After having a serious talk with my Doc about my health and the Oprah Winfrey weight fluctations, I felt the need for a power walk. During the summer I am locked up most of the day due to the heat from outside. But lately our monsoon storms have brought us lots and lots of rain here....and cooler temps.
So I took a walk near our running washes that were flowing like a real river does everywhere else!! It was like being back home in Wisconsin. We have life giving water again!
Ceraunus Blue (Hemiargus ceraunus)
And it is sure reflected in the wildlife around the area. Of course so is the human trash. Seriously, look at the pic below. What in the world is a queen size mattress doing in this wash??!!! Unbelievable.
But it was a gorgeous day to be outside and go for a hike. Speaking of hikes, I'll be out of town this weekend on a major one. If you don't hear from me during the next couple days, you'll know why. I'm going on another major adventure to Portal, AZ. I'm hoping it's as epic as birders claim:)
With all this water comes some major wildlife and garden revelations. You are about to witness over the next several weeks some of my finds. The animals, birds, bugs, plants etc will be showcased sometimes individually as they will be a first for this blog and I like to build a base on desert vocabulary:)
A river runs through the Old Pueblo and I challenged myself by only bringing my short lens which made me angry about the picture below.....
This is a new bird species below at the tip of this mini island in the wash. It appears to be a Sandpiper of some kind but I'll never know:)
And the Desert Willow is outstanding this time of year putting forth its second round of flowers. This tree or shrub prefer our washes and grows almost like a weed around them. Of course there were plenty of Costa's Hummingbirds around them as they are a favorite for hummers.
And the Lesser Goldfinches!!! There were so many flying around the area. Again the short lens was used so that's as far as I could get:)
Over the next couple days, I hope to wrap up my Chuparosa Challenge for the year and again, I do apologize if I'm not able to blog a couple days. Doctor's orders:) I'll be putting on jeans and boots as I try and get some important shots.
But I leave you for now with these happy wet desert images of our monsoon season. And of course, more tomorrow....
Perch
1.A thing on which a bird alights or roosts, typically a branch or a horizontal rod or bar in a birdcage.
I thought these were beautiful shots from my outing at the Tucson Botanical Gardens. All of these shots were taken on their grounds during a recent visit. My focus today is on 3 truly beautiful birds that can be seen during our warm summers. The Northern Cardinal, the Brown Crested Flycatcher(brown and yellow coloring), and what appears to be a Male Juvenile Anna's Hummingbird. Note the patches of color beginning to patch around the throat and the white eyebrow.
The real treat of course is capturing the Brown Crested Flycatcher. They are migratory birds here and will hang around until the heat disappears and then they head back down to Mexico for the winter.
And during this time of year, the Juvenile hummingbirds are out and about. If you visit the gardens, keep your eyes not only on the plants but the wildlife associated with them. It's always a real treat to see wildlife come and visit something you helped create. Hope you enjoy this series of pics and more tomorrow.....
Today concludes this series on "Looking Back-Panama". Our final leg of the journey was in the cool cool town of Boquete. We had 3 weeks of extreme heat and humidity along with our hikes. My body had bug bites all over it. But here, we found solitude and daily rain with cool to cold temps everyday. While my travel buddies hiked and did more; I did less. I pulled out my kindle. Stayed in my pj's and sat in a rocking chair on a veranda and watched it rain.....and rain. I think this is where vacation began for me. But I still had fun. I love all animals and above this little guy is trying to help me use my camera. The pic below was from my room. Window open. Fresh air coming in......I was happy.
There were plenty of gardens to keep me busy during my mornings but I didn't do much more than that. In fact the only big committment I made with my friends was the rafting trip on the Changuinola River. There was a supermarket nearby. I had a kitchen to use. And I just enjoyed making soup and salads....my favorites:) But the best part? Using new veggies that we didn't have back in the states.
The gardens, of course, are in my mind the highlights of Boquete. Some are free while others charge 2 or 3 bucks.
This garden below was free and had some interesting combinations of flowers, art, and fountains. It's called Mi Jardin Es Su Jardin(My Garden Is Your Garden).
Most of our journeys were with cloudy and gray skies. But don't be fooled. Use sunscreen:) or you'll get sunburn.
The monkeys in the shots were saved from deforestation going on around the country. Panama, unlike Costa Rica, hasn't done such a great job conserving their last vestiges of pristine rain forest. The US is, in part, to blame but so are the Panamanian people. Areas like Coiba Island, The Darien Gap(one of the last unexplored areas of the world), Gamboa, and few parts of Bocas Del Toro are preserved. But the drug war in the Darien Gap continues and makes this national park a dangerous place to visit. Columbians are slowly cutting their way into the park for the resources. Rare species are threatened. Poaching is involved. Sometimes a job is botched. The parent(monkey) is captured but the offspring are left to die. That's where refuge centers come into play. These monkeys were friendly but if you've never had monkey friends, be careful. They smell, they will steal your clothes, they can bite, and they can do some serious damage:) So know your monkey before you access that inner monkey in you:)
Birds birds birds. I grew up with them and respect the bird. Many of the animals and birds trust me and somehow know that I've had some bird training:) I walked into the cage and this big bird flew on my shoulder and sat there the entire time. I had rotten banana smeared all over my collar, bird poo, monkey poo, bug bites, and of course major sweat going on during this visit.
