Panama - flying critters
My wife and I just returned from a 3+ week trip to Panama. We stayed at three interesting places, and this is a sample of some things we saw in the cloud forest (about 7,000 ft elevation). We were in a cabin in the forest, a mile or more from the nearest (tiny) town, and the wildlife (both animal and vegetable) was incredible.
Some of the most interesting things were the hummingbirds that visited the feeders on the decks of our cabin. There were usually 10-15 buzzing around each feeder, and zipping past our heads every time we were out on the deck. We saw about a dozen different species. They weren’t just at the feeders however, but also all over the forest, everywhere we hiked, feeding from Heliconia and other blossoms.
Each feeder was a 2-liter soda bottle with a conventional feeder attached. They were filled every morning, and by nightfall the hummers had polished off about 70-75% of the nectar. After dark, the bats came out and finished the rest.
Many, many other bird species, but I didn’t try to get pictures of others, just the hummers.
Pictures, left to right:
• Hummingbirds at a feeder - this number was pretty typical, and many more flying around trying to get their share.
• Violet Sabrewing – these birds are almost sparrow-sized.
• Magnificent Hummingbird – didn’t get a good shot showing the brilliant crown (purple) and gorget (turquoise)
• Female White-throated Mountain-gem – this species was the most fearless and aggressive with the larger birds.
• Bats “swarming” the feeder at night – there were hundreds of them – only took them all about an hour to finish off the hummingbird “leftovers” for the day.
• An Acro-Bat (sorry!)
Ed
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