Before we move on to Bocas del Toro.....

We had quite a few shutterbugs on the trip to Panama and many of them have agreed to share some of their captures on this blog. Here's why that's a great boon to the blog. The beautiful Keel-billed Toucan was present at many of our Panama locations, but Fran actually captured this gorgeous image on the hotel grounds in Panama City, with a small camera no less. 

So, after Panama City we headed to Bocas del Toro, an hour's flight to the NW.

This is what the islands of Bocas del Toro looked like out our plane window.

We're there!

This guy was singing "The Girl from Ipanema", "De-O", and other island songs to entertain us as we stood in line to go through "migracion".

After a short ride to the dock

Peter got in the island mood

and our luggage was loaded up on the two boats that had come to pick us up.

That's sweet Stacy holding onto one of our boats. While we were at Tranquilo, three staff members served as great guides for us! 

These charming Caribbean homes are typical of Bocas life on the water.

Hubby Scott is so cute here.

That's "the other boat" cruising along with us on the 45-minute ride to Tranquilo Bay Eco Adventure Lodge where we would stay for 3 nights. Vicky and I seemed to have similar eyes for images. That's her over there photographing our boat. 

There is very little development out here in Bocas...quite a lot of abandoned docks and structures...here's the only "significant" group of homes I saw on the way out.

Yes, Tranquilo Bay Lodge is amazingly remote. It was conceived of and built by 4 Texas college grads, finished in 2005. This is the dock. The lodge itself is up the hill along a boardwalk through the mangroves...not really visible in this shot.

Mangrove roots

Mangroves provide a rich habitat for scads of invertebrates and fish. 

There are nine cabins and the main dining lodge and veranda on the property. This is the cabin we got. Yes, Linda, OUR cabin. Haha. Inside joke.

They are really roomy and clean cabins. The bathroom is huge, toilets worked unusually well for the tropics, and climate control was perfect.

Alternate sleeping arrangement

After settling in, we began to notice some of the local inhabitants. This is a Golden-collared Manakin male that was peeking at us just below the veranda.

Here's his pretty back and green rump. Manakins slap their wings to make a sharp clack or two when feeling amorous. While in Panama we heard clacking Manakins much more often than we were able to see them. 

This Double-toothed Kite was behind the main lodge eating a giant grasshopper.

The owners have planted and maintained beautiful, natural, but tended, gardens on their property. They concentrated on plants that had flowers to attract hummingbirds, berries for manakins and other birds, and habitat for other wildlife. 

The word Panama may come from an indigenous language word meaning "land of many butterflies." We certainly saw a BUNCH of butterflies and moths. Here are some butterflies captured by Vicky B.

Teleus Longtail

Skipper

Before we went to dinner a few of us climbed to the top of the observation tower. Brave us. It really is pretty darn high up there...and wavery. But, that's about the only way to get a side-on shot of parrots flying. We were losing light, so I'm proud to have snapped this shot of two Red-lored Parrots.

Vicky took this great sunset picture from the tower. Below us, Green Ibis were burbling noisily as they came in to their night roosting grounds. I found that interesting, because if memory serves, the Scarlet Ibis flying in to roost in Caroni Swamp on Trinidad were quiet... beautiful, but quiet. Anybody else remember that?

The next morning we set off for a day trip to the Banana Canal, or more exactly, the Seropta Canal.  It was built for transporting bananas. 

It was early, but then, it was always ALWAYS early when we started our days.

We met this gentleman as we entered the canal. People literally live half their lives on boats here.

Here's the canal...lots of vegetation on either side for birds, monkeys, sloths. Our two boats were lashed together as we slowly cruised the canal.

A couple of Olive-throated Parakeets in terrible light were pretty curious about us.

Plants will grow about anywhere in the tropics...this is a decaying log on the canal.

Green Heron

Bare-throated Heron

This is the one and only "opportunity" on the canal.

This has got to be my favorite picture of birders!! It's the queue to the john. The door is open, we've been on the water for several hours, but never mind........gotta see that bird!! I don't even remember what obscure flycatcher they were trying to see. I also love seeing Ramon's (one of our guides) bare feet in this picture.

I knew as soon as I saw these guys in early but finally somewhat decent light that they would make a beautiful picture. Mangrove Swallows.

Common Black Hawk

Ringed Kingfisher

Iguana in a tree

The kingfisher was shaking himself in the light rain that was falling.

Our fearless leader Gavin at the mouth of the Changuinola River as it spills into the Caribbean. Looking at the clouds, maybe? Dare we try to stop at Swan's Cay before the rain starts?

Linda St. snapped this treasure of the mysterious stiletto balanced perfectly on a log. Make up your own story.

Leader Gavin chased this little Collared Plover way up around the far curve of our little beach, but it flew away before we birders could join him to see it. Amazingly, some minutes later it showed up on a log right where we were standing  and posed so long that we got these pictures with our smart phones.

Collared Plover

Caiman skeleton. Wonder what happened here.

