Birdwatching In Panama

Slaty tailed Trogon

admin — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:02:26 +0000

The Slaty-tailed Trogon, Trogon massena, is a near passerine bird in the trogon family, Trogonidae. Slaty-tailed Trogons feed on insects and fruit, and their broad bills and weak legs reflect their diet and arboreal habits. The attached images where taken not long ago in the Soberania National Park in Panama along the Pipeline Road where you can see them often.

Over a million birds of prey migrate south each year

admin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:07:58 +0000

Over a million birds of prey migrate to the warmer south each year many passing over Panama like shown in the attached images taken today. Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Satellite tracking of day migrating raptors such as Ospreys and Honey Buzzards has shown that older individuals are better at making corrections for wind drift. See also this article in Wikipedia for more information on bird migration.

Pipeline Road Hike

admin — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:10:14 +0000

I always enjoy the early morning hikes along the Pipeline Road, its a great escape from the city noise and traffic, the fresh air with the thousand different smells and the chirping sound of the cicada remarkable acoustic talents mixed with bird songs. Plus of course not to forget the Howler monkeys that are considered the loudest land animal, they have an enlarged basihyal or hyoid bone which helps them make their loud sound. Besides the birds I also enjoy the endless seaming biodiversity that the rain forest has on display like the many butterfly along the way like the Blue Morpho and that brown butterfly seen in the attached gallery to a leaf still rolled up and ready to process some sunlight soon. Sometimes you can spot many birds and sometimes they are hard to see, like that Rufous Motmot that showed me his teeth behind some bushes, a flock of Great Ani’s, some Collared Aracari’s, a Rainbow Billed Toucan and down at the Calamito Lake near the Panama Rainforest Discovery Center a flock of Whistling Ducks that made their appearance that morning. So all in all another good day in Paradise!

Hermit Hummingbird – Panama

admin — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 15:25:21 +0000

The Hermits are tropical and subtropical hummingbirds in the subfamily Phaethornithinae, comprising 30–40 species in six genera. They occur from southern Mexico, through Central America, to South America as far south as northern Argentina. Their plumage typically involves greens, browns, rufous or grey. Most hermits are restricted to the edge and undergrowth of forest, woodland and second growth, the photos shown here where taken along the Pipeline Road in the Soberania National Park in Panama. Please see also this page here for more photos of Hummingbirds from Panama. Stripe-throated Hermit (Phaethornis striigularis):

The Capped Heron

admin — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:41:43 +0000

Capped-Heron

This image of a Capped Heron was taken at the Summit Garden, first time I seen this one anywhere in Panama. Description from Wikipedia: The Capped Heron (Pilherodius pileatus) is a species of heron in the Ardeidae family. It is in the monotypic genus Pilherodius. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are rivers, swamps, and freshwater lakes.It feeds on frogs,lizards,fish,insects,crabs,small mammals,and young birds.

Parque Natural Metropolitano

admin — Fri, 22 May 2009 12:01:10 +0000

From their brochure: “At only 10 minutes from downtown the Parque Natural Metropolitano is one of the most accessible tropical forests in the world.” Yes and im amazed that not more folks take advantage of this jewel within the city limits (or maybe thats a good thing, who knows). There are a few nice a easy trails, great for some bird watching or just to enjoy the nature and do some exercise plus some great views from top of the hill over parts of the city. The park is open daily from 6 AM to 5PM and you need to pay a small fee at the Administration office. See any city map for the exact location on de Ave Juan Pablo II. The parks brochure mentions that there are 227 species of birds living here and you surley will see many of them including some Toucans. The parks office also features a small store where you may buy some birding books or t-shirts and other souvenirs. Well worth a visit any time!! You can find some photos from the Parque Natural Metropolitano here.

Ninety years of birdwatchers’ notes going online

admin — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:40:20 +0000

CNN reports here: Citizen scientists transcribing more than 90 years worth of historical bird data. “This is the longest and most comprehensive legacy data set on bird migration …” For more Info please see the North American Bird Phenology Program website here.

Santa Clara Beach, Panama

admin — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:26:09 +0000

Got myself a nice little sunburn while visiting the Santa Clara Beach last weekend, so next time I will take some stronger sun protecting lotion along, almost forgot how strong the sun is around there, and while that great ocean breeze cools you off you don’t feel the sun as much until its to late. Santa Clara Beach is about 110 kilometers from Panama City on the Pacific Coast, its a great place to relax, to enjoy the beach, go for a swim but also to watch the great variety of birds around the area. From the always present pelicans to the majestic flight of the frigate birds and many wading bird species to the king fisher and some hawks, plus many herons. I have seen even some blue crowned motmots in the area in the past aldo not this time. Attached are a few images from last weekend.

Rufous-vented Ground-cuckoo

admin — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 04:05:42 +0000

Another good day along the Pipeline Road, on the way back we came along an Army Ants Swarm and those are always followed by many hungry birds feeding on the insects that are in the way of those huge ants swarms. Today among many other birds there was a a rare Rufous-vented Ground-cuckoo (Neomorphus geoffroyi), a large terrestrial species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family, see attached images.

New Years Hike along the Pipeline Road

admin — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 12:47:30 +0000

Here are a few pictures from my New Years hike along the Pipeline Road. First surprise was that Tiger Heron at a pond right before reaching the first bridge (Juan Grande), then shortly after that bridge on the left side there is a little pond and right beside it just a few meters from the Pipeline road was that little Croc, so watch out next time ya walk by there. The other pictures where taken a little further down the Pipeline road close to the next bridge (Rio Frijolito).