The Holy Grail of Birds

Every country has them, no matter where you go, those rare or elusive birds that are like searching for the Holy Grail. For some birders they will spend a life time and never get to see that one special bird. They are the stuff of dinner table legends and can be the making of local bird guides.

Here in Panama, with a current list of over 1000 species, there are a lot of birds to choose from. For many birders the Rufous-vented Ground-cuckoo is Panama’s holy grail bird. As Whitehawk Birding put it “searching for ground-cuckoo’s brings us to a whole other level of birding in the Neotropics, that relies very much on luck and good birding karma”. They are not exactly uncommon it’s just that they are unpredictable and like to stick to the forest floor where they are rather shy making them very hard to see.

So, I had no real expectations of ticking this bird from my life list whilst at Cocobolo Nature Reserve. Hopes, sure, but expectations no. It has been recorded here, on camera trap and by sound but never spotted in the flesh.

To find a ground-cuckoo you really need to find an ant swarm. Surprisingly these are not too hard to find at Cocobolo if you spend any time in the forest. Luckily there are other antbirds that are far less shy at ant swarms. Ocellated Antbird, a beauty in its own right and Bi-coloured are a treat to watch and are, most helpfully, very vocal alerting you to the swarm. Unfortunately not every ant swarm has a ground-cuckoo.

A ground cuckoo Neomorphus geoffroyi

On one particular day in February Trev and I were out setting camera traps. We had found a little used trail in the old growth forest that was somewhat over grown and undisturbed and thought it a likely place for mammal activity. We spent some time, as is the norm with camera traps, faffing around with the set up. I had Trev walking up and down the trail, simulating various critters to check I had the right angle on the trap. We weren’t exactly quiet and weren’t exactly trying to disguise our presence. So it was a bit of a surprise when we finally gathered up our bags and set off down the trail to hear, not 3 meters on, a few Occelated Antbirds starting to get excited. We stopped and tried to pin point them, finally seeing them 4 meters into the tangled undergrowth at the base of a large tree. Then there came a sound of clacking.

There are certain sounds that flow through you, filling you with a rising excitement tinged with anxiety that is almost akin to fear. You know the sound signifies something special; you now have to hold yourself back from doing something stupid like moving or making a sound until you have located the sound and confirmed your suspicions. The fear part is that you just won’t find whatever triggered your excitement, as too frequently happens in tropical forests. A terrible feeling of “I am 99% sure there was a *enter your dream wildlife sighting* but I couldn’t find it”.

We both knew that the clacking was in all probability a Rufous-vented Ground-cuckoo. It’s like being a child again, you so desperately want to see it, your emotions are high and most probably I would cry like a baby if I came this close to a ground-cuckoo and didn’t get a glimpse. At the same moment we both saw an unmistakable long tail; it was glimpsed through the foliage and had a disorientating feel about it. Later analysis was that we were seeing the bird’s underbelly, tail up, head down as it plucked a flushed prey item from the ant swarm. And then it was gone….

Obviously we couldn’t give up that easily and so we stayed put watching the rest of the mob squabbling over treats for around 30 minutes. In the back ground we started to hear, faintly a mournful kind of call that was fairly drowned out by the racket the other ant birds were making. Blood started to pump again, would we be that lucky, to see it again? We crept ever so slowly and quietly towards the general area the call was coming from trying to see through logs and vines and jumping Ocellated Antbirds. After another painful 15 minutes I finally honed in on a movement and was rewarded with a ground-cuckoo looking right back at me…..for about another 3 seconds before it faded back in to the forest never to be seen again.

Holy Grail, you bet your life! A day to remember.

Purple Haze

Plants in the tropics have evolved in many ways to combat being eaten by herbivores. In the Americas, where mega fauna found across Africa and Asia are absent, it’s the invertebrates that exert the most herbivorous pressure on plants.

Don’t underestimate their effect, an ant may be degrees smaller than an elephant but their sheer numbers mean they are most certainly as big ecosystem engineers. Leafcutter ant species alone cut an estimated 12 – 17% of all leaf production in tropical forests and can strip a tree in less than a day.

So how do plants cope with this kind of onslaught? In Africa and Asia trees develop hefty, nasty spikes that work really well against large and small mammals alike but these pose no problem to insects. To deter insects a plant has to resort to chemical warfare.

