FONT E-Newsl Bulletins in 2006

Although this tour would take us into 3 South American countries, it was mostly, by far, in Brazil. There's certainly no doubt about it - Brazil is a great place for birding, which is why our September 3-17, 2006 tour there was our 39th in that country.

During the tour, we visited 3 distinctly different areas. Firstly, we went to Iguazu Falls, in southern Brazil by the border with Argentina & Paraguay. The falls itself is spectacular, and the national park on the Brazilian side of the river is a wonderful place, with nice forest that's good for both BIRDS and BUTTERFLIES.
As we were in the area, one afternoon we visited Paraguay to see what nature (particularly birds) we'd see there. The hummingbird known as the BLACK JACOBIN there was a bit of a surprise for us (at the far western edge of its range). The hummingbird known as the GILDED SAPPHIRE was the only one we'd see during the entire tour, and, oddly, another "exclusive" for us in Paraguay was the colorful YELLOW-FRONTED WOODPECKER, a species we often see in southeastern Brazil. Colorful, yes, as it's not just yellow, but also with bright red, and black and white. It's in the same genus as the Acorn Woodpecker of North America.

The second area of Brazil that we visited is one of best regions in all of South America for the observation of nature - the area of the Pantanal in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul. We stayed at two places in that area, each a bit different from the other in terms of setting and habitat, and therefore each with some different birds. Both, however, had wildlife just outside the doors of where we slept and ate. Also outside those doors, birds ate too, often in large numbers, especially in the morning coming to feed put on trays for them. At one place, there were dozens of BLACK-HOODED, or NANDAY, PARAKEETS. At both places, there were DOVES (as many as 7 species) including the LONG-TAILED GROUND-DOVE, a bird, it could be said, to be "of the Pantanal". There were 2 species of CARDINALS, the RED-CRESTED and the more-common YELLOW-BILLED (also, by the way, with a red head, and with a bill that usually appears more orange than red). There were also numbers of bright yellow SAFFRON FINCHES. And, at the feeders, as well, were SAYACA TANAGERS, with their soft blue hue (a cousin of the Blue-gray Tanager), along with an assortment of FLYCATCHERS, SALTATORS, THRUSHES, and even CARACARAS outside those doors.

Black-hooded (or Nanday) Parakeets,
coming to lunch outside where we had ours in the Pantanal

That part of the Pantanal is not far from the border with Bolivia, and so one afternoon we visited that country, where mostly by a large lake, we saw a nice number of birds. Nice to see was a flock of about 15 NACUNDA NIGHTHAWKS that rose up at about 5 in the afternoon, from a grassy island, to fly about. They had been roosting on that island during most of the day. Also nice for us in Bolivia were 2 APLOMADO FALCONS perched side by side.

And then, the third area of the tour was in the interior of southeastern Brazil, in the state of Minas Gerais, a place known for mining and gems, and historic cities in the hills. The most famous of them is Ouro Preto, with cobblestone streets and many churches. A reason why we chose this to be the third region for our September '06 Tour was because, for birding, it's very "Brazilian". Whereas the other areas were near borders, Minas Gerais is a place, on the other hand, where a number of birds endemic to Brazil can be found. It's a good place for specialties and also for some rarities. Foremost among the latter, for us, was the BRAZILIAN MERGANSER. It is, in fact, one of the rarest birds in the world, with an estimated total population of less than 200 birds. We saw a pair of them, nicely, in a telescope, gray and green, blending in against gray rocks along a riverside. This was the 5th FONT tour during which we'd seen the BRAZILIAN MERGANSER, or "PATO MERGULHAO", since 1997. 50 years before that the bird was thought to be extinct. It was re-found in 1948. Seeing the BRAZILIAN MERGANSER, as we did, was certainly one of the highlights of our September '06 Tour.

But the merganser was not the only highlight. When a tour is in the Brazilian Pantanal, there are undoubtedly other highlights too. Nor was the merganser the only rarity. In the Pantanal, there's also the HYACINTH MACAW. Actually, we saw ours, during the Sept '06 tour, rather unexpectedly prior to being in the Pantanal, by a large rocky hill. 2 HYACINTH MACAWS were perched in a large cliffside hole. In that area, during previous tours, we've seen Red-and-green Macaws. Just a mile or so down the road, after our first Hyacinth pair, we saw another, closer to us, perched in a tree.

The HYACINTH MACAW is the largest member of the parrot family, anywhere in the world. In Brazil, yes, a large country, and the largest in South America, there are some other birds, that we also saw in the "largest" category. The TOCO TOUCAN is the largest of that tribe. The GREATER RHEA is the largest American bird. It is flightless. Standing almost as tall, the JABIRU is the largest American stork. Over 5 feet tall, it is big. We saw many JABIRUS. And many other birds too (EGRETS, IBISES, STORKS, SPOONBILLS, and others) congregated at dwindling waterholes in the Pantanal during the dry season, as it was in September.

I noted earlier that in the area of the Pantanal, in Mato Grosso do Sul, we stayed at two places. And I said that both were in various ways different from each other. Both, certainly, were great places to visit. But at one of the places, the excursions that we took in open vehicles, throughout the vast property, were great. During the day, we traveled in such a way through extensive rice-fields, and then into other habitats, along channels, and by edges of fields with scattered trees and sometimes by dense forest. At night, we also did such excursions - on two consecutive nights. They were simply put, absolutely superb!

During one of those two nights, we saw a JAGUAR. It was a fair distance away, but in our binoculars we could see the spots, the ears, the large head, and its face as it looked at us. When it arose, in the mist, the cat steadfastly just walked away. It was an image not ever to be forgotten. Some of the other animals we saw that night would run into the distance. The fearless JAGUAR did not.
In addition to the JAGUAR, other animals that we saw on the open-vehicle excursions during those two consecutive nights were:
7 OCELOTS (*)
a PANTANAL CAT (*) (formerly considered part of the more-southerly PAMPAS CAT)
a MANED WOLF (*)
2 BRAZILIAN TAPIRS
3 GIANT ANTEATERS
CRAB-EATING FOXES (*)
CRAB-EATING RACCOONS (*)
about a dozen MARSH DEER (*)
a TAPITI (or BRAZILIAN RABBIT)
and many CAPYBARAS.
Not only animals were seen during those nocturnal excursions. We also saw, nicely, STRIPED OWL (*) and BARN OWL (*), and a large number of NIGHTJARS including: SCISSOR-TAILED NIGHTJAR (*), LITTLE NIGHTJAR (*), and PAURAQUE. Additionally, we heard RUFOUS NIGHTJARS and GRAY (formerly called COMMON) POTOOS. The call of the former is rather like that of a Chuck-Will's-Widow. The call of the latter is one of the most beautiful sounds in nature.

During the tour, we were fortunate to have with us a talented photographer, who took excellent photographs of many of the animals and nocturnal birds just mentioned. Photographs of those with an (*) are elsewhere in the FONT website:
Photos of Birds & Animals from our Sep '06 Brazil Tour

Also elsewhere in this website in the feature relating to "South American Mammals", there are photos of the MARSH DEER and CAPYBARAS, and also during the tour, those of BLACK HOWLER MONKEYS. Other animals that we saw during the Sept '06 Brazil Tour included: GIANT OTTER, both RED and BROWN BROCKET DEER, AZARA'S AGOUTI, SOUTH AMERICAN COATI, the BLACK-STRIPED TUFTED CAPUCHIN (MONKEY), the MASKED TITI (MONKEY), the BUFFY-HEADED MARMOSET, and the BRAZILIAN SQUIRREL and BRAZILIAN GUINEA-PIG.

Fine photographs of birds, taken during the FONT September '06 Brazil Tour, now in our website, include those of:
HYACINTH MACAW
BLUE-AND-YELLOW MACAW
PLUMBEOUS IBIS
BUFF-NECKED IBIS
SAVANNA HAWK
PALE-CRESTED WOODPECKER
CRIMSON-CRESTED WOODPECKER
WHITE WOODPECKER
RED-BILLED SCYTHEBILL
NARROW-BILLED WOODCREEPER
RUFOUS-TAILED JACAMAR
AMERICAN PYGMY KINGFISHER
AMAZON KINGFISHER
BLACK-HOODED PARAKEETS
GRAY-NECKED WOOD-RAIL
RUFOUS HORNERO at its nest
BLACK-CAPPED DONACOBIOUS
GREAT ANTSHRIKE
SILVER-BEAKED TANAGER
YELLOW-BILLED CARDINAL
ORANGE-BACKED TROUPIAL
WHITE-BELLIED SEEDEATER
WHITE-BROWED BLACKBIRD
Again, these are reached from the link in the feature box on the home-page.

In all, over 380 species of birds were found during our September '06 tour in Brazil. A complete listing of them is in our website under 2006 Previous Tour Highlights.

Among the nearly 400 birds during our September '06 Brazil Tour, there are still a few, not yet mentioned here, that should be.
Before we saw the Brazilian Merganser, in Minas Gerais, we were fortunate to see both a CROWNED SOLITARY EAGLE and an ORNATE HAWK-EAGLE fly above us. A few days earlier, in another part of Minas Gerais, we were fortunate to see a MANTLED HAWK circling about in the sky. On the ground, a number of times in Minas Gerais, we enjoyed watching RED-LEGGED SERIEMAS (odd creatures to say the least). Some other notable sightings in Minas Gerais included these:
on a treetop near Ouro Preto, a SWALLOW-TAILED COTINGA (a beautiful bird),
at a marsh, the striking burgundy and beige-colored bird with a long tail, called the STREAMER-TAILED TYRANT,
by a stream, a nice look at a SHARP-TAILED STEAMCREEPER (imagine, "they" wanted us to call that bird the STREAMSIDE LOCHMIAS),
on a forest floor, another nice look at certainly a dapper little bird, the RUFOUS GNATEATER,
in trees, in another forest, high in the hills above a belt of coffee groves, birds such as the GIANT ANTSHRIKE (that it is), and the brilliantly-blue DIADEMED TANAGER. Just a few miles back down the road, also brilliantly-blue male SWALLOW-TAILED MANAKINS were performing at their lek.
At yet another Minas Gerais location, where we stopped for a sandwich for lunch, a bird not often seen, a GREEN-CHINNED EUPHONIA, also came by to eat, at a feeding tray.
These were some of the birds during the last few days of the tour.

During the first few days, in the area of Iguazu Falls (which we already referred to as "spectacular"), there were yet some other birds worth noting.
Over the river above the falls, there were at least a few dozen SNAIL KITES flying about above the water and landing on the small rocky islands. We've been to Iguazu over 10 times during previous FONT tours in Brazil and Argentina, but, prior to this tour, we had never seen SNAIL KITES there.
GREAT DUSKY SWIFTS were at the falls, but not as many as there could be (or have been for us in the past).
During one of our mornings at Iguazu, a tree bare of leaves was, however, filled with color. It was filled with EUPHONIAS in brilliant plumage, mostly VIOLACEOUS, feeding on berries. The also-colorful BLUE-NAPED CHLOROPHONIA was there as well, along with the CHESTNUT-BELLIED EUPHONIA (also a looker!) Across the road, a white bird with a blue throat that's a member of the cotinga family, was calling loudly - a BARE-THROATED BELLBIRD.
Among trees in the forest, that morning, at one time we were surrounded by ANTBIRDS with other birds in a mixed flock. There were both STREAK-CAPPED and RUFOUS-WINGED ANTWRENS, BERTONI'S ANTBIRD, and PLAIN ANTVIREO. In the distance, a SHORT-TAILED ANTTHRUSH was calling.
One of our most interesting bird sightings at Iguazu was when the head of a BLOND-CRESTED WOODPECKER appeared out of a treehole, at eye-level. It looked at us. And we looked at it, of course!

That woodpecker was just one of the nice encounters we had with birds, and other nature, during our September '06 Brazilian Tour, in the areas of Iguazu, Mato Grosso do Sul (the Pantanal), and Minas Gerais. We look forward to more such encounters when we return to Brazil in 2007.

Narratives follow that relate to FONT tours in Sweden & Iceland in Sep & Oct '06, and in Guatemala in Mar '06:

Sweden, September 2006

Sweden, during the southbound fall migration of birds, is a wonderful place to be. There are birds, and there are birders with whom to share the experience. At a couple particular places along the coast, that avian migration can be tremendous. During our September 23-28, 2006 Sweden Tour, we about half of our time in each of those two particular places.

One place was the Falsterbo/Skanor area at the southern tip of Sweden, where birds funnel in as they are about to cross the Baltic Sea, as they continue their journey south. The birds there at Falsterbo are of various kinds: RAPTORS, PASSERINE LANDBIRDS, SHOREBIRDS, and WATERBIRDS.

The other place that we visited for good birding was the long, narrow island of Oland. That island is in southeastern Sweden, and yes, it is long, over a hundred miles. Birds in passage on Oland can be anywhere on the island, but it's the southern tip that's usually the best spot to be, especially early in the morning. Oland is a very pastoral place, with farmfields and small villages. There's very little commercialism. In fact, much of Oland, at least on a clear day, looks like a post card, with very clean-looking houses, barns, and stone fences. Though the island overall looks like a post card, rather ironically there are not many places there to by post cards. Stores, even for groceries, are few and far between. Actually, the best shop for postcards seemed to be a store (which we assume to be seasonal, during migration time), filled with an array of bird books and birding optical equipment. In the fall, Swedish birders come to Oland from throughout the country, as do other birders from some various, mostly European, countries. We met many birders when we were in Sweden, mostly Swedish, but also other Scandanavians, Dutch, British, and probably others. However, we met no other birders from North America. We did, however, actually meet a bird from North America on Oland, a PECTORAL SANDPIPER. It, of course, was a favorite of the European birders. Word regarding any "good bird" that appears anywhere on the island spreads fast, as all of the birders have beepers.

Oland gets "good birds" from the east as well as from the west. Each year, there are a number of species that normally reside east of western Europe. During our '06 stay, one such bird we saw was the YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER of Siberia. We also enjoyed a nicely cooperative RED-BREASTED FLYCATCHER, sallying for insects from the low branches of a bush - the same bush in which it had been found a hour or so earlier. In Europe, that species is primarily Russian. Another bird from eastern Europe that we saw on Oland was a LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE. It was spotted - by us - as we traveled along a country road.

The Lesser Spotted was not the only eagle for us during our stay on Oland. At the southern tip of the island, along the coastline, where there were some shorebirds and many waterfowl, a WHITE-TAILED EAGLE was present. We would see it either perched on a big rock, or on something else above the fray. When it flew, so did many other birds.
Especially nice to see at that part of Oland was the large flock of BARNACLE GEESE that was sometimes at rest on the flats. They came from far-northern Europe.
And yet another bird from far-northern Europe was at the southern end of Oland during our tour, that was really good - you might say "steller". With COMMON EIDERS, either resting on the rocks, or swimming and feeding in the nearby sea, there was a STELLER'S EIDER! It was a male, although not in adult breeding plumage. Still, a great bird, and a "new bird", not just for the FONT Sweden tours, but for FONT European tours overall. There have been 49 FONT birding tours in Europe since 1990. The STELLER'S EIDER at Oland Island, Sweden in September '06 was bird #437 for FONT in Europe.

A male Steller's Eider in non-breeding plumage,
photographed during the September 2006
FONT tour in Sweden,
by Claude Bloch

And there were yet other fine birding moments for us in September '06 on Oland Island. Seeing the COMMON (or EUROPEAN) CRANES was such a time.
At other times when we'd enter small groves of trees, either by a beach, or near the lighthouse, there were small birds, often tamely about. Most often they were EUROPEAN ROBINS and GOLDCRESTS (dapper little birds similar to American KINGLETS). Of course, we'd look for other species among them (and would find some), but it was hard not to continue to look at those tame ROBINS and GOLDCREST. The EUROPEAN ROBIN is, of course, smaller than the AMERICAN ROBIN (and actually a quite different bird). The GOLDCREST is about the smallest of European birds (with the similar FIRECREST being about the same size). Having either the ROBIN or the GOLDCREST in the grass at one's feet, or very closely on a branch of a bush, is nice indeed. For about the smallest of European birds, binoculars were not needed.

Conversely, at other times during the September '06 Sweden tour, and especially at Falsterbo, the small birds, flying in migration overhead, were so high in the sky that binoculars hardly helped. Most species, at some time during the tour, were seen well, but many times birds such as WOODLARKS and SKYLARKS (aptly named) were certainly up there. We became somewhat adept at identifying such birds overhead by their flight calls, but, in all candor, we were not as adept (nor ever would be) as were the kind Swedish birders who constantly told us what was calling up the sky beyond the realm of vision.
I should take a moment to explain something in this regard. From the moment we arrived in Sweden, until the morning of the day that we left, the sky was clear, nearly always cloudless. For a site in western Europe, that's very unusual for sure. And because the weather, everyday, was so "good", some of the bird migration tended to higher. During our tours at Falsterbo in previous years, with weather more varied, with more wind and low clouds, many birds were seen closer to the ground in, for example, bushes at Falsterbo by the greens of the golf course, or even on the greens themselves. In those bushes, there would be flocks BLUE TITS and other birds as if they were made on "production lines" somewhere further north. On the golf course greens, themselves, flocks would land of such birds as PIPITS and WAGTAILS and various FINCHES.
In September '06, there were some of these, yes, but not as obviously. A notable bird that did alight by us in one of the golf course bushes, however, was a NORTHERN GRAY SHRIKE (in North America, the species is called the NORTHERN SHRIKE).
A explanatory comment should be given regarding the golf course that's been referred to. It's at the tip of the peninsula at Falsterbo, where the birds and birders convene in the fall. In Sweden, due to both custom and law, the golfers and the birders and the birds all coexist at that golf course during the time of the bird migration. Respect is given by the birders, who don't enter upon a green when the golfers are there. The birds go about their business of migrating regardless who is there.

