Quantcast
Channel: sunshinecoastbirds
Viewing all 474 articles
Browse latest View live

White-eared Monarch, Fairy Gerygone, Tasmanian Silvereye atop Mt Ninderry; Eastern Grass Owl

$
0
0


White-eared Monarch
I hiked to the summit of Mt Ninderry near my home and was surprised by the presence of a vocal and inquisitive White-eared Monarch in low trees atop the eastern cliff face.

White-eared Monarch
I've not seen or heard the monarch on the mountain before.

Fairy Gerygone
Also present in the same area was a party of 4 Fairy Gerygones. I've had this species once in my garden but not previously on the mountain. 

Little Shrike-thrush
The monarch and the gerygones were joined in a feeding flock by Little Shrike Thrush, Golden Whistler and Grey Fantail.

View from Mt Ninderry
The view from the summit across the Sunshine Coast to Moreton Island in the distance was stunning on a great winter day.

Silvereye Tasmanian race
Lower down the mountain I came across a flock of 100+ of the Tasmanian race of Silvereye, easily identified by its chesnut flanks. This race is an uncommon winter visitor to south-east Queensland.

Red-legged Pademelon
Elsewhere on the coast, Sarah Beavis and I saw two Eastern Grass Owls in caneland at Paradise Waters about one hour after sunset. One lightly coloured bird flew high overhead; the other, darker bird passed by at head-height. Later, Sarah sent me an image of a road-killed Eastern Grass Owl she found in 2013 not far away on the Yandina-Coolum road at Yandina Creek. This bird was found close to the recently drained Yandina Creek Wetlands.

Eastern Grass Owl roadkill - Pic Sarah Beavis

Spotless Crake continues to show well at Parklakes Wetland. I visited Mary Cairncross Park where this female Red-legged Pademelon with pouched joey was sunning itself on a log.

Australian Logrunner female
Nearby at Kondalilla National Park, a pair of Australian Logrunners showed nicely.



Radjah Shelduck on Sunshine Coast plus Bribie Bits

$
0
0
Radjah Shelduck
The Radjah Shelduck is a very rare vagrant in south-east Queensland, so it was with a modicum of interest that I noted Robyn Duff's sighting of 2 birds on the newly built Maroochy River golf course two days ago. I searched in vain yesterday for the birds, both on the golf course and some nice shallow wetlands that have formed following recent rain along nearby Finland Road, Pacific Paradise.

Radjah Shelduck
Two shelducks were seen this morning by Mary Hynes along Finland Road. This afternoon, I found one bird by a small lagoon beside House Number 90, Finland Road.

Radjah Shelduck with Plumed Whistling-Ducks
The shelduck was keeping company with a flock of Plumed Whistling-Ducks. There was no sign of its mate, which Mary had seen earlier flying towards the golf course nearby.

Wandering Whistling-Duck, Little Black Cormorant, Plumed Whistling-Duck
Plenty of ducks were at this spot and in the temporary wetlands just to the south of the house. Postscript: Birders have mixed success since this sighting with the bird; it is not always present. Also present were Wandering Whistling-Duck, Chesnut Teal, Grey Teal, Hardhead and Pacific Black Duck. A full list of species can be found here.

Black-tailed Godwit
Waterbirds were in abundance in the area. It is likely that many of the birds recently displaced by the draining of the nearby Yandina Creek wetlands may be here, taking advantage of the temporary conditions. A single Black-tailed Godwit was present along with a few Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and a Pacific Golden Plover in breeding plumage.

Black-necked Stork
Other nice birds included a female Black-necked Stork. Raptors included a Black Kite and a Spotted Harrier.

Latham's Snipe
The first Latham's Snipe of the season - 4 birds - were present.

Comb-crested Jacanas
An adult and a juvenile Comb-crested Jacana were on a pond near the shelduck.

Mallard
On a pond along nearby Burtons Road, Bli Bli, a male free-flying Mallard was seen with a flock of Pacific Black Ducks. This presumably is the same bird I saw several times at the Yandina Creek Wetlands  (see here).

Common Tern
Earlier in the week we camped for 3 nights in the caravan park at Woorim on Bribie Island. A first-year Common Tern with red legs was regularly roosting on the beach at a spot where this species occurs reliably in winter in small numbers.

Gull-billed Tern
Other terns included this Gull-billed Tern in non-breeding plumage.

Welcome Swallow
At the Buckley's Hole hide, 3 pairs of Welcome Swallows were nesting unusually close and relatively indifferent to human interlopers. A Black-necked Stork was seen on the lagoon.

Beach Stone-Curlews
On the roost near the Kakadu hide, a pair of Beach Stone-Curlews was behaving in a way which indicated clearly that they were nesting. The birds try to nest at this artificially created roost each year with mixed results. A flock of about 20 Double-banded Dotterels was also here.


Glasshouse Mountains & Pumicestone Passage
The view across Pumicestone Passage to the Glasshouse Mountains was quite something.

Night Parrot Musings

$
0
0


The night parrot recently netted - Pic by Rachel Barr
The following is the text of my news story and feature on the Night Parrot in the 29-30 August edition of The Weekend Australian.


NEWS STORY

Grooming traps to secure site for rare birds 


Newly designed traps that kill feral cats with a poisonous spray will be operating soon at a site in south-west Queensland that is home to the only known population of the critically endangered night parrot.

Sharp-shooters were deployed on the remote property this week and soft jaw traps were set in a concerted bid to eradicate several feral cats that are prowling the area.

The menace of feral cats has emerged as the biggest threat to the survival of the population, with as few as 10 birds at the site on a grazing property south-west of Winton.

The “grooming” traps to be set soon are able to detect and identify cats that pass within five metres, triggering a spray of deadly gel which is ingested when the animal grooms by licking its fur.

The Australian revealed earlier this month new photographs and video footage of a night parrot taken by research scientist Steve Murphy on the property. Bush Heritage Australia is in the process of acquiring 56,000ha of the land so it can be protected as a reserve.

The night parrot was once widespread throughout inland Australia but has disappeared from many places where it was common.

Dr Murphy believes the south-west Queensland population has survived because the rocky terrain has kept wildfires in check. His unpublished research reveals that large, old-growth spinifix patches are the favoured habitat of the mysterious parrot.

Dr Murphy said relatively few feral cats, which were voracious predators of night parrots elsewhere in the past, had been detected at the site. He believes this is because they find it difficult to hunt in areas where the predominant vegetation is prickly, unburnt spinifex – a habitat that was once widespread but is now scarce because of the increasing incidence of fire since European settlement.

It seems that the parrots may be able to find safe refuge to some extent in this old spinifex,” he said.

However, a single cat could learn how to hunt night parrots and potentially wipe the population out. Bush Heritage Australia north chief executive Rob Murphy said cats were “top of our hit list” of management priorities.

Mr Murphy said the grooming traps, being developed in partnership with South Australian company Ecological Horizons, had promising potential to control cat numbers.

This is exciting new technology and we hope it will help us to eradicate cats in the parrot's core habitat,” Mr Murphy said.

The night parrot, one of the world's rarest birds, had been known from a handful of records over the past century before it was photographed on the property by north Queensland naturalist John Young in 2013 following a six-year search.

Mr Young, whose discovery made news internationally, had been working with Dr Murphy and Bush Heritage Australia on night parrot management and research at the site but ended his involvement several months ago.

Mr Young has taken to social media to distance himself from the project.

The whole thing has been very hard for me and every day I begin to wonder whether the heartache, cost and all the effort was worthwhile,” Mr Young said on his Facebook page, without explaining his reasons.

In the last few years my work has been a living hell and enough is enough now... It has been a long and tumultuous road with all sorts of stuff but I hope I have left something for the world of conservation.”

Dr Murphy acknowledged Mr Young's role in the night parrot's rediscovery.

John has my complete respect for the skill he demonstrated in finding the bird; for hisopenness insharing the experience with me; and for thematurity he displayedin letting Bush Heritage and others get on with the job,”Dr Murphy said.

The Night Parrot before release. Pic by Rachel  Barr
 FEATURE

When a bird in the hand is really rare



It was music to his ears. The high-pitched, melodic, haunting call of the night parrot. When research scientist Steve Murphy analysed the data from audio recorders he had in place across an arid hillside at a secret location in south-west Queensland, he realised that no fewer than four night parrots were calling at the same time.

Four night parrots. That was the equivalent of the total number of human encounters with this most enigmatic of birds over the previous 100 years. Murphy's work on the night parrot is emerging as one of the most exciting developments in Australian natural history research in recent decades.

The curtain is being raised slowly on the ecology and habits of the Holy Grail of Australia's birding world since Murphy and Bush Heritage Australia revealed earlier this month that plans were advanced to secure a 56,000ha reserve over the only site in the world where the parrot is known from. At the time, Murphy released to The Australian photographs and video footage of a netted night parrot.

How has the night parrot survived in this harsh landscape of gibber plain, rocky outcrops and spinifex in Queensland's channel country, south-west of Winton, when it has disappeared from the vast tract of inland Australia it once inhabited? This weekend, Murphy is heading interstate, to South Australia, to see if he can find more parrots.

It was in north-east South Australia that the first specimen of the night parrot was collected, in 1845 during the failed expedition led by Charles Sturt to find Australia's mythical inland sea. And it was in South Australia, in the 1870s and 1880s, that 16 of the 23 known specimens of the bird were collected. The last living specimen was collected in Western Australia in 1912.

Then nothing more but a couple of brief sightings until a dead night parrot was found in 1990, with a second dead bird picked up in 2006. Both were in the same general region of south-west Queensland where bushman John Young heard one calling in 2008. Then, in 2013, after years of effort to track them down, Young revealed the first photographs taken of a night parrot, at the site now being studied by Murphy.

Murphy believes the parrots have hung on at this site because of the terrain, habitat and paucity of introduced predators. His research has established that the birds favour large, old-growth clumps of spinifex. Each bird has its own roost, buried deep within a spinifex clump. The birds leave the roosts soon after sunset, travelling up to 7km during the night to feed.

From sound recordings, Murphy has established that parrots favour certain areas for roosting and other areas for feeding. “We were able to get an idea of where the birds were moving to,” Murphy says. “There was some predictability about their movements and habits.”

In two years of research, Murphy has seen a total of three parrots, including the one he netted and photographed with his partner, Rachel Barr; this bird was seen twice subsequently, including once when it flushed from its daytime roost, which contained a single feather. “This is a bird that is extremely cryptic,” Murphy says.
Old-growth spinifex north-east of the Night Parrot site
Most of the parrots are within a 10km radius of John Young's discovery. Murphy now backs away from his earlier estimate of the population at between 10 and 30 birds. “It is impossible to say how many parrots there are,” he concedes. He heard a night parrot 40km from the site, suggesting that a second population may be present in the region. Whatever the number, the known world population is miniscule.

The parrot that was netted was unexpected. Murphy and Barr were at opposite ends of a long mist net soon after sunset during the April Easter weekend when it flew randomly into Barr's end of the net. Netting during the previous three evenings was unproductive.

The old-growth spinifex at the site was formerly widespread in other areas previously frequented by the parrot. As long ago as 1925, the collector Lawson Whitlock searched in vain for a year for the species in one such area west of Alice Springs, where Aborigines had tracked down “porcupine parrots” and cooked them on camp fires. Whitlock described his search as the “most arduous I have undertaken”.

It is likely that by Whitlock's time, the landscape of central Australia was undergoing fundamental change that had dire implications for the night parrot and other arid zone wildlife. Traditional Aborigines had for centuries conducted patchwork burn-offs for various purposes, but the practice ceased with the development of the grazing industry and European settlement.
Researchers at the Night Parrot site: Pic by Bush Heritage Australia
Instead,wildfires of unprecedented intensity ravaged vast areas intermittently. The original habitat has gone and is denied the opportunity to return.The same problem is evident inthe savannah woodlands of tropical Australia. The carpentarian grasswren, a small bird,was once numerous in the sandstone screeswest of Borroloola in the Northern Territory; as a result of wildfire, the grasswren has vanished.

The Queensland region frequented bynight parrots is home to other wildlife in decline elsewhere. The endangered bilby is present; so too isthe biggest population of bush stone-curlews in outback Queensland. Murphy believes the survival of the animals is linked to fire control and a dearth of feral predators. The landscape is markedlybroken compared to many inland areas;unburnt spinifex clumps are separated by barerocky areas which maykeep the spread of fire in check.

Low level grazing on the property appears to have had no adverse impact on the parrots. Murphy has not seen a fox or a cat at the site, although five cats have been captured on the 30camera traps in place, which have failed to photograph a night parrot in 15,000 hours of operation. “I carry a gun with me whenever I go out but I've never seen a cat,” he says. “I've seen more night parrots than cats.”

Old-growth spinifex provides the parrots withseemingly effective refuge from predators, which are deterred by its prickly exterior.

Dingo at the Night Parrot site - Pic by Steve Murphy
Murphy believes the presence of dingos in the area is an important factor in controlling cat numbers. The ownersof the 1 million-ha property where the parrots occur haveagreed not to cull dingoes as part of a management strategy being implemented.

CSIRO arid zone ecologist Chris Pavey agrees the presence of large, unburntspinifex patches could be keeping cat numbers in check and the key to the parrot's survival.“Mature spinifex allows animals to find refuge so it is likely to be harder for cats to hunt,” Pavey says. “Each cat would need a much larger home range than might be the case elsewhere. It's not too far from this site to where 200 to 300 cats were being shot each night not so long ago.”

