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PANAMA

25 March - 5 April 2000

(Actual Birding: March 26-April 4)

by Paul Blakeburn

Cost: $1093 per person from Panama City

SUMMARY:

We were disappointed in this our first birding trip to Panama because our itinerary was changed at the last minute.  The trip did, however, provide quite good birding overall (242 species seen, of which 49 "lifers,") and some extraordinary birding experiences: e.g., Black Hawk-Eagle perched in easy view, two good looks at the difficult Green Shrike-Vireo, and Harpy Eagle on a special extension trip.  Lodging and food was less-expensive and of higher quality than in Costa Rica.  We would like to return to Panama if we can be sure of the promised itinerary.

BACKGROUND:

We had signed up for a group tour to Costa Rica March 10-25 and decided at the end of January to see if some kind of independent "add on" to Panama would be feasible as we'd already be in the area.  An inquiry on BIRDCHAT brought favorable reports on Panama birding overall, and specific recommendations for a guide/ground operator.  We contacted the guide, and received a proposed itinerary that looked great - we could join a group of 8 for the Western Highlands, a few days in the former Canal Zone, and finally a special trip for Harpy Eagle - and signed up.  The day before we left for Costa Rica, the guide phoned to say he was having trouble with the air transport arrangements on which our itinerary had been based.  Would we be amenable to an itinerary based mostly in the former Zone?  With air tickets locked in and us leaving at O-dark-30 the next morning, we didn't see a lot of options.  We said we'd leave it to him to work something out, bearing mind that we were interested primarily in highland-type birding.  And off we went to Costa Rica.

BIRDING THE FORMER CANAL ZONE AND ENVIRONS

On Sunday, March 26 (Birding Day 1,) we were picked up at the comfortable Hotel Roma in Panama City at 6:00 and we headed for the well-known Old Gamboa Road.  It doesn't take long to leave the bustle of the city behind if you're heading east or west, and we were soon in good Pacific lowland habitat.  Stopping first on the road to the Police Academy, we bumped into a Panama Audubon Society fieldtrip group, and picked up Snowy-bellied Hummingbird, White-necked Jacobin, Cinnamon Woodpecker, Brown-capped Tyrannulet and - of course - Panama Flycatcher to start the day off right.  Exploring other sites along the road, we got a good look at the Blue Ground-Dove of which we had had only a glimpse in Costa Rica, enjoyed Short-tailed Swifts wheeling overhead, and finally came across some spectacular Purple-throated Fruitcrows.

By 11:30 or so, we were all hungry and it was downright hot, so a lunch break seemed a good idea.  Now, which would you prefer?  A box lunch by the roadside; or a plateful of smoked salmon with all the fixins, a selection of excellent ceviches, and sushi imaginatively overwrapped with lightly fried plantain, all part of the Sunday buffet at the new Gamboa Resort?  We thoroughly enjoyed the latter.

Back to birding somewhat later, we had a quick but decent look at the often-heard but rarely seen Green Shrike-Vireo, good sights of Fasciated and Slaty Antwrens, and Rosy Thrush-Tanager as some of the more exciting events of the afternoon.

The next morning (Day 2) we zipped along the Old Gamboa Road to begin exploring the renowned Pipeline Road.  We probably only covered a couple of miles each way in a whole morning, but we had a real treasure trove.  Early on, Robin heard and spotted a Black Hawk-Eagle overhead, and started whistling to it.  There's no way to tell if Robin sounded that much like a lovelorn Hawk-Eagle, but the bird came in to perch beside the road, in perfect light, close enough to fill the field of 10X binocs!  We were blown away by this good fortune, but it didn't prevent us from fully appreciating an incredible second Green Shrike-Vireo right above the road; White-tailed, Black-throated and Slaty-tailed Trogons; and the opportunity to watch a small covey of Marbled Wood Quail which Robin found down a trail into the woods.

After another, less-Sybaritic lunch at the resort, we returned to the same general area to check out some National Park trails.  Here we had a real feast for the eyes: Checker-throated, White-flanked, Dot-winged and Slaty Antwrens; Dusky Antbird, Black-faced Antthrush, Olivaceous Flatbill, Long-billed Gnatwren, and spectacular male Golden-collared and Blue-crowned Manakins well off the trail in the woods (Manakins are Robin's favorite bird and he is a genius at tracking them down.)