RAPTORS are overhead above Falsterbo, sometimes in large numbers. The most common for us in '06 were, as they would normally be, EURASIAN SPARROWHAWKS and COMMON BUZZARDS. Because we were about a week earlier than our other years, we saw more EUROPEAN HONEY-BUZZARDS. We were too early for Rough-legged Buzzards. Again, as during our other years, the RED KITES were fun to watch. During our September '06 Sweden Tour, other RAPTORS included 2 species of HARRIERS (WESTERN MARSH & HEN), the 2 species of EAGLES already noted, NORTHERN GOSHAWK, EURASIAN KESTRELS, MERLIN, PEREGRINE FALCON, and the NORTHERN (or EURASIAN) HOBBY. The last of these was a favorite during the tour, particularly when we watched a group of them flying about in the sky catching dragonflies. The behavior of the HOBBY is similar to that of the Mississippi Kite in North America.

The birds called SHOREBIRDS in North America are referred to as WADERS in Eurasia. In addition to the American SHOREBIRD, the PECTORAL SANDPIPER, already mentioned, the WADERS we saw during our '06 Sweden Tour were: EUROPEAN GOLDEN PLOVER, GREY PLOVER, NORTHERN LAPWING, DUNLIN, RED KNOT, COMMON and SPOTTED REDSHANKS, COMMON GREENSHANK, COMMON SANDPIPER, RUFF, EURASIAN CURLEW, the similar and smaller WHIMBREL, and PIED AVOCET. Not at all a bad assortment, and it's always nice to see SHOREBIRDS, or WADERS, whichever they're called.

WADERS were among the birds, at times numerous, on the large farm fields throughout the Swedish region of " Skane". It's a flat region of mostly farms, with small villages, north of Falsterbo. The countryside there is dotted with windmills and churches. Some of the fields there, in the fall, can be covered with birds. We saw some large flocks. The GULLS favoring fields were the COMMON and BLACK-HEADED. WADERS included big groups of GOLDEN PLOVERS and LAPWINGS. On one of the fields, with the PLOVERS, we saw a few birds that looked, superficially, like large BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS of North America. They were actually juvenile RUFFS, about to continue on their way further south.

The flocks of SPOTTED REDSHANKS that we saw were also to continue southward, to either the Mediterranean area, or further south, to Africa.
A flock of KNOTS we saw, along the shoreline at Falsterbo, had come from their breeding grounds in the High Arctic. That flock would never connect with those of the same species we see in North America that migrate many miles south to the end of land in South America (Tierra del Fuego). But where we saw those KNOTS, during our Sweden Tour, was close to where the species got its name - just a relatively few miles across the Baltic in Denmark. "The KNOT was called CANUTUS (that's still the scientific name), bird of old, of that great king of the Danes, his name that still doth hold, his appetite to please, that farre and neare was sought, for him (as some have said), from Denmark hither brought". Thus, the name of the KNOT. The quote just given was written in 1622.

Our tour in Scandanavia, with KNOTS and all the other birds, written about now, 384 years later in 2006, was an enjoyable experience. Most of our birding, as has been noted, was in Sweden, but we were also in Denmark, as the tour began and ended at the airport in Copenhagen.
After this tour on the European mainland, there was another, that followed, in Iceland. Each year, the FONT Sweden and Iceland Tours in the Fall can be done in conjunction with each other.

The KNOT was one of 110 species of birds found during our '06 Sweden Tour. A link to the list is at the beginning of this narrative.

We also saw BUTTERFLIES, notably groups of RED ADMIRALS, Vanessa Atalanta, a strong flier that's migratory (they say, a northward migrant from Africa), and some MAMMALS: both GRAY and HARBOR SEALS, and FALLOW DEER. The last of these were brought from the Mediterranean Region to the southern part of Oland Island, over 300 years ago, when that location was a royal estate.

The MIGRATION of BIRDS in southern Sweden has been well tracked for many years. I don't know if that's been so for 300 or more years, but certainly detailed records, tallying the migrants, have been kept through much of the 20th Century.
In 2006, it was good for us to be there again, with one of the foremost of the world's BIRD MIGRATIONS. Regardless how many years records of it have been kept, the MIGRATION there, one can imagine, has occurred as long as there have been BIRDS flying south every fall.

ICELAND, September/October 2006:

There have been 14 FONT birding & nature tours in Iceland, and oddly, in a way, most of them have been in the Fall.
Yes, we've also enjoyed Iceland in the late Spring (late May & early June), and it is wonderful then with all of the breeding birds and the wildflowers in addition to the fascinating geology and wonderful scenery.
But Iceland in the Fall also has its strong points. The geology and scenery of course are still there. The days are still long enough. After dark, the "NORTHERN LIGHTS", or AURORA BOREALIS, can be seen dancing in the sky.
FONT started, years ago, going to Iceland in the Fall as something interesting to do in conjunction with the tour in southern Sweden for the southbound bird migration. Our Fall Iceland tours, until this one, were in October. In 2006, we went about a week earlier, being there for the first time during September, and then spilling a day or two into October.

In relation to birds, Iceland in the Fall is when some are coming and others are going, and their paths are in a number of directions. During our Fall '06 tour, we saw EURASIAN CURLEWS and BAR-TAILED GODWIT along the southern Icelandic shorebird. Both species had come from Norway to spend the winter in Iceland. Nearby, at a pasture with Icelandic Horses, there were WHEATEAR and WHITE WAGTAIL. Those two species were about to leave Iceland to go to mainland Europe - to Spain, or even to Africa.

From North America, that same day, we saw a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER (an Icelandic rarity - the 6th record for the island), a SABINE'S GULL (a species that breeds in the Canadian Arctic, and not in far-northern Europe), and a SNOW GOOSE that joined in other geese. The dowitcher was on a pasture with EUROPEAN GOLDEN PLOVERS (they were staging prior to their migration to the British Isles). The SABINE'S GULL was in a flock of assorted gulls in a fishing village. In that assemblage there were BLACK-HEADED and BLACK-BACKED GULLS, HERRING GULLS (of a European race), and GLAUCOUS and ICELAND GULLS. The GLAUCOUS GULLS stay in Iceland year-round, but the ICELAND GULL, it's name notwithstanding, has just arrived from Greenland. It breeds there, and not in Iceland at all. Some LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were still about, but that species, now abundant in Iceland during the breeding season, otherwise departs (to southwestern Europe, and probably elsewhere).

The SNOW GOOSE, mentioned a moment ago, was 1 of 5 species of geese during our tour. It was the rarest, as we only saw one. It was in with a flock of GREYLAG GEESE. That's the most commonly seen goose in Iceland, widespread in the lowlands. The PINK-FOOTED GOOSE nests in Iceland in the interior highlands, but our encounter with that species was an interesting one at sea level. The birds were in a large, tight flock out on a bay. There were hundreds of birds close together in that group. When we stopped our vehicle, and even before we exited, the big flock simultaneously did the same, to be further from us. I read later that such wary behavior is normal for that species, outside their breeding season. The large flock was soon to go to where the birds would winter in England, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
In northwestern Iceland, at the entrance to a large fjord, we saw a massive number of BRANT (or BRENT GEESE as they're called in Europe). We've seen them staging there during previous years. Those birds, from Greenland, would continue on their journey to winter in Ireland. What we had not seen during any of previous Iceland tours, was a flock of BARNACLE GEESE, migrating as they do through Iceland in late September into October. That was because they normally occur in another part of the island where we don't normally go in the fall. This time, however, we did, and so we saw a large flock of Barnacle Geese, resting during their migration from Greenland to Scotland. They were in southeastern Iceland on rather barren terrain where in the summer more Great Skuas nest than anywhere else. Barnacle Geese are nice to see. As I looked at them, I thought of how the fluffy young goslings in Greenland had plummeted down seaside cliffs.
The only normally-occurring goose that we did not see in Iceland during our Fall '06 tour was the Greater White-fronted, a species that also passes through Iceland from Greenland to elsewhere. In Iceland, its path is usually through the southwestern part of the island. Well, we couldn't be everywhere (even though it could be said we tried!)

During our '06 Fall tour, there were no Great Skuas, where we saw them earlier in the year during our May/June tour, in barren southeastern Iceland (where, as just noted, in October we saw the Barnacle Geese). Actually, during FONT Iceland tours in the past, prior to Oct '06, we'd only seen Great Skuas in Iceland in the late Spring. But during our Fall 2006 tour, we did enjoy seeing a few GREAT SKUAS in northwestern Iceland, flying over a fjord where often we've had good birding. It's a fjord where apparently numerous fish often cause there to be, in our experience, numerous birds and marine mammals such as seals and whales.
Our GREAT SKUAS in the Fall '06 were seen on the last day of September, so still we haven't seen a Great Skua in Iceland in October.
The same also applies to the Arctic Tern. During our Fall '06 tour, at the same fjord, we also saw a few ARCTIC TERNS. When we've been in Iceland in the late Spring, the Arctic Tern is one of the most abundant birds, occurring at nest sites throughout the Country. As with the Great Skua, prior to the Fall of '06, we'd never seen an Arctic Tern during that season, and still have not in October. Of all the Icelandic birds, the Arctic Terns that leave after they nest travel the furthest. They go south beyond South Africa into the Indian Ocean and to waters off the west coast of Australia.

A Shag, photographed during
the FONT Sep/Oct '06 Iceland Tour,
by Claude Bloch

In northwestern Iceland, a picturesque area of bays and islands is the stronghold in the country for the WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. During our Fall '06 Tour in that area, we enjoyed sightings of 5 of them. Our first were from a boat, from which, in addition to the nice scenery, we saw, closely, SHAGS, in addition to flocks of EIDER, and, on the water, BLACK GUILLEMOTS not-so-black in their non-breeding plumage.
The WHITE-TAILED EAGLE population in Iceland is not large, with only about 30 nesting pairs. The first pair that we saw (from the boat) we were told did not nest successfully in 2006. The species ranges across northern Eurasia, as far east as northern Japan, as far west as Greenland.

But is Greenland in Eurasia? No, it's said by most to be part of North America. So, birds that come to Iceland from Greenland, such as the geese, various shorebirds, the Wheatear, the Iceland Gull, and even another race of Black Guillemots that come for the winter, are, in essence, changing continents.
In Iceland, itself, there are just 3 bird species that are "North American". They are: the COMMON LOON (called in Europe the GREAT NORTHERN DIVER), the HARLEQUIN DUCK, and the BARROW'S GOLDENEYE. None of these nest anywhere else in Europe. Some of the Loons (or Divers) spend the winter off, for example, the coast of Scotland. But the Barrow's Goldeneye and Harlequin Duck do not normally occur anywhere else in Europe.

During our Fall Iceland Tours, we do not usually visit Lake Myvatan, a large lake in the Icelandic northern highlands that is, in the late spring and summer a nursery for many ducks. But in the Fall of '06 we did go there, and found that a number of ducks were still there too (as the lake had not yet frozen). The COMMON (or BLACK) SCOTER, for example, that nests there, was still present. It had not yet gone to the sea. The HARLEQUIN DUCKS that nest by rapids along a rushing stream near the lake were gone. We had seen them the previous day along the northern Icelandic seacoast, bobbing about on the ocean, just a very few miles from the Arctic Circle. Where the Harlequins are in the late spring and summer, however, we did see something fascinating - a large flock of dozens of male BARROW'S GOLDENEYES in the rapids of the stream. Certainly, that was the largest such grouping of BARROW'S GOLDENEYES in Europe. It was quite a sight, and with a background not to be forgotten with volcanic craters, and dark clouds in sunlight with the most vivid of complete, colorful rainbows.
About an hour or so, further along the road in the highlands, we saw one of the very few land mammals in Iceland, a CARIBOU (or REINDEER). It was a male with a huge rack of antlers - a descendent of animals brought to Iceland years before from Lappland.

In this narrative, mention has been made of where Iceland birds come from, and where they go. And the mixture of what's European and American has been noted. Actually, Iceland, itself, (although a European country) is a mixture of European and American. It's the only place where the Mid-Atlantic Rift is above the surface of the ocean. A bridge over the rift, where it appears as a channel of water, is actually a bridge between continents. And that's just another thing of what's in Iceland that's interesting.

Interesting, too, is the Iceland bird-list. Although about 70 species of birds breed, during the late-spring and summer, in Iceland, and a few other birds routinely come to spend the winter (such as the curlew & godwit mentioned earlier), the number of birds on the Iceland list is substantially more, about 350 species. That's due to the number of rarities and vagrants that come from either Europe or America.
We look forward to going to Iceland to see what unexpected birds we find. During our next tour, the FONT Iceland bird-list should top 100 species. As of now (the end of 2006), we're at 96.

Icelandic scenery, during our Fall '06 tour

FONT E-News, Volume 7, No. 9
July 27, 2006
from Focus On Nature Tours, Inc.

"Red Knots in Peril, in Patagonia, & Other Places"

The following is special Birdline/FONT feature, as given on the Birdline on the internet on June 13, 2005, relating to KNOTS and other shorebirds that have staged annually over the years, in the late-spring, along the shores of the Delaware Bay in the USA. That phenomenon may not continue, in the future, to be what it has been.

Excerpts from the following feature (reached from the homepage of the FONT (Focus On Nature Tours) web-site: www.focusonnature.com) were on the Birdline on the Radio on June 15 & 22, 2005 on radio station AM 1450 WILM in Wilmington, Delaware, where the Birdline is heard on Wednesdays before 6am, 9am, and 7pm (Eastern Time). The Birdline on the Radio can be heard anywhere at those times at: www.wilm.com

The text of an additional Birdline Feature, given on the Birdlines on the internet, on June 22, is also included before the end of the following text.

RED KNOTS IN AMERICA IN PERIL
in Chile, Argentina, Delaware & New Jersey, and northern Canada
written by Armas Hill

Thousands of miles away, in southern South America, there's a ferry that carries mostly trucks and a few cars across the Strait of Magellan. Even though it's at the eastern end of the strait, not far from the Atlantic, it's in Chile.

In the water, by the boat, there are COMMERSON'S DOLPHINS (with their beautiful black and white pattern). Also in the water, MAGELLANIC PENGUINS fish. In the sky, KING CORMORANTS fly (with black-and-white coloration, like the dolphins and the penguins). In the air, above the feeding penguins, there are SOUTH AMERICAN TERNS emitting their raucous calls as they fly about. SOUTHERN GIANT-PETRELS fly by, ready to scavenge. At a distance, over the sea, BLACK-BROWED ALBATROSSES continuously glide up and down in arcs. Also at a distance, on the beach, there's a flock of SHOREBIRDS that only recently arrived from somewhere else. It's November. When it's spring, going into summer, there, back here in the Northern Hemisphere, from where the shorebirds came, it's fall, going into winter. All of the other wildlife just mentioned reside year-round in the Southern Hemisphere. But the shorebirds have gone from one summer to another to feed on the beach there, in the intertidal zone of mollusks and crustaceans. The SHOREBIRDS in a flock are RED KNOTS, the subspecies CALIDRIS CANUTUS RUFA, that inhabits the Americas.

In that area of Chile, just referred to, nearly no people live. There are no towns or cities. Even the ferry operators live in small settlements some distance away. There's no pollution, and virtually no noise (other than what's natural). If one were to walk along the coast with the KNOTS, just a short distance from the sound of the ferry, only surf and natural sounds such as the raucous calls of the TERNS would be heard.

Also in southern Argentina, but a thousand miles to the north, along the Atlantic, in Argentina, there are long and clean beaches that extend for miles. Again, many of those miles are without people, pollution, and unnatural noise. Along some stretches of that coast, in Patagonia, there are SEALS and SEA-LIONS, KILLER WHALES and DOLPHINS, in and beyond the surf, and SOUTHERN RIGHT WHALES in some of the bays. Various GULLS and TERNS are throughout. Also along parts of that Argentine coast, there can be thousands of MANX SHEARWATERS (in November, having come from the European side of the North Atlantic), and groups of colorful BURROWING PARROTS that reside in the sandy coastal bluffs by the ocean. Along the sandy beaches below the bluffs and beyond for many miles, there are flocks of SHOREBIRDS. Again, during the Austral spring and summer, they are RED KNOTS. Birds in these flocks until recently numbered in the thousands.

Inland, just a few miles, from one of those coastal locations in Argentina, there's a large farm property with many acres of natural shrubby vegetation. There's a lot of (natural) sound there, as the terrain is filled with MOCKINGBIRDS of two species that are very vocal. There are a number of interesting landbirds, including one endemic to Argentina, the CARBONATED FINCH (a sparkling bird!). What has also been there is another songster, the YELLOW CARDINAL (instead of being red & black as ours is, it's yellow and black).

The farm just described is owned by a man named Senor (or Mr.) Manana. Yes, it's true, "Senor Manana". As the YELLOW CARDINAL that's been on his property is prized as a cage bird, due to its beautiful song and striking appearance, people sometimes come there to capture it. With too much of that unfortunate activity recently, that species has now been classified by Birdlife International as "endangered", the second level after "critically threatened". With too much of that activity, that species won't have too many more "mananas" (or "tomorrows", in Spanish).

Down the highway a bit from Sr. Manana's farm, there's a hotel, where young ornithologists have periodically stayed, the last few years, from October onwards, as they have been banding the RED KNOTS on the nearby beaches. In conversations there at the hotel, even just a decade ago, it was not anticipated that those SHOREBIRDS there would be declining as drastically as the pretty songster, the YELLOW CARDINAL, down the road. It now appears that the American subspecies of the RED KNOT, Calidris canutus rufa, also, may not have too many more "mananas".

