Poisonous Ants

Warning!

Cindy and I don't get to Pipeline Road as much as we said we wanted to and vowed that we would. Our yard in Los Altos de Cerro Azul is too enjoyable. But, we made a date on a day trip to the city. The afternoon was for errands and recycling, and the morning was for BIRDS!

At the ammo ponds, Smooth-billed Anis were a welcoming sight. As always, we heard the descending, rattling chuuurrr call of the White-throated Crake. Near the entrance to Pipeline we spotted Nando, the former caretaker of Birder's View, now a guide for Canopy Tower. He was guiding two women from New Mexico and they were looking at a White-tailed Trogon.

For something different, we didn't drive all the way to the closed gate on Pipeline Road, but stopped at the always-open entrance gate and walked the first two kilometers. There is always plenty to see in this stretch. Several Western-Slaty Antshrikes made their usual appearance - they're always very cooperative. And I was able to audio record the "caw" call we hear them also make in our yard. Today was filled with common birds, but still held some surprises, including the hand lettered sign seen above.

We assume the sign poster was concerned about Bullet Ants. There were none visible for us that day. A column of leaf cutters was at work a short distance down the road. The "soldiers" had large mandibles and very light-colored heads. I couldn't resist trying to video their activities. The speed of the little critters is very impressive and, as you will see, makes it very difficult to keep them in the frame.

TV

Turkey Vultures

Birders keep a lot of checklists.  We put little check marks next to bird names in a huge variety, such as life lists, yard lists and bucket lists. Well, perhaps we don't all have bucket lists, but there are birds we are dying to see. One of those wouldn't normally be the Turkey Vulture. But, after a day trip to Lake Bayano I feel like starting a bucket list and putting a big check next to TV migration.

One of four species of vultures in Panama, large numbers of TVs move through Panama in October and November and again in February to April. The birds are concentrated in an area of the country that can be as narrow as 36 miles. On the 27th of October 2011, the hawk watch on Ancon Hill in Panama City logged a new one-day record of 893,783 raptors!

We have seen Turkey Vultures in California, of course, and they are a feature of the Kern River Valley AUTUMN NATURE & VULTURE FESTIVAL. One of many facts I've learned is that a group of Turkey Vultures roosting is called a Wake.

The birds over Lake Bayano weren't waiting around to have a name put on them. They were making time! The video shows them climbing up the thermals and heading towards South America.  A very few Swainson's Hawks were sprinkled in the flocks.

The best intro to the video would be by Robert Ridgely in A Guide to Birds of Panama. "A masterful flyer, soaring for long periods without a flap, tilting from side to side to take advantage of every favorable air current....large (sometimes tremendous) flocks of migrants breeding in north pass overhead, providing the observer who is in the right place at the right time with a breathtaking spectacle..."

Sick.

White-tipped Sicklebill is a much sought after species here in Cerro Azul, although it also inhabits other areas of Panamá, Costa Rica and northern parts of South America. So, it's not one of the 12 or so endemic species in Panama, but still a prize.

A few days ago, with our North American amigo Jorge, we visited a local heliconia grove with the hope of seeing a sicklebill. We've seen them several times at this location. Sometimes it's just a fly-by, and it always feels like a bonus if one of them hovers for even a few seconds at a flower or in front of our faces to check us out. This time, a sicklebill was sitting for several minutes on a vine just a few feet off the ground, no more than 20 feet from us. I managed some video in the shadows. Pollen is visible on the bird's crown. We watched it resting and preening, until a tree limb fell noisily behind us and the bird took flight. This interlude made our day and was a delight.

2011 Big Sit

Weather Wreaks Havoc

Cindy and I are not usually concerned about the weather affecting our activities. Our nonchalance could be explained because we haven’t been overly troubled by it, ever. Except for the blinding snow storm on a car trip to make the Denver airport and, it turns out, the last flight out. But, we made it. Weather has now made an impression.

The Bird Watcher’s Digest Big Sit was held on Oct 9, 2011. And that’s right in the middle of the rainy season in the Republic of Panamá. Last year we managed 49 species and we were hoping to better that this year. But, the weather had it’s way. The day started out sloppy and it stayed that way, with overcast skies, fog, wind, and rain. Not conducive to adding anything new.

Even seeing some of the common species proved difficult. Bay-headed Tanagers didn’t make an appearance at our well-stocked feeders. The only bird in flight against the gray skies was a Turkey Vulture. That was a very sore point for me, since I was hoping to see some migrant raptors. But, don't get me wrong, some fine birds did make a pass through the yard, including the endemic Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker, seen in the video below. We also managed 6 species of wood-warblers, and one each of grosbeak and oriole.

