Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Birding the Panama Canal

I am linking up with World Bird Wednesday and  Nature Notes

These photos are from our vacation to Panama last week. We visited the Panama canal locks a few times and one day we were on a ferry ride on the canal and we went thru a few of the locks. A common bird we saw besides the Pelicans and thousands of Black Vultures was the Magnificent Frigatebird.


They have a long wing span and a long scissortail.

The adult female has a black head white a white breast, the juvenile has a white head and chest.  The male is all black. My photo above shows one female with a few juveniles.





There were many Magnificent Frigatebirds hanging around the canal locks and ships. They are known to forage for fish floating behind the ships or steal fish away from other birds like the pelicans.

To see more beautiful birds and great photos make sure to visit Springman's  World Bird Wednesday and for more nature posts please visit  Michelle's Nature Notes

Thanks to Springman and to Michelle for hosting these great memes. Also, thanks for stopping by to see my post. I hope you all have a great week and Happy Birding.




31 comments:

  1. long at sleek wings - like a boomerang. hope you had a great vacation!

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  2. A wonderful post Eileen lovely images of your trip

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  3. I really like the flight shots! Cool looking birds! Looks like you had fun!

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  4. wow, that long tail makes quite the sight when flying.

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  5. Love the mood of that third shot!
    Hope you had a great time on your vacation!
    xx

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  6. Great photos and the 'magnificent' in their name is very apt!

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  7. sounds like fun, my kinda place.

    i really enjoyed this, you got some wonderful photo's!!

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  8. What a fantastic sight to see. Very cool birds, great captures, Eileen!

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  9. The frigate birds are interesting but for me the images of the lock were even more interesting. My Aunt and Uncle lived in the Canal Zone when I was a child and he worked at the locks.

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  10. What a great sight to see such magnificent birds.

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  11. Hi there - I saw a TV program about the building of the canal ages ago - remarkable. I hope the birds appreciate it!

    Stewart M - Australia

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  12. Love the shots of the birds in flight. Your vacation sounds wonderful!

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  13. I'll bet you had a beautiful holiday, one full of birds. Nice pictures.

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  14. Bet you were glad to get to a warmer climate for a week after your snow. Great looking bits with that tremendous wing span and amazing tail.

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  15. The Magnificent Frigatebird has earned its name, they really do look magnificent.

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  16. Hi Eileen, Sounds just magnificent! I have never seen a Frigate Bird, but so hope to one day! I have always wanted to go see the Panama Canal. One day...
    Have a super great day today!

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  17. Great shots from your vacation. I love the birds in flight.

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  18. WOW these are awesome... I would love to see some frigatebirds as close up as you have!

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  19. Great look at a bird I'm unlikely to see> Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  20. love your shots from Panama. We had few hours in between planes when I was on my way home from Costa Rica. We visited the canal but did not see much. Mostly beause we did not have that much time.

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  21. Eileen, I just love the first silhouette shot of the frigate bird. Interesting to see the female and all the juveniles on the lock.

    By the way, I have given up decaf! Was starting to feel depressed. Never realized it could do that.

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  22. Oh wow Eileen..how wonderful that must have been and I look forward to seeing more photos....Michelle

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  23. What an adventurer you are Eileen. The Panama Canal? Your header shot from inside the lock is great. There is such history there. The frigate birds are aptly named Magnificent.
    Great post!

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  24. I never heard of this bird.Great pictures!Glad you had a wonderful vacation!phyllis

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  25. What a cool place to go for a vacation!

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  26. I love your shots of the Frigate bird in flight. The wing span looks enormous. Hope you had a great trip, it looks like fun.

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  27. Lovely shot of the bird in flight.

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  28. Wow it is a big bird and looks great in flight. Great shots. The canal looks an interesting place. I hope to see more photos of your travels.

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  29. What a magnificent-looking bird! Must have been a nice vacation away from the snow!

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  30. Magnificent flight shots!! Great post. You really do have some adventures. :)

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