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Message: <blockquote data-quote="dwatsonbirder" data-source="post: 2838214" data-attributes="member: 92203">Central America June - August 2013 PART II17/7/2013 Boquete, PanamaWith today being my birthday, I was given a free pass to do whatever I wanted to do. After the intensive day yesterday I opted for a more relaxed ramble along the tracks leading up into the rainforest. This was put forward as a less “birdy” day for the long suffering other half, but would also allow me to catch up with a few species found at lower altitudes.As we wandered along the tracks we quickly added Swallow tailed kite, American dipper, Torrent Tyrannulet, Dark Peewee and Plain wren as the first species of the day. New birds encountered over the course of the day included Red crowned woodpecker, Orange billed nightingale-thrush, Yellow-Green vireo and Scarlet thighed dacnis. We had planned to walk along the valley before branching off into the cloud forest to once again look for Quetzal, but sadly we were unable to find the route. We did encounter a fantastic rope bridge however, which wouldn’t look out of place in an Indiana Jones film.We rounded the day off with a fantastic meal overlooking a stream and the mountains. We decided that we would leave Boquete the next day in order to allow enough time to fit in the whole of the Pacific Coast, as we were still unsure about logistics at this point. We had researched (roughly) our route for the trip, but between the Borders of Panama in the south and Nicaragua in the north there were stretches (sometimes several hundred km long!) where we could find no information about local buses. 18/7/2013 – 19/7/2013 Boquete, Panama to Osa peninsula, Costa RicaWe left early in the morning to make sure we reached the Costa Rica border, as we had heard that the process of getting through could take several hours. As it turned out it took us all of 40 minutes to traverse the customs officials, we needn’t have left in such a rush! As the bus ground to a halt on the CR side of the border I stared out of the window across a field, where I immediately recognised the white blobs pecking around the horses – Cattle egret. Slightly less expected was the shocking yellow, black and brown passerine less than 2 metres the other side of the glass – Western meadowlark.We eventually arrived in Golfito – the gateway to Osa – in time for lunch. As we sat down to the obligatory rice and beans, Kathi disappeared from her seat with the camera… odd. She was staring up into an almond tree, and frantically waved me over. In the depths of the branches, and surprisingly well camouflaged, were five Scarlett macaw, happily cracking their way through the crop of almonds. We watched the birds whilst we ate lunch, and soon enough it was time to board the ferry for the crossing.Arriving at Puerto Jimenez you immediately get a sense that things are very different here, and there is almost an island feel. The peninsula is connected in the north, but it remains one of the least explored areas of Central America, second only to the infamous Darien Gap. At the heart of the area is Corcovado National Park, and it was this area that was to be the focal point of our stay in this area.Getting to the park itself is an adventure, as we were to find out later, and it involves either a 2 hour boat trip down the coast or a 7 hour hike through thick jungle and crossing crocodile infested rivers. Understandably we took the former option!In Puerto Jimenez we found a comfortable but rustic hostel at the back of the town, and set about exploring our options for our time on Osa. We had pencilled in a few days at Bolita Lodge (thanks to Joe Cockram for his recommendation!) on the borders of Corcovado before we headed in properly, but we were unsure about the logistics of getting in and out of the park. As we wandered around town, I couldn’t help but notice several new species; Cherrie’s tanager, Golden naped woodpecker, Hudsonian whimbrel, White ibis, Yellow headed caracara, and Black hooded antshrike were all present around the town, along with many other species.One of our hopes for our time on Osa was to see Humpback whales, which come into Golfito bay in order to calf. Sadly for us there had only been a handful of sightings in the last week, and the cost for a whale-watching trip was over $100 each! We did travel mostly by boat in order to increase our chances, but the only cetaceans we managed were a few bottle nosed dolphin. Maybe next time!We decided on a day tour into the park including a guide for $90 for the both of us, but first we were going to spend a few days at Bolita.19/7/2013 – 21/7 2013 Bolita lodge, Costa RicaGetting to Bolita lodge is rather challenging. First one must get onto Osa peninsula which requires catching a bus to Golfito (5 hours from the border), then a boat across the bay (1 hour) then a 20 minute walk from the dock to Puerto Jimenez. To get to Bolita one must catch a local minibus (twice a week!) to the tiny gold-mining settlement of Dos Brazos, where you then walk about 20 minutes to the office. Our journey to Dos Brazos was broken