The plan had been that on the third day we would join up with Willie and the group after their return from Cana in the Darien.  This scheme went awry when an aircraft veered off the Cana runway into the woods while leaving its tail sticking out to partially block the airstrip.  By the time the group returned, we had already covered much of the territory envisioned for them for the next couple of days, so we stayed with Wendell and Robin and went to other spots.  Covering just about all the good sites in the former Zone, we picked up such goodies as Blue Cotinga, White-headed Wren, White-bellied Antbird, Tawny-faced Gnatwren, lots of the Plain Xenops which had been so hard to see in Costa Rica, Spot-crowned Barbet, Flame-rumped and Blue-and-Gold Tanagers, and even a difficult Pied Puffbird on the entrance road to the Gatun Yacht Club.  Joining the group for some owling one evening, we saw both Common and Great Potoo, and virtually had our hair parted by a Mottled Owl crossing the trail.

On our final day in Panama, we went west to Cerro de Blanco, up a really lousy road off the main highway from Panama City to David.  Up around 3500', the birding was a bit slow for quantity, but gave us some very nice treats in the form of White-ruffed Manakin, Golden-fronted Greenlet, Scale-crested Pygmy Tyrant, Plain Antvireo and Crowned Woodnymph.  To round out our last day with Robin and Wendell we had the pleasure of identifying a lifer for them: their first Black-throated Blue Warbler.

ON THE TRAIL OF THE HARPY EAGLE

Willie's company has supported Harpy Eagle resarch and conservation for nine years.  Thanks to his contacts with an Embara (accent on the final "a," please) Indian group, he had worked out a one-shot trip to a nesting site for the group to which we were now attached.  The basic plan was to drive from Panama City to a launch point on Madden Lake; go by dugout canoe across the lake and up the Pequeni River to San Juan de Pequeni, the Embara village; camp out there the first night; hike to the Harpy Eagle nest site on the second day; camp there the second night; and hike/canoe back to the launch point on the third day.  We eight gringos (three of Mike's group had left for home) would be accompanied by an Embara who works with the Harpy Eagle research program; a Panama National Parks Ranger; Willie, Wendell and Robin Martinez; and Embara porters, cooks and so on.  All in all, quite an operation!

This Harpy Eagle site is a nest that is not currently in use, but the adult Harpies which had last used it had been seen in the area, possibly interested in renovating it; and the product of the last use - a 20 month old male Harpy - was known to be consistently in the area.

Arriving at the launch site about 8:30 am, we found that we had a problem or two.  There weren't as many canoes as Willie had asked for, and the river level had dropped so much that it wasn't clear how far we could go by canoe before having to hoof it.  Nothing daunted, eleven of us donned lifejackets, piled into a BIG outboard-powered dugout - probably 30 feet long but only 2 feet wide - and set out across the lake; leaving the supplies and the Park Ranger to come by a smaller canoe.  Half an hour later, we entered the river and soon pulled into a mudflat: the end of the line for the big canoe.  Setting out across this desolate plain of dry, cracked mud punctuated by dead saplings was a bit like a scene from an End-of-the-World sci-fi flic.  We had no idea how far we would have to walk to get to the Embara village, or what the intervening terrain would be, but it certainly wasn't one of those times when one could say, "Hey guys, I'll just wait here.  You all go on ahead."

The trek to the village turned out to be about three hours, punctuated by seven river crossings ranging from ankle deep to about three feet, and scrambles up and over promontories where the riverbed wasn't a feasible route.  And was it hot?  You betcha it was.

Our distinctly soggy group reached San Juan de Pequeni about noon, to be welcomed by the Cacique (Chief - chosen by election each five years and now in his 9th year of office) and his son who serves as the village's ecotourism director.  (All the adults and many of the kids involved in our visit had donned traditional dress for our visit: the men with loincloths and body paint, the ladies topless with skirts and body paint.) Our equipment and supplies soon arrived by poled dugout, and our little camp of five tents sprouted among the horse buns on the soccer field below the village.  The scene of half a dozen loincloth-clad, body-painted Embara men sitting around blowing up air mattresses was unforgettable.  After lunch, and a short nap for some, we set out with the "Eagle Man" for some birding around the village.  It soon became apparent that what the Embara considered a perfectly good trail for a birdwalk was virtually impassable to us gringos, and we had to abandon that idea.

