Darién, Panama

Darién, Panama - May1 to May 8 with Canopy Camp

When you tell people that you are going to the Darien in Panama you are met with either blank stares, or looks of horror or at a minimum looks questioning our sanity.

Where in the world is the Darien and what is it? Well, it is located in the humid lowlands of far eastern Panama, near the end of the Pan-American Highway. The Pan-American Highway, runs from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina, except for a section of impassible jungle between Central & South America of approximately 100 km (60 mi), called the Darién Gap.

It is an area filled with exotic plants, rare wildlife, 3 different indigenous groups (Kuna, Emberá, and Wounaan) and dangerous paramilitary groups. The Darien rainforest is a National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The border is protected by Senafront which isn’t a military organization but considered police, as Panama does not have a military. However when you see them they all wear camouflage uniforms and carry large automatic weapons. Their training facility it next to one of the ponds where we go birding in Panama City.

Now the other side of the coin is the notorious Colombian FARC anti-government guerrillas. There are  many checkpoints on the road into the Darién since the Panamanian Government is trying to re-claim the jungle from smugglers and paramilitary groups.

OK, all that said we are visiting this bio-diverse area with a well-known birding company called Canopy. They have 4 different locations here in Panama and people come from all over the world to bird with their reputable guides. One is located in El Valle and 2 are in the Gamboa Rainforest area. They now have one in the Darién called Darién Camp and we will be staying in custom-designed African safari-style tents with all the amenities they  offer at their other eco-lodges.  It is situated next to the protected forest of the Filo del Tallo Hydrological Reserve (65,000 acres). So, we will be roughing it in style and they have secured all of the proper permissions to visit the area.

We will leave on Sunday and stay at the Riande Hotel. Early the next morning we will begin the long drive (around 5 hours) birding our way down and stopping for lunch. We will return next Sunday.

We are hoping to find some new birds as there are many that only live in the Darién. I doubt I will have sufficient time or internet to update this blog day by day, so it will probably be updated after we return.

Later......

Coronado, Panama

April 9 - 30

We were pleasantly surprised that when we got home from Boquete we had water 24/7 again. Sure made the chore of doing laundry after the trip easier. I suspect since the “snowbirds” have gone home, we now have enough water for the few of us that are left here year round. It hasn’t rained so that’s not why. They actually are drilling a well, so that should help for future droughts.

We still have some birds to identify, but our current count is around 420 species for Panama.

I have gone through every port for the world cruise to see if there were any emails that I needed to return or follow up with the tour guides. I firmed up a couple of the ports, but most were done. We have a few deposits to make, but that can wait until we get home from our trips in May.

We had a group lunch and 6 of us were able to attend. We tried a Chinese place in a nearby town.  We had hoped for “real” Chinese food, but alas it was Panamanian-style Chinese food. Good, just not “go back good”. However, the good company more than made up for the disappointment and the slow service. One dish at a time came out with so much time in between each dish that the first couple was done eating before the next one was served and both done before we got ours. Too funny. We joked that maybe we should donate another wok to them.

 

 

There was a fire that burned quite a bit of the woods where we walk most mornings. It’s pretty sad to see it, but once the rainy season gets underway it will bounce back quickly.



We did have a couple of days with some rain this week. So, we are hoping that the dry season is at an end. I am definitely ready for the wind and the dry hot heat to end. It has felt more tropical the last few days and feels cooler to me. The birds on the trail this morning were quite active so I guess they appreciated the rain as well. Here are a few of our local birds and critters:

 Rufous Nightjar

 lizard

 Pale-vented Pigeon

 Red-legged Honeycreeper - male

 Eastern Kingbird

 Great Crested Flycatcher

 the Striped Cuckoo thinks he is hiding.....

Mourning Dove

 Scarlet Tanager

 Yellow-olive Flatbill

 Squirrel Cuckoo

 Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher

 Streaked Flycatcher

 Short-tailed Hawk

  Short-tailed Hawk

 young Panama Flycatcher

 Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher

 Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher

 Rufous-browed Peppershrike

 Groove-billed Ani

 Crimson-backed Tanager - male

 Striped Cuckoo

Striped Cuckoo calling



Since the trail was kind of smoky smelling, we walked the streets for a couple of days instead. We visited a pond that we have not been to in a long time. One small corner had water, the rest was dry and grass growing tall.

 tall green area is normally water



There’s another pond nearby that has some water, but it’s very low. We could count upwards of 40 caiman, a couple were pretty big. There were a few birds there as well.

there were over 30 of these "bumps" in the water



 great optical illusion with the Caiman in the water looks like the other one has swallowed it

 Anhinga with a broken wing

 Green Heron

 Purple Gallinule

 Black-crowned Night Heron

 female Amazon Kingfisher

Black-crowned Night Heron

We are pretty much packed for the next 2 trips. With only 2 days in between them we needed to be ready to go for the second one. Luckily, it’s totally different clothing.

All hotel arrangements have been made for Scott & Sonya’s trip, plus a couple of the tours and the ferry to Contadora Island. Now we just have to wait for June to come!

We leave Sunday for the Darien so my next post will be talking about that area. Seems people have either never heard of it or if they have and they fear the worst…….

 

Boquete, Panama back home to Coronado, Panama Day 8

April 8

We had our last yummy breakfast at Boquete Garden Inn and started our drive home.

 White-naped Brush-Finch

 White-naped Brush-Finch

 Clay-colored Thrush

 Tennessee Warbler

 Cherrie's Tanager - female

 Red-legged Honeycreeper - male

 Red-legged Honeycreeper - male

 Spot-crowned Euphonia

 Thick-billed Euphonia - female

 Baltimore Oriole

 Baltimore Oriole

 Silver-throated Tanager

 Silver-throated Tanager

 Boquete plaza

 Statue on the way out of town (or in coming the other way...)

 license check



cows on the Interamericana Highway (in their defense that side of the road was closed)

We took a back route that was supposed to be quicker even though it was a bit longer due to the road construction. It did shorten our time and it also was quite scenic.

We searched and searched for this Mexican Restaurant that got good reviews, only to find the sign, but no restaurant. Greg asked the guard at the shopping plaza and he told us in Spanish that it was closed permanently. So, desperate to eat ANYTHING we stopped at Pio Pio which is a local chicken chain, a bit like KFC. It’s good chicken and I calorie splurged and ordered it fried instead of grilled, which of course made it extra good.

To top off our evening we had water when we got home! I guess with all of the snowbirds mostly gone home and Panamanian Holidays pretty much over until November we have enough water now to have it 24/7 again! That made doing the laundry after a trip much easier. At a load a day it would have taken days instead of getting it all done the next day. I think the whole country is doing a rain dance to get the green season started!

Well, it has taken me quite a bit of time to wade through the hundreds of photos taken on this productive birding trip. Phew, nice to have it done. Now, less than 2 weeks until our trip to the Darien'.

Until later.....