Rarity Chasing in the Rio Grande Valley

A little life update: I got a new job! With a few weeks between my start dates, it was time to celebrate with some birding! The offer was formally accepted on the Friday of Presidents’ Day weekend, but due to a pretty packed schedule I couldn’t leave until Sunday but had to be back by Thursday night. Central America was the dream, but 36 hours was not enough prep time to arrange flights, transport, and hotels. Boy did we try, though. If I had a few more days I think we easily could have done Guatemala and figure it out on arrival.

Altamira Oriole

The easiest option was the Rio Grande Valley, which is a great fallback option. It’s like having Rice as your safety school. Depending on who you talk to, this is THE premier birding destination in the United States. The RGV is where the transition to the tropics begins, and birds that are found nowhere else in the country can be found here with ease, like Altamira Oriole and Great Kiskadee. Blue Jays are incredibly rare and almost unheard of, but are replaced by the intensely stunning Green Jays. A heavily debated topic is the status of even some parrots in the valley! Some say the Red-crowned Parrots and Green Parakeets are native, while others do not.

Green Jay

I’ve been to the RGV a few times and seen all the major birds. Why come back? For starters, show me a someone who is sick of Green Jays and Altamira Orioles and I’ll show you a psychopath. The valley is also a magnet for rare birds, especially in winter. Just to the south are mountains in Mexico, and during drought periods those birds can wander long distances in search of water, putting them in an area crawling with birders and are easily picked up. The drought must be bad, because there were a ton of smattering of rare birds in the area this winter.

Plain Chachalaca

In addition to the rare birds, the valley is truly a frontier where ranges fluctuate. Brown Jays are a great example, they were once rare, became common, and then about 15 years ago they retreated back across the border. They are super common 5-10 miles south of the border, but are very hard to find now and actually were added to the TBRC review list back in 2007.

Instead of an overview of every rare bird, I’ll list them out as we look for them. We were able to chase all but a small few. This was a great chance to pick up some new birds for my, US, and Texas.

Not only was finding the birds important, but the company was just as important. I reached out to my friend, Bobby Helwick, in advance of the job offer to see if he would be down. He was going to try to spend an intense few days of birding without taking PTO. As Dale Gribble would say, “I’m skeptical he could, but intrigued that he may.” Bobby started to take an interest in birds and this was my chance to hopefully clinch the interest for him. The pressure was on!

Inca Dove

I drove 8 hours down to the Alamo Inn B&B, where I met Bobby after his own 5 hour drive that involved his engine smoking! Hungry and excited, we went to Smokin Moon BBQ, one of the top 100 BBQ joints in Texas according to Texas Monthly. After a delicious sandwich with brisket chili, it was time to start laying out the week.

This trip sprung up so quickly that I had no time to even really create the optimal plan, as finding details on where to find the birds took up most of my research. Fortunately, our plan on the first day ended up being the optimal way to go.

We left Alamo with the intention of getting to Resaca de la Palma State Park at 7:45, just before it opened. The goal was Gray-collared Becard and Roadside Hawk. This was the 4^th American record of the becard (1^st Texas) and I believe the 12^th record of Roadside Hawk in both Texas and the United States. There were a few other treats like Tropical Parula and Rose-throated Becard that we also had a shot at.

I saw many more Altamira Orioles than previous trips

A crowd formed as we arrived around 7:50, but not to greet us. It had to be the becard of the gray-collared variety. We sprinted over, hoping to get a look. We got the worst words in the birding language: “you just missed it.” Surely it would be seen again. In the meantime we still had some other rarities to go chase. The Roadside Hawk was being seen off the Ebony Trail and it was time to go find that.

Getting to the trail was quite difficult. It was really fun watching Bobby have his mind blown by the colorful display in front of him. It was nearly impossible to tear us away, but a warbler flock with the tantalizing potential of a Tropical Parula was able to do it.

We knew they were in the area, but in my experience they are kind of a crapshoot. They can be hit or miss, and I have looked for them on multiple occasions with no success. Failing to see one on this trip would officially make in a nemesis bird.

Tropical Parula

First we saw Nashville, then Yellow-rumped, then a gasp from the crowd indicated that someone had seen it. There was also a hybrid with Northern Parula that had to be distinguished, but after a few minutes of checking every bird we finally found the Parula without eye arcs. Talk about a relief. One target down!

