Chucanti: Birds and Experiences!

When you mention Chucanti, most people don't know what you are talking about.  Chucanti is the highest peak of the Maje mountain range in eastern Panama with its 1439 meters.  In fact, it is at the limit of Panama and Darien provinces in the Pacific slope, isolated from other mountain ranges like the Cordillera Central and the Pirre ranges.  But Chucanti is way more... it is a successful story of conservation and perseverance, a story of how only one person can do a lot!

Chucanti (as seen from the Base Camp)

Almost two weeks ago, I went to this place with Gloriela and fellow birder Mario Ocaña.  The road to the mountain changed a lot since my first visit in 2005.  Back then, I accompanied my friend Guido Berguido, who only the year before had found the way to the top of it while inquiring for new places for birding, as he is a passionate birder. He was immediately impressed with the forest, but also recognized how critically endangered it was. With each visit, the logged and burned areas surrounding the forest were increasing on a vertiginous rate... so he was absolutely convinced that he had to do something to stop that devastation.. and he did. He bought the first few hectares of forest and declared it a private natural reserve. That is how it started (you can read more about its story HERE).

This time, the former gravel road from Torti to Pavo (the nearest town to Chucanti) was completely paved and in excellent conditions.  It used to take 45 min to 1 hour... now it takes 15 minutes.  Soon we were in Pavo.  From there, we used to ride horses for four hours to the base camp... they are still needed during the rainy season, but now (in the middle of the dry season), you can make it in an hour on an all-terrain vehicle.  It is easier than before... but still not an "easy" trip... you still need to be prepared for everything.

The road up to Chucanti cuts through a variety of habitats where you can find many species of birds and other wildlife.  In fact, we recorded several species that we didn't find at the reserve itself.  We even saw a troop of Brown-headed Spider-Monkeys that are more often found inside the reserve.  In fact, we saw by the end of that day four different species of monkeys, including a troop of Geoffroy's Tamarins right at the base camp.

The road to Chucanti

Brown-headed (Black) Spider Monkey

After parking the car at the border of the reserve, a short trail took us to the base camp.  Formerly just a place to rest with rustic installations at the border of a cleared area, now the base camp offers all the facilities to have a confortable stay.  The cleared area had grown again and now attracts mixed flocks with tanagers, euphonias and many more.  The unobstructed view of the Chucanti massif reminded me of the long way up awaiting us.  Before climbing to the summit, the personnel at the base camp prepared the lunch that would later make us arrive at the refuge located at the upper camp on the ridge. Already the day before they equipped the refuge with drinking water and propane gas for cooking so that we do not have to add weight to our backpacks, something we really appreciated!

Gloriela at the base camp

Base camp

The way up to the upper camp was in a hurry.  We wanted to have more time in the stunted cloud forest of the summit ridge to have better chances for those Darien highlands endemics.  We only had one evening and the next day morning to do that!  Anyway, we stop several times to watch birds and to rest (more times than I want to admit!).  The steep climb makes you cross several live zones with different wildlife in each of them.  A nice combination of lowland and foothills species was immediately recorded as we followed the trail.  We found several swarms of army ants, always followed by a different array of birds, from usual followers like Bicolored Antbird, Plain-brown and  Ruddy Woodcreepers to more unusual ones (at least for me) like Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush, Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch and even an immature Barred Forest-Falcon terrifying the smaller birds!

Ruddy Woodcreeper

Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush

Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch

Although the trails are in good condition, it took us a couple of hours more than expected to reach the upper camp.  Certainly it has more to do with our physical conditions than to the steep terrain.   I just wonder how the first expeditions to this isolated mountain managed to reach it. Alexander Wetmore only reached the 630 meters mark back in March 1950 while Angehr and Christian managed to reach the very top in August-September 1996 and to record some of the Darien Highlands Endemics we were looking for.  We were not able to find the exact place where 14 years ago we posed for a photo during my third visit to the then brand-new reserve.  Mario was kind enough to took us another photo to make the respective comparisons.  What do you think?