About a week before I wrote this essay (back on Sunday, June 5, 2005), in Delaware USA, people from the division of fish & wildlife of that state, were continuing their efforts to monitor the SHOREBIRDS along the Delaware Bayshore, as they had been doing every year since 1997. Along the coast that day, near South Bowers Beach, there was a lingering group of SHOREBIRDS that contained about 600 KNOTS, 600 SANDERLING, 1,500 RUDDY TURNSTONES, and 1,500 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS. During 6 hours with the birds that day, the researchers found about 50 marked, or banded, birds. About half of them were RED KNOTS, marked during the previous three years (2002-2004), with some lime flags. At least 1 was flagged in Chile (maybe by the beach by the Strait of Magellan), and 3 of the KNOTS were flagged in Argentina (probably on the Atlantic beach in northern Patagonia, near Senor Manana's farm).

Every year, the RED KNOTS, Calidris canutus rufa, make a nearly 18,000-mile round-trip journey between Argentina & Chile and far-northern North America (Arctic Canada), where they nest. The first stage of their northbound migration includes, as it has for a long, long time, a 3 to 4 thousand mile flight (usually non-stop) to the Delaware Bay shores. Upon their arrival, the hungry birds must feed on the HORSESHOE CRAB EGGS, laid on the beach at that time of year, in the late-spring. That feeding is necessary for the birds to continue, with the needed energy, on the rest of their migration, with yet another long flight to northern Canada. The RED KNOT depends almost exclusively on the HORSESHOE CRAB EGGS to successfully complete the migration to their nesting grounds.

The RED KNOT population, visiting the Delaware Bay shores in the spring, has numbered more than 150,000 birds. Recent surveys, however, have shown that number has dropped dramatically to an estimated 15,000 birds. In the last 10 years, according to these studies, this RED KNOT population has declined more than 90%.

Surveys in the Delaware Bay area have fluctuated from about 16,000 in 2003 down to about 13,000 in 2004, then up to about 15,000 in 2005.

Added to this is a sad statistic relating to a recent survey in South America. In 2005, there, only 17,600 KNOTS were counted, a decline of 40% from the previous year.

If some real action is not taken, and taken soon, to change this situation, the species here may well be extinct in just years, by the end of the current decade. That action needs to be taken to prevent that outcome. The RED KNOT, in the Americas, may now be said to be the most endangered SHOREBIRD POPULATION in the world.

The Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton, in an interview around the time when I wrote this essay last year, said that examination was underway regarding some quick action for the listing of the KNOT as a federally Threatened Species. That would have bypassed some usual procedures for such a listing, which can take as much as 20 years. (The RED KNOT simply does not have that much time - that many "mananas".) In this instance, federal officials estimated that they could make the decision within 18 months, as to the listing of the bird as federally "Threatened". (Does anyone out there know what happened in this regard?)

Not just the RED KNOT, but 5 other species of SHOREBIRDS, are dependent upon the HORSESHOE CRAB EGGS along the Delaware Bayshore.

In 2005, according to New Jersey's chief endangered species biologist, surveys of HORSESHOE CRAB EGGS in New Jersey and Delaware indicated, where as normally 4,000 eggs are laid per meter, the count was about 1,500. That was not good.

Also, in both New Jersey and Delaware, HORSESHOE CRAB EGGS have been harvested, with annual harvests being about 150,000. Thus, in certain years, there have been 300,000 less HORSESHOE CRABS, depleting further the food supply needed by the RED KNOT and 5 other species of SHOREBIRDS.

A group of 11 organizations (in 2005) joined together to petition the state governments of New Jersey and Delaware, with a proposal of 4 specific actions urgently needed to save the situation, due to all the evidence that there is of a "death spiral" for the RED KNOT.

The 11 organizations: the American Bird Conservancy, the American Littoral Society, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Defenders of Wildlife, the Delaware Audubon Society, the Delaware Riverkeeper, the National Audubon Society, the New Jersey Environmental Federation, the NJ Public Interest Research Group, and the Sierra Club.

The 4 actions:
1) institution of a moratorium on HORSESHOE CRAB harvesting
2) support efforts in surrounding states to enact such a moratorium and measures to conserve the shared resource
3) support efforts to federally list the RED KNOT, Calidris canutus rufa, under the Endangered Species Act
4) continue bay-wide efforts to reduce human harassment (of all kinds) of forging SHOREBIRDS

Our time here is now up. Let's hope that soon it won't be for the RED KNOT, as it has been in the Americas. But it may already be too late. It's time may soon be up, and it may not have too many more "mananas".

There's more information regarding the history of SHOREBIRDS along the Delaware Bay, in the following Birdline Feature that was given on the internet, on Birdline Delaware and the Philadelphia Birdline, on June 22, 2005, as continuation of the preceding June 13th feature:

Last time, during our feature referring to the RED KNOT, it was noted that in 2004, survey-work indicated that the late-spring staging population along the Delaware Bayshore was about 13,000 birds. That's considerably less than what the population was a couple decades ago.

It was also noted last time that the RED KNOT is just one of about a half-dozen species of SHOREBIRDS that stage in the late-spring along the shores of the Delaware Bay.

Now, let's go back to 2 decades ago to look at what numbers of SHOREBIRDS along the Delaware Bay were at THAT TIME. This look is to give a better perspective. The information that follows is from an essay in the book, "Birds of Delaware" by Gene Hess, Richard West, Maurice Barnhill, and Lorraine Fleming. The essay, entitled "Spring Shorebirds on Delaware Bay" was by Howard Brokaw. Of course, we can only cover here part of what's in that essay.

Over 90 per cent of the SHOREBIRDS that flock in the late-spring along the Delaware Bay are of 4 species: SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, RUDDY TURNSTONE, RED KNOT, and SANDERLING.

On May 29, 2006, this flock of Semipalmated Sandpipers
was along the Delaware Bay at Port Mahon, in Delaware.
(Photograph by Howard Eskin)

Smaller numbers of SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS and DUNLIN also occur. That makes 6 species of SHOREBIRDS in addition to LAUGHING GULLS that feed on the HORSESHOE CRAB EGGS on the beach. Also, about a dozen other species of SHOREBIRDS occur in the area in the spring.

During the years 1982 to 1995, as many as 272,000 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS were counted on both shores (Delaware & New Jersey) of the Delaware Bay. The high-day of the year, during that period, averaged 112,000. After 1988, no day-count exceeded 100,000.

These SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS fly non-stop 2,700 miles from Surinam, in northern South America, to the Delaware Bay shores. It is an astonishing journey, really, for those small birds - smaller yet, weighing less than an ounce when they arrive. Once by the Bay, they fuel up on the HORSESHOE CRAB EGGS, as they must, to continue their migration north. This feeding is also necessary, in the same way, for the same reason, for the other shorebird species about to mentioned.

During the years just referred to, the annual high-day for RUDDY TURNSTONES averaged 70,000. It was as high as 108,000 in 1989. The TURNSTONES by the Delaware Bay in May probably represent about three-quarters of the eastern North American population. These birds winter from South Carolina south to southern South America, along the Atlantic Coast.
With their sturdy bills, TURNSTONES not only turn stones, they also dig holes in the sand to expose more HORSESHOE CRAB EGGS. They thus provide what could be called a FORAGING SERVICE for other shorebirds.

Regarding RED KNOTS, most of which migrate to the Delaware Bay from as far south as Tierra del Fuego (in far-southern South America), nearly as many as 100,000 have been counted during one day (96,000). The average high-day for the species during the survey period (1982-1995) was 48,000.

Many of the SANDERLINGS that stage by the Delaware Bay in May come mostly from wintering-quarters in Brazil. But some also come from the sandy coasts of Peru and Chile on the Pacific side of South America. A few winter further north, in for example, Florida. The maximum high-count for SANDERLINGS by the Delaware Bay in May started to decline in the early 1980's. From 56,000 in 1982, it dropped steadily to a level of 10,000 in 1993, 1994, & 1995. That decline followed a substantial decrease of perhaps 80 per cent of the SANDERLING population along the East Coast of the USA from 1972 to 1982, continuing the downward spiral. Generally, over the years, in the Delaware Bay area, SANDERLINGS have been more to the south, closer to the mouth of the Bay.

To continue our look back at SHOREBIRDS by the Delaware Bay, and to continue our effort to get a good perspective of what has been, we'll go now to the writings, done back in 1937, by one of the foremost ornithologists of the region in those days, Witmer Stone. His work, published that year, was entitled "Bird Studies at Old Cape May".

What Witmer Stone did NOT refer to in that work were LARGE FLOCKS of SHOREBIRDS as just mentioned, being by the Bay on the New Jersey side, at places such as Reed's Beach, where since then such large flocks have been. One could assume, wrongly perhaps, that those flocks of KNOTS and TURNSTONES and the like were there, but that Mr. Stone did not know about them. However, when reading through his book, it's apparent that ornithologists of that day did know what was about, and so another assumption can be made that such large flocks simply weren't there.

What Witmer Stone did refer to was the rampant shooting of SHOREBIRDS that formerly took place along the coast. The RED KNOT, he said, was known to the gunners as the "ROBIN SNIPE" or "RED-BREASTED SNIPE". It, along with the DOWITCHER (in those days a single species), before the shooting was abolished, were among the most desirable of the SHOREBIRDS from the gunner's standpoint, as they both decoyed easily. Thus, they both, according to Stone, "nearly approached extermination".
The accounts in Stone's 1937 book refer to KNOTS occurring in southern New Jersey, in the early part of the 20th Century, in small groups of 150 or so, or in "low numbers" of less than a hundred. He relates that a gunner, for instance, in late-May 1907, shot 29 of them in Cape May County.

Something very important in relation to SHOREBIRDS happened in 1913. That year, the Federal Migratory Bird Law went into effect and the season was CLOSED on ALL shorebirds except the WOODCOCK, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, GOLDEN PLOVER, and SNIPE (known then as the WILSON'S SNIPE, as it's now known again today), and the two species of YELLOWLEGS.
In 1926, the two species of PLOVERS were put on the protected list, and in 1927 the YELLOWLEGS followed them.
The season on WOODCOCK and SNIPE, the only two "shorebirds" remaining on the game list, was subsequently reduced to one month with a bag limit.

Populations of the SHOREBIRDS of coastal New Jersey were monitored in the late 1920's and early 1930's. During that period, let's pick a year - 1931. For that year, here's a ranking of SHOREBIRD SPECIES in NJ, during their northward spring migration in May, listing the most common first, and then those less so in descending order:
1) Semipalmated Sandpiper
2) Ruddy Turnstone
3) Black-bellied Plover
4) Semipalmated Plover
5) Greater Yellowlegs
6) Sanderling
7) Least Sandpiper
8) Dowitcher (nearly all Short-billed of course, but in those days as noted, it was a single species)
9) Whimbrel (then called Hudsonian Curlew)
10) (Red) Knot
11) Dunlin (called Red-backed Sandpiper)
12) Lesser Yellowlegs
13) Western Sandpiper

The following SHOREBIRDS, overall during the period 1929-1934, were classified in New Jersey as "abundant" or "very common": SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, SANDERLING, DOWITCHER, LEAST SANDPIPER, GREATER YELLOWLEGS.

Notice, now, that the RED KNOT was in the second category, those classified as "common". In that grouping, there were these species: BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, KILLDEER, RUDDY TURNSTONE, DUNLIN, RED KNOT, WESTERN SANDPIPER, LESSER YELLOWLWGS (less common during the northbound migration than during the southbound), WHIMBREL, PECTORAL SANDPIPER, SPOTTED SANDPIPER.

The author Peter Matthiessen wrote a fine book about SHOREBIRDS, published in 1967, and entitled "The Wind Birds". In it, he also alluded to the widespread shooting of shorebirds that was referred to by Witmer Stone. That shooting was very prevalent in the late 1800's. It also continued in the early 1900's, even as some species started to show significant declines. Matthiessen wrote that "under the circumstances, it's a wonder that any SHOREBIRDS survived into the 20th Century". They were shot in numbers, and they were trapped. There was even a practice of "fire-lightning", that was commonly done, for example on Long Island NY, when after dark resting flocks of shorebirds, blinded by a bright beam, stood by while men stepped out from punts and wrung their necks.

Among the gunners of that era, KNOTS and DOWITCHERS, as noted earlier, were favorites. So were GOLDEN PLOVERS and ESKIMO CURLEWS, not only because of their fine taste and great numbers (yes, even so for the CURLEW), but also because they were unsuspicious to a fault. The ESKIMO CURLEW would circle back over the guns, calling out to its fallen companions. That was a habit shared by the DUNLIN, DOWITCHER, and other species. The DUNLIN was called "the simpleton" by Long Island hunters, reflecting the low esteem in which its brain was held.

After the legal protection for SHOREBIRDS came to be, as noted in 1913, for a number of species, through the 20th Century, things improved. For the ESKIMO CURLEW, it was too late.
Yes, SHOREBIRDS that at one time exist by the thousands, can in time disappear.

The following is a passage from Alexander Wilson's "American Ornithology", written in the early 19th Century:

"Everyone who has been on the shore, on a day gleaming and cloudy, may have seen MASSES of these birds at a distance, appearing like a dark and swiftly moving cloud, suddenly vanishing, but then in a second, appearing at some distance, glowing with a silvery light almost too intense to gaze upon. These are the consequences of the simultaneous motions of the flock, at once changing their position, showing the dark gray of their backs, or the pure white of their underparts."

With these words, Alexander Wilson was writing about the KNOT (in its winter plumage). In his day, the bird was called the "ASH-COLORED SANDPIPER".
The scientific name, "CALIDRIS CANUTUS", refers to King Canute, who loved to eat it (the species does have a European population).

4 books, written over the years, have already been noted in this essay. Here's another one: " The Flight of the Red Knot" by Brian Harrington and Charles Flowers, published in 1996. If you can get it, it's interesting, and with good background about the KNOT.

Now, the SHOREBIRDS that migrated north to the Arctic to nest, including the RED KNOT, are on their way south.

FONT (Focus On Nature Tours) will be going again to southern South America, to Argentina & Chile. Although people don't normally travel to the opposite end of the world to see birds that migrate from their homelands, it is a nice experience to see the places where these birds go. And it's fascinating in a way to share the long migration of the KNOTS and other SHOREBIRDS.

Places to be visited in southern South America referred to in this bulletin include:

PATAGONIAN ARGENTINA: the coastal region with the miles of beaches, and Senor Manana's farm (with the YELLOW CARDINAL), north of the Valdez Peninsula.

TIERRA DEL FUEGO, in far-southern ARGENTINA.

During FONT Argentina tours, in addition to the YELLOW CARDINAL and RED KNOT, other birds and wildlife in preceding text have been seen, including: MAGELLANIC PENGUIN (including a colony with a million), SOUTHERN GIANT-PETREL, BLACK-BROWED ALBATROSS, MANX SHEARWATER, SOUTH AMERICAN TERN, BURROWING PARROT, CARBONATED FINCH, and SOUTHERN RIGHT WHALE, KILLER WHALE (or ORCA), and SEALS and SEA-LIONS. And that's just some of the nature we've observed.

FONT E-News, Volume 7, No. 8
July 5, 2006
from Focus On Nature Tours, Inc.

The last few FONT e-mail bulletins have referred to birds & other wildlife in ISLANDS: Hispaniola, Hegura (Japan), and Iceland.
This bulletin refers to an ISTHMUS, that of Panama - to birds & other wildlife during tours there this year, and in nearby Costa Rica.

"Anis, Aracaris, Anhinga, & an Agami"

A narrative relating to nature, mostly birds, during FONT tours in Panama & Costa Rica in 2006, by Armas Hill, leader of the tours.

Panama is an isthmus, a "land bridge" between two major continents. Birds, mammals, butterflies, and plants of those two continents, South and North America, mesh together in the relatively small, and certainly narrow country of Panama.

During our February 3-9, 2006 tour in Panama, we traveled from the link between two oceans, the Panama Canal, east into Darien province. As we went east along the Pan American Highway, toward and in Darien, we were going closer to South America. The birds we saw reflected that.

(By the way, one can not drive on the Pan American Highway, or any road, from Central America into South America. There's a gap in the highway in the region where Panama and Colombia meet. As one drives eastward in Panama, the Pan American Highway dead-ends.)

Among the South American birds that reach their usual northern limit in Panama are the WATTLED JACANA, SOUTHERN LAPWING, BLACK-CHESTED JAY, and GREATER ANI. These species, and some others, are routinely seen as far north as (or west, depending on how one views Panama) to the Canal Basin. Some other South American species are more likely to be seen in eastern Panama and the province of Darien. These include: COCOI and CAPPED HERONS, RED-AND-GREEN MACAW, GOLDEN-GREEN WOODPECKER, ONE-COLORED BECARD, PIED WATER-TYRANT, and ORANGE-CROWNED ORIOLE.

Some of the birds that we saw in eastern Panama are restricted, with a limited range, only to eastern Panama and adjacent Colombia. Such birds are: DOUBLE-BANDED GRAYTAIL, BLACK ANTSHRIKE, WHITE-HEADED WREN, BLACK OROPENDOLA, and WHITE-EARED CONEBILL. The last of these was one of our favorites. The species was in a small flock, active in the trees, rather reminiscent of chickadees. Their plumage was also in a way similar, with their black-caps. Nearby on a treetop branch, a black-and-white PIED PUFFBIRD sat, as still as could be.