Finally, we after many fun obstacles, we made it to the trail! The crowd stayed to watch it, but we had a more important mission. The mission turned out to be as easy as it gets. Bobby spotted it as soon as we got to the resaca hanging out on a stump. Roadside Hawk! Just like that we got an ABA code 4 rarity! I wish I had some dramatic tale, but there was nothing to it. Roadside Hawks are quite common from Mexico to Argentina, and eBird did not flag some as rare within 50 miles of the border, so they seem pretty close despite having so few records.

Roadside Hawk

 The crowd caught up to us after about 20 minutes, and by that point another little flock came through. Wilson’s Warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and others moved through, but then I saw a becard. It was a female Rose-throated Becard! Another frustrating bird down! Rose-throated Becards are regular, but erratic visitors to the Rio Grande Valley. I would say there is usually one in the area at any given time, but they can be elusive and irregular. There were a few of them being seen throughout the valley and I was more worried about getting it the next day, so this came as a welcome surprise. We also were able to pick out a young male Western Tanager with a hint of red on the face. After crossing the empty resaca we came across a Dusky-capped Flycatcher. Both the tanager and flycatcher were not lifers, but the flycatcher was new for Texas for me. Young birds tend to wander, and the Western Tanager was not even on my radar so it was fun to stumble upon.

Dusky-capped Flycatcher

The Gray-collared Becard still eluded us, but we had already spent too much time looking for it. We had to move to our next mega-rarity. It was about noon at this point and we took a pit stop at El Ultimo Taco, which was delicious. Bobby miraculously was getting work done and was able to be on the phone while staking out our morning birds.

El Ultimo Taco

Fan-tailed Warbler had been seen at UTRGV’s resaca, a stone’s throw from the border. We turned off the highway at the last exit and could actually see the international crossing and parked along Rio Grande.

Fan-tailed Warblers are incredibly rare to the United States and most records come from SE Arizona where the mountains get much closer to the border. There is one previous Texas record from Big Bend. I know next to nothing about bird biology/distribution, but Fan-taileds are pretty common about 200 miles south of the border at El Cielo, and just looking at maps on eBird I would think they could go as far north as the mountains in the Monterrey area, which would be the same mountain range as El Cielo. That area is so underbirded that it wouldn’t shock me, but records are sparse. But the had been one here since November and we couldn’t pass this up.

We arrived around 1:15, within the window that it was being seen. 2:00 was a pretty reliable time at the “Styro Spot,” a block of styrofoam somewhere in the Resaca. All the coordinates I had were not leading us to the Styro Spot, and after joining up with a few birders we still couldn’t find it. Worse, I got a text that the Fan-tailed Warbler was being seen at this spot! It was maddening. Finally, after 45 minutes of searching we finally found it…

Roadside Hawk

Only to have the worst birding heartbreak of my life. We frantically arrived at the spot, in a dense thicket, where a tour group was snapping pictures. The guide told us to go to the other side of the tree, 10 yards away to get a better view. We rushed over, only to hear the group say it flew off, past the spot we were just in. We heard it calling, and then silence. It was within a few feet of us and we missed it by mere seconds. Surely it would show up, right? This was an epic bird to get even in its normal range. It was time to dig in.

We waited. And then waited some more. Bobby whipped out his laptop and got a lot of work done while we sat there and just blankly stared at a block of styrofoam. At this point it was too late in the day to look for Hermit Warbler at Buena Vista Cemetery, which, while a lifer, was not a bird I would have trouble finding in the States in the future. We also planned to look for Cassin’s Sparrows at Palo Alto Battlefield, but it was too late for that to. We had to choose between waiting it out for the warbler or going back to try the becard. Bobby said “it doesn’t matter what we choose, the rare bird will show up at the place we aren’t at.” Those words would be turn out to be prophetic. We decided to wait for the warbler.

Long-billed Thrasher

4:00 passed, then 4:30. 4:50 was the latest it had been seen, and I didn’t want to bore Bobby. We decided to leave at 5. At 5:02 we began our walk to the car. It was pretty frustrating to miss out on the 2 biggest finds for the day, but we still got the Roadside Hawk and 2 near-nemesis birds. But the warbler was literally in front of us and we still missed it. It was a bitter defeat served up by the birding gods. Bobby FaceTimed his wife, Lauren at 5:25 and recounted the day as we approaching the light to turn on to the highway.

