Tweeters:

Panama, in contrast to most of the rest of Central
America has really protected their forest for one
practical reason: if they don't their Canal Lifeline
will quickly fill in. No forest to stop erosion= no
canal = no country. It's one great incentive.

RCC

Updates follow:


--- m.egger at comcast.net wrote:

> Yes, Panama is an awesome birding destination! In
> 1891 I spent three weeks there by myself, birding
> all day every day, using Ridgely 1st edition as my
> guide. I had no problems of any sort, but things may
> have changed somewhat in the last 26 years! The only
> area I've heard of as being "ify" is the city of
> Colon.

Old town Panama City definitely high risk

If you have limited time, hiring a guide is
> definitely worth the money. In addition to the
> truely amazing Pipeline Road (worthy of several full
> days by itself), Achiote Road at least used to be a
> wonderful place for lowland forest birds.

Still wonderful, birds happy for unexploded dud
munitions that keep everyone out. DO NOT leave the
road.

Other
> outstanding areas nearby to P.C. are Tocumen and
> Tocumen Marsh

Still great birding

(while the latter is evidently much
> degraded in recent years, any open field/edge type
> habitat still remaining near the airport should
> yield a nice selection of very different species
> than Pipeline (I saw lots of seedeater types and my
> first Fork-tailed Flycatcher there, a splendid bird.
> A little further afield but accessible from P.C. as
> a long day trip is the Cerro!
> Azul/C
> erro Jefe area, especially if there is any forest
> left there now. These middle-elevation montane
> forests area great for tanager/honeycreeper flocks,
> and there is cool elfin cloud forest at the top of
> Cerro Jefe, which is accessed by a decent gravel
> road to a microwave site at the top.

Still wonderful. Head of Panma Audubon leases her
home to birding groups Incredible tanagers & hummers
at feeders & Swallow-tailed Kite flocks at eye level.

Microwave roads
> are beloved of neotropical naturalists whenever
> present, as they tend to be the only access to
> higher elevations that are both relatively safe and
> relatively well-maintained. For general tips, if you
> go without a guide, be careful wondering into
> tropical forests to be sure you know where you are
> at all times -- they can be very disorienting --
> follow small trails or streams, and reorient
> yourself carefully after spend half an hour trying
> to see all the many species in a foraging flock or
> following an ant-swarm. Panama was my first
> experience in the neotropics, and I've been hooked
> ever since!
>