Later, the village dance specialists put on an exhibition of selected folk dances, and we had an opportunity to buy handicrafts (cocobolo and vegetable ivory carvings, baskets, beaded pieces, etc.) made in the village.

Our main course for dinner arrived alive and slung by the legs.  The two chickens were dispatched out of sight of the visitors, and were converted to a tasty stew over the open fire near our tents by a few village ladies wearing only skirts and body paint.  With nightfall at about 7 pm we were in our tents early, but soon found that the village's dog population was a lot more wideawake than we.  It seemed that there was a dog fight every ten minutes through the night, but it was probably more like only every half-hour.  One rooster sounded off about 4 am, of course to be answered by another, but the exchange died mercifully quickly.

Up with the sun about 6:00, we breakfasted on fruit and home-made granola, made sandwiches to carry with us, and hit the trail close to 8:00, first being ferried across the river by dugout.  The trail to the Harpy site was fairly demanding, featuring many steep - and sometimes slippery - descents to stream beds, followed by equally steep ascents.  (Linda says she found hands-and-knees the best course on some climbs as she figured if she lost her footing she'd take out those behind her like a bunch of bowling pins.)

About an hour out of the village, we left sporadically cultivated areas and secondary forest for the primary forest, essentially untouched by man.  Though we had done some birdwatching on the hike the day before, this day we mostly just kept our heads down and slogged along.  And that's what Paul was doing when the porter in line ahead of him suddenly whipped around, said "Stop" and held out his hand to warn Paul, and with his short machete pinned down a section of the palm leaf litter on the trail.  Paul jumped back (he may be getting on in years, but his "fight or flight" reflexes are still good,) and those up ahead came back to see what was going on.  Oh my goodness me!  There, half-exposed about where Paul would have stepped, was a nasty-looking grayish snake about 18 inches long - a juvenile Bushmaster.  Ever the photographer at heart Paul videoed the snake, the Eagle Man dispatched it with his machete and took it off to bury it, and we resumed our trek.  (Somewhere along the trail in a Fer-de-Lance was also met and dispatched as Wendell kept the remains, but where and how is not clear.)

After some three hours, just about the time we were all wondering "How much farther???", we crossed yet another stream and sighted a thatch-roofed, open-sided leanto in a clearing.  Eureka!  We were there.  Needless to say, all our gear was already at the site as the well-loaded porters had filtered up through the file of gringos and gone on their way as if for a stroll in the park.  We downed our lunch, and many stretched out among the piles of gear on the rickety split-palm floor of the hut for a rest.  As we did so, the ladies who had cooked our dinner the night before showed up to prepare this night's dinner, peeling off their T-shirts as they arrived for work.

While we rested, and the ladies built a fire and cleaned the chickens down by the stream, Willie and others went off to reconnoiter the Harpy nest site.  They found no activity at that time, so - after inspecting the Harpy nest tree and its environs - we set off on an up-hill, down-dale quest for primary forest birds.  Chestnut-backed and Bicolored Antbirds turned up, but by 3 pm or so many of us were beginning to be a bit pessimistic about the Harpy Eagle.  Several of us headed down the creek toward camp, others toward the lookout spot for the Harpy nest, and then things got really interesting.  First, Robin Martinez came trotting up the hill toward us in the "toward camp" group, urging us on but motioning for silence.  He and Wendell had found a Crimson-bellied Woodpecker, which we hustled to see.  The bird flew before the tailenders in this group had a chance to see it, so Robin took off uphill after it.  Minutes later, he was scrambling back downslope with the electrifying news that the young Harpy Eagle had come to perch near the nest!  Rarely has a 45-dgree slope with slippery leaves been attacked by a bunch of the semi-aged with so much vigor and so little regard for life and limb.