Then I got a text. “Fan-tailed Warbler, 5:15, Styro Spot. Still here.” I could only show Bobby the text. His eyes widened and he yelled “WE HAVE TO TURN AROUND!” Lauren didn’t need to see the text to know what it said, and was yelling “GO GO GO” as she hung up. I whipped a u-turn and we floored it to the Styro Spot, spilling out of the car without even taking binoculars or the camera out of its case.

We made it just in time. In the fading light, hopping around, was a stunning Fan-tailed Warbler. It hopped around for less than a minute before disappearing, but that was all we needed to enjoy it. What turned into the worst birding heartbreak ended up being one of the best birding stories I have. Talk about a rush! We were a stoplight away from getting on the highway and missing it completely.

Best Fan-tailed Warbler pic that I could get

There was no time to rest, we still had more birds to see. Tuesday was the big kahuna. I was able to arrange a trip to Santa Margarita Ranch, a formerly inaccessible ranch on the Rio Grande in Starr County, just upriver from Salineno. Some guides were given access and rarities started pouring in. Mottled Owl, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, and Brown Jay were all being seen reliably, as were range-restricted birds like Morelet’s Seedeater, Red-billed Pigeon, Hook-billed Kite, and Muscovy Duck. Rose-throated Becard was also being seen as well. Unfortunately, the owl could only be seen on night tours, and there was no availability for those.

We woke up at 4:30 and were off for the 1:45 ish drive to Santa Margarita. I had high hopes that I would get to hit 100 birds in Starr County. My camera had been charging all night but was struggling to get juice. Hopefully it would hold up, as we had some fantastic birds to see.

Showing up was wild. We drove down dirt roads and then parked along the infamous border wall at the ranch. To access the bluff that the tiger-heron was being seen from we had to walk through it and down to the river. Looking for the tiger-heron was the first order of business, and we blocked off 3 hours to scan for it.

Bobby at the border wall

It took less than 5 minutes to see it flying back and forth across the river before disappearing. This was a big win. They can be very hard to see, as they are quite secretive birds and blend in very well with their surroundings. It wasn’t a very good view, but I knew going into it that this may be the best view possible so I was happy to just get that.

Bare-throated Tiger-Heron

Bare-throated Tiger-Herons are extremely rare in the United States. This is the 3^rd US record, all of which have occurred in Texas, the other two being at Bensten and then another that was seen in Uvalde 60 miles from the border. Not much is known about their range in Northern Mexico, and they could be much closer to the border than we think. Waders are quite prone to wandering in times of drought.

I tried to take a picture, but my camera died. I charged it all night, but looking back it was on an extension cord so maybe it didn’t get enough juice. I thought I was going to let my loyal readers down. I wouldn’t have gotten great pictures anyways at this distance.

Trading a dead camera for great birds was a worthwhile trade. There were tons of ducks including Mexican and Mottled, Canvasback, and Bufflehead, as well as two Limpkins. It felt like every few minutes some kind of new bird was turning up. Ringed and Green Kingfishers flew up and down the river while we awaited some of our other targets. Gray Hawks and Ospreys lined the riverbanks. There was tons to see.

Limpkin from the phone camera

I kept an eye on the reeds below me, as it looked like perfect seedeater habitat. After about an hour of looking off and on we finally got on some Morelet’s Seedeaters! The Rio Grande is as far north as they get, and you can typically get them pretty easily in Laredo, Del Rio, and Salineno. I think they were a little more widespread across the valley but have been hit hard by habitat loss over the decades.

A single flying bird caught all of our attention, it was finally a Red-billed Pigeon! I know, I know. “It’s just a pigeon.” While quite common in Central America, Salineno and Laredo are the only two places in the country where they can be found, and I was finally down here at the right time to get them. I held out hope from both Muscovy Duck and Hook-billed Kite, but they supposedly fair better in wetter years and therefore were less likely this year. Muscovy Duck is already a super secretive bird in the wild that requires luck to see and Hook-billed Kites can be pretty erratic as well.

The bluff at Santa Margarita Ranch

Overall the bluff was as successful as we could reasonably expect. Getting the Tiger-heron was a weight off of our shoulders, and it was now time to get the Brown Jay. Due to a drive to the new spot, I was able to get some critical juice for my camera.