Don't miss it.
> Mark
> -------------- Original message --------------
> From: tweeters-request at mailman1.u.washington.edu
>
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> > than "Re: Contents of Tweeters digest..." > From:
tweeters-request at mailman1.u.washington.edu
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Subject: Tweeters Digest, Vol 41, Issue 31
> Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:00:52 +0000
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Harris' Sparrow in Snoqualmie Valley (Mike
> Wile)
> 2. How we attract Goldfinches (Henry Noble)
> 3. Am Goldfinch near UW campus (Rebecca Galloway
> & Richard Schmeck)
> 4. Starling flocking behavior (Randy Robinson)
> 5. American Goldfinches - Surplus Inventory
> Available at a
> Reduced Price (johntubbs at comcast.net)
> 6. Hummer Nesting (Jeff Ernst)
> 7. Pierce. Thurston, & Grays Harbor Swing
> (Michael Hobbs)
> 8. Re: Hummingbird memory
> (vogelfreund at comcast.net)
> 9. RBA: Portland, OR 1-31-08 (Harry Nehls)
> 10. Panama (Gwynn Harris)
> 11. Re: Panama (Richard Carlson)
> 12. aggressive warbler and other feeder birds
> (Paul Hicks)
> > From: "Mike Wile" <mikewile at comcast.net>
> Subject: [Tweeters] Harris' Sparrow in Snoqualmie
> Valley
> Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:19:09 -0800
> To: <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
>
> Hello-
>
> There was a single, immature Harris' sparrow in a
> flock of white-crowned and
> golden-crowned sparrows in the Snoqualmie Valley
> this morning. From West
> Snoqualmie Valley Rd, turn on NE 100th Street and
> cross the small creek a
> couple hundred yards down the road. The flock was
> moving around this area,
> primarily in the Himalayan Blackberries alongside
> the road.
>
> Good Birding
>
> Mike Wile
> mikewile at comcast.net
> 425-503-5766
>
>
> > From: Henry Noble <hjnoble at igc.org>
> Subject: [Tweeters] How we attract Goldfinches
> CC: helen.gilbert at juno.com
> Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:46:24 -0800
> To: tweeters at U.WASHINGTON.EDU
>
>
>
> Hi--
>
> Henry Noble and I have been attracting growing
> numbers of American
> Goldfinches with a combination of a tube thistle
> feeder and another
> feeder with shelled, broken sunflower seeds. They
> seem to like both about
> equally. They've been coming around for the last few
> years. This year,
> they started coming in small numbers a few months
> ago and are now up to
> 12-20 at a time. Should be getting a Cooper's hawk
> soon at this rate...
> They stay through the summer with periodic absences.
>
> We have found that there is a lot less waste on the
> ground with the
> sunflower bits so we don't mind paying more at the
> Audubon store for
> them. They are also enjoyed by the chickadees, house
> finches, Bewick's
> wren, flickers -- and English sparrows. Even the
> bushtits are eating
> them--though they like suet best. A great advantage
> is we don't get a
> mound of smothering hulls underneath and there is
> little dropped seed to
> attract rock pigeons. Sounds like our yard may be
> less wooded than
> Dennis's.
>
> Helen Gilbert
> 19th NE and NE 82nd St
> Seattle
>
>
>
> > From: cametobe at comcast.net (Rebecca Galloway &
> Richard Schmeck)
> Subject: [Tweeters] Am Goldfinch near UW campus
> Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:55:53 +0000
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
>
> I get about a dozen American Goldfinches on my
> upside-down thistle feeder every day near Brooklyn
> and Boat streets. I don't put the feeder out til
> they come by in early December and give me the
> heads-up. I've also got a good number of Anna's
> hummers coming to the round, plate-like feeder that
> hangs from a stick-on hook on the window. It's
> common to see a couple males and a female during the
> day, multiple times. A male is at the feeder right
> now, and I can see it stick its little tongue out
> after feeding; it's translucent!
>
> --
> Rebecca Galloway
> Northgate, Seattle
>
> > From: "Randy Robinson" <rwr.personal at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Tweeters] Starling flocking behavior
> Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:29:49 -0800
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
>
> Interesting story in the London Telegraph:
>
> "Scientists have uncovered a simple rule that
> explains how thousands
> of starlings flock in formation and hope to use the
> discovery in the
> future to coordinate swarms of robots."
>
>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/01/29/scistarling129.xml
>
> Randy Robinson
> Seattle, WA
> rwr.personal AT gmail.com
>
> > From: johntubbs at comcast.net
> Subject: [Tweeters] American Goldfinches - Surplus
> Inventory Available at a
> Reduced Price
> Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:51:11 +0000
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
>
> Hi Everyone,
>
> I'll throw in my experience with American
> Goldfinches (AMGO) at my work feeders. For some
> reason I have large quantities of AMGO's year-round
> - although the numbers do fluctuate significantly at
> times - even though I don't do anything special in
> terms of specific feeding or feeders for them.
> Since the beginning of this year, my daily counts
