Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"Live your life like someone left the gate open."

Panama Canal, Panama  November 2011

"Polite words open iron gates."

 "We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Happy Monday!

 Happy Monday everyone,  Happy Labor Day! 

Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week! 

"Photos are a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Watching ships lined up to go through the Panama Canal.

"If we could spread love as quickly as we spread hate and negativity, what an amazing world we would live in."

Comments Off, enjoy your day! 

Happy Monday!

 Happy Monday everyone!

I wish you all a great day and a happy new week!

Hang in there!!!

Enjoy your day!  Comments off!

Panama Hummingbirds

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

I am tired of winter and I am looking forward to Spring and Summer, looking forward to seeing my pretty Ruby-throated hummingbirds return to my yard.

 I can not wait to start seeing  my backyard Ruby-throated Hummingbird. For a long time the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird was the only hummer I had seen until I went to Panama.
 
 So just to show off a splash of colors, I decided to dig into my archives and bring back my Panama Hummingbirds. I never really did a separate post just on the Hummingbirds and they deserve their own post.

During our trip to Panama seeing the Hummingbirds was one of the top things on my list of must dos. Above at the feeder is the Violet-bellied Hummingbird.

Above is the White-vented Plumeleteer

 Above is a not so clear shot of the White-necked Jacobin. You can see the markings and pretty tail feathers.

 Above is another shot of the Violet-bellied Hummingbird with another unknown hummer.

The Violet-Bellied Hummingbird was one of the more colorful hummers we saw.

I have had hummers zooming around my head on my deck but this time was even more special to see so many different species of hummers zooming around my head. It very very cool and a birding experience I will never forget.

 My photos are not the professional quality that a lot of my blogging friends show on their blogs. But, with hummingbirds that move so fast they are difficult to capture with your camera. I tried my best with my Canon SX20. With so many hummers flying around it was hard to keep your eyes on just one at a time. I hope you enjoyed my Panama Hummer post.


To see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.
Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday and thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes.
I wish everyone a happy week ahead and Happy Birding!

The Booby

I am linking up my  post with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

How do you like my catchy title? You would never guess it is about birds right? Ha!Ha! It is all about birds!  I know I have shown my Brown Booby (taken from a boat on the way to St Johns)  before but not so sure if I ever put up my Blue-footed Booby from Panama.

Above is my Blue-footed Booby seen in Panama 2011.  The Boobies are aerial divers and a pelagic bird.

 It is not the best photo, the bird was in flight and I was on a boat heading into the Panama Canal.  I am not the best taking photos of birds in flight and it is even harder when you are moving too.

I was a little luckier with this Brown Booby flying by. I was sitting down on the side of the boat (turning green)  when the bird flew right along side the boat. This fly-by was meant for me, I am sure! On this day we were on a tour to St Johns from our cruise ship which was docked at St Thomas.

 They were both lifers at the time and very exciting birds to see. I have not done much birding lately at home so I am diving into my archives to do this post. Other Boobies are the Masked Booby and the Red-footed Booby and I read both of these could be seen at the Dry Tortugas in Florida. I am researching a possible trip to Florida and adding lifers to my list will be exciting too. I guess that means another boat ride is necessary, I will have to take some seasick pills to see these other boobies.


To see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.
Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday and thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes.
I wish everyone a happy week ahead and Happy Birding!

El Nispero Zoo, Panama

I am linking up with Camera Critters


The El Nispero Zoo was included in our week tour of Panama. The zoo and botanical gardens are located on 7 acres and is home to 90 species of animals.  We saw exotic birds from Asia and Africa and tropical birds like the macaws, toucans and the parrots. The zoo also includes a center for the study of amphibians like the Golden Frog.

A male Wood duck and a Mandarin duck

I do not usually like taking photos of cages, but this rooster/chicken was really pretty.

I just love the look on this parrot.

The four Blue and Gold Macaws are my favorite, gorgeous birds.

This dude was a cutie.

The Golden Frog is listed as critically endangered. Some individual Golden Frogs have been collected to breed in captivity to preserve the species.

The research center is studying the bacteria resposible for the eradication of the Golden Frog

This Ostrich is saying goodbye and thanks for stopping by.

To see more cute critters check out Misty Dawn's Camera Critters.  Thanks Misty for hosting! Thanks to everyone for visiting my critter post, I everyone has a safe and happy weekend.

Panama lifers and list

I am linking up with Mosaic Monday  and Our World Tuesday


I thought it would be fun to do a post that listed all my Panama lifers and show some more photos. Who knows I might entice some birding blogger friends to visit Panama.

