BOCAS DEL TORO ARCHIPELAGO FIELD REPORT March 23 – April 1, 2018 By Jeri M. Langham Tranquilo Bay Eco Adventure Lodge was built on Bastimentos Island adjacent to the large Parque Nacional Isla Bastimentos in Panama’s Bocas del Toro Archipelago. I scouted this location in January 2011 and immediately knew it was a fantastic location for VENT tours. Participants also have opportunities to snorkel, kayak, visit the bat cave, paddleboard, fish and/or swim in the warm Caribbean waters. Our group of seven participants, two owners, two staff members and me © Jay Viola An enticing example of what awaits visitors to this marvelous birding paradise can be found in excerpts taken from the Journal I write during every tour and later e-mail to all participants. These are from my 11-page Journal for the March 2018 tour. After a 45-minute flight from Panama City to Bocas del Toro, we were met by Jay Viola, one of the three owners of Tranquilo Bay Eco Adventure Lodge and soon were loaded on the boat and headed toward Bastimentos Island, home of Tranquilo Bay Eco Adventure Lodge. On the way we picked up Magnificent Frigatebird and Pomarine Jaeger. We settled into our cabanas and then met on the lodge porch and birded from here, the porch of one of the cabanas on top of the hill, and also along a winding rainforest trail. Top of the list was my first White-tailed Kite for the property. Rufous-tailed Hummingbird was the most common, but we also added Bananaquit, Blue-black Grosbeak, Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Red-lored Parrot, White-crowned and Pale-vented pigeons, and male and female Masked and Black-headed tityras. As we worked our way up to “pineapple hill” and the bird-bathing pools, we picked up Dot-winged Antwren and Chestnut-sided Warbler. We got brief looks at Golden-collared Manakins and great looks at Shining Honeycreeper and a perched, distant Mississippi Kite, a first in my ten visits. Natalia spotted a close Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth. Shining Honeycreeper and Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth © Linette Mansberger Before leaving the dock this morning, we saw a Spotted Eagle Ray. On arrival at the mainland, we saw Royal Terns and a Mangrove Swallow before boarding our van. We picked up Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Northern Jaçana, Green Ibis and more as we drove. Behind the gas station where we stopped to purchase snacks and use the restrooms, we saw our first Boat-billed Herons, and a Cattle Egret stood up in its nest exposing three bright white eggs. Green Ibis and Boat-billed Heron © Linette Mansberger We turned left on Oleoducto Highway and headed toward Chiriquí Grande so we could bird Two Tanks Road. This little unpaved road has almost no traffic. Olive-crowned Yellowthroat, Pied Puffbird, both Black- chested and Brown jays, Plumbeous Kite, Golden-hooded Tanager and many more delighted us here. Pied Puffbird and Golden-hooded Tanager © Linette Mansberger After we finished eating our picnic lunch, we walked back down to the bridge where we saw Tawny-crested Tanager, Barred Forest-Falcon, Keel- billed Toucan, Yellow-throated Chlorospingus, Emerald Tanager, Long- tailed Tyrant, Cinnamon Becard, and Crimson-collared Tanager. Keel-billed Toucan © Linette Mansberger Crimson-collared Tanager © Bill Fraser The ocean water around the islands in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago was very smooth this morning as we cruised the 45 minutes to Almirante. Our unpaved road down to Valle Risco has little to no traffic and descends slowly down the side of the mountain offering scenic views. As Black-cheeked Woodpecker and Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant © Linette Mansberger we walked it, Little Tinamou was heard several times and we saw Long- tailed Tyrant, Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Blue-headed Parrots, Black- cowled Oriole, Lineated Woodpecker, Streak-headed Woodcreeper, two White Hawks, Piratic Flycatcher, Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant (the second smallest passerine in the Americas), and the Blue Jeans Poison Dart Frog. We ate our picnic lunch at an outdoor restaurant called "El Mirador.” It is up on a ridge along the main highway and permits views of the nearby forest. As we were eating, Jim Kimball suddenly called us out to see what would be thousands upon thousands of Broad-winged Hawks, Swainson’s Hawks, and Turkey Vultures. Estimating the actual number is almost impossible. I simply could not believe the number of these migrating raptors that kept streaming by us in the sky and such a spectacle is what makes me select this particular week for my Bocas del Toro Archipelago tour. They stretched from as far as we could see one way to as far in the other. Rivers of Broad-winged and Swainson’s hawks streaming north © Linette Mansberger From here we drove to the road that leads to the town of La Gloria. This is a very beautiful forested area with tall trees and finally we got a Cocoa Woodcreeper to come in to us and we were able to get