Arriving panting at the lookout spot and oriented by Willie to the proper window in the foliage, we got our first look at Harpia harpyja in all his white, black and gray glory: three feet long in the body and weighing more than 15 pounds.  He was a fair ways up in the trees, but half filled the view of 10X binocs, and was - miracle of miracles - well lighted and facing us.  In the scope, one could see every feather detail.  We all watched this magnificent bird for about a half hour, and Paul got some pretty good video, before we decided to remove whatever disturbance we might be causing the bird.  (He didn't seem even to be aware of our presence, but with a bird who routinely preys on monkeys and sloths who can tell what might or might not be sensed?)

A jubilant crew made its way back to camp to find dinner on the fire and the ladies gone back to the village.  Willie and his assistants disappeared to set up the tents and the rest of us sat around telling birding tales and occasionally muttering apprehensively about the next day's looming six hour hike to the point where a canoe could pick us up.  (Actually, our buddies Robin and Wendell had told us fairly confidently that we'd be able to board canoes at the village, but we didn't share the info out of fear that it might turn out not to be true.) That night's stew, kicked up a notch by lots of onions and garlic, was duly devoured, and we followed Willie et al.  to the tents.  Wonder of wonders, they had found level ground beside the stream and we were all soon ensconced on our air mattresses.  (We blew them up ourselves this time, in case you're wondering.) This night was filled with the sounds of some really loud frogs, and the call of a Lesser Pygmy Owl - much more peaceful than in the village.

Up again with the sun the next morning, we breakfasted on porridge, Tang and coffee and headed back out to civilization.  This time, we devoted time to more serious birdwatching, and Willie found what was to us one of the neatest sights of the trip: a pair of Ocellated Antbirds going about their business.  The trip back seemed easier somehow, though it had begun to rain intermittently, and we even had time to stop at a farmstead for a demonstration of low-tech sugar cane crushing.

Finally back at the village, we and the Embara exchanged mutual thanks and good wishes, quite a few folks got temporary tattoos using the Embara vegetable-based dye, and we boarded two canoes for the trip downstream.  Although the leaks in the canoes and the light rain called for occasional bailing to keep our butts relatively dry, we agreed wholeheartedly that the trip down the river beat the heck out of the trip up.  It also had the bonus of Buff-rumped Warblers and various Kingfishers at close range.  Almost at the end of the trip, where the river lapped broad mudbanks, we all got a surprise as a couple of Collared Plovers and a few Southern Lapwings showed up on top of the banks.  And, after landing, we even had a Cocoi Heron at a distance.  Not a bad ending for a spectacular experience.

PANAMA SIGHTINGS

Data of: Paul Blakeburn, Linda Bogiages
Limitations: Panama; from 3-26-00 to 4-4-00
Note: "F" preceding entry indicates first sighting

