6 Days in Panama isn’t enough! (1 Viewer)

We just returned from a fantastic trip to Panama. My wife and I were looking for a short birding trip in the Neo-tropics and, after reading a number of trip reports from the area and looking at bird lists, we decided on Panama. We chose Central Panama for ease of connections and proximity to some great birding areas. After checking out accommodations and packages, we finally booked 3 days at the Canopy Tower and 3 days at their new Canopy Lodge in El Valle. All ground transportation, meals, and bird guides were arranged by them and were included in the price. Following is a link to their website, which gives a brief description of many of the areas that we visited: Canopy Tower

Our first day, we arrived at the Canopy Tower just in time for lunch. After eating we checked out the hummingbird feeders and found White-necked Jacopin, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, and White-vented Plumeleter, as well as a Lesser Greenlet nearby. We then took a short siesta (as birds got pretty quiet at midday) and then at 3:30 headed out with a local guide to an area called the Summit Pond. Here we found Boat-billed Heron, Orange-chinned Parakeet, Ringed, Amazon, and Green Kingfishers, Greater Ani, and one of the best birds, a staked out Spectacled Owl. After 3 hours of great birding we headed back to the Tower, making one stop en route for a Common Potoo perched roadside. We finished up the day looking out over the rainforest canopy from the Tower’s observation deck, picking up two more lifers, the Red-lored Parrot and Chestnut-mandibled Toucan. At dark, we gave up birding, and finished up the day with a good dinner and retired early. We set our alarm for 5:30 AM thinking we would be sleeping soundly.

Well, we did sleep soundly, at least till 5 AM, when a troop of Howler Monkeys who had bedded down in the canopy just outside our window, awoke. They thought everyone else should be up as well and were howling outrageously. It actually was a wonderful way to be awakened! We were up on the Tower’s observation deck at sunrise enjoying coffee while we watched the Canopy come to life. Lots of Parrots calling and we found another lifer, Mealy Parrot. Saw a kettle of 8 Mississippi Kite’s heading north, several Swainson’s Hawks, lots of Keel-billed Toucans and Collared Aracaris, a Scaled Pigeon, Blue Cotinga (immature male that was just half blue!), and a Green Shrike-Vireo. We also watched a pair of Scarlet-rumped Caciques just putting the finishing touches on their new nest in the Tower’s back yard. After an hour or so, we took a walk down Semaphore Hill for some of the under-storey birds. We found Broad-billed and Rufous Motmots, Checkered-throated Antbird, Dot-winged Antwren, Slaty Antshrike, Fasciated Antshrike, Blue-crowned Manakin (another immature male bird), and a Black-breasted Puffbird. And at the bottom of the hill, we checked out a staked out Great Potoo. Great views although the location didn’t give the best angles for photographing him.

That afternoon we made a trip to Old Gamboa and the Ammo Pond. We picked up Flame-rumped Tanager, Red-legged Honeycreeper, and Variable and Yellow-bellied Seedeaters in Gamboa and then on to the Ammo Pond. Here we found tons of birds – Yellow-headed Caracara, Black-striped Sparrow, Rufous-margined, Social, Panama, and Boat-billed Flycatchers, Smooth-billed Ani, and Wattled Jacana among so many others.

The next day we would go to Pipeline Road - I’ll post that section of the trip report tomorrow.

Below are photos of some of the birds seen: Black-striped Sparrow, Black-breasted Puffbird, Great Potoo, Blue-crowned Manakin, Flame-rumped Tanager

Nice one, Dave- looking forward to the next instalments...

