Crossing the Big Pond

Blackbird immature feeds on berries along the paths at BirdFair at Rutland Waters, UK

Well my first trip to the UK was somewhat uneventful from a birding standpoint. I saw about 75 species only and most of these were your common "garden variety". I had almost no time for birding or digiscoping unfortunately as there was work to be done. What work?!?... well I was off to BirdFair in the UK and assist as I could at the Leica stand. Of course, the staff at Leica, UK had things well in hand and it is questionable as to whether I actually added anything positive or not, but I would have felt guilty not helping out as the unbelievable numbers of bird enthusiasts poured through the optics marquis.

Common Black-headed Gull digiscoped from Optics Marquis

For those used to bird festivals here in the US, BirdFair would strike you as something very different. Here in the states every bird festival is centered around viewing birds first and foremost. At BirdFair 15,000+ attendees from across the globe descend upon the 6 marquis to view and learn about all of the latest products and services related to birding. Despite excellent birding opportunities on site, almost none of the birders present carry optics at all! It is all about the products and services... serious business. I stood out as an obvious tourist with my bins peering into every bush as I strolled out for lunch. Some would ask what I was looking at and were polite enough to not laugh at me when I said, "I'm staring at this Robin!" More than a few likely thought "crazy Yank" as the strolled off though! ;p

Northern Lapwings were plentiful around Rutland but other shorebirds were scarce due to high water levels.

Fortunately, I've never been afraid to stick out in a crowd (even amongst birders) so I happily watched every bird I saw whether I was in line for the facilities, getting lunch, or traversing to and from the car in morning or afternoon. Great Tit, Dunnock, Chiff-chaff, Robin, Wren, Blackbird, Great-spotted Woodpecker... I ticked them off in my head as I glassed my way around Rutland. Sedge Warbler, Willow Warbler, Blue & Long-tailed Tit, Greenfinch, Caffinch, Goldfinch... the list grew.

Northern Lapwing lifting off, digiscoped Rutland Waters 08/19/07

The view from the optics marquis offered a view over one of the pools so I was able to see many birds while manning my post. Eurasian Kestrels hovered in the distance, while Pied Wagtails "tsik-tsik"ed overhead and bobbed at the water's edge. Sand & House Martins joined the (Barn) Swallows that picked insects over the pool. A Sparrowhawk sped past one day and Common Greenshanks circled over looking for a spot to land on another. Yellow-footed Gulls sometimes joined the ubiquitous Black-headed Gulls and Cormorants on the islands. A local highlight were the Osprey, but coming from Florida I was far more impressed by the Eurasian Coots, Grey Herons, Tufted Ducks and Pochards. Even the (Eurasian) Wigeon offered opportunities for study of eclipse-plumaged birds.

I snuck off for a tour of the hides (blinds) one evening and then again for a bit on Sunday and had new opportunities for study. Stock Pigeons have a very different structure than the superficially similar Rock Pigeon (something not apparent from the guides). Little Grebes had youngsters and were busily feeding at the marsh edges. Turtle Dove and Garden Warblers were a bit unusual locally so were added bonuses. One bush held a mixed flock of Tits and Warblers and in one field of view I saw 2 Willow Warblers, 2 Chiff-Chaff, and a Garden Warbler for direct comparison. I was even lucky enough to see 2 Northern Hobbies (thanks Steve) which was a great treat! The guides always compare these to Peregrines which they resemble in markings, but I was amazed at how different they were in flight. As they glided around hawking dragonflies, they reminded of Kestrels sailing around on bowed wings which were not angular at all until they flapped. That was VERY unexpected and a welcome study and major highlight!

new Televid 82 under glass

Of course, as I mentioned at the beginning, there was work to be done and the main reason for my trek across the big blue was Leica's introduction of a suite of great new birding products which generated a lot of excitement and constant foot traffic through the Leica stand. In three days time, thousands of folks strolled through and I was fortunate enough to talk to more than a couple of these wonderful people as I babbled seemingly endlessly about digiscoping and birding.

The big news was first the announcement of the new Ultravid HD binocular line, as well as a sneak peak at the upcoming new Televid scope line up! I will review both of these in my next post for those who haven't already heard the news, but for those who can't wait or want to review all of the specifications you can visit the Leica website for more info.

http://www.leica-camera.us/home/

Hot time in cool Arizona

Invariably, when I prepare for my annual trek to SE Arizona in early August, people always question my sanity with comments like, "You're going to Arizona at this time of year?!?..." The reality of the situation is that the temperatures in the AZ canyons are actually quite comfortable. When you add the comparative lack of humidity, being outside in the AZ mountains is far more enjoyable than it is here in Florida in summer.

