Panama: The Darien Wilderness Feb 15—24, 2008
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
To visit the Darien at Cana is to visit a true wilderness, far from the noise and trappings of our familiar modern world. It wasn't always like this, for at one time there were thousands of gold miners living in this region, but they are long gone and the forest has returned. It rules now, stretching unbroken in every direction except for the airstrip and small clearing. For one wonderful week this area was "ours," as we explored trails into this melange of secondary and primary forest habitats, spotting new surprises at every bend.
After arriving midday, our first afternoon around the clearing and airstrip quickly demonstrated that the flowering Erythrina trees were attracting a steady procession of birds. This would be a theme all week, as we watched huge Blue-and-yellow Macaws nibbling the flowers (to get the nectar?); studied nine species of hummingbirds spotted in one afternoon, including tiny Rufous-crested Coquettes and Green Thorntails; and puzzled over the many confusing flycatchers. A misty morning the next day kept us confined to the field station, from which we spotted birds the entire time, providing a solid introduction to the area and some real bonuses such as the comical Barred Puffbird, Dusky-backed Jacamars, and a troop of raucous Red-throated Caracaras.
As we explored further afield from Cana, our quality sightings grew. There were multiple looks at Gray-cheeked Nunlets; an ethereal male Black-tipped Cotinga; scope studies of Black-crowned Antpitta and Great Jacamar on the same morning; a shy Stripe-throated Wren; brilliant colors, like those of the Scarlet-thighed Dacnis; the "opera" of the Blue-black Grosbeak song; the trio of Spot-crowned Barbets our final morning; and yes, those canopy mixed-flocks—so frustrating, but sometimes yielding views of specialties like the Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker and Slate-throated Gnatcatcher.
In many ways the most special part of the week was the hike up Cerro Pirre and our time on the mountain. This ridge, barely reaching 5,500 feet at its highest point, is so isolated that a number of endemic species are found only here and nearby. Our hike up was highlighted by a brief encounter with a small herd of white-lipped peccaries in the trail, while in camp we found the endemic Pirre Bush-Tanager to be common, moving with a flock of gorgeous Black-and-yellow Tanagers. A morning hike up to the stunted and misty forest along the ridge top produced the endemic Pirre Warbler and Green-naped Tanager, plus spectacular plants and lots of frogs.
The area around camp was good to us this year, and during our stay here we watched a pair of Yellow-eared Toucanets in a fruiting tree for an hour; several times observed a mixed-flock racing through (a favorite vignette was watching a male Red-headed Barbet displace a pair of Yellow-collared Chlorophonias); came running out of the forest to see a young Ornate Hawk-Eagle perched nearby, its golden eyes intently watching the clearing; and thrilled to an almost unreal male Blue Cotinga ("fine porcelain on a branch") before starting the hike down. Just above Cana we found a nice ant swarm and had a chance to enjoy the distinctive Ocellated Antbird, one of the most beautiful of its entire family.
All too soon the plane came to whisk us away from this peaceful wilderness and back to "civilization."