Pipeline Road

We were up at dawn for a quick breakfast and then off to Pipeline Road. We’d really been anticipating this as we’ve heard so much about this area – and boy did it ever live up to its rep! We started just before the entrance to PL Road in a brushy area where we heard some Manakins making their sharp clapping sound. It took a while to get good views, but we did get them – at least of the female – Golden-collared Manakin and passable views of the male. We also got Buff-throated Saltator and Blue Dacnis prior to starting down that famous road. And what was waiting for us right at the entrance? Little Tinamou!!!! Crossed the road right in front of us – my first ever Tinamou. Things were really looking good. We hiked down the road stopping frequently as birds were calling from everywhere. We found Purple-throated Fruitcrows quickly (they’re noisy) and enjoyed watching them high in the canopy (read – crick in the neck). There were also a number of Black-chested Jays nearby. We also found 5 woodpecker species; Red-crowned, Crimson-crested, Black-cheeked, Cinnamon, and Lineated. We also had a number of understorey birds, a singing Rosy Thrush-Tanager, Plain Xenops, Red-capped Manakin, Gray-headed Tanager, Dot-winged Antwren, Spotted Antbird, and the best - Chestnut-backed Antbird. We came across several Hummingbirds including Stripe-throated Hermit (split from Little hermit), and White-vented Plumeleteer. Next, we found our most cooperative birds of the trip, a pair of White-whiskered Puffbirds just 2 meters off the trail and just a meter off the ground. They posed for views and photos as long as we were willing to watch! And then at a small trail off Pipeline Road we found the Trogons – Violaceous, Black-tailed, Black-throated, and Slaty-tailed. Fantastic views of all. The only one in the area that we didn’t find was the White-tailed but we have seen that on previous trips to the tropics so didn’t miss it too much. On our hike back we picked up a few raptors – Gray Hawk and Yellow-headed Caracara. And then a really cute (is that possible) three-toed sloth with its baby. This road was definitely one of the highlights of the trip!

One thing I remember from our trips to Costa Rica is how infrequently you find any road signs - I took the picture below (the trogon trail) because I was in stitches seeing such a small trail marked with a road sign (and the road really did narrow!) They are way ahead of their neighbors on this category.

And here are photos of the cooperative Puffbirds. The male is the darker colored bird.

Great trip report Dave and great photos too. I have had almost no luck with puffbirds since I've been in Central America, but you certainly seem to have hit the jackpot there. I've still never made it down to Panama, but the more I hear about it the more I want to go. I'm still needing to photograph some of the southern species which just reach up into the area of my website and this could be a good place to try.

Tom

Panama is a splendid destination - I first went in 1986 when a friend was working at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. It is astonishing what is available close to Panama City - the road opposite the Summit Gardens is a terrific place to see birds, I remember White-necked Puffbird sitting on a snag high above the canopy. I also remember having to avoid capybara on the road past Ammo Ponds late one night...

Tom, yes we were lucky with the Puffbirds this trip and Pipeline Road is a great palce for them.
David, we looked for the capybara at Ammo Ponds but didn't see any. Wish we had.


The afternoon after our visit to Pipeline Road we birded Plantation Trail, just below the Canopy Tower. This is an area of very large trees and thick canopy, in fact, it was so dark in the woods that I gave up trying to do any digiscoping. The first bird we saw at mid level was a nice Double-toothed Kite. Again, the noisy PT Fruitcrows let us know they were around. A little further on we heard a Manakin and finally got views of an adult male Blue-crowned Manakin. What a gorgeous bird! Next was a Plain-brown Woodcreeper, which was our most common woodcreeper of the trip. We wrapped up with some of the skulking understorey birds including White-breasted Wood-Wren, White-flanked Antwren, and Spotted Antbird. Then it was back up to the tower, another early night, and the excitement of moving on to a new area tomorrow (although we could have spent 4 more days easily right where we were).

The next morning we were up early, had breakfast, picked up Blue-chested and Violet-bellied Hummingbirds at the feeders and were on our way to El Valle de Anton by 8 AM. This is a beautiful, heavily forested valley, in the foothills of the Cordillera Central. We stayed at the Tower’s sister property, the Canopy Lodge. This is a beautiful lodge with lots of natural landscaping. We arrived about 10:30 AM and spent an hour just watching all the birds on the fruit tables and hummingbird feeders. We had great views of all these birds and picked up several lifers right there including Snowy-bellied (or -breasted) Hummingbird, Garden Emerald, and Violet-crowned Woodnymph! Then one of the gardeners came up and told us he had seen a Rufous-tufted Coquette in the back part of the property just a little earlier. We were off like bats and sure enough after 15 minutes, in came a beautiful male. What a spectacular little bird and we had views from less than 10 feet – I had to back up far enough so that my bins would focus on it!