With feral cats in plague proportions elsewhere,Murphy regards the felinesas the most seriousthreatto the parrots. Cat numbersare increasing across much of northern Australia – the population nationally is estimated at 20 million-with native wildlife populations crashing in recent years in many placesas a result. Earlier this week, before heading to South Australia, Murphy travelled to the parrot site with a team of sharp-shooters in search of cats and to set traps.

Murphy has amassed a substantial collection of night parrot calls on sound recorders.Playback of calls could provide an importantrole in detecting other night parrot populations; birds may reveal their presence by responding to random playback of their calls.

The recordingsare presently under wrapsbecause the secrecy of the site is paramount while effortsto secure it as a reserve are finalised. However, Murphy says theywill be made available to other researchers: “Nobody arguesabout the benefits of doing that and it will be done.”

When the recordings are distributed, efforts will be underway in earnest to find more night parrots, hopefullybefore this remarkablespecies succumbs to the twin scourgesof wildfire and feral cats.

A link to the video of the parrot can be found here. Bush Heritage Australia needs donations to help secure the reserve -  see here for how you can help.

























Goomburra: Masked Owl, Albert's Lyrebird, Musk Lorikeet

$
0
0

Musk Lorikeet
We opted for a three-day campout in the Goomburra section of the Main Range National Park. It had been 20 or so years since camping here and it was nice to get to know the place again.

The birding highlight was a Masked Owl which called several times from along the creek in the Poplar Flat camping ground where we were camped; unfortunately the bird failed to show. Also vocal was Albert's Lyrebird: 3 birds were heard along the road to the lookouts, and another 3 during the 6.5km Cascades Circuit walk.

Cascade Circuit rainforest
The road was an old logging track last time I was here. Now, easy access to the Mt Castle and Sylvester lookouts is available. We were fortunate to strike a clear day so the scenery across the Fassifern Valley was quite something. We were able to see even the Brisbane CBD, about 100 kilometres distant.

View from Sylvester Lookout across Fassifern Valley
Topknot Pigeons were feeding along the road at Mt Castle. Other rainforest birds included Yellow-throated Scrub-wren in abundance, while Australian Logrunner and Paradise Riflebird were about in small numbers. A pair of Crested Shrike-tit were in wet sclerophyll forest.

Topknot Pigeon
One of the attractions of Goomburra is the variety of habitat which includes open forest, wet sclerophyll forest and rainforest. Several birds can be seen here which do not occur west of the Great Dividing Range or generally north of this area.

Red Wattlebird
Those species include Red Wattlebird and Musk Lorikeet, both fairly common in the eucalypts along the entrance road.

Buff-rumped Thornbill

Striated Thornbill
Thornbills put on a good show. Brown Thornbill was plentiful but quite a few Buff-rumped and Striated Thornbills were also seen.

Boebuck
Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Red-necked Wallaby were common. A single Boebuck was spotlighted at night.

Spotted Pardalote female
Spotted and Striated Pardalotes were both breeding in trackside holes. A full list of bird species can be found here.

Turquoise Parrot
After Goomburra we moved south to the Old Wallangara Road at Wyberba for a brief stop. A pair of Turquoise Parrots were seen but did not show particularly well;  I had luck with this species when I had more time during a visit to this excellent site last March.

New England National Park: Flame Robin, Olive Whistler, Forest Raven but no scrubbirds

$
0
0


Following our campout at Goomburra on the eastern slopes of the Great Divide in Queensland (see following post) we headed south, crossing the border, to New England National Park, east of Armidale. We camped here for 3 days at a free camp site by the Styx River near the park entrance at  the suggestion of the NSW NPWS website, which said the park camping ground, Thungutti, would not cater for camper trailers.

As is so often the case, this information was incorrect (we could have easily camped at Thungutti with the trailer) but the scenery around the Styx River was not hard on the eyes.



From here it was a 5-kilometre drive to Pt Lookout and the mosaic of walking trails that criss-cross the national park. It was very cold during our stay, notwithstanding the beginning of Spring. The views from various lookouts across vast tracts of forest wilderness did not disappoint, notwithstanding the weather.



Of particular interest was the extensive areas of Nothofagus beech forest in the park. The large tracts of this forest compare to the isolated patches at high altitudes in the Border Ranges region further north and the Gloucester Tops area to the south. The relatively large number of Olive Whistlers seen and heard (about 20) at various sites was a surprise.




Also surprising was the total absence of Rufous Scrubbird from seemingly ideal habitat; I understood that this site was once favoured by the species, which persists in both the Border Ranges and Gloucester Tops areas where the habitat is much more limited. More in evidence was Superb Lyrebird: many were calling and at least 8 birds were seen around Pt Lookout carpark area, including several immature males which appeared to be competing to establish territories.




Another bird that was surprisingly widespread in the park was Flame Robin, with 12-15 seen in habitat ranging from open meadows to the edge of the beech forest.




Two Scarlet Robins were also seen, while several Rose Robins were seen and heard.



The Forest Raven is another specialty of the region. Australian Ravens were seen to the north of Armidale during our drive south but it seemed that all the ravens in the vicinity of the national park were Forest Ravens.



Red-browed Treecreepers were in small numbers in wet sclerophyll forest along the entrance road, where they were heavily outnumbered by White-throated Treecreepers; see here for a full list of bird species recorded.



Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Swamp Wallaby and Red-necked Wallaby were common.



On the way back we stopped for a couple of nights at the Broken Head Caravan Park near Byron Bay.


The coastal scenery here was as exquisite as always, with rainforest meeting the sea. Seabirds offshore during a strong south-easterly included quite a few Fluttering Shearwaters and Australasian Gannets along with several Common Terns and a probably White-fronted Tern.





Lewin's Rail, Parklakes Wetland Redevelopment, Ground Parrot Habitat Burnoff

$
0
0
Lewin's Rail
Spring is in the area and manifested in fine form by vocal Lewin's Rails about the Sunshine Coast. I had a pair along Finland Road, Pacific Paradise, in paperbark wetland - a habitat in which I've rarely noted this species. These birds showed well but briefly, even venturing to the road edge. One bird  moved into an area of grassland, indicating the variety of habitats frequented by the rails. The rails were twice seen in flight.

Lewin's Rail
I found a second pair of Lewin's Rail in mixed grassy swamp and lantana thickets near Eumundi, where I had heard them previously. These birds showed extremely well but only after gradually losing fear of the human interloper over a period of a couple of hours. A list of birds at the site is here.

Lewin's Rail
Lewin's Rail occurs on and around the coast in habitat ranging from grassland and creekside  vegetation to lantana thickets and wallum heath.

Restless Flycatcher
A Restless Flycatcher at North Arm took a dislike to its image in the car window.


Parklakes Wetland development
Elsewhere about the coast, the Parklakes Wetland at Bli Bli is undergoing a makeover. Several people have expressed concern about the work underway, which has removed a substantial portion of the big reed bed favoured by Australian Little Bittern and crakes. The Parklakes estate developers say the Sunshine Coast Council has insisted on changes to the vegetation regime but that the wetlands will be restored. As usual, the council doubtlessly intervened without the aid of professional advice.

Pink-eared Duck
A pair of Pink-eared Ducks is present on one of the pools at Parklakes. This species is a rare visitor to the Sunshine Coast.



A short distance away, the pair of Radjah Shelducks which turned up recently on Finland Road, Pacific Paradise (see here) is still present. I had seen a single shelduck at the site on two occasions, so this was the first time I had seen the pair.

Radjah Shelduck
Chesnut Teal
Chesnut Teal showed well here. Also along Finland Road was an Australian Hobby feeding on a quail of some kind.

Australian Hobby
Further north, the state authorities have burned off a substantial portion of the wallum heath in sections of the Noosa and Mt Coolum national parks frequented by remnant populations of Ground Parrots.  Parts of the heath had not been burned for 15-20 years; it was so tall and dense that most of the habitat was unsuitable for the parrots, which have declined sharply over the decades (see here for more). So the burn-off is necessary, if overdue.

Noosa National Park burnoff at Peregian Beach
I listened at dusk at a site near Mt Coolum which had been inhabited by Ground Parrots but failed to hear any birds; they may well have disappeared from here. I was disturbed to learn from a local birder that a dead Ground Parrot was found in the driveway entrance to a service station nearby in Marcoola last year. The bird probably was likely to have belonged to the tiny population surviving within the fence of the Sunshine Coast Airport, a population at risk of being eliminated by plans for a new runway.

Variegated Fairy-wren
A Variegated Fairy-wren showed nicely on the edge of the heath at Peregian Beach.




At the Buderim Forest Park, Green Catbirds and Rose-crowned Fruit-Doves were nicely co-operative as they fed in a fruiting tree on the edge of the northern carpark.



A male Mistletoebird was looking cheerful along River Road, Yandina Creek.







Yandina Creek Wetlands Unplugged

$
0
0
Newly replenished wetland looking east to Mt Coolum
Just when some of us were beginning to think that the fate of the Yandina Creek Wetlands was sealed, the Queensland Government has intervened to order that a recently installed floodgate be opened to allow the area to be partially refilled with water from tidal flows. The stage may now be set for the landholders to sit down with the Sunshine Coast Council, government authorities, community groups and private organisations that acquire and manage reserves to map out a plan for the future for the 200ha wetland.

One of three newly installed floodgates has been opened
The entire wetland was drained within a few days in July when three new floodgates were installed.

Signs of revival in the wetland looking west to Mt Ninderry
As was explained in The Weekend Australian and elsewhere, the federal and Queensland governments, along with the Sunshine Coast Council, stood by and did nothing to prevent the wetland - which is nationally and internationally significant according to Commonwealth guidelines - from being drained. Their rationale was that because the wetland had been created by tidal flows through broken floodgates on drainage canals on land used formerly for sugar cane production, it was not worth saving. That argument conveniently ignored the fact that the area was wetland naturally before the development of the cane industry last century in the Maroochy River lowlands.

A floodgate is being installed at a new site some distance upstream from the main gates
Federal and state laws protecting rare and endangered wildlife were ignored, although during the 12 years since cane was grown on the land, a diverse wetland rich in plants and animals had been created.

Now, however, the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries has ordered that one of the three new floodgates be opened; the other two gates are expected to be opened in the near future. The department has signalled it is working towards the gradual restoration of water flow to the site. The landowners have been told to ensure that a monitoring system is in place to ensure that water quality is managed and that further impacts are reduced.
Some of the extensive area of mangroves in the wetland
Fisheries personnel are understood to have collected samples of protected plants at the site. The department is compiling a prosecution brief relating to possible offences under Section 123 of the Fisheries Act 1994 and Sections 574 and 578 of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009. All marine plants growing on or adjacent to tidal lands are protected under Queensland law. The destruction, damage or disturbance of marine plants without prior approval from Fisheries Queensland is prohibited; heavy penalties apply to any unauthorised disturbances that impact on marine plants on all private and public lands.

Section 123 of the Fisheries Act makes it an offence to cause a marine plant to be removed, destroyed or damaged. In some circumstances, landholders can undertake "self-assessable" drainage and other development works which may have environmental impacts.  However, anyone undertaking such work must comply with applicable codes for self-assessable development under Section 574 of the Sustainable Planning Act. Under Section 578 of the act, a person must not carry out an assessable development without a permit.

Aquatic vegetation is looking stressed in much of the wetland, which remains high and dry
The former sugar cane properties were sold in the mid-2000s to family trusts with links to Sunshine Coast property developers. The landholders insist they did not acquire the properties as a long-term investment in the hope that the land will eventually be rezoned from rural to allow for canal estate or other residential or commercial development. Earlier this year, the landholders leased the properties back to their original owners - the family of local sugar cane farmer Scott Trevor, which undertook the drainage works.

Mr Trevor had signalled his family's intention to drain the wetland so sugar crops could be re-established. Mr Trevor has insisted that no state or federal government approvals were required for the drainage works.

State authorities envisage that the land will now be managed in similar fashion to the recently rehabilitated Trinity Inlet in Cairns - see here for more. The landholders will be required to monitor the wetland as the water returns because Fisheries is concerned that arsenic and other toxic metals may have leached to the surface from acid sulfate soils during the two months that the area has been dry.

Evidence of the stress to mangroves through water deprivation
Within a few days of the floodgate being opened this week, a substantial section of the eastern end of the wetland had been partly replenished. Enough water was present for small numbers of migratory shorebirds - a flock of 10 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers - to be present; the annual presence of large numbers of shorebirds at the site was one of the major arguments in support of its protection. However, there is not yet sufficient water to lure back the substantial numbers of ducks, herons, pelicans and other waterbirds that had been frequenting the site.

Google Earth map showing floodgates
Moreover, it has been discovered that a new floodgate was being installed this week at another site several hundred metres upstream from the three main floodgates on Yandina Creek. It is not known if this new floodgate is intended to facilitate the release of water now entering the wetland from the main floodgates as a result of the intervention of Fisheries. Any such move may have the effect of negating the Fisheries order to open the main floodgates. Fisheries is now investigating the new floodgate.

Water replenishment in the eastern sector of the wetland 
A substantial area of mangroves and other tidal vegetation had been established in the wetland. Notwithstanding the positive news of this week, most of the wetland remains high and dry; aquatic vegetation including mangroves is showing evident signs of distress.