Our confining 17-foot diameter circle was positioned to gain a look skyward, as well as to various strategically placed bananas and a couple of catastrophic seed spills. The observer must be inside the circle while seeing a bird for it to count. We took that to mean that only one foot need be inside the border. This lead to some helpful leaning, this way and that. I am reminded of the Hays Code where the unfortunate actors were required to contort their bodies while in bed and keep one foot on the floor. But, interestingly during the Big Sit, if you see a bird from within the circle you can leave it to clinch the ID. And I suppose that includes hearing a bird and leaving the circle to get the identification.

The video contains a few of the birds seen during our Big Sit. If you enjoy identifying on your own, the video captions with the bird names can be switched off and on by clicking on the red/white box in the bottom frame.

The final species list is shown below the video as a report from eBird.



Casita Naranja
Oct 9, 2011 5:45 AM - 5:45 PM
Protocol: Stationary
Comments: 65-67 degrees F, breezy, intermittent drizzle, occasional light rain, fog drifting in & out, heavy cloud cover with no sun or blue skies all day
43 species

Turkey Vulture 1

White-tipped Dove 2

Squirrel Cuckoo 1 Heard only

White-necked Jacobin 3

Long-billed Starthroat 1

Blue-chested Hummingbird 1

Snowy-bellied Hummingbird 5

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird 9

Keel-billed Toucan 1 Heard only

Black-cheeked Woodpecker 3

Red-crowned Woodpecker 2

Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker 1

Cocoa Woodcreeper 1

Western Slaty-Antshrike 2 Heard only

Yellow-bellied Elaenia 1 Heard only

Dusky-capped Flycatcher 1

Red-eyed Vireo 2

Plain Wren 2

House Wren 1

White-breasted Wood-Wren 1 Heard only

Swainson's Thrush 1

Clay-colored Thrush 3

Black-and-white Warbler 2

Tennessee Warbler 7

American Redstart 1

Blackburnian Warbler 3

Black-throated Green Warbler 1

Canada Warbler 1

Bananaquit 3

Crimson-backed Tanager 5

Blue-gray Tanager 4

Palm Tanager 9

Plain-colored Tanager 4 Begging juv.

Golden-hooded Tanager 3

Red-legged Honeycreeper 23

Variable Seedeater 4

Yellow-bellied Seedeater 8

Black-striped Sparrow 1 Heard only

Hepatic Tanager 5

Summer Tanager 1

Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1

Baltimore Oriole 1

Thick-billed Euphonia 14

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/panama)

Vulture Lounge

Black Vulture

Close to the entrance to Pipeline Road is another road running along the Panama Canal. A locked gate restricts access to the road, but a small area near the gate provides interesting birding. The area is always thick with mosquitoes. Warblers come for the mosquitoes, so we come for the warblers.

One slow afternoon in the dry season, we thought to stop and see what was hopping. Craning our necks, we saw a few of the common birds high in the canopy, including Rufous-capped, Black-throated Green, Chestnut-sided, Blue-winged and Bay-breasted Warblers. Then looking lower, we found a small party of Black Vultures lounging about an old concrete bunker. They seemed content and undisturbed by our presence. I moved with speed to the car and the video camera. The video below is the result of our short, peaceful interlude. We left the birds to continue their rest.

Yard Color

Palm Tanager

Colors are used by many film directors to convey moods and to say something about characters and situations. The people who manipulate the machines to match the director's vision are, in many cases, artists. Their media are the electronic pixels and zeroes and ones of computer technology. All of that is hidden behind the graphic software programs which share some common features.

Thick-billed Euphonia &
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

The first pass of correction balances the colors and sets a base look for the picture. Then there is something called secondary color correction that can be used to enhance and diminish specific colors. You've probably seen this effect many times in commercials and motion pictures. Check out this commercial for Ford Ranger to get the idea.

Hepatic Tanager

My background has been to convey a scene as it was reproduced by the camera and altering reality further was never my goal. But, I enjoyed trying this out on some of the colorful birds visiting the yard. The unmanipulated stills here are from the video as it was shot. The video below will show my attempt to accentuate the colors of the birds and minimize the background. The tiny artist in me appreciates how the colors pop off the screen.

Yo Reciclo

I Recycle.

This past week, I delivered a final video to my pal Roba Morena.  You may remember he is organizing monthly recycling events in Panama City.  This is a BIG deal.  There is a lot of demand, which is obvious when I attend the events.

Anyway, Roba will use this short presentation to explain to corporate sponsors what happens on these Saturdays.  There is a lot more going on than just recycling.  You'll get a taste by watching the video.  It's in Spanish, but then what isn't down here?