> have ranged from 6 to 65 as a high
> single-point-in-time count, with an average of low
> 30's. Some of this variability is no doubt due to
> the fact that my sampling is pretty hit or miss
> based on my work schedule (yes, I do actually work
> sometimes despite the avian show outside my windows,
> although several folks have questioned the veracity
> of that statement...LOL!).
>
> Usually, the high count is from a large mixed flock
> that arrives more or less every day and usually
> hangs around for quite some time. The predominant
> species in the flock is AMGO, but there are always a
> smaller number of Pine Siskins and House Finches
> mixed in. (Periodically a predominantly Pine Siskin
> flock will show up as well - they are more nomadic
> and less predictable than the AMGO's are.)
>
> As to the feeding approach I use that draws these
> birds...
>
> I have a standard generic tube feeder with a mixed
> hulled birdseed, a cage-within-a-cage suet feeder
> and a caged black oil sunflower seed feeder, and in
> the winter I broadcast the hulled mixed birdseed on
> the ground also since many of the resident winter
> birds are primarily ground feeders. (I monitor the
> amount of broadcast seed and spread only a quantity
> that gets eaten during daylight hours to minimize
> the feeding of nocturnal mammals.) I don't have
> specialty goldfinch feeders or tubes out, and in
> fact don't feed thistle seed at all. The AMGO's
> don't use the suet feeder. They love, and mob, the
> tube feeder and also go in and out of the black oil
> sunflower feeder pretty regularly, although other
> species prefer the sunflower relative to the AMGO's.
> Perhaps significantly, large groups of AMGO's also
> forage on the ground for the broadcast seed, so that
> might be one reason why I get such a large group -
> I've had as many as 50+ feeding simultaneously on
> the ground with the !
> juncos,
> towhees and sparrows rather than arguing over the
> six perches on the tube feeder.
>
> My two cents worth of experience...!
>
> John Tubbs
> Snoqualmie, WA
> johntubbs at comcast.net
> www.tubbsphoto.com> From: Jeff Ernst
<jlernst26 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: [Tweeters] Hummer Nesting
> CC:
> Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:58:09 -0800 (PST)
> To: Tweeters at mailman1.u.washington.edu
>
> Hey Tweets - Have had Annas hummers in and around my
> yard for most of the winter and I just saw one of
> the females collecting moss from the branches of our
> tall Juniper tree. Looks like nesting season has
> started!
> Jeff Ernst
> jlernst26 at yahoo.com
> Vancouver, WA
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them
> fast with Yahoo! Search.> From: "Michael Hobbs"
<birdmarymoor at verizon.net>
> Subject: [Tweeters] Pierce. Thurston, & Grays Harbor
> Swing
> CC:
> Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:43:37 -0800
> To: "Tweeters \(E-mail\)"
> <TWEETERS at u.washington.edu>
>
> Tweets - I braved the awful weather and made a swing
> through Pierce,
> Thurston, and Grays Harbor counties yesterday and
> today. Every where I went
> (all the time, both days) it was windy, with
> frequent rain squalls, except
> when it was snowing. Given the weather, it was
> somewhat a waste of time and
> gas, but I did find a few things.
>
> >From the Dash Point Pier, I was able to get a good
> look at a RED-THROATED
> LOON and I had a distant flyby of a PACIFIC LOON.
> At Point Brown, just to
> the south, I had several COMMON MURRES close in.
>
> At the other end of Pierce County, I had some RED
> CROSSBILLS on Mounts Rd.
> in the golf course. That's the last exit north of
> the Nisqually valley. I
> *might* have heard a Blue Jay there too...
>
> In Thurston County, my first stop was Nisqually
> Reach, where there were
> several distant EARED GREBE mixed in with the more
> numerous HORNEDs. There
> were also several BRANT.
>
> At Boston Harbor, I got good looks at a PACIFIC LOON
> and a couple of BRANT'S
> CORMORANTS.
>
> This morning, I tried driving up the Wynoochee
> Valley Road in Grays Harbor
> County. Pavement ends at m.p. 17, and before m.p.
> 18, I had to turn around
> due to more than 10 inches of new snow. I did call
> in a NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL
> while attempting to toot some excitement into the
> chickadees. That was
> about it, though, except for a flock of 30+ VARIED
> THRUSH.
>
> Amazing how much damage there was from that wind
> storm earlier this winter.
> Huge blowdowns of large swaths of even mature
> forest, and almost every barn
> damaged extensively.
>
> Brady Loop provided the most excitement of the
> two-day trip. First, I had 9
> TUNDRA SWAN, with a scattering of BLACK-BELLIED
> PLOVER in attendance. Then
> I noticed a black hawk in a tree across the field.
> It was entirely black,
> except for a bit of white flecking on the upper
> breast, and except for the
> tail whose base was kind of ashy-colored with a
> darker tip. After watching
> it for quite a while, it took flight, confirming
> without doubt that it was a
> HARLAN'S HAWK. Very nice.
>
> Foster Rd. featured at least 3 EURASIAN WIGEON
> amongst the AMWIs. Then, as
> I was perusing more ducks, a PEREGRINE FALCON flew
> through.
>
> I stopped at Coulon Park in Renton on my return,
> hoping to find good gulls.