The above mosaic shows the White whiskered Puffbird, Rufous Motmot, female Blue Crowned Manakin, Long Billed Hermit, Violet-bellied Hummingbird, Tropical Kingbird, Red-throated Ant-Tanager, Blue-footed Booby, Crimson-backed Tanager, Tennessee Warbler, Crimson-chested Woodpcker, Tropical Mockingbird, Purple Throated Fruitcrow, Wattled Jacana, Saffron Finch.

I was not able to get photos of all my lifers, but below I have a total of 38 lifers from my Panama trip. I think 38 lifers is a great number of new birds, since only the five hours on the first day of our trip was designated for birding. The rest of the trip was touring and sightseeing.

A female Blue Crowned Manakin.

Panama Bird List and lifers

1. Neotropic Cormorant
2. Yellow headed Caracara
3. Bat Falcon
4. Southern Lapwing
5. Wattled Jacana
6. Ruddy Ground Dove
7. Greater Ani
8. Long Billed Hermit
9. Stripe throated hermit
10. White necked Jocabin
11. Violet Crowned Woodnymph
12. Violet-bellied Hummingbird
13. Blue-chested Hummingbird
14. White Vented Plumeleteer
15. Rufous Motmot
16. White Whiskered Puffbird
17. Crimson chested Woodpecker
18. Black striped Woodcreeper
19. Western Slaty Antshrike
20. White-flanked Antwren
21. Dot-winged Antwren
22. Dusky Antbird
23. Chestnut backed Antbird
24. Spotted Antbird
25. Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher
26. Social Flycatcher
27. Purple-throated Fruitcrow
28. Blue-crowned Manakin
29. Song Wren
30. Tropical mockingbird
31. Tennessee Warbler
32. Red-throated Ant-tanager
33. Blue Dacnis
34. Scarlet-rumped Cacique
35. Saffron Finch
36. Tropical Kingbird
37. Blue-footed Booby
38. Crimson-backed Tanager
 
 

The Social Flycatcher reminds me a lot of the Great Kiskadee but it is smaller in size.

 

  The Black Vulture was the most common bird we saw while in Panama. We saw steady streams of migrating Vultures in flight. I would say they numbered in the thousands, with some Turkey Vultures .

I continue with my list of the rest of the bird species I saw while in Panama.  
   
39. Black bellied Whistling ducks
40. Brown pelicans
41. Magnificent Frigatebirds
42. Great blue heron
43. Great Egret
44. Snowy Egret
45. Little Blue Heron
46. Cattle Egret
47. Green Heron
48. Black Vultures
49. Turkey Vultures
50. Osprey
51. Common Moorhen
52. Laughing Gull
53. Red-Lored Parrot
54. Ringed Kingfisher
55. Great Kiskadee
56. Yellow Warbler
57. Prothonotary Warbler
58. Great Tailed Grackle
59. Barn Swallows
60. Tree Swallows
61. White Ibis
62. Blue-footed Booby.
63.Tern
64. Keel Billed Toucan
65. Willet
66. Sanderling
67. Whimbrel
68. Crimson-backed Tanager
69. Clay-colored Robin
70. Blue-Gray Tanager


I saw a total of 70 species of birds. Being a birder a trip to Panama is a wonderful experience. From what I read there are 972 species of birds in Panama. So, it looks like I only saw a few of them.

Above, we saw a group of White Ibis with some Snowy Egrets mixed in.

To check out more wonderful mosaics please visit Mosaic Monday  and for more photos from around the world please visit Our World Tuesday.  Thanks to Mary the host of Mosaic Monday  and thank to the hosting group of Our World Tuesday:  Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sandy and Sylvia.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy week ahead. Happy Birding!!!

Common Moorhen

For my Camera Critters I am showing the Common Moorhen we saw in Panama.

My link for  Panama Skyscrapers..Scenic Sunday

Common Moorhens are water birds and sometimes called Marsh Hens. In Panama, we saw both the Common Moorhen and a similiar looking bird called the Wattled Jacana. If it were not for our birding guide I would have mistaken the Wattled Jacana for the Common Moorhen. They do look alike except some coloring on the wings and leg color of the Jacana. The Wattled Jacana has blue-grey legs while the Common Moorhen has yellow legs. They both have the yellow bill with the red head shield. I was thinking my photo was the Comon Moorhen but looking at the color of the legs I am not so sure. The photo could be the Wattled Jacana afterall?

Here is a link to Wikipedia's Wattled Jacana Wattled Jacana  I was not able to get a clear shot. But, I was able to see and add the Wattled Jacana to my life list.

