This is a reply intended for a couple of people who inquired recently about
birding in Panama and anyone else who might be interested. One of those was
a query posted a month or so ago on 'Tweeters' seen during a review of back
digests on the web but don't remember who posted or exactly how long ago.

>From Colin Richardson in New Guinea, 12/02/99:

<< I read your recommendations in Blake Maybanks trip report pages. You
mentioned that the Pipeline Road is usually locked. Can you suggest anyone
in Panama who might be a good birding contact? Particularly one who might
suggest how to get in there? I hope to spend 2-3 days in Panama en route to
Cartagena Colombia for a health conference in August 2000. >>

Dear Colin --

This is a belated reply to your December 2nd message. I've just returned
from 5 months at sea in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, which included a port
call in Panama again BTW, thus the delay here since I don't receive email at
this address while at sea. Secondly, my primary email address has changed to:
Pterodroma at aol.com
which means I don't access the 'Pagodroma' account very often or even less
often.

As mentioned, I was in Panama for a few days in late November 1999. Access
to Pipeline Road by the gate was fine. I think it is pretty much permanently
open these days. However, there are some problems for vehicle access you
need to be aware of. Heavy rains this season has seriously eroded and
undermined the west side of the bridge over the Rio Frijoles 4.2km from the
entrance such that you can't safely risk driving over it. Someone with more
guts than me had put down a couple of metal planks to bridge the eroded bank
and the bridge deck. I often push the limits when it comes to risk taking
but even I bailed on doing this one, especially since there was *nothing*
supporting the west third of the bridge -- just the rotting wood deck hanging
out in space and over the torrent flowing thanks to seven inches of rain that
very day with just a couple of metal planks bridging that to the crumbling
bank. Thanks but no thanks! Good thing. It would have never supported the
heavy 4Runner I was driving. I learned a couple of days later that the
planking there was put down to allow a light pickup one-time one-way access
to get to the other side and to remain stationed there for biologists to use
to reach their research sites further back. No way can any vehicle expect to
safely cross Frijoles until the situation is repaired.

But you can walk it and the rest of Pipeline Road for that matter. It's just
a long one, another 10 km to my favorite areas along Rio Agua Salud (km14)
and a number of especially good spots in between -- the whole thing is
excellent birding such that if you are seriously birding, you could never do
it in a day. Another problem is that the first 1/3 of Pipeline Road
(essentially the first 4 km between the gate and Frijoles) is also the most
difficult and muddiest ranging from ruts to an utter quagmire. A good high
clearance 4WD is mandatory for this portion, and especially so most likely in
August (your schedule) when the rainy season is ongoing. It's not a bad idea
to have an ax or machete or even a small chain saw. The road was really in
bad shape with numerous small land slides and tree falls to negotiate. But
my visit coincided with the near end of an unusually wet rainy season when
such is not to be unexpected.

Perhaps by your planned visit next August repairs will have been made and
access easier and safer. The Harpy Eagle biologists whom I met were
optimistic that at least the bridge would be fixed sometime ...some day, who
knows. With handover of the Canal and Panama takes on autonomy of the region
who can say when such might happen. The Smithsonian's Tropical Research
(STR) station remains and will remain a prime research element in the area
and the Panama Audubon Society (PAS) is very strong and active as well. With
the strong presence of STR and PAS, and the well known fact that Pipeline
Road is one of the worlds best rain forest birding locations, I would expect
that immediate inconvenience might be repaired eventually. OTOH, it's also
not a terribly disagreeable notion to just leave it as it is and open to foot
traffic only, making a trip a multiday trip with camping along the way. Even
with a vehicle, I can't even do Pipeline Road justice in a day trip. In the
past, I've disappeared back in there for several days birding by day, owling
and car camping at night. Pipeline Road is just simply an outrageously
spectacular place to just disappear and immerse yourself in for a few days.

A good alternative is Plantation Road at the foot of and on the slopes of the
hill leading to the newly established "Canopy Tower Ecolodge". Plantation
Road is steeped in an interesting history and today is strictly a walking
trail. A little different from Pipeline Road and not as birdie but enough to
keep us adequately busy and entertained all the way through from early
morning to mid-afternoon.

We spent one night at the "Canopy Tower". It's rather expensive ($125 to
$175 per person, not room) but interesting and have no regrets for doing it
once. I stayed in the $175 room which was the only one with a private deck.
You don't really need a private deck since you do have full access to the
whole top of the tower, but for "only" $50 more on top of the minimum $125
anyway, I figured, 'what the heck, this is only for one night'.

Watching a pair of King Vultures rising up on the thermals from the valley
below, and spiraling up and up and up until straight up overhead until they
finally disappeared into the cumulus was indeed special as was the absolute
primal sunrise atop the hill with all the lowlands shrouded in fog as the
cacophony of Howler Monkeys greeted the new day. Recent issues of "National
Geographic" and "Audubon" had illustrated sections about it and PBS TV also
had a piece which coincided with the formal signing of the Panama Canal
handover. I heard that the "Discovery Channel" also did a recent piece as
well.

If you wish to know more about my recent Panama inport and birding there, I
have a long write-up which at the time was generated at sea from the NOAA
Research Vessel "David Starr Jordan" was 5-part series of email messages
posted to friends and reads rather like a personal journal which I can send
as an attached file in Word Perfect 8.1 format. Too long to post in a
message board forum or as a simple email message.

BTW, what is "Blake Maybanks trip report pages"? Do you have an address?

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Richard Rowlett (Pterodroma at aol.com)
47.56N, 122.13W
Bellevue (Eastgate), WA, USA

"Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what
nobody has thought" --Albert Szent-Gyorgi (1893-1986).
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