I do love critters. My heart breaks everytime I hear, see, or observe this violence by humans towards other living things on TV or around me. Some programs I won't even watch because there is an anger that surges. Why are humans so careless? Money, selfish needs, and the lack of respect for their environment. I still can't believe they allow for safari hunts in parts of Africa! And I'm not going to lie, it is a heavy burden to live with. Some people call that being sensitive. I call it a heavy feeling in my heart that I can't erase. It's been there ever since I've been a child sitting in class learning that things can and do go extinct. It began with the lecture on the California Condors. The teacher spoke about dinosaurs and how they went extinct. And then she asked that question.....the one that would rock my world. "Does extinction still happen?" Innocence gone. And that would open up more doors and more questions.....
.....but for now, I'm a "have to see it" guy. It makes me feel more aware and more connected to the greater world. And as I learn more, the stronger my knowledge about wildlife becomes.
So while I won't find Blue Tanagers or Agouti in Tucson, I am greeted by all kinds of my critters that live here in our Sonoran Desert. The Central American corridor leads up to our Arizona desert in so many ways as can be seen from the birds that make it up to our mountains and canyons.
Like the Caracara. This bird has been seen here in the most southern regions of Arizona. Who knew?
I love this crazy shot of the Capybyra, Caracara and Black Vultures.
Panama, like most places I have visited, was an eye opener. Here are some highlights from that trip last year. And that ends the Looking Back series for Panama. More tomorrow....
Today I head back to the Bocas Del Toro region in Panama. The theme for this series is going back into the folder and pulling pics I have not used during my Panama writes last year. It's a lot more fun when you don't have to focus on specific topics related to our journeys. The above pic was taken by a friend on our canoe into Bastimentos National Park. We are entering the park through the Mangrove forest. I'm wearing the yellow hat. Speaking of yellow, at the entrance to the park and cave, we found these adorable and curious chicks.
It was nice seeing people row boats along the coast and islands. I sometimes wonder what it would be like growing up in an area like this. While we were there, I was severely attacked by gnats. During one of my recent treks into a canyon here in Tucson, I was again attacked and as of the day I write this, my body is covered in bites. Not cool!
You'll find many endemic frogs on the various islands. Each island has a different color. The one we were on was known for this red frog below.
The Bocas Del Toro region is known for it's wonderful scuba diving opportunities as well as its beaches. But I'm not into any of that stuff. We enjoyed the caving and hiking:) While we were there, we saw lots of jellyfish(or "mey-doo-saw" in Spanish)
While there, we volunteered at a poorly run turtle conservation program. But we treated ourselves to a 3 day stay at La Loma Lodge and Chocolate Farm and forgot about that nightmare of an experience! This definitely was a huge tourist area, but most people choose to stay at Bocas Town for drinks and partying. I don't do that stuff anymore and prefer the views from my bed below. Yeah, life is good:) More tomorrow....
Today we glimpse the rare and exciting island of Coiba. For many people, this island is too expensive or too difficult to reach. But for us, this wild untouched piece of the world was the most exciting part of our Panama visit. One of the last remaining groups of Scarlet Macaws live on this island of Panama. For action birders, this is definitely worth your time and money. It's a difficult ride into this marine corridor for some and even more difficult for people who have physical limitations getting on and off a boat. And I have to admit, the mud was pretty bad on some of the hills preventing me from rising to the top. At one point, I almost stepped near Tito...a Saltwater Croc!
It was cloudy and grey most of the time, but the wildlife was abundant and EVERYWHERE! And if you want to see all of this incredible life, you'll need to pack excellent footwear. Water shoes for going in and out of boats. Flip flops for the brief and cold shower. Strong spiked boots to climb the muddy paths. Maybe even rubber boots? It was muddy! Because I didn't have the good boots, I was limited to where I could walk on the island.
Coiba Island from our boat
Like something out of the Lost World, the island was covered in vines and forest. Some of the most amazing life can be found here....which includes a special kind of Howler Monkey and algae that may cure cancer....both endemic to this island.
A Ringed Kingfisher on Coiba Island
At night, we would have a lovely dinner together along the beach where we would watch this Kingfisher look for things swimming along the shore. Sit. Watch. Fly. Swoop Down. Grab. And do it all over again. It was one of the many things to observe along the beach. We swam keeping our eyes open for the singular crocs floating like logs in the ocean. Thankfully they're territorial and don't congregate in great numbers around certain areas. There is a secret river that flows through the island which is difficult to reach full of them. A study continues on this interesting reptile.
A weird pic of me but I am loving the hike. The sounds are incredible in this primary rainforest. And this pic below!!! Why didn't I post this number last year?? Oh I could kick myself. The reason? I thought it was boring.
Tropical Kingbird
That's why it was nice digging through the albums again and posting the things that I thought, at the time, were rubbish. And it would be here that my work would get notice. A Brazillian Professor will be publishing some of my work from this island in a book about UNESCO sites around the world in January. Excited? Oh yes!
There were beautiful untouched views everywhere. This island is protected and studied by the Smithsonian Institute. If you go during the right time of year, you'll see whales. I searched and searched and searched.....one of my life's goals is to photograph this amazing creature. But as for sea turtles? Wow!! Everywhere.
Capuchin Monkey
Again, here is a shot that would have been clear with my current camera. It was blurred so I never posted it. It's the Capuchin monkey. They had no problem throwing mangos at our building and waking us up:) We'd come outside and they'd quickly run into the tree tops. I tracked this guy and had this shot until he spotted me and quickly disappeared:)
On top of Coiba Island overlooking the ocean
And check out this view!!! That little clearing is where we stayed. Note the 3 tiny islands in the distance. They are great for scuba diving! Again this whole area is protected as a marine corridor. Beginning from the bird islands from the Mexican waters down to the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. This corridor is studied for whale and sea turtle migration, but sharks, etc are also studied.
For now I leave you with a cheesy pic and two mini vids from our adventures to Coiba Island. More tomorrow.....
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