Panama Canal

Day 6


February 26

We arrived at the entrance to the Panama Canal on the Caribbean side at Colon, Panama early in the morning of the 26th. As we headed out onto the deck of the ship, the skies opened up as is generally the case here in Panama, sending us all back to our cabins for out rain gear. As we exited back out onto the deck, the most remarkable site for me was not necessarily the canal locks sitting in front of us, but rather the 9 Magnificent frigatebirds flying overhead. Naturally, this is the take of a birder, and I don’t mean to downplay the impressive nature of the canal. But when you’re hoping to see some frigates during the course of your cruise and you are suddenly confronted with 9 of them flying in a close range……well, that’s what we live for.

We passed through the locks and onto Gatun Lake where we disembarked and headed out onto the lake for an eco-cruise of the large inland lake which connects the eastern and western locks of the canal. On the bus ride to the docks in Colon, we stopped for a photo-op of first a sloth and then a mantled howler monkey. We hadn’t seen either since last year’s trip to Costa Rica, so it was a pleasant bonus to get these two mammals. On the lake itself, the avian life was somewhat of a disappointment with a Snail kite being the only new bird to add to our list. Back at the area where we docked, however, we did get some nice new birds for the trip. Great kiskadees, Tropical kingbird, Yellow-throated euphonia, and our first Great-tailed grackles topped the list.

From here, we travelled by bus to Christoffel where the ship had docked to await our return. Tomorrow, it’s on to Costa Rica, a paradise we are anxious to revisit after our splendid trip there last year.

Pelagics

Day 5 - February 26
At Sea - Off the coast of Barranquilla, Colombia

     Although we are far enough out to sea that land is not visible, we keep our eyes and binoculars trained in hopes of a pelagic or two. As we ate lunch, we noticed something fly by on the starboard side of the ship. I dropped my knife and fork and sped down to the 4th deck to get my camera, not quite sure of what it was I was hopefully going  to photograph. When I arrived on the top deck, no birds were seen, but walking around to the port side, I found a mature and several immature Masked boobies flying and diving just off the ships wake. The birds stayed with us for some time and the combination of their aerobatics and some strange guy with a camera frantically snapping away drew a pretty nice crowd of spectators to the rails. It was quite a sight to see these pelagics stoop and dive from our level on the 9th deck and plunge headlong into the boat’s wake in search of their quarry. Before long, the birds departed, but not before giving me a few nice opportunities to capture the images of this beautiful diver which for most of its life is far from land and far from this birder’s lens.

Aruba

February 25
Orenjastad, Aruba

      We cruised into Oranjestad early in the morning of February 25th. We’re excited about today’s shore excursion because we will be driving a rented jeep into the Aruba “outback”. Being off the beaten path, we hope to pick up some new species for the list and for the camera. As we pull into port, we find a good number of magnificent frigatebirds flying overhead….a good omen for the day to come. Shortly after docking, we are on our way to the jeeps and a day of “off-roading”. Our first stop is a large volcanic outcrop which provides us with a fine view of the surrounding countryside. As we mount the formation, we are greeted by a medium sized green iguana peering out from a crevice in the rocks. A couple of Caribbean parakeets fly in and perch nearby, but the lighting is not great and the birds decide not to stick around for me to get a better vantage point. Shortly thereafter, however, we are told of a pair of Burrowing owls which are hanging out in a nearby tree as if waiting for us to come and take their picture. They are indeed fine specimens and wait patiently as I move about to get the best light. We are on a schedule, however, and it’s time to move on.

     Our next stop is at the once famous Natural Bridge which 4 years ago fell to the forces of erosion. There are many birds around, but wouldn’t you know it….they are mostly House sparrows! Can’t seem to get away from these LBJ’s (birder for “Little Brown Jobs”) no matter where in the world we travel. Back into the jeeps and onto some bumpy riding. The landscape is stark and barren until we reach the oasis which is the Alto Vista Chapel. Locals venture by foot for miles to reach this little church, and there are a number of folks inside the tiny structure at prayer when we arrive. Outside, I find a divine vision of my own….the wonderful oriole of Aruba, the Troupial. I could watch this beauty all day, but again, we have to stick to our timetable and it’s off again. Next stop along the rugged jeep trail is the California Lighthouse, named for a ship which sank and whose demise precipitated the building of this light. At the lighthouse, I find a small dove which proves to be a life bird for us, the Eared dove. Unfortunately, it’s time to head back to the ship and prepare for sail. It’s been a great first exposure to this beautiful Caribbean Isle and we look forward to revisiting it in the future when we hope to have more time to devote to the local avifauna.

