Posts in Category: Panama
Tranquilo Bay Lodge Official GreeterÂ
As we got out of the boats and walked the boardwalk through the mangroves toward the stairs up to the Lodge at Tranquilo Bay we were greeted by the official greeter, just like at Walmart 🙂 This is a Three-fold Sloth.
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program Mode. Processed in PhotoShop Express on my Android tablet.
Headed for the Biggest Week in American Birding?
Blackburnian Warbler, Reserva Forestal De Fortuna, Panama
One of the surprises of Tranquilo Bay and Panama, for me (though it should not have been a surprise, considering I was there April at the height of migration) was the number of what we think of as North American warblers passing through on their way north. I could very well see this same Blackburnian (one of my favorite warblers) at Megee Marsh this week while I attend the Biggest Week in American Birding. I will certainly be looking for him!
Nikon P900 at 1800mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 400 @ f6.3. Processed in Lightroom.
Blue-grey Tanager
Blue-grey Tanager, Tranquilo Bay Lodge, Bocas del Toro, Panama
Okay, so whoever named the Blue-grey Tanager either 1) had never seen one close up, or 2) had NO imagination. To call this bird blue-grey is simply the worst case of understatement ever! Of course they are hard to see close up. They flit through the rain-forest well above eye-level, and never sit still for long. You can, however, get a good look at them from the deck around the lodge at Tranquilo Bay, or, even better, from the Canopy Observation Tower up on the hill. The tower provides a unique perspective as the birds feed at mid-level, so you are looking down from above. From that angle you can really appreciate the splendor of the blues, blue-greens, and blue-greys in this bird. All part of the service at Tranquilo Bay Lodge.
Nikon P900 at 2000mm equivalent field of view. 1/200th @ ISO 400 @ f6.5. Processed in Topaz Denoise and Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.
Glasswing Butterfly
Glasswing Butterfly, De Fortuna Forest Reserve, Panama
One of the reasons the Tranquilo Bay Lodge experience is so wonderful, is that you can take a boat to the mainland, and be in Cloud Forest in less than an hour from the dock, on good roads (no long hikes up mountains required!) This gives access to a whole new set of species. These are Glasswing Butterflies. In my casual research this morning I found two possible English Names. Banded Peacock and Blue Transparent. I am not sure which species it is, or, indeed, if those are the same species by two different names. Banded Peacock seems unlikely as that is the name of another butterfly already. ??
Nikon P900 at 400mm equivalent field of view. 1/80th @ ISO 400 @ f5. Processed in Topaz Denoise and Lightroom.
Montezuma Oropendola
Montezuma Oropendola. Tranquilo Bay Lodge, Panama
Now that I am back from a busy week teaching Point and Shoot Nature Photography in Florida (and out shooting in the Florida light every day) I can work with my shots from Tranquilo Bay Lodge in Panama more. This is a Montezuma Oropendola…just think giant Oriole and you will have it just right. The Oropendolas, as befits the size of the bird, make huge hanging nests in colony trees. And, as befits the tropical location, the Oropendola is strikingly colored. This shot shows it all, from the pink and orange and blue wattles on the face, to the brilliant bill, to shockingly bright yellow tail. It was taken from the top of the canopy tower at Tranquilo Bay Lodge, on a deeply overcast day…eyelevel for the bird. The tower certainly adds to an already great Tranquilo Bay experience.
Nikon P900 at 850mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 400 @ f5.6. Processed in Topaz Denoise and Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.
Green Basilisk Lizard
Green Basilisk Lizard, Isla Popo, Panama
One of the places the folks at Tranquilo Bay take their guests, at least those who are interested, is to the home of one of the indigenous people of the islands, where, for some reason, many different color morphs of Poison Dart frog coexist. When we visited we were greeted at the dock by the 7 year old son of the owner, who acted as our unofficial frog guide while we were there. Our second greeter, however, was this large Green Basilisk Lizard on a log at the base of a plant in the family garden. Amazing creature. Pure prehistoric!
Nikon P900 at 2000mm equivalent. 1/125th @ ISO 450 @ f6.5. Processed in Lightroom.