One such example of this chemical solution is very evident across Cocobolo’s many different plant species. If you take a walk in the forest you will notice that a few leaves on certain plants are a purple colour (or sometimes white, cream or red) whilst the rest of their leaves are the usual green. Closer inspection shows that these odd purple leaves are the newest growth on the plant and constitute the immature leaves. The phenomenon, known as delayed greening, is a clever adaptation to herbivory.

Delayed greening occurs across distantly related species. From dicot flowering plants to …
…monocot palms as show here

As you probably know if you have ever grown veg, fresh young leaves are always more tender than older ones. Herbivores will target new growth for this very reason, eating the soft palatable new growth first before turning to the older leaves. In order to protect new leaves, many plants in the tropics will delay production of chlorophyll.  Chlorophyll not only gives a plant its green colour but also enables the absorption of light to provide energy for photosynthesis. Effectively the lack of green pigment renders the purple young leaves invisible to herbivores that are on the lookout for tasty green things.

The life force of the plant, chlorophyll is costly to produce as is a leaf structure itself. So to lose all that effort to herbivores is a real problem for a plant. Better to delay the greening process until the young leaves have had a chance to toughen up and mature; becoming more resilient to browsing insects. Once fully formed it’s worth the plants investment to fill them with chlorophyll so they can pull their weight in the photosynthesis department.

A possible secondary advantage of delayed greening is that many herbivorous insects are green to camouflage themselves from their predators. If they do alight onto a fresh new purple leaf they stand out and are far more vulnerable to passing lizards, frogs and birds making it logical for them to avoid  purple leaves.

It is not a perfect system, a leaf with no chlorophyll cannot do the job it was designed for but research has shown that the temporary delay in photosynthetic ability is outweighed by the heavy cost of having to keep re-growing new leaves that are lost to herbivory.

This is a very simple explanation and the evolutionary race between plants and herbivores is complex but it is all the more fascinating for being a phenomenon that is so obvious when you wander around Cocobolo. 

Road Repairs!

It is the start of the dry season here in Cocobolo Nature Reserve which means the team can get back and do some much needed work. The local staff have been holding the fort, so to speak, since last July but now Michael, Kurt and volunteers, Trev and Lucy are on the ground raring to go.

Obviously we just want to get out into the forest and start collecting observations of the millions of species that call Cocobolo home, start setting out camera traps, and generally just marvel at all that grows in this special piece of rainforest. Unfortunately there are some jobs that do really need doing around camp that just can’t be left. One of the most important is the access road. Those of you who have been to Cocobolo will know that there are actually two ways in to Cocobolo, one short route; we know is passable as we drove it getting here.  However if it rains a lot it becomes impassable and the long route has to be taken.  This route crosses and re-crosses the Mamoni River multiple times which can be very problematic but it really is the only choice if rain has left the steep short route dangerously muddy.

So one of our first tasks was to grab pick axe and shovels, don rubber boots and walk the 3 or so kilometres towards La Zahina village to see how the crossings have fared over the wet season. Now, on the surface, this task seems like it would be really unwelcomed by a group of naturalists who just want to get into the forest but as you never know what’s round the next corner all four of us grabbed not only tools but binoculars too.

Off we set wading across the first river crossing, a quick stop to watch a kingfisher and a couple of kiskadee before walking a nice dirt road with cow pasture one side and the river on the other and trees forming a canopy overhead.  It really was more of a stroll, no one was in a hurry and there were plenty of pauses to take in the birds using the cow pastures like smooth billed ani, savannah hawk and swooping swallows.

We did eventually make it to the main steep river crossing where we put in a good couple of hours hard graft digging sand and laying rocks to give the tyres some kind of purchase up the steep exit. We set up a chain gang strung across the river to move the rocks throwing from person to person which really worked well until someone’s attention drifted off towards a distant raptor or a heron flying past and was rewarded by a rock in the chest!

After fixing this the most important crossing we continued our walk along the dirt road, in this section there were pastures interspersed with forest that contained some good sized trees lining the sides of the road. The team were spread out and as the lead pair turned a corner under a big tree I saw something big flush from the tree landing soon after on another big tree. To my utter delight when I untangled my binocular straps from my shovel handle and got a focus on what it was I discovered a beautiful juvenile spectacled owl balefully staring down at me. I managed to get the attention of the rest of the team and everyone gathered round for some really astounding views of the this stunning tropical owl in broad day light. Generally spectacled owls are nocturnal so to spend time with this youngster in the good light was really special. 