Curacao

Wednesday, February 24

Willamstadt, Curacao

      We arrive at the port of Willemstadt in the early afternoon and prepare for our tour by bus of the countryside of Curacao. The day began slightly overcast, but this afternoon is sunny and a good day for photos. Our first stop is at a museum which used to be the home of a freed slave. I ask the docent about the birds on site and she says there aren’t many. We walk outside and are greeted by a brilliant Yellow warbler and a fine Palm warbler. Out in front of the main building, a lovely Banaquit is busily foraging along a plaintain tree.  The bird is very cooperative and barely gives us a second glance as a number of us ease in closer for a better shot.  Across the street, I find a nice parrot, but the lighting is such that I have trouble identifying it. After downloading it onto the computer, however, I find it to be a Caribbean parakeet. We add a Bahamian mockingbird and a White-winged dove before reboarding the bus and moving on to Christoffel National Park. The main object of our visit here is to visit the sea cave. It’s a bit of a climb down into the grotto but it’s well worth the effort. I can’t help but think of Italy’s Blue Grotto while down in the cave as the surf come pounding in and rushes up to our feet. Climbing out of the ravine, we find that the picnic grounds have several bird feeders which are attracting a fine variety of colorful birds…..Bananaquits, Black-headed grassquits and Rufous-collared sparrows are among the visitors.

     Moving on, we arrive at a beautiful sparsely used beach. From the cliffs above, we spot our first frigate bird flying overhead. We find a bright yellow finch which we later identify as a Saffron finch and a nest reminiscent of the oropendola nests we first encountered in Peru. The birds, however are not oropendola, but a brand new species for us, the Troupial. (We learned that the Troupial is a bird which occupies the nests of other birds and does not build its own. So….to whom does this nest really belong? Apparently, the nests are those of the Yellow oriole) We also have seen several Caracaras (which here in Curacao are known as Warawaras) which seem to be .quite prevalent in the area. For a trip which is not really a birding trip, we seem to be doing quite nicely and have picked up several nice life birds and corresponding decent photos. What a way to start our cruise.

Half Moon Cay

Monday, February 22

Half Moon Cay
      We arrive at Half Moon Cay, an island in the Antilles privately owned by Holland America early in the morning. Our first day on tour is a rainy one, but the rain is sporadic and allows us to take the hike we had planned for with our guide “Friendly Frank”.

While billed as an eco-hike, it is more of a botany experience than an exploration of the bird life on the island. That’s OK, because we do enjoy the hike and learn a great deal about the plants and their medicinal uses. Part of the tour brings us up to some old ruins and we find the tamron tree from which the fr;uits used to make A-1 Steak sauce is made…..very tasty! Asked about birds, Franks tells me to wait until we get to the barbecue provided. The birds love to scavenge the picnic grounds in search of a few morsels and we are sure to see some birds of inerest there. Indeed, we do come across our first Banaquits, our first Bahamian mockingbirds and Ground doves. The birds are really fine looking and are certainly plentiful, but diversity is lacking on this island or at least at this crowded spot. I’m sure the rain has not helped either, but all the same, here we are in the Carribean and we are ready for some new spectacular birds.

