Assembly of the Tour
A year or so ago, I casually threw out an idea. I said to a friend, “Hey, you have birded a lot of areas in Panama, but you have never birded the western provinces of Bocas del Toro and Chiriqui.” The response was positive and with that the Western Panama Birding Tour was conceived. I was now on the hook to figure it all out.
First to join the group was Chris, a pathologist turned Iowa corn farmer and beer delivery guy, and Mary, his wife an internet sensation and up and coming movie star. Next to commit was Jean, a longtime friend of Chris and Mary, an aspiring movie star in her own rite and an adventurous international birder. Next to get on-board was Liz from Colorado, a passionate skier, who although it’s an unconfirmed rumor, nearly made the Olympic downhill team at age 50. Mirka and I had met Mary and Jean in El Valle de Anton de Veraguas and Liz at Canopy Camp in the Darien. Additionally, my uncle Clyde, Bocas del Toro and Banana Industry historian and celebrity, would be joining in on the fun.
The excitement of planning this trip inspired me to start early with just Clyde and Mirka. Puerto Armuelles/Punta Barica was an area that I have long wanted to visit. There was a good shot at new lifers, and I knew Clyde would enjoy visiting his old stomping grounds.
Let the Western Panama Birding Tour Begin
We bussed our way to Cameron’s home in David for the night. Cameron is a close friend and past colleague of Clyde’s in the Central American banana industry. It was not the first time I enjoyed sitting on Cameron’s back porch watching good action at his hummingbird and fruit feeders. Red-legged Honeycreepers, more challenging on the Atlantic slope, are common in his backyard habitat. I also got a lifer Veraguan Mango, to my surprise.
The next morning, we would leave on a slow crawl through various habitats targeting a few birds that would be new to my Panama list. Birds like Roseate Spoonbill and Lesser Yellowlegs had alluded me in Panama until this trip. A Plain-breasted Ground Dove was a welcomed lifer on the drive to Puerto Armuelles. It would be the first of many lifers on the Western Panama Birding Tour.
First order of business upon arrival to Puerto Armuelles was to investigate the old company housing area where Clyde lived in the 1980’s. We met the occupants of Clyde’s old home and noticed that there was considerable variation in the upkeep of the company housing. Some were amazingly kept (including one we visited that was renovated by a Bocas del Toro friend of ours) while others were at best dilapidated.
We stayed at Big Daddy’s Beach Club and Hotel. Pretty much the only “decent” accommodation for non-backpackers in the area and explored from there.
Remnants of the prosperous banana industry remain, but the overall condition of the town is a bit sad. Labor disputes were largely responsible for the pull-out of Chiquita from the region in 2003. Interestingly, Cameron was the general manager who oversaw the shutdown of banana operations in Puerto Armuelles.
We enjoyed exploring the area and even walked into Costa Rica at a pasture fence line with no guarded border. Mirka and I walked all the way to the Costa Rican beach. Of course, I saw a few birds along the way and now have Costa Rica as a country I have birded.
Driving down the Burica Peninsula requires driving right through the pacific terminus of the cross Panama crude pipeline. This was one stop in a long journey for Alaskan North Slope crude oil destined for the St. Croix Hess refinery that I worked at for so many years. I have now visited all the stops along the way for that crude oil except where it is pumped into the Alaskan Oil Pipeline at Prudhoe Bay. Hmm, I guess I need to check the bird lists there.
The success of my birding was mildly disappointing, seeing only about half of my targets. The Crested Guan was the major birding highlight. I just will need to go back at some point to clean up on the missing birds.
Arrival and Stop One
One more night in David, overnighting with Cameron again, and we were off to the airport to pick-up our friends and begin the Western Panama Birding Tour.
Mount Totumas Cloud Forest Reserve exceeded all expectations and was a great value. The local guides were fantastic, the birds were great, the food was exceptional, and the accommodations were superb.