You can't let clouds affect your plans during the rainy season, so we boated off for Swan's Cay, home to breeding Red-billed Tropicbirds, Brown Boobies, and Magnificent Frigatebirds.

As we rounded the corner, Vicky B got a great shot of this picturesque jut of land with grotto type erosion holes.

Male Magnificent Frigatebird



Red-billed Tropicbird on nest in protected cave.

Brown Booby chick and parent

exchanging food

Brown Booby family

I sort of fell in love with these fluffy little Boobies.

Bye for now

Flying Tropicbirds bid us farewell

The rain hit us on the way home, but we got what we went for, so.....

Thank goodness Tranquilo Bay Lodge provided free laundry and our clothes came back dry within 24 hours.

 

 

 

 

 After an interesting and rather long ride through skyscraper-packed and glitzy Panamá City in the evening, we got to our Radisson Hotel (nice) just in time for a much-appreciated Sangría in the "lobbybar".

We were on the third floor and after some sleep discovered that we had a great balcony with a view.

We had Neotropic Cormorant

Pale-vented Pigeons

Yay, Orange-chinned Parakeets. Yeah, I can't see the orange either. 

the ever-present Tropical Kingbird (TK)

and a couple of Red-crowned Woodpeckers

We arrived a day before our birding trip started to view and learn about the shipping lane locks.  The hotel arranged a driver for us and he took us to the close-enough and quite wonderful Miraflores Museum and viewing platform.

I took this from the 4th floor viewing deck of the museum. We could see the whole operation from here. This is a ship exiting the last lock on its way to the Pacific by entering into the artificially created Lake Gatún. Lake Gatún is named after the village that was inundated when the lake was formed. 

View of locks

Tugboats play a big role in guiding ships in and out of the locks. It's a tight fit.

These tugboats were on their way to guide the next ship from the lake to enter the locks going toward the Atlantic.

The different levels of the locks are necessary because the mean Pacific sea level is a little higher in elevation than the Atlantic and the tides on the Pacific side are significant and introduce constant change in the sea level. The tracks and engines on the tracks are there to provide guidance to the ships as they go through the locks. Cables are hooked up between these so-called "mules" and the ships and kept under tension when they get to the locks. They help keep the ship on the straight and narrow as they make their 10-hour journey through the locks.

Here's a closer look at those "mules".

Below is the dam that made the lake and provides the hydroelectric power to the locks.

From our vantage point at the museum we could see a very large cargo ship passing through the new larger locks completed by Panamá in 2016.

The museum was excellent and had interactive displays and a terrific IMAX movie that helped us get some basic understanding of this astounding engineering feat and its history. I learned that the French were the first to start digging a canal but had to give it up after 20,000 men died. Why? Mostly from Yellow Fever and Malaria.  Panamanians have not forgotten and are grateful to the French. There are memorials to these "hero workers" and an entire museum dedicated to the French effort and the terrible losses they sustained. The role of the US in separating Panamá from Colombia is complicated as well as the new engineering ideas that went into the completion of the canal, but the scientific discoveries about mosquito transmission of disease and DDT may have been the breakthroughs that made it possible for workers to complete the digging and construction required for canal completion.

The lock walls are hollow so they require less energy to move in and out.

Our driver waited while we visited the Miraflores locks, and then drove us through Casco Viejo which is the second oldest city, the first being in a state of ruin after Pirate Morgan destroyed it on his march across the isthmus. Our driver told us that Casco Viejo is a wonderful and safe place for people to come and stay, that walking around here is very pleasant and interesting..full of history, Spanish and otherwise.  Indeed, the narrow streets and old Spanish architecture were appealing. At this point I couldn't take any pictures due to an afternoon  downpour.

Later, back at the hotel, we saw more Pale-vented Pigeons

and this Tropical Mockingbird from the rear restaurant behind the hotel.

As we sipped our Cokes, this enormous ship sailed by SO close to the shore on its way to the Pacific. There are eight layers of containers here. Impressive.

Clay-colored Robins. Not rare.

The next morning we were set to connect with our birding group and leader and start our trip.

We were about to get wet, but also enjoy the pleasant company of new friends and see some beautiful natural sights and birds. We were excited!

El Dorado is a large preserve ranging from 2,000 to 7,700 ft in altitude and you get there from Minca. This destination came toward the end of the 18-day trip.  The lodge at the top was in the Santa Marta mountains, up another very rough road, described by almost everyone we met as "the worst road in Colombia". It was steep, rocky, washed out in some areas, with standing water in some areas and really big boulders in others..Oh My. We were again in two four-wheel drive vehicles and our innards will never be the same. What an adventure!  On the way we saw Lineated Woodpecker,

Pale-breasted Thrush

Blue-grey Tanager

Around sixish arrival we finally pulled into the lodge/dining room with garden feeders.

The garden was gorgeous and the Crowned Woodnymph displayed beautifully.

Blue-naped Chlorophonia was a favorite also, and spent most of its time on the banana feeder.

