This year has been full of exciting changes, not least that I've started working part-time with my friend Nigel Marven as his Associate Producer. I also qualified as a commercial drone operator with the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) a few months back, which allows me to film and photograph professionally in the UK and abroad and it was in this capacity that I joined Nigel and cameraman Mike Hutchinson on a 10-day filming trip to Panama for a forthcoming wildlife programme about the country.
This expedition had one specific objective - but I'll get to that later! Needless to say there were many exotic and beautiful birds seen, not to mention some amazing reptiles and butterflies.
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Sandwiched between Costa Rica and Colombia, Panama is part of the isthmus linking
North and South America. Bordered by the Pacific to the south
and the Caribbean to the north. |
Of course there's a lot of gear to be carried on a trip like this - cameras, lenses, tripods, drone kit, optical kit, storage and back-up devices not to mention personal luggage. Lots of excess baggage!
Thankfully the airlines were very accommodating and we had a great trip out to Panama City with British Airways and Iberia via Madrid. After a very early start and nearly 17 hours after leaving Heathrow we arrived at Tocumen International Airport. Up until this point all had gone very smoothly but a hitch in communication between The Panama Film Commission and Panama Customs meant that all of our kit had to spend the night in a holding room at the airport while awaiting clearance.
The following morning we headed back to the airport and with the help of our guide,
Carlos Bethancourt, we cleared customs formalities, collected our baggage and picked up climber Rafael Alverez and biologist Mauricio De la O before heading southeast along the Pan-American Highway on the long 5-hour road journey to Canopy Camp.
Before even leaving the city I started my bird list with two flyover Swallow-tailed kites, Blue-gray Tanager, Tropical Kingbird, Clay-coloured Thrush, Broad-billed Euphonia, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Great-tailed Grackle and Red-lored Parrot.
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| Blue-gray Tanager |
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| Clay-colored Thrush |
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| Thick-billed Euphonia, female |
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| Tropical Kingbird |
Day 2 - Into the Darién Gap...
I first heard about the mysterious Darién Gap as a young boy - I believe it was an episode of Wildlife on One way back in the late 70s or early 80's. I don’t remember the details of that programme now except that it made a deep and lasting impression on me, a name I would always remember. When I found out we would be filming here I was incredibly excited. The Darién Gap is an area of undeveloped jungle and swampland that starts at Yaviza where the Pan-American Highway stops and ends in Turbo, Northern Colombia to the south.
Our long drive south was punctuated with a lunch stop at a fantastic little roadside cafe which had several hummingbird feeders by the terrace giving incredibly close views of several species including Black-throated Mango, Rusty-tailed Hummingbird and White-necked Jacobin.
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| Black-throated Mango, female |
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| Black-throated Mango, female |
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| Black-throated Mango, male |
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| Black-throated Mango, male |
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| Snowy-bellied Hummingbird |
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| Snowy-bellied Hummingbird |
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| Rusty-tailed Hummingbird |
Lunch over, we continued our journey south arriving at Canopy Camp later that afternoon.
Canopy Camp is one of three eco-lodges offering great birding and wildlife watching opportunities in Panama. This luxury 'glamping' style accommodation was to be the starting point for our journey on day three.
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| Canopy Camp in Darién Province, Panama |
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