Tag: Bocas del Toro

Birds of Panama

This year we were not studying birds and did not have any ornithologists with us, but we still saw some interesting species.  Some highlights include several pretty little hummingbirds including the Black-throated Mango, Long-tailed hermits, and white-necked Jacobans.  We saw several hawks, but had a difficult time identifying them. One beautiful one we got a good look at was the Pearl Kite. I had never been to Fortuna and saw 12 new species just sitting on the front porch one morning. One of the cutest was the Rufous-collared sparrow. Feeding with the sparrows were a pair of Lesser Seed-finches and a male Yellow-faced Grassquit. I also saw several flycatchers, including a Yellow-bellied Elaenia. We caught a Yellow warbler and a Ringed Kingfisher in the bat nets at Bocas. We saw a pair of Linneated Woodpeckers  and both Yellow and Red-rumped Caciques, and a Fasciated Antwren on Pipeline Road. At BCI we were able to see Crested Guans and a Red-capped Mannikan.  We only saw 2 trogons: Slaty-tailed and Violaceous. Of course we saw lots of parrots and both Chestnut-mandibled and Keel-billed toucans, as well as Collared Aracaris.  Two birds with great names, the Chacalacas and Bananaquits, were everywhere in Gamboa. In total we were able to identify about 65 species of birds without even looking for them. And I learned that I definiely need to study those large and mid-sized Tyrant Flycatchers. 

Vicki

Opossum Sightings at Bocas

One of the objectives of the Panama travel course was to document more information on the woolly opossum (Caluromys sp.) near Bocas del Toro on Colón Island. Last year, students and faculty spotted and photographed a woolly opossum, which had previously not been known to reside on the island. The opossum was seen mingling in a banana tree. Our first approach was to set out infrared camera traps near banana trees in hope that we could capture an opossum in action. However, the opossums managed to evade the cameras during the first night. For the second night, we decided to move the camera traps to other locations, such as coconut trees, where we though opossums might also be found. While most of the crew tipped a few back, Chris and I decided to take a night hike around the STRI facility. To our surprise, we encountered an opossum in the exact same tree where we had set up the infrared cameras the night before! While the opossum was clearly somewhat nervous of our presence, it allowed us to get close and capture some great pictures. The opossum moved from the inflorescence, around the fruits, and into a branch. We were able to take all the pictures that we wanted and had a difficult time deciding when to leave.

The next day, we reinstalled a camera at the location where we had seen the opossum, but the animal didn’t return. However, we were somehow able to capture an opossum scavenging through banana peels on a different camera that we had set up to capture bats! Check out the video here. These few bits of evidence lead us to believe that this species of opossum probably relies heavily on banana trees. We are currently working to determine which species of woolly opossum we have been observing.

We are currently stationed in Gamboa, a small town in central Panama, located right on the canal. We will be continuing spider collections, hiking on Barro Colorado Island, and visiting the canopy crane.

-Adam

Beautiful Bocas

Bocas del Toro where Red Mangroves are an integral part of the ecosystem

 

 

Hospital Point home of Dendrobates and tent making bats

The time in Bocas del Toro has been spectacular, I was just thinking of how many questions we have asked that we never could have thought of in a classroom lecture. Seeing everything first hand is incredible. The underwater invertebrate study in the glass bottom boat was really neat. We were able to examine the diversity and richness of species in many different locations. The interesting observation was how quickly the substrate makeup could change. Doing a five minute transect could go from sand to grass to a few coral to dense coral all within meters of each other, and the invertebrates that we were observing also corresponded with the substrate. Starfish and Sea Cucumbers were abundant with urchin less prevalent. It was also interesting to see the similarities and differences of the transects that were run farther off shore, and those done near the mangroves and shore. Of course we saw differences in species in the developed areas where sea stars were more prevalent and coral less dominant. This study was great with the glass bottom boat and also gave us the opportunity to see jellyfish, and other small and large fish species.
The visit to Hospital Point was also great. It got that name when it was the site of the hospital for the yellow fever patients and a grave site is also present for those whose families did not claim the bodies. The tent making bats are on this island and they use the palm trees to make little tents that they hang under during the day. This island was also home to the Dendrobates or poison arrow frogs that are famous for their striking colors.
So watching dolphins, snorkeling, seeing the town and watching a howler monkey in a tree have all been great along with all of the new bats that we were able to see and learn about.

Snorkeling in Bocas del Toro

The past two days we have been snorkeling in the Caribbean. The water is very warm and clear, and the ocean floor is covered with colorful corals, grasses, shells and wildlife. We have noted that most of the developed reefs occur near structured areas, such as the docks or other concrete structures. So far we have seen dozens of corals, including fire coral and brain coral. We have also seen fish, such as barracudas, gars, puffer fish, anchovies, parrot fish and other small colorful varieties. We have been using an underwater camera to document many of these places. Another interesting aspect to snorkeling is to see the difference between mangrove and open ocean developments. The open ocean tends to have a large amount of sea grass beds and shorter wider varieties of plant life.  The mangroves have a lot less sunlight reaching the ocean floor, therefore the plants extend a lot higher and are much skinner. Those plants also tend to wind around the aerial roots of the trees. I hope to post photos at a later date.