One of the unique features of the Darien landscape, along the Pan American Highway, are the large CUIPO TREES. Easily distinguished, and with huge trunks, they are spread out across the countryside. They were, when we were there, in bloom.
Not only is there that big tree in Darien, there are some big birds too. We saw, for example, WOOD STORK, RED-AND-GREEN MACAW, KING VULTURE, and an assortment of other raptors, including: GRAY-HEADED KITE, HOOK-BILLED KITE, PEARL KITE, GREAT BLACK HAWK, GRAY (-LINED) HAWK, ROADSIDE HAWK, SHORT-TAILED HAWK, CRANE HAWK, YELLOW-HEADED CARACARA, AMERICAN KESTREL, and one particular raptor that's quite rare in Panama. It was a BAY-WINGED HAWK (known as HARRIS' HAWK in North America, and common by the way in South America). We had a good look at it, perched in a tree close to the road. In the book, "A Guide to the Birds of Panama" by Robert Ridgely, it's noted that the species in Panama is "apparently rare", but there have been 3 "old specimens", one of which, incidentally, was taken years ago near where we saw ours in February 2006.

One could surely say that the best raptor (and certainly one of the best birds) of our Feb '06 Panama Tour was the RED-THROATED CARACARA. That species probably has the unfortunate distinction of being the Central American bird that has declined the most in recent years. It's been in all the Central American bird books, including those for Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama. But sightings in countries north of Panama lately have been either very rare (in maybe Costa Rica), or non-existent (north or west of there).

In "A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America" by Steve Howell & Sophie Webb, published in 1995, it's written that there have been "no reports (of the Red-throated Caracara) in over 20 years west of the Sula Valley (in Honduras)". That goes back to the early 1970s.
In the "Birds of Guatemala", by Hugh Land, published in 1970, it was written that the bird was rare in the Pacific lowlands of that country. Since that time, suitable habitat there for the species (forest) has completely disappeared. Also, in that book, it's noted that the subspecies from Mexico to Panama was DAPTRIUS AMERICANUS GUATEMALENSIS. More recent taxonomy (in "The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World") is different. The only species still in the genus DAPTRIUS is the BLACK CARACARA of the Amazonian region of South America. The RED-THROATED CARACARA is now the only member of its own genus. It is IBYCTER AMERICANUS, and, according to the recent literature, there are no subspecies. If that subspecies GUATEMALENSIS were still valid, it would be close to extinction.
In "A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica" by F. Gary Stiles & Alexander Skutch, published in 1989, it was written that the RED-THROATED CARACARA "is only (in that country) where forest remains intact in the Golfo Dulce lowlands (of southwestern Costa Rica)". It had been, according to that book, at one time "widespread and fairly common in moist and wet forests of both slopes from sea level locally up to 4,000 feet."
In "A Guide to the Birds of Panama" by Robert Ridgely, published in 1989, it's said that the RED-THROATED CARACARA "only seems to remain in Panama in any numbers in part of the eastern Panama province and in Darien". It's also stated that the bird disappeared from the Canal Zone area during the 1950s and 1960s" and that it "was formerly known to occur in the Chiriqui province of westen Panama".

In South America, the RED-THROATED CARACARA occurs where forest continues in the Amazonian region.

Where there are RED-THROATED CARACARAS (they're normally in groups), they're often heard before they're seen. They are loud and raucous. At a distance its call can be similar to that of a macaw. The most common call of the bird is a trumpeting and hoarse "khaaow", that is sometimes varied to "ca-ca'-o". That's what Stiles & Skutch wrote.
Land wrote "the loud and harsh call sounds like the Spanish word 'cacao' with the first syllable repeated several times".

During our Feb '06 tour in Darien, as we were in a boat traveling down a remote river, it was first the loud call of the RED-THROATED CARACARA that caught our attention (as noted, at first sounding rather like a macaw). We continued further along the river, and then we both heard and saw the birds (there were a few) in trees on the wet bank. At first, not everyone had the clear view they wanted of the species in the foliage. But evidently, the birds themselves wanted to be better seen, as they stayed put in the trees, even as our guide and boatman cleared away some lower branches that impeded the view. After a few moments of that "clearing away" activity, a wonderful view was miraculously had of that most-desired bird.

The CRANE HAWKS during that boat-ride, on the other hand, were seen very easily, as they were down low on the dirt banks of the river, probing for food. That unique hawk (the single member of its genus), with its long body and red legs, was of course a treat to see as closely as we saw it.

Among other birds seen during that river boat-ride in Darien, there was an AGAMI HERON (that one is always a treat to see!), both GREEN-AND-RUFOUS and AMERICAN PYGMY KINGFISHERS, BLUE GROUND DOVES, a group of PURPLE-THROATED FRUITCROWS, CINNAMON WOODPECKER, WHITE-HEADED WREN, and both YELLOW-BACKED and YELLOW-TAILED ORIOLES.
In the lower foliage, GREATER ANIS were by the river. In the upper branches of the trees, there were COLLARED ARACARIS. On branches out over the river, and in the water of the river itself, there were ANHINGAS.
All 3 of the birds just mentioned, are with names (as you may ahve noticed) beginning with the letter "a", (ANI, ARACARI, and ANHINGA). All of those names are from the language of the Tupi tribe of indigenous people in Brazil. Our boatmen, along the remote river in Darien, were indigenous people, not Tupi of course, but the Embara tribe. It was all really quite an experience in a wild area - and the "good birds" naturally added to it.

That AGAMI HERON, during our ride, that was stalking along the riverbank, could not in any way ever be mistaken for an ANHINA, but it is true that the long neck and the slender and angled head of the bird does bear a resemblance. One can wonder if the derivation of the name "AGAMI" for that bird along the forest river is, like the ANHINGA (and the ARACARI & the ANI), from the Tupi tribe of Brazil, in the area of the biggest of American rivers, the Amazon.

Yes, the Darien province of Panama is wild, just about everywhere. As one travels about, a good barometer of that are the constant calls of TINAMOUS (both LITTLE and GREAT). Generally, throughout Central America, it's been that as the "wildness" of an area diminishes, the melodic calls of TINAMOUS decrease.

After nightfall, in the Darien countryside, there were many calls of PAURAQUES. And, as we went along a dirt road after dark, there were both BARN and STRIPED OWLS. The stars and planets shined brightly in the ever-so-clear sky overhead. Even though we had driven from Panama City, the noisy and bright accompaniment of the city seemed (and really was) so very far away!

Back when we were in Panama City, earlier during the tour, we saw two rarities for Panama: a LONG-BILLED CURLEW and a RING-BILLED GULL (both, of course, North American birds).

Also earlier in the tour, when we were in the Canal Basin, among the many birds there, maybe our best sight was that of the strikingly attractive male GOLDEN-COLLARED MANAKIN, as it was perched close to us. There are good birds to see and enjoy just about anywhere in Panama!

But back again in Darien, this summary (of the Feb 3-9 tour) will conclude in a small town, where twice we spent the night. By the road into town, in a field, there was CRESTED BOBWHITE, and in a marsh, there were PURPLE GALLINULES. Further down the road, in large trees, there were BLACK-CHESTED JAYS. In the town itself, the trees near the streets and houses were in the morning alive with birds. A number of them were common, yes, but it was nice to have that number of them. As we had breakfast, at a table outside by the sidewalk, among birds in view there were: BLACK-THROATED MANGO, STREAKED FLYCATCHER, other more-common FLYCATCHERS, TROPICAL MOCKINGBIRD and TROPICAL GNATCATCHER, BANANAQUITS, YELLOW-CROWNED EUPHONIA, and TANAGERS including: BLUE-GRAY, PALM, PLAIN-COLORED, CRIMSON-BACKED, and YELLOW-RUMPED. And don't let the name "PLAIN-COLORED" fool you. They're nice to have, too, as all the other birds were.
Also, as we were having breakfast by the sidewalk in that town that morning, with the birds about, women of the indigenous Kuna tribe somehow came along (they learned we were there), in their colorful attire, selling some also-colorful sculptures of the more dramatic big birds that occur in eastern Panama, away of course from such a small town. Their ceramic sculptures were of birds such as the HARPY EAGLE, the TOUCANS, the PARROTS and MACAWS.
When we there, we didn't have to pinch ourselves to realize that we were somewhere away from what it would be in our "normal lives", as we were in the remote countryside of wild Panama, in Darien.

Our subsequent birding & nature tour, February 10-18, 2006, included portions of two countries. We were in the highlands and on the Pacific slope and in the Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica. In adjacent Panama, we were in the highlands and lowlands of Chiriqui, the westernmost province in that country. All of these areas were not only enjoyable places to be, but also great places to bird.

Of the 267 species of birds found during this tour, 238 were in Costa Rica. 107 species were in Panama during the 2 days that we were there. 78 of the 267 species were found in both countries, while 29 species were found in Panama alone. In that last category were:
the VERAGUA PARAKEET (an isolated population that has been considered a subspecies of the BROWN-THROATED PARAKEET of northern South America),
the VERAGUAN MANGO (which was considered part of the GREEN-BREASTED MANGO); we saw a female on a nest; and the WHITE-THROATED MOUNTAIN-GEM (closely-related to other mountain-gems, particularly the GRAY-TAILED MOUNTAIN-GEM that we also saw - in Costa Rica).

Other birds that during this tour we found only in Panama included:
PIED-BILLED GREBE
LEAST GREBE
ANHINGA
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON
SNAIL KITE (this species is rare in Panama)
MANGROVE (or PACIFIC) BLACK HAWK
GREAT BLACK HAWK
PEREGRINE FALCON
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER
BLACK-NECKED STILT
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER
KILLDEER
WHIMBREL
SANDERLING
GROOVE-BILLED ANI (in the Chiriqui highlands)
WHITE-TAILED NIGHTJAR (a wonderful find, seen at rest during the day)
VIOLET SABREWING
BROWN VIOLETEAR
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD (a rarity in Panama)
RED-FACED SPINETAIL (in the Chiriqui highlands)
BARRED ANTSHRIKE
RED-CAPPED MANAKIN (a gem to see - in a forest by a Pacific beach)
YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER (in the Chiriqui highlands)
BARN SWALLOW (how could it be that there were none of these during our 5 days in Costa Rica?)
CLIFF SWALLOW (a few with the BARN SWALLOWS)
EASTERN MEADOWLARK

From the likes of BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, WHIMBREL, and SANDERLING, one can see that we were at a beach in Chiriqui. It was a beautiful one, with surf and sand for miles, without many people and with many birds. It's interesting that of the species in the list above, and seen along that beach, 1 was new for FONT in Central America, the AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER. That's not an easy feat, as there have been numerous FONT tours in Central America, in Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize. And our cumulative list is not short. The AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER in Panama became bird #931.

This was our 27th birding & nature tour in Costa Rica. Prior to it, our cumulative total of birds for the country was 684. During this February '06 tour, 1 new species was added to that CR list, the SOUTHERN LAPWING. 2 of them were seen in a pasture south of Golfito; they appeared to be on territory. Maybe now the SOUTHERN LAPWING is a nesting bird in Costa Rica.
The SOUTHERN LAPWING is not in the book "A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica" by F. Gary Stiles & Alexander Skutch, published in 1989. The species, common to abundant in much of South America, has been spreading north.
In Panama, it has been of regular occurrence north to the Canal Basin. We've seen it, in recent years, in Panama as far west (or north) as the Chiriqui lowlands. Where it occurs in the Panama Canal Basin, it's often with WATTLED JACANAS. In the Chiriqui lowlands when we've seen it, it was with NORTHERN JACANAS, as it was in the partially wet Costa Rican pasture south of Golfito.
Another bird from the south, that's been spreading north, was also in that pasture, the RED-BREASTED BLACKBIRD.

That's part of the fun of birding in southern Costa Rica. There's the chance of seeing something a bit unexpected, as more-southerly birds are moving in. During other tours, in that region of southern Costa Rica, we've seen SAVANNA HAWK and PEARL KITE, two other species expanding northward. Years ago, that's where the YELLOW-HEADED CARACARA was first seen in Costa Rica. Now it's seen in open, deforested areas throughout the country, north to Nicaragua.

Another "part of the fun" of birding in southern Costa Rica is that it is a bit of "the way it was". For those of us who have birded in Costa Rica for years (I have since 1978), we've seen a lot of changes. Notable among them are the changes of habitats, and also now there are many more people (ecotourists & others) visiting. Costa Rica, is, for a few reasons, a great place to visit for nature. Varied habitats are close to each other. There are good accommodations. But there's also a price in that it's now a special treat to find places that are now, as it were, "on the beaten path". In southern Costa Rica, that can more readily be done. For example, we traveled, during our Feb '06 tour, along a dirt road, not often traveled, into the northern Osa Peninsula, where among the birds that we encountered, there were SCARLET MACAWS in flocks, KING VULTURES soaring over a ridge, and both GREAT and LITTLE TINAMOUS calling at dusk in the woods. Earlier, along that road in the morning, THREE-WATTLED BELLBIRDS were giving their loud calls in the trees.

And yet another "good part" of birding in southern Costa Rica is that there are a number of species to be found there with restricted ranges, only in that portion of Costa Rica and in adjacent Panama. They include:
CHIRIQUI (or RUFOUS-BREASTED) QUAIL-DOVE
COSTA RICAN SWIFT (has been considered part of the BAND-RUMPED SWIFT that's common further south in Panama)
CHARMING HUMMINGBIRD (also called the BERYL-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD, closely related to the BLUE-CHESTED HUMMINGBIRD of Costa Rica's Caribbean slope and further south in Panama)
GARDEN EMERALD (was part of the FORK-TAILED EMERALD, now "split" into 4 or 5 species)
BAIRD'S TROGON
GOLDEN-NAPED WOODPECKER
BLACK-HOODED ANTSHRIKE
RIVERSIDE WREN
CHIRIQUI YELLOWTHROAT (has been considered part of what has been the MASKED YELLOWTHROAT of South America)
and the BLACK-CHEEKED ANT-TANAGER, which is even more localized than the others here, as it is restricted to part of the region of the Golfo Dulce ("Sweet Gulf") in Costa Rica. The species is one of the handful (4 species) endemic to Costa Rica.
All of the birds in this paragraph were found during our February '06 tour in southern Costa Rica & adjacent Panama.

A group of birds that has become easier to observe during recent years in Costa Rica & Panama has been the HUMMINGBIRDS. To a large extent, that's due to there being more hummingbird feeders, particularly at lodges, where they can be readily observed. During our Feb '06 tour in southern Costa Rica and Panama, 22 species of HUMMINGBIRDS were seen. Some were at feeders and others were in their natural settings, usually feeding at flowering bushes or trees. Our HUMMINGBIRDS during the tour follow (noting the country where seen, Costa Rica (CR), Panama (PN), and if naturally (n) or at feeders (f):
BAND-TAILED BARBTHROAT (CR) (n)
BRONZY HERMIT (CR) (n)
WESTERN LONG-TAILED (or LONG-BILLED) HERMIT (CR (n)
SCALY-BREASTED (or CUVIER'S) HUMMINGBIRD (CR) (n)
VIOLET SABREWING (PN) (f)
BROWN VIOLETEAR (PN) (n)
MONTANE VIOLETEAR (the southern population of the GREEN VIOLETEAR) (CR,PN) (f,n)
VERAGUAN MANGO (formerly part of the GREEN-BREASTED MANGO) (PN) (n)
GARDEN EMERALD (CR) (n) (formerly part of the FORK-TAILED EMERALD, that has been "split" into 4 or 5 species throughout Central America; this is the southernmost of the "splits".)
FIERY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD (CR) (f,n) (in the high mountains, restricted to southern Costa Rica & western Panama) (This extraordinarily beautiful hummingbird has been said to be declining in recent years, possibly due to global warming.)
BLUE-THROATED GOLDENTAIL (also called BLUE-THROATED SAPPHIRE) (CR) (n)
CHARMING HUMMINGBIRD (also called the BERYL-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD) (CR) (n)
SNOWY-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD (CR,PN) (f,n) (This species is more common in Panama.)
RUFOUS-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD (CR) (n)
WHITE-THROATED MOUNTAIN-GEM (PN) (f)
GRAY-TAILED MOUNTAIN-GEM (CR) (f)
GREEN-CROWNED BRILLIANT (CR) (f,n)
MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD (CR) (f,n)
MAGENTA-THROATED WOODSTAR (CR) (f)
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD (PN) (n) (as already noted, rare in Panama)
SCINTILLENT HUMMINGBIRD (CR) (f) (This is Costa Rica's smallest bird.)
VOLCANO HUMMINGBIRD (CR) (f) (On different mountains in Costa Rica, subspecies of this bird have different colored gorgets. The male of the subspecies we saw in southern Costa Rica, has one that's purplish-gray, rather like flowing lava from a volcano.)

During other FONT tours in southern Costa Rica, there were even some other hummingbirds, such as the WHITE-TIPPED SICKLEBILL and the WHITE-CRESTED COQUETTE. In all, in Costa Rica, there are 45 species of HUMMINGBIRDS. All of them have been found during FONT Costa Rica tours over the years. Some are only in the northern part of the country. Others are most common on the Caribbean side. Two species of hummingbirds endemic to Costa Rica are the COPPERY-HEADED EMERALD and the MANGROVE HUMMINGBIRD.
If one takes the time to sit for a while and watch hummingbirds feed and fly, it's really a pleasure. How such fascinating little birds can have, in good light, such spectacular colors, is nearly unbelievable.