Off to the Caribbean

Saturday, February 20
Hollywood, FL

     It’s the day prior to our departure for the cruise to the Panama Canal and other points of interest along the way. We decided to head down to Fort Lauderdale a day early and avoid the last minute rush. As a nice by-product of this plan, we’ll bird a few spots recommended in Bill  Pranty's book, A Birder's Guide to Florida. Our first stop after checking in at the Comfort Inn is the Anne Kolb Nature Center. This is part of the West Lake Park where in the past the Smooth-billed ani has been found. The park is a very nice facility, but on this day not all that birdy. We hike along the boardwalk which winds through the mudflats, but there are few waders and fewer songbirds. The mainstay of the area today is the Boat-tailed grackles and White ibis. Being a Saturday, there are many local folks taking advantage of this fine day and the activity may have served to limit the numbers of birds. There are two sites located across the street from one another, but neither provides the birds we were hoping for.

     Our next stop is further west along Sterling Ave called Brain Piccolo Park. This is supposed to be a “hot spot” for burrowing owls and this one lives up to its reputation. In spite of being a facility which is primarily soccer, baseball, and cricket fields, areas are roped off and flagged where the owls are nesting. Thankfully, people who use the park seem to respect the space allotted to the owls and we find a good number of burrows. Few have activity, however, but one in particular is occupied by a cooperative bird which is more than happy to pose for us. As we photograph the owl, we find a number of Monk parakeets and other non-native parrots flying overhead. A Loggerhead shrike also is nearby and gives us some nice looks. We should have come here in the first place! It’s getting late in the day and we decide to call it quits, heading back to the motel to prepare for our departure tomorrow morning.

Valentine's Day

  
  What better way to treat your wife than to take her out birding on Valentine's Day?  We had reports of a Common Eider being seen on several days at the Jetty Park near Port Canaveral.  While we did not need the bird for a year bird, we had never seen one here in Florida.  Indeed, they are quite a rarity and were being sought after as a state bird by many of the locals.  When we arrived at the park, we began our search by scanning the sides of the jetty where the duck had last been seen.  Alas, plenty of gulls and terns, hundreds of Brown pelicans, scores of egrets and herons, but nary an eider.  Walking out to the end of the fishing pier, we ran into several other birders who reported similar results for their efforts.  What we did find, however, were many Northern gannets plunging into the surf and into the quieter waters within the jetty.  The weather today was the calmest its been in over a week, and the gannets were taking advantage of the calmer and clearer waters.  One nearby gannet was lucky enough to nail an eel as we watched on.  After photographing the gannets doing their thing, we resumed our quest for the target bird.  We did find a Common loon which turned out to be the find of the day.  A number of birders reported that this was their "year loon" and if we couldn't get the eider, this was the next best thing.  To us folks from the northeast, however, we found the gannets much more intriguing.  Along with the Eurasian collared doves we spotted on our way out of the park, these birds made the trip all worth our efforts in spite of getting skunked by the eider. 

Bobcat and White-faced ibis

     Well, it's been quite a week.  It began with a phone call from good friends who rent a condo about a quarter of a mile south of us.  They had seen three wild cats, one considerably bigger than the others, in a field opposite their unit and wanted me to know about this rare photo-op.  The bad news was, we were all the way down in Merritt Island, and it would take us about an hour to get back up to the site of the cats.  Hoping for what could be a once in a lifetime opportunity, we headed north and made the return trip in close to record time.  As we neared the site, we called friend Jack who said he had just seen the cats again and to get over to his place ASAP.  We arrived just after he had seen the larger of the cats.  We did get a view of a distant cat which emerged from the woodlands and came out for a late afternoon session of posing for the camera.  We pushed the ISO to the limit and managed to get a couple of passable photos.  This cat was identified as a bobcat once we could get a closer look at the photos.  We decided to try again in the morning for a look at the larger cat or at least another shot of this one. 

       In the morning, we took the short drive down to the field.  Not seeing any sign of either cat, we walked out into the field and were headed around a very large pile of construction debris when around the corner, from the opposite direction, came the bobcat!  We stared at one another while I fumbled with the camera and managed to get several close up shots before he bolted for the woodlands edge.  What a sight!  The question of the id of the larger cat is still up in the air until we get a better shot.  Until then, we assume bobcat.

      Later in the week, we ventured out to Orlando Wetlands following reports of a rare White-faced ibis.  We followed the excellent directions and found the bird just as promised.  Although not in breeding plumage yer the red iris was hard to miss and we got excellent shots of this life-bird.  All in all, this has been a great start ot our winter in Florida.  More to come......