Of course none of us actually had a camera with us so no pictures but it will remain in my memory at least as one of those great spots. What started out seeming like a day of work turned out to be full of surprises thanks to nature.

The State of Tropical Forests: Year End 2021 …… Good News and Bad News

To have a chance of averting the most extreme climate disaster the biodiversity crisis, and related food and refugee crises, the world must halt tropical deforestation and degradation and restore significant amounts of former forested areas. We are continuing to head in the wrong direction, but is there some light beginning to shine?

Through 2020 12 million ha of tropical forest was lost, 4.2 million of that from primary forests. Brazil lost 1 million ha of Amazonian forests in 2020, amounts not seen since 2010 and 3 times its target rate according to its own national policy. Deforestation in the tropics continued unabated despite calls from NGOs for a moratorium. In 2021, Brazil saw another spike in deforestation rates. Already burnt in 2020 with 30% of its area devastated, the Pantanal, the largest tropical freshwater wetland, burnt for the second year in a row with an estimated total of 0.68 million ha lost in 2021, putting this ecological wonder at even greater risk of collapse. The so called “savannisation” of the Amazon is predicted to lead to heat stress and significant health risks for over 11 million people in Brazil by the end of the century due to regional climate change caused by this fast pace ecological destruction. We use Brazil here as an example, but this trend is being seen in much of the humid tropics.

The increase in deforestation, especially Brazil, is due to national policy enforcement failure. Gains were made in the Amazon during earlier this century due to concerted efforts by industry and government. An example of this is the Amazon Soy Moratorium,  an agreement by grain traders not to purchase soy grown on recently deforested land, which is estimated to have prevented 8,000 ± 9,000 km2 of deforestation over its first decade (2006–2016) of implementation, while soy output went up by 400%. These gains however were drowned out by the effect of the cattle industry which in 2020 had a disproportionate effect on deforestation rates in the Amazon. It is imperative that world governments, industry and consumers wake up to the disaster that looms ahead of us.

There was some good news in 2021. COP 26 saw world governments coming together and agreeing on several important climate change issues, although it is yet to be seen how these will be implemented by national governments. The Glasgow Climate Pact calls on governments to present increasingly ambitious climate actions. Coal is to be phased down and subsidies for fossil fuels to be phased out. The pact also calls for a doubling of climate adaptation funding for developing countries by developed countries. This is important. Investment in climate mitigation projects (such as reducing emissions by installing solar power generation) far outweigh adaptation projects which are inherently designed to safeguard the most vulnerable people against the effects of climate change such as droughts, floods and sea level rise. The latter is very much needed to avert climate tragedy amongst the world’s poorest people and an even greater refugee crisis.

In recognition of the enormous role that forests play in regulating our climate, 141 countries representing 90 per cent of the planet’s forests signed the pivotal COP26 Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use, committing to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. Importantly this declaration was signed by Brazil, Russia and China and, for those of us that are working hard to protect Panamanian forests, Panama.

At the conference President Biden of the US pledged to support the restoration of 200 million ha of forest by 2030, while President Duque of Colombia promised to protect 30% of his country’s territory by 2022. A sustainable trade commitment was made that represents 75% of key products that threaten tropical forests such as palm oil and cocoa.

Another interesting initiative is the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People also known as 30×30 , which aims to conserve 30% of the planet (land and sea) by 2030. Currently only 15% of land and 7% of ocean is protected. However, this has come under some scrutiny since indigenous people, arguably, already conserve approximately 25% of the world’s land surface and their role must be acknowledged in this initiative and others.

Although world governments are largely on board with the COP26 climate pledges, their words are empty unless they can put these commitments into practice and to do that the private sector must be involved, especially in western democracies. Pledges by the world’s richest people do make a difference, if that funding can be used well. Recently, Jeff Bezos announced a further $2bn to add to the $1bn pledged earlier for his Earth Fund to help restore nature and transform food systems, as just one example of philanthropy. But this isn’t enough. It is estimated that it will cost $200bn per year up to 2030 to restore terrestrial nature (not oceans). To find this money the private sector must be involved. Industry must change the way it does business and governments must be held to account to push and pull the levers of the economy to provide incentives for this to happen. The soy, beef, palm oil, cocoa industries as well as precious metals and others must be able to make profit by doing the right thing and being a force for good (which is in their interest) while it must be costly if they aren’t. Government and industry have very clear roles in making sure that the planet remains a place that is inhabitable for everyone and ultimately it is up to us as consumers and voters to make sure this happens.