> I did have a HERRING GULL, but nothing else of note.
> It seemed gull numbers
> were a bit low, until I looked over to the mouth of
> the Cedar River.
> Airport officials hadn't hazed the gulls over there,
> so the missing hundreds
> were explained. I actually scooted over there at
> 5:00 p.m., hoping for joy.
> I met another birder there who reported that he'd
> had a GLAUCOUS GULL
> earlier, but that he'd lost track of it when the
> gulls had been spooked by
> an eagle. No sign of a Slaty-backed, and I couldn't
> relocate the Glaucous.
>
> I'm hoping the birding gods recognize my devotion to
> duty these past two
> days, and that I'll be appropriately rewarded at a
> future date...
>
> == Michael Hobbs
> == Kirkland, WA
> == http://www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
> == birdmarymoor at verizon.net
>
>
> > From: vogelfreund at comcast.net
> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Hummingbird memory
> Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2008 06:33:14 +0000
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
>
> Hi,
>
> I already said this in a mesage sometime time ago,
> also in answer to someone elses experience. But
> since it backs up other observations, I'm mentioning
> it again.
>
> When I was stationed at Fort Huachuca, AZ, a female
> Black-chinned Hummingbird kept returning to the
> exact spot under the eaves of our duplex on post,
> obviosly looking for the feeder I had hanging there
> in the 2 previous years (this was Spring). Since we
> were awaiting orders for Germany, I purposely didn't
> want the hummers to get habituated to the feeders
> again. But the persistence of the hummer paid off
> for her, and I hung a feeder back up, after brewing
> a pot of necktar.
>
> Actually, we didn't leave until July, so it gave the
> hummers a few months of sugarwater.
>
> Phil Hotlen
> Bellingham, WA
> -------------- Original message
> ----------------------
> From: karen reagan <sphitz at u.washington.edu>
> >
> > Hi Richard,
> >
> > There is indeed experimental work being done on
> hummingbird memory and learning.
> > A quick literature search turned up this abstract.
> I thought you might be
> > interested.
> >
> > Title: A field study of spatial memory in
> green-backed firecrown hummingbirds
> > (Sephanoides sephaniodes)
> > Author(s): Gonzalez-Gomez PL (Gonzalez-Gomez,
> Paulina L.), Vasquez RA (Vasquez,
> > Rodrigo A.)
> > Source: ETHOLOGY 112 (8): 790-795 AUG 2006
> >
> > Abstract: The foraging ecology of hummingbirds
> involves the exploitation of a
> > high number of patchily distributed flowers. This
> scenario seems to have
> > influenced capabilities related to learning and
> memory, which help to avoid
> > recently visited flowers and to allocate
> exploitation to the most rewarding
> > flowers, once learning has occurred. We carried
> out two field experiments with
> > the green-backed firecrown hummingbird
> (Sephanoides sephaniodes, Trochilidae) in
> > order to examine the ability of birds, first, to
> recall a nectar location, and
> > secondly, to remember the location of the most
> rewarding flower among lower
> > quality flowers. The first experiment showed that
> subjects were able to recall
> > the location of nectar among flowers of identical
> appearance. In the second
> > experiment, hummingbirds were also able to recall
> the location of the most
> > rewarding nectar among less rewarding flowers with
> the
> > same appearance. The results of this study suggest
> that S. sephaniodes can
> > remember the location of the most rewarding patch,
> facilitating efficient
> > exploitation of flowers in the absence of visual
> cues related to nectar quality.
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > -karen.reagan
> >
> > --------(snip)--------
> >
> > From: Richard Carlson <rccarl at pacbell.net>
> > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Hummer activity on Oak
> Bay. 2005 to 2007
> > To: Dave Nuttall <dave_nuttall at yahoo.com>,
> Tweeters
> > <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> >
> >
> > Tweeters:
> >
> > I don't know if there is experimental data, but my
> > hummers at Tahoe and Tucson appear to have a
> learning
> > curve and a memory. That means that once they
> know
> > the feeders are there, I'm one of the first places
> > that get checked when they return the next year.
> I'm
> > also one of the last spots to see the last
> migrants.
> > The result looks like they come earlier and
> earlier,
> > but I think that they're just smarter than we
> think.
> >
> > RCC
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Tweeters mailing list
> > Tweeters at u.washington.edu
> >
>
http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
>
>
> > From: Harry Nehls <hnehls at teleport.com>
> Subject: [Tweeters] RBA: Portland, OR 1-31-08
> CC:
> Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2008 23:30:07 -0800
> To: RBA <hnehls at teleport.com>
>
> - RBA
> * Oregon
> * Portland
> * January 31, 2008
> * ORPO0801.31
>
> - birds mentioned
>
> Ross?s Goose
> Blue-winged Teal
> ARCTIC LOON (no)
> American White Pelican
> Turkey Vulture
> BLACK SKIMMER
> Short-eared Owl
> Tree Swallow
> Barn Swallow
> Western Bluebird
> Mountain Bluebird
> Bohemian Waxwing
> American Tree Sparrow
> Lapland Longspur