  Magnificent Frigatebird               Fregata magnificens
  Neotropic Cormorant                   Phalacrocorax brasilianus
  Anhinga                               Anhinga anhinga
  Brown Pelican                         Pelecanus occidentalis
  Little Blue Heron                     Egretta caerulea
  Snowy Egret                           Egretta thula
  Capped Heron                          Pilherodius pileatus
  Cocoi Heron                           Ardea cocoi
  Great Egret                           Ardea alba
  Green Heron                           Butorides virescens
  Boat-billed Heron                     Cochlearius cochlearius
  Black Vulture                         Coragyps atratus
  Turkey Vulture                        Cathartes aura
  Osprey                                Pandion haliaetus
  Gray-headed Kite                      Leptodon cayanensis
  Hook-billed Kite                      Chondrohierax uncinatus
  Swallow-tailed Kite                   Elanoides forficatus
  White-tailed Kite                     Elanus leucurus
  Snail Kite                            Rostrhamus sociabilis
  Double-toothed Kite                   Harpagus bidentatus
  White Hawk                            Leucopternis albicollis
  Common Black-Hawk                     Buteogallus anthracinus
  Great Black-Hawk                      Buteogallus urubitinga
  Savanna Hawk                          Buteogallus meridionalis
  Broad-winged Hawk                     Buteo platypterus
  Short-tailed Hawk                     Buteo brachyurus
  Swainson's Hawk                       Buteo swainsoni
F Harpy Eagle                           Harpia harpyja
  Black Hawk-Eagle (First GOOD view)    Spizaetus tyrannus
  Crested Caracara                      Caracara plancus
  Laughing Falcon                       Herpetotheres cachinnans
  American Kestrel                      Falco sparverius
  Bat Falcon                            Falco rufigularis
  Gray-headed Chachalaca                Ortalis cinereiceps
F Marbled Wood-Quail                    Odontophorus gujanensis
  Gray-necked Wood-Rail                 Aramides cajanea
  Purple Gallinule                      Porphyrula martinica
  Common Moorhen                        Gallinula chloropus
  Wattled Jacana                        Jacana jacana
  Solitary Sandpiper                    Tringa solitaria
  Spotted Sandpiper                     Actitis macularia
  Black-necked Stilt                    Himantopus mexicanus
  Collared Plover                       Charadrius collaris
  Southern Lapwing                      Vanellus chilensis
  Pale-vented Pigeon                    Columba cayennensis
  Short-billed Pigeon                   Columba nigrirostris
  Plain-breasted Ground-Dove            Columbina minuta
  Ruddy Ground-Dove                     Columbina talpacoti
F Blue Ground-Dove                      Claravis pretiosa
  White-tipped Dove                     Leptotila verreauxi
  Gray-chested Dove                     Leptotila cassini
  Orange-chinned Parakeet               Brotogeris jugularis
  Blue-headed Parrot                    Pionus menstruus
  Red-lored Parrot                      Amazona autumnalis
  Squirrel Cuckoo                       Piaya cayana
  Greater Ani                           Crotophaga major
F Mottled Owl                           Ciccaba virgata
  Least Pygmy-Owl (HEARD ONLY)          Glaucidium minutissimum
  Great Potoo                           Nyctibius grandis
  Common Potoo                          Nyctibius griseus
  White-collared Swift                  Streptoprocne zonaris
  Vaux's Swift                          Chaetura vauxi
  Short-tailed Swift                    Chaetura brachyura
  Bronzy Hermit                         Glaucis aenea
  Little Hermit                         Phaethornis longuemareus
  White-necked Jacobin                  Florisuga mellivora
  Black-throated Mango                  Anthracothorax nigricollis
  Violet-crowned Woodnymph              Thalurania colombica
F Violet-bellied Hummingbird            Damophila julie
  Blue-chested Hummingbird              Amazilia amabilis
F Snowy-bellied Hummingbird             Amazilia edward
  Rufous-tailed Hummingbird             Amazilia tzacatl
F White-vented Plumeleteer              Chalybura buffonii
  Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer             Chalybura urochrysia
  Long-billed Starthroat                Heliomaster longirostris
  Slaty-tailed Trogon                   Trogon massena
  White-tailed Trogon                   Trogon viridis
  Orange-bellied Trogon                 Trogon aurantiiventris
  Black-throated Trogon                 Trogon rufus
  Violaceous Trogon                     Trogon violaceus
  Ringed Kingfisher                     Ceryle torquata
  Amazon Kingfisher                     Chloroceryle amazona
  Green Kingfisher                      Chloroceryle americana
  Broad-billed Motmot                   Electron platyrhynchum