CREA is a small but essential cog in putting the meagre financial resources, committed to nature conservation, to good use. We are working hard to protect the Cocobolo Nature Reserve in Panama, to provide education and awareness of the role that tropical forests play in our lives, no matter where we live, and to provide resources to local communities so that they can preserve their environment and adapt to a rapidly changing world.

We hope that 2022 brings us good news for tropical forests and we hope that you might visit us in Panama at some point.

COCO NEWS Summer 2021

Dear supporter,

We bring you this newsletter after over a year. It has been a testing and hard year but we have news and a special ask.

COVID-19 and impact on endangered species

COVID-19 has impacted everybody’s lives. Our hearts go out to all of those who have lost loved ones or who themselves have suffered first hand from the disease. And then there are the business that have gone “out of business” from the economic fall out from it. One can’t deny that no matter who you are or where you live COVID has had a major impact. The virus itself is human specific, with the odd exception, so why may you ask does COVID have anything to do with the conservation of endangered species?

Due to covid travel restrictions researchers and external staff have not been able to visit or host any group trips to the reserve since February 2020. This has had dire consequences for CREA.

Leo Miranda has been maintaining the field station throughout the crisis.
Cheñin Gonzalez has been key to maintenance and communication with external staff.
Robert is a guide working with schools and universities. He hasn’t worked with a group for more than a year.

Throughout the pandemic CREA has maintained its local Panamanian staff who work at the reserve and they have worked heroically to maintain the field station, monitor and patrol the borders and to maintain constant contact with external staff and board members. However, we had not until recently been able to undertake critical repairs to the field station (which is in constant need due to the harsh environment), continue with our wildlife monitoring (especially for the endangered harlequin toad and large cats) nor support our local communities. Hence COVID has had a direct impact on our ability to undertake our crucial conservation work. These activities are critical to the success of Cocobolo Nature Reserve as a model conservation area that practices continuous data driven management that allows us to adapt to the ever changing environmental and social environment.

Unfortunately, the elephant in the room (or should that be a crested eagle?), is that CREA has not been able to earn income for basic operations including those for the Cocobolo Nature Reserve. Our most basic needs are to cover local staff salaries, running vehicles, maintaining the field station and general operations. For the first time CREA is putting together a donation campaign to support Cocobolo Nature Reserve and its field station so that we can continue to teach the next generation about the importance of tropical rainforests and conserve and protect the incredible animals and plants that call this home. We very much hope that you will join us in recognising the value of this special place and our mission by contributing what you can afford as a one off, or even better, becoming a sustaining member through a monthly contribution. Please see the end of this newsletter to find out how to make a donation.

CREA collaborates with Rainforest Trust

CREA created the Cocobolo Nature Reserve 16 years ago. Michael Roy, CREA’s founder, put the money together to save the forest and soon after the IUCN Netherlands helped CREA buy an important piece of land to connect it to primary forest that extends up to the central divide.

Since then CREA has had management agreements and hoped to continue to purchase valuable habitat and extend the reserve under CREA management. Through a grant from the Rainforest Trust, CREA has now been able to buy over 300ha of the upper slope up to the central divide (which connects to the Narganá, Guna Reserve) and include it officially within the Cocobolo Nature Reserve that is managed by CREA. We are of course delighted with this partnership and thank Rainforest Trust for their support.

Through this grant we were also able to purchase some more No Trespassing signs, shore up and add new fencing on some border areas, and get funding to bring in the Panamanian Eco-Police to spend time with us at Cocobolo and in the Mamoní valley on a mission to patrol the reserve looking for any signs of poaching or trespassing and help communicate to the local communities that Cocobolo Nature Reserve is officially recognized by the government of Panama as a protected natural area of high conservation importance.

This year Rainforest Trust supported our efforts a second time, providing another generous grant from their emergency COVID relief fund to support a portion of our critical operating costs at Cocobolo for 2021. This money is directed toward our very basic needs that will keep the field station and reserve functioning and get us closer to bridging the gap until students return in 2022 and resume earning the income we so badly need to keep going.

Rainforest Trust has really stepped up this year to keep CREA afloat, but they cannot and have not done it all; we are still in immediate need of funding to keep Cocobolo operating and get through this crisis.

