Seven Wonders - Fleetwood Mac (finale)

 While the headline 'Seven Wonders' has been coined throughout this gig, we did in fact step into 7 countries including Mexico, with ALL having one thing in common - no shortage of Bird Guides either proffessional or chancers, mostly young males and mightily well versed in their craft! Our final full day in Panama, and for the trip, turned out to be no exception with this 14 years old schoolboy, who's dream was to become a 'pro' one day, having all the required skills and knew each of Panama's 1002 identified species off by heart. Just as well we mused as about to embark into one of the most Famous Birding Sites in the World

where, within 'seconds' we logged

PALM TANAGER

SAPPHIRE-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD

CINNAMON WOODPECKER
and

GOLDEN-COLLARED MANAKIN

before negociating the old Railway Track into the heart of the Jungle and adding

WHITE-NOSED COATI

PLAIN XENOPS
and

Canopy Watch Point
from the rim of the canyon.

GREY-HEADED CHACHALACA

with dozens and dozens more, far to numerous to add in full to the Post and where does TIME go on such occassions?
We had caught the local bus out to the main entrance but realised we had walked to far to get back to town if there was not a return service. Employing the old tactic from my Royal Navy days, when in uniform there was never an occassion when we failed to get from A to B, but with little traffic things already looked dodgy. One car, about the size of a Mini did stop but already overburdened with 4 rather large ladies and 2 babies there was little chance our guide could get in let alone the 2 'rotuned kids'!  But fear not stout yeoman, 30 minutes later from around a bend appeared one of those huge American 4 x 4's, surely enough space to accommodate us all. The tall, lean black driver, with dreadlocks down to his coccyx, jumped out of the vehicle and asked where we were trying to get and replying just the coolest place in Panama city where we might get a couple of beers and a snack, with a reply of get in and lets go! With load reggae music issuing from the dashboard he told Billy and the lad to sit in the back while he directed me to the front passanger seat and sped off along the well tarmaced road. En-route we asked who that was playing on the jukebox as it was very good music, with his unexpected reply being, "hey man dats me Charlie Anderson bass player with de SELECTER and the coolest place you'll find in town for a beer and a bite is our house and dat's Judith my wife with sons who's names have paled with the passage of time.

Turning into a crescent of well appointed and colonial looking houses,
which were formally accommodation for US Army Offices, we were made very welcome into the one

Charlie and Family had recently purchased, made roundly welcome with a

Far More Relaxed Introduction

the promised Beer, a couple more new birds

ROSY THRUSH-TANAGER

a longish dalliance with his favoured
Jamaican Rum

BLUE-CROWNED MANAKIN
and chance to undertake some real recording in his well appointed

STUDIO
"you simply couldn't make it up"
but it was by no means over. Locking onto our interest in Birds and other Wildlife he introduced us to one of his neighbours who had in his back garden a

HARPY EAGLE

Recovery Sanctuary
just look at the size of that magnificent beast, half the height of a full grown man!!

With the destiny of the recovered Birds being reintroduced, in turn, to all the countries of
CENTRAL AMERICA

The Selecter
Charlie and Pauline left.
"On My Radio - On My Radio"

Seven Wonders - Fleetwood Mac (Cont)

 

Coming close to the end of our extended odyssey, sparked by nothing more than an item on the Channel 4 News

JOHN SNOW

we had now travelled from Mexico City in the north to reach Panama (Wherever I Lay My Hat - Paul Young) in the south. The news item highlighted the reformation of the '70 / 80's 2-Tone Ska Revival Band from Coventry

featuring, among others,

Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson (lead Guitar) above and vocalist

Pauline Black et al

while the name Selecter is derived from the Jamaican word SelectOr, a slang word for a
Disc Jockey.

For 2 Ancient Mariners (you speak for yourself Billy) the main thrust of this visit was surely to be the

PANAMA CANAL
(Rather Rotund William)

and the bespoke viewing platform at the

MIRAFLORES LOCKS

with both of us having transited the Suez Canal a number of times, where there are no locks, this experience was a million miles apart and add to that a plethora of 

Birds in the close-by pristine Jungle starting with

BLUE DACNIS

While it was about at this point that my Shipmate had to advise me that I had been stood on the same spot for 3½ hours, frequently rotating 360°.

GREEN HONEYCREEPER

"but there's another ship coming Billy"

PURPLE-THROATED FRUIT CROW
"and loads more birds"

SOUTHERN BENTBILL

CHESTNUT-HEADED OROPENDOLA

BLUE-HEADED PARROT
and finally, we have to draw the line sometime, the magical

WHITE-FRONTED NUNBIRD

If only one thing had been inspired from this fantastic visit it was the determination to 'sail through' that mighty feat of engineering one day soon! An ambition that was fulfilled and might just make for another Post one day??
As we feel we may have captured one or two imaginations we will dispence with the usual formality of publishing the Final Part next Sunday by glueing it on the Blog tomorrow!
DON'T LET YOUR FRIENDS MISS IT!

Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne

On the down-side, once again we attracted no Moths but on the opposite the Weather Forecaster's are now talking of a brief Indian Summer later in the month? Another indicator of the season, as if we need one, is the usual early morning arrival of hungry

MALLARDs

which roost in a far larger pond across the other side of the

River Stour
if or when they are not disturbed by the regular clatter of

MERLIN ROTORs
which may also be the reason there was no more than the resident

COOT
along with a few

GREENFINCH
With most of the "Autumn Leaf's having now passed by our window" (song) such things as

COMMON BUZZARD NESTs
are being revealed while nothing to do with the 'fall' we also located one of the long lost

RED-LEGGED PARTRIGE

in company with a couple of female

PHEASANTs

while hoping the other c2 will show themselves sometime soon.
Once again no signs of a Northern Thrush but corvid numbers such as Rooks and Jackdaw and more particularly

CARRION CROWs,
which most of these tiny black dots are, putting paided to the childhood learning that if there are just 2 or 3 then they are Crows or as in such a large flock then Rooks.

Across the Squash Patch there is now evidence of what is to become of the vast residue

which may bring to mind the name of a
World Famous Rock Band formed in Chicago in 1988 by messrs

Corgan, Wretzky, Iha and Chamberlin

and a most welcome image from 'Bomber' in Weymouth of 1970,s

Passenger Train
running along the quayside in Weymouth, passing one of, or arguably, the best restaurant in town and maybe the SS Sarnia secured alongside at the pier head - Cheers Both.

Ride a White Swan - T Rex

 It's likely all the talk of dusk and dawn choruses that has brought the / a

TAWNY OWL
back into focus, a first of the Winter

as flashing-up at 23:00 last night and still at it while enjoying our morning coffee at 05:30.
Otherwise, no Moth action overnight, maybe due to the Zero° on the gauge, while our pals the

HOUSE SPARROWs

were at it even before the upper limb of the Sun kissed the horizon, while at the
Irrigation Pond it was found that the newly arrived family of

MUTE SWANs

had abandoned the cramped condition there for the wider expances of the

Gravel Pit while this lady

PHEASANT

along the now repaired fence-line gets a look-in as having been in the very same spot each morning for 2 weeks now - food must be plentiful,

while within

something of a real surprise

as we record very few, if any at all,

MISTLE THRUSHs

across the Winter months and also there a late but now rotting

PUFFBALL
Niether here, or across the southern section of our area, have we yet recorded a
Northern Thrush - Fieldfare / Redwing while seemingly plentiful elsewhere but we did spot ripening

MISTLETOE

which had us 'puckering up' in anticipation!
"We sould be so Lucky"!