A note from Moe Mareschal
Neil mentioned a 'Birder' that was along on the trip and asked for a few comments. First comment: of the over 900 bird species seen in Panama, I can claim to have seen 63 on this trip. HOWEVER, all but a very few were seen right on Playa Bonita, the little bay where our resort was located. Many of them were viewed on the mudflats at low tide. Those included White ibises, Whimbrels, various sandpipers, Caspian terns, Tropical cormorants, Ospreys, Laughing gulls, American Oystercatchers, Ruddy turnstones and, of course, those crazy divers, the Brown Pelicans. As for land-birds, the three species grackles were seen or heard by everyone but there were also many that were not as obvious. For example the colony of Oropendolas only 50 meters from the main entry and where, in the same vicinity, Olive-throated parakeets had their own, but hidden, nest. It was also there that a Fulvous-vented euphonia made an appearance. And then there was the small Bat Falcon and his mate that frequented the tall trees in front of the condo building to the east of our resort. There were quite a few more species that graced the grounds but I'll mention one more, a rather rare one that I was lucky to see and whose photo wasn't good enough to be shown: the Magenta-backed tanager which is endemic to Panama.
I must make a confession, though: I got a good look at only one hummingbird but Neil and Sheila and several others from our tour saw a lot more species of those little guys. My mistake was in not sitting back to let the birds come to me rather than the other way around. So, next trip back to Panama, I'll make sure to sit where I can smell the flowers and watch the hummingbirds. Look at one of Neil's earlier entries to see the Violet Saberwing... as well as another Uncommon bird in Panama, the Southern Lapwing that Neil posted. Birds are there but so are the animals and other wildlife, especially the chiggers (no-see-ums) that were particularly hungry on the last morning that we were in Panama.