Sightings

Although we were not been able to do any camera trapping, bird or amphibian surveys for almost a year, we began again in earnest in March 2021. The most exciting news is that Kurt Niznik and Michael Roy saw first hand a Crested Eagle no further than 30m away perched in the low branches of a large tree. For those of you that don’t know this species I recommend you look it up. It is a magnificent eagle, only second in size to a Harpy Eagle, but with a single crest and a few other distinguishing features.

A Crested Eagle (photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

It is a magnificent eagle, only second in size to a Harpy Eagle, but with a single crest and a few other distinguishing features. This record is truly exciting since Crested Eagles, like the Harpy, have been persecuted and lost much of their former habitat and for that reason are considered vulnerable to extinction. We very much hope that this particular individual will call Cocobolo Nature Reserve home and bring his/her mate along too.

A Red Brocket Deer captured on one of our camera traps this year.

We have also seen through our virtual eyes (camera traps) the continued presence of jaguars and pumas, two of the larger cats that are persecuted and threatened, as well as ocelots (a video was shared on our social media of one apparently fishing) and jaguarundis. As the forest around the field station matures we are seeing more of these larger mammals, including brocket deer and collared peccary with the latter entering the garden of the field station. We have also seen a multitude of Curassows with large flocks of males and females.

A spectacular flowering vine, Rahowardiana wardiana, is the only species in its genus and found only in Panama’s highland areas. It is being pollinated by a stingless bee. Photo Kurt Niznik at Cocobolo Nature Reserve.

But wait….what about plants? Yes you may well ask, we have been guilty of being animal centric in these posts. It is not, however, because we don’t like plants, it’s because we are not botanists and plants in the neotropics are notoriously hard to identify! I know a bad excuse but to remedy this, and thanks to the Rainforest Trust grant, we have hired a local botanist to help us with an inventory.

This is a huge undertaking and so this first phase is a general survey. Many interesting discoveries have already been made including the presence of Zamia sp. an ancient cycad known only from a few isolated pockets in Panama a forest pine and a tomato like vine…..more as data comes to light.

Finally, a special message

If you made it to here you’ll understand that CREA is working hard to protect important tropical habitat for endangered species and be ready to open its doors to students in 2022. However, in order to do that we have to continue paying local staff, run and maintain a vehicle, undertake repairs and maintenance to buildings and cover general operating costs even while we are not generating revenue.

It’s not easy for us to be in a position to ask, but this time we have to, because we really need it. Please donate to our COVID relief campaign to allow CREA and Cocobolo to continue its mission through this difficult time.

Contribute a minimum of $60 and receive a signed fine print photograph taken at Cocobolo Nature Reserve by Clay Bolt

Contribute to our gofundme COVID campaign here. Our goal is $10,000 to get us to the end of the year.

If you are interested in becoming a sustaining member and receive a Clay Bolt photograph follow this link.

CREA is a registered Panamanian and US (501c3) non-profit organisation and all donations are tax deductible.

Link to our social media

Use the handle @cocobolonature to see our posts on instagram, facebook and twitter.

This newsletter can also be seen on our web page @ www.crea-panama.org/blog/

Merlin Tuttle’s Adventures with Bats

Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation Comes to Cocobolo (By Teresa Nichta)

We spent two-weeks at Panama’s Cocobolo Nature Reserve, to do a survey of bat species in this tropical hotspot while giving “in the field” workshops to our participants.  Our survey results were impressive and unexpected, recording more than 600 bats of 53 species, more than half the total number known for the entire country. New species were netted nearly every night, including two on our final evening. The common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) and greater fishing bats (Noctilio leporinus) were participant favorites, though an incredible variety of fruit-, nectar-, and insect-eating species were seen. The hardiest of our group often worked till dawn, bringing in a steady stream of species for portrait photos, especially during the first week. By the second week much more time was devoted to training bats to come on call, especially to locations where Merlin could photograph natural behavior, such as catching katydids. During both weeks of the workshops, we encountered periodic rain showers, keeping the normally hot, dry-season temperatures far more comfortable than anticipated. The downside was that there was poor netting results on three nights during the second week. The team hiked every day and netted every night, even in the rain, and set up a triple-high mist net almost every night, both weeks. We shared the forest with some interesting characters, such as a black jaguar, which fortunately left everyone alone, though it likely observed our unusual activities!