> Yellow-headed Blackbird
> Brown-headed Cowbird
>
> - transcript
>
> hotline: Portland Oregon Audubon RBA (weekly)
> number: 503-292-6855
> To report: Harry Nehls 503-233-3976
> <hnehls at teleport.com>
> compiler: Harry Nehls
> coverage: entire state
>
> Hello, this is the Audubon Society of Portland Rare
> Bird Report. This report
> was made Thursday January 31. If you have anything
> to add call Harry Nehls
> at 503-233-3976.
>
> On January 26 a BLACK SKIMMER was reported on the
> beach at Pistol River. It
> could not be relocated. The Brownsmead ARCTIC LOON
> was not seen during the
> week.
>
> BARN and TREE SWALLOWS continue to be reported,
> especially along the
> southern Oregon Coast. A kettle of five TURKEY
> VULTURES were over Molalla
> River Park January 28. Another was over Newberg
> January 24, and another has
> been seen near Eugene.
>
> A BLUE-WINGED TEAL was at Coquille January 27. On
> January 25 a ROSS?S GOOSE
> was along Fenk Road near Tillamook.
>
> An AMERICAN TREE SPARROW is now being seen in
> Scappoose Bottoms. A
> SHORT-EARED OWL is nearby. On January 30 a
> YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD was found
> among a flock of 400 COWBIRDS on the east side of
> Sauvie Island. The WHITE
> PELICAN is still being seen at Baskett Slough NWR.
> On January 28 a male
> MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD was among a flock of WESTERN
> BLUEBIRDS near the EE Wilson
> WMA. A BLUE-WINGED TEAL was in Eugene January 30.
>
> On January 30 a BOHEMIAN WAXWING was in Bend. On
> January 23 an AMERICAN TREE
> SPARROW, two MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, and five LAPLAND
> LONGSPURS were along
> Stateline Road in Lower Klamath NWR.
>
> That?s it for this week.
>
> - end transcript
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > From: Gwynn Harris <rikwilma at hotmail.com>
> Subject: [Tweeters] Panama
> Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:07:22 +0000
> To: <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
>
>
> Hello- I am thinking of going to Panama City and I
> would love some tips from anyone who has been
> birding in that area. We would like to go to the
> Soberania National Park/Pipeline Road. Is it
> possible (or safe) to hike that area on our own or
> is it necessary to take a tour? Please let me know
> if you have any insights on this or any other
> pointers for that area.
>
> Thanks!
>
> -Gwynn Harris
>
_________________________________________________________________
> Shed those extra pounds with MSN and The Biggest
> Loser!
> http://biggestloser.msn.com/
> > From: Richard Carlson <rccarl at pacbell.net>
> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Panama
> CC:
> Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:28:07 -0800 (PST)
> To: Gwynn Harris <rikwilma at hotmail.com>,
> tweeters at u.washington.edu
>
> Gwynn et al:
>
> Panama is outstanding birding, better than Costa
> Rica,
> and I've been to both. We saw 450 species in 12 days
> on our first trip. Pipeline road is great birding,
> you're unlikely to be the only birders. You need a
> guide more for finding the skulking birds than for
> safety. Get there very early, it gets very hot.
>
> Guido Berguido at http://www.advantagepanama.com
> is an outstanding local guide. Metro park right in
> Panama City is also a great spot.
>
> Canopy Towers also very good but $$$$.
>
> RCC
>
> --- Gwynn Harris <rikwilma at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> >
> > Hello- I am thinking of going to Panama City and I
> > would love some tips from anyone who has been
> > birding in that area. We would like to go to the
> > Soberania National Park/Pipeline Road. Is it
> > possible (or safe) to hike that area on our own or
> > is it necessary to take a tour? Please let me know
> > if you have any insights on this or any other
> > pointers for that area.
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > -Gwynn Harris
> >
>
_________________________________________________________________
> > Shed those extra pounds with MSN and The Biggest
> > Loser!
> >
>
http://biggestloser.msn.com/_______________________________________________
> > Tweeters mailing list
> > Tweeters at u.washington.edu
> >
>
http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
> >
>
>
> > From: "Paul Hicks" <phicks at accessgrace.org>
> Subject: [Tweeters] aggressive warbler and other
> feeder birds
> CC:
> Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:47:06 -0800
> To: ", tweeters" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
>
> Tweets,
> The last couple weeks a single male Yellow-rumped
> Warbler has laid claim to
> my suet cake feeder. He keeps constant vigil and
> chases off most competitors
> except the much larger starlings, jays and Varied
> Thrush. A WHITE-THROATED
> SPARROW makes an appearance once in a great while (2
> or 3x in January), in
> company with Golden-crowns. Good birding!
> --Paul Hicks, Tenino, s. Thurston Co
> phicks AT accessgrace.org
>
>
>
> > _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> Tweeters at mailman1.u.washington.edu
>
http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters>
_______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
>
http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
>