The Nesting Eagles of the Darién. A report by Guido Berguido.
I returned from a scouting trip to the Metetí, Darién area on Saturday, August 11. We visited a Crested Eagle nest with a juvenile and a dark-phase adult. I had never seen a dark-phase before: the head was almost black and the underparts were all barred. These photos were taken with my little Nikon point-and-shoot. The adult was high up a Cuipo tree near the nest, but the juvenile was lower down.
We also visited a spot near La Palma and were lucky to see a few Blue-and-gold Macaws and a pair of Great Greens. We also visited a Harpy Eagle nest.
We explored some nearby ponds hoping for Black-chested Hawk and maybe some interesting ducks, but didn't get lucky: all we got were two hours wading in waist-deep swampy vegetation. The locals we talked to did say they had seen these "ruddy" hawks flying around, though. The spot looks promising, and we're considering organizing an extraordinary fieldtrip for PAS.
We also visited a spot near La Palma and were lucky to see a few Blue-and-gold Macaws and a pair of Great Greens. We also visited a Harpy Eagle nest.
We explored some nearby ponds hoping for Black-chested Hawk and maybe some interesting ducks, but didn't get lucky: all we got were two hours wading in waist-deep swampy vegetation. The locals we talked to did say they had seen these "ruddy" hawks flying around, though. The spot looks promising, and we're considering organizing an extraordinary fieldtrip for PAS.