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 TOCUMEN MARCH

Located about 30 minutes' drive east of Panamé City, very close to the international airport, Tocumen Marsh has long been a popular birding site for Panamanian residents and foreign visitors alike. The site historically contained large tracts of freshwater wetlands, but most of these were drained to create commercial rice fields. However, the rice fields themselves are flooded enough that Tocumen still provides habitat for good numbers of birds of aquatic habitats, and many species of scrub and open country are also found here. It should be noted that rice fields represent some of the favorite locations for spotting rails in the United States and elsewhere, as unaltered wetlands are increasingly disappearing throughout the world. For unknown reasons Tocumen experienced a burst of unusual rail activity in the early 1980's, but most of the rarest species have not been seen since, despite relatively thorough and consistent coverage of the area by birders. Over the years Tocumen has been host to a number of extraordinary rarities (probably due more to said birding coverage rather than the uniqueness of the site), including Long-winged Harrier, Dwarf Cuckoo, Lark Sparrow, and Jabiru. Panamanian birders find it convenient due to its proximity to both Panamá City and the gated community of Cerro Azul just to the north, home to a number of dedicated birders. The rice company has been gracious enough to permit access to Tocumen six days a week (excl. Sun.) starting at 7:00 a.m., with a small fee to be paid in the company office. While the large site is most easily birded by car, an independant traveller who doesn't mind a lot of walking can get to the village of Tocumen by bus, and might be fortunate enough to find a taxi to eliminate the long walk through a housing development (discussed below) to the front gate of the property. I recommend picking up a copy of A Bird-Finding Guide to Panama by George Angehr and Dodge & Lorna Engleman (avaiable via ABA Sales or Amazon.com), which provides excellent details regarding Tocumen and, of course, many other birding sites in Panamá.                 

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