At first we didn't quite understand that our lodging was not to be in the dining room area, but instead up the hill about 25 minutes. The poor drivers and guides that had to haul our luggage up the hill, over hanging bridges, etc. For us, it was a kick to be wandering around in the dark, (thank goodness for headlamps) over hanging bridges, stumbling over rocks, slipping on mud after dinner at night. We giggled and one couple found themselves going in a circle over the bridge, then around the bridge, then over the bridge again. OK, that was funny.

The Kogihabs where each couple stayed were styled after local indigenous round homes, but equipped with luxury conveniences and gave us a very special privacy and matchless views of the valleys, the Caribbean and another Santa Marta range, snow-covered. 

Sunsets were magical.

The high point (literally) of this part of the trip was the San Lorenzo ridge where many endemics live. Serious tickers HAVE to go here because there are so many birds you simply cannot find anywhere else. They were not very amenable to photographic capture. The road to that summit was even worse than the road to the lodge, if that is possible and it is.

At the top way up there in the sky at 5:30 am, we ran into a manned paramilitary installation, actively guarded by armed personnel, there to ensure that the drug trade experts did not return to their old stomping grounds.

Santa Marta Mountain-Tanager

 

Santa Marta Antpitta - this little fellow is being fed by a research facility at about nine every morning and we were fortunate to be there when the caregiver called him in from the forest for his worms.

This is a Santa Marta Brushfinch.

Scarlet-fronted Parakeet.

There were several Red-billed Parrots hanging around, too.

On the way back down we ran into this White-lined Tanager, male

and his female.

Also a great catch, but very difficult to get a photographic angle on, was the White-tipped Quetzal, not nearly as cooperative as the other Quetzals we had at Perijá, at least from a photographic perspective.

On the way back down the mountain we ran into Red Howlers. I'd been hearing them in the distance from the Kogihab, kind of like low thunder rolling, so it was good to get a sighting of them. They are big guys and indeed, they are red.

Also this Groove-billed Toucanet

 

and this Keel-billed Toucan.

 

but my best chance was this female Masked Trogon. If you squint you can see the red on her belly.

 

Thank you all so much for following my trips. Colombia was super memorable, but now my mind is zooming ahead to our next trip...Panama. 

If you have friends or relatives who might enjoy these escapades, feel free to sign up their emails on the home page at the bottom. Thank you for that.

 

 

 

The northern coastal areas of Columbia are different from the south. One might say that the northern areas are closer to indigenous living and the south more "Spanishy." The music is different up north, having more Caribbean/African influence...commonly heard playing together are accordion, drums (tambor), and flute (gaita). The northern coastal areas definitely have more shacks and less commercial development. 

Upon coming down from Perijá, we visited Los Flamencos, a neat coastal reserve. As soon as we exited the van, we were surrounded by birds, starting with a nesting Buffy Hummingbird.

 

Female Vermilion Cardinal

Slender-billed Tyrannulet with food for nestlings

Vermilion Cardinal male

So nice to have some solid sunlight down here on the coast

Likely a nest down there since he stayed in this thicket so obligingly

Scaled Dove

Northern Scrub Flycatcher

Russet-throated Puffbird

White-whiskered Spinetail - handsome

Buffy Hummingbird on nest from a different angle

Yellow Oriole

Black-crested  Antshrike, female

"Like my hair?"

"Why not?"

What's your problem?

And out she comes into the sun to show off her feather dress...

Grey Kingbird

White-fringed Antwren

Greyish Saltator

Inside national park - Indigenous people still living

where and how they always have.

Orinocan Saltator

Trinidad Euphonia

Note the gold cap

Glaucous Tanager, juvenile, endemic

Royal Tern

Boat ride for tourists

The next five images were actually taken at a lovely lodge named Colores de Sierra Nevada on the way up the mountain for our mountain excursion to El Dorado. Here we transferred to 4-wheel-drive vehicles again.

Lineated Woodpecker

White-lined Tanager male

White-lined Tanager, female

Pale-breasted Thrush singing

And a few days later after that mountain trip, we came back to the coast to Parque Isla de Salamanca where the following images were captured.

Golden-green Woodpecker

Black-crowned Night-Heron, an old friend

Rufescent Tiger-Heron

Straight-billed Woodcreeper

I like the color on this shot

Great Egret

Pied Puffbird

Russet-throated Puffbird

Lesser Nighthawk

Stripe-backed Wren

Look closely. He/she's catching a flying insect. Thank you, Wren. I should mention that the whole trip really was remarkably bug-free.

I credit a plethora of birds for that. 

Cattle Tyrant

Ringed Kingfisher

Brown-throated Parakeet

Sticks in the way...my life story

Sticks in front

Finally only one small blocking stick

Lineated Woodpecker..very happy with the lighting and proximity I enjoyed with this shot....but I was HOT, hot, hot at this location.

Snail Kite with snail

Iguana

Cattle Egrets are extremely widespread in our travels, but they don't always look the same in my photos