Cactus Wren fluffed up to dry following an afternoon shower

Monsoon rains fall nearly every afternoon keeping temps more mild and offering moisture to the many plants that bloom at this time of year. It is very much like spring in other parts of the country with birds singing and defending territories as the lush green vegetation comes into its own. This is a great time to see and identify the otherwise skulky Aimophila sparrows (for example) like the very similar Botteri's and Cassin's Sparrows seen below.

Botteri's Sparrow singing its repetitive segmented song

digiscoped 8/07 with Leica APO Televid scope and C-Lux 2 camera

Cassin's Sparrow digiscoped 8/07 with Leica APO Televid scope and C-Lux 2 camera

These two similar species are typically difficult to see and even harder to identify visually. However, after the monsoon rains they are often seen and heard side by side. These two were both teed up in the same field singing their hearts out. The Botteri's repetitive disyllabic phrases are dramatically different from the Cassin's sombre tune! I had good views of both Rufous-winged and Rufous-crowned Sparrows on the trip as well.

Black-throated Sparrow sings heartily from a roadside barbed wire fence

No matter where you looked, signs of breeding behavior were evident. The Black-throated Sparrow above was joined in song by Bell's Vireo and a Varied Bunting among others. The Vireo showed itself in pieces remaining hidden in the dense scrub, but the Varied Bunting offered one of the best views I've ever had of this species.

Varied Bunting male sings from barbed wire, AZ 08/07

digiscoped 8/07 with Leica APO Televid scope and C-Lux 2 camera

At first he sat on the barbed wire which surrounded this marvelous little roadside draw, but eventually he jumped to a nearby bush and sang away!

Varied Bunting male sings after an afternoon shower, AZ 08/07

I was completely amazed at the range of purple and blue hues and the red on the back of the head and around the eye! I'd seen this species dozens of times in the past but never quite like this.

male Varied Bunting digiscoped 08/05/07 Arizona

Painted Redstarts are not an uncommon sight in this part of the US, but it is always a great stroke of luck when one sits still long enough for you to capture a digiscoped image!

Painted Redstart over trail in Miller Canyon

I couldn't believe my good fortune, as I snapped images of the bird abovewhich just sat and "Tsillup"ed at me... it all made sense though when a second adult showed up.

adult Painted Redstart digiscoped with mouth full o' bugs!

When this second adult showed with a bill stuffed with bugs, I quickly realized why the first adult was so persistent. They obviously had a nest or chicks nearby so I backed off and watched the adult with the bugs. Within a few moments of my retreat, the bird dropped down and disappeared into the cut bank rising from the canyon trail. After it flew off in search of more food I backtracked down the trail and was amazed at what I'd just walked by.

Painted Redstart nestlings peer out of nest

Six little eyes peered out at me from a grassy cup nest, head high within arms length of the path. They were stacked like cord wood and the white wing patches were starting to show. What a magnificent sight! It's no wonder I enjoy these AZ visits so much.

Slightly less tropical

flowering agave plants attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and beetles

Back stateside, my next bird adventure brought me to one of my favorite birding locales in the US. I made my way over to southern Arizona for the SW Wings Bird Fest. While notably less tropical than Panama, there is no denying a tropical connection when you see birds like Elegant Trogon and many of the insect species down there.

Arizona Sister digiscoped at Fort Huachuca

Since the image above was taken through the telescope I was still able to stand 20 feet back and get a near full frame image of the Arizona Sister. This is just one of many colorful butterflies in the region.

Spring Azures mass near puddles

The heavy monsoon rains in July and August create "spring-like" conditions in this part of Arizona and many of the birds are actively singing on territory, plants are blooming, etc. Large groups of the Spring Azure butterflies lined puddles on the paths and would burst up in swirling masses of blue as you walked by. I digiscoped these butterflies from further away so I didn't have to creep up to get the image. Spring Azures are common throughout the temperate regions as well so are not indicative of tropical influence. Just like the birds, the varied habitats represented in the mountains here offer a wonderful variety of insect species as well.

"Apple Beetle" in Fort Huachuca

Of course an enormous "Apple" Beetle (nearly the size of a walnut) that is bright metallic green with lavender legs certainly makes one feel they are in a more tropical locale. It was fun watching this thing buzz by, it seemed it wouldn't be able to stay aloft for much longer as it flew slowly down the path. We walked behind it for some time before it finally landed. I took this image with the C-Lux 2 camera alone.

Giant Desert Centipede, Fort Huachuca, AZ

The Giant Desert Centipede above was nearly 7 inches long and as it swung its head from side to side it looked like something right out of outer space let alone the tropics. Shown up close on the big screen it certainly could have starred in a low budget "B" movie and make a grown man scream even (provided you were one who wasn't a fan of critters, I personally think they are cool!) "Attack of the Centipedes" perhaps?!?...

