Xenornis

Calle Maipo was really jumping with mixed flocks yesterday due to the abundance of fruiting trees. The usual tanagers, honeycreepers and dacnis were there. Of note were Rufous-winged Tangers, usually more infrequent than the other tangers, but this time easily seen at several places; and Sulphur-rumped Tanager - always infrequent on Cerro Azul (however, the Grey-and-gold Tanager seen there in the dry season seems to have disappeared). Tawny-faced Quail responded to whistles, but as usual held back and were not seen. Long-Tailed and Spotted Woodcreepers were also present. A good flock of Brown-hooded Parrots added color and their curious whistles to the scene. The first part of the río Mono trail was equally active, and added Great Curassow and Stripe-cheeked Woodpeckers to the list, as well as Northern Barred-Woodcreepers. If the trees remain in fruit until next Saturday, and the weather is good, these two trails should provide a lot of enjoyment for the field trip. A note on the ident

José Tejada, Karl & Rosabel Kaufmann, Chris Rhodes and Darién Montañez stopped over at la Ciénaga de Las Macanas to look for the Fulvous Whistling-Ducks, but there were only a few Black-bellieds around. Two Masked Ducks were glimpsed briefly as they dove into the floating vegetation, though.

On the first official day of the PAS fieldtrip to Santa Fe, Satuday, July 15th, 2000, we were joined by the rest of the group: Amalia Herrera, Cora Herrera and José Tejada. Early in the morning we saw a female Bare-necked Umbrellabird on one of the small trails that enter the forest from the road to the left after the Alto de Piedra school. It perched on a stick right next to the trail allowing for close inspection by the group. It was black overall, with a short bushy crest that gave its head a flat-topped appearance. It did not utter a sound, or do much apart from changing perches twice before disappearing into the foliage. Following the same trail we had a mixed flock with both Three-striped and Golden-crowned Warblers, and further in Rosabel saw a female Black-and-white Becard on another flock. On Satuday, July 15th, 2000, the PAS group on Santa Fe walked down the main road towards the continental divide in search of a Harpy Eagle [sic] nest. Apparently the road was cut in the dry

Karl & Rosabel Kaufmann, Chris Rhodes and Darién Montañez visited la ciénaga de Las Macanas to look for Aplomado Falcon. An immature Snail Kite was seen perched on a low fence post right by the main road out to Chitré, about 300 meters before the entrance to Rincón de Santa María. The first Aplomado was seen on a field that was being plowed in front of the entrance to the observation tower. The field was full of. It was standing on the ground, surrounded by Cattle Egrets and Caracaras, with a recently caught morsel in its talons. A second bird was seen diving at a male Snail Kite over the ciénaga. Then a third bird was seen perched on the wires next to the interamerican highway a few kilometers past Divisa. At the marsh itself we found a flock of at least 33 Fulvous Whistling-Ducks seen together with a similar number of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. The ducks were standing on the shallow ponds near the edge of the ciénaga about 100 meters before the observation tower. They were bu

On Friday, july 14th, Karl & Rosabel Kaufmann, Chris Rhodes and Darién Montañez stopped over at the Aguadulce Salinas not really expecting to see much, but found a surprising variety of shorebirds: Wilson's, Semipalmated and Collared Plovers; Western, Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers, Short-billed Dowitcher and both yellowlegs. Closer to the beach were a few Wood Storks and one Common and a few Least Terns. The Black-necked Stilts were everywhere, and some of them had downy chicks following them closely. One seemed to be sitting on its nest, and a few young birds were also seen.