Florida Masked duck

     Well, we are back in the Sunshine state and while it is not exactly totally sunny, we are getting periods of good light for photography and general viewing of the southern birds.  For several weeks prior to our coming down to Florida, I've been following reports of a pretty rare bird not too far from where we spend out winters  The bird is the Masked duck, and although it is generally a tropical bird, it does make an occasional venture into south Texas and Florida.  When we arrive in Florida for the season, we normally spend the first day at Merritt Island....kind of a tradition with us for the past 9 years.  But the Masked duck was cause to change the paradigm and go chasing birds once again.

      When we arrived at the site, Viera Wetlands, we were greeted by a compliment of birders from the Space Coast Birding Festival which was held at Brevard Community College this past weekend.  They had positve reports regarding the duck and once we felt confident we knew the whereabouts of this rarity, we hopped in the car and headed out onto the dikes of the impoundments.  We found a group of 5 or 6 folks with scopes trained out onto the shallow body of water  and they immediately put us on the bird.  Normally, Masked ducks are tough to see because they like to honker down in the thicker weeds.  Florida got hit with some abnormally cold weather the past couple of weeks, however, and the weeds were knocked way down.  Hence, we had little trouble finding and following the little guy around the pond.  As we watched and photographed the duck, another "skulker", the Limpkin, happened by and flew right in front of me.  Since I was already making images of the duck, it was simply a matter of pointing the camera in a slightly different direction to get a nice shot of this Florida specialty.  Along with hundreds of black and turkey vultures which had descended upon a nearby pond which had suffered a major fish kill due to the freezing temps, we had around 40 other species including plenty of ducks, a nice American bittern, anhingas, herons and so on.  But the catch of the day was certainly the elusive Masked duck with a little dash of Limpkin on the side.

Haris Neck NWR, Georgia

 
 As we near the end of out journey south, we pass through the state of Georgia and revisit one of our favorite National Wildlife Refuges, Harris Neck. In addition to several miles of hiking trails, the refuge has a 4 ½ mile wildlife drive which affords birders and photographers a mobile blind from which to observe and capture images of some of the southland's most spectacular birds. We are heading into the breeding season for many of these birds. and in preparation, the plumages are transforming from the dull drab browns and grays the birds use to help in camouflaging themselves in winter into the brilliant colors employed to attract a mate. The ducks (like the Green-winged teal seen above), the waders, the warblers are all undergoing this remarkable transformation. As we saw last week, back in the north country, some birds like the Long-tailed duck undergo such a huge alteration that one would be hard-pressed to identify the two morphs as the same species. Feathers change, leg color changes, the color of the lores becomes so bright you’d swear someone had thrown a switch, and the birds begin to crank up their vocal repertoire…..all to make themselves more attractive. And so it is here at Harris Neck where we are hearing more song than we’ve have heard in the past 10 months, and the finest songsters, the warblers, have yet to arrive!
     Our most remarkable spotting of the day, however, is the mass of Black-crowned Night-Herons which have gathered in the trees near the first impoundment. (See image below) Sharon counted more than 40 of these handsome birds visable at one time perched in the same three trees.  We hope that this is only a precursor of what is to come at this most productive time of the year in a wonderful locale for birds and birding.

Santee NWR

On the way down to the Sunshine state, we’ve stopped along the way to bird one of the best reserves in South Carolina…..Santee National Wildlife Refuge. We’re greeted by a half dozen of the state bird of New York, the Eastern bluebird. In various molts, they range from washed out blue over a barely buffy chest to deep azure over a rich rusty mantle. Pine warblers flit in and out of the trees grazing on the ground for grubs and whatever insects happen to be available. Inside the VC, we talk to two of the staff members who advise us that the best birding recently has been the Wright’s Bluff Nature Trail and then over to the Cuddo unit several miles away.


