Kayaking in Paradise
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
This morning it is a beautiful sunny day with clear
blue skies, bright white clouds and a slight breeze.
Great conditions for a morning kayak through the
mangroves. The bright sunshine makes it easier to
check out the sea life from the vantage point of your
kayak. The bird life in the mangroves is on display
to be checked out from an angle that is just about
impossible to reach using any other mode of
transportation.
When you have had enough adventure for the morning, you can turn around and paddle back to the dock.
All of this adventure is within eyesight of the lodge. So you can return for lunch and some hammock time before you head out again for a different adventure in the afternoon. Snorkeling perhaps?
When you have had enough adventure for the morning, you can turn around and paddle back to the dock.
All of this adventure is within eyesight of the lodge. So you can return for lunch and some hammock time before you head out again for a different adventure in the afternoon. Snorkeling perhaps?
Raptor Migration
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Various raptors fly over Panama as part of their
migration highway. Here each Fall we get to
experience a small portion of this migration as part
of or our day to day voyeurism.
In the Fall of 2004, the first intercontinental migration count of raptors was completed along the Panama Canal. They counted the birds ocean to ocean. Both professional and volunteer conservationists descended upon Panama to record the flight of over more than three million birds of prey. There are turkey vultures, broad-winged hawks and Swainson’s hawks in these migrations.
I cannot tell you how many of these same birds we had the opportunity to observe here in Bocas del Toro Panama but what I can tell you is that it is so cool to see. These large groups of big powerful birds fly together and then do acrobatics as they drift on a thermal.
“An ocean-to-ocean count of raptors traveling through central Panama has long been the ‘Holy Grail’ for raptor-migration scientists and conservationists,” explains Dr. Keith Bildstein, Hawk Mountain’s director of conservation science. “Until now, the lack of human willpower and financial resources has forestalled this ambitious and important project.” In the Fall of 2004 they made the dream a reality.
The initial record of raptor migration in Panama was made by a Spanish historian named Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo, who, writing in1526 noted in the Darien of eastern Panama in “Some years in the month of March, I have seen over the space of 15 or 20 days . . . the sky covered with birds almost morning to night. . . They . . . cover the whole sky from north to south and a wide section east to west. Apparently most of these birds are eagles and many large species of other birds of prey.”
Raptors fly only during the day and then only during good weather. So they require safe havens for nighttime and rainy day roosting. The Bastimentos National Marine Park includes protected forest which gives these birds a refuge and resting place during their migration.
In the Fall of 2004, the first intercontinental migration count of raptors was completed along the Panama Canal. They counted the birds ocean to ocean. Both professional and volunteer conservationists descended upon Panama to record the flight of over more than three million birds of prey. There are turkey vultures, broad-winged hawks and Swainson’s hawks in these migrations.
I cannot tell you how many of these same birds we had the opportunity to observe here in Bocas del Toro Panama but what I can tell you is that it is so cool to see. These large groups of big powerful birds fly together and then do acrobatics as they drift on a thermal.
“An ocean-to-ocean count of raptors traveling through central Panama has long been the ‘Holy Grail’ for raptor-migration scientists and conservationists,” explains Dr. Keith Bildstein, Hawk Mountain’s director of conservation science. “Until now, the lack of human willpower and financial resources has forestalled this ambitious and important project.” In the Fall of 2004 they made the dream a reality.
The initial record of raptor migration in Panama was made by a Spanish historian named Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo, who, writing in1526 noted in the Darien of eastern Panama in “Some years in the month of March, I have seen over the space of 15 or 20 days . . . the sky covered with birds almost morning to night. . . They . . . cover the whole sky from north to south and a wide section east to west. Apparently most of these birds are eagles and many large species of other birds of prey.”
Raptors fly only during the day and then only during good weather. So they require safe havens for nighttime and rainy day roosting. The Bastimentos National Marine Park includes protected forest which gives these birds a refuge and resting place during their migration.
Panama Birding
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Panama is roughly the size of the state of South
Carolina and it has over 900 recorded bird species.
The vast number of birds is due to two factors:
Panama's location in between North and South America
and the narrow girth of the land bridge.
Panama has both species found in North and South America and many endemic species of avifauna. Of the known species, 10 percent are restricted range species having a global range of less than 50,000 square kilometers.
The Caribbean slope of the Talamanca range, which is our backyard, is home to roughly 600 species of birds. In the areas we explore from our eco adventure laodge the altitude ranges from 7,000 feet to sea level, and nearly 500 species of birds can be found.
Isla Bastimentos which is only 20 square miles has an amazing variety of tropical birds. Parrots, herons, ibises, boobies, frigate birds, terns, jaegers, birds of prey, dove, owls, hummingbirds, kingfishers, barbets, woodpeckers, wrens, tyrant flycatchers, cotingas, manakins, warblers, tanagers, finches, and icterids all can be found on Isla Bastimentos.
Panama has both species found in North and South America and many endemic species of avifauna. Of the known species, 10 percent are restricted range species having a global range of less than 50,000 square kilometers.
The Caribbean slope of the Talamanca range, which is our backyard, is home to roughly 600 species of birds. In the areas we explore from our eco adventure laodge the altitude ranges from 7,000 feet to sea level, and nearly 500 species of birds can be found.
Isla Bastimentos which is only 20 square miles has an amazing variety of tropical birds. Parrots, herons, ibises, boobies, frigate birds, terns, jaegers, birds of prey, dove, owls, hummingbirds, kingfishers, barbets, woodpeckers, wrens, tyrant flycatchers, cotingas, manakins, warblers, tanagers, finches, and icterids all can be found on Isla Bastimentos.