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| Blue-crowned Manakin |
Following our extraordinarily successful visit to Cerro
Pirre and the lowlands of Darien (see the following two posts) we headed to
Burbayar Lodge for a 3-night stay in the Caribbean foothills of Kuna Yala
Province. This is a well-known destination for birders which has been difficult
to access in recent years. Burbayar is a rustic but charming family-run lodge;
after the challenges of Cerro Pirre, it was luxury.
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| Nusagandi Forest |
We cleaned up so comprehensively in Darien that there were few
targets left at Burbayar. Our first morning saw us on a trail that runs up and
down steep, muddy hills in the Nusagandi Reserve, a large area of forest owned
by the Kuna Indians.
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| Broad-billed Motmot |
We were pleased to see a couple of impressive
Crimson-bellied Woodpeckers, while Tawny-capped Euphonia was another welcome
addition to the list. Striped (Western) Woodhaunter was among the birds seen along
the trail.
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| Ocellated Antbird - Pic by Ketil Knudsen |
An impressive antswarm (the first of any substantive size for the
trip) was attended by some showy Ocellated Antbirds along with Plain-brown
Woodpecker, Broad-billed Motmot, Chesnut-backed Antbird, Dull-mantled Antbird
and Bicoloured Antbird.
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| Green Manakin |
A Green Manakin was found in some dense streamside vegetation. We spent a fair bit of time relaxing around the lodge.
Blue-crowned Manakin was among the many birds in the grounds (see first image). A Plumbeous Hawk showed nicely but distantly from the lodge
grounds.
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| Plumbeous Hawk |
We visited another area forest on our second morning which
had recently been acquired by the owners of Burbayar. Here we had several Sapayoas showing well.
This species, the last of the world’s bird families for my list, had eluded me
for years, but on this trip I saw between 12 and 15. It was interesting to compare them with the Green Manakin (see above) a species with which Sapayoa is often confused.
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| Sapayoa |
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| Sapayoa |
As we were leaving the
forest we saw several Sulphur-rumped Tanagers – a localised target, along with
a Laughing Falcon.
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| Laughing Falcon |
Mammals included Geoffroy’s Tamarin and a cute Alfaro’s
Pygmy Squirrel. In the afternoon, some of
the group ventured to a third forest patch to finally connect with a key target
bird for this area – Speckled Antshrike.
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| Alfaro's Pygmy Squirrel |
The food at Burbayar was excellent and this place is highly
recommended, though many birders have expressed frustration in recent years at
their inability to connect with the owners.
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| Dinner at Burbayar |
We departed Burbayar and continued our journey west, again
crossing the Panama Canal before arriving at the delightful hill town of El
Valle in Cocle Province for a two-night stay. The town is located in the caldera of an extinct
volcano and is surrounded by steep, forested slopes. Our accommodation, the
Anton Valley Hotel, ticked the boxes.
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| Forest at Cerro Gaital |
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| Forest orchid, El Valle |
We enjoyed a morning stroll through the misty forests of
Cerro Gaital, seeing plenty of Pale-vented Thrushes. Also of interest was the distinctive local race of Common Bush-Tanager. Garden Emerald was finally
encountered in a shrubby field not far from the hotel.
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