Can you find the two Moorhens, in the shot above? They like to hop around lily pads. And they pick up insects off the floating vegetation.

For more comparison photos here is a link to another of my post on the magee-marsh..Common Moorhen.

Another bird we saw in the same area as the Moorhen/Jacana was the Green Heron.

The Green heron will always be one of my favorite herons.

I hope you enjoyed my critter post and to see more cute and wonderful critters please visit Camera Critters.  Thanks to Misty Dawn for hosting Camera Critters. And thanks for stopping by to see my post. Have a safe and happy weekend.  Happy Birding!!!!

SWF>>>>Playa Blanca, Panama

I am linking up with Skywatch Friday.  It is amazing how fast these Fridays roll around. I am not complaining I love the weekends. It is a special Friday for me, my 55th birthday. WOW 55, where did all those years go?  Next week on the 7th my son will be 19 years old and my dear hubby will be 55 on the 10th. Happy Birthday to my son and hubby!

I have some shots of the sunrise at the beach at the Playa Blanca resort in Panama.

It was cool to see the sunrise on the Pacific, usually you would see a sunset on the Pacific.

Just like the beach at home, we saw Willets and Sanderlings, Pelicans and some Magnificent Frigatebirds. The sun is starting to reflect on the water and beach.

And in the distance there was an Egret.

A threatening sky did not keep the fishing boats from going out early in the morning.

You can not see them in my photos but while we were on the beach there was a steady stream of swallows flying by. I believe they were different kinds, tree, barn and others. Most likely they were migrating south.

Not sure what these birds were, maybe vultures?

To see more beautiful skies please visit  Skywatch Friday.  Thanks to the hosting group: Sylvia, Sandy, Wren and Fishing Guy. Thank you for stopping by to see my skies. Happy Skywatching and have a great weekend.

Birding>>>Panama's Pacific Playa Blanca

I am linking up with Camera Critters

Two nights of our Panama trip we stayed at the Playa Blanca Resort on the Pacific Ocean. Our Caravan tour group was able to enjoy the all inclusive resort for two nights. When we were not touring with the group we were able to enjoy the beach, pools, drinks and way too much food on the buffets. Hubby and I enjoyed our walks on the beach. The scenery was pretty and I loved watching the birds. I was surprised to see a lot of the birds I was seeing were the same birds I saw at home during the summer.

My bird list from the resort: Brown Pelicans, Magnificent Frigatebirds, Willets, Whimbrels, Sanderlings, Swallows, Yellow warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Tropical Mockingbird, Little Blue Heron, Black Vultures, Great Egret, Snowy Egret and lots of Boat Tailed Grackles.

Willet

Tropical Mockingbird

Yellow Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

One of my favorite herons the Little Blue Heron

Pelicans and Magnificent Frigatebirds flying around this sailboat.

I hope your enjoyed my critter post and to see more wonderful critters please visit Camera Critters. Thanks to Misty Dawn for hosting Camera Critters. Thank You for stopping by to see my post. I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Happy Birding!

Toucan and Monkey Island

I am linking up with World Bird Wednesday  and Nature Notes

During our trip to Panama, our tour group took a boat ride out to Monkey Island. This tour reminded me of the boat rides we took on our Costa Rica vacation. Very cool! The guys driving the three boats were pretty experienced at finding the Capuchin monkeys. Plus, I think it helped they had some spare grapes on board.

This is the second three toed sloth we saw during our time in Panama. The boat drivers were quick to spot this cool looking critter. It is actually the first time I was able to see a face on the sloth. Usually, it is hidden.

We were warned not to laugh at the monkeys because it could make them agressive. But, as soon as the drivers spotted the monkeys, the monkeys immediately came closer to the boats. I think they knew where the spare grapes were kept. Some of the ladies in our tour group started screaming when the monkeys jumped on the boat. At that point I was laughing hysterically and trying to take some shots of the monkeys at the same time.

These are the white faced Capuchin Monkeys.

We were told if they were NOT fed by the drivers they could get agressive. There is only so much food on this little island and they are use to being fed.

The Capuchin monkey trying to make a get away with the grapes.

One of the Capuchin monkeys walking on top of the other boat.

More of the Capuchin Monkeys

My favorite sighting... the Keel Billed Toucan

One of the main highlights of Monkey Island for me was seeing the Keel Billed Toucan. I just love these birds.

To see more wonderful birds click on my link World Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes.

Thanks to Springman for hosting World Bird Wednesday and to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes. Also, I appreciate your visits and comments. I hope everyone has a great week and a Happy Thanksgiving.