Keel-billed Toucan
Keel-billed Toucan, Punte Peña, Panama
I missed a decent shot of a Toucan in Honduras so one of my goals for Panama was to get one! In Panama I had the advantage of a longer reach (2000mm equivalent on the Nikon P900), and Toucans at lower elevations…but even so it was day 3 before I found one perched within range. Then I had to crop slightly for scale. “Had to” is too strong. I decided to crop to increase the size of the bird in the frame. All in all I am happy with the results. With better weather I am sure I would have seen a lot more Toucans, but this one will do! Thank you Panama. Thank you Tranquilo Bay Lodge. We found this bird along a rushing river in pasture land on the mainland across from Tranquilo Bay. This is an odd perch…most of the time the Toucans stayed high in the trees. This one perched about 15 feet off the ground for long enough for me to catch it. 🙂
Nikon P900 at 2000mm equivalent field of view. 1/125 @ ISO 400 @ f6.5. Processed in Topaz Denoise and Lightroom.
Shining Honeycreeper
Shining Honeycreeper, Tranquilo Bay Lodge, Panama
I have over 1000 images from my 6 days at Tranquilo Bay Lodge and the surrounding area in Panama…and those are only the keepers! This is a Shining Honeycreeper taken from the deck at the main Lodge building on my second day there…in a moment of lighter rain. You can see how wet the bird is. The rain was not typical of the season. April should be the beginning of the dry season, but the rains had ended early this year, and the Lodge, which exists totally on collected rain water, was in need of some rain to fill the tanks. (And I was glad I could help…I told them to just let me know the next time the tanks got low, and I would come down so it could rain for a week 🙂 The Shining Honeycreeper is one of three Honeycreepers that frequent the rain-forest around the Lodge: Shining, Green, and Red-legged. The Shining and Red-legged look very much alike, except for the legs, and the Green is not green at all (at least not the male) but a lovely turquoise with a black mask. All of the females are some shade of green, from olive for the Red-legged to leaf on the Green. They are all relatives of the Tanagers.
Nikon P900 at 1500mm equivalent field of view (cropped slightly for scale). 1/30 @ ISO 900 @ f6.3 (which makes this shot totally unlikely! Handheld at 1/30th? Not possible! The Nikon P900 not only survived the tropics, it exceeded all expectations!) Processed in Topaz Denoise and Lightroom.
White-faced Capuchin
White-faced Capuchin, Tranquilo Bay Lodge, Panama
On the run this am, on my way home from Panama, but just to compete (kind of) the Tranquilo Bay experience, two White-faced Capuchin monkeys from the Traquilo Bay tower. 🙂
Nikon P900. Processed in Topaz Denoise and Lightroom.
Blue Morpho
Blue Morpho Butterfly, Bocas del Toro, Panama. Tranquilo Bay Lodge excursion
Yesterday Jim and Alvero from Tranquilo Bay Lodge took me across to the mainland to explore an old banana canal and river by boat. The canal passes mostly through forest and is a rich habitat for all kinds of birds and wildlife. Unfortunately the mouth of the river had been blocked by floating vegetation (Water Hyacinth) so we did not get to the ducks, waders, River Otter, etc., but this butterfly alone would have been worth the trip.
There are several species of Blue Morpho butterfly, varying in size from 3 inches to 8. This one appeared to be in 6 inch range. If you have ever seen a Blue Morpho, it is an unforgettable sight. They have, as noted, huge bright blue wings, and they fly with the slowest possible wing-beats…appearing to float lazily over the low vegetation, just about never lighting. And when they do light, they close their wings to show a brown cryptic pattern with just a touch of blue showing at the wingtips. It is so rare to see one perched open like this…so very rare…that I feel incredibly blessed to have been in the right spot at the right moment. Most of the open wing shots you do see are posed at a Butterfly House…this is a wild, free-flying Blue Morpho! How great is that?
Nikon P900 at 2000mm equivalent field of view. 1/200th @ ISO 400 @ f6.5. Processed in Topaz Denoise and Lightroom on my Surface Pro tablet.