Brown Jays are common just across the river, but are currently extremely rare in Texas. In the past they have been found in Salineno, but it has been about 11 years since they have been seen. When I first started birding I heard about how you can reliably them in the area, but since you had to be incredibly lucky to find one. But now we actually had a chance.

Brown Jay

It was about a mile down to where they were being seen and it was starting to get hot. Like any bird walk, it was really hard to even get to the spot for the jays. We heard a Rose-throated Becard calling as we neared the spot, and while the guide set up oranges and marshmallows we followed it down the trail. It was a stunning male and the rose throat was on display.

The original plan was to walk down to the river to give the jays time to move in to feed. I heard a commotion in front of me as I continued to unsuccessfully try to get a picture of the becard. It turns out we didn’t have to wait long and the Brown Jays were already moving in.

A large bird was moving through the trees and it looked like a chachalaca. My jaw hit the ground when I realized it was actually a Brown Jay. This is a great example of why I love birding. Outside of rarity, Brown Jays look a lot plainer than other jays and may not be as exciting. Guess again. Their size makes them captivating to watch. It was my personal bird of the trip.

Now it was time to head down to the river through some amazing riparian habitat. We saw many of the same birds, but got fantastic looks at Brown-crested Flycatcher. The habitat was incredible, and it really felt like anything was bound to turn up. There are few things better than looking at sick birds in even better habitat.

Brown-crested Flycatcher

We walked out onto an island to hope to see the tiger-heron. It was a long shot, as they blend in amazingly well and tend to retreat into cover if they catch food. Within a minute or so someone found it hiding in the reeds! We had unbelievable luck today! After a few shots and some pretty close views, it did what it does and went back to hide.

We could barely find it from 50 yards! They have great camouflage

Tired, hot, and hungry, we made the long drive back to Alamo. We made a desperate attempt to get Crimson-collared Grosbeak at Frontera, but we had no luck. After some all you can eat tacos at Nana’s, we hit the sack early for one final day of going all out.

I originally hoped to look for Crimson-collared Grosbeak again and then finish the morning out at Estero Llano Grande State Park, which is my favorite birding spot in the RGV. But the Gray-collared Becard was being found again in the mornings. Going back to Resaca de la Palma would open up Palo Alto Battlefield and then we could wrap up at Hugh Ramsey Park to look for Golden-crowned Warbler before heading back north. Not a bad lil plan!

Greater Roadrunner

Ultimately the decision came down to Crimson-collared Grosbeak (one of my yearned for Texas birds) or Gray-collared Becard. While really pretty, Crimson-collared Grosbeaks are starting to become annual in the RGV. I remember seeing somewhere (can’t find it so maybe I’m mistaken) that they were altitudinal migrants, which would make sense given that they are becoming almost annual in the RGV now. The becard may not be back ever.

It ended up being the same story as before with the becard. It was a lot of waiting around and it never showed. It showed up on the days before and after we were there, but not on the days we were there </3. Bobby had to leave to deal with some thankfully easily fixed car issues and I went to Palo Alto.

Eastern Meadowlark

Palo Alto was the opening battle of Mexican War in 1846. Famous generals like Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant, a host of other famous American figures were present on the battlefield. We love a good piece of history, especially one that has birds! This is a great spot to get Cassin’s Sparrow, but there was also a rare Brewer’s Sparrow hanging around.

I didn’t have my hopes up as I approached what had been the American lines. It was really windy, but a small patch of sparrows showed up. I couldn’t identify them because I’m garbage at sparrows and didn’t have a field guide, so I at least got some pics. The Savannah Sparrows were easy to identify, but I did end up getting pictures of both Brewer’s and Cassin’s Sparrows after looking through the field guide and getting some outside ID help! Americans just get those dubs at Palo Alto.

Cassin's Sparrow

It was time for the final stop: Hugh Ramsey in Harlingen. Golden-crowned Warbler is another common Latin American bird that is becoming increasingly common in the winter, but it is still quite rare and not a regularly found bird. They are very common in Latin America and I have seen them in Panama, but they are a review species in Texas.

I arrived to a very hot afternoon. Not much was moving around. But Bobby was heading back and I was on a mission. There were some chachalacas running around, but not much else. Green Kingfisher flew by at the pond it was being seen at. Fave American kingfisher right there!

