BIRD PHOTOS FROM TRIP TO PANAMA

   This morning Sharon and I returned from a week long trip to Panama.  We stayed at the Royal Decameron Beach Resort in Farallon ( Playa Blanca),  Panama.  The resort is on the Gulf of Panama on the Pacific Ocean side of Panama.  While staying at and enjoying the resort we sighted and photographed numerous birds.  Here is a list of the birds  and other fauna we have so far identified and whose photos follow:

• Yellow-crowned Night Heron
• Red-crowned Woodpecker
• Blue-gray Tanager
• Brown Pelican
• Great-tailed Grackle
• Boat tailed Flycatcher
• Tropical Kingbird
• Tropical Mockingbird
• Franklin's Gull
• Shiny Cowbird
• Majestic Frigatebird
• Indian or Blue Peafowl
• Iguana
• Variegated Squirrel

   Of the 12 bird photos, 9 are new species and have been added to my Life List.  The ones that aren't new: Yellow-crowned Night Heron and Brown Pelican.  The Indian Peafowl isn't eligible, as it is domesticated. 

   Franklin's Gull and the Laughing Gull bear a close resemblance to each other.  I was able to I.D. the gull as a Franklin's Gull from the photo with the wings spread open. You can make out the white band separating the black wing tips from the rest of the wing. This occurs on the Franklin's Gull, but not on the Laughing Gull.

   As I identify the birds in the other photos I will add them to the blog.

ABOVE 3 PHOTOS: YELLOW-CROWNED
NIGHT HERON

ABOVE 2 PHOTOS: RED-CROWNED
WOODPECKER

ABOVE 2 PHOTOS: BLUE-GRAY TANAGER

ABOVE 3 PHOTOS: BROWN PELICAN

ABOVE 2 PHOTOS:  GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE
TOP: FEMALE; BOTTOM: MALE

ABOVE 2 PHOTOS: BOAT-BILLED
FLYCATCHER

ABOVE 2 PHOTOS: TROPICAL KINGBIRD

ABOVE 2 PHOTOS: TROPICAL MOCKINGBIRD

ABOVE 2 PHOTOS: FRANKLIN'S GULL

FEMALE SHINY COWBIRD

MAJESTIC FRIGATEBIRD

ABOVE 4 PHOTOS: INDIAN OR BLUE PEAFOWL
TOP 3 PHOTOS: MALE - PEACOCK
BOTTOM PHOTO: FEMALE - PEAHEN

ABOVE 2 PHOTOS: IGUANA

ABOVE 3 PHOTOS: VARIEGATED SQIRREL

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BIRD PHOTOS OF THE DAY: TRIP TO ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDENS, HAMILTON, ON

   Sharon and I travelled to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton, ON.  Neither of us had been there before.  We mostly did birding, but we also enjoyed the beautiful and spectacular Lillac Garden.  We sighted and photographed the following birds:

• Blue Jay
• Female Northern Cardinal
• Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher
• Juvenile Ring-billed Gull
• Trumpeter Swan
• Black-capped Chickadee
• Mute Swan
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Caspian Tern
• Canada Goose

We also saw and photographed Chipmunks.

   Today was our first sighting and photograph of a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher.  We added it to our Life List, which now stands at 115, after about 1/2 year of serious birding.

   Today we took several interesting photos:

• A juvenile Ring-billed Gull eating a fish.  It seemed almost too big for him to swallow, but he managed to get it down.
• The Trumpeter Swan had a marker on its wings on both sides.  We reported this auxiliary marker to the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory.   The Trumpeter Swan's neck had reddish-brown markings on it.  After some research we determined that these are stains from the tanin and minerals in the water.  The swan feeds on aquatic vegetation, tipping its bottom up to get deep plants and roots.  In doing this, its neck gets continually soaked and stained from the water.

   The Lillac Garden is absolutely beautiful.  There are over 600 varieties of Lillacs in the garden.  The Lillacs come in many different colors: purple, violet, pale violet (lillac), white, etc.  It seems the holy grail of Lillac hybridization is to obtain pure yellow lillacs.  This has not been acheived yet, but some of the white lillacs did have some yellow in them.

ABOVE 2 PHOTOS: BLUE JAY

FEMALE NORTHERN CARDINAL

BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER

ABOVE 4 PHOTOS: JUVENILE RING- BILLED
GULL EATING A FISH

ABOVE 2 PHOTOS : TRUMPETER SWAN
WITH WING TAGS & STAINED NECK

BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE

MUTE SWAN

ABOVE 4 PHOTOS: SANDBAR IN COOTES
PARADISE MARSH-DOUBLE- CRESTED
CORMORANTS,  CASPIAN TERNS &
RING-BILLED GULLS

CANADA GOOSE

ABOVE 2 PHOTOS: CHIPMUNK

LILAC GARDEN AT ROYAL BOTANICAL

GARDENS ARBORETUM

BIRD PHOTOS OF THE DAY: CANADA GEESE & THEIR GOSLINGS

   This afternoon Sharon and I were in Unionville, ON to help set up a juried art show being put on by Bayview Watercolour Society,  to which we both belong.  We each have three paintings in the show.  After finishing with the show we went to Toogood Park in Unionville to see what birds might be there.  We came across several pairs of Canada Geese with there newly hatched goslings.

   Canada Geese mate for life and pairs remain together throughout the year. Generally the female builds the nest and incubates the eggs, while the male stands guard.  Baby geese or goslings begin communicating with their parents while still in the egg.   Once the goslings hatch, both parents raise them.  They usually stay with the parents for a year after they hatch.

                                    

BIRD PHOTOS OF THE DAY: FEMALE MALLARD & HER CHICKS

   Sharon and I took our dog Kenya for a walk in Richmond Green Park this afternoon

and came across this female Mallard leading her brood of six chicks across the pond. Mallard chicks are precocial, that is they are covered with down when they hatch. Thus, they are ready to leave the nest almost right away.  The chicks are also able to swim immediately.

   Mallard chicks will remain with their mother until they are ready to fly.  This generally occurs within 42 - 50 days from birth.  During this time they do become gradually more independent.