Rio Penas Blancas Valley
(a narrative of a trip through a Caribbean Slope Rainforest)
by David L. Ross
By the light of a head lamp we crossed the barbed wire fence into a wall of
cricket sounds, across Eladio's banana patch, then trudged our way up the steep
muddy trail into the forest. Metallic sounding Tink Frogs ring out above the
din of insects, despite the darkness our sense of urgency was reinforced by
the loud flapping of a male chestnut-headed Oropendola as it changed perches
between trees. The dawn duet of Rufous Motmots reverberates from the canopy
in a rhythmic bo-bo-bo boom boom, boo-boo-boo bo bo! like some sort of bassoon
or drums. They were soon joined by the frog-like Aahrrr ahrr ahrr ah ah ah-ahrr
of Broad-billed Motmots, followed by the mellifluous caroling of a Pale-vented
Robin. I point to the perch where a male Bare-necked Umbrellabird had displayed
(boomed) during the two prior trips, a Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush sings
from beneath the umbrellbird perch as it had on many mornings, but on this morning
at least, el Sombrillo or Pavoncilla is a no-show.
An Olive Tanager begins his morning song bout moving to a perch to give a long
complicated medley of squeaky calls and trills, and then off to the next perch.
The tanagers will soon be in loose flocks joined by the likes of Common Bush-Tanagers,
Golden-crowned Warblers, and Spotted Barbtails. From somewhere down hill a Buff-throated
Foliage-gleaner utters its rattly call, a day of birds has begun.
The tripod is hefted onto the shoulder on top of tape recorder and parabolic
microphone straps, and Tony gives the typical "lead on McDuff". We
work our way along a ridge-top trail to a Green Hermit lek, the males are spread
out though the understory, from low perches they tirelessly give there repeated
one note nasal squeak "Aeair eair eair" while flicking their long
white-tipped tail downward almost in rhythm with the notes. We move from the
ridge top down the trail where a White-throated Shrike-Tanager's loud calls
are almost inaudible above the roar of the creek below. In rubber boots we hop
across rocks and shallow rushing water of the Quebrada Pavoncilla, to the other
side on boards on top of mud, to firmer ground. The forest glazed by last nights
mist is best described in the rich greens of Fujichrome, leaning out across
the path tubular flowers glow a vibrant scarlet that can't be missed by the
color sensitive eyes of the hermit hummingbirds.
The Rio Penas Blancas roars in the distance, an accelerating Too Too Too Too-Too-Too
Too Too draws a Black-headed Antthrush. We confer on the direction it came from
and then I begin my whistled imitation of its call. This is a bird on Tony’s
hit list, we wait and the bird approaches the odd sounding intruder on its territory,
it nears to give us a look, Apretty cool bird eh? I gloat, Tony replies "not
bad". Again the sound of boots on mud, a Lattice-tailed Trogon calls from
a location that refuses us a look. We hear the "bweer" calls of White-breasted
Wood-Wrens from beyond some thick herbaceous growth,
The forest rings with life, most vocalists go unseen. To our right there is
a churring chortling rhythmic rattle, interrupted by one or two pure toned short
whistles, the low vegetation ripples as the vocalist move from stem to stem
beyond view. The chortling gives way to melodic tuneful whistling, and than
to very variable song phrases. The whistles are in the range of my whistling
and the vocalist approach, we're rewarded with nice looks at Song Wrens some
four birds hopping along the ground, and duetting from low perches. Days in
tropical forest especially such middle-elevation Caribbean forest are precious,
and the early mornings priceless.