  Rufous Motmot                         Baryphthengus martii
  Blue-crowned Motmot                   Momotus momota
  White-necked Puffbird                 Notharchus macrorhynchos
F Pied Puffbird                         Notharchus tectus
  White-whiskered Puffbird              Malacoptila panamensis
F Spot-crowned Barbet                   Capito maculicoronatus
  Collared Aracari                      Pteroglossus torquatus
  Keel-billed Toucan                    Ramphastos sulfuratus
  Black-cheeked Woodpecker              Melanerpes pucherani
  Red-crowned Woodpecker                Melanerpes rubricapillus
F Cinnamon Woodpecker                   Celeus loricatus
  Lineated Woodpecker                   Dryocopus lineatus
F Crimson-bellied Woodpecker            Campephilus haematogaster
  Crimson-crested Woodpecker            Campephilus melanoleucos
  Plain-brown Woodcreeper               Dendrocincla fuliginosa
  Long-tailed Woodcreeper               Deconychura longicauda
  Wedge-billed Woodcreeper              Glyphorynchus spirurus
  Straight-billed Woodcreeper           Xiphorhynchus picus
  Buff-throated Woodcreeper             Xiphorhynchus guttatus
  Spot-crowned Woodcreeper              Lepidocolaptes affinis
  Plain Xenops                          Xenops minutus
  Fasciated Antshrike                   Cymbilaimus lineatus
F Eastern Slaty Antshrike               Thamnophilus punctatus
F Plain Antvireo                        Dysithamnus mentalis
F Spot-crowned Antvireo                 Dysithamnus puncticeps
F Checker-throated Antwren              Myrmotherula fulviventris
F White-flanked Antwren                 Myrmotherula axillaris
F Slaty Antwren                         Myrmotherula schisticolor
  Dot-winged Antwren                    Microrhopias quixensis
  Dusky Antbird                         Cercomacra tyrannina
F White-bellied Antbird                 Myrmeciza longipes
  Chestnut-backed Antbird               Myrmeciza exsul
F Bicolored Antbird                     Gymnopithys leucaspis
F Ocellated Antbird                     Phaenostictus mcleannani
  Black-faced Antthrush                 Formicarius analis
F Blue Cotinga                          Cotinga nattererii
F Purple-throated Fruitcrow             Querula purpurata
  Red-capped Manakin                    Pipra mentalis
  Blue-crowned Manakin                  Pipra coronata
F White-ruffed Manakin                  Corapipo leucorrhoa
F Golden-collared Manakin               Manacus vitellinus
  Common Tody-Flycatcher                Todirostrum cinereum
  Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher          Todirostrum nigriceps
  Paltry Tyrannulet                     Zimmerius vilissimus
F Brown-capped Tyrannulet               Ornithion brunneicapillum
  Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet         Camptostoma obsoletum
  Yellow Tyrannulet                     Capsiempis flaveola
  Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet             Tyrannulus elatus
  Forest Elaenia                        Myiopagis gaimardii
  Yellow-bellied Elaenia                Elaenia flavogaster
  Lesser Elaenia                        Elaenia chiriquensis
  Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant            Lophotriccus pileatus
F Pale-eyed Pygmy-Tyrant                Lophotriccus pilaris
F Southern Bentbill                     Oncostoma olivaceum
F Olivaceous Flatbill                   Rhynchocyclus olivaceus
  Yellow-margined Flycatcher            Tolmomyias assimilis
F Golden-crowned Spadebill (LINDA ONLY) Platyrinchus coronatus
  Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher               Terenotriccus erythrurus
  Long-tailed Tyrant                    Colonia colonus
  Bright-rumped Attila                  Attila spadiceus
  Dusky-capped Flycatcher               Myiarchus tuberculifer
F Panama Flycatcher                     Myiarchus panamensis
  Tropical Kingbird                     Tyrannus melancholicus
  Fork-tailed Flycatcher                Tyrannus savana
  Eastern Kingbird                      Tyrannus tyrannus
  Boat-billed Flycatcher                Megarynchus pitangua
  Streaked Flycatcher                   Myiodynastes maculatus
  Rusty-margined Flycatcher             Myiozetetes cayanensis
  Social Flycatcher                     Myiozetetes similis
  Piratic Flycatcher                    Legatus leucophaius
  Lesser Kiskadee                       Philohydor lictor
  Great Kiskadee                        Pitangus sulphuratus
  Cinnamon Becard                       Pachyramphus cinnamomeus
  Masked Tityra                         Tityra semifasciata
F Black-chested Jay                     Cyanocorax affinis
F Green Shrike-Vireo                    Vireolanius pulchellus
  Yellow-winged Vireo                   Vireo carmioli
  Yellow-throated Vireo                 Vireo flavifrons
  Philadelphia Vireo                    Vireo philadelphicus
  Red-eyed Vireo                        Vireo olivaceus
