Current view: Text account
Site description (2003 baseline):
Site location and context
The Gran Galera de Chorcha (494 m) is a large mesa, four km in diameter, 25 km east of David and 1.5 km north of the Pan-American Highway. It is surrounded by sheer cliffs more than 100 m high, and an impressive waterfall cascades down the south face in the rainy season. A narrow band of semideciduous lowland forest (430 ha) clings to the steep sides. The top of the mesa and the surrounding area have been cleared for cattle pasture. Cerro Barro Blanco (543 m) is located one km southwest of the Gran Galera, and contains about 100 ha of semideciduous and deciduous forest. The surrounding area is inhabited by primarily by latinos and devoted to cattle and some subsistence agriculture. The area of the mesa is private property and permission is required to visit.
The site retains two of the more resilient South Central American Pacific Slope endemics, Fiery-billed Aracari and Black-hooded Antshrike, as well as the nationally threatened Sepia-capped Flycatcher.
Non-bird biodiversity: Not surveyed in detail, but several of the species known from Cerro Batipa (CH-10) probably occur.
Forest remains at this site only in areas too steep to clear for cattle.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The forest is likely to be gradually reduced by dry-season fires set in pasture, and for firewood. The value of the site would be enhanced by planting forest corridors to link it to Cerro Batipa.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Gran Galera de Chorcha-Cerro Barro Blanco (Panama). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/gran-galera-de-chorcha-cerro-barro-blanco-iba-panama on 23/12/2024.