Western Kingbird digiscoped with Leica APO Televid 77 spotting scope and Leica C-Lux2 camera

Of course this is the Leica Birding Blog, so naturally I have lots of bird images that I will get to next. I just can't creep along in areas like this without stopping to admire all of the cool critters I see along the way!

The View from the Canopy

the upper deck, Canopy Tower eco-lodge

As promised, now that I've thanked my gracious hosts, let's look at some of the typical views we had from the upper deck overlooking the surrounding canopy. Of course you could see the Panama Canal and distant Panama City and the Pacific Ocean beyond, but with so many scenic wonders let's first look at the avian spectacle that was seen regularly from the tower. The nearby canal offered passage for more than just ships and we regularly saw distant Magnificent Frigatebirds and occasional Brown Pelicans sailing over the water from the tower. Some of the trees around the tower were within 20 feet or so but most were further away. As a result, digiscoping was a wonderful way to capture many of the avian visitors that perched in that 50-100' range and even beyond.

male Blue Dacnis perches on fruit to eat

Some of the closest trees were Cecropia trees rich in fruit. The Cecropia fruit was a favorite of many species of bird, mammal, and insect alike it seemed. The male Blue Dacnis above was one of many species that visited the trees morning, noon, and night. Females were green with bluish heads superficially resembling the female Green Honeycreepers. The males were easily discernible though and once you learned the difference in structural cues like bill shape, the two were easily separable (compare the sharply pointed straight culmen of the Dacnis above with the curved longer bill of the Honeycreeper male below).

Green Honeycreepers (like the male above) were a common canopy visitor

Palm Tanagers and Plain-colored Tanagers were also among the regularly seen species in the surrounding trees during our stay. The Scarlet-rumped Cacique fed chicks like clockwork in the long pendulum-shaped nest near the parking area. It was fun watching the antics of a lingering young bird (presumably from a previous clutch) as it followed the adults back and forth still food begging on occasion as they came in with food.

Collared Aracari coming in to a Cecropia

Keel-billed Toucans commonly teed up in the distance giving their croaking toad like calls, showing brilliant yellow breasts, but I really loved the stunning little Collared Aracari that came in many mornings during our stay. These smaller members of the Toucan family were no slouches in color and beauty... and what about that bill?!?...

Blue Cotinga male with mouthful of fruit

On the first morning of the trip we were all treated to very close views of the stunning Blue Cotinga. They were seen in the distance on most days though. Another specialty that was seen through windows and from the top deck that can be very hard to see from the ground is the Green Shrike-Vireo. Their songs reminded me a bit of a Tufted Titmouse back here in Florida. Slaty-tailed Trogons were also seen regularly hawking insects as the morning chorus kicked in.

Slaty-tailed Trogon male digiscoped from Canopy Tower July '07

As I mentioned earlier we would leave the tower each morning for a half day trip returning near noon or 12:30, and would have another evening excursion starting near 2:30 or 3:00 PM, but when not there I found myself inevitably drawn to the deck. Midday between lunch and the evening birding I often would scan the skies for migrating raptors. Most days during our stay there were numbers of Plumbeous Kites streaming by. They would sail in from the valleys due south below eye level often catching and updraft and spiralling past eye level and gaining altitude as they passed by. I counted nearly 100 Plumbeous with a lone Swallow-tailed Kite mixed in one afternoon. They appeared to be moving north as the passed the Tower at least which struck me as odd, but this could have just been the way they follow the ridges or even a northward post breeding dispersal flight. I've seen Red-tailed Hawks do the same in August in upstate NY. At any rate, it was great to watch.

One group that passed, contained 4 raptors a Double-toothed Kite, two dark somethings, and a bird I passed off as a Sharp-shinned Hawk. The latter was undoubtedly something more interesting from my standpoint, but I was intent on the two dark raptors. They had paddle-shaped wings, and a fairly long tail and were similar in shape to the Hook-billed Kites I've seen in south Texas, but these birds were all dark with a single wide white band across the center of the tail. As it turns out, these were indeed Hook-billeds, but an unusual dark form that I had no idea even existed (one was depicted in the Venezuela guide but not in others).

So many mysteries in birding.... I now wish I'd looked again at my Sharp-shinned, they shouldn't be here at this time of year, wonder what it was?!?...

Black-breasted Puffbird seen from top deck

Black-breasted Puffbirds seemed to just appear on a bare branch. I saw these birds at least 3x from the top deck. I never saw them feed though only sitting on their branch looking around. Perhaps they were watching the world go by too. There were constant small groups of swifts passing by with Band-rumped being most prevalent followed by Short-tailed, and Lesser Swallow-tailed Swifts. There was a lone White-collared Swift that dwarfed the other species one morning.

Collared Aracari holds some sort of fruit or nut as it gazes back at me

I've never stopped to count the number of species that I saw just relaxing on the top deck but I assure you it would be a bunch and I could have easily spent more time up there. It's a wonderful spot to watch the world go by and a fantastic unique perspective as well.