The proactive stance of the state Department of Agriculture and Fisheries is in stark contrast to that of the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, which has primary responsibility for protecting the state's environment. On the basis of a single, brief visit by officers with no experience with the site earlier this year, the department concluded that the wetland was of no significance as it had been "highly modified". Despite published evidence of rare and threatened species and many waterbirds nesting at the time the wetland was drained, the department determined (as it has done so often in relation to other environmental disputes) there were no breaches of the Nature  Conservation Act.

Nonetheless, the  new state Environment Minister, Steven Miles, has taken a personal interest in the wetland. The minister is believed to be considering options for its future.

Meanwhile, the federal Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, has finally revealed the outcome of two investigations he had ordered into whether the drainage works breached provisions of the Environment Protection and Diversity Act relating to protected species (the endangered Australian Painted-Snipe and critically endangered Curlew-Sandpiper occur at the wetland) and migratory shorebirds (Australia is a signatory to several international agreements requiring it to protect important shorebird habitat). In short, the minister concluded that the act had been complied with; no explanation was offered.

As for the future, offsets and partial rezoning - along with contributions from the state and federal governments - have been mentioned as potential sources of funding to acquire the properties so they can be protected and managed as a reserve. The Sunshine Coast Council, in co-operation with the Queensland Government and perhaps an agency such as the Queensland Trust for Nature or Bush Heritage  Australia, is the obvious body to be overseeing any such plan. Significantly perhaps, the council has softened its  previously declared stand of having no interest in the site.

Further inundation in the wetland's eastern sector

Panama: Back in the Neotropics

$
0
0
Gartered Trogon male
It's good to be back in the tropical rainforest of the Neotropics. Getting there is the hard bit. From leaving home on the Sunshine Coast to arriving at my Panama City hotel took all of 28 hours. But then, to open the hotel room balcony doors in the dead of night, it seemed worth the effort. A nocturnal din of frog and insect calls resounded through the forested hillside as low-lying cloud hung in the warm, damp air.

View from Radisson Summit Hotel room
Early morning and it was back on the balcony to see the sun rise through the mist over the forest as the haunting call of howler monkeys echoed in the distance. Bliss. Our 21-day Birding Panama tour includes 8 people from 6 countries - Australia, Canada, the U.S., Denmark, the U.K. and Norway. Our Panama City base is the Radisson Summit Hotel, nicely positioned in the rainforest and near the canal, some distance south of the city. I took a morning stroll through a path in the forest. Bird of the day was Gartered Trogon, with both sexes showing well.

Gartered Trogon female
Gartered Trogon male
The birds came thick and fast as I walked the rainforest trail, coming to grips again with these wonderful neotropical birds. The first antbirds of the trip were scored with close views of Fasciated Ant-shrike and Dusky Antbird.
Male Dusky Antbird
Numerous small birds flitted through the undergrowth and at mid-canopy level. I was able to make out Scrub Greenlet and Lesser Greenlet. The first migrants appeared in the form of Red-eyed Vireo, Yellow Warbler and Northern Waterthrush.

Scrub Greenlet
This is the time of year when passage migrants from North America are heading south. I saw a large flock of Mississippi Kites heading that way.

Mississippi Kites on migration
Flycatchers were in abundance. Plenty of Eastern Kingbirds were present along with Tropical Kingbirds, Social Flycatchers, Streaked Flycatchers and Great Kiskadees.

Eastern Kingbird
Tropical Peewee and Eastern Wood-Peewee were both about. I was happy to see a male Red-capped Mannikin with a couple of females, but they wouldn't be photographed. Other nice finds were Bright-rumped (Flammulated) Attila and Long-billed Gnatwren.

Tropical Peewee
Yellow-rumped Cacique added a flash of colour, as did Keel-billed Toucan and Chesnut-headed Oropendola.

Yellow-rumped Cacique
More mundane fare included loads of Clay-coloured Thrushes.

/Clay-coloured Thrush
A Cocoa Woodcreeper put in an appearance, as did Rufous-breasted Wren and Red-and-white Wren. House Wren was feeding young on the hotel lawn.

House Wren
Where Tropical Mockinbirds were also numerous, and a pair of Variable Seedeaters were sitting on a nest.

Tropical Mockingbird
A female Blue-black Grosbeak was feeding a well-grown youngster on the forest edge.

Blue-black Grosbeak
In the afternoon there was a heavy but fairly brief thunderstorm. Fingers crossed for the weather, although a bit of rain around can be good as it lowers the temperature. A few birds were out in the open in the gardens after the rain including Orange-chinned :Parakeets and Red-crowned Woodpeckers.

Orange-chinned Parakeet

Red-crowned Woodpecker

While a Wattled Jacana wondered about. Sunset was accompanied by the familiar calls of Common Pauraques. Looking forward to the days and weeks ahead.

Wattled Jacana



Panama: Cagres National Park - Pipeline Road

$
0
0
Brown Three-toed Sloth
With most of the group assembled in various stages of jet lag, we headed off in the early morning of the first day of the tour to Chagres National Park, a rainforest reserve not far from our hotel. We were particularly keen to see Yellow-green Tyrannulet here as we knew it would be difficult elsewhere. We were not to be disappointed, with our guide Kilo (Euclides Campos) declaring that an encounter we had with 3 birds was the best he'd experienced with this often difficult species.

Mammals showed with a Central American Agouti on the road and a Brown Three-toed Sloth in a tree above the road spotted by our driver, Francisco.  A Snowy-bellied Hummingbird was nice to see on a roadside wire.  Violet-bellied and Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds were added to the hummingbird tally. Slaty-tailed, Gartered and Black-throated Trogons made it a trifecta of three trogon species found in the region.

Slaty-tailed Trogon
On a track inside the forest, a female Rosy Thrush-Tanager showed well. We then a Whooping Motmot and White-whiskered Puffbird showing simultaneously. Slate-coloured Grosbeak was nice to see. Back at the hotel, a Connecticut Warbler was skulking on ground at the edge of shrubby vegetation outside the restaurant. A pair of Bat Falcolns seem to have made their home on the hotel roof.

Slate-coloured Grosbeak
Out on the golf course in drizzling rain, a Nine-banded Armadillo foraged in the open.

Nine-banded Armadillo
While Solitary Sandpiper and Pectoral Sandpiper were out and about.

Pectoral Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper
Our second day of the trip saw us early in the morning on the famed Pipeline Road in Soberania National Park, reached after crossing the Panama Canal where huge ships are incongruously negotiating the roadside canal.

More mammals were added to the list with White-faced Cappuchin, White-tailed Deer and good views of Mantled Howler monkeys.

Mantled Howler 
Woodpeckers put on a bit of a show with Crimson-crested, Lineated and Cinnamon appearing.

Crimson-crested Woodpecker

Cinnamon Woodpecker
Antbirds are exceptionally appealing and along the Pipeline Road we saw Dusky and Spotted /Antbirtds, Fasciated and Western Slaty-Antshrike, and Checker-throated, Moustached, White-flanked and Dot-winged Antwrens.

Western Slaty-antshrike
A Black-breasted Puffbird was a nice find.

Black-breasted Puffbird
Another classic neotripical family was well-represented by Chesnut-mandibled and Keel-billed Toucans and Collared Aracari.

Collared Aracari
Trogons were also about in good numbers. We added White-tailed Trogon for a total of 4 trogon species for the trip.

White-tailed Trogon
Rufous Mourner was another nice find, as was Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon and Brownish Twistwing. We managed brief flyover views only of Russet-winged Schiffornis.

Rufous Mourner
And Purple-throated Fruitcrows put on a show. A highlight of the morning was a Streak-breasted Antpitta which showed well after a bit of coaxing.

Purple-throated Fruitcrow
Other nice birds along the Pipeline Road included Great Tinamou and Agami Heron, 

Entering Panama’s Darien - Torti to Rancho Frio

$
0
0
Crested Eagle
After leaving Panama City (see following post) we headed east, crossing the Panama Canal and along the Pan American Highway.  In the lowlands of the Bayano area, our first stop was in riparian forest along the Rio Mono, where we had nice looks at Black Ant-shrike, a species some of us had missed in Colombia.

Double-toothed Kite
We moved on to the town of Torti, checking out some patches of scrub along the Rio Torti near the town where the much-wanted Double-banded Greytail  and Pacific Antwren showed nicely.  A Double-toothed Kite here was suitably co-operative.

Snowy-bellied Hummingbird
The hummingbird feeders at the Torti Hotel were buzzing with activity. Snowy-bellied Hummingbird and Scaly-breasted Hummingbird were lifers for most.

Scaly-breasted Hummingbird
Sapphire-throated Emerald and Long-billed Starthroat added to the colourful display while Rufous-tailed Hummingbird was common.
Long-billed Starthroat

Sapphire-throated Hummingbird
 At Torti we had to made our first preparations for the trip to the Darien lowlands and Cerro Pirre. We left most of our gear in suitcases in the hotel  for security reasons before continuing east, crossing the state border and entering the birding mecca province of Darien. We overnighted in the basic but adequate hotel in the town of Metiti.

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
The next morning saw us in some open country near the highway south of Metiti where common and widespread species such as Striped Cuckoo, Spot-breasted Woodpecker, Pied Water-Tyrant and Ruddy-breasted Seedeater were added to the list.  Grey-headed and White-throated Crakes were heard.

Striped Cuckoo
Spot-breasted Woodpecker
Ruddy-breasted Seedeater
Further east we checked roadside forest within a few kilometres of the town of Yaviza, where the Pan-American Highway terminates. Here we enjoyed the antics of a couple of groups of Geoffroy’s Tamarin by the road.

Geoffroy's Tamarin
A huge butterfly of the genus Caligo feeding on bananas was a brief distraction from the birds.

Caligo Butterfly
Black Oropendola and Barred Puffbird were welcome additions to the list. Grey-cheeked Nunlet was elusive until we eventually nailed one bird and then another.

Black Oropondola
 Spot-crowned Barbet was another nice find while Greater Anis put on a show.

Greater Anis
At the bustling port of Yaviza on the Rio Chucumaque, our gear, safely secured in waterproof bags, was loaded into our boat for the next leg of the journey into the heart of the Darien lowlands.

Yaviza, Rio Chucumaque

 We were met at the port by our local guide for the Darien trip, Isaac Pizaro, from the Guna Indian tribe.

Isaac Pizaro
We had a pleasant journey of about an hour up the river to the town of El Real, seeing huge numbers of Broad-winged Hawkes on their southward migration.

Migrating Broad-winged Hawks
After lunch at El Real, we loaded our gear and ourselves into a truck for a bumpy 30-minute drive to the edge of the forest. Here, our gear was loaded onto horses while we headed off along a 5km trek to Rancho Frio – the national park headquarters  where we would spend the next two nights in a basic dormitory.

About half-way along the hike to Rancho Frio we were thrilled to encounter a dark phase Crested Eagle perched above the path high in the trees (see first image). This was at or close to the top of the wishlists of everyone; a spectacular bird indeed.
Deserted Harpy Eagle nest
Nearby was the now deserted nest of a pair of Harpy Eagles that had raised chicks for several years in succession until one of the adults was shot earlier this year - apparently by locals who believed they were not getting enough money from visiting birders. Similar problems have been encountered overseas, highlighting the point that the economic benefits from ecotourism can sometimes be a double-edged sword.


Our stuff arrives on horseback at Rancho Frio
We were suitably tired by the time we reached Rancho Frio in the late afternoon, and pleased that all our stuff had arrived safely aboard the horses.


Cerro Pirre in Panama's Darien Province

$
0
0
Ornate Hawk-Eagle 
With the challenge of getting to Rancho Frio (see following post) in Panama's Darien province overcome, the business of birding was seriously underway. The setting for our base looked good: the park ranger station pleasantly located in the midst of the rainforest by a lovely stream. Our first morning saw us in a forest clearing a short distance from the station. We were happy to see Viridian Dacnis, Slaty-throated Gnatcatcher and Choco Sirystes here. We walked various trails in the vicinity of Rancho Frio that day with some memorable ornithological encounters.

Sapayoa was the last of the 234 bird families of the world that I had not seen so I was pleased indeed to finally connect with a pair of these enigmatic birds in a gully not far from the station. Slaty-winged Foliage-gleaner and Lemon-spectacled Tanager were  wanted additions to the list, and we were pleasantly surprised to find a Speckled Mourner – a difficult species anywhere.

Then, late in the afternoon, we heard what at first was thought to be the menacing noise of the grating tusks of angry White-lipped Peccaries. As we were wondering whether we should take to the trees (these animals can be quite aggressive) a Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo appeared and perched on a log briefly before fluttering through the dense vegetation for a few metres and disappearing. The noise had been its bill clapping. Unfortunately it was not seen by all, but this is a megatick by any standard and one we were very fortunate to connect with. Our guide Euclides (Kilo) Campos was excellent: attentive, patient and very good at his job. 
Guide Euclides (Kilo) Campos
After two nights at Rancho Frio, we began our trek up the lower slopes of Cerro Pirre to our camp, Plastico, at an elevation of 600 metres. Porters had gone ahead earlier to set up tents, cooking facilities and other camping provisions.

Pit-Viper
It took us 5 hours to get up to Plastico, birding along the way.  Birds were not the only things on our minds. Some of us walked over a venomous Pit-Viper (Porthidium lansbergi) before it was spotted.

Harlequin Frog
A green-and-gold Harlequin Frog (Atelopus glyphus) was one of several delightful amphibians in the leaf litter.

White Hawk
We weren’t too far up the trail before we encountered a Plumbeous Hawk – one of the more difficult neotropical raptors. White Hawk was another nice raptor spotted along the trail.