up by a puncture, which took about an hour to fix due to us having to wait whilst somebody on a pushbike appeared with a pump! Once you get to the office, you find a note saying to leave anything you don’t require, as there is a hike up through the rainforest to the lodge. To reach the trail up to the lodge one must cross not only 3 narrow wooden bridges (RE: planks of wood) but also 2 rivers, adventurous stuff indeed, particularly with a 18kg rucksack!As was generally the case every time we entered a new area, I noted a few species on the hike up to our accommodation, including chestnut mandibled toucan, white necked Jacobin and Laughing falcon. It was a bit of a slog through the forest, and not easy going even on the relatively well maintained paths, but we eventually reached the lodge about half an hour before sunset and we welcomed by the fantastic eco-lodge (a unique place to stay, I can’t recommend it highly enough) and a cracking view down a forested valley to the Golfito Bay. The lodge itself is about as green as you can get, made out of materials harvested from the forest and a local refuse centre, the only electricity is via solar power, and there are plans afoot for the fuel supply to be entirely man-made – methane gas collected from a container under the toilets! We relaxed and watched a beautiful sunset, whilst I sneaked views of Orange billed sparrow, White necked Jacobin, Turquoise cotinga and Rufous tailed jacamar. All these species had jewel like qualities to their plumage, and with a beer in hand as well it was a great end to an exhausting 48 hours of travelling. It was a truly wonderful experience to go to bed with only the sounds of the rainforest and starlight overhead.I awoke before dawn for our first full day at Bolita, as I wanted to experience the dawn chorus – primary rainforest style. It certainly didn’t disappoint, but most of the calls were new to me, and I enjoyed picking up the call and then locating and identifying the species responsible. Amongst the 20 or so species I could confidently identify I located three new birds – Dot winged antwren, Bay headed tanager and white tailed dove, though the star of the show was a very showy male Turquoise cotinga which posed beautifully for me whilst my camera was on charge, typical!After breakfast we headed out to explore the trails. We had been warned that there had been a landslide affecting part of our route, but it shouldn’t be an issue. After about an hour walking the narrow, steep trails we reached what we thought was the landslide and we laughed. A tree had fallen over and had displaced some soil forming a 3 metre scree slope, which we casually scrambled across. We continued for about another kilometre and then as we rounded a bend we saw the landslide proper.Rain had caused several trees to displace and loosened the soil, then further rain had exaggerated the movement to the point that about 20 giant trees and about 100 tonnes of mud and boulders had tumbled half a km down to the valley floor, this was going to be interesting! We slowly began picking our way across the debris, conscious of the small avalanches that occurred each time we slipped, until at one point I lost my footing and sent several large rocks crashing down into the jungle! It took us about 20 minutes to cross, but at least we wouldn’t have to come back this way… we thought. As we continued along the trail it became increasingly overgrown to the point where we couldn’t distinguish between the edge of the ledge and the vegetation. This was crazy. After a heated exchange with me unable to continue and Kathi unwilling to run the gauntlet of the scree again, our minds were made up as I lost my footing and nearly fell several hundred metres into the rainforest. Swearing and sweating profusely I turned tail and stomped back to the landslide. It took us about half an hour to cross back, but Kathi slipped several metres at one point and by the time we made it back onto the trail we were thinking about leaving the next morning.Despite our experience on the slope, I had managed a few birds including Long tailed hermit and Orange collared manakin. By the time we arrived back at base it was lunchtime and after our ordeal we were famished. As we ate lunch our luck turned, and we were told about a walk down to the waterfalls where we would be able to cool off and swim, which sounded like the perfect solution to such a stressful morning. An astonishing run of birds also appeared over a twenty minute period: Chestnut crowned antwren, white hawk, shining honeycreeper, Riverside wren, white shouldered tanager, fiery bellied acari, masked tityra and Brown hooded parrot. The bird of the day however, was a stunning King vulture, which soared gracefully over the rainforest with the Golfito bay in the backdrop. Even at a distance I could make out its multi-coloured head, which contrasted beautifully with its white body and black flight feathers. In terms of rarity this was surely one of the best sightings of the trip, and a bird I had hoped to see but hadn’t expected to encounter.</blockquote>

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