Birding from Shelter Bay Marina September26 and October 3, 2009
Still no sailing. We are still planning to move on toward the San Blas but have recently found out that classes Dan needed to take in MA to update his licenses were full on the date he had signed up for. We have delayed our trip home to MA until November 5th , which leaves us more traveling time now, but less later when we return. With our extra time now we have pursued our hobby of birdwatching and Panama is a wonderful place to find many species.
Previously we have had some opportunity to travel by renting a car and driving around for needed items and to Reba Smith, a great grocery store and meat market in Panama City.In the city we took a walk in the Metropolitan Park, an oasis in the middle of a thriving city. The view of the city was fantastic but it is a wild enough place that birds and animals can be seen. While we had the rental car we drove onto some of the back woods birding roads, visited Summit Park on the road to Gamboa, where we were able to see a captive Harpy Eagle very close up. I took a picture with my camera of the photos I bought in the gift shop, as this was the one day I did not carry my camera, gurrr.
She was offered food, a large chunk of raw beef, on a table in her cage. If she had taken the food that day we would have seen her from a distance of six feet! She did not swoop down for the food but this magnificent creature; large comb of feathers surrounding her head dark, preening after a drenching rain, penetrating, intelligent eyes and a six foot wing span -was still a sight to see. This species of eagle are endangered and only a few remain in the open in Panama. They eat sloths from the trees, monkeys, and barring those foods, small domestic goats and sheep. No wonder a still slab of meat didn't entice her to come and grab it, although she has been in captivity her whole life. At Summit Park there were three species of Mackaw, jaguars and other cats and monkeys (though we didn't see them).
The highlights of our birding in Panama has been at Finca Leirida where we saw the Three Wattled Bell bird and male quetzal- see Boquete entry) and the two birding trips with Jacobo Ortega. His company is birding in panama.com.
How else would you meet a great birder with an excellent scientific background but in the woods? Dan and I had our rental car and were on a road mentioned in Ridgely, the Old Pipeline Rd. We drove up the road as far as we could until a fence blocked the way. Just as we parked in a clearing a small white van parked also. We started to talk as the young man started to show us what we could not see ourselves, all the while talking about how ANCON and the Smithsonian allow limited access to that road since Ridgely wrote about it and he told us how he was a professional bird guide.
We were in awe of his ability to identify birds by their songs, find them and help us to see them, and amazingly imitate a few so as to call them nearer. On that day he pointed out a Purple Throated Fruitcrow, a Masked Tityra and Black Capped Pygmy- Tyrant- a tiny, canopy bird, and didn't even have his binoculars out. Dan was determined to hire him to guide us.
On a Saturday early Jacob arrived at Shelter Bay with his 12 year old daughter and took us to a place called Achiote Road, where we had a great day. Along with his other birding skills he could adjust his birding scope faster than we had ever seen anyone do. That day we were lucky enough to see a White Hawk, a Grey Hawk and lots of Tucans, Arricari, White tailed Trogan, a gorgeous iridescent green Honeycreeper and a female Blue Cotinga among many others. Upon returning to the marina Jacob and has daughter visited our boat for a few minutes before the two hour trip back to Panama City, were he lives.
We recruited Alison and Randall from Tregoning and Susan and Tom from Limmerick and hired another trip with Jacob the following weekend. He was busy but rearranged his schedule to accommodate us. This time out the list of birds and animals was longer despite an hour and a half of rain while we had lunch. What we saw was varied although we went to the same road. The male Blue Cotinga was seen and it was spectacular; a brilliant blue bird set off with black wingtips. We saw a jaguarondi in a tree as we drove out on Achiote and Tamarins and monkeys off the road in the trees. All the birders had good looks at new life birds.
Susan from Limmerick made a list of our birds seen that day and it was extensive. She has her ways of finding and learning the birds, too. She records the call, if possible, then dictates what she sees as she has her binoculars on the bird. Sometimes her husband, Tom, can photograph the bird at the same time, then when they come out of the woods, they study the identification book.
While walking along Achiote Rd. we had a long look at a Savanna Hawk sitting on a tall, dead tree out in a pasture, saw two species of orioles, Orchard and Northern, two species of Euphonia, Fulvous vented and Thick billed, many Tanagers including the Red Throated Ant Tanager, and Red Breasted Blackbird. (and many others) We spent some time on the way back to the marina in a quest for a Pygmy Kingfisher that Jacob knew he had seen perched above a stream in the mangroves on that road. We were in the van again and driving when Jacob heard the call of a bird and dashed along the side of the road carrying his scope, motioning to us to follow. After a few minutes of looking and listening while Jacob clapped to mimic the sound of the bird, the bird approached and we all were provided a great scope view of the "bird of the day", the Green and Rufus Kingfisher. Jacob was excited to have found a bird he
doesn't see too often.
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| Birding trip |
Obviously Dan and I recommend him highly. Check out his website at birdinginpanama.com or google Jacobo Ortega. If you are in Panama, or planning a trip and have the interest, he organizes trips all over Panama, especially the highlands and Chiriqui regions and has a comfortable van that seats eight people.
If anyone would like a more extensive list of our sightings, write to the blog. Some photos were taken through the scope by my Cannon 850 point and shoot camera by Jacob.
Pictures to follow when I have internet again
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