More birds and beasts on our land

The last time I was in Panama, was 6 January, some ten months ago. I came back in November 2009 and a lot had changed in those ten months.

Our reforestation project is getting more and more exiting. The trees we planted have grown very fast and many trees, especially cecropias and guava trees have germinated spontaneously on our land. The latter two grow fast and develop rapidly. Some are already flowering and bearing fruit. We also see more and more flowering shrubs and the heliconias and gingers we planted are al growing well and flowering nearly continuoously. The Stachytarpeta cuttings we got from the US are also starting to flower.

There is thus much more nectar andd fruit availabe on or land and that attracts insects, birds and other animals. During my last stay I found a few new bird species on our property (American pygmy kingfisher, striped cuckoo and thick-billed Euphonias). And species that used to be scarce, like the lineated woodpecker and the longbilled starthroat, are now much more common. We also start to s bird-parties (a group of birds from different species that search for food together). Especially tanagers seem to enjoy these parties.

Whether there are also more reptiles and mammals around is difficult to say. Many mammals are nocturnal and shy and reptiles also tend to be discrete. But we often see squirrels. Some of our trees are now touching trees in life fences of neighbouring farms and allow squirrels free access to al the tasty guaves on our land. According to Justino we also have many rabbits on our land and a population of rabbit eaters. We have seen coyote tracks and the boa constricor, a threathened species, is getting some respite on our land.

We are also hosting a norhern ghost bat (Diclidurus albus) on our property. These bats occur in a large area (Mexico to Eastern Brazil) but are scarce everywhere. They are easily recognised by their white fur (possibly the reason for their common name?). Not much is know about these bats. They apparently fly quite high and eat mostly moths, up to a 1000 per night.