White-ruffed Manakin
Sapayoa was again encountered while White-ruffed Manakin – the first of quite a few to be seen – showed well. A much desired Wing-banded Antbird was tracked down, this being one of the best sites for this tricky species; 3 or 4 more were to be seen on the mountain. Tody Motmot was other highly desirable target that showed nicely near the sometimes steep and trying trail. 

Plastico camp Cerro Pirre mid-elevation
We arrived at our camp perched on a saddle in the mid-elevation foothills of Cerro Pirre in the early afternoon to find that all had been set up nicely by the hard-working porters and our cook.  That afternoon we walked down a steep slope to a stream, seeing yet another Sapayoa along with a couple of Dull-mantled Antbirds.  Birds seen around the camp and along the nearby ridge included Yellow-eared Toucanet and Black-and-yellow Tanager, while in the early evening, Tawny-faced Quail was heard.

Porters heading to the summit of Cerro Pirre
The next day the group split, with some folk either unwilling or unable to tackle the very steep climb to the ridge camp atop Cerro Pirre at 1150 metres. Half the group camped the second night up on the ridge while the others remained at Plastico camp. I hiked to the summit but returned the same day because logistical difficulties (even water had to be carried up) limited the number of people who could stay at the top. I had heard nightmarish stories about how difficult this climb to the summit was, but in fact it was not nearly as bad as I expected. I was up there in about 4 hours, with some birding along the way.

Endemic-rich high ridges of Cerro Pirre
Not far from Plastico on the way up we encountered a feeding flock that included a much wanted Panamanian endemic - Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker. Further on, a highlight of the ascent was a small group of Blue-fronted Parrotlets feeding near the trail; this species normally is a quick fly-over. A Brown-billed Scythebill showed among another feeding flock while a Violet-throated (Emerald) Toucanet was seen closer towards the summit. Tooth-billed Hummingbird put in a couple of brief appearances.


My time at the top was limited but I saw Varied Solitaire, Pirre Bush-Tanager and Pirre Hummingbird. Birds seen by those who camped included Beautiful Treerunner and Green-naped Tanager. A highlight of the trip came during my descent with Kilo, not long before Plastico camp, when a Black-crowned Antpitta performed magnificently, perched on a limb over the trail as it called and displayed vigorously.
Ornate Hawk-Eagle
After a second night at Plastico, we found a Central American Pygmy Owl calling above the camp in the early morning. As we descended slowly from the camp, a second Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker showed, then a magnificent Ornate Hawk-Eagle was spotted perched above the track.

Fulvous-vented Euphonia
Fulvous-vented Euphonia also showed nicely near the track.  We took our time getting back, arriving back at Rancho Frio in the late afternoon to enjoy the luxury of a cool bath in the stream.  We heard Crested Owl, Choco Screech-Owl and Spectacled Owl about Rancho Frio but failed to see any of them. We did see a most impressive Smoky Jungle Frog (Lepidodactylus pentadactylus) during our final evening at the station. Late in the afternoon of our last day we had a second Crested Eagle – a begging juvenile a short way from Rancho Frio.

Group pic before departing Rancho Frio
Our five-day stay in the area ended with us retracing our steps: hiking back to the forest edge; back in the truck for the drive to El Real; then the boat ride back to Yaviza, where we arrived at lunch-time. This time the tide was low, with numerous waterbirds showing nicely including Grey-necked Wood-Rail and Capped Heron.
Boarding the boat at El Real
Unfortunately I had dropped my camera in a creek on the way out so the boat ride was photo-free (birdwise) for me. The afternoon was occupied with the long drive west to our next destination – Burbayar Lodge; on the way we called in at Torti to pick up the bulk of our luggage.

Free beer on the Pan-American Highway
A lorry had overturned on the road, spilling hundreds of cans of beer, which were quick to be picked up by opportunistic passers-by.  

Panama: Burbayar Lodge to El Valle

$
0
0
Blue-crowned Manakin
Following our extraordinarily successful visit to Cerro Pirre and the lowlands of Darien (see the following two posts) we headed to Burbayar Lodge for a 3-night stay in the Caribbean foothills of Kuna Yala Province. This is a well-known destination for birders which has been difficult to access in recent years. Burbayar is a rustic but charming family-run lodge; after the challenges of Cerro Pirre, it was luxury.

Nusagandi Forest
We cleaned up so comprehensively in Darien that there were few targets left at Burbayar. Our first morning saw us on a trail that runs up and down steep, muddy hills in the Nusagandi Reserve, a large area of forest owned by the Kuna Indians.

Broad-billed Motmot
We were pleased to see a couple of impressive Crimson-bellied Woodpeckers, while Tawny-capped Euphonia was another welcome addition to the list. Striped (Western) Woodhaunter was among the birds seen along the trail.
Ocellated Antbird - Pic by Ketil Knudsen
An impressive antswarm (the first of any substantive size for the trip) was attended by some showy Ocellated Antbirds along with Plain-brown Woodpecker, Broad-billed Motmot, Chesnut-backed Antbird, Dull-mantled Antbird and Bicoloured Antbird.

Green Manakin
A Green Manakin was found in some dense streamside vegetation. We spent a fair bit of time relaxing around the lodge. Blue-crowned Manakin was among the many birds in the grounds (see first image).  A Plumbeous Hawk showed nicely but distantly from the lodge grounds.

Plumbeous Hawk
We visited another area forest on our second morning which had recently been acquired by the owners of Burbayar.  Here we had several Sapayoas showing well. This species, the last of the world’s bird families for my list, had eluded me for years, but on this trip I saw between 12 and 15. It was interesting to compare them with the Green Manakin (see above) a species with which Sapayoa is often confused.

Sapayoa

Sapayoa
As we were leaving the forest we saw several Sulphur-rumped Tanagers – a localised target, along with a Laughing Falcon.

Laughing Falcon
Mammals included Geoffroy’s Tamarin and a cute Alfaro’s Pygmy Squirrel.  In the afternoon, some of the group ventured to a third forest patch to finally connect with a key target bird for this area – Speckled Antshrike.

Alfaro's Pygmy Squirrel
The food at Burbayar was excellent and this place is highly recommended, though many birders have expressed frustration in recent years at their inability to connect with the owners.

Dinner at Burbayar
We departed Burbayar and continued our journey west, again crossing the Panama Canal before arriving at the delightful hill town of El Valle in Cocle Province for a two-night stay. The town is located in the caldera of an extinct volcano and is surrounded by steep, forested slopes. Our accommodation, the Anton Valley Hotel, ticked the boxes.
Forest at Cerro Gaital

Forest orchid, El Valle
We enjoyed a morning stroll through the misty forests of Cerro Gaital, seeing plenty of Pale-vented Thrushes. Also of interest was the distinctive local race of Common Bush-Tanager. Garden Emerald was finally encountered in a shrubby field not far from the hotel.














Western Panama & Chiriqui Highlands

$
0
0
Ochraceous Peewee
After our visit to El Valle in Panama (see following post) we continued heading west on a long drive to the village of Las Lajas on the Pacific coast. Here, in tall trees lining a road, after some effort we  connected with one of the Panama endemics – a male Veraguan Mango, spotted by our driver, Francisco.

Veraguan Mango
Birds seen from the beach at Las Lajas included Black Tern, Brown Pelican, Magnificent Frigatebird and Brown Booby. We continued westward, leaving the province of Veraguas and entering the far western province of Chiriqui. At around sunset, we arrived at the delightful Hotel Dos Rios - our accommodation for the next three nights - at an altitude of 1100m in the highlands town of Volcan.

Las Lajas 
Our first morning was occupied not far from the town at a site called Cuesta de Piedra. This place was very birdy and scenic to boot.

Ravine at Cuesta de Piedra
Some of the nice birds here included Eye-ringed Flatbill, Cherrie’s Tanager, Scarlet-thighed Dacnis, Fiery-billed Aracari, Speckled Tanager and Costa Rica Brushfinch.  In a patch of scrub nearby we had a fine male Orange-collared Manakin.

Fiery-billed Aracari
In the afternoon we visited some pasture and secondary scrub on a coffee plantation near Volcan lakes, seeing the distinctive Chiriqui race of Masked Yellowthroat. My camera is stuffed as a consequence of my dropping it into a creek, so apart from some images from my iphone through the scope (thanks to our guide Kilo for helping with that), some of Ketil Knudsen's lovely images appear here. 

Scarlet-thighed Dacnis - pic Ketil Knudsen

Speckled Tanager - pic ketil Knudsen
We spent our next full day walking the Los Quetzales trail from 1700m to 2500m in Volcan Buru National Park. Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher was one of the first birds of the day at the start of the trail; later we saw Black-and-yellow Silky-Flycatcher. 
Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher
Black-cheeked Warbler, Flame-throated Warbler and Flame-coloured Tanager were among the birds in the early morning flocks. Scintillant Hummingbird fed in flowering bushes and higher up were plenty of Volcano Hummingbirds. The cloud forest of the surrounding mountains was looking good on a perfect October morning; this is the wet season, but fingers crossed, to date we have lost hardly any birding time to rain.
Volcano Buru National Park
Other hummingbirds included White-throated  Mountain-Gem, Fiery-throated Hummingbird and Magnificent Hummingbird. Townsend’s Warbler was a Panama tick for Kilo. We were soon onto a Zeledonia (Wrenthrush), a much-wanted oddity that is likely to be given its own family; most of us secured satisfactory views of this skulker. Not long after we enjoyed fine views of another skulker – Silvery-fronted Tapaculo. Yellow-thighed Finch and Large-footed Finch were both seen well. A Black Guan was flushed.

Ochraceous Peewee
The track was very birdy. Good birds in the flocks included Buffy Tuftedcheek, Ruddy Treerunner, Yellowish Flycatcher , Black-thighed Grosbeak and Red-faced Spinetail. We were happy to connect with a flock of about 8 Silvery-throated Jays – a difficult species to score within its limited range.
Soon after we found another tricky specialty of the site – an Ochraceous Peewee near the track.

Costa Rica Pygmy-Owl 
We found a juvenile male Resplendent Quetzel early on the walk but some of the group later saw a group of five, including an adult male, When we returned to the vehicle in the afternoon we tracked down - with a good deal of difficulty - a calling Costa Rica Pygmy-Owl.

Resplendent Quetzal - Ketil Knudsen
Our final morning in the Volcan area was occupied in secondary scrub and a patch of rainforest in the Volcan Lakes area.

Volcan Lakes

Nice additions to the list included Ruddy Foliage-gleaner and Violet Sabrewing.

















Panama, Final Chapter: Boquete to Cerro Santiago

$
0
0
White-bellied Mountain-Gem
After visiting the Volcan area of Panama’s Chiriqui province (see following post) we transferred to the delightful town of Boquete on the eastern side of Baru Volcano. On our way up the steep road to the hotel, we encountered a party of Sulphur-winged Parakeets and the first of several Dark Peewees we saw in the area, along with niceties such as Elegent Euphonia, White-tailed Emerald and American Dipper.
Sulphur-winged Parakeet - Pic by Ketil Knudsen
 A large Mussurana snake was encountered; these snakes evidently feed on poisonous pit vipers.

Mussurana snake
The next morning we left very early for a 2.5-hour drive to the Continental Divide in the area where the borders between Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro provinces  define the Pacific slope to the south and the Caribbean slope to the north. We spent the day birding trails and roads on both slopes.

Fortuna Reserve - Continental Divide
We were fortunate that many trees and shrubs were flowering; we had hummingbirds in abundance. White-bellied Mountain-Gem and Purple-throated Mountain-Gem were present in small numbers along our first road on the Pacific slope, along with a pair of unexpected Snowcaps (a third was seen later).  Also unexpected were 6-8 Black-bellied Hummingbirds – a difficult species in its limited range. Green-crowned Brilliant and Violet-headed Hummingbird were among other hummers seen this day.

Green-crowned Brilliant
An Anole lizard created a brief diversion from the birding.

Anole Lizard
A highly vocal Costa Rica Pygmy-Owl  attracted large numbers of hummingbirds and other species, notably a much wanted endemic - Blue-and-gold Tanager.  Other birds buzzing the owl included Tawny-capped Euphonia, Black-and-yellow Tanager and Common Bush-Tanager.

Black-and-yellow Tanager
Tawny-capped Euphonias
On the Caribbean slope, a male Lattice-tailed Trogon was a sight for sore eyes; the last of the neotropical trogons for my list. Soon after, an Ochre-breasted Antpitta – a species I had dipped on in several countries - showed brilliantly. And soon after that on another path, a Black-headed Ant-thrush showed very well.
Lattice-tailed Trogon - Pic by Ketil Knudsen

Ochre-breasted Antpitta - Pic by Ketil Knudsen
Our second morning at Boquete was spent wandering the very pleasant local road and trails at a leisurely pace.

View from Boquete Tree-trek Hotel
A Hercules Beetle found by Tau was very nice.

Tau with Hercules beetle
Brown Violetear and Philadelphia Vireo were among the birds that were about.

Brown Violetear
In the early afternoon we moved east to  San Felix - our final destination before returning to Panama City.  We made a return visit to Las Lajas (seeing following post) in the late afternoon. Early the next morning we headed north to Cerro Santiago, our third big birding site for the trip in the west Panamanian mountains. We had a Dusky Nightjar calling right by the car as we stopped before dawn, with the bird showing well enough and another calling nearby. It was not long before we connected with our main target hear – the endemic and endearing Yellow-green Finch.

Yellow-green Finch - Pic by Ketil Knudsen
Streak-breasted Treehunter was another nice find and there seemed to be quite a few around.