After lunch, we started on a short walk along a creek. We didn’t get far before a heavy rain came so we hightailed it back to the Lodge. From the lodge patio we picked up Gray-necked Woodrail, Gray-headed Chachalaca, and Squirrel Cuckoo. After 30 minutes it quit raining so we headed back out. Our target here was a Toady Motmot. Trails were fairly slippery along the forest border but when we got deeper into the woods it was fairly dry. We found Bay Wren (which turned out to be quite common here), Dusky Antbird, and Red-crowned Ant-tanager and an unidentified Hummingbird sitting on a nest. As we got deeper in the woods we started to hear calls of the Toady Motmot. Our guide whistled back and managed to call it in and we got pretty good views of a bird that has eluded us for quite a few years. It was getting dark now so we were off back to the lodge.

The next morning we had breakfast on the patio and watched Orange-billed Sparrows, Common Toady Flycatcher, Mourning Warbler, Chestnut-capped Warbler, Crimson-backed Tanager, and Flame-rumped Tanager at the feeders / shrubs and all the while hundreds of Hummingbirds fed in the extensive beds flowering shrubs. While we hated to leave this easy and rewarding birding over breakfast, there were hills to climb and more birds to find. We went up to an area called the Mesa and started walking the dirt streets there. The area was a number of older Chicken Farms interspersed with pasture, small fincas, and some forest. We found Emerald Toucanet, Tawny-crested Tanagers (flocks), Silver-throated Tanagers, Tawny-capped Euphonia, Stripe-throated Hermit, Wedge-billed and Spotted Woodcreepers, Paltry Tyranulet, Bran-colored Flycatcher, and Bright-rumped Attila (another old Bogey bird of mine fallen). At noon, we headed back to the lodge for lunch. Later in the afternoon we headed into the valley and picked up a few more birds including Barred Antshrike, Tropical Pewee, Yellow-crowned Euphonia, and another view of White-bellied Antbird. Tomorrow we would head a little further a-field and start down the Caribbean Slope for some local specialty birds.

Great stuff Dave. I can't wait for the next installment.

Tom

This was our last birding day in Panama and would be a long day. We left early and climbed up out of the valley and started down the Caribbean slope (on a 4-wheel drive only track). The first birds we found were a beautiful pair of Swallow-tailed Kites out hunting for breakfast. Next we came up on a fruiting tree and found all kinds of birds including Bay-headed and Golden-hooded Tanagers, Bay-breasted Warbler, more Swainson’s Thrushes, and a male White-ruffed Manakin (with very good views of this one finally). A little further along and in some dense thicket we had a Great Antshrike calling. It took some time but we finally managed to get some decent though brief views. As we got lower in elevation, we had Eastern Flycatchers, Tropical Pewee, Masked Tityra, Shiny Cowbird, Blue-headed Parrots, Collared Aracari, a second Scaled Dove for the trip, and Gray Hawk. At midday, we started our return to El Valle and passed again through “La Mesa”. Here we picked up Black-faced Grosbeak and then just before leaving had a beautiful male Long-billed Starthroat feeding on red flowers along the roadside. After lunch back at the Lodge, we spent the afternoon looking for one of our targets – Shiny Honeycreeper. We found Green honeycreeper and Scarlet-thighed Dacnis, but no Shiny Honeycreeper. We also had great views of male & female Lance-tailed, White-ruffed, and Golden-collared Manakins and came across three separate Black-faced Antthrushes. A Sepia-capped Flycatcher on our way out finished up the day and our short trip to Panama.

As a birding destination we found it a fantastic place. Airport arrival and departure were smooth and uneventful (just be sure your passport has at least 6 months validity left), the people were friendly, the local guides were excellent, and accommodations can run from basic to first class – depends on what you want to pay for. The arrangements that the Canopy Tower owners made for us made the visit very easy and precluded any need for using a tour operator. We couldn’t have been happier with the whole trip. We saw 192 birds in 6 days and had 72 lifers. Highly recommended destination.