A number of the hummingbirds just mentioned occur in the mountains of southern Costa Rica. Those high mountains, when there's good weather (as we had), can be a beautiful place to be, with some nice birds to see. Among those that we saw were the SPANGLE-CHEEKED TANAGER, BLUE-AND-GOLD TANAGER, SOOTY-CAPPED BUSH-TANAGER, many RUDDY TREERUNNERS, the ZELEDONIA (that's also been called the WRENTHRUSH, and now is considered an aberrant warbler), and another warbler that's a wonderful bird to see, the dapper COLLARED REDSTART, called the "amigo de hombre" (or "friend of man") due to its tameness.

In addition to the colorful FIERY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD already referred to, we also saw in the highlands the FLAME-THROATED WARBLER, another attractive bird. We saw 2 species of SILKY-FLYCATCHERS (not true flycatchers, but more closely related to waxwings), the BLACK-AND-YELLOW and the LONG-TAILED. Also nice to see in the high country was the BARRED HAWK, and flocks of SULPHUR-WINGED PARAKEETS. At about our highest point (and in fact by the highest point along the entire Pan American Highway), we saw VOLCANO JUNCOS, and we enjoyed a trio of FINCHES: the PEG-FOOTED, the LARGE-FOOTED, and the YELLOW-THIGHED.

TANAGERS, and some of their close relatives, are a colorful lot. During the days we were based in the Coto Brus Valley (of Costa Rica), we saw some of their best colors in a nice cast of those birds, including: SILVER-THROATED, GOLDEN-HOODED, BAY-HEADED, and SPECKLED TANAGERS, in addition to the more-obvious CHERRIE'S (formerly SCARLET-RUMPED) TANAGER. It's a common bird, the CHERRIE'S TANAGER, in southern Costa Rica on the Pacific side. It's not so, oddly, in western Panama. Also in the colorful cast of birds in Coto Brus were: THICK-BILLED EUPHONIA, RED-LEGGED and GREEN HONEYCREEPERS, and the LANCE-TAILED MANAKIN. Some visitors from the north also added some color, notably BALTIMORE ORIOLE, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, WESTERN and SUMMER TANAGERS, and some WARBLERS such as: MAGNOLIA, CHESTNUT-SIDED, BAY-BREASTED, CANADA, and MOURNING.

One of our favorite places that we visited during the Feb '06 tour in southern Costa Rica was the La Amistad National Park, a large wild area along the Continental Divide in both Costa Rica and Panama. The park can be difficult to get into, as the dirt roads ascending the mountains are rough. We did, in a 4-wheel drive truck, with an incredible driver. The forest was magnificent. Given more time, more birds and animals can be found, but we did see, in addition to a number of birds just mentioned in the last paragraph, some good one, such as the PALE-BILLED WOODPECKER (in the same genus as the Ivory-billed Woodpecker), the BLACK-BANDED WOODCREEPER (only the 3rd time for us in 27 Costa Rica tours), and the WHITE-WHISKERED PUFFBIRD (also called the WHITE-WHISKERED SOFTWING). Whatever it's called, it sits still. High in the trees were what have been called the CHESTNUT-MANDIBLED TOUCAN. New taxonomy now says that this large bird is now conspecific with the BLACK-MANDIBLED TOUCAN of South America. On a rock in a rushing stream, there was a marvelous SUNBITTERN. That bird is not conspecific with anything. It's unique, in its own family. Earlier in the day, at a pond, we saw some MASKED DUCKS. Yes, it was a good day.

MAMMALS that we saw at La Amistad National Park included the WHITE-FACED CAPUCHIN MONKEY and KINKAJOU. The latter, normally nocturnal, was seen high in a tree during the day, apparently feeding. Other wildlife, during our tour, included the MORELET'S CROCODILE, SPECTACLED CAIMAN, and GREEN IGUANA. And we saw a wonderful assortment of BUTTERFLIES and MOTHS (Photographs of some, taken during the tour, are in the Central America Butterfly List, in the FONT website.)

Yes, it was a good tour, during a week in southern Costa Rica and western Panama in February 2006.

Good birding, wherever you may be,

Armas Hill

FONT E-News, Volume 7, No. 7
June 28, 2006
from Focus On Nature Tours, Inc.

"Birds in Japan on Hegura Island & more"

Our last two e-mail bulletins related to birding, during our tours earlier this year, on 2 ISLANDS, particularly on Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, and Iceland in the North Atlantic Ocean. This time, we're relating here to a third island, a small one called Hegura, in the Sea of Japan.

During our May 2006 FONT birding & nature tour in Japan (our 26th tour there; our 10th in the spring), there were thousands of STREAKED SHEARWATERS seen from the ferry (an hour and a half ride) to Hegura Island in the Sea of Japan. Also, in flocks, were hundreds, as many as a thousand, RED-NECKED PHALAROPES.

The water of the sea was smooth. And, as it was like glass, the ALCIDS sitting on the water were relatively easy to spot. Most were RHINOCEROS AUKLETS. There were also JAPANESE MURRELETS, which are endemic to Japan, endangered, and attractive black-and-white birds with a nice Japanese name, "KANMURI-UMISUZUME". It's pronounced as it looks. "Umisuzume" is Japanese for "sparrow of the sea".

The alcids breed on rocky islets by which the ferry closely passes. On the slopes of those small islands, thousands of BLACK-TAILED GULLS were at their nesting sites. Many were flying close to the boat.

During the return ferry-ride from the island a couple days later, STREAKED SHEARWATERS still abounded. The sea was not as calm, and there was more of a breeze. So more shearwaters were seen in flight, probably as many as 20,000. During the earlier trip to the island, with different conditions, an estimated 10,000 were seen. It was fun to watch so many shearwaters, in flocks lifting from the water and flying about. The species is actually incredibly abundant over oceanic waters around Japan, where the total population is said to be between 2.5 and 5 million.

As noted, our ferry-ride was to and from a place called Hegura Island (or Hegura-jima). That little island is one of the foremost places anywhere in the world to experience bird migration. For its size, it may well be the best piece of land on Earth for such migration during the spring (and it's also good later in the year, in the late-summer and fall, although FONT has yet to be there then). Such statements are not exaggerations. As many as approximately 360 species of birds have been recorded on Hegura Island. And at least a new species is added every year.

Hegura Island is in the Sea of Japan, off the west coast of Honshu (the main Japanese island). And yes, it is small - only 1 kilometer wide and less than 2 kilometers long. One can easily walk the path around the entire coastline of the island in less than an hour.

Some people live on the island. But not many, about 150. There was a small store (no longer; residents now order "on-line" and items are delivered on the ferry), an inn (where fortunately we can overnight and have meals), some homes, a school (just recently closed; there was an enrollment of 5), and 1 doctor. The most prominent structure on the island is a tall, white lighthouse. In the morning, the women of Hegura dive offshore for seaweed. Later in the day, if sunny, they put it out to dry. Men go out on boats to fish.

People, such as us during our Spring Birding Tour in Japan, go to Hegura to bird. During our 2006 tour, we were on Hegura May 10-12. It was our 5th tour to visit Hegura. 4 of the tours have been in the month of May. Once, we visited in April. In all, during those 5 tours, we've found a cumulative total of 151 species of birds on Hegura Island.

During spring migration, LANDBIRDS, SHOREBIRDS, and WATERBIRDS occur on Hegura. Many LANDBIRDS, especially as they travel at night, on their way north, find themselves on the small island in the sea. Given optimum conditions, in the spring, the island can be filled with birds. They're in the open on fields, or they're in bushes, small trees, under debris by the homes, or along the rocky coast. In short, they can be everywhere.

Birds that elsewhere can be notorious skulkers are often, on Hegura, more out in the open. In that category, for example, are the shy JAPANESE ROBIN, SIBERIAN BLUE ROBIN (*), and the WHITE'S GROUND THRUSH (*). (Those with an (*) were found during our May '06 tour.)

Routine migrants are enroute from where they've wintered in the Asian tropics to where they'll breed as far north as Siberia. These include: SIBERIAN RUBYTHROAT (*), SIBERIAN STONECHAT (*), and YELLOW-BREASTED BUNTING. (Again, those with an (*) were found during our May '06 tour.)

There are. on Hegura, birds migrating north that are generally more common on the Asian mainland along the Chinese and Korean coasts than they are in Japan. There are a number of birds in that category that we've seen during our 5 FONT tours on the island, including: CHINESE EGRET (*), CHINESE POND HERON (*), PURPLE HERON (*), HOOPOE, RICHARD'S PIPIT, WHITE-THROATED ROCK THRUSH, SWINHOE'S (or RUFOUS-TAILED) ROBIN (*), DUSKY WARBLER, MUGIMAKI FLYCATCHER (*), TRICOLORED FLYCATCHER (*), RED-THROATED FLYCATCHER, BLACK-NAPED ORIOLE, CHESTNUT BUNTING, and TRISTRAM'S BUNTING (*). (Once again, those species with an (*) were found during our tour in May '06.)

In all, we saw 84 species of birds on Hegura Island in May 2006.

Among them, in addition to those already referred to above with an (*), we also saw:
both TEMMINCK'S and PELAGIC CORMORANTS,
JAPANESE SPARROWHAWK, GREY-FACED BUZZARD, NORTHERN HOBBY, and PEREGRINE FALCON,
MONGOLIAN PLOVER, BLACK-TAILED GODWIT, RED-NECKED STINT, GREEN and COMMON SANDPIPERS,
GREY-TAILED (or POLYNESIAN) TATTLER,
COMMON and LATHAM'S SNIPES,
BLACK-TAILED, VEGA (HERRING), SLATY-BACKED, and GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS,
COMMON, ORIENTAL, and LESSER CUCKOOS,
a JUNGLE (or GREY) NIGHTJAR sitting still during the day on a fence, and asleep even as it was surrounded by people with cameras, binoculars, and telescopes (a photo of this bird is now on the home-page of our website: www.focusonnature.com)
the DOLLARBIRD (a ROLLER),
BUFF-BELLIED PIPIT (the Siberian race) and YELLOW WAGTAIL,
ASHY MINIVET,
RED-FLANKED BLUETAIL (also called either SIBEIAN BLUECHAT or ORANGE-FLANKED BUSH-ROBIN),
SIBERIAN THRUSH, JAPANESE GREY THRUSH, EYE-BROWED THRUSH, DUSKY THRUSH,
JAPANESE BUSH WARBLER, ORIENTAL GREAT REED WARBLER, BLACK-BROWED REED WARBLER,
EASTERN CROWNED WARBLER, SIKHALIN (or PALE-LEGGED) WARBLER, ARCTIC WARBLER,
BLUE-AND-WHITE FLYCATCHER (the males are beautiful), ASIAN BROWN FLYCATCHER,
SIBERIAN (or DARK-SIDED) FLYCATCHER, GREY-STREAKED FLYCATCHER,
NARCISSUS FLYCATCHER (this was certainly a favorite bird of our visit - the attractive yellow, orange, black, and white males were so common and tame; sometimes they were in bushes and trees, but other times they were on sidewalks in front of us, on fences beside us - just about anywhere!),
JAPANESE PARADISE FLYCATCHER (what a gem!),
BROWN SHRIKE,
BRAMBLING, EURASIAN SISKIN, HAWFINCH,
JAPANESE YELLOW BUNTING, YELLOW-THROATED BUNTING, RUSTIC BUNTING.

Among the most interesting aspects relating to the bird migration when we were at Hegura in May '06 was that there 3 "special" EGRETS & HERONS among others at one corner of the island. With LITTLE, INTERMEDIATE, and GREAT EGRETS, and some GREY HERONS at pools of water among the rocks by the shore, there were "the 3", 1 of each: CHINESE EGRET, CHINESE POND HERON, and PURPLE HERON. It was like a little piece of China at that one spot on the island. And all 3 were "new birds" for us, not just for Hegura, but for Japan.

The CHINESE (or SWINHOE'S) EGRET, that breeds along the coasts of China and Korea, is one of the rarest egrets in the world. The population is estimated as being between 1,800 and 2,500 birds. Other heron-types that are more rare are also in Asia: the WHITE-BELLIED HERON (of Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Burma, now Myanmar), the WHITE-EARED NIGHT-HERON (of China), and the JAPANESE NIGHT-HERON (breeds in Japan, winters in the Philippines).
The CHINESE EGRET is similar to the LITTLE EGRET of the Old World and the SNOWY EGRET of the New. It has a shaggy crest when in breeding plumage as our bird was, more so than a SNOWY, and not with a plume as had by a LITTLE. We enjoyed a good look at the rare bird.
Our look at the CHINESE POND HERON was nice, simply put, because in its breeding plumage (as our bird was), it was a nice bird to see. It was an attractive bird, with its head, neck, and breast a reddish-brown, its back black, and its belly white.
The PURPLE HERON is another attractive bird that is in some ways reminiscent of the TRICOLORED (formerly LOUISIANA) HERON of North America. It, the PURPLE HERON that is, ranges across Eurasia. The subspecies on Hegura was ARDEA PURPUREA MANILENSIS, the easternmost of 3 subspecies, occurring from Siberia to the Philippines, but only as a vagrant to Japan.

Two names of people have been referred to in this narrative in the names of birds, particularly the SWINHOE'S ROBIN and SWINHOE'S (or CHINESE) EGRET, and the TRISTRAM'S BUNTING. Who were Swinhoe & Tristram? Both of these men, Robert Swinhoe and Henry Baker Tristram, were British ornithologists and collectors in the 1800s. Robert Swinhoe collected specimens that went to the British museum in London, from China. Not only were the ROBIN and EGRET named after him, so was a STORM-PETREL in the Far East.
Henry Baker Tristram traveled widely and collected specimens in North Africa and the Middle East (Palestine), also for the British Museum. He lived for a while in Bermuda, but during most of his life he lived in England. He collected specimens during a visit to North America in the vicinity of Niagara Falls. His collection of bird specimens, from around the world, was huge. In his early seventies, he printed a catalog listing 17,000 skins in his collection, of about 6,000 species! (That collection is now in the Liverpool Museum in England). And, then, during the 10 years of his life after that he accumulated another 7,000 (!) skins that went to the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, in the US. Tristram contributed articles extensively to the ornithological journal, the Ibis. In addition to the TRISTRAM'S BUNTING, a bird normally of mainland Asia and not Japan, mentioned here earlier (and that we saw - both male & female - on Hegura Island), a STORM-PETREL of the Far East was named after him, as one was for Robert Swinhoe.
During May 2006, we saw the TRISTRAM'S BUNTING on Hegura Island, Japan, 100 years after Henry Baker Tristram died in March 1906.

Photographs of both the SWINHOE'S (or RUFOUS-TAILED) ROBIN and the TRISTRAM'S BUNTING, (of birds seen during the FONT '06 tour), are in our website: www.focusonnature.com, reached from the left-side of the homepage under "recent tour highlights in 2006".

When we've visited Hegura Island during our tours, we've always had the good fortune to share our experiences with a number of Japanese birders and photographers. Dozens of them have visited there when we have, also (like us) to see the birds, and of course to photograph them too. They journey from throughout Japan to encounter the birds on their journeys.
One of the birds during our '06 Hegura tour was a particularly good and well-known traveler, the PEREGRINE FALCON. Known for its journeying, the bird even has a word synonymous with travel named after it, "peregrination".
One morning on Hegura, a large female PEREGRINE was sitting on a big rock, by the sea, along the shore. In front of it, there were about 2 dozen Japanese photographers and birders with cameras set up and binoculars lifted up. The PEREGRINE, resting during its trip probably from the tropics to the tundra, sat there tamely, aware of, but rather oblivious to, the people. When we left Hegura on the ferry, later that day, the last bird on the island that we saw was that PEREGRINE in the distance, perched high atop a communication tower.

During our May '06 tour, nearly 80 (actually 79) species of birds were seen on the main Japanese island of Honshu. Some were particularly notable, including:
the GREAT KNOT, a shorebird that breeds only in eastern Siberia, and winters in Australia and Southeast Asia,
and other SHOREBIRDS including BAR-TAILED GODWITS, LONG-BILLED PLOVER, GREY-TAILED TATTLER at a number of locations (even inland), and a fine flock of MONGOLIAN PLOVERS with many in their richly-colored breeding plumage (the last of these is also called the LESSER SANDPLOVER).
There were some nice birds along streams, including: 3 species of WAGTAILS, the GREATER PIED KINGFISHER, and the BROWN DIPPER.
In the forested hills of interior Honshu, we enjoyed JAPANESE GROSBEAKS, the JAPANESE PYGMY WOODPECKER, the SIBERIAN MEADOW BUNTING, the local race of the EURASIAN JAY, and the VARIED TIT (along with other tits, EURASIAN NUTHATCH, JAPANESE WHITE-EYES, and other birds).
On a reservoir, among WATERBIRDS, a bird that was particularly enjoyed was an adult male SMEW, that was in full male breeding plumage, but somehow did not go north to breed.

That SMEW was somewhat unexpected, but even more so was another species of duck. After returning to Honshu on the ferry from Hegura, we traveled south along the picturesque coastline of the Sea of Japan with its rocks and cliffs. A FOX was "new" for us, but the birds during the ride were those already seen, until, on coastal rocks, a flock of ducks was spotted. We were surprised, that time of year, and at that rather southerly location in Japan, to see 5 HARLEQUIN DUCKS, 4 females and a male. We've normally seen that species in Japan either on the northernmost island of Hokkaido, or further north in Honshu on the Pacific Ocean side of the island. HARLEQUINS are a nice sight whenever and wherever they're seen.