Streak-breasted Treehunter - Pic by Ketil Knudsen
In beautiful conditions in the pleasant early morning we saw other birds including Golden-browed Chlorophonia and Ruddy Treehunter. Then we embarked on the long return drive to Panama City for the final leg of our three-week sojourn.

Cerro Santiago
This trip was not without challenge. The Darien and Cerro Pirre in particular were never going to be easy for a large group and we had our share of ups and downs. There were unfortunately one or two significant personality issues; these may be pursued in less public forums so that other groups may learn from our experience. The organisation by Birding Panama was first-class and a credit to them, notwithstanding a few hiccups along the way. Our guide Euclides (Kilo) Campos was superb and is highly recommended. Our driver Francisco was always happily up for the very early starts and long drives.

White-bellied Mountain-Gem
Most importantly, we had great success on this trip birdwise with a total list of about 600 species. Star birds included: Black-eared Wood-Quail, Agami Heron, Crested Eagle, Plumbeous Hawk, Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo, Costa Rica Pygmy-Owl, Dusky Nightjar, Tooth-billed Hummingbird, Veraguan Mango, White-bellied Mountain-Gem, Snowcap, Black-bellied Hummingbird, Pirre Hummingbird, Yellow-eared Toucanet, Blue-fronted Parrotlet, Lattice-tailed Trogon, Resplendent Quetzal, Tody Motmot, Barred Puffbird, Grey-cheeked Nunlet, Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker, Crimson-bellied Woodpecker, Sulphur-winged Parakeet, Spot-crowned Barbet, Tody Motmot, Speckle-faced Antbird, Ocellated Antbird, Wing-banded Antbird, Black Ant-shrike, Black-crowned Antpitta, Speckled Antshrike, Streak-breasted Antpitta, Ochre-breasted Antpitta, Black-headed Ant-thrush, Sapayoa, Brown-billed Scythebill, Silvery-fronted Tapaculo, Streak-breasted Treehunter, Slaty-winged Foliage-gleaner, Beautiful Treerunner, Speckled Mourner, Double-banded Greytail, Yellow-green Tyrannulet, Ochraceous Peewee, Russet-winged Schiffornis, Blue Cotinga, Sharpbill, Silvery-throated Jay, Sooty-headed Wren, Stripe-throated Wren, Varied Solitaire, Pirre Warbler, Zeledonia (Wrenthrush), Green-naped Tanager, Blue-and-gold Tanager, Pirre Bush-Tanager,Viridian Dacnis, Orange-collared Manakin, Green Manakin, Yellow-green Finch, Black Oropendola.

Thanks to Ketil Knudsen for the use of some of his superb pics after I drowned my camera. Six more blog posts from the trip follow. A full trip report will be published in due course.





Birding Puerto Rico

$
0
0
Puerto Rican Tody
Following our 3-week tour of Panama, Bill and I were joined by Sandra and Glenn for a month-long Caribbean sojourn. We flew to San Juan via Bogota for a six-day stay on the Grand Antillean island of Puerto Rico. For convenience due to late arrival, our first night was spent in the overpriced Airport Hotel. We drove for just over 2 hours on our first morning to our accommodation for the next 3 nights – the delightful Mary Lees by the Sea apartments near Guanica in the island’s south-west.

Black-faced Grassquit
In the afternoon we drove a short distance west to Parguera, where we tracked down without much difficulty the small store where the owner puts out bread for the endangered Yellow-shouldered Blackbird. Black-faced Grassquits were present in numbers and we soon located a flock of 8 Yellow-shouldered Blackbirds high in a tree in the adjacent vacant lot. The blackbirds did not come down to feed, however, and soon flew off over the mangroves.

Maricao State Forest
We left early the next morning for higher elevation forest in Maricao State Forest, where we would spend most of the day. A Puerto Rican Nightjar flew across the road at the 3.9km marker on Route 333 soon after we left the hotel. In Maricao, a feast of island endemics and specialties was in store. One of the first birds we saw was Elfin-Woods Warbler; we had a couple of pairs at the turnoff to the Forest Reserve headquarters (where we spent most of our time) and another pair 1km south of the turnoff on the main road.
Puerto Rican Tanager
We soon found a Puerto Rican Tody, seeing several that day. Puerto Rican Tanager proved to be common.

Puerto Rican Spindalis
We had good views of Puerto Rican Spindalis (8 in total), Puerto Rican Bullfinch (5), Puerto Rican Vireo (6) and Puerto Rican Woodpecker (4). Poorer views were had of Puerto Rican Emerald and Green Mango. A Key West Quail-Dove was an unexpected sighting on one of several tracks that we negotiated. Black-throated Blue Warbler was common.

Maricao State Forest
 Loggerhead Kingbird was on a roadside wire and back at Mary Lees, Pearly-eyed thrashers were all over the place.

Guanica State Forest
Our third morning saw us at the 3.5 marker on Route 333 where we called in a Puerto Rican Nightjar for better views.

Pearly-eyed Thrasher
We then hiked 3km north from the road along the Ballena trail in Guanica State Forest through the arid coastal thorn scrub that was in stark contrast to the lushly vegetated hill forests of  Maricao.

Caribbean Elaenia
We added Adelaide’s Warbler, Puerto Rican Flycatcher, Caribbean Elaenia and Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo to our specialty list. Another Key West Quail-Dove was on the track.

Puerto Rican Tody
Puerto Rican Tody again showed well. We visited another trail very early on our third morning at Guanica to search unsuccessfully for Puerto Rican Screech-Owl. We saw a Puerto Rican Peewee at first light, a Mangrove Cuckoo then more of some species seen previously. The odd local race of American Kestrel was common.
American Kestrel
Several White-cheeked Pintails were on a pool as we returned to Mary Lees. We left our comfortable apartment and drove across the island to the eastern side, where we visited Humacao Reserve.  Here we saw Crested Antillean Hummingbird and Green-throated Carib feeding in the same trees along banks between the pools.

White-cheeked Pintails
There were plenty of very large iguanas about.

Iguana - Puerto Rico
We moved on to the Ceiba Country Inn for a one-night stay. That evening we had a brief flight view of Puerto Rican Screech-Owl but early the next morning we enjoyed excellent views of an owl after quite a bit of coaxing.
Mangrove Cuckoo
Other good birds about Ceiba included Red-legged Thrush, Scaly-naped Pigeon and Puerto Rican Oriole - the last of the possible specialties and endemics for the island that I needed (we did not try for the endemic parrot; we missed Antillean Euphonia but I had seen that in the Dominican Republic).
Red-legged Thrush

Our last night on the island was spent in San Juan at the Coral by the Sea Hotel.










Birding Jamaica

$
0
0
Orangequit
Following our visit to Puerto Rico (see following post) we flew to Kingston via Fort Lauderdale in the U.S. for a 7-day tour of Jamaica. At the airport we were met by Wayne Murdoch of Attractions Link, our guide and driver whose services we highly recommend (see here). We arrived after dark at our accommodation for the first 3 nights – the Starlight Chalet in the Blue Mountains, a nicely positioned spot with birdy gardens.

Red-billed Strreamertail
Early in the first morning the first of many specialties and endemics showed. A pair of Orangequits were feeding at one of the hummer feeders along with numerous  Red-billed Streamertails – a stunner of a hummer.

Birding with Wayne Murdoch - Blue Mountains
Also in the garden was a Sad Flycatcher and plenty of American warblers such as Black-throated Blue and Cape May. After breakfast we headed uphill through Hardwar Gap and Blue Mountains National Park, birding the road to 1500m to a few hundred metres beyond the Gap Cafe.

Black-throated Blue Warbler
We found a Jamaican Blackbird (one of the more difficult endemics to find) probing epiphytes about 500 metres beyond the Gap, behaving like no other blackbird. A Jamaican Oriole was similarly probing the moss-laden vegetation.

Sad Flycatcher 
We saw a Ring-tailed Pigeon perched and several others flying over. Jamaican Becard and Jamaican Peewee were seen along with the two endemic thrushes – White-eyed Thrush and White-chinned, the latter much more common.\

White-chinned Thrush
Jamaican Vireos were plentiful and we found a couple of Blue Mountain Vireos without much trouble.

Jamaican Vireo
 Arrowhead Warbler was seen a few times along with Jamaican Euphonia and Jamaican Spindalis. Yellow-shouldered Grassquits were seen in close proximity to Yellow-faced and Black-faced Grassquits.

Loggerhead Kingbird
Other birds seen during a busy morning session in delightful surroundings included plenty of Loggerhead Kingbirds, Rufous-throated Solitaire, Jamaican Woodpecker and Greater Antillean Elaenia.  

Jamaican Becard
In the afternoon, Jamaican Mango was a surprise find at one of the garden hummer feeders. Just 200m from the lodge we flushed a Crested Quail-Dove from the road; the bird was found perched close by for excellent if brief close-up views.

Ring-tailed Pigeon
Our next morning followed a similar plan, though this time we birded as far as Woodside Drive. We had much better views of the Peewee and scored Greater Antillean Bullfinch, Jamaican Tody and Jamaican Elaenia. Another Crested Quail-Dove was flushed.

Jamaican Peewee
We lunched at the café at the pass (where a flyby Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo was seen briefly) before visiting the Dennis Coffee Farm at Section. Organically grown coffee is processed here manually, bean by bean, by a team of energetic Rastafarian men enlivened by the odd puff of ganja.

Jamaican Oriole
We were up very early on our final morning for a fantastic encounter with the trickiest endemic - Jamaican Owl. A bird perched right over our heads in a tree in front of the lodge; it was attracted to the playback of a juvenile begging.

Jamaican Tody
We saw a Rufous-tailed Flycatcher in the garden before packing off and heading north to the coast to our destination for the nest 3 nights - the delightful Bay View Villas eco-resort a little east of Port Antonio.

Rufous-tailed Flycatcher
White-crowned Pigeon was common in trees about the lodge. We were up early for the 45-minute drive to John Crow Mountains National Parks along the Ecclesdown Road further east.

White-crowned Pigeon
We flushed our third Crested Quail-Dove for the trip early in the morning on the way in. We had heavy rain for the first couple of hours but when it cleared we quickly found both Yellow-billed Parrots and Black-billed Parrots in surprisingly good numbers - a total of about 60 Black-billeds and 110 Yellow-billeds.

Black-billed Parrot
We lured a Jamaican Crow into view with the playback of an Australian Raven call.

Jamaican Spindalis
We saw many birds seen earlier in the Blue Mountains including Rufous-tailed Flycatcher, Jamaican Spindalis and Jamaican Elaenia.

Rufous-throated Solitaire
Others included Rufous-throated Solitaire and Black-billed Streamertail, regarded by some as a separate species from Red-billed.

Black-billed Streamertail
During an afternoon drive around Port Antonio we enjoyed close-up views of Jamaican Mango.

Jamaican Mango
Our second morning at Port Antonio was spent walking several well-vegetated roads in the San San area, seeing little of interest other than nice views of Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo. The Chesnut-bellied Cuckoo was inexplicably missed; 28 out of 29 possible targets were seen on what was an excellent trip.

Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo
After leaving Port Antonio our last night in Jamaica was spent in Kingston at the Port Royal Hotel.

 








Birding Cuba Part 1 - La Guira to La Belen

$
0
0
Cuban Trogon
Following our tour of Jamaica (see following post) we flew to Cuba for a two-week visit. We stopped in transit at George Town on Grand Cayman Island, where a Vitelline Warbler was located in roadside scrub near the airport.
Cuban Bullfinch
Clearing Customs and border control in Havana was not as bad as we feared. Although we were self-driving, we had arranged with Andy Mitchell in London (kingbird@cubabirdingtours.com) to organise car hire and other details with Havanatur. After a few hiccups with the company at the airport with travel vouchers, we were on our way, arriving in the western town ofo San Diego de los Banos without too much trouble after dark. One of the advantages of booking Andy is that the deal includes detailed directions to various destinations.

Cuban Solitaire
We had two nights in a delightful homestay – JuilioyCary. Our first morning saw us in an area of pine trees in La Guira National Park, not far from the town. Here we quickly connected with a local specialty, Olive-capped Warbler. Then another star attraction of the area , Cuban Solitaire, showed nicely.

West Indian Woodpecker
Cuban endemics and regional endemics emerged in quick succession. Best of all was a superb subadult Gundlach’s Hawk that perched close by; this is possibly the most difficult of the Cuban specialties to see. We saw Great Lizard-Cuckoo, Puerto Rican Emerald, West Indian Woodpecker and Crescent-eyed Peewee as we walked the rough road in the limestone-studded dry scrub.
Also about were Cuban Vireo, Yellow-headed Warbler and Cuban Bullfinch.

Yellow-headed Warbler
In the afternoon we hooked up with the local bird guide, Caesar, who was supposed to have guided us that morning but instead was booked to lead a large group of American birders; this presumably was a more attractive option financially for him.

Articeous jamaisensis

Tadaorida brasiliensis
We visited Cueva del los Portales, a large cave that was Che Guevara’s bolthole during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, and were pleased  to be shown large numbers of two neat bat species – the fruit-eating Articeous jamaisensis and the tiny Tadoarida brasiliensis.

Cuban Vireo
We were serenaded by another Cuban Solitaire during the visit and saw La Sagra’s Flycatcher. In the afternoon we visited an area of scrubby grassland near the town with Caesar and saw a pair of Cuban Grassquits; this species is increasingly difficult to find because of the caged bird trade.

