.

However, the most interesting endemic subspecies (for me), was the bensoni race of Black-cheeked Warbler.  Reported as rare, it is seldom reported at all from the area, and surely not from the most accessible areas  along the paved road.  We saw them three different days in two sites, only one or two birds, as you can see in the excellent photo by Charles.

copyright Charles Davies, used with permission

I was unable to remember the differences with other races back then, but we all were convinced that they looked different.  Notice the slaty-gray back (with no olive tones).  Also, the lack of yellow tones to the underparts was quite obvious in the field.
Not bad at all... what you think?

Birding the Tabasará range. Part I

The mountains of the Tabasará range, in western Panamá, are physically (and ecologically) separated of the main Talamanca range by the Fortuna depression, making this an area of subespecific  and especific endemism.  Most of the intact forest is restricted to the higher altitudes and to the Caribbean slope of the range, with very few, if any, good roads accessing it; and all the area is included within the indigenous reserve of the Ngöbe-Buglé people, making this area quite difficult to visit.  That's why, when I received the kind invitation of William Adsett for visiting this region for the weekend, I said "YES!" immediately!

After joining Charles Davies in Panamá City, and Dan Wade in the town of San Félix in Chiriquí province, we drove the improved road up to the mountains, passing the Ngöbe town of Hato Chami and exploring partially the new road to Llano Tugri, finding some low elevations birds and then returning to the main road.  This paved, well-maintened road reach its highest elevation (little more than 1700 meters above sea level) in the western slope of the Cerro Santiago massif, to then run along the Continental Divide between the former provinces of Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro (now the Ngöbe regions of Nedri and Ñucribo, respectively) for a couple of kilometers.

Road over the Continental Divide

Leaving the paved road, we followed the dirt, pot-holed road to the Ngöbe town of Ratón, passing by the infamous Cerro Colorado and through very nice patches of forest, home of most of the endemics species and forms of the region.  Our home for the next three nights was a rustic cabin right in the Continental Divide, in a site known as Buena Vista (well-named, it means good look).

Buena Vista!

Our hosts were the Pineda Montezuma family, owners of the cabin and the land surrounding it, and interested in conservation issues.  One of its member, Jorge, accompanied us during the birding outings... and the birding was good!  That night, we had great views of a calling Bare-shanked Screech-Owl right by the cabin!

Now you can see why this bird is named that way (shank is the lower part of the leg).  This bird was quite rufous, a color not appreciable in my shots due to the low light conditions.  The first day, we birded a trail going to the Caribbean side, finding some interesting species... like this beautiful male Orange-bellied Trogon.

In the forest, we crossed a nice mixed flock with Spangle-cheeked Tanagers, Slate-throated Whitestart, Barred Becard (range extension), Brown-capped Vireo (range extension) and Three-striped Warblers.

We followed a river through degraded habitat, finding some other birds, but we were surprised by the lack of life in the river itself... until we reached the highest part, with furious rapids and many fallen trees and logs.  Charles found two American Dippers and a Torrent Tyrannulet, rivers dwellers typical of the highlands creeks and rivers.  I watched them for some minutes... and I can state that it is always amusing to watch American Dippers.  It is incredible how comfortable they are in the water!

A light drizzle accompanied us during our return journey to the cabin.  Of course we saw endemics... but that is theme of other post!