The warbler was seen in a flock with Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Other birders were creeping around the area and I was scanning every kinglet I saw. No Golden-crowed, but there was a Wilson’s! People started hissing at me and I knew it was showtime! I ran about 10 yards up ahead, and I could hear calling in the dense foliage. Come on, come on… then it briefly flew into view! No doubt, that was it! I stayed on it for 15 minutes as Bobby came rumbling down the trail, having just arrived. We lost it a few times but both got great looks at it! Hell of a way to end the trip. It was time for some celebratory Tex-Mex at Las Vegas Café!

Only photo I could get of Golden-crowned Warbler

It was a long from to Austin where I stayed with friends of the blog Gordon and Sean. I aimed to do some Austin birding and look for Limpkin in an effort to boost my Travis County list, but the AT&T outage forced a change of plans, and I went to KG BBQ (my most wanted new BBQ spot) with other friend of the blog Alex instead! After some delicious lamb bacon ribs and the best tea I’ve ever had, it was time to hit the road.

Hype = exceeded

This trip was really important for me. Hanging around with Bobby made me stop and appreciate Texas and American birding again. I’ve been on an international kick recently, but it was really fun to focus more on county, state, and American listing again. I got to discover more parts of Texas and try new foods. The logistics were easy, the birding was fun, the company was fantastic, and I’m back to looking at holiday weekend flights to target more ABA lifers!

Stunning birds and stunning scenery

Panama: The Lowlands

Quetzals are not the primary reason to go birding in Panama, that honor belongs to the lowland rainforest. Less than an hour outside of Panama City, Pipeline Road is considered one of the best birding sites in Central America.

Pipeline Road was constructed during World War II after fears that an Axis attack on the Panama Canal would impact Allied logistics. True to its name, Pipeline Road has an oil pipeline that runs next to it. Fortunately, the road was never used. The forest has grown over it and is now protected as Soberania National Park. Access is so easy from the town of Gamboa that some people opt to not rent a car.

View from the Gamboa Rainforest Resort

My birding hot take is that I am not biggest fan of birding in this habitat. Don't get me wrong, saying that is like saying Papa John's isn't my favorite pizza. It's still fire, just not my top choice. Birding it is amazingly difficult. It’s humid, the dark forest makes it hard to get good looks at birds, and seeing birds in the canopy is near impossible. Unless you are a top-level birder (not me) you probably need to get a guide to rack up your species count. As you are probably aware, I do not like getting guides if I can avoid it. But guides are super valuable and you can learn a lot from them. With it being my dad’s first trip to the neotropics, we arranged for a guide, Domi Alveo from Whitehawk Birding.

Due to our flight delays we arrived late in the afternoon. We had the afternoon of our arrival, two full days, and then the morning of our departure. We rented a car, the first time I have driven a car in a Latin American country, something I was told would be much harder than it actually was. While Gamboa has a restaurant and some Airbnbs, we stayed at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort. Besides a gorgeous view, the hotel offered some good excursions and a really nice, comfortable stay.

Spectacled Caiman

Given the afternoon heat we decided to get on the water and take a short tour of the canal. One of the selling points of Panama for my dad was the opportunity to at least see the Panama Canal. He read a supposedly great book on the construction of it and his main takeaway from it was that it is way more of a marvel than we give it credit for.

Instead of just seeing the canal, we were now birding ON the Panama Canal, cruising through Lake Gatun. Given the afternoon heat the birding was pretty sparse. We still picked up Striated Heron and Keel-billed Toucan, but it was the mammals and reptiles that stole the show.

Keel-billed Toucan

Our first reptile was an iguana that fell at least 30 feet into the water. We almost fell in the water due to the shock of that noise. It sounded like a gunshot. But we recovered thanks to a few Howler Monkeys, who ended up being the least cool monkeys of the day.

American Crocodile

It’s hard to choose what was a better sighting, although I think I have a lean. We pulled up to an island that had some White-faced Capuchins. One actually got on the boat, walked down, and ate some fruit off of the boat, getting more comfortable. Then it actually came on to the boat, sized up my dad and I grabbed some banana out of our hands! Dad was LIVING. Look, I can acknowledge that we should be letting the wildlife be wildlife. At the same time, this troop of monkeys was pretty habituated to people so the damage was already done (not that there’s much harm).

