Site Report: Isla Coiba

Red-legged Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus) - Male

White-tipped Dove (Leptotila verreauxi)

Black-striped Sparrow (Arremonops conirostris)

Vaux's Swift (Chaetura vauxi)

Red-legged Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus) - Female

Streaked Flycatcher (Myiodynastes maculatus)

Yellow-faced Grassquit (Tiaris olivacea)

Crimson-backed Tanager (Ramphocelus dimidiatus)

Northern Scrub-Flycatcher (Sublegatus arenarum)

Coiba was a prison island and off limits to the public for quite awhile, and it offers some pristine wilderness. Unfortunately, it can be quite expensive to really visit the island. Much of the island is covered by primary rain forest, and the waters surrounding it are rich in fish life.

Visits

2009-03-05: After our fiasco with the weather at Santa Fe, we headed to the south coast of Panama to visit the former prison island of Coiba. We rode three different buses to get to our base of Santa Catalina. To visit Coibe, we came on a day snorkeling trip from Santa Catalina. The snorkeling here was some of the best that I have seen anywhere with a number of sea turtle and shark sightings. The trip to the island was OK, but it was only about an hour. There is not much to see on the island to justify such a short visit. I would have loved to visit the forest, but it was too inconvenient at this time.

Species Seen

Kingdom: Animals (20 records)

Phylum: Chordates (20 records)

Class: Birds (19 records)

Order: Boobies (1 record)
- Family: Boobies and Gannets
- Cocos Booby (Sula brewsteri)

Order: Doves and Pigeons (1 record)
- Family: Pigeons and Doves
- White-tipped Dove (Leptotila verreauxi)

Order: Hawks, Eagles, Kites, and Allies (1 record)
- Family: Hawks, Eagles, and Kites
- Common Black-Hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus)

Order: Hummingbirds and Swifts (1 record)
- Family: Swifts
- Vaux's Swift (Chaetura vauxi)

Order: Pelicans (3 records)
- Family: Cormorants
- Neotropic Cormorant (Nannopterum brasilianum)
- Family: Frigatebirds
- Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens)
- Family: Oystercatchers
- American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus)

Order: Perching Birds (9 records)
- Family: Old World Buntings
- Black-striped Sparrow (Arremonops conirostris)
- Yellow-faced Grassquit (Tiaris olivaceus)
- Family: Tanagers and Allies
- Crimson-backed Tanager (Ramphocelus dimidiatus)
- Red-legged Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus)
- Streaked Saltator (Saltator striatipectus)
- Family: Tyrant Flycatchers
- Northern Scrub-Flycatcher (Sublegatus arenarum)
- Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus)
- Fork-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus savana)
- Streaked Flycatcher (Myiodynastes maculatus)

Order: Shorebirds and Allies (1 record)
- Family: Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers
- Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus)

Order: Vultures (1 record)
- Family: New World Vultures
- Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)

Order: Woodpeckers, Barbets, Toucans, and Honeyguides (1 record)
- Family: Piculets and Woodpeckers
- Red-crowned Woodpecker (Melanerpes rubricapillus)

Class: Reptiles (1 record)

Order: Alligators and Crocodiles (1 record)
- Family: Crocodiles
- American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)

Lifelists

Trips

Mexico to Panama