  Golden-fronted Greenlet               Hylophilus aurantiifrons
  Lesser Greenlet                       Hylophilus decurtatus
  Clay-colored Robin                    Turdus grayi
  White-throated Thrush                 Turdus assimilis
  Tropical Mockingbird                  Mimus gilvus
F White-headed Wren                     Campylorhynchus albobrunneus
  Bay Wren                              Thryothorus nigricapillus
  Plain Wren                            Thryothorus modestus
  Buff-breasted Wren                    Thryothorus leucotis
  House Wren                            Troglodytes aedon
  Gray-breasted Wood-Wren               Henicorhina leucophrys
F Song Wren (HEARD ONLY)                Cyphorhinus phaeocephalus
F Tawny-faced Gnatwren                  Microbates cinereiventris
  Long-billed Gnatwren                  Ramphocaenus melanurus
  Tropical Gnatcatcher                  Polioptila plumbea
  Mangrove Swallow                      Tachycineta albilinea
  Gray-breasted Martin                  Progne chalybea
  Barn Swallow                          Hirundo rustica
  Cliff Swallow                         Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
  Lesser Goldfinch                      Carduelis psaltria
  Tennessee Warbler                     Vermivora peregrina
  Yellow Warbler                        Dendroica petechia
  Chestnut-sided Warbler                Dendroica pensylvanica
  Black-throated Blue Warbler           Dendroica caerulescens
  Bay-breasted Warbler                  Dendroica castanea
  Northern Waterthrush                  Seiurus noveboracensis
  Rufous-capped Warbler                 Basileuterus rufifrons
  Buff-rumped Warbler                   Basileuterus fulvicauda
  Orange-billed Sparrow                 Arremon aurantiirostris
  Black-striped Sparrow                 Arremonops conirostris
  Bananaquit                            Coereba flaveola
  Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager             Chlorospingus pileatus
  Yellow-throated Bush-Tanager          Chlorospingus flavigularis
  Black-and-yellow Tanager              Chrysothlypis chrysomelaena
  Dusky-faced Tanager                   Mitrospingus cassinii
  Gray-headed Tanager                   Eucometis penicillata
F Sulphur-rumped Tanager                Heterospingus rubrifrons
  White-shouldered Tanager              Tachyphonus luctuosus
  Red-throated Ant-Tanager              Habia fuscicauda
  Summer Tanager                        Piranga rubra
  Scarlet Tanager                       Piranga olivacea
  Crimson-backed Tanager                Ramphocelus dimidiatus
F Flame-rumped Tanager                  Ramphocelus flammigerus
  Blue-gray Tanager                     Thraupis episcopus
  Palm Tanager                          Thraupis palmarum
F Blue-and-gold Tanager                 Bangsia arcaei
  Yellow-crowned Euphonia               Euphonia luteicapilla
  Thick-billed Euphonia                 Euphonia laniirostris
F Spot-crowned Euphonia                 Euphonia imitans
F Fulvous-vented Euphonia               Euphonia fulvicrissa
  Tawny-capped Euphonia                 Euphonia anneae
F Plain-colored Tanager                 Tangara inornata
  Silver-throated Tanager               Tangara icterocephala
  Golden-hooded Tanager                 Tangara larvata
  Blue Dacnis                           Dacnis cayana
  Green Honeycreeper                    Chlorophanes spiza
  Green Honeycreeper                    Chlorophanes spiza
  Shining Honeycreeper                  Cyanerpes lucidus
  Red-legged Honeycreeper               Cyanerpes cyaneus
  Saffron Finch                         Sicalis flaveola
  Blue-black Grassquit                  Volatinia jacarina
  Variable Seedeater                    Sporophila americana
  Yellow-bellied Seedeater              Sporophila nigricollis
  Ruddy-breasted Seedeater              Sporophila minuta
  Rose-breasted Grosbeak                Pheucticus ludovicianus
  Buff-throated Saltator                Saltator maximus
  Streaked Saltator                     Saltator striatipectus
F Blue-black Grosbeak                   Cyanocompsa cyanoides
  Crested Oropendola                    Psarocolius decumanus
  Chestnut-headed Oropendola            Psarocolius wagleri
  Yellow-rumped Cacique                 Cacicus cela
  Scarlet-rumped Cacique                Cacicus uropygialis
  Yellow-billed Cacique                 Amblycercus holosericeus
  Yellow-backed Oriole                  Icterus chrysater
  Baltimore Oriole                      Icterus galbula
  Orchard Oriole                        Icterus spurius
  Red-breasted Blackbird                Sturnella militaris
  Eastern Meadowlark                    Sturnella magna
  Great-tailed Grackle                  Quiscalus mexicanus
  Giant Cowbird                         Scaphidura oryzivora

Paul Blakeburn
Linda Bogiages
Gulf Breeze, FL
paulb@ksinc.net
 
 


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