White-faced Capuchin

We also got up close to some Geoffrey’s Tamarins, a monkey that I was really hoping to get. This is the farthest north you can find a Tamarin, and besides looking ornamental they are one of those animals that really epitomize the tropics. They looked like a mix between monkey and squirrel. They were very curious but even more cautious, for reasons that we would see as we headed back. There are some massive crocodiles in the canal, and we got to see some sunning on the banks.

Geoffrey's Tamarin

The next morning was our second, and last, critical morning. The quetzals made the trip, but today could potentially be the cherry on top. Domi picked us up around 6:30 and we made the short drive to the Ammo Dump ponds along the canal to start.

Yellow-bellied Seedeater at Ammo Dump Ponds

The ponds don’t look like much more than an empty field and you can’t see much water, but there is plenty of it. The birding here was extremely easy and at times it was hard to focus on a single bird because so much was moving around. Rufescent Tiger-Heron was very conspicuous and Gray-breasted Martins were everywhere. I was pretty pumped to get Barred Antshrike, which is one of those birds that I should have seen much sooner than I have.

Rufescent Tiger-Heron

The light was great as well, which made it really easy to ID certain birds like Golden-fronted Greenlet and Southern Beardless Tyrannulet. A consequence of the great light meant that it got ridiculously hot around 8 AM. In about 15 minutes it went from pleasant to energy-sapping hot. Domi picked that up and suggested we head to Pipeline Road. On our way back to the car my dad spotted the top bird at the site! He was unsure that it was even a bird, but he still called it out. It ended up being a Blue Dacnis, a fantastic bird to end on.

Common Tody-Flycatcher

You could feel the vibes change as we entered Pipeline Road. All of a sudden there is dense forest and I understood why Domi waited until 8 to take us in. Despite the sun being high in the sky, the forest was still fairly dark. We bumped along a pretty rough road for about 2 miles past the Rainforest Discovery Center and as far we the road allows cars to go.

We were enveloped by the forest, and there were plenty of birds. Patience is the name of the game. Initially it didn’t feel super birdy, but as we scanned the trees we started to both see and hear some birds. One of the first birds we saw was Forest Elaenia. Domi had Choco Elaenia as well but we never saw it. Scarlet-rumped Caciques were around us, and Crimson-crested Woodpecker hammered a tree above us. Normally people would blow by this, but just a little bit of patience seemed to open the forest up.

Crimson-crested Woodpecker

We heard Purple-throated Fruitcrow, which is actually a cotinga, but before we could focus too much on it Domi saw some Spotted Antbirds. It’s genuinely impressive how he is able to ID small birds moving above him at a distance. But sure enough, that’s what they were. 3 sets of eyes made picking out birds so much easier, although 1 of those sets was clearly carrying the team. The Spotted Anbirds distracted us just long enough for the fruitcrows to come in. Fortunately they were high enough to allow the light to show off their purple throats.

Purple-throated Fruitcrow

It was time to start walking, but we did not make it far. Gray-headed Tanager required a few minutes to locate as it moved around, but that kept us still enough to warm up the Bicolored Antbirds. I came into the trip just wanting a single species of antbird, and now I had a few with some great looks!

We seemed to pick new birds around each bend, but the families started to add up. First we had Golden-collared Manakin, then a quarter mile up there was Red-capped. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better we got Velvety with a gorgeous blue crown! I just wanted one manakin and instead I got a sweep.

Velvety Manakin

The same was true with trogons. I really wanted my dad to get to see one in the jungle, which we had already achieved earlier on a morning to PN Metropolitano, but Pipeline cranked it up a notch. The road created perfect overhangs for trogons to perch on. We first saw White-tailed, an exciting lifer for me, but also got Black-throated and eventually a male Black-tailed! We completed our trogon sweep that afternoon on the grounds of the resort when we found Gartered.

White-tailed Trogon

Birds became thinner as the morning wore on, but the quality did not stop. Broad-billed Motmot gave us fantastic views, and then a mixed flock gave me the classic warbler neck that you get from looking above you for extended periods. It was worth it, though, because we got Southern Bentbill, Plain Xenops, Moustached Antwren, and Black-crowned Antshrike all within a few minutes of each other.

Crimson-rumped Tanager

It was almost time to turn around, but not after the crescendo. I wouldn’t call it an ant swarm, but we found ants crossing the trail, which can lead to an explosion of bird activity. An almost unnoticeable amount of movement was picked up on by Domi and we started scanning through the dense foliage to find a small bird darting around on the ground.