Along the 1 mile loop of the nature trail, there is a lot of avian activity with the highlights being the calling of the Red-shouldered hawk which flies overhead and the three hen wood ducks which I inadvertently flush from the swampy cypress woodlands I am crossing over by boardwalk. Later, we drive around the 7 mile loop at Cuddo. It’s eerily quiet as we begin the circuit, but eventually we come upon an overlook where we have our first American coot and American widgeons of the year. A handsome male cardinal follows the path of our vehicle while a number of yellow-rumps escort us down the dirt thoroughfare. We decide to pull off at a canoe put-in site for lunch and immediately find a Brown-headed nuthatch nearby tapping resonantly on a dead cedar. Yellow-rumps are fly-catching over the shallow inlet and are soon chased off by a fine Belted kingfisher. Beyond these birds is a lone pied-billed grebe cruising back and forth on the shallow waters puntucated by stumps which look as if they were randomly scattered over the surface of the inlet.

It’s time for us to continue south, but not before a magnificient mature Bald eagle passes overhead as if to bid us a fond farewell. Next stop, Harris Neck NWR in Georgia.

Day 2 in New Jersey

The back side of our 2 day trip to NJ is spent at Brigantine NWR just below Smithville, NJ.  The water is higher than any of us have ever seen it in the reserve, but that's OK.  At this time of year,  we don't expect to find a great number of waders and shore birds.  We're looking for wintering waterfowl.  Hence, the more water, the happier they are and the more contented we become.  Adding to our year list of ducks, we find Pin-tails, Hooded mergs and Buffleheads among the target birds...the beautiful and bountiful Snow geese.  Literally thousands of these spectacular birds dot the marshlands.  Among the white, we spot an occasional "blue morph".  Try as we might, no Ross's could be find, however.  The real find of the day was towards the end of the loop where we came upon a group of 9 Trumpeter swans.  We really worked hard at identifying these and making sure we didn't have something more common like an immature mute or a tundra.  But these birds had deep black bills and out of the entire group, we could find NO yellow on any of the lores.  The black of the bill blended right into the eye and the heads seemed to be more angular than those of the tundra.  And so, we made the commitment to Trumpeter.  Later, we stopped by the Manahawkin Wildlife Management Area and in spite of being skunked as far as our target Short-eared owls were concerned, had a fine time observing a group of two female and one male harrier work the late day waning sun. We have to head back to NY tomorrow and will begin our annual Waterfowl count along the Hudson for DEC.  The weather is promising to make it a pleasant excursion once again. 

Winter assemblage - Long Beach Island

We arrived in Long Beach Island yesterday afternoon to a driving rain and windy conditions. That weather persisted through much of the night, but today has begun on a much "brighter" note.....skies are clear and the sun has warmed the air to a balmy 50 degrees. Add to that the fact that the winds are basically non-existant, and you have the prefect prescription for a promising day of birding. We've travelled here in search of winter specialties which are known to frequent the area around the Barnegat Lighthouse. We're hoping for the brilliantly colored Harlequin and the usually ellusive Purple sandpiper. We decided to walk the beach down to the jetty where we expect to find most of our targets and so drive down to the end of 9th Street in Harvey Cedars. We were greeted by a pounding surf and rafts of Long-tailed ducks, all three scoters, and Buffleheads all swimming just beyond the breakers. Moving along to the jetty, we quickly find the Harlequins swimming within the relative calm waters behind the rocks. They are joined by a compliment of Long-tails, Common loons in winter plumage, several Surf scoters in close, and a lone Red-breasted mergansers. The combination of yesterday's rains, the new moon, and high tide have segregated us from the jetty, and so we hike along the beach in close and parallel to the parappet. Still, we can see well enough over the jetty to get good looks and nice photos of the birds. As we approach the lighthouse, we finally can cross over onto the rocks and walk back out towards the sea. The new vantage point allows us to get closer for better photo-ops and we are quick to join other birders and photographers who are already out on the jetty. Eventually, we head back towards the mainland and find a nice pair of Brant feeding in a shallow tidal pool. The final sighting of the morning is a fine in-close view of a pair of Long-tailed ducks in their winter coats swimming by the docks. We've been blessed with a wonderful day of great weather and exceptional views of birds not all that common. This is truly one of the meccas on the east coast for viewing winter specialties!