Tawny-shouldered Blackb ird
We also saw Tawny-shouldered Blackbird and Cuban Blackbird in the fields.
The next day was a full day of travel – a 10-hour drive to La Belan, a rustic but birdy livestock ranch in Cuba’s central-eastern Sierra de Najasa.

Cuban Crow
The only bird of note seen en route was a Western (Cuban) Meadowlark. The next morning we woke to the strange calls of Cuban Crows, which were numerous about the lodge and homestead.
We then found one of the attractions of this site – a Giant Kingbird perched in the same tree as a Loggerhead Kingbird.

Giant Kingbird
Soon after we saw a small flock Cuban Palm Crows, which call and behave differently to the much more common Cuban Crows.  We saw Plain Pigeon and our first Cuban Tody and Cuban Trogons of the trip.

Great Lizard-Cuckoo
Cuban Green Woodpeckers appeared to be quite common. Later in the morning we teamed up with a local birding guide, Camillo, and visited another section of the ranch , seeing little more but scoring nice views of Great Lizard-Cuckoo.

Cuban Parakeet
A flock of Cuban Parakeets were about the homestead when we returned. Western Spindalis and Yellow-throated Warbler were among other birds seen.

Cuban Pygmy-Owl
In the afternoon,  with Camillo we found a Cuban Pygmy-Owl being mobbed by various warblers including Yellow-throated, Prairie, Palm and Black-throated Blue.

Cuban Palm Crow
The next morning, another stroll along the shady road near the homestead turned up another 3 Giant Kingbirds and good numbers of Cuban Palm Crows, as well as the first Rose-throated Parrot of the trip.




Birding Cuba Part 2: Coco Cayo to Playa Larga

$
0
0

Fernandina's Flicker
Following our visit to La Belen (see following post) we headed north for a three-day stay on the tourist island of Cayo Coco where the tariff for our hotel, the Sol Cayo Coco - like all the upmarket accommodation here - includes as much food and alcohol as you care to consume. (Beware, the spirits are severely diluted.)

Cuban Gnatcatcher
Early in the morning we headed east to the lighthouse on Cayo Paredon Grande. The mosquitoes were horrific but failed to prevent us from connecting with the specialties at this site in arid coastal scrub and mangroves. We found Cuban Gnatcatcher and Oriente Warbler in quick succession on a road near the lighthouse.

Thick-billed Vireo
Soon after we had good views of a Thick-billed Vireo in the mangroves and we were to see a couple more as we strolled back along the main road in.

Cuban Green Woodpecker
Cuban Oriole and Cuban Green Woodpecker were among the birds that showed which we had seen earlier and we saw Cuban Emerald and La Sagra’s Flycatcher again.

Cuban Oriole
In the surrounding saline wetlands we found a flock of American Flamingoes.

American Flamingo
Some waders were about including Greater Yellowleg, Semipalmated Plover and Grey Plover.

Greater Yellowlegs
We saw several Cuban Black-Hawks close to the road.

Cuban Black-Hawk
The next morning we headed east to Cape Guillermo, following directions provided by Andy Mitchell (see following post for Andy’s address). We found Bahama Mockingbird fairly easily in low coastal scrub – one bird singing close to the road and a couple of others moving about; they were much more skulky than the more numerous Northern Mockingbirds. We also found a flock of 4 Cuban (Zapata) Sparrows of the race that is endemic to these cays.

We looked unsuccessfully for Cuban Nightjar in the early hours of our last morning on Cayo Coco before heading west again to the Zapata Reserve for a 5-night stay at Playa Larga on the Bay of Pigs.  Our delightful casa particular, Villo Rio Mar, overlooked this historic bay in an attractive setting.
We were off early in the morning with our guide, Angel Garcia (angelczcuba@gmail.com)  to explore Cuba’s premiere birding site and endeavour to clean up the country’s endemics and regional endemics. 
Crescent-eyed Peewee
Success came early in coastal scrub near the town of Soplillar with a wonderful pair of Fernandina’s Flickers displaying atop a dead tree; the birds flew in close for excellent views.
Next was a pair of Grey-fronted Quail-Doves on the road as we drove slowly along, followed shortly afterwards by 3 Blue-headed Quail-Doves; both endemic quail-doves can be difficult to find.
We reconnected with other birds we had seen elsewhere including Crescent-eyed Peewee, Cuban Emerald, Cuban Tody and Rose-throated Parrot.

Rose-throated Parrot
Cuban Tody
We then saw one of Cuba’s star attractions: the world’s smallest bird. A Bee Hummingbird perched atop a dead snag and we had great views of at least 3 of these tiny hummers, both perched and feeding. In the afternoon we visited a site near Soplillar that commemorates the anniversary of the 1959 Cuban revolution.

Bee Hummingbird

Bee Hummingbird
We left early on our second morning at Playa Larga for La Turba in the heart of the huge Zapata swamp. Before sunrise we enjoyed close views of a Cuban Nightjar on the road.
As the sun rose over the vast expanse of reeds, we connected with the Zapata Wren, which is endemic to this marshland. The wren can be easily missed but we enjoyed fantastic views of a bird singing at close quarters.

Zapata Wren

We moved further into the swamp for equally close views of a pair of Cuban (Zapata) Sparrows – these birds of a different race to those we saw more distantly on Cayo Coco, and possibly a different species.

Cuban (Zapata) Sparrow
On the road back we saw a pair of another of the region’s specialties – Red-shouldered Blackbird, along with more Cuban Blackbirds.
Cuban Blackbird
 Near Palipite we had close up views of the Cuban race of Northern Flicker, likely a different species.
In marshland nearby we had several waterbirds including Tricoloured Heron. In the afternoon we visited Cueva de los Pecas – a 70-metre deep sinkhole south of Playa Larga that connects to the ocean through an underground cave.

Tricoloured Heron
The next morning we went with Angel early in the morning in search of owls around Playa Larga. We checked out 4 sites he had for Stygian Owl; we heard one quite close to our casa and finally had reasonable views of one in flight in a timber yard on the edge of town. Soon after we tracked down a family party of Bare-legged (Cuban Screech) Owls in roadside scrub; 2 adults and 1 or 2 juveniles were about and one of the birds showed nicely.

Bare-legged Owl
Later in the day we visited Playa Giron and visited the museum commemorating the ill-fated 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, when American-backed Cuban mercenaries were repelled by Fidel  Castro’s forces. The United States to this day continues to impose its vindictive, cruel and contemptible embargo on this impoverished island nation.

Blue-headed Quail-Dove
On the way back to Playa Larga we called in again on La Ceuva de los Pecas, where we saw 4 Blue-headed Quail-Doves close to the restaurant; the birds are fed by the staff and are very tame.
As we departed Playa Larga for a 3-day stay in Havana to complete our visit to Cuba, we called in at the village of Palpite where Bee Hummingbirds are known to congregate around a feeding tree. We saw several but the males were in eclipse plumage. Plenty of Cuban Emeralds were also about.

Cuban Emerald
I ended my photographic exploration of Cuba’s avifauna by snapping what was probably the most numerous bird that we saw – Palm Warbler. Our trip was hugely successful, with all 39 targets seen (although Bill missed his West Indian Whistling-Duck) including all 26 "gettable" Cuban endemics.


Palm Warbler








Grey-fronted Quail-Dove

Panama Trip Report

$
0
0
TRIP REPORT – PANAMA
September 29 – October 24, 2015
Blue-crowned Manakin
INTRODUCTION
Most of this extensive birding trip to Panama was organised by Birding Panama (http://www.birdingpanama.com/). All theparticipants had previously birded Costa Rica and Colombia so we were focused on regional specialties and species that are difficult to find elsewhere. We had an extraordinarily successful trip with almost all key target birds seen. Almost 600 species were recorded with good birdsincludingBlack-eared Wood-Quail, Agami Heron, Crested Eagle, Plumbeous Hawk, Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon, Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo, Costa Rica Pygmy-Owl, Dusky Nightjar, Tooth-billed Hummingbird, Veraguan Mango, White-bellied Mountain-Gem, Snowcap, Black-bellied Hummingbird, Pirre Hummingbird, Yellow-eared Toucanet, Blue-fronted Parrotlet, Lattice-tailed Trogon, Resplendent Quetzal, Tody Motmot, Barred Puffbird, White-whiskered Puffbird, Grey-cheeked Nunlet, Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker, Crimson-bellied Woodpecker, Sulphur-winged Parakeet, Spot-crowned Barbet, Tody Motmot, Speckle-faced Antbird, Ocellated Antbird, Wing-banded Antbird, Black Antshrike, Speckled Antshrike, Black-crowned Antpitta, Streak-breasted Antpitta, Ochre-breasted Antpitta, Black-headed Ant-thrush, Sapayoa, Brown-billed Scythebill, Silvery-fronted Tapaculo, Streak-breasted Treehunter, Slaty-winged Foliage-gleaner, Beautiful Treerunner, Speckled Mourner, Double-banded Greytail, Yellow-green Tyrannulet, Choco Sirystes, Brownish Twistwing, OchraceousPeewee, Dark Peewee, Russet-winged Schiffornis, Northern Schiffornis, Blue Cotinga, Sharpbill, Silvery-throated Jay, Sooty-headed Wren, Stripe-throated Wren, Slate-throated Gnatcatcher,Varied Solitaire, Pirre Warbler, Zeledonia (Wrenthrush), Connecticut Warbler, Green-naped Tanager, Blue-and-gold Tanager, Pirre Bush-Tanager,Viridian Dacnis, Orange-collared Manakin, Green Manakin, Yellow-green Finch and Black Oropendola.
Black-and-yellow Tanager
I organised the itinerary in conjunction with Jose Carlos Garcia(info@birdingpanama.com). I can highly recommend the services of Birding Panama; this was a difficult trip with plenty of challenges but with the exception of a couple of inevitable hiccups, it was very well organised. We were guided by Euclides (Kilo) Campos, who was by any standard a highly capable and skilledguide, able to track down the most difficult skulkers and always willing to help. In the Darien we were also guided by Isaac Pizaro fromthe local Guna Indian community, who has extensive knowledge of the local avifauna; Isaac organised the on-the-ground logistics for our visit to Cerro Pirre. Others have commented in reports that Isaac's behaviour can be erratic; there is some truth to this but at the end of the day he came up with the goods.
A series of seven illustrated posts from the trip have been published on my blog (search “Panama” on http://sunshinecoastbirds.blogspot.com.au/).

Crested Eagle
We visited major sites in the Darien in the east of the country near the Colombia border; in central Panama; and in the Chiriqui highlands in the west near the Costa Rica border. Trails were muddy and steep in places. Trips of this nature are noteasy, especially with a large group. However wewere fortunate with the weather, losing very little birding time to rain, and frequently overcast conditions kept temperatures in check to some extent. We had no mechanical difficulties although the bus could have been more comfortable.
The group and support staff, Rancho Frio
The biggest challenge of the trip was always going to be the assault on Cerro Pirre in the Darien – a key and difficult-to-access site for many regional endemicsand specialties. We had three full days in this area in addition to two travel days so harddecisions had to be made about how the time should best be utilised. Our base for this part of the trip was Rancho Frio, the headquarters of Darien National Park. We had three nights at Rancho Frio and two nightscamping on Cerro Pirre, with our gear being transported up steep tracks by Isaac's excellent team of porters and other workers.