2005      -      2019

Many things have changed right?  Trust me, many things do had changed!  Once we reached the ridge, we were impressed with the "refuge" at the upper camp... it was actually a full equipped cabin with bedspreads, tables, tools and even a gas stove (with a 25-pounds propane gas tank). It even has a closed room where we installed our sleeping bags to protect us from the low temperatures that we would surely experience at night.  After all, the cabin is approximately at 1350 meters and under the canopy of a montane cloud forest!

Ridge Cabin

Ridge Cabin

The exact moment when we decided to sleep INSIDE the room

Shortly we were installed at the ridge cabin, having lunch.  Having these facilities in this dreamed location evidence the perseverance of Guido...  after purchasing the first hectares of forest, he began to manage the purchase of the rest of the forest in danger, which eventually led to the creation of the NGO Adopta a Panamá Rainforest (ADOPTA).  Now, the Chucanti Private Reserve has 700 hectares and has been the subject of several studies promoted by Guido that have resulted in the description and / or future description of several new species of plants, reptiles, amphibians among others.  Most of these new species are found in the cloud forest, and the ridge cabin was created to facilitate the logistics of these studies to researchers thanks to the contributions of volunteers, donors and partners of ADOPTA.

Symbolanthus sp nov inedit (Chucanti)

That day we even had time to climb to the summit... and saw some of the specialties we were looking for.  The understory was dominated by Gray-breasted Wood-Wrens and Violet-capped Hummingbirds, while the canopy was patrolled by mixed flocks of Tacarcuna Chlorospingus, Slate-throated Redstarts, Ochraceous Wren and Black-and-yellow Tanagers.  It is impressive to find these species there, considering that this mountain range is isolated from all other similar ranges.  As far as birds are concerned, the affinities of that forest are more with the Atlantic and Tacarcuna range, which geographically are more distant than the Pirre range.

Tacarcuna Chlorospingus

Varied Solitaire

Our time at the summit was limited the first day, although we stayed as long as we could.  In the way down to the cabin we found several Varied Solitaires feeding on ripe palm fruits.  That is another endemic that was curiously quiet that evening.   Soon the sun went down and the temperature dropped, indicating it was time to go back to the cabin.  Watching the sunset from the cloud forest was a magical experience!  That night we went to sleep lulled by the calls of the Choco Screech-Owls surrounding the cabin.

Sunset from the ridge of Chucanti

The next morning, the loud vocalizations of the Crested Guans mixed with the ethereal song of the Varied Solitaires waked us up.  It was a chilly morning, and definitively we need some coffee to really wake up.  That was our last day in Chucanti in we were decided to find our main target of the trip... a bird that eluded me in my previous four visits to the reserve.  A constant follower of mixed flocks, so our objective was to spend a couple of hours at the summit waiting for them (the stunted forest up there make it easier to watch the canopy-dwelling flocks).

Crested Guan

The morning became quite sunny and quiet, with no fog at all.  We waited at the summit, marked by a metallic, pyramid-like structure and a monolith with a geodesic plate on it.  The sun attracted several butterflies species and other bugs... but it was devoid of bird activity, except for the occasional Violet-capped Hummingbird zipping around.

Violet-capped Hummingbird

Lipstick Eighty-eight

When it was time to leave, something happened.  A mixed flock was active just ahead on the trail.  Suddenly, a little bird materialized in front of us, creeping some tangles and vines.  The marked facial pattern and underparts was immediately evident.  Almost in unison we said "BEAUTIFUL TREERUNNER"!!!!   What a treat!   With shaking hands, I managed some decent shots... not easy considering the dark crevices this bird was checking out.

Beautiful Trerunner!

The Beautiful Treerunner (Margarornis bellulus) was a HUGE life bird for all the three of us.  It is a near-endemic to Panama, confined to the cloud forests of the higher mountains of Darien province, where it is considered rare and almost nothing is known of its natural history.   I never dreamed to be able to take a photo of it!  Ecstatic, our way back was more enjoyable but just as exhausting as the climb.  Again, we were in a hurry and had little time to bird (or to rest).  After all, this was just a weekend trip to a endemism hotspot!

I want to thanks Guido Berguido and all his partners that contribute to protect this highly threatened forest.  The place is very special and certainly still hides mysteries and new species to discover, it is in our hands to ensure that this site lasts so it could be enjoyed by future generations!