Merlin Tuttle Bats
Departing to net bats over the nearby river. Daniel Hargreaves is carrying the triple-high net rig in the red bag. His team of skilled instructors from the U.K., Steve and Fiona Parker and Daniel Whitby, were superb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Merlin Tuttle Bats
Setting first of two poles used to stretch three nets over the river. Melissa Donelly, Rachel Page, Amy Ejma, Alexis Valentine and Daniel Hargreaves (left to right) about to raise first net pole.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Merlin Tuttle Bats
The team looking for roosts of sac winged bats

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three bats were held for training. Merlin trained a hairy big-eared bat (Micronycteris hirsuta) for photography. Within 15 minutes it was flying to his hand on call, rewarded with meal worms. Janell Cannon, the famous author of  Stella Luna, trained a white-throated round-eared bat (Lophostoma silvicolum) to eat from her hand. Her bat has a very calm temperament. Alexis and Amy trained a Niceforo’s big-eared bat (Trinycteris nicefori) for photography, a very sweet and eager gal.

Merlin Tuttle Bats
Merlin Tuttle training a hairy big-eared bat (Micronycteris hirsuta) to come on call to a leaf to catch katydids in front of bright video lights needed for 400 frames/sec video shooting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Merlin Tuttle Bats
A hairy big-eared bat (Micronycteris hirsuta) about to catch a katydid in Panama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Merlin Tuttle instructing Janell Cannon in how to tame and train a white-throated round-eared bat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We radio tagged a hairy big-eyed bat (Chiroderma vilosum).  Because of unexpected rain in the dry season, combined with rugged terrain, we weren’t able to find it.

Merlin Tuttle Bats
Workshop participants observing heavy rain despite it being the dry season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We caught vampires nearly every night at Cocobolo Nature Reserve because it’s adjacent to a cattle ranch. Vampire bats are able to run and jump from the ground. They have heat sensors in their nose, that help them locate capillary-rich locations to make painless feeding incisions, and they have efficient kidneys that allow them to pass the water from blood as fast as they drink. This enables them to go home with a full protein meal. They are also socially sophisticated, forming long-term “friendships,” sharing meals with others in need, and adopting orphans.  Unfortunately, due to large-scale introduction of domestic animals, such as cattle, their numbers have greatly increased, enabling them to become pests. Consequently, literally millions of beneficial bats in Latin America have been killed simply because they were mistaken for vampires.

Genny Skinner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to our intrepid workshop participants, we have greatly advanced knowledge of bats in the Cocobolo Nature Reserve, more than doubling the number of bat species known to be present. We’ve also added substantially to MTBC’s bat photo library. We especially thank Michael Roy, founder of CREA: Conservation through Research, Education and Action, and owner of Cocobolo Nature Reserve for hosting us. And to the resident scientists, interns and volunteers, Genny, Matt, Zack, Alex, Francisco, Joel and Abel, who took such good care of us and introduced us to a variety of non-bat wildlife on the reserve.

A pygmy fruit-eating bat (Artibeus phaeotis) in Panama. Portraits

 

A common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) in Panama. Portraits

A Macconnell’s bat (Mesophylla macconnelli) in Panama. Portraits

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contact us to find out more about how you can help our wildlife conservation programs at the Cocobolo Nature Reserve.

Learn more about bats and how you can help at www.MerlinTuttle.org.

My Research Adventure – Ryan Thompson

My name is Ryan Thompson and I am a rising high school senior at Menlo School. Because I had demonstrated commitment to ecology and sustainability, I was awarded a HAND Foundation grant to study tropical ecosystems in Central America and explore the use of satellite imagery to assist researchers. I was drawn to Cocobolo because of its critical location in the tropical corridor. I was lucky to be able to visit this summer and had an exciting and productive week. I am heading to college next year and hope to continue to pursue environmental studies.

I had an amazing experience at Cocobolo Nature Reserve! I hiked every day in the rainforest with resident scientist Stephane De Greef, where we ran into howler monkeys, tamarin monkeys, white-faced monkeys, tarantulas, an eyelash pit viper, a whip spider and many more cool animals. One day out on the trail, we came across a fer-de-lance, an extremely venomous snake, that was thankfully distracted by digesting a large meal. One night we took a hike at night up the Mamoni River and a friendly river otter swam right over to us. We also saw spiders that could run over the top of the river. The wilderness at Cocobolo is dense and incredibly beautiful and the chance to see many rare and endangered species was awe-inspiring.