Porters on Cerro Pirre
We spentthe first of the three days in the lowland forests around Rancho Frio. This was a good move because we cleaned up most of the lowland and lower foothill specialties, allowing more time to look for mid-elevation species on our way up Cerro Pirre on the second day. The first camping night wasat mid-elevation (640m) at a camp site called Rancho Plastico. The group split for the second night, with some again camping at Plastico and others ascending to a ridge camp at 1100m. Some specialtiesare found only on the higher slopes but not everybody could campup there, in part because of the physical challenges involved in the very steep climb and alsobecause provisions for a second camping party were limited.
Plastico Camp - Cerro Pirre
With the benefit of hindsight, I believe it would have been better for the whole group to have camped both nights at Plastico, with those wishing to go up to the ridgeleaving early in the morning and returning in the afternoon. It would have made operationsmuch easier logistically and prevented tensions that can arise when guides and other resources are split.While formidable and challenging, the climb to the top wasnot as dire as some reports suggest and can be done quite easily in a full day if participants are reasonably fit.
Isaac Pizaro on Rio Chucumaque
PARTICIPANTS
Greg Roberts (leader, Australia), Euclides Campos (guide, Panama), Ketil Knudsen (Norway), Niels Poul Dreyer (Denmark), Taus Rasmussen (Denmark), Jeff Skevington (Canada), Jonathan Newman (United Kingdom), Bill Watson (Australia), Barbara De Witt (United States).
Cerro Pirre
DIARY
September 29. I arrived in Panama City following a 27-hour sojourn from Brisbane via Los Angeles. Overnight in the very nice and birdy Radisson Summit Hotel.
September 30.Birding in the forest which surrounds the hotel.
Radisson Summit Hotel
October 1. The first day of the 21-day tour but the day before our travellingbegan. Someof us who arrived early hired Kilo for a morning excursion to Chagres National Park,a nice area of lowland rainforest not far from the hotel. Good sightingsincluded exceptionally close-up views of the endemic Yellow-green Tyrannulet. Blue Cotinga, Connecticut Warbler and White-whiskered Puffbird were seen.
October 2. Today we visited the famed Pipeline Roadin Soberania National Park, also not far from the hotel. We spent the day walking the shaded road, scoring nicely with Spotted Antbird, Russet-winged Shiffornis and Streak-breasted Antpitta. An Agami Heron close to the track was an unexpected bonus.
Birding Pipeline Road
October 3. We left the hotel early, crossing the Panama Canal and heading east along the Pan-American Road to the Bayano lowlands, where we had Black Antshrike in scrub by the Rio Mono. We birded some more scrub near Torti along the Rio Torti, findingPacific Antwren and Double-banded Greytail. Lunch was at the Hotel Torti where we were entertained by an abundance of hummers at the feeders including Scaly-breasted Hummingbird, Snowy-bellied Hummingbird and Long-billed Starthroat. We packed small bags for our foray into the Darien and left our main luggage cases, laptops and the like in storage at the hotel to pick up on the way back; this was necessary because the travel arrangements for the Darien arenot adequate to handle large bags. We headed further to east to Meteti, overnighting in the basic but pleasant Meteti Hotel.
Guide Euclides (Kilo) Campos 
October 4. We checked out some secondary scrub and grassland east of Metiti early in the morning, then had some very good birding at the eastern end of the Pan-American Road, especially roadside in forest patches within 15km ofYaviza,the busy port town where the road terminates. Here we saw Grey-cheeked Nunlet, Barred Puffbird, Spot-crowned Barbet and Black Oropendola, along with Geoffrey's Tamarin. We met Isaac Pizaro and loaded ourselves into a large motorised canoe for a1.5-hour journey up the Rio Chucumaque to the town of El Real. After lunch we crowded into an ancient truck for a 10km drive to the edge of the forest. We then hiked6kmthrough the forest to Rancho Frio, the national park headquarters.
Our trek was interrupted by the sight of an imposing and much-wanted dark phase Crested Eagle – one of the most difficult neotropical raptors to see - perched high in a tree above the track. This was near the spot where a pair of Harpy Eagles had for several years nested successfully until earlier this year, when one of the adults was shot by locals; the peopleevidently were angry that their demands for money from visiting birders in a national park buffer zone were refused. After a long and eventful day, we arrived in the late afternoon at Rancho Frio, pleasantly located in a clearing in the forest beside a fast-runningstream, ideal for bathing. Our baggage arrivedon the backs of three horses. Accommodation was in a shared dormitory.
Yaviza
October 5. A day on the lowland and lower foothill forest trails around Rancho Frio. It started well with Viridian Dacnis and Choco Sirystes near the buildings. Soon after we had a pair of Sapayoa – the only one of the world's 234 bird families that I had not seen. In the same area we saw Slaty-winged Foliage-gleaner and Lemon-spectacled Tanager. A Speckled Mourner foraging mid-canopy was another species that is difficult to find elsewhere.
Late in the day, when we thought it couldn't get much better, Kilo was alarmed when he heard, close to the track, the sound of what he thought was the gnashing of tusks of potentially dangerous White-lipped Peccaries. Instead, out of the thick ground cover popped a Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo, which perched briefly on a log before fluttering into the undergrowth; unfortunately half the group missed the bird.

Mantled Howlers
October 6. The porters had gone up the steep slopes of Cerro Pirre yesterday to set up our mid-elevation camp at Plastico. Early on our hike up the mountain we scored with Plumbeous Hawk - another difficult neotropical raptor. Then came a suite of highly desirable mid-elevation birds: Tody Motmot, Yellow-eared Toucanet, Dull-mantled Antbird, Black-and-yellow Tanager, White-ruffed Manakin and best of all, Wing-banded Antbird. This is probably the best place to see Wing-banded Antbird and our excellent views of 2 birds on the slopes below the trail were among the trip highlights.
The camp at Plastico was basic with small tents under the cover of a large plastic sheet. Unfortunately, sleeping mats we thought would be provided did not materialise, evidently due to a misunderstanding. Most of us were content enough to put up with the discomforts in the knowledge that getting a large group up this mountain was never going to be a fairy tale logistically. Kilo and the guys went the extra mile to meetvarious requests, to the point of compromising their own comfort. In the late afternoon during a steep walk down to a stream, we saw more Sapayoas.

Snowy-bellied Hummingbird
October 7. This day presented new challenges because the group divided, with most heading uphill to another camp on the ridge at 1100m. Not everybody could or was able to go up to the ridgefor various reasons (see discussion above)so some remained at Plastico for the second camping night. Those who ascendedfurtherwere rewarded with the endemic Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker not far from camp, and further up witha feeding flock of Blue-fronted Parrotlets - a species normally seen only as a quick fly-by, if at all. Brown-billed Scythebill was another welcome addition to the list.
Higher up still, Cerro Pirre's specialties emerged in the form of Varied Solitaire and Pirre Hemispingus, while Tooth-billed Hummingbird and Violet-throated (Emerald) Toucanet put in appearances. At the summit, Pirre Hummingbird and Sooty-headed Wren showed nicely, while most of the group saw Pirre Warbler and Choco Tapaculo. Late in the day, some of us had crippling views of a nicely co-operative Black-crowned Antpitta – another species high on our wishlists - close to Plastico camp.
October 8. The good fortune of those at the top continued in the form of Black-eared Woodquail, Russet-crowned Quail-Dove and Beautiful Treerunner. Those who remained at Plastico made do with great views of Central American Pygmy-Owl, Ornate Hawk-Eagle and another Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker. All us eventually made our way slowly back down the steep trail to Rancho Frio in the afternoon. Not long before sunset, a fledgling Crested Eagle close to camp made quite a din as it begged for food from parents unseen. Around the camp, Crested Owl and Choco Screech-Owl were heard but not seen.

The boat at El Real
October 9. Our journey to Rancho Frio in reverse: hiking back through the forest, a truck ride to El Real, then the boat back to Yaviza, this time at low tide with good numbers of waterbirds feeding along the shores. We headed west to fetch our luggage at the Hotel Torti then moved on to our next destination: Burbayar Lodge in the Caribbean foothills of central-east Panama. This lodge had long been a primary destination for birders in Panama but in recent years, many have reported problems with booking accommodation.
October 10. We walked some of steep and muddy trails a few kilometres from the lodge in Nusagandi – a large forest reserve owned by local Indian communities. We saw Crimson-bellied Woodpecker, Tawny-capped Euphonia and Striped (Western) Woodhaunter along with our only large ant swarm of the trip, with attendants including several obliging Ocellated Antbirds.

Burbayar Lodge
October 11. Early in the morning we scoped a Plumbeous Hawk from the lodge on a slope across a valley. We visited a forested gully in another area near the lodge, seeing yet more Sapayoas (a total of 12-14 were seen during the trip) and Sulphur-rumped Tanager. Some of the group in the afternoon visited another site to connect with Speckled Antshrike.
October 12. A day largely in transit, heading west back across the Panama Canal to the resort town of El Valle, located in a volcanic crater in Panama's central highlands, where we stayed in the Anton Valley Hotel.
October 13. We visited some nice forest patches around Cerro Gaital and second-growth scrub near El Valle, seeing Pale-vented Thrush, Garden Emerald and Northern Schiffornis. With the benefit of hindsight we did not need to visit this site, but it was intended as back-up for key targets such as Black-crowned Antpitta and Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo, which we unexpectedly cleaned up in the Darien.

Las Lajas
October 14. We continued west on a long drive to Las Lajas, a coastal site in north-west Panama, where after some effort along the main road to the beach we spotted the local specialty – a male Veraguan mango, another Panama endemic. We moved on through the city of David to the Chiriqui Highlands town of Volcan, where we booked into the delightful Hotel Dos Rio.

Volcan Hotel Dos Rio 
October 15. This morning early we headed to the Volcan foothills site of Cuesta de Piedra, a 30-minute drive from the hotel, where we ticked off regional specialties including Cherrie's Tanager and Costa Rica Brushfinch. Eye-ringed Flatbill, seen by some on Cerro Pirre, was present. We moved on to Volcan Lakes, seeing Orange-collared Manakin in remnant scrub and the distinctive Chiriqui race of Masked Yellowthroat.
Volcan Lakes
October 16. We had the whole day on the upper slopes (between 1800 and 2500m) of Volcan Buru National Park along the Los Quetzales Trail. Here in the beautiful cloud forest we had a feast of specialties shared with neighbouring Costa Rica, where many are more difficult to find than in Panama. Early in the morning we had mixed flocks lower down including Scintillant Hummingbird, Black-cheeked Warbler and White-throated Mountain-Gem. Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher was in the mix along with Volcano Hummingbird and Resplendent Quetzal higher up.

Volcan Baru National Park
At the highest point of our walk we connected nicely with a Zeledonia, or Wrenthrush – likely to eventually have a family of its own – in the undergrowth; we were to snatch glimpses of a couple more as the day progressed. Silvery-fronted Tapaculo was another skulker that showed briefly at first, then very well on the track. Then came two much-wanted specialties in quick succession - a flock of 8-10 Silvery-throated Jays and an Ochraceous Peewee; both species are challenging to find elsewhere. The day was capped off by a vocal Costa Rica Pygmy-Owl tracked down after some effort.
October 17. We checked out of the hotel and moved to another scenic highlands tourist town – Boquete, where we booked into Boquete Tree-trek at 1400m. Along the road in the afternoon we saw several Dark Peewees and a flock of Sulphur-winged Parakeets, while a probable Maroon-chested Ground-Dove flew across the road, not to be found again.

Boquete Tree-trek
October 18. We had a long (2.5 hours) drive to Fortuna Reserve on the Continental Divide that separates the Pacific and Caribbean slopes of western Panama. We began on the Pacific side at about 1000m with good numbers of hummingbirds including White-bellied Mountain-Gem, Snowcap and Black-bellied Hummingbird; the latter two were unexpected but most welcome. Another vocal Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl attracted large numbers of hummers and other birds. Blue-and-gold Tanager, a Panama endemic, showed nicely and was not uncommon along the road. On the Caribbean side, we headed down a forest trail and scored stunning views of two highly desirable birds: Lattice-tailed Trogon and Ochre-breasted Antpitta. On another trail from where the Caribbean Sea glistened in the distance, a Black-headed Ant-thrush showed nicely.

Continental Divide at Fortuna
October 19. In the morning, we birded the road close to the hotel, adding Philadelphia Vireo to the list, before moving on to David and east to the town of San Felix, where we booked into a basic hotel.
October 20. We were up early for a 1.5-hour drive northwards to the cloud forest of Cerro Santiago. It was dark when we arrived to the loud calling of a Dusky Nightjar by the road. We saw 1 or 2 birds fly by closely and Ketil managed to photograph one with the improbable aid of a smartphone torch. As dawn broke, we had several Streak-breasted Treehunters about along with our main target – Yellow-green Finch, another Panama endemic. Our birding success was followed by a long drive back to Panama City, where we again booked into the Radisson Summit. 


Ochraceous Peewee
October 21. A day of rest and contemplation. With the benefit of hindsight, I would not have organised things much differently. If we had known we were going to do so well in the Darien, we would not have gone to El Valle; we could have done with an extra night on Cerro Pirre, but the logistical challenges were substantial. Nor do I think we should have split the overnight camping into two groups for the second night on Cerro Pirre.
Unfortunately it happens sometimes with large group excursions that an individual may be more concerned with his or her personal comforts than with the interests of the group; that adds to the challenges of running an already difficult operation. However, we had outstanding success birdwise, making up for the relatively minor pitfalls and annoyances. Most of these were outside the control of what for the most part was an excellent and highly motivated group of experienced and enthusiastic birders. And many thanks to Kilo and Jose Carlos again for their wonderful work.
October 22. A dude visit to Panama Canal. Birding over, for the time being.
October 23. Another dude visit – to Casco Viejo, the Old City of Panama.
October 24. Depart Panama City.
See the full report on Surfbirds for the annotated list of species:
http://www.surfbirds.com/trip_report.php?id=2628

Trip Report - Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Grand Caymans, Cuba

$
0
0
Bare-legged Owl
GREATER ANTILLES – PUERTO RICO, JAMAICA, GRAND CAYMANS, CUBA

October 24 – November 21, 2015

INTRODUCTION

This trip to the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean was undertaken immediately after a 3-week birding tour of Panama (report here http://www.surfbirds.com/trip_report.php?id=2628 and following blog post) with Glenn Scherf, Bill Watson and Sandra Watson. Our intention was to mix birding with cultural, culinary and various pursuits, and our destinations lived up to expectations. We did very well with the endemics and regional endemics on the four islands. Of the 90+ species we were chasing, we dipped (inexplicably) only on Chesnut-bellied Cuckoo on Jamaica and for Bill, West Indian Whistling-Duck and Antillean Euphonia (both of which I had seen in the Dominican Republic). We managed this impressive result while birding mostly in the mornings, freeing up the afternoons for travel and other activities.

We opted to self-drive in Puerto Rico for our 6-day visit, as the distances are relatively short, the roads are good and the sites are easy to find and bird. We elected not to try for the endemic parrot as the site was out of the way and requires prior arrangement with the authorities. Our focus on the island was in the south-west, where most of the specialties can be readily found.

For 7 days in Jamaica, we hired Wayne Murdock of Attraction Links (http://www.attractionslink.com/) to drive and provide the vehicle; driving around Jamaica can be challenging so this was a good move. Wayne is not a professional birding guide but knows the sites; beware that you will need to pay for his meals and costs not in the contract. We were on Grand Cayman Island only in transit, but with enough time to find the single endemic.

