Shorebirding for the CBC

It is December and, as usual, I'm participating in the Panama Audubon Society's CBC (Christmas Birds Count), starting with the Pacific side of central Panama.  For a good number of years in a row now, my counting area consists of riverine habitats, coast, lagoons, open fields and patches of secondary forests around the localities of Farfan and Veracruz in the west side of the Panama Canal.  Both Osvaldo Quintero and Rafael Luck accompanied me this year.  After many years participating in the counts now, I know that most of the targets birds for my area are raptors, waterbirds and shorebirds, specially those found primarily in rocky and sandy beaches (not in mudflats, as in Panama Viejo).

At our first stop, in the dike area of Farfan, we checked all the ducks swimming in the lagoon looking for the vagrant Cinnamon Teals reported some weeks ago, but all seemed to be Blue-winged Teals due to their contrasting pattern in the flanks and small bills.  There were huge flocks of waders in the lagoon as well, mostly Black-necked Stilts and, specially, Semipalmated Plovers, but also many Least Sandpipers.  We saw again the Least Sandpipers in an unexpected habitat in Veracruz beach, in rocks.

Notice the small size and the diagnostic yellow legs.  We checked this habitat through Rafael's scope, finding our targets.  In the next picture you will see at least three Surfbirds and some Ruddy Turnstones, plus others shorebirds like Willets, a Whimbrel and even a resting Sanderling.

We searched the sandy part of the beach looking for more Sanderlings.  Instead, we found a flock of 18  Collared Plovers running from one side to another, looking so similar to the sand that they were actually hard to pick up.  These plovers are delicate and beautiful!

We dipped on two targets: Wison's Plover and American Oystercatcher.  However, we ended with a very nice list of 120 species, 1926 individual, 35 kms and 7 eBird checklists for the morning!  We found our last shorebird away of the coast, a Solitary Sandpiper nervously inspecting a rain pool by the side of a road leading to a patch of forest.

See you in the next CBC!

AOU Checklist changes affecting Panamá

Last month issue of The Auk (the American Ornithologist's Union -AOU- publication) includes a supplement of the checklist with some important changes affecting the taxonomy of the birds in North America (and Hawaii).  I will mention only those affecting the birds found in Panamá, and I'm including not only splits and lumps, but also name changes and other issues.

In taxonomic order, I will start with the shorebirds.  Now, many species considered monotypical are now included within the genus Calidris.  That means, we now list the Surfbird as Calidris virgata, Buff-breasted Sandpiper as Calidris subruficollis and Ruff as Calidris pugnax.  The order of the species within the genus Calidris also changed, as well as the sequence of the families within the Charadriiformes order.

There are three Calidris virgata in the flock

The Green-crowned Woodnymph is re-lumped with the Violet-crowned Woodnymph and re-adopt the name Crowned Woodnymph (Thalurania colombica) based on better understanding of the ranges and intergrades within these two forms in Colombia (however, they are not known to come into contact in our country).

Former Green-crowned Woodnymph from Ecuador

Black-crowned Antshrike (Thamnophilus atrinucha) is the new name for the Western Slaty-Antshrike due to genetic evidence indicating that our form is not related to the "real" south american slaty-antshrikes, in spite of the physical similarities.  Both subspecies of Immaculate Antbird found in Panamá (Myrmeciza i. zeledoni from Costa Rica and western Panamá, and M. i. macrorhyncha from eastern Panamá and western Colombia and Ecuador) are now called Zeledon's Antbird (Myrmeciza zeledoni), a new species different from the Immaculate Antbird restricted now to Colombia and Venezuela.  Also, the latin name of the Rufous-rumped Antwren change to Euchrepomis callinota.

Black-crowned Antshrike (it's going to be difficult to get used to this name)

As expected, the Thrush-like Schiffornis was split into four species, with two forms occurring in Panamá: the dull, uniformly olivaceous Northern Schiffornis (S. veraepacis) found in both lowlands and highlands of western Panamá, and highlands of central and eastern Panamá (except the Alturas de Nique massif) and the more rufous, gray-bellied Russet-winged Schiffornis (S. stenorhyncha) found in lowlands of central and eastern Panamá (and all elevations of the Alturas de Nique massif).

Bad photo of a Northern Schiffornis, from Altos del María

The Green Manakin is called now Xenopipo holochlora, and both Red-capped and Golden-headed Manakins changed their genus to Ceratopipra instead of Pipra.  Also, the checklist sequence of the manakins changed.

