Birding the Isla Venada Canal on Isla Popa, Panama

After the long day on the mainland, today was supposed to be slower. For birding, that means breakfast at 6:30 instead of 5am. I would have been happy watching the capuchin monkeys in the trees around the lodge, but there were birds to see so it was back to the dock.

The water that morning was unusually calm, almost completely flat, which made for a peaceful ride as the boat moved through the mangroves. Not long after leaving the lodge, we spotted a crab-eating raccoon high in the trees along the shoreline.

Our guide mentioned that it was somewhat unusual to see them active during the day, which made the sighting feel even more special. Yes, I know that they are trash pandas.

Birding on Isla Popa

Our destination was Isla Popa, specifically a stretch of forest along the Isla Venada Canal in Bocas del Toro. It was only a short boat ride from the lodge, but felt much more remote.

The boat pulled up to a makeshift dock and we stepped ashore onto a narrow path. The land belonged to a man sitting quietly in a small open-air stilt house. We spotted a goose and a cat underneath the houst. As we walked past, we found ourselves wondering what life must be like there every day. How did he get water? What did he do all day?

I felt slightly uncomfortable exploring his backyard, though he has an arrangement with the lodge and gets compensated. As we speculated about what his daily life might look like, it occurred to us that he was probably just as capable of finding our daily life confusing. We were visitors who had travelled halfway around the world to look at birds, after all.

And the birding was excellent.

Within a short distance, we found four different species of woodpeckers. That kept us occupied for quite a while as we tried to photograph them moving through the trees, which is always easier in theory than it is when the bird has other plans.

A Poison Dart Frog in the Forest

Eventually, we continued deeper into the forest.

Less than a minute later, our guide stopped and pointed toward the ground, where a tiny poison dart frog sat among the leaves. The forest floor was dark and the frog moved quickly, which made photographing it a challenge, but it was still fascinating to see such a brightly colored amphibian in the wild.

By that point, the heat and humidity had started to build. Somewhere nearby, someone had started using a whipper snipper, which added an unexpected soundtrack to the jungle.

We decided to return later in the afternoon.

Returning to Isla Venada Canal for the White Cotinga

We returned to the same spot around 4 p.m., hoping the afternoon conditions might bring more activity.

Before long, the guide spotted a white cotinga. It was impossibly far away, but we managed a “proof of life” photo.

Not long after that, we added an American pygmy kingfisher, which turned out to be far more difficult to photograph than expected. The bird stayed low near the water, mostly hidden behind branches, and every time we managed to frame a shot, it seemed to hop to another perch.

It was one of those sightings that birders celebrate immediately and photographers continue negotiating with long after the bird has been found. We had seen it. Photographing it was proving to be a separate challenge altogether.