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!

I climbed Pirre and survived!

My previous post was an introduction to my recent trip to Darien National Park in eastern Panama.  My main objective was to hike with a guide to the highlands of the Pirre range behind the station.  This is not an easy task, specially if you plan the craziest one-day trip ever, as I did.  There is a reason for such madness.  Since the closure of the Cana field station, and hence the tour to the summit camp in the Alturas de Nique range, the only reachable site to find the Pirre range endemics is, in fact, the actual Cerro Pirre, a forested massif with its highest point at 1569 meters above sea level... exactly the point I was willing to reach.

Cerro Pirre, as seen from the first lookout at 650 meters above sea level

There were some logistic issues that I needed to solve first, like ANAM and SENAFRONT permits to visit the area.  Fortunately, my good friend Guido Berguido (of Advantage Tours) took care of that, so I smoothly found my way to Pirre Station, passing through the towns of Yaviza, El Real and Pirre 1, where Isaac Pizarro, my local guide, was waiting for me.  He was busy attending a group of biologists, but arranged another local guide, Tilson Contreras, to accompany me to Cerro Pirre.  We left the station in the dark, hearing Vermiculated Screech and Spectacled Owls in the way.  We followed a trail knows as "El Estrangulador", which means "The Strangler"and oh boy, what an appropriate name!  The first few kilometers consist of a constant, but strenuous uphill hike on muddy ground, taking you from 60 to 650 meters above sea level and passing through tall primary forest and two lookouts with exceptionally views of the surroundings forests to the southeast (first lookout) and to the west (second lookout).

First lookout.  Colombia in the background!

This first part of the trail is covered by the locals in two hours, when they reach a camping site known as Rancho Plástico.  There is an interesting story about this name.  Originally, the site was known as Rancho Frío, well beyond the actual site of the ANAM´s Pirre Station that is known as Rancho Frío today.  The actual Rancho Plástico is a still higher camp in the ridge top, called that way because of the plastic tarps used by scientist many years ago for shelter against the rain.  A little bit confusing eh?  The names seem to have migrated downhill!

"Rancho Plástico"

Well, it took me 4 painful hours to get to Rancho Plástico!  At first I tried to carry my own supplies, water and camera gear... soon Tilson was carrying all that stuff and I still was suffering from the terrible march... only the dream of Pirre endemics kept me up... but the worse part was yet to come.  Beyond Rancho Plástico, the trail climbs steeply... covering an altitudinal range of 600+ meters in little more than one kilometer!  In fact, I needed ALL my limbs and nails to climb the last meters to the top, an stretch of the trail known as "La Ensuciapecho" (the one that mess your chest).  By the way, this second part of the trail took me 3 miserable hours to accomplish!

Me, faking a smile at "La Ensuciapecho"

Probably you're thinking at this point "C'mon, stop complaining and tell us about the birds".  When I reached the top, I was so tired that, instead of walking along the ridge, I decided to sit and wait for the mixed flocks... my shaking hands were useless to hold my lens focused in canopy dwellers, so I just grabbed my binoculars for a while... thanks God the summit was a GREAT spot!  Soon, a flock of Pirre Bush-Tanagers mixed with a Lineated Foliage-Gleaner was above my head (yes, I was lying on my back)... you'll have to trust me, the next photo shows the underparts of one of those Pirre Bush-Tanagers.

Of the "Pirre" birds (Pirre Hummingbird, Bush-Tanager and Warbler), the bush-tanager is the only one still endemic to Panama, since the other two have been recorded in the Colombian side of the border. Then, a mixed flock of Black-and-Yellow Tanagers and Orange-bellied Euphonias included a Green-naped Tanager, the only other national endemic remaining.  Other Pirre range endemic recorded was several Pirre Hummingbirds, all females. I dip on the warbler... an expected one since that species is not that common according to Isaac.  No photos of those birds... but at least I got a photo of a Panama near-endemic... a Varied Solitaire.  Its ethereal song fills the air of the montane forest.

I also saw more widespread species that, in Panama, are only readily found in these mountains, like Sooty-headed Wren, Tooth-billed Hummingbird and fascinating views of a singing Choco Tapaculo!  And even more widespread species are relatively common and easier to see up there, like Crested Guan, Red-and-green Macaws, Plain Antvireo, White-throated Spadebill, Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch and Slate-throated Whitestart.

I only spend three hours in the summit, and then started the return... which was faster, but a little bit scarier.  Around Rancho Plástico we were able to watch more birds, like my life Lemon-spectacled Tanagers, Russet Antshrike, Sharpbill, Wing-banded Antbird and a Crested Guan.

We also saw several mammals species, like agouties, monkeys (three species in fact) and several Pygmy-Squirrels that I'm still trying to ID (this particular individual was seen at 700 meters above sea level and and exhibited a white dot behind the ears).