The views from the porch are epic and with fruit and hummingbird feeders kept fresh there is a constant buzz of birds. Red-headed Barbets and Silver-throated Tanagers ruled the fruit feeders. Violet Sabrewings, the largest hummer in Panama, bullied a half dozen other species at the hummingbird feeders.
At 6200 ft above sea level the weather is cool. In September, it can be a bit rainy and we were impacted slightly by this. None the less, our guide Reginaldo Rodriguez proved to be amazing at finding birds. He was like a magician, pulling birds like Costa Rican Pygmy Owl and White-winged Tanagers out of a hat. It would be so nice to have someone like Reginaldo with us on the Bocas leg of the trip…(can you say foreshadow?)
Although not marquee species like motmots and trogons, I was especially happy to get good looks and reasonable photos of some skulky lifer furnids: Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner, Middle American Leaf-Tosser and Streaked Xenops. Birds that only serious birders get excited about, to be sure.
I was very happy to add 13 lifers at Mount Totumas. Despite several efforts over the years in the proper habitat, Torrent Flycatcher and American Dipper still elude me in Panama.
Bocas Mainland
The bus ride to Almirante was long and bumpy. It was bumpier for some than others. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. I found my rain protective sleeve for my camera lens could also be used to hold other liquids (not mine, of course). I am always happy to help. Note to self: Don’t sit in the back of the bus, if possible.
The main event to birding the Bocas del Toro mainland lowlands was the day I planned with Miguel Ibarra. Miguel is one of the top birding guides in the country and grew up near Changuinola, Bocas del Toro.
Our morning with Miguel began an hour before sunrise with a pick-up at the Bocas Ridge Hotel and the 40 minute drive to Charagre where the Snowy Cotinga house sits. The Snowy Cotinga house is Miguel’s family home that has been turned into a birding/nature centric Bed and Breakfast hosted by his mother and father.
We drove past the house and up into the hills further up the road. This was the territory of the Snowy Cotinga, a snow-white bird the size of a dove. It is a striking sight to see this white bird fly across with green jungle as a background. We were fortunate enough to have the bird land in plain sight not too far away. Good photos were taken by all.
Other highlights of this first stop were the Pale-billed Woodpecker and the Black-crowned Tityra.
We headed down to the Snowy Cotinga house to enjoy coffee and breakfast prepared by Miguel’s lovely mother, Marina. It was hard to pry ourselves away from the hummingbird feeders but the iconic El Bajo hotspot was waiting.
Miguel has reported as many as 100 birds in a single walk. This spot is hot for birds! Part of the reason is that there are a few different habitats in the short 2-kilometer walk. It is private land owned by Miguel’s family. The walk did not disappoint. We had great looks at Red-throated Ant Tanager, Slaty Spinetail, Black-headed Saltator and Brown Jay. A White-throated Crake even decided to step into the light, my first sighting of this very vocal but skulky marsh dweller.
We had lunch at the Snowy Cotinga House and hung around the property enjoying the hummingbirds and many other birds that frequent the gardens.
The Final Leg of the Western Panama Birding Tour
The next morning, we packed up and headed back to Almirante to catch a water taxi to Isla Colon. After arriving on Isla Colon we checked into Lula’s B&B for three nights.
One unexpected turn of events was that our guide at Totumas had planned a few days off to spend time at Tranquillo Bay Lodge to sharpen his lowland bird knowledge. I invited him to come along with us and he was excited to do that. His sharp ears and eyes would be very helpful over the next few days. The Western Panama Birding Tour was getting an unexpected boost.
We headed over to Hospital Point on Isla Solarte for a tour and history lesson courtesy of Clyde and to look for three birds that are best found around our home on Isla Solarte. We found two and heard the third.
Stub-tailed Spadebill is a small skulky flycatcher that has a very limited range in Panama, essentially only in the Bocas archipelago. I have regularly found the bird behind my house. The call is quite similar to his cousin the high elevation White-throated Spadebill that we got a glimpse of at Totumas. Naturally, Reginaldo was the first to hear and recognize the call and within seconds we were all clamoring for a decent look at this fast-moving drab colored bird.
