A New Harpy Eagle Festival Successfully Completed in Panama!

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It’s dark, cold and raining by the time I reach Heathrow. I expect most of my fellow-travellers are pleased to be leaving it all behind in their New Year’s get-away but January is one of my favourite months to be in the UK. I know many people find this hard to comprehend but I’m not a sun worshipper and if I had the choice I’d happily spend a month of cosy fireside hibernation instead of a sweat-ridden endurance test in the sauna of the tropics. For someone with these preferences, it’s quite ironic that over the years most of my fieldwork has taken place close to the equator!

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National Bird of the Republic of Panama

In April 2002, the Government of the Republic of Panama formally declared the Harpy Eagle as the National Bird of Panama through the Law No. 18 of April 10, 2002. From this date, the majestic Harpy Eagle is formally considered a National Symbol for Panamanians. With the enacting of this law, April 10 became an especial ecological day. Therefore, the Fondo Peregrino-Panama, The Peregrine Fund and the National Environmental Authority of Panama promoted the celebration of the especial festival called: Festiarpia.

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Do you remember the first time you came to visit the World Center for Birds of Prey? For many Idaho residents, it was during a school field trip. Every year, we get to teach thousands of students about birds of prey here at our facility—at no charge to students or teachers. Not only do the kids get to meet our many education birds in person; they also get to learn about the adaptations and habitats of these fascinating creatures during a hands-on, interactive tour.

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I landed at Medan international airport on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, not knowing what to expect, but knowing I would be in for an adventure no matter what. I am on a quest to find the Simeulue Serpent Eagle. Depending on which taxonomic opinion you accept, it is either a race of the Crested Serpent Eagle, or a unique species in its own right. Either way, it occurs only on one island, Simeulue, about 120 km west of Sumatra. Simeulue is the northern-most of a chain of islands along Sumatra’s west coast that starts with Mentawai in the south; the chain continues beyond Indonesia northwards to the Nicobar and Andaman islands off the coast of Burma. The chain is geologically older than Sumatra, and is thought to have species with a unique evolutionary history, which gives rise to the idea that the islands’ Serpent Eagles may be separate species with their own unique lineages. The Simeulue Serpent Eagle is smaller than the Crested Serpent Eagle, and has different detail in the plumage (darker hindneck, richer purplish-brown upperparts, narrower tail-band, more barred underparts) which adds to the argument that it is different. If the Simeulue Serpent Eagle is a species then it may be at risk of extinction as the island’s forests are cleared for plantations of oil and coconut palm, cloves and other agriculture, and establishing protection for the species might protect some of the other species found only on this small island.

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