everyone on the tangle-loving, and thus difficult-to-see, Black-throated Wren. A Squirrel Cuckoo zipped over us but would not return to playback. However, the most desired find here was the calling Black Hawk-Eagle that soared over our heads. It was too fast for a clear photo but we all got to see it. Before departing the dock this morning, I decided to try my Mangrove Cuckoo tape and one immediately flew in to the edge of the mangroves. It was a great way to start our morning! According to our field guide, this species was not known to call while in Panama over the winter. However, I got it to call on the first tour that saw one and every time since then. It was a calm, smooth-as-glass ocean morning as we headed to Isla Popa. As we arrived I called in a few Mangrove Yellow Warblers (now elevated to full species). We had several surprises with one being a fly-over Semiplumbeous Hawk (only the 2nd one in 10 tours here). Two pairs of huge Pale-billed Woodpeckers flew back and forth across the channel for us. We also picked up Slaty-tailed Trogon. Nice was seeing a Needlefish skipping along the surface of the water. However, the most important target bird at Isla Popa is Snowy Cotinga and we were fortunate again this year to see a male, but it was too far away for photos. Mangrove Cuckoo and Semiplumbeous Hawk © Linette Mansberger Our visit to Robert and Julie Peters’ Green Acres Chocolate Farm was informative and our walk after the short tour of his chocolate-making trays and building brought us two Green-and-black Poison Dart Frogs, Streak-headed Woodcreeper, nesting Pale-billed Woodpeckers, a male Gartered Trogon, Black-chested Jay, and again the tiny Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant. Before leaving we were treated to some of the items that they sell. Clearwing Butterfly © Linette Mansberger Jeri & Robert and Julie Peters © Jim Kimball At 5:30 p.m. the entire group met Natalia and me on the top of the six-story tower. It lived up to its reputation with Mealy, Red-lored and Blue- headed parrots flying right over us or very close to us. Some of you stayed long enough to see the Merlin, White-vented Euphonias, and Lesser Swallow-tailed Swifts. Four of you met me at the “T” just before heading down for dinner to see the Short-tailed Nighthawks. Red-lored Parrot and Great Black Hawk © Linette Mansberger The big target bird today on the Soropta Canal was the difficult-to- find-elsewhere Nicaraguan Seed-Finch, and we managed to see a close male just after entering the canal. For the first hour or so the activity was great. We had super looks at two American Pygmy Kingfishers but they did not perch for photos. Sometimes there were several birds being called out at the same time. Some of the other special birds seen today were Peregrine Falcon, Blue Ground-Dove, Black-cowled Oriole, Great Black Hawk, and three species of kingfishers. There were a number of Eastern Kingbird flocks that flew over us as we moved up the canal. We saw a number of Green Iguanas and sloths too. We returned via the Soropta Canal for our visit to Swan's Cay where Red-billed Tropicbirds and Brown Boobies nest. Once we were 30 yards from Swan’s Cay, we spent about 35 minutes just floating with incredibly beautiful, elegant birds flying around us. Cameras were clicking like mad. I cannot wait to see the best photos. Watching those gorgeous birds gliding by with their long tail feathers swaying in the wind, sometimes so close we could almost touch them, was simply fantastic. Some even landed on their nest cavities. This day on the Soropta Canal along with the visit to Swan’s Cay is always a favorite for my participants and me! One of forty or so Red-billed Tropicbirds flying around Swan’s Cay © Linette Mansberger Bocas Del Toro Archipelago Spring 2012 Sample Photos Hot lips with fruits Brown Booby Golden-collared Manakin Collared Plover Red-capped Manakin Bat Falcon Orange-bellied Trogon Long-billed Hermit Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer White-whiskered Puffbird Green basilisk Central American agouti Black Guan Mantled howler monkeys White-collared Manakin Bicolored Antbird Nicaraguan Seed-Finch Western night monkey Strawberry poison-dart frog Orange daggerwing Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch Ringed Kingfisher Red-billed Tropicbird Photoshop and Design by Jeri Langham with photos by Craig Swolgaard (10 ), Chris Conard ( 7 ) and Clara Coen ( 6 ). Bocas Del Toro Archipelago Fall 2012 Sample Photos Housefly on young iguana Golden orb-weaver Great eurybia Orange nectar bat Jesus Christ lizard Band-tailed Barbthroat Bullet ants (1+ inch) Keel-billed Toucan Mangroves & arboreal termite colony Northern Jaçana Flat-footed bug on passionflower Bottlenose dolphins One of six deluxe cabanas Golden-hooded Tanager Pendent heliconia Squirrel Cuckoo Hoffman’s two-toed sloth Strawberry poison-dart frog Crab in bat cave King Vulture Tigerwing & Clearwing butterflies Jamaican fruit-eating bat Photoshop and Design by Jeri Langham with photos by Linette Mansberger ( 18 ), Bob Kleiger ( 3 ) & Jim Kimball (1).