Stephane and I had the opportunity to work on a research project where we analyzed satellite imagery to see changes in vegetation through rainy and dry seasons with a software program called QGIS. We were also able to use satellite imagery to begin mapping new trails that Stephane will be using to explore the area over the coming months. Using the software and satellite imagery, we discovered that approximately 23% of the valley inside the Mamoni Watershed area has been deforested. Preserving the local ecosystems is critical to supporting the diversity of wildlife that we experienced on our hikes every day.

Cocobolo’s diverse ecosystems give visitors the opportunity to learn about a multitude of plant and animal species. Given that the Nature Reserve has primary rainforests, secondary rainforests, and cloud forests within it, I was able to learn about the subtle yet important differences between the habitats of organisms living in the region. Cocobolo serves as a safe haven for animals that use this forest area to safely live and cross this narrow area between North and South America.

CREA, the organization that runs Cocobolo, has a mission to conserve this spectacular land in Panama. Much more of the land where Cocobolo is located would have been deforested and made into cattle pastures if not for CREA establishing and maintaining Cocobolo Nature Reserve. CREA does amazing work with local farmers and cattle ranchers to try to encourage them to use techniques that won’t harm the local natural environment. I really appreciate the work of Stephane at Cocobolo and Dr. Michael Roy and the team at CREA to create this truly unique experience. I would love to return to Cocobolo and I strongly encourage others who would like an incredible adventure and an opportunity to see rare species and wild nature to visit the Reserve!

BugCamp – Come discover the insects of Cocobolo in August!

We’re excited to introduce our new activity to discover the insects and other small animals of Cocobolo – starting August 2017: BugCamps!

BugCamps are week-long immersion trips to experience firsthand the rainforests and cloud forests of Central Panama and discover the amazing diversity of tropical insects and other small animals. They’re designed primarily for people who are interested in nature, insects and tropical biodiversity but didn’t get a chance to experience it yet, either because it was daunting to organise such a trip or simply because they haven’t found yet an easy, fun and educational way to discover the tropics.

We will organise the first BugCamp in Cocobolo from 27 August to 3 September 2017. It will be a 8-day nature discovery trip, including 6 days in the rainforests. For more information, visit www.bugcamps.com

The participation fee for this first BugCamp is 950 USD per person.

Included: airport pickup in Panama City, accommodation in double-occupancy local guesthouse in Panama City, transport to and from Cocobolo, all meals and lodging in the field station. And of course, our unconditional and complete dedication to your daily entertainment and education!

Not included: international airfare to Panama City, travel and health insurance, lunch and dinner in Panama City on day 1, 7 and 8.

If you’re wondering about how to get to Panama, vaccinations and what to pack, we have three great resources on our CREA/Cocobolo website: Travel TipsHealth and Safety and Packing List.  And if you have any question, contact us or send an email to stephane@stephanedegreef.com.

See you soon!

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Avian Research

CREA has been studying Cocobolo’s rich avifauna, both residents and migrants, since 2007. To study the bird populations of Panama, we rely on the following methods:

  • mist netting in Cocobolo Nature Reserve, identification, measurement and release;
  • early-morning bird walks to identify residents and migrating species;
  • bio-acoustics to identify birds by their call.

Climate change and habitat loss are affecting bird populations worldwide, especially migratory species that depend on intact habitat and resources in different parts of the world. Climate change is affecting the timing of the presence of essential food (e.g. insect and fruit) for migratory species, hindering their ability to successfully migrate often thousands of miles across land and ocean.

It is essential to monitor the state of bird populations to know if and which species are being affected. To do this CREA runs a bird banding station at Cocobolo and, in addition to recording resident species, records all migratory species visiting the reserve each winter. The data, when put together over time, will help us to understand how species are changing and which are most vulnerable and need attention.

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Article:
Roy, M.S. and Doss, L.K. Building Migratory Bridges. The Science Teacher: Nov. 56-63 (2007).

Our new 2017 Herps Field Guide is out!

Yet another reason to be thrilled about our amazing biodiversity!

Twan Leenders​ from the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History​, just sent us the updated 2017 Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Cocobolo Nature Reserve​, featuring no less than 113 species with gorgeous pictures and tips to identify them!

Get your digital copy from our website at http://www.crea-panama.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Cocobolo-herp-guide-2017-1.pdf

 

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