SENDERO TUCANES, PALO SECO PROTECTION FOREST 
PANAMA

FORTUNA area (Compass)

Lat:00o00´S/00o00´W ha topography msl 
Protected/registered status 
Best Time for visit (26-27th February, 2005)

 

Birding Site Guide

This is an excellent area on the road from Chiriqui on the Pacific coast to Chiriqui Grande on the Carribean side. Chiriqui is about 14km East of David along the Interamericana. Turn left at the petrol station coming from David. The road is in good condition apparently thanks to the oil pipeline that runs along it. About 40km along is a hotel called Finca Suiza which has many trails leading from it (we did not go here). It was a little over our budget though so we did the day trip from David taking the bus towards Changuinola. These leave half-hourly starting at 4am. The ride takes an hour and a half and we took the 5am bus which got us there nice and early. After Finca Suiza the road goes further up and then down and accross the dam over the reservoir. About 8km after this there is a gravel road leading left from the crest of a hill. There is a large sign here reading 'Sendero Tucanes, Bosque Protector Palo Seco'. This road has excellent birding as do some of the trails leading from it. The Continental Divide Trail was especially good and we saw Black Guan and Orange-bellied Trogon among many others. This starts at the highest point along the gravel road. We heard Bare-necked Umbrellabirds and Three-wattled Bellbirds and saw Black Guans but did not manage to find the Blue-and-gold Tanager. I saw 83 species including 9 lifers. 


Species seen

  • Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
  • Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
  • Swallow-tailed Kite Elanoides forficatus
  • Great Black-Hawk Buteogallus urubitinga
  • Red-tailed Hawk ? Buteo jamaicensis
  • Black Guan Chamaepetes unicolor Near-threatened
  • Black-breasted Wood-Quail h Odontophorus leucolaemus
  • Gray-breasted Crake ? Laterallus exilis
  • Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularia
  • Band-tailed Pigeon Patagioenas fasciata
  • Ruddy Pigeon Patagioenas subvinacea
  • Orange-chinned Parakeet Brotogeris jugularis
  • Smooth-billed Ani Crotophaga ani
  • White-collared Swift Streptoprocne zonaris
  • Short-tailed Swift ? Chaetura brachyura
  • Green Hermit Phaethornis guy
  • Little Hermit
  • Green-fronted Lancebill Doryfera ludovicae
  • Green Thorntail Discosura conversii
  • Fiery-throated Hummingbird ? Panterpe insignis
  • Violet-crowned Woodnymph Thalurania colombica
  • Rufous-tailed Hummingbird Amazilia tzacatl
  • Snowcap Microchera albocoronata
  • White-bellied Mountain-gem Lampornis hemileucus
  • Purple-throated Mountain-gem Lampornis calolaema
  • Orange-bellied Trogon Trogon aurantiiventris
  • Ringed Kingfisher Ceryle torquata
  • Prong-billed Barbet h Semnornis frantzii
  • Black-mandibled Toucan h Ramphastos ambiguus
  • Blue-throated Toucanet Aulacorhynchus caeruleogularis
  • Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius
  • Red-faced Spinetail Cranioleuca erythrops
  • Spotted Barbtail Premnoplex brunnescens
  • Lineated Foliage-gleaner Syndactyla subalaris
  • Wedge-billed Woodcreeper Glyphorynchus spirurus
  • Spotted Woodcreeper Xiphorhynchus erythropygius
  • Rufous-breasted Antthrush h Formicarius rufipectus
  • Black-crowned Antpitta h Pittasoma michleri
  • Bare-necked Umbrellabird h Cephalopterus glabricollis Vulnerable
  • Three-wattled Bellbird h Procnias tricarunculata Vulnerable
  • Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant Lophotriccus pileatus
  • Common Tody-Flycatcher Todirostrum cinereum
  • Tufted Flycatcher Mitrephanes phaeocercus
  • Long-tailed Tyrant Colonia colonus
  • Bright-rumped Attila h Attila spadiceus
  • Golden-bellied Flycatcher Myiodynastes hemichrysus
  • Tropical Kingbird Tyrannus melancholicus
  • Gray-breasted Martin Progne chalybea
  • Blue-and-white Swallow Pygochelidon cyanoleuca
  • Black-and-yellow Silky-flycatcher Phainoptila melanoxantha
  • House Wren Troglodytes aedon
  • Gray-breasted Wood-Wren Henicorhina leucophrys
  • Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush ? Catharus mexicanus
  • Pale-vented Thrush Turdus obsoletus
  • Clay-colored Robin Turdus grayi
  • Golden-winged Warbler Vermivora chrysoptera
  • Tropical Parula Parula pitiayumi
  • Blackburnian Warbler Dendroica fusca
  • Masked Yellowthroat Geothlypis aequinoctialis
  • Wilson's Warbler Wilsonia pusilla
  • Slate-throated Redstart Myioborus miniatus
  • Three-striped Warbler Basileuterus tristriatus
  • Bananaquit Coereba flaveola
  • Common Bush-Tanager Chlorospingus ophthalmicus
  • Black-and-yellow Tanager Chrysothlypis chrysomelaena
  • Hepatic Tanager Piranga flava
  • Passerini's Tanager Ramphocelus passerinii
  • Blue-gray Tanager Thraupis episcopus
  • Tawny-capped Euphonia Euphonia anneae
  • Golden-browed Chlorophonia Chlorophonia callophrys
  • Emerald Tanager Tangara florida
  • Silver-throated Tanager Tangara icterocephala
  • Golden-hooded Tanager Tangara larvata
  • Spangle-cheeked Tanager Tangara dowii
  • Green Honeycreeper Chlorophanes spiza
  • Thick-billed Seed-Finch Oryzoborus funereus
  • Yellow-faced Grassquit Tiaris olivacea
  • White-naped Brush-Finch Atlapetes albinucha
  • Black-striped Sparrow Arremonops conirostris
  • Rufous-collared Sparrow Zonotrichia capensis
  • Buff-throated Saltator Saltator maximus
  • Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
  • Scarlet-rumped Cacique Cacicus uropygialis
  • House Sparrow Passer domesticus Introduced Seen in David


Other Fauna 
A total of -- species of mammals. 

There are -- recorded species of amphibians and reptiles. 

Flora 

Author: Charles Hesse

 

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