Ceratopipra mentalis

According to Gregory and Dickinson (2012), Ptilogonys (and Ptilogonatidae, the latin name of the Silky-Flycatchers family) is an incorrect spelling and has no nomenclatural standing.  The checklist corrects this and now the name of the family is changed to Ptiliogonatidae and the genus to Ptiliogonys, affecting the latin name of the Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher to Ptiliogonys caudatus.

A minor misspelling was corrected in the latin name of this common species

The latin name of the Common Bush-Tanagers changed to Chlorospingus flavopectus (however, there are no splits in this group).

Common Bush-Tanager... I was expecting splits in this species!

Some issues are pending, other were not even mentioned... notably the Blue-diademed/Whooping Motmot.  Surely more studies are needed before a formal pronunciation of the AOU.

Shorebird close to home

I almost forgot how much I like to watch shorebirds at the Panama Viejo / Costa del Este mudflats. The upper Bay of Panama is an hemispherical important site of the route of migrating shorebirds from the Artic to South America (and beyond!). Each year, hundreds of thousands peeps and other shorebirds make an stop to refuel, or to stay all the winter. But the more important fact is that it is right by the city. I went to Panama Viejo this morning, taking advantage of the early high tide, and found tons of cooperative shorebirds. If they were cooperative? Well, just check out these photos (they were all taken today):The Semipalmated Sandpipers were the most common peeps, outnumbering the Western Sandpipers.This absolutely gorgeous juvenile Least Sandpiper allowed some photos. There were many adults as well. The Spotted Sandpiper is the most widely distributed shorebird in Panama, found almost everywhere if there is water around. I still need a photo of one really "spotted".If you see a dowitcher in Panama, it certainly is a Short-billed Dowitcher. Several flocks, including birds wearing breeding and non-breeding plumages, were present. The pale, bigger bird accompanying them in the second photo is a Willet

The strong, colourful and contrasting pattern of the Ruddy Turnstone is amazing. This bird rules!

These flying birds are Surfbirds. I counted at least 40 birds in that single flock!

The Whimbrel is found year-round in Panama, but definitively is more common during the winter. At least 15 birds were scattered at the mudflats.Contrary to the Whimbrels, there is usually only one Long-billed Curlew in these mudflats. Patiently, surely you'll find it, usually feeding independently of other big shorebirds.The plovers were well represented. From top to bottom, these are: a pair of Semipalmated Plover (migrant, but the most common plover in Panama), Wilson's Plover (resident, this seems to be a juvenile) and Collared Plover (resident -and cute-, this also seems to be a young bird). I also saw many Black-bellied Plovers and three Southern Lapwings in the area (but they were not close enough). Add to this list the American Golden-Plover recently reported at Costa del Este by Carlos Bethancourt and you will get the picture of how special is this place!

I tried to find the American Golden-Plover at Costa del Este, but when I got there, all the birds were too far away in the mudflats, so I didn't find it. Anyway, a Franklin's Gull wearing most of its breeding plumage was a great consolation prize.

Everyone got a lifer?

After a successful birding trip above El Cope in the morning, and after a tasty lunch in town, Gloriela, Euclides "Kilo" Campos, Rafael Luck and your blogger host decided to visit the Aguadulce Salinas (saltponds), barely one and a half hours away. As you know by now, the saltponds are great for shorebirds and waders, and the migration season just started so it was an obvious choice to end the day. The idea proved to be very good when we started to see tons of shorebirds, mostly Semipalmated and Western Sandpipers, but also Least Sandpipers, both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs and the omnipresent Black-necked Stilts. Most of the peeps were wearing their non-breeding plumage, lacking the patterns and colours of the alternate (breeding) plumage and looking confusingly similar. Far away, a flock of Brown Pelicans and Great Egrets also included a Roseate Spoonbill, easily spotted by its rich pink plumage. Kilo recently visited the site, finding Stilt Sandpipers, so we were after them. Of course, Kilo was the first one to spot one of them. The slim bird looked huge in comparison to the peeps that were accompanying him. This particular individual still had some barring in the underparts and seemed to have a problem with one of his legs.

