Panama: The Darien Wilderness Feb 23—Mar 04, 2007
Posted by David Wolf
David Wolf
David Wolf is a senior member of the VENT staff and one of our most experienced tour leaders. After birding the U.S. and Mexico for over a decade, an interest in the mammal...Related Trips
As the charter plane began its descent from high over the Bay of Panama, and turned inland over the remote Darien jungles, I gazed in awe at the terrain below. We passed vast marshes ringed by mangrove swamps, unbroken forest dominated by bare cuipo trees, and dark hill forest blanketing the ridges, all of it little explored ornithologically. Filled with anticipation, we were headed right into the heart of this region, to the old gold mining community of Cana, nestled at the head of a narrow valley at the base of remote Cerro Pirre. Cana certainly did not let us down, and, from the first macaws that greeted us as we got off the plane to the egrets and King Vulture as we took off, we found birds?and then more birds!
Because the Cana area is a melange of secondary and primary habitats, and elevations range from 1,800-5,000 ft., the avifauna here is exceptionally diverse. For a wonderful week we took advantage of this as we explored the area on foot. Our birding began as we walked the short distance from the airstrip to the lodge, on its neatly manicured knoll with a commanding view. Before we had even settled into our rooms we realized that the brilliant flowering Erythrina trees were attracting a constant parade of birds, from spectacular Blue-and-yellow Macaws to parakeets, xenops, flycatchers, and tanagers. This was to be a constant theme throughout our stay, and every time we watched an Erythrina it produced sightings of note.
Each day we ranged a bit further afield from the lodge and explored more habitats. At the more open forest edge we laughed at a comical Barred Puffbird peering down at us, watched zippy Dusky-backed Jacamars capture fast-flying butterflies, and thrilled to a male Black-tipped Cotinga sitting prominently atop the canopy for all the world to see. Noisy Red-throated Caracaras flew in to check us out, a glittering Great Jacamar perched in an emergent tree on the edge, and the forest interior produced great looks at specialties like antpittas, Stripe-throated Wren, and Lemon-spectacled Tanager. The canopy mixed-flocks proved frustrating, but at times included special birds like the endemic Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker.
Army ant swarms are a feature of this region and we were lucky to find one close to the trail near camp, offering a great opportunity to observe the birds feeding on prey flushed by the ants. The dominant species was the Bicolored Antbird, the classic "obligate" ant-follower, but also present were several family groups of the shy Ocellated Antbirds, a swarm of clean-cut Spotted Antbirds, and a very obliging Tody Motmot that was very selective about its prey items.
In many ways the most special part of the week was the hike up Cerro Pirre. This ridge, barely reaching 5,500 ft. at its highest point, is so isolated that a number of endemic species are found only here and on nearby ridges. To reach them we ascended from dry tropical forest on the lower slopes to the lush cloud forests of the subtropical zone. We arrived in camp tired, but lively enough to enjoy a big fast-paced mixed-flock in the trees overhead, in it rarities like a Sharpbill and a stunning pair of Yellow-collared Chlorophonias. Noisy Crested Guans awoke us at dawn the next morning and soon we were working our way to the top of the ridge. Here the forest was noticeably wetter, shorter in stature, and covered in epiphytes. Birds were scarce, but everything seen was special, from the Tooth-billed Hummingbird feeding at a bromeliad flower to the chunky Pirre Bush-Tanagers building a nest in the epiphytes and the endemic Green-naped Tanagers in the fruiting melostome trees overhead. Perhaps the ultimate experience on the mountain was simply gazing out from the lookout to an ever-changing panorama of ridges and valleys blanketed in forest as far as the eye could see, with no evidence of man's hand nor artificial sounds.
A final day back down below continued to produce great surprises, including a covey of Marbled Wood-Quail, a Tiny Hawk perched in the crown of an open tree, and Dave's lifer Black-billed Flycatcher, a scarce and inconspicuous regional specialty. Right up until it was time to leave we found special birds, from a very cooperative pair of Black-tailed Trogons to an incredible Black-crowned Antpitta sitting on a log close at hand.
All too soon the plane came to whisk us away from this peaceful wilderness and back to "civilization," where a complete lunar eclipse as the full moon rose over Panama Bay capped our final dinner.