OF PANAMA’S ROUGHLY ONE THOUSAND BIRDS, seven are found only in Panama. With our previous birding birding trips in nearby Columbia we had already seen all but 90 of the species. No, problem, though. This trip was not jus about birds—it was our chance to visit one of Central America’s most untamed areas.
Rollin' on the River
You need a "Piragua" on Rio Tuguesa
Since Kevin and the Canadians (sounds like a 60s rock band) left yesterday for parts unknown, it was just the five of us on the trip up river to the indigenous Embera village of Nuevo Vigia. This time we left from La Penita and motored up the Chucunaque into the Rio Tuquesa. We sat singly in plastic chairs in a long, narrow motorize piragua for the hour-long trip—the larger, wider pangas from Yaviza couldn’t negotiate the shallow, twisting channel.
Piraguas are the workhorses
Morning ablutions, Nuevo Vigia
Villager harvesting Plantains, Nuevo Vigia
Canopy Camp has been working with the Embera from Nuevo Vigia for a decade, helping the villagers develop ecotourism. Canopy Camp pays the village an entrance fee, hires their local guide and uses their canoes and drivers. The venture has been so successful that most birding tours to the area visit the village for a glimpse at Embera life . . . and to see the Dusky-Backed Jacamar.
Dusky-Backed Jacamar, Nuevo Vigia
It was a long way to come for a single bird—even a rare one like the jacamar. But today was my favorite day of the trip; an authentic canoe ride on a quiet river to a quaint indigenous village where we were treated with warmth and respect. And we didn’t have to tramp through mud!
Isthmian Wren, San Francisco Reserve
Tropical Royal Flycatcher, San Francisco Reserve
It was raining when we stopped at San Francisco Reserve this morning on our way back to Panama City. The trip is almost over and we have seen 260 species but Oscar was hoping for that one last bird. And he found it—the endemic Panama Tyrannulet! It was in a mixed flock and I just couldn’t focus on the right bird. But I did manage photos of an Isthmian Wren and a Tropical Royal Flycatcher. The Tyrannulet was another new bird for Connie, giving her twenty-one new species for her Life List during our stay at Canopy Camp.
