Bocas Biodiversity
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Migration Station
So as a bird lover, I’ve also become a huge fan of trees and bushes in the Melastomatacea family, genus Miconia..from which a wide variety of these vastly important food plants provide massive amounts of fruits that ripen in a staggered fashion, multiple times a year. Whenever I see open land anywhere throughout this archipelago,…
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Inspiring Connections with Bocas Local Youth
This day on Isla Carenero, a little boy joined me as I watched my friend go surfing. We sat together and I asked him about where he was from, what he liked to do, etc. Now I was pretty sure he was going to eventually ask for a dollar which I’ve heard expats complain about…
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Who Doesn’t Love Kingfishers?!
The Ringed Kingfisher is our largest out of the six species that occur here in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago. This enormous king of fishing will find a perch over the water and, upon seeing a good sized fish will drop into the water faster than a metal fishing jig before it snaps up its…
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A Night Hike at Snowy Cotinga House
This little work of art is the Harlequin Tree Frog (Dendropsophus ebraccatus). This frog (and the red-eyed tree frog) gather in impressive numbers about a perfectly constructed water feature habitat, supporting various species of local frogs (including the Sylvia’s Tree Frog, which is on the endangered species list). Thanks to Miguel Ibarra and Snowy Continga…
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The Dancing Manakins of Bocas
This little ball of feathers is a female Golden-collared Manakin. The manakin family is popularly known for the male’s elaborate dancing display to win over a female. When multiple male birds come together to attract females and obtain her choice in what is known as a lek. Lekking is when the males are actively calling…
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The Wild Nature of Bocas Nature’s Birding Lounge
Thanks to Lukas Bell of @Bocas_Nature (on Instagram) for sharing his nature refuge of a home along with a perfectly placed birding lounge set in a garden blooming with flowers and fruits perfect for attracting local birdlife. Sitting with coffee and birding, even in the rain thanks to a roof and a long desk to…
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Symbiosis, up in the trees..
Our white-throated capuchin monkeys here in Bocas del Toro have such expressive faces. They’re omnivores that eat anything from flowers to insects to anoles (small lizards) to even eggs and baby birds. Really anything they can get their hands on. If you know the double-toothed kite that is a raptor of the forest in the…
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The Ngäbe of Bocas del Toro
This past week I had a rainforest adventure, a reconnaissance mission expedition with one of my most beloved indigenous Ngäbe students, Israel Machado. He was helping me check out possible trail options for future ecotours. Isra is one of four brothers mothered by my Tranquilo Bay coworker Ofelina. I’ve watched these boys grow up since 2018…
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A little about stacebird’s (eco)guiding
Buenas tardes! My name is Stacey Hollis (@stacebird on Instagram) and I am a professional birding and tropical ecology & wildlife tour guide with a specialty in ecotourism and environmental education so we can learn as we explore rainforests, coral reefs, mangrove ecosystems what makes them so incredibly important. A large part of my guiding…
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My Red Frogs story in the Bocas Breeze Newspaper!
Posted on March 24, 2024 by Stacey M. Hollis The Red Frogs of Bocas I feel absolutely honored to have my writing and multimedia in our local archipelago-wide newspaper, The Bocas Breeze Newspaper! Take a gander and just know that I’m just as I always am, overly expoundful (is that a word, asks the journalist) but it’s because…