Oropendolas are iconic birds of the tropics. The colorful birds live in the jungle between Columbia and Costa Rica. They are all around us in Panama, flashing their bright yellow tails in the mornings and evenings.
We spend a weekend wandering the lush jungle, mangroves, and beaches looking for their nesting colonies. Not everything goes according to plan, but we spend a lovely weekend outdoors nonetheless…
Episode Transcript Summary (auto-generated):
We set out on a sunny day in search of one of the most fascinating birds in Bocas del Toro—the Black Oropendola and its incredible hanging nests. Since it’s nesting season, we decided to bike about ten miles north through the jungle of Isla Colón to a place called Mimitimbi, where a colony might be hidden in the canopy. The sand road made it tough to ride, so we pushed our bikes for a while.
As we reached the forest, we kept our eyes on the trees, hoping to spot the birds or their long, sock-like nests. These birds are communal nesters—up to twenty nests in one tree—and while the females build and raise the young alone, males show off with their size and calls. The nests are beautifully woven, about a meter long, and some may be decoys to trick predators. We also ran into massive termite nests along the way—huge and not exactly elegant, but impressive in their own right.
Although we didn’t find the birds this time, we learned a lot and still enjoyed the journey. We saw the forest, ate fresh coconuts, found a quiet swim spot, and laughed about the sand stuck to our faces. It wasn’t a full success, but the day wasn’t a loss either. And the search isn’t over—we still have one more place to check out. First, though, we’re rewarding ourselves with a local $2 Balboa beer. Cheers to the adventure!
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