When a Week Is Nine Days

4 June 2012.  My goal is 100 new birds in a week, right?  Well, in my week I’m giving myself both weekends.  So that makes it a 9 day week.  I need 11.111 birds per day, on average.  But do you think I’m counting?  I sure am.  Some of my faithful readers (well, maybe one or two) have asked why I don't write more about birds.  You asked for it, you got it!  This week is devoted to the birds.  All 9 days of it.

 

Day 1 of Nine.  Saturday we left Boquete in a rental car and birded our way to Cerro Punta on the other side of our volcano Volcan Baru.  Our first stop of the morning came with an exclamation—“Wow! What was that?”  It was not one, but 6 Fiery-billed Aracaris.  Their long bills and wild coloration could put the Fruit Loops toucan to shame.  They were stunning, but not new.  We did see a 3 new ones at this stop along the road, and 6 more at the next stop, which was actually planned.  Finally, we added 2 new hummingbirds at the feeders at Cielito Sur B&B.

Eleven for the day!  A pretty good start.

Golden-hooded Tanager
Green Honeycreeper
Scaled Pigeon
Bananaquit
Bran-colored Flycatcher
Black-and-white Owl
Yellow Tyrannulet
Yellow-crowned Euphonia
Olivaceous Piculet
Green Violet-ear
Stripe-tailed Hummingbird

Nope, I’m not making up these names.  I’m not that creative.

Day 2 of Nine.  We started birding today in Volcan Baru National Park.  It was slow at first, but then we encountered a mixed flock in the cloud forest that got us off and running.  We got up as high as the start of Los Queztales Trail—famous for Resplendant Queztals, but we have already seen several of them—and then we headed back down.  Five lifers here.  After a short drive to the other side of the valley we entered La Amistad International Park.  There we got 1 lifer while eating lunch and 3 more out on the trail.  That is 9 for the day and 20 in 2 days.  I’m really pleased.

Collared Redstart
Flame-throated Warbler
Ruddy Treerunner
Black-billed Nightingale-thrush
Mountain Thrush
Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher
Yellowish Flycatcher
Black-cheeked Warbler
Spot-crowned Woodcreeper

We also saw a Scintillant Hummingbird at the B&B.  It wasn’t new this week, but worth mentioning just for the name.

Day 3 of Nine.  We birded the grounds of the B&B after breakfast (delicious!), and then loaded the car to bird our way back to our home stay in Boquete.  We got kind of a late start, and the morning was sunny and hot.  Birding was slow at first, and then got slower.  We stopped at a couple of recommended stops.  Nada.  We looked especially for the White-crested Coquette, but nada.  We ended up back at the home stay with nothing new to show for the day.

That’s zero for today and 20 new species in 3 days.  My pace is now 13.333 species behind the average of 11.111 per day.  I’m disappointed with the day, but not yet discouraged.  The best is yet to come.  The next 2 days we go out with a local guide, and Friday we’ll be going with her again to cross the isthmus to the Atlantic side where there are many birds that don’t appear here on the Pacific side of the mountains.   It can still be done.