We found more individuals along the saltponds, usually with other peeps. Each time we stopped, we found a new species. We saw three plovers species (Black-bellied, Collared and Semipalmated Plovers), all in non-breeding plumage, many young Black-necked Stilts (just a little bigger than the last time I was there), a Gull-billed Tern and two terns that I'm tentatively calling Caspians'. The waders were well represented. We found Great, Snowy and Cattle Egrets, Little Blue and Tricolored Herons and then, a nice surprise for me. In a random stop, just to check one of the ponds that was full with peeps and yellowlegs, Kilo focused on a distant heron with Rafael's scope. I could not believe it when he said "Reddish Egret", and there it was, a dark-phase (immature) Reddish Egret perched on a log. WOW, my second lifer for the day! This species seems to be rare, but regular, in Aguadulce and recently one individual was sighted by members of the Panama Audubon Society (probably the earliest date for this species in Panama, here is the report with photos at XENORNIS). Curiously, it is always found away of the road and, in Panama, it have been found in saltponds, sandy beaches and rivers (in the Caribbean side of the Panama Canal). We were able to watch through the scope its pale-reddish head and long neck, and its mostly dark bill. My distant shot shows its distinctive jizz (looking more like a Great Egret than a Little Blue Heron) and the overall dark colour. After a couple of minutes, the bird started to feed in its unique manner, running erraticly from one side to another, sometimes using its wings for change direction. It was so funny to see. The egret was a lifer for Rafael and Gloriela too (like the Stilt Sandpiper as well), so everyone, except Kilo, got a lifer in this trip. But the trip was not over. We reached the beach and then started to return, finding only a Common Black-Hawk with an unidentified shorebird in the claws and at least 150 Black Skimmers flying over the ponds. We stopped again to check a huge mixed flock of resting shorebirds. I found a flock of resting Sanderlings in the opposite side of the road while Kilo was mounting the scope. Meticulously, he checked each one of the birds in the flock, finding at least to hidden birds with dark gray backs, contrasting with the Ruddy Turnstones. He asked me to have a look to confirm his id: a pair of Surfbirds, his nemesis bird. I was able to see its white rump and its mottled underparts confirming the id! A lifer for Kilo! Now officially everyone got a lifer in this trip! Of course, Kilo jumped to the muddy pond without thinking it twice (and I followed him) to have a closer look of the birds. Eventually we got very close to the birds, and then he was able to see its yellow legs and bill (that is Kilo in the pic, watching his lifer). My photo of the flock turned out to be overexposed, a mistake that I was not able to correct using photoshop, but I like the final effect of colourful, blurry shorebirds. With imagination, you can see two Surfbirds, tons of Ruddy Turnstones, Willets and Whimbrels, and a lonely Short-billed Dowitcher (just behind the first Surfbird to the left). What a great way to end a birding day... lifers for everyone!

Veracruz in high tide

Despite our original plan for yesterday was to go very early to Penonome in order to organize Gloriela´s B-day party, the news of an Hudsonian Godwit in Veracruz beach (central Panama, Pacific coast) obligated us to stay a little more in Panama, joining Rosabel Miró, Darien Montañez and Beny Wilson in their quest for the bird during the morning. This time the tide at Veracruz was rising and soon we saw two distant American Oystercatchers and a closer flock of shorebirds, mainly with Black-bellied Plovers, but also including Ruddy Turnstones and some Willets. One of the plovers catched our attention because of its mostly black underparts and general smaller appearance, but the flock flew away to the opposite end of the beach before checking all the field marks to confirm the suspected id of American Golden-Plover at the time. After a short drive, we relocate the flock in some rocks, this time with Sanderlings, Surfbirds, Royal Terns and a Laughing Gull and then, luckily, the flock flew again to the beach, closer to us (and to a small group of Collared Plovers). We centred our attention in the Golden-Plover, noticing the ausence of black axillaries, its slimmer, smaller and more upright posture, the proportionaly thinner and shorter bill. Digiscoped images:
The most important field mark was the primaries projection. I can see the tip of the longest tertial barely reaching the tail tip, and 3 primaries tips projecting from it (maybe 4, confusing because American Golden-Plover are supposed to have at least 4 primaries tips visible, although quite often primaries 9 and 10 are the same size). Also note the tail tip far behind the wing tips (unfortunately, I did not obtain better photos. Both photos were cropped; the edited one was brightened and sharpened). But CAUTION, all these differences can be influenced by moult. Note that this particular bird was molting the tertials and the rectrices, which might affect the perception of the relative relations between the wings and the tail. Also note that this particular bird has some marks suggestive of Pacific Golden-Plover (which has never been registered in Panama), like the mostly white vent and undertail cover (also note some white feathers all along the sides and flanks), the contrast between the mostly brown-spotted mantle (or gold-spotted) and the white-spotted wings, and the relation between the longest tertial tip with the tail.

Well, by now the general consensus is towards an American Golden-Plover. We still have to solve what was this bird doing in Panama during january? If you have any idea of the identity of this bird let me know, I will appreciate your considerations.P.D.: any of the Golden-Plovers would be a lifer for me. Later in the same day, in the finca at Penonome, I obtained another lifer: my long-desired Mangrove Cuckoo!! Two lifers in the same day in central Panama is not bad at all!