Not easily seen (other than on Hegura), but continually heard throughout Honshu, was the loud, almost explosive call of the JAPANESE BUSH WARBLER. It's a small bird with a big voice. And the call of that bird is well known, as it's heard many places as the bird hides in the bushes, even in thickets near where people live. The call is well known enough to be heard even inside. Let me explain. There are what are called "family restaurants" in Japan. One called "Joyfull" is similar, sort of, to "Denny's". In such restaurants there are buttons to be pressed on the tables where people sit and eat, to have a waiter or waitress come, when one presses the button. Usually, when that's done, a chime rings throughout the restaurant. But in "Joyfull" when we pressed the button, there it was again - that sound, yes, even inside - the loud, explosive call of the JAPANESE BUSH WARBLER on speakers throughout the restaurant. As birders, when we heard it, we couldn't help but look.

It can be said that "if you find the restaurant, you find the birds". Well, with the recorded call of the JAPANESE BUSH WARBLER inside "Joyfull", not quite. But on Hegura, outside, it was true. The Japanese photographers and birders there would put a small pile of feed (seeds or rice), for example, on rocks appropriately situated by the undercover. And, then, the birds would come out to "their restaurant", and views could be had and photos could be taken. We saw a number of birds in that way. As we stood ever so still, birds that would normally be skulkers, were nicely seen. Among them, these birds that have already been mentioned, but let's bring them back now for a final curtain-call: SIBERIAN RUBYTHROAT, SIBERIAN BLUE ROBIN, RED-FLANKED BLUETAIL, SIBERIAN THRUSH, TRICOLORED FLYCATCHER, SWINHOE'S ROBIN, and TRISTRAM'S BUNTING.
What a wonderful experience it was to see those birds as we did! And it was a wonderful aspect of our '06 tour in Japan in the spring.

Wherever you may be, good birding,

Armas Hill

FONT E-News, Volume 7, No. 6
June 19, 2006
from Focus On Nature Tours, Inc.

"Birds & Other Nature in Iceland"

Our June 3-11, 2006 birding & nature tour in Iceland was our 13th tour in that country, and our 48th tour in Europe since 1990. During our June '06 Iceland Tour, there were both some wonderful birds and some wonderful experiences.

Iceland is a fascinating country. In relation to nature, its geology is particularly notable. Its scenery is especially superb.
Even though the island country nearly touches the Arctic Circle, and even though it's called "Iceland", it's not as cold as other places with such a northerly latitude. The proximity of the Gulf Stream has an affect.

But there is ice in Iceland. There are glaciers, including the largest in Europe. When we visited that glacier late one evening, during our June '06 tour, it was a truly magnificent sight, enhanced by a beautiful male Harlequin Duck swimming in the water close to us. Harbor Seals were lifting their heads above the water, peering at us, as we admired the panorama of frozen ice and evening sky. In that sky, numerous and noisy Arctic Terns flew about.

When we visited that glacier a couple years ago, during a tour in late May, the ice was covered with many resting Black-legged Kittiwakes. During our tour in early June '06, there was not a single kittiwake at the glacier, but there were hundreds of Arctic Terns, either sitting on the ice or in flight above it. Looking at them one thinks about how they came such a long way to be there. Arctic Terns that breed in Iceland, when not there, travel many miles over the Atlantic Ocean, to off the southern tip of Africa, and even beyond, into the Indian Ocean to waters off western Australia, before retracing their journey back to Iceland. No other bird in the world travels that far. And as we watched and listened to them, just before midnight, when it was still quite light, one could also think of how no other bird in the world experiences so many hours of daylight.

Iceland is place of both ice and fire. In addition to glaciers, there are geysers where hot water emits from the ground. The word "geyser" is Icelandic.
And there are volcanoes throughout the island. During recent decades, there have been eruptions and fiery fissures. Less than 50 years ago, an eruption on the ocean floor off the southern coast of Iceland produced an island.

It is only in Iceland that the Mid-Atlantic Rift is above the surface of the sea. Elsewhere it's on the ocean floor. In Iceland, one can walk across a short bridge over the rift between "continents". Most of the birds in Iceland are Eurasian. The 3 exceptions, that are American birds, are the Common Loon, Barrow's Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica), and Harlequin Duck. These 3 species nest nowhere else in Europe.

As we were at the Mid-Atlantic Rift, there was the beautiful song of the wren, the "Icelandic Wren", an endemic subspecies of what's called the Winter Wren in North America. In Europe, it's simply called the Wren. It's the only one of the 74 species of wrens that ranges throughout the Northern Hemisphere. It's the only wren in Eurasia. It has 41 subspecies. Watching the one in Iceland, as it moved about on the rocks, we could see that it appeared slightly larger and longer-tailed than the Winter Wren of North America.

Given the latitude of Iceland, it's rather surprising how many bird species have actually been recorded there. The list of species for the country, prior to our tour, was 354. Of these, 73 are regular breeders. We saw nearly all of them during our tour. Of those 73 regular breeders, 17 are resident. 9 are partially migrant. 21 are largely migrant. 26 of the regular breeders are totally migrant. Another 26 species of birds are irregular breeders in Iceland.
9 species of birds occur in Iceland only during their migration. 10 other species occur in Iceland only in the winter. 2 species (both pelagic) are summer visitors, having bred in the Southern Hemisphere.
35 species of birds on the Iceland List are vagrants that occur annually. And, lastly, there are 126 species on the list that have occurred in Iceland as what might be called irregular vagrants, either recorded once or just a few times. Vagrants in Iceland come from opposite directions, with some from Eurasia and others from the Americas.

A complete list of 354 species of birds in Iceland is elsewhere in this website. In the list, the number of sightings (as of 2002) is given in parentheses. That number may not reflect every sighting, but it gives an interesting measure of how often the Icelandic vagrant birds occur.
Actually now, that list of Icelandic birds contains one more species. The story follows:

With such an extensive country-list, it would seem incredulous that we would add a species to it during our tour. But that we did. Just after leaving the small island of Flatey, in a large bay in northwestern Iceland, from the ferry, a Yellow-billed Loon was spotted on the water, at first very close to the boat. Seen well, the bird appeared large, as did its bill, that was lightly-colored throughout, including the culmen and tip. Its head was also lightly-colored, more so than the head of the Common Loon in winter plumage. We did see a number of Common Loons, or Great Northern Divers, in a few plumages, during our tour. The White-billed Diver (as the Yellow-billed Loon is called in Europe) nests there only in the High Arctic region of far-northern Russia. West of Iceland (and west of Greenland), the species nests in North America, in the High Arctic of Canada and Alaska. In Europe, it has been found, away from its far-northern nesting area, off the Norwegian coast (mostly from late April into the first few days of June), and off Britain and Ireland (between October and mid June). Our sighting, off the western Icelandic coast, was on June 9, 2006.

That little island known as Flatey, in the big bay filled with small islands known as Breidafjordur, in western Iceland, is quite a place. On the island, there are 4 or 5 year-round residents, 5 if the son of the elderly lady who operates the little post office is there (he was hurt in a boating accident and sometimes is away). We met that lady from the post office during a previous tour (her name is Leena), and this time (in June '06), we sat with her outside in her yard, having coffee and cake. We were serenaded at the time with the constant winnowing of diving Snipe right above us (they may have been nesting in the tall grass just the other side of the wooden fence). Her common bird of the yard was the Snow Bunting. She feeds a flock of them, as she fed us (but I think bread, and not cake and coffee). One of our favorite experiences on the island, was, as we were waiting for the ferry to return, watching adult Snow Buntings, close to us, feeding their adolescent young.

During our 3 to 4 hours on Flatey Island, there was always the sound of birds. There were, in addition to the song of Snow Buntings and the winnowing of Snipe, the continual calls of shorebirds such as Redshanks, Oystercatchers, and Golden and Ringed Plovers. But it was to see another shorebird that we primarily went to Flatey. That species was the Red Phalarope, which is a rare breeder in Iceland (with just a relatively few pairs). Throughout Iceland, we saw many Red-necked Phalaropes, in their breeding garb, either spinning around on small pools, or along coastlines. As we disembarked from the ferry onto Flatey, Red-necked Phalaropes, nearly close enough to touch, were by the pier. Our target, the Red Phalarope, we surmised would not be as easy. However, with a bit of luck, and being at the right place, we watched 3 bright brick-red females circling about in the water, near to where we assumed 3 duller males were sitting on the nests. We were told by the post office lady (and it was true) that those birds had just returned to the island. The Red Phalarope is the last of the birds to arrive in Iceland in the spring, having come from the ocean off the southern African coast.

A while back, the Red-necked Phalarope was called the Northern Phalarope. But that was a misnomer, as the Red Phalarope is a more-northerly breeder than the Red-necked. In most European bird guidebooks, the Red Phalarope is called the Grey Phalarope. In Iceland, however, it's called the Red Phalarope as that's its color there when it visits for a short while to nest before going back out to sea.

So, like the Yellow-billed Loon, the Red Phalarope is a High Arctic breeder that we were fortunate to see (and on the same day). But, in the case of the phalarope, we saw it near a breeding site. It's a site, it might be mentioned, that's protected due to Eiders. There's a sign indicating in 4 languages that entry beyond it is strictly prohibited. You see, to the 4 people on Flatey Island, the down from the nests of Eiders is very important. When we sat on large rocks and observed the Red Phalaropes, we were before the sign, to our left. To our right, and not much more than an arms-length away, Black Guillemots stood tamely on a couple other rocks, neatly-dressed in their black-and-white breeding attire. And so it seemed quite appropriate that as they stood there, they were "well-behaved", generally still and quiet.

Behind us, on top of a little knoll, there was a small church. We were generally "well-behaved" as we entered to take a look. The colorful murals inside were not of saints or deities, but instead of fisherman. Overhead, on the upper wall, puffins were depicted. On the ceiling, directly overhead, there was a large painting (nearly life-size) of a White-tailed Eagle.

From the ferry from Flatey, after the unexpected loon, and during a ride when the Icelandic weather was the best it could possibly be, we enjoyed watching, from the boat, Shags and Cormorants, Fulmars, Arctic Terns, Common Murres (including the bridled form), and many Atlantic Puffins, either sitting on the water (usually prior to diving), or in the air with their short fluttery flight.
However, as we returned to the dock that we had left earlier in the morning, we had not seen, as hoped, a White-tailed Eagle (other than the one painted on the ceiling of the church).

So, after a fine seafood dinner, some rather spontaneous arrangements were made for another boat-trip into another part of the bay to see a White-tailed Eagle. And that we did, as we watched a frosty-colored adult circle in the sky around our boat 3 or 4 times, sometimes being pursued by a couple Ravens.

The young captain of the boat, called in for our mission on short-notice, also enjoyed our successful endeavor. The eagle was at a place where the normally-scheduled boat-trips don't go. A pair along the normal route had apparently abandoned their nesting efforts due to previous bad weather.
The young captain, who grew up on one of the more-remote little islands, also enjoyed talking about other birds that we saw, such as cormorants and shags, and the fulmars, kittiwakes, terns, and puffins. He asked what we liked better to eat, cormorant or shag. (Our fine seafood dinner, about an hour earlier, we told him, was neither.) He told us that a bird not to be eaten was the Fulmar. He also said that if we ate the eggs of either Arctic Tern or Kittiwake, we'd prefer not to eat again the egg of a chicken.

The White-tailed Eagle was not the only raptor we saw during our June '06 tour in Iceland. We saw Merlins and we were again, as we have been during our Iceland tours in the past, fortunate to watch Gyrfalcons. We saw 2 adults, a pale male and a slightly darker and larger female, on a cliff-ledge on the other side of a gorge with an invisible stream far below. We heard the calling of a young, "kerreh-kerreh-kerreh", elsewhere on a cliff, not visible from where we were. But as we stayed still and quiet, close to the ground in high tussock-grass, we certainly had a tremendous opportunity to observe Gyrfalcons at a place, remote and wild. When we were quiet, the only sounds were those of birds: in addition to the call of the Gyrfalcon, there were also those of the Whimbrel, Golden Plover, Greylag Geese, and the ever-present sound of the Snipe in the air.
But, more still than we were, and more quiet too, were 2 Pink-footed Geese crouched low to the ground, protecting their nest. They were so still. In our telescopes we could see that one blinked an eyelid, maybe.

Raptors are not the birds in the Iceland spring and summer that most nesting geese and shorebirds need to be concerned most about. No, the most common predator in much of Iceland is the Parasitic Jaeger (or, as it's called in Europe, the Arctic Skua). The species occurs in Iceland in two color forms, both a light and a dark morph. Interestingly, in the Icelandic population, the all-dark form seems to be (at least where we were) about as common as the light morph. Many pairs that we saw were one of each. Not too far from the Gyrfalcon location, we watched a pair feed. One bird (the light one) went to the ground and got an egg (apparently of a Golden Plover). It flew to a nearby spot where it was joined by the other jaeger (the dark one). They shared the egg. From our vantage point, we could see that the egg was not hard boiled!

But the Parasitic Jaeger, however, is not the top avian predator in Iceland in the spring and summer. The Great Skua may well have that distinction. That powerful species is not everywhere in Iceland, but in the southeastern part of the island it is particularly common. During our evening drive mentioned earlier to a glacier, we went along one stretch of highway with a fantastic number of Great Skuas by the road. In less than a half-hour, we passed by over a hundred Great Skuas! And that was without a concerted effort to count more. There are more breeding pairs of Great Skuas in Iceland than anywhere else. (Other islands on which they nest include: the Faroes, the Orkneys, and the Shetlands.) It's said that there are 6,000 breeding pairs of Great Skuas in Iceland. The species is among the earliest to arrive in the spring. They're at their nest sites in late March, having spent their non-breeding months at sea.
There's something that can be said about Great Skuas near the road we took to and from the glacier. It's this: While many birds, in open vast areas, fly away when approached by a person (even if only a short distance), skuas, however, from various spots in such an area, fly TOWARD a person who ventures out from a vehicle! It's said that they're even aggressive toward Icelandic Sheep that happen to wander into an open area where they nest on the ground.

Another species with more breeding pairs in Iceland than anywhere is the Atlantic Puffin. During our Jun '06 tour, in southern Iceland, one morning, as we walked along a trail by grassy ledges at the top of an ocean-side cliff, we enjoyed our looks, eye-to-eye as it were, with Atlantic Puffins outside their burrows. As our tour continued, we saw many Puffins in a number of settings: sometimes on cliffs, sometimes not, but always on, or by, the water. There are many Puffins in Iceland to see, with as many as 3 million pairs in the breeding season.

Another seabird that we saw in large numbers during its breeding season in Iceland was the Northern Fulmar. They nest on cliffs, where we often saw swarms of them flying about. Estimates are now that there are more than 2 million breeding pairs of fulmars in Iceland.

About 20 species of waterfowl nest in Iceland, among them the Whooper Swan (that we saw with cygnets), a few species of geese (that we saw with goslings), and an assortment of ducks (that we saw with ducklings). Particularly enjoyable among the ducks were, of course, the Harlequins, the Long-tailed Ducks, and the Common Eiders. The Common Eider is the most common of the ducks in Iceland, with a population greater than that of all of the other duck species combined.
When we visited ponds in southern Iceland at the beginning of our tour, we saw ducks, yes. But when we returned to those ponds about a week later, near the end of the tour, we found that there had been, when we were gone, a population explosion. Those ponds were then like nurseries with parent ducks (mostly Eiders and Mallards) and parent geese (Greylag) with strings of offspring.

Those numerous waterfowl babies were not the only very young birds we saw during our tour. We also saw baby shorebirds, and among them we particularly liked the little Oystercatchers.

As we were birding along a remote and picturesque stretch of the northern Icelandic coast, we found, among the Common Eiders, Eurasian Oystercatchers and other birds of the coastline, one of our best sightings of the tour. What a treat it was! There it was, in full breeding plumage, a male King Eider on a stony beach with Common Eiders.
There is, maybe, no drake waterfowl in the world that's as striking to see, in full breeding plumage, as the King Eider. Oh yes, male Mandarins and male Wood Ducks come to mind as exquisite and beautiful, and the male Harlequin Ducks (that we certainly enjoyed in Iceland in June '06) are definitely colorful. And yes, the other eider species are not bad either, but to see a drake King Eider in its full breeding attire, as we did in such a scenic setting on a clear day, is, simply put, superb. It doesn't get much better.
To begin with, there's the "shark-fins" on the bird's dark back. They're unique. You might take a look at that feature of the breeding male in a good field guide. And there's the blue, and green, and orange, and red on the gaudy head.
Also, regarding the King Eider that we found along that Icelandic north coast, it was unexpected. Even though King Eiders can be found in Iceland, they are, like the Red Phalarope and Yellow-billed Loon, breeders in the High Arctic, that is north of Iceland. There's a population that breeds in Greenland. Most of those found in Iceland are from Greenland. Otherwise in Europe, the King Eider breeds only in far-northern Russia. In far-northern Norway, it occurs in the winter.

King Eiders can be found in Iceland throughout the year, but they are mostly found there in the late winter. Female King Eiders, it's said in the books, rarely occur in Iceland in the late spring and summer. So imagine our surprise when we realized that our spectacular male King Eider, along the northern Iceland coast on June 8, 2006, was with a female King Eider! Yes, there were 2 King Eiders that appeared to be a pair. Again, according to the books, King Eiders have not been known to breed in Iceland. It's too bad that we just couldn't go back sometime later to that spot to see if there were little King Eiderettes.
There have been cases where male King Eiders have bred in Iceland with female Common Eiders, producing hybrids. In fact, it's said that such hybrids can annually be found in Iceland.
We were so pleased to find as we did, along that north Iceland coast, true male and female King Eiders.

A little while later, along that same dirt road by the north Iceland coast, there was another notable duck, a vagrant from North America. A male Green-winged Teal, Anas carolinensis, was by itself on a pond, with the sun shining on its features.

