Photos from the Darien Rainforest

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M

mbunak

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From my recent Christmas trip to the Darien rainforest Panama, the place I first visited in 2004. At that time a cloud of insects hovered around the lights and numerous bats were going after flying insects. This time around, there were scarcely any insects attracted to the lights and I only saw a couple of bats. In the previous visits numerous geckos could be observed hunting around the lights but this time there weren't that many. I had hoped to photograph some of the interesting insects found in Darien but I couldn't find any. I'm not sure if this is due to the development taking place at the location( one spot where I used to see large toads gather has a building housing a bar) or something more broadly affecting the environment.
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My autofocus point was frozen to one corner for the entire trip so I couldn't really take photos of birds in flight!
 
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RichF said:
very interesting series. Darien looks like a great place to visit
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Of all the places I have visited, Bahia Pinas in Darien was my favourite. Unfortunately, a development with villas and houses for those with private planes and yachts have begun (there are no roads in Darien). Another paradise lost!
 
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Beautiful photos! I love the ghost crab!! 😍

As for the insects, I recall reading some articles last year about global insect populations declining, particularly in the tropics. They were linking it to a combination of warming trends, plus increased agricultural development. Seems like a thing most folks would overlook (after all, the average person doesn't like bugs)... but with insects forming the base of many food webs, sounds like it's causing a obvious decline up the chain too. :(
 
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Beautiful photo Peter, I can relate to the over development. Down here in South Florida the are building home right up to the edge of the Everglades.
 
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jadewolf said:
Beautiful photos! I love the ghost crab!! 😍

As for the insects, I recall reading some articles last year about global insect populations declining, particularly in the tropics. They were linking it to a combination of warming trends, plus increased agricultural development. Seems like a thing most folks would overlook (after all, the average person doesn't like bugs)... but with insects forming the base of many food webs, sounds like it's causing a obvious decline up the chain too. :(
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Thank you! I know it's anecdotal but I get this feeling that we are slowly heading into an ecological disaster:(
 
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Irap said:
Beautiful photo Peter, I can relate to the over development. Down here in South Florida the are building home right up to the edge of the Everglades.
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Thank you! At the Bahia Pinas, the developent seemed to have affected the ghost crab population in the bay.
 
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