After 4 hours, we reached the Pirre station at dark... barely.  I was exhausted, but happy... with many life birds in the bag and a great tale to tell.  According to Isaac, very FEW birders have managed to reach the top, all I know are true athletes (not like me for sure), so I like to think that I now belong to a select group of brave masochistic able to do anything for endemic birds!

Nusagandi and Bayano day trip

Nusagandi is an area protected by the Kuna people (under the name of Nargana Widlands Area) located at the western corner of the Kuna Yala reservation accesing through the now-improved El Llano-Carti road, starting in eastern Panama province. It protects humid forest from the foothills at the border with Panama province to the coast and is home of many range-restricted species difficult to find anywhere else in Panama (and, in some cases, in the world!). So I picked up Euclides "Kilo" Campos for then meeting Rafael Luck at his home in order to begin another of what he denominates "FJ Cruiser trips" to this bird-rich area. After 1.5 hours on the road, we finally reached the reserve. The road has a heavy traffic by people looking to escape during the weekend to the pristine waters of the Caribbean coast or to one of the paradisiac islands of the Kunas. We began to do some road birding, but curiously, the sunny day became to hot, and the activity was low (although it was an EXCELLENT day for all the beach lovers!). Anyway, I found at least one new year-bird in each stop we made, thanks to my companions. At the first one, a flock of Brown-hooded Parrots; in the second one, a mixed flock with White-vented Euphonia, Sulphur-rumped and Rufous-winged Tanagers; in the third, a mixed flock of antwrens with a pair of Russet Antshrikes and in the last one, a Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle soaring not so high, showing its distinctive white edge to the wing. We failed to locate the Slate-throated Gnatcatchers that are very local and scarce in Panama... but despite the heat, we had an already impressive bird list before we decided to walk the trails at the headquarters. After paying the fee for using the trails, we followed Kilo to the Igar Nusagandi (Igar = trail in the Kuna lenguage). We found a Western Slaty-Antshrike (female in the pic) near the entrance of the trail, but the big surprise (literally) was a Crested Guan that showed itself for a brief moment, to stay undercover after that, inspecting us nervously. These big birds have learned to be aware of the humans, and always are cautious and alert (compare this photo with that of a Black Guan in Altos del María some time ago). The rest of the trail was almost devoid of birds. We followed the trail to the iber (waterfall) after passing the entrance of the Wedar Igar and then the trail became very inclined and slippery to a little creek where we heard a covey of Black-eared Wood-Quails and a Stripe-throated Wren. A Rufous Piha appeared for a while, always behind a cover, making its loud call Pi-HAA! Then, we heard the bird of the day (so far), a Speckled (Spiny-faced) Antshrike. We crawled through the muddy slope to a flat area with dense cover where we found both male and female of this enigmatic species. We got excellent unobstructed views of this Panama near-endemic bird, but the site was so dark that my pictures barely show the bird (I'm sorry about these pictures, but you can check Rafael's photos -which are MUCH better- here). It is indeed a weird bird, just like its Latin genus states: Xenornis, no doubt about why Darien named his website of latest reports of rare birds after it. In Panama, we all call this bird simply the Xenornis, but if we have to use an english name, we use Speckled Antshrike instead of Spiny-faced (the setifrons part of its Latin name), for obvious reasons (enlarge the images and tell me, can you see the tiny spine-like bristles around the beak?... me neither!). If this is the only country where you have a chance to see and enjoy this bird, why don't call it like all the natives do? We were so happy that we almost forgot the very inclined slope behind us, but we quickly remember it. Exhausted (well, Rafael and me, Kilo must be a marathon runner or something), we left the place and drove to the town of Cañita to have a well-deserved cool drink and our lunch. The day became cloudy but fresher, so we were optimists in that it would be good for birds and birding. We explore the side roads beyond the Bayano bridge. In the first one we found, almost immediately, a pair of near-endemic Black Anthrikes (a male in the picture, and the fourth species of antshrike for the trip), plus Gray-headed Tanagers, White-flanked Antwren and an immature male Red-capped Manakin. Then, we tried another road, finding a nice mixed flock right by the entrance. Some birds attending were both Cinnamon and One-colored Becards, Ruddy and Blue Ground-Doves, Boat-billed, Piratic and Dusky-capped Flycatchers, Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Black-cheeked Woodcreeper and a pair of Orange-crowned Orioles (adult and juvenile). Then, Kilo found the bird of the day after hearing it: a female Golden-green Woodpecker. This rare woodpecker is found locally in just few sites in Panama, and the subspecies found here (and Colombia) is almost unknown, ornithologically talking. What a bird, and a lifer for me and Rafael! Its bright yellow crown, malar stripe and throat are unique among our woodpeckers. At this point, we were debating about the bird of the day (as you can imagine), but I stick to my decision toward the woodpecker (the Xenornis was not a lifer, just the first time I saw it after 12 years!). A quick stop at the Rio Mono bridge only produced Bat Falcons, Rufous-winged Antwren (heard), a pair of Barred Puffbirds vocalizing (its call is SO funny) and a troop of White-faced Capuchin monkeys. What a great day!