Yet another vagrant waterfowl in Iceland was seen later during the tour, a drake Garganey. And the last bird added to our trip-list was another vagrant waterbird in Iceland, the Common (or Eurasian) Coot.

Prior to our June '06 tour, the best vagrant found during FONT tours in Iceland was a Great Crested Grebe, in May 2003, in a bay along the north Iceland coast. According to Icelandic bird data on the internet, there have been only 6 records for that Eurasian species in Iceland (We do not know if the bird we saw was included in those 6.)
As good (as far north) as that sighting was, I was a bit surprised when I later read that a Great Crested Grebe was recorded even further north yet, in western Greenland, back in the summer of 1857, in the notes of the explorer Admiral Sir Leopold McClintock. Admiral McClintock, a competent naturalist, was, during that voyage, on his way from England to northern Canada, in an effort to ascertain the facts regarding the ill-fated expedition of the earlier explorer, Sir John Franklin, after whom the Franklin's Gull was named.

Regarding gulls, again during our recent June '06 Iceland tour, and again along the northern coast of Iceland, one morning in a small fishing town, we tallied 8 species of them: Black-headed, Herring, Lesser Black-backed, Great Black-backed, Common, Glaucous, and Black-legged Kittiwake, in addition to the Iceland Gull. There were a few Iceland Gulls on the shoreline with Glaucous Gulls, providing a nice comparison.
Seeing the Iceland Gull in Iceland is easy during our tours there in October. Numbers come south at the end of the summer from Greenland where they breed. Iceland Gulls don't nest in Iceland.
During the late spring and summer, only a few Iceland Gulls can be found, locally, along the north coast.
The Iceland Gull of Greenland & Iceland is not the same population as the Iceland Gull found in North America. It is Larus (glaucoides) glaucoides, whereas the American bird (that breeds in northern Canada) is Larus (glaucoides) kumlieni, and thus is called, by some, the Kumlien's Gull.

From the internet we learned of some other gulls in Iceland when we were there, that we were unable to see: Sabine's Gull, Ring-billed Gull, and a Laughing Gull. The Icelandic birders were most excited regarding the Laughing Gull (with only 9 previous records for the country). It's quite something, really, that such a bird from eastern North America would end up in Iceland. It's 3,882 kilometers from Boston to Iceland, and Laughing Gulls are really not abundant as far north as Boston.

There's much more I continue to say about birds in Iceland, but it's time now to finish writing this report.
There were other birds, that have not been mentioned, that were good to see during our June 2006 tour in Iceland, including:
- the (Rock) Ptarmigan - we had a number of good looks, but our first had the most red on its head.
- the Horned Grebe (or Slavonian Grebe as its called in Europe) in its wonderfully colorful breeding plumage
- the pairs of Red-throated Loons (or Red-throated Divers), in their nice breeding plumage, as they sat still on the also still water of glacial pools
- and the flocks of shorebirds including brilliant Black-tailed Godwits (an endemic breeding subspecies in Iceland), Purple Sandpipers in their breeding plumage (an endemic resident subspecies in Iceland), and those other shorebirds that would continue further north to breed in the High Arctic, notably Red Knots, and also Sanderlings and (Ruddy) Turnstones.

And looking back to our first day of the tour, we stood on shore at the end of a cape, by where a large bay and the ocean meet. We were not far, really, from the offshore island where the last Great Auk died over 150 years ago.
We were looking out at birds, so many birds. It was apparent that there were large schools of fish under the surface of the water attracting large, actively feeding, flocks of birds above them. Many Gannets were diving. There were also many Gulls. Numerous Arctic Terns were noisily flying and feeding. Parasitic Jaegers were harassing the Terns. Manx Shearwaters were flying about. And there was a continual procession of alcids flying by: in addition to Puffins, there were Razorbills, and both species of Murres (known as Guillemots in Europe). The Common Murres (or Guillemots) flew by in strings of birds, one group after another, seemingly without end.

With the birds and the fish, beneath the surface of the water and breaking the surface, there were Minke Whales (at least 2), feeding as well.

Iceland doesn't have many species of land mammals, but we were fortunate one evening to have a look at a dark (nearly black) Arctic Fox as it ran across the road in front of us. Then it stopped to look at us, as we looked at it.
We also saw a number of Harbor Seals, particularly along the north coast. Sometimes they were in water feeding on fish attracting groups of birds, and sometimes the seals were simply basking on the rocky shoreline in the sun.

Something that Iceland doesn't have much of are butterflies. We only saw one. (There are 82 species of Lepidoptera species in Iceland, mostly moths.)

But there are some wonderful wildflowers in Iceland in the late spring and summer. Among species seen during our June '06 tour were:
Nootka Lupin, Lupinus nootkatensis
Wild Pansy, Viola tricolor
Common Butterwort, Pinguicula vulgaris
Wood Crane's-bill, Geranium sylvaticum
Sea Pea, Lathyrus japonicus maritimus
Hairy Stonecrop, Sedum villosum
Moss Campion, Silene acaulis
Sea Campion, Silene uniflora
Thrift, Armeria maritima
Lady Smock, Cardamine nymanii
Sea Mayweed, Matricaria maritima
Alpine Mouse-ear, Cerastium alpinum
Alpine Bistort, Bistorta vivipara
Wild Angelica, Angelica sylvestris
Bearberry, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Marsh-marigold, Caltha palustris
Alpine Cinquefoil, Potentilla crantzii
Silverweed, Potentilla anserina
Roseroot, Rhodiola rosea
A more-complete list of wildflowers and some other plants in Iceland will soon be elsewhere in this website.

The birds voted by the participants, following the tour, as the "Top Birds" were:

1 -   Gyrfalcon
2 - White-tailed Eagle
3 - King Eider
4 - Atlantic Puffin
5 - Red Phalarope
6 - Great Skua
7 - Rock Ptarmigan
8 - Iceland Gull
9 - Black Guillemot
10 - Snow Bunting
11 - Garganey
12 - Harlequin Duck
13 - Northern Gannet
14 - Pink-footed Goose
15 - Black-tailed Godwit

Yes, we liked Iceland - again, in June '06!

Armas Hill

FONT E-News, Volume 7, No. 5
May 22, 2006
from Focus On Nature Tours, Inc.

"Birds & Other Nature on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola"

In April 2006, FONT conducted a birding & nature tour in the Dominican Republic. This following narrative was written by Armas Hill, the leader of the tour.

The country of the Dominican Republic, on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, is truly an interesting place to bird. And that we did during our 14th tour there, April 1-8, 2006. What a great place it is to go to, and to experience, just a few hours by plane from home!

It's an interesting place for a number of reasons, but foremost among them is the diversity of habitats to be found on the island. Hispaniola is the 2nd largest island in the Caribbean, after Cuba. The Dominican Republic, occupying the eastern two-thirds of the island, is the second largest country in the Caribbean, after Cuba. In the 30,000 square miles of the Dominican Republic, there is a combination of highlands, lowlands, and highland valleys that have been divided into about 20 distinct geographical regions. It is one of the most ecologically diverse countries in the world.

In the Central Mountains (the Cordillera Central), there's the highest peak in all of the Caribbean, rising to 3,175 meters (about 10,000 feet), and frequently snow-capped.

On the other hand, the largest lake on the island (Lago Enriquillo) is about 115 meters (over 300 feet) below sea level. It was once a strait of the Caribbean Sea. It is now 3 times saltier than the sea. The lake is the home of various birds, such as Caribbean (Greater) Flamingos, and some other wildlife too, notably a population of American Crocodiles. In the lowland desert around the lake, in addition to a nice number of resident birds in the bushes and trees, there's a notable creature on the ground, the endangered Rhinoceros Iguana that's endemic to the desert habitat in that part of Hispaniola.

From the lake, as noted about 300 feet below sea-level, it's possible to drive a dirt road that ascends high into a mountain range called the Sierra de Bahoruco, a continuation of a Haitian range called Massif de la Selle. Those mountains average an elevation of 1,600 meters (4800 feet), but rise as high as 2,420 meters (7260 feet). Thus, along lower part of the dirt road, one is surrounded by acacia and cactus, while in the higher mountains, one is in extensive forests of pine trees (Pinus occidentalis), in which crossbills live. There's another notable bird that nests there in rocky cliffs, at the high altitude of about 7,000 feet. It's a noisy denizen of the night, that flies in from the sea. The bird is the rare Black-capped Petrel, and in this mountain range of southwestern Hispaniola, it's believed that all of them nest.

It's in the southwestern portion of the Dominican Republic, from the desert to the pine-clad mountains, and in between, and from the seacoast to the remote interior, that we did most of the birding during our tour.

Wonderful sights near the coast, at a shallow lake, included the pink Caribbean (or Greater) Flamingos, and the even-pinker Roseate Spoonbills, with flocks of White-cheeked Pintails. At salt pans by the sea, there were numbers of white-morph Reddish Egrets, Black-necked Stilts, and both Snowy and Wilson's Plovers together. On the floor of a dry forest, a Key West Quail-Dove walked by. High in the sky, during the day, Antillean Palm-Swifts and Caribbean Martins caught insects. In an evening sky, Antillean Nighthawks flew overhead, giving their katydid-like calls. A wonderful sound in the mountain forest was the long whistling note of the Rufous-throated Solitaire.

It's true, as already noted, that the Dominican Republic is a great place for birding due to the diversity of habitats. But there's another significant reason as to why the birding there is so interesting. It's the isolation that has occurred after many, many years of certain bird populations on one particular island in a group of islands. Resulting from this, there are a number of species and subspecies that are now endemic to Hispaniola. And, actually, there's even a bird family that's endemic to the island.

No, we didn't see the ghostly Black-capped Petrels on the misty mountaintop at night, but we did see many birds during our April '06 tour. Our total was 133 species. Of these, nearly 30 were endemic to Hispaniola. Additionally, we saw over 15 subspecies endemic to the island. All of these species & subspecies that we found are listed below:

An ENDEMIC SPECIES in an ENDEMIC FAMILY:

Palmchat

Other ENDEMIC SPECIES:

Hispaniolan Quail-Dove (formerly Gray-headed Quail-Dove when conspecific with Cuban population)
Hispaniolan Conure (or Parakeet)
Hispaniolan Amazon (or Parrot)
Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo
Bay-breasted Cuckoo
Ashy-faced Owl
Hispaniolan Nightjar (formerly Gray-headed Quail-Dove when conspecific with Cuban population)
Least Poorwill (has been called Least Pauraque)
Hispaniolan Emerald (a hummingbird)
Hispaniolan Trogon
Narrow-billed Tody
Broad-billed Tody
Hispaniolan Piculet
Hispaniolan Woodpecker
Hispaniolan Pewee
Golden Swallow (now most likely an endemic species, as the subspecies in Jamaica has not been seen in years)
White-necked Crow (now an endemic species as the bird has been extirpated in Puerto Rico since 1963)
Hispaniolan Palm Crow (an endemic species if considered distinct from the population in Cuba)
LaSelle Thrush
Flat-billed Vireo
Ground Warbler
White-winged Warbler
Hispaniolan Spindalis (formerly part of the wider-ranging Stripe-headed Tanager)
Black-crowned Palm-Tanager
Gray-crowned Palm-Tanager (nearly endemic to Haiti)
(Western) Chat-Tanager
Hispaniolan Oriole (formerly part of the wider-ranging Black-cowled Oriole)
Hispaniolan Crossbill (has been considered part of the White-winged Crossbill)

ENDEMIC SUBSPECIES:

American Kestrel
Limpkin (now an endemic subspecies as the bird has been extirpated in Puerto Rico)
Burrowing Owl (this is now the only subspecies remaining in the Caribbean; 2 others, in Antigua & Guadeloupe, have been extirpated)
Antillean Mango (a hummingbird)
Vervain Hummingbird
Loggerhead Kingbird
Stolid Flycatcher
Greater Antillean Elaenia
Cave Swallow
Rufous-throated Solitaire
Golden Warbler (some might say that this endemic subspecies would be of the Yellow Warbler)
Pine Warbler
Bananaquit (1 of 41 subspecies throughout its extensive range)
Antillean Euphonia (at one time conspecific with the Blue-hooded Euphonia)
Greater Antillean Grackle
Greater Antillean Bullfinch
Rufous-collared Sparrow (the only subspecies in the West Indies of this wide-ranging species; occurs only high in the Central Mountains. There's another subspecies at sea-level on the Caribbean islands of Curacao & Aruba, closer to South America.)

Endemic subspecies of the Double-striped Thick-knee and the Stygian Owl are yet to be found during future tours. The endemic subspecies of the Northern Potoo was not found during our April '06 tour, although it has been during other FONT Dominican Republic tours.

A good number of the birds of Hispaniola are rare. The following are designated as such by Birdlife International in these categories:

CRITICAL:

Ridgway's Hawk (not found during the April '06 tour, but has been with FONT in the past)

ENDANGERED:

Black-capped Petrel
Bay-breasted Cuckoo
La Selle Thrush
Hispaniolan Crossbill

VULNERABLE:

West Indian Whistling-Duck
Plain Pigeon
Hispaniolan (formerly Gray-headed) Quail-Dove
Hispaniolan Conure (or Parakeet)
Hispaniolan Amazon (or Parrot)
Golden Swallow
Bicknell's Thrush
Chat-Tanager
White-winged Warbler
White-necked Crow

NEAR-THREATENED:

Black Rail
Caribbean Coot
Least Poorwill
Hispaniolan Trogon
Gray-crowned Palm-Tanager
Hispaniolan Palm Crow

Some of the most explicit examples of isolated bird populations in the Dominican Republic are the Antillean Piculet, Hispaniolan Crossbill, Pine Warbler, and Rufous-collared Sparrow.

Piculets are mostly in South America, with one species ranging north into Central America. Not only is the Antillean Piculet isolated from the others, there's something particularly interesting about the species. As the Dominican Republic is one of the world's few places with amber, it was there that a notable find could be made of a fossil preserved in it. That fossil, with portions of feathers, was determined to be the oldest known fossil of Picidae (a woodpecker) in the New World. It was determined to be an Antillean Piculet or a very closely related form. The fossil is older than the lower Early Miocene Period. And that's way back. Studies have shown that other fossils, of bones, of Picidae elsewhere have placed them back to the Middle Miocene. The fossilized Piculet feather also represents the first pre-Pleistocene bird to be found in the West Indies. Put another way, that's before the Glacial Age.

Pleistocene times were about 85,000,000 years ago. The crossbill in Hispaniola goes back that far (to the Glacial Age). Since then it has been in the pine forests high in the mountains of Hispaniola. As to its discovery there, it's one of the bird species on the island that was first found in the 20th Century, in 1916. The closely related White-winged Crossbill is, of course, a bird of the northern forests in both the New & Old Worlds.

The subspecies of the Pine Warbler in the Dominican Republic is, like the crossbill, a resident of the high Hispaniolan pines. It never leaves the island to occur where the species does otherwise in North America.

The Rufous-collared Sparrow is a species of mostly South America. In the northern part of its range, in Central America, it occurs only in the highlands. The isolated subspecies in the Dominican Republic only occurs at high elevations in the Central Mountains, favoring savannas in the pines. It's the only population in the West Indies.

Todies only occur in the West Indies. Those little bright green jewels, a bit like hummingbirds, a bit like flycatchers, are most closely related to kingfishers. There are 5 species of todies, occurring endemically on 4 islands. Hispaniola is the only island with 2 species of todies. The Broad-billed Tody generally occurs up to 3,000 feet above sea level. The Narrow-billed Tody is generally at higher altitudes. At some places, the two live side by side. They do not interbreed.

Todies are small, but the Vervain Hummingbird is smaller. Closely related to the Bee Hummingbird of Cuba that's said to be the smallest bird in the world, the Vervain, also tiny, measures only 6 centimeters and weighs only 1.6 grams.

Some of the birds of the Dominican Republic have had, in years gone by, what might be called identity crises. In particular, the Flat-billed Vireo was discovered, "new to science", back in 1885, when it was called an empidonax flycatcher. It remained in the flycatcher group for years, but in a different genus. It was as late as 1917 when it was first said to be a vireo. For a vireo, it has a peculiar bill (that's what caused the confusion). It's broad, depressed, and triangular. Vireos usually have a slightly decurved bill with a small notch.

Also with an identity crisis of sorts, the Greater Antillean Elaenia (a true flycatcher) was "discovered" twice. It was first described in the Dominican Republic in 1807, when it was given the scientific name Muscicapa albicapilla. Nothing was written about its habits, its form, or its family. So, in 1895, it was "discovered" again, said to be "new to science", and given the scientific name Elaenia cherri (named after the person who was thought at that time to have discovered the bird). It was as late as 1931 when the bird was studied scientifically and given the scientific name that it has today, Elaenia fallax.
The "first discovery" in 1807 was apparently at a low elevation. Subsequently, after the lowland pine forests were completely destroyed, the bird has been found in higher countryside, mostly in areas with pines in the mountains, generally higher than 3,000 feet above sea level.

It was noted earlier that the Hispaniolan Crossbill was first found in 1916. There are also other Hispaniolan birds that were discovered as recently as the 20th Century, including the Least Poorwill, La Selle's Thrush, and White-winged Warbler.

The Least Poorwill had for a while a scanty history, after the first specimen was collected in 1917. At that time, the small nightjar, that has also been called the Least Pauraque, was given the scientific name Microsiphonorhis brewsteri. The genus was changed in 1928 to Siphonorhis. From that year until 1969, there were very few, if any, reports of the bird, that's called locally "El Torico". The nice thing is that today this species of Siphonorhis can still be found. The only other member of the genus, Siphonorhis americana, the Jamaican Pauraque, is now believed to be extinct.