Rufous Motmot

It was a Black-faced Antthrush! Antthrushes are super secretive birds. They move silently along the ground in thick vegetation, and your only chance of finding one is really to be near an ant swarm. Even then I don’t think they’re easy to get. Their cocked tails make them look like a chicken running around, and the dark chestnut back, blue eye ring, and black face kept me captivated for the 15 minutes that we got to enjoy it. This was my bird of the trip. It was impossible to get a picture, but I will never forget it. Antbirds were my goal for Pipeline because I thought I had no chance at an antthrush or antpitta.

Masked Tityra

The walk back to the car was quicker, but still eventful. Not much new was added, but we got to see the clown looking Collared Aracari and Cinnamon Woodpecker. Hot take alert: I like Collared Aracari more than toucans. There just seems to be a little more design to them.

That was the cherry on top we needed. 5 amazing hours with Domi meant there was no pressure at all to see other birds. Everything else would get to be relaxed.

Immature Black-tailed Trogon

Our last full day was spent at the Panama Rainforest Discovery Center. This is a very tall canopy tower that gets you above the treetops, as well as a few trails. It is quite expensive, about $35 to access, but it is much easier than walking around all day. The tower goes above the treetops, opening up to a stunning view that gives a bunch better chance at seeing species that hang out in the canopy.

Gartered Trogon

The dream bird here was Lovely Cotinga, but the chances of seeing one were low. Although we didn’t see a ton up on the tower, it was a lot of fun to look around and just hang out while looking for birds. It was similar to relaxing out by the hummingbird feeders and passively birding. We still saw some great birds! My dad got his first really good look at Keel-billed Toucan, the prettier of the toucans. Red-lored Parrots regularly flew by as well.

Scaled Pigeon

The trail system was pretty good and had a lot more cover than Pipeline Road did, which gave us some good opportunities. It was still not fully the dry season, so there were some mosquitoes out but we really didn’t notice them too much, although they were definitely correlated with the humidity. The prior day with Domi was not very sticky, but today was.

Broad-billed Motmot

As is typical in the neotropics, it was feast or famine. But we had a feast pretty quickly and especially good for late in the morning! There were tons of Scarlet-rumped Caciques and Yellow-backed Orioles around us as we approached the wetland, as well as Greater Anis in the trees above us. We bailed as mosquitoes started to eat us and made it to the wetland. Not much was out there, but my dad had a super close encounter with a bullet ant crawling on him!

Snail Kite

We got spooked and decided to head back to the tower. It was getting late and hot, and we still had to look at the hummingbird feeders. Hopefully we would get some raptors at the tower. It wound up taking over an hour to get back, as we found a fantastic mixed flock. Red-throated Ant-tanagers gave away the presence of the flock, but there were quickly many birds hopping around us. Fasciated Antshrike was exciting, but what really got me going was a Long-billed Gnatwren.

Red-throated Ant-Tanager

The tower ending up being pretty quiet, and we decided to start working our way out. At this point we were both pretty exhausted from the last week and a nap sounded great. But we still had to look for hummingbirds! The feeders at the center were full of White-necked Jacobins and Violet-bellied Hummingbirds, but we also had a single sighting of Long-billed Hermit. The feeder area also had Rufous and Broad-billed Motmot, and as we left we found a Black-throated Trogon!

White-necked Jacobin

Our last morning at Pipeline was kind of a waste. It was much hotter and they were grading the road. The loud noise killed off bird activity, but we didn’t really care. I think we were both ready to get home at this point. It was not a complete bust, as we added Black-breasted Puffbird for the trip. That was my first puffbird, so it was exciting to add that.

Striated Heron

We were exhausted, but leaving Panama was tough. As great as the birds were, I just enjoyed being with my dad for the week and walking around. I was really impressed with how easy it was to bird Panama. I think the highlands in Costa Rica are easier to access, but lowland access in Panama was much easier than Costa Rica. I can’t say I have a preference between the two, but I can say that I can’t wait to find myself back in Panama!

Big shoutout to my dad for being such a great sport about marching around the hot jungle and bouncing along bumpy mountain roads just to see some birds. The trip would not have been as much fun if he wasn’t there and hopefully we get another Mark & Mark trip soon!