Let's see: Great Tinamou, Anhinga, Magnificent Frigatebird, Brown Pelican, Great Egret, Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, Hook-billed Kite....

Panama Digiscoping Trip!

Leica digiscoping rig poised and ready for action on Panama's very birdy Pipeline Road

Leica's first annual Panama Digiscoping workshop was a fantastic success! The group's trip list over 8 days reached 266 bird species and this was as we crept along digiscoping and taking half day trips in the AM and shorter evening trips from the Canopy Tower and Lodge respectively. Highlights include 6 Trogon species, 5 Antbird species, Rufous-vented Ground Cuckoos, 19 hummingbird species, 3 Puffbird species, 4 Motmot species, 4 Toucan species, 25 species of hawks & owls, two types of sloths, monkeys, Kinkajou, and Jaguarundi oh my! While I'd love to take credit for the great success of the program, I can not. I really need to thank our fantastic hosts for the wonderful experience they provided (I'll cover the birds in subsequent blogs never fear).

Canopy Tower today!

A bit of history first. Canopy Tower is an old US radar site that has been magnificently converted into a very unique eco-lodge. The second and third floors provide accommodations for guests, the fourth floor is an open, common area equipped with kitchen, dining area, and comfortable seating. There is also a very complete library of wildlife tomes, and even a computer with internet access here. The fifth floor is an open air deck that sits above the canopy of the surrounding Soberania National Park.

view from the top!

This spectacular vantage offers unbelievable views of some of the many local wildlife species. For example, each morning shortly before dawn, the "WHoowaa" of the Mottled Owl gave way to the calls of the local Howler Monkey troops and Rufous Motmots. That was my alarm clock telling me to go hit the deck. It was a fantastic way to wake up with coffee and binoculars at the ready watching the wildlife parade go by. False Vampire Bats might swing by as troops of Howlers fed within 50 feet at or just below eye level. Scaled Pigeon, Palm Tanager, & Scarlet-rumped Caciques nested near by and were always in attendance as Keel-billed Toucans and various Amazon parrot species would perch on dead snags surrounding the tower on all sides. The vociferous squawking of Mealy, Red-lored, Blue-crowned, and Brown-hooded Parrots as they flapped low across the canopy was a spectacular site. Of course, I did say I was saving that for later, huh?!?....

Back to our hosts:

the mat at the entrance says it all

Over the past few years, I've met the owner Raul Arias de Para and some of his staff wildlife guides (Carlos & Jose) at various bird festivals throughout the US and have always felt they were very sincere individuals. Now, however, after visiting them on their home turf, my opinion is much higher. The message on the entrance mat is the real deal, and the entire staff of the Canopy Tower (and Canopy Lodge) go out of their way to insure you feel this simple message is true. Raul, is obviously passionate about insuring Canopy guests receive high quality service, and it is obvious that all who work alongside him understand this well. I definitely felt that the staff was eager to tend to every request we may have had, and from a birding standpoint I felt our guide Carlos Bethancourt was unbelievable!

the newest addition to the "Canopy" family, the luxurious Canopy Lodge

After 4 glorious days at Canopy Tower we shuttled over to the 2 year old, luxurious Canopy Lodge in El Valle, Panama. The image above shows the breath-taking grounds as you first see them upon entering. The construction is beautiful, but being the birdbrain that I am, I was soon drawn to the platform feeders & gardens that produced 4 life birds for me within moments of walking across the bridge (Violet-headed Hummingbird, Garden Emerald, Red-crowned Ant-Tanager, & Dusky-faced Tanager). We arrived shortly after our typical lunch time and the staff (as always) was well prepared for a group of hungry birders.

one of the typical Canopy meals!

The image above shows one of the many fantastic lunches we were served: fresh Sea Bass, beans and rice, with veggies, a spectacular salad, deserts, and a variety of fresh juices! Yep, you read it right. This was LUNCH... the dinners were even grander, and began with delicious appetizers that we enjoyed over drinks as we socialized with other like-minded guests. We were even introduced to a "mid-morning snack" which often consisted of delicious finger sandwiches and a wide array of fresh fruits that we'd enjoy in the field. I needed this 4th meal like I needed an additional hole in my head, but it was SOOO delicious I couldn't stop myself!

At any rate, once again I want to thank our hosts for their wonderful support; the entire staff of Canopy Tower and Canopy Lodge. In particular I need to thank Raul for providing the idea and the facilities to make the trip a reality and to all who made our trip absolutely worry free from start to finish. My very special thanks go also to our guide Carlos, who not only found and identified every bird, but also laid the ground work for all of our excursions as well. Thanks again buddy, we'll definitely be back!

the final sunset from Canopy Tower marking the end of a wonderful trip!