The shy La Selle's Thrush was discovered in mountains of southern Haiti, known as the Massif de la Selle, in 1927. It was not recorded elsewhere until 1971, when it was found to be in the Bahoruco Mountains in the southwest Dominican Republic. In 1986, it was determined that the La Selle's Thrush that had recently been found in the Central Mountains of the Dominican Republic was a different subspecies.

The White-winged Warbler was yet another Hispaniolan bird that was discovered in the 20th Century. When it was described in 1917, it was given the scientific name Microligea montana. It occurs high in the montanas (or mountains). In 1967, the bird became the single member of its genus, and the new name given to it at that time was Xenoligea montana.

And that's our review of some of the Hispaniolan birds that were seen during the FONT April '06 Dominican Republic tour, noting interesting items about them - among those that are endemic, those that are rare, those with a history, and those isolated on an island, with rough and varied terrain, in the Caribbean Sea.

In conclusion, here, though, mention must be made of another creature, a mammal, also endemic and rare, and with a history that goes way back as it lived in isolation on Hispaniola. The creature has an odd name. It's called a Solenodon. It has an odd appearance. It's about 18 to 23 inches long, with a long nose at one end and a long tail at the other. It moves with an odd gait. Recently it has been determined that the animal makes ultrasonic vocalizations - twitters, chirps, and clicks. By day, it sleeps in small caves or hollow tree trunks. At night, it feeds on a variety of insects, worms, and other small vertebrates. We saw a Solenodon, during the April '06 tour, at night, as it passed by in the lit area in front of our vehicle. We were lucky to see it well, after we had just seen an Ashy-faced Owl nearby as it flew from a fencepost. Had we inadvertently saved a rare Solenodon?

There are now two species of Solenodons. One is native to Hispaniola; the other to Cuba. In the Dominican Republic it is locally called a "jutia". But that's not to confuse it with the other indigenous Hispaniolan mammal, the Hutia, which is smaller, about 30 centimeters in length. Like its larger cousin, the Solenodon, the Hutia spends its days in cavities, and emerges to hunt and eat only at night. There are still about a dozen species of Hutias in the Caribbean, mostly in Cuba, but also on some other islands. Many of these species are now critically endangered. There used to be about 15 other species of Hutias, and even some Giant-Hutias. They are now extinct, with most having become so in the 1600s.

Imagine what it would have been like to visit Hispaniola back before the arrival of Columbus, back when there were Giant-Hutias, and when among the birds, there was an endemic macaw. As good as it is to visit now, as we did in April 2006, imagine what it would have been back in those days now gone.

Still, however, just a plane-ride away, it doesn't get much better, for a few days with birding that's darn good, in a place that is, for most of us, so naturally different.

Hegura Island, in the Sea of Japan, off the western coast of the main Japanese island of Honshu, is a fascinating place for birders, as it is truly a magnet for birds during their northward spring migration.

The following narrative includes a summary of our tour in 2005, as well as to other Japanese islands of Amami, Okinawa, & Kyushu.

Here's a link to a list of all the birds that have cumulatively been found during FONT tours on Hegura Island:

Birds during FONT Tours on Hegura Island, Japan

Japan SPRING Birding Tour (to Honshu, including Hegura Island, Amami, Okinawa, & Kyushu)

The tour, conducted May 17-30, 2005, was the 25th birding tour for FONT in Japan.

And it was our 4th tour to a place that's fascinating and fun for birds during their migration: a very small island, called Hegura, in the Sea of Japan, 50 kilometers (less than 30 miles) off the western shore of the main Japanese island of Honshu.

After lunch that day, as we walked, there were no cuckoos. But instead, flycatchers of a few species, seemed to be "everywhere". Mostly, they were Asian Brown Flycatchers, but also present were: Dark-sided (or Siberian), Gray-streaked, Narcissus, and Mugimaki, and a rarity - a single Red-throated Flycatcher, feeding on a big rock. Over all of the fields and at the pools along the rocky shoreline, there were flycatchers sallying for insects. At the end of the day, flycatchers were flying into the air catching bugs from nearly all of the small pine trees on the island. As the sun set below the horizon of the Pacific Ocean, the "green flash" was visible. Then, in one of those pine trees where flycatchers perched, a Japanese Scops-Owl called.

On the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, during our May '05 tour, we did very well with our 2 primary target-birds of the island: the very rare Okinawa Woodpecker and the Okinawa Rail, the latter only known to science for about 25 years. During 2 days, we saw 2 Okinawa Woodpeckers at their nests feeding young (that could be heard calling inside the tree cavities). The species is one of the rarest woodpeckers in the world, with very few breeding pairs restricted to a limited area of northern Okinawa.

The string of Japanese islands, that stretch to the south of the main islands, are known as the Ryukyus, including Okinawa, Amami, and others smaller. That word is an also adjective for some birds of that region that we saw during our tour: the Ryukyu Robin, the Ryukyu Flycatcher (a resident that was formerly considered a race of the migratory Narcissus Flycatcher), the Ryukyu Minivet, and the Ryukyu Scops-Owl (the last of these we saw in a puddle, apparently bathing, on a dirt road in an Amami forest, when it was still dark just before dawn).

On a beach in Amami, one afternoon, where from previous tours we knew that shorebirds (or waders) stage in the late spring, we saw numerous Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, and others that included: Terek Sandpipers, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Bar-tailed Godwits, Red-necked Stints, and Mongolian Plovers. The Mongolian Plover is also known as the Lesser Sandplover. Among a flock of them, on that beach, there was a single Greater Sandplover (a rarity in Japan).

During our pelagic trip, onboard a ferry between Okinawa and Amami, we saw some Bulwer's Petrels, Streaked Shearwaters and Short-tailed Shearwaters, Black-naped Terns and Roseate Terns, and 3 species of dolphins, one of which was the Rough-toothed Dolphin, in a pod seen "porpoising", surrounded by more-numerous Bottle-nosed Dolphins.

FONT E-News, Volume 7, No. 2
March 5, 2006
from Focus On Nature Tours, Inc.

"Cayman Islands & Jamaica Tour Highlights - February/March 2006"

Our 2006 tours in the Caymans (Feb 23-26) and Jamaica (Feb 27 - Mar 4), were done either individually or in combination. During those tours, in both the Caymans and Jamaica, there were some fine highlights among the 135 species of birds collectively seen.

In the Caymans, one beautiful morning as we walked the trails of the botanical garden, there was the rich melodious song of "Sweet Bridget". That's the local name for the Yucatan Vireo, a species that occurs in the Caribbean only on Grand Cayman Island. Other birds that we saw during the walk that morning included the Rose-throated (or Cayman) Parrot, Mangrove Cuckoo, LaSagra's Flycatcher, Loggerhead Kingbird, another Vireo, the Thick-billed, and the attractive Western Spindalis - the last of these was at one time known as the Stripe-headed Tanager. That species has now been "split" into 4 - the Western Spindalis occurs also in the Bahamas, Cuba, and Cozumel Island, off Mexico. All of the nice birds just-mentioned were in addition to others that were common including Bananaquits and various warblers. Most of the warbler species had migrated from the north, but the Vitelline and the Golden Warblers were residents. The Vitelline Warbler only occurs in the Caymans, and one other small Caribbean island - Swan Island, to the south.

The Northern Mockingbirds on the Cayman Islands are a resident subspecies, not as "northern" as those in North America. In the Caymans, it's called the "Nightingale". It sings & sings (day & night), and has a repertoire of songs it has learned from other birds.

Another notable landbird we saw on Grand Cayman Island was the endemic subspecies of the Cuban Bullfinch. Otherwise, that bird occurs in Cuba.

There's a distinctive, and endemic, race of the Northern Flicker on Grand Cayman Island. And another woodpecker there is also a subspecies endemic to the island, the local race of the West Indian Woodpecker that also resides in Cuba and the Bahamas.

Most places in the Caribbean the West Indian Whistling-Duck is rather rare and a bit hard to find. Not so in the Caymans. On Grand Cayman, we saw them at a few spots. At one, there were well over a hundred.

A large number of Red-footed Boobies breed on Little Cayman Island. Over a couple thousand are in the colony there, with birds of both color morphs - brown and white. Many Magnificent Frigatebirds also nest in that colony. It was fun watching both species. Many of the male frigatebirds had large inflated red throat-sacs. That colony of Red-footed Boobies, by the way, is the largest, it's said not just in the Caribbean, but also in the Americas. Assuming that to be true, it's either the largest, or one of the largest, in the world.

As far as islands go, in the world, Little Cayman is far from large. With just a handful of people, that small island is such a pristine place - and a favorite of haunt of wintering warblers, who share the place with resident birds that include Caribbean Elaenias and a rare subspecies of the Greater Antillean Grackle.

Quite different from Little Cayman Island is another Caribbean island, much larger and often lush and green. I'm referring now to Jamaica, where during our tour following the Caymans, we saw about 120 species of birds, including nearly all of the over 20 endemics.

Some of our avian highlights of Jamaica were birds not among the endemics, but highlights none the less. There was a fine look at a Yellow-breasted Crake. And there was close-up twosome of male and female Masked Ducks.
From atop a cliff, we looked down upon White-tailed Tropicbirds gyrating in flight. Not only wre their tails white; they were long. In all, about 20 White-tailed Tropicbirds were flying about by that cliff that morning.

Among the endemic birds of Jamaica, there's a becard (the only species of becard in the Caribbean), and two species of cuckoos (one, the Chestnut-bellied, called the "Old Man Bird"; the other, the Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo, called the "Old Woman Bird". There are 2 endemic species of thrushes, one the White-eyed, the other the White-chinned. And there are 2 endemic species of parrots, the Yellow-billed and the Black-billed.

Among the favorite of the endemics, are 2 hummingbirds known locally as "Doctorbirds". They are the Streamertails (the males with very long, black tails). In most of Jamaica, the Red-billed Streamertails reside. Locally, in the lush northeast corner of the island, there's the Black-billed Streamertail. We saw one of the latter sitting on its nest. Some of the former fed from our hands, at a renowned birding locale that's been near Montego Bay over 50 years, a place called "Rocklands". For all those many years, hummingbirds have tamely been feeding there. All one needs to do is sit on a chair, and hold a small tube of sugar water in one hand, as the little feet of the hummingbird perches on a finger of the other hand. Quite a treat!

Also a treat in that area, was the observation of a roosting Jamaican Potoo during the day. When it yawned, the red inside of its mouth could be seen. Later we saw a potoo when they're more active, after dark. It, too, perched for us, on a roadside post outside our van.

One of the most enjoyable sounds of our Jamaica stay was heard a couple hours earlier that day - from a bird noted in the book as the Jamaican Crow, but called by the Jamaicans the "Jabbering Crow". Jabber it does.

And so, again, in 2006, we had good birding, and good times, in the Caribbean, in the Caymans and Jamaica. The tours were the 5th for us in the Caymans, and the 10th in Jamaica. We look forward to going back to both again.

FONT E-News, Volume 7, No. 1
January 30, 2006
from Focus On Nature Tours, Inc.

"SOME OF THE BIRDS DURING OUR DEC '05/JAN '06 GUATEMALA HOLIDAY TOUR"

We enjoyed again our annual Holiday Birding & Nature Tour in Guatemala from just after Christmas in 2005 to just after New Year's 2006. Guatemala is a wonderful place to see birds and experience nature that time of year.

A number of birds seem to like being there that time of year as well. In the scenic highlands of the country, in many a tree we would see many a TENNESSEE WARBLER. Birds from both eastern and western North America winter in the area. Not only are there eastern BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLERS, there are western TOWNSEND'S and HERMIT WARBLERS. Not only are there eastern SUMMER TANAGERS, there are also WESTERN TANAGERS.

Our tour in Guatemala goes firstly to the highlands, and then to the lowlands of the Peten Region, where we visit the famed Mayan ruins of Tikal. Now that site is in an extensive national park that's well-preserved with forest and its accompanying birds and animals. About a thousand years ago, there were many people living at Tikal. A civilization is said to have flourished there about 900 A.D. Today, Tikal and other Mayan ruins that we visit in the Peten are places of visitors. Many come & go each day. Of course, we're visitors also, but the paths that we follow in the area are not those that most do. We thus had the opportunity, again, to see close-at-hand the magnificent forest and the creatures that reside there. Among them, during our recent tour, there were the animals such as MONKEYS, the AGOUTI and COATI, and even, with good fortune, the JAGUARUNDI.

There were, during a wonderful afternoon boat-ride in a more remote region of Peten (that's not on the beat of most Tikal visitors), CROCODILES and turtles known as SLIDERS at the river's edge, and, as dusk enveloped us, BATS and NIGHTHAWKS catching insects as they flew in the beautiful twilight sky.

On the ground in the forest, there were ANTS (LEAF-CUTTERS and others). BUTTERFLIES included an assortment of SWALLOWTAILS, MOZAICS, ZEBRAS, and CRACKERS, just to name a few.

And of course, there were BIRDS. There were TROGONS and TOUCANS. There were WOODPECKERS and WOODCREEPERS (a nice variety of the latter). And there were MOTMOTS and MANAKINS.

The MANAKINS were among the favorites of the tour. Brilliantly colorful were the males that we saw so well of the RED-CAPPED and WHITE-COLLARED MANAKINS. If people like birds, they love MANAKINS, especially when they see them so well.

As we walked in the Peten forest, we were fortunate to have some good experiences with the birds. It's always good to encounter a FLOCK composed of a few species as they make their way feeding in the trees. That we did. At one such time, the colorful "leader of the pack", the BLACK-THROATED SHRIKE-TANAGER was hard to ignore, as it kept giving its call. But we certainly had to look at the other birds in the group too, including the FLYCATCHERS, WOODCREEPERS and WARBLERS, and even the GREENLETS. Some of the FLYCATCHERS were something to see, notably the NORTHERN ROYAL. Others that we encountered during the tour included a SPADEBILL and BENTBILL.

Late one afternoon, at one place in the forest, we come upon a lot of ANTS. We stood still, and the BIRDS came too. Not only the WOOD THRUSH and the THRUSH-LIKE MANAKIN did we watch closely, but the SHRIKE-TANAGER came in very close, and the ANT-TANAGERS simply ignored us, as at our feet, they were more concerned with the ants.

We actually, during our stay in the Peten, watched many WOOD THRUSHES on the ground. That's good, as we like for there to be many, particularly when they'd return to North America in the spring, and fill the forest with their beautiful song. Also the HOODED WARBLERS we liked seeing as well as we did, and knowing too that they would be adding their beauty to North American forests later in the year.

Outside the Peten forests, in an open area of fields, we stopped at a place where in the past, we'd seen some FLYCATCHERS of the open, including the brilliantly-red VERMILION and the exquisite FORK-TAILED. They were there. The FORK-TAILED, the Central American subspecies that's resident, is always nice to see with its very long tail. But there was another long-tailed FLYCATCHER at that place that was unexpected, as it's not normally there. On the fence posts and tree stumps there were at least 2 SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHERS, along with the FORK-TAILED. The also-exquisite SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER is normally on the Pacific side of Guatemala. In the Peten region of northeast Guatemala, it has only occurred historically as a vagrant. This past year, with the strong storm in Guatemala in October (the disastrous Hurricane Stan), it may have been that some migrating birds, such as the SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER, were blown off-course.

In Guatemala's Peten, as just noted, some unforeseen birds can be found. But, one species that one can count on if one goes to Tikal is a large bird now nearly restricted to national parks, the OCELLATED TURKEY. It's easy at Tikal to walk among them. In the forest there at Tikal, also large, were the walking GREAT CURASSOWS that we encountered as we were doing the same.

CURASSOWS and TURKEYS, as just noted, are big. On the other hand, among the best of our smaller birds in Guatemala were the HUMMINGBIRDS. We saw a number of them with wonderful names that relate to their plumages. Most of them were in the Guatemalan highlands, where, among those we saw, there were these: the GARNET-THROATED and AZURE-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRDS, and, as if garnet were not enough, also the AMETHYST-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD. But probably the best was the SPARKLING-TAILED WOODSTAR, with the male having a long tail. By Lake Atitlan, said to be one of the most beautiful places anywhere, that nice little hummingbird is able to even add to the beauty.

Another hummingbird, among the 15 or so species during our tour, was one also visiting the area as we were. After RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS, from eastern North America, cross the Gulf of Mexico, a good number of them winter in the Guatemalan hills.

Another group of birds well-represented during our Guatemala Tour were the ORIOLES. We saw 8 species: BLACK-COWLED, BALTIMORE, BULLOCK'S, ORCHARD, BLACK-VENTED, YELLOW-BACKED, YELLOW-TAILED, and ALTAMIRA. Now that's a lot of bright color.

And there were other colorful birds, of various kinds, during the tour. In the mountains, there was the ELEGANT EUPHONIA on treetops, and the WHITE-WINGED TANAGER. The name of that bird does not indicate how brightly red the bird is overall. More subdued with its redness is the PINK-HEADED WARBLER. Red on its breast is the SLATE-THROATED REDSTART. Very red on its legs were the RED-LEGGED HONEYCREEPERS. The body of that bird, is a very bright blue.

Also bright blue were the male BLUE BUNTINGS at Tikal. Both in the highlands and lowlands, there were colorful birds.

And, there was another bird that we saw well and enjoyed, that even though it lacked red or blue, it was still great to see. It was one of the most distinctly-patterned birds of the tour, the PREVOST'S GROUND-SPARROW. Not your ordinary sparrow, that bird appears to have a costume.

And with that, as well as all the color just referred to, birds during our annual Holiday Tour in Guatemala really were festive!