Likewise, the Gray-headed Dove is best found in the archipelago. This bird must be stumbled upon to get a look at. We heard but did not see this one.
The third bird is a hybrid of the White-collared Manakin and Golden-collared Manakin. It is very common around Hospital Point, and we had many good looks. Significant research has been conducted on the hybrid. Genetically, it is most like White-collared Manakin but it’s appearance is more like Golden-collared Manakin. The field guide to Panama birds identifies the hybrid as the Almirante Manakin. It took Cornell University (Merlin Bird ID) a while to accept the research and update the app on call and distribution. Possibly, encouraged along by a resident of Hospital Point.
The next day would be a big one. Reginaldo stayed at our house on Hospital Point and came over with Hospital Point’s resident handyman and all-around good guy, Leo, who would be our boat captain. We left shortly after daybreak and headed to the iconic Snyder Canal for morning birding.
It was a great trip down the canal. I even got a lifer. That’s not easy for me in Bocas at this point. Again, Reginaldo was the first to recognize it as not a female White-lined Tanager, but a Rufous Mourner. I even got photos. I was surprised to find that this bird was a member of the flycatcher family and not a member of the tityra family like the other four mourners. We also had very close looks at a Rufescent Tiger-Heron. It was so unconcerned with our presence that I think we could have stroked his long golden neck.
At the end of the canal we made a stop at the mouth of the Changuinola River to find Collared Plover, another area specialty, along with a many other shore birds including the not so common Wilson’s Plover.
We hustled out of the canal as best we could and headed over to Bird Island. Some of the ladies in the group really wanted to see the Brown Boobies. There are hundreds of them, along with some Red-billed Tropicbirds. I personally have seen so many Brown Boobies that my interest was focused on seeing the Red-footed Boobies. Surprisingly, it was Jean who found it, or was it Mary? Anyway, there it was, apparently on a nest. Jean got a point on Reginaldo with that find.
After that, we headed to a beautiful cove known as La Piscina. The jungle surrounding this is a good place to find the Three-wattled Bellbird. We heard its unique loud metallic “bong” almost immediately; however, finding the bird is a next level challenge. It seems like this bird is a ventriloquist making it hard to pinpoint this beauty. Once again, the laser eyes and persistence of Reginaldo paid off and good looks were had by all.
The next morning we began the final day of the Western Panama Birding Tour with another day on the water with Leo as our captain. This time we headed to Cayo Wilson where there is a family of Red-legged Honeycreepers, a difficult bird to find in Bocas del Toro.
Arriving at the island we were greeted by signs indicating that we would not be welcome, so we skipped this and putted around the Cayo. Reginaldo spotted a cuckoo. Could it be the elusive Mangrove Cuckoo? That was the consensus. Photos were taken for later analysis. We all learned on this day that the easiest way to tell the difference between a Mangrove Cuckoo and its close relative from the same genus, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo is the color of the chest and belly, white on the Yellow-billed and orangish on the Mangrove. Yellow-billed Cuckoo is what we had seen. A migrant that adapted itself to the mangrove islet called Cayo Wilson. It was a great find, to be sure.
A quick trip through the canal between Popa and Venado and we were off to lunch at a familiar restaurant. We swam at their dock and enjoyed a couple of beers before working our way back to Isla Colon.
I could hardly believe the Western Panama Birding Tour was coming to an end. We saw so many birds and had so much fun. The group was so generous with thanks and aged rum that it made me feel very appreciated. I hope all my friends enjoyed their time as much as I did. One day I will plan another Birding Tour.
Great blog! Good folks! I have never seen a totally white bird. The Snowy Cotinga is beautiful.
Joel and all, words can’t express my gratitude for this experience. You have now captured it in your excellent post. Wonderful photos!!
With my love and respect,
Liz B. xo
Great pictures and recap! Thanks for the trip of a lifetime! And of course for the rain protective sleeve for your camera lens.
Sign me up for the next one Joel!!! Miss you!
A dream! Count me in for the next birding trip with Guide Joel! 🤩