In Cuba, we were again self-driving but arranged for Andy Mitchell in London (kingbird@cubabirdingtours.com) to organise a package with Havanatur that included car hire and the more expensive hotels. Andy also lines up local guides, organises for them to book your reamining accommodation in rural casas, and provides detailed directions for finding your way around. The directionsproved to be accurate, easy to use and useful in Cuba, where road signs can be absent or easy to miss. Hiring Andy didnot add much to the cost if we hadarranged everything ourselves. Cuba proved to a most impressive destination, from both cultural and birding perspectives.

ITINERARY

October 24. We flew from Panama City to the capital of Puerto Rico, San Juan, via Bogota. After a long travel day we stayed overnight at the convenient but expensive Airport Hotel. (See here for Puerto Rico bird pics).

Mary-Lees-By-The-Sea
October 25.We picked up our car up from the airport early in the morning and drove 2 hours across the island to the south-west town of Guanica, booking into Mary Lees By The Sea, a self-contained apartment complex on the water a few kilometres from town. In the afternoon we drove west a short distance to Parguera where we saw a flock of Yellow-shouldered Blackbirds at a traditional site by a small seaside store.


Maricao State Forest
October 26. We drove north into the mountains to Maricao State Forest, where the wet forest contrastswith the dry scrub around Guanica. In the early morning a Puerto Rican Nightjar flewacross the road. Our efforts at Maricao centred on trails and the roadside aroundthe state forest administration centre. Many island endemics showed including Puerto Rican Emerald, Puerto Rican Tody, Puerto Rican Woodpecker, Puerto Rican Vireo, Puerto Rican Spindalis and Puerto Rican Bullfinch. The Puerto Rican Tanager – expected to be given its own family - was common and frequently a flock leader. Elfin Woods Warbler is one the island's more difficult targets but we found it in 2spots, including the turnoff from the main road to the park centre. Other birds includeda couple of fly-by Green Mangos anda Key WestQuail-Dove on a trail. When we returned to Mary-Lees-By-The-Sea we found Pearly-eyed Thrasher to be common.


Guanica State Forest
October 27. Before dawnwe went back along the road towards Guanica, where we had good looks at Puerto Rican Nightjar at the 3.5km mark. We drove a few kilometreseast along the scenic coastal road to a track that headsnorth up a slope into the Guanica State Forest. In the dry thorny scrubwe found Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo, Puerto Rican Flycatcher, Caribbean Elaenia and Adelaide's Warbler. Another Key West Ground-Dove was seen.


Coast near Guanica
October 28. Back in the state forest on a trail at the road's end, a Puerto Rican Pewee was seen briefly in the morning. We left our comfortable apartment to travel across the island to theHumacao Reserve on the east coast. We found Antillean Crested Hummingbird and Green-throated Carib quite easily in flowering trees along levy banks in the wetland. We headed north for our overnight accommodation in the CeibaCountry Inn. In the hotel grounds after some effort we scored nice views of Puerto Rican Screech-Owl.

October 29. We sawthe last of our targets, Puerto Rican Oriole, in the hotel grounds in the morning before departing for San Juan, where we stayed in the Coral by the Sea Hotel.  In the afternoon we visited the Del Morro Castle and San Juan Old City.


Del Morro Castle
October 30. We flew to the Jamaican capital of Kingston via Fort Lauderdale in the U.S. We were met at the airport by Wayne (he was late) and it was dark by the time we were leaving suburban Kingston. It took a couple of hours on a slow, windy road to reach our accommodation, Starlight Chalets, near Section. The hotel was ordinary and the food highly overpriced, but the place is very birdy, with superbviews across the valleys. See here for Jamaica bird pics.


With Wayne Murdock, Hardwar Gap
October 31. The day began around the hotel grounds with (Red-billed)Streamertail, Sad Flycatcher, White-chinned Thrush and Orangequit. A party of Yellow-shouldered Grassquits was spotted along the road to Section. We spent the morningon the higher slopes of the Blue Mountains-HollywellNational Park around Hardwar Gap, especially the forest within a few kilometres of the Gap Cafeon both sides at about 1500m. Afeast of endemics includedRing-tailed Pigeon, Jamaican Woodpecker, Jamaican Oriole, Jamaican Becard, White-eyed Thrush (much scarcerthan White-chinned), Jamaican Vireo and Jamaican Euphonia. We saw a Greater Antillean Pewee, a difficult-to-find species.


View from Starlight Chalets
Blue Mountain Vireo is another of the island's trickier birds but we found several. Arrowhead Warbler proved to be quite common. In the afternoon we birded around the chalet gardens, scoring an unexpected Jamaican Mango and to top the day off, close views of a Crested Quail-Dove on the road near the hotel.

November 1. We again birded Hardwar Gap, this time going a little further to Woodside Road. We saw Jamaican Tody, Jamaican Elaenia andGreater Antillean Bullfinch, withbrief views of a Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo. In the afternoon we visited Dennis Coffee, a farm where the famed Blue Mountain coffee is grown organically by a community of dope-smoking Rastafarians.


Dennis Coffee Farm
November 2. We were up well before sunrise to try for Jamaican Owl and were not disappointed. A pair called for a while before an owl flew in very close in response to playback of a juvenile begging call; it perched briefly a couple of metres above us. As the sun rose we found Rufous-tailed Flycatcher in the garden. We left the mountains to head to the north coast town of Port Antonio, where we checked into the pleasant Bay View Eco-Resort.


Port Antonio
November 3. We headed east for a 45-minute drive to the Ecclesdown Roadin the John Crow Mountains. We easily foundour main targets after being confined to the car for a couple of hours by heavy rain. Good numbers of Yellow-billed Parrotsand Black-billed Parrot swere encountered along the road along with an obliging Jamaican Crow, which responded to playback of an Australian Raven call. We saw (Black-billed)Streamertail, lumped by Clements with Red-billed. In the afternoon we had nice views of Jamaican Mango in Port Antonio and took time out to absorb the beautiful coastal scenery.


Coast near Port Antonio

November 4. We searched the well-vegetated hills around Port Antonio for our sole remaining targets – Chesnut-bellied Cuckoo and Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo, which I had seen briefly at Hardwar Gap. We saw the lizard-cuckoo well but the other cuckoo frustratingly eluded us.


Bob Marley Museum
November 5. We left the hotel, calling into the CastletonBotanic Gardens, where we had a pair of Jamaican Crows, and in the outskirts of Kingston we visited the Bob Marley Museum, where you need to be wary of overbearing guides. We stayed at the Port Royal Hotel near the airport.

November 6. We departed Jamaica for Cuba via George Town on Grand Cayman Island. During the brief transit stop, when you need to purchase your Cuban tourist cards, we left the airport and walked to scrub close by where a Vitelline Warbler, the Caymans' only endemic, duly emerged. We flew to Havana, dealt with paperwork complications and picked up the vehicle at the airport. We drove 2.5 hours to our destination – the town of San Diego de los Banos in western Cuba in the dark, but Andy's directions ensured there were no problems. For Cuba bird pics see here and also here.


Cueva de los Portales
Our guide, Caesar Hernandes, met us at a prearranged spot (after some complications not worth detailing here) and escorted us to our accommodation – Casa JulioyCary. Casas are rooms attached to private homes, usually with en suites. The food and ambience of inexpensive casas in rural areas makes them are a more attractive accommodation option than the run-down government-owned hotels.

Casio JulioyCary
November 7. Caesar was booked with a tour group in the morning (another mix-up) so we found our own way to La Guira National Park, a 30-minute drive from town. We saw nice specialties including Great Lizard-Cuckoo, West Indian Woodpecker, Crescent-eyed Peewee and Puerto Rican Emerald as we ascended a rough road towards the Hacienda Cortina. In a grove of pine trees we found a pair of Olive-capped Warblers. Higher up in the limestone gullies we heard Cuban Solitaires calling and saw one up close.


La Guira
We were delighted to find a sub-adult Gundlach's Hawk perched a few metres above a trail; this is probably Cuba's hardest endemic other than the near-mythical Zapata Rail. Other goodies included Cuban Bullfinch and Yellow-headed Warbler. In the afternoon we hooked up with the now available Caesar to visit the Cueva de los Portales, a beautiful limestone cave complex used as a bolthole by Che Guevara during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. The solitaire was again present along with La Sagra's Flycatcher and good numbers of two bat species. In the late afternoon we found a party of Cuban Grassquits in fields near San Diego, along with Cuban Blackbird and Tawny-shouldered Blackbird. Less endearing was a boisterous wedding party near the casa which went all night.

November 8. A travel day with a very long (10 hours, including a successful negotiation of Havana's suburbs) drive to the livestock ranch of La Belen in eastern Cuba in the Sierra de Najasa. The economic challenges facing Cuba become apparent as you travel around. Farming is often done by plough, either by hand or with livestock. Ancient vehicles lumber along the roads along with horses and carts. The people were nonetheless invariably polite and engaging. We arrived at our basic accommodation just on dark and none too soon, as the last 40 kilometres of road are seriously rough.
`
Near La Belen
November 9. We birded along the road into the ranch, seeing an exquisite Cuban Trogon (surely the classiest of its family with that tail), Cuban Parakeet and Cuban Green Woodpecker. Cuban Tody was bigger than todies on other islands. Cuban Palm Crow was interesting to compare with the more common Cuban Crow. Several Giant Kingbirds were in the mix and a Cuban Pygmy-Owl showed nicely. Later in the morning we met our prearranged guide, Camillo, but by then we had seen the local specialties.

November 10. A party of Rose-throated Parrots at the hotel was a good start to the day, then another long drive (4.5 hours) to the seaside resort of Cayo Coco, where we booked into the Hotel Sol Cayo Coco. Everything is included in the cost for these extravagant resort hotels including alcohol, but be warned - the cocktails are heavily watered down.


Cayo Paredon Grande

November 11. We drove east to Cayo Paredon Grande, birding tracks in the vicinity of the old lighthouse. Oriente Warbler and Cuban Gnatcatcher were found easily in the dry coastal scrub. Thick-billed Vireo was co-operative in mangroves nearby, where Cuban Oriole and Cuban Black-Hawk were also found.

November 12. Today we headed west to Cayo Guillermo, where Bahama Mockingbird proved to be much skulkier than the more numerous Northern Mockingbird. We believe we had a small party of Cuban (Zapata) Sparrow (race varonai) in the coastal scrub, which showed briefly before flying away. We looked unsuccessfully for West Indian Whistling-Duck around Melia Cayo Coco, supposedly a good site for the species.


Angel Garcia at Soplillar
November 13. Another long drive (5.5 hours) to Cuba's top birding destination – Playa Larga in the Bay of Pigs, where we met our guide, Angel Garcia (angelczcuba@gmail.com), who escorted us to our accomodation - another casa, the delightful Villa Rio-Mar (moticacuba@gmail.com) overlooking the historic bay. Our host, Daniel, was charming and helpful.


At Villa Rio-Mar
November 14. We headed off early with Angel to Soplillar, an area of forest close to Playa Larga. On the road in the early morning we had success with 2 close Grey-fronted Quail-Doves, followed quickly by 3 not-so-close Blue-headed Quail-Doves. On the scrub edge we had a pair of Fernandina's Flickers putting on a show, while the world's smallest bird, Bee Hummingbird, perched on a dead branch in a the tree top.In the afternoon we visited the Cuban Revolution Museum in Soplillar.


La Turba
November 15. An early start to La Turba and Cuban Nightjar performed well on the road into the huge Zapata wetland. We were in luck when a Zapata Wren perched on a reed close by and sung vigorously in full view; this species, endemic to the wetland, can be easy to miss. We had a pair of Cuban (Zapata) Sparrows on the road, these birds much closerthan the ones on Cayo Guillermo. On the way back near Palpite, a pair of Red-shouldered Blackbirds took some coaxing before appearing, while a Northern (Cuban) Flicker was more co-operative.


Bay of Pigs, Playa Larga
November 16. Our focus here was owling in the very early morning. We heard a Stygian Owl in scrub on the edge of Playa Larga and eventually tracked it down. Unfortunately it flushed and although close, we had to make do with a reasonableflight view. Better luck was in store with a Cuban Screech-Owl which perched by the road in the open, with a couple more calling in the scrub.


Cueva de los Pecas
November 17. With all the specialties in the bag, a day for relaxation and sight-seeing.We visited the Bay of Pigs Invasion Museum in Playa Giron and La Ceuva de los Pecas,an impressive 70m sinkhole linked to the ocean by an underground cave. Blue-headed Quail-Doves are fed here and a group of 6 was very tame. A spot of snorkelling offshore was a pleasant diversion.


Havana Old City
November 18. As we left Playa Larga for Havana, we called in at a home in Palpite known for its trees favoured by Bee Hummingbirds. We saw several hummers (the males not in breeding plumage) before undertaking the 2.5-hour drive to the Hotel Armadores de Santander in La Haba Vieja (Old City).


Baroque Catedral de San Cristobal
November 19.A day around the Old City, visiting the Castille del Morro and Che Guevara's former home by taking a ride in one of the ancient automobilesthat abound throughout Cuba. America's inhumane and vindictive embargo, imposed in the wake of the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, continues to inflict a huge economic toll on this impoverished country.


Street art - human statue in Plaza Vieja
November 20.More sight-seeing, absorbing the cultural and historic ambience of places like the Plaza de la Cathedral, Plaza Vieja, Baroque Catedral de San Cristobal and Paseo del Prado.


Havana Harbour
November 21. Depart Havana.


Sight-seeing in Havana
For an annotated list of species, see here for the full trip report on Surfbirds.















Viewing all 474 articles
Browse latest View live