The theme for day 1 at
Gamboa was “I think we are in an episode of Wild Kingdom” We walked all of the
trails at the Discovery Center and Howler monkeys roared all around us. We saw
quite a few Agouti darting across the trail as well as a few armadillos. We saw
a ton of birds and a few were new ones to add to our list. A Trogon pair were especially
beautiful (and new for us). We also saw a couple of forest hawks, a Red Capped Manakin, lots of
Antwrens and Motmots. The upper parking
area of the center had a ton of birds. We saw lots of Scarlet-rumped Caciques and
a Keel-billed Toucan. (fruit loop bird) and some really fat lizards.
Black-throated Trogon - female
Black-throated Trogon - female
Black-throated Trogon - female
Black-throated Trogon - male
Black-throated Trogon - male
Black-throated Trogon - male
Armadillo
Agouti
Black-striped Woodcreeper
Keel-billed Toucan
Scarlet-rumped Cacique
Scarlet-rumped Cacique
pretty feather on the trail
Broad-billed Motmot
Broad-billed Motmot with spider in its mouth
Broad-billed Motmot
Double-toothed Kite
Double-toothed Kite
Double-toothed Kite
The lake
had quite a few birds and of course a caiman or 2. We stopped to have our
picnic lunch and then headed back to the trails. We continued to see lots of
birds and a few frogs. Very small hard to see frogs that really blended in.
walk to the lake
Common Moorhen
Caiman
Caiman & Wattled Jacana
Long-billed Hermit Hummingbird
Leaf-litter Frog
Leaf-litter Frog
Megophrys nasuta (Leaf Frog)
Solomon Island Leaf Frog (Triangle Frog)
Wattled Jacana
caiman
Snail Kite
mushrooms
cool bug
really pretty one
ants were attacking this live caterpillar
Finally it was time to hike back to the car so we could check into the hotel.
On the way we saw a Coatimundi on one side of the road and as we turned the
corner there was an entire family of them scurrying up the hill. I lost count
around a dozen. So cute! We were joking about what else we might encounter when
Greg exclaimed something and there was a huge black and red snake crossing
right in front of us on the road. Geez, what next? It wasn’t in any hurry to
cross the road, but just kept going and up the hill and away into the woods. It
was at least 5 feet long and pretty big around. It was a Bird Eating Snake.
Coati
Bird-eating Snake
Those who know me know I
often get “Disney Rash” from too much walking. So I had several days of that. (cortisone
cream really helps)
We checked into the hotel
and found out our package did not include lunch. (the offer has always included
lunch, but not this one) We had some picnic stuff left so we had that on the
second day so we didn’t have to drive back to the hotel to eat so we could
spend more time hiking.
pool cat
night safari vehicle
The theme for day 2 was
“Butt crack of dawn and monkey balls”. Coming back from breakfast to our room
there were 2 guys painting the hall way. One tells us in Spanish that the walls
will be wet. I told Greg I didn’t hear a thing since I was too busy checking
out the butt crack of the one kneeled down painting. Unlike the “usual plumbers
crack” this guy was young and had a cute small one. Greg said “that’s why I
said “butt crack of dawn after we walked past”.
We started walking a bit on
Pipeline road and found a couple of Howler monkeys that were hard to get a
photo of, but I was following them with the binoculars and quickly realized at
least one of them was a male. (hence, “butt crack of dawn and monkey balls”)
the road can be muddy and it hadn't rained in days....
young Howler male
We walked a while and turned
back to walk more of the trails at the Discovery Center. More Agouti running
across the road and more great birds. Including some birds that were being
really noisy since there was a hawk nearby. They turned out to be Purple-throated
Fruitcrows. (a new bird for us) We climbed the tower to see if we could see
them better. On the way out heard a woodpecker and spent a lot of time trying
to get some good shots of it. We stopped back at the office and had our picnic
lunch next to an antwren that was busy building a nest in a nearby bush and a
tiny agouti running about.
Crimson-crested Woodpecker - female
White-whiskered Puffbird - male
White-whiskered Puffbird - male
Paltry Tyrannulet
Gray-headed Tanager?
female Blue Dacnis
female Golden-collared Manakin
Cinnamon Woodpecker
We took off again on
Pipeline road came across some loud popping noises. We went in search of the
noise and what we found were these tiny little birds in bright yellow and
black. As we were watching them besides the popping noises they made a sound
like a jackhammer. We both burst out laughing. How that obnoxious sound could
come from those adorable little guys was a wonder. They were Golden-collared
Manakins. While searching for them Greg spotted a Little Tinamou scurrying away
into the woods before I got to see it. We have seen the Great Tinamou, but not
the smaller one. We also saw another pair of Trogons.
Pale Ministreak
Yellow-backed Oriole
White-tailed Trogon
Oberthur's Sister Butterfly
Lesser Kiskadee
Bright-rumped Attila
Bright-rumped Attila
Golden-collared Manakin - male
Golden-collared Manakin - male
Slaty-tailed Trogon
Slaty-tailed Trogon
Not wanting to leave, but
the parking lot closes at 4:00 so we needed to get back so they could go home.
We saw around 6 new birds
bringing our Panama count to 322 different species of birds. (just a little
over 1/3 of the total birds here.)
One night we took the night
safari, but there were 3 ladies with 3 very young children and one mother spent
the whole time reading her email on her phone that in order to see it she kept
shining it into my face. I finally got up and moved to the seat across from
her. We did see some Capybara, crocs, a Night Jar and a few other things.
(usually don’t see a lot on it, but we keep hoping to spot some owls)
Here are a few shots from around the grounds of the hotel:
Greater Ani
Agouti
Gray-headed Chachalaca
On our last day we checked
out after breakfast to visit the Summit Zoo.
It doesn’t have a lot of animals (El Valle Nispero Zoo probably has more
animals), but it’s in a lovely park setting and most of the animals and birds
had nice enclosures. Like most Latin America “zoos” they are generally rescue
centers. The highlight to the Summit Zoo is that they have a Harpy Eagle. It’s
Panama’s National bird and really is an impressive bird.
Female harpy eagles typically weigh 6 to 9 kg (13 to
20 lb). The male, in comparison, is much smaller and weighs only about 4
to 4.8 kg (8.8 to 10.6 lb). Their wingspan is around 176 to
224 cm (5 ft 9 in to 7 ft 4 in).
female Harpy Eagle
Some school groups were there with kids of various ages.
They were having lunch in the park and playing games. There was also a section
being set up with a huge stage.
very young Ocelot
Crab-eating Foxes
Jaguar
Jaguar
Tapir
We walked around for most of the morning and most of the
animals were up and active. We also came across a nest on a light pole that had
2 baby birds in it. Yes, faces only a mother could love…..
Great Kiskadee nest with 2 chicks
I’ll do my usual July post at the end of the month. It’s
been a busy month for us! No wonder time just flies by.
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