CENTRAL PANAMA

JUNE 2007

I have just returned from 10 days in Panama where my favorite birds were White-tipped sicklebill, Rufous-crested coquette, and Brown-billed scythebill. I also brought home great memories of some mammals: pygmy squirrel, sloth species, monkey species.

Tour Provider – Caligo Ventures, Key West FL

Duration of Travel – 11 days, 23 June thru 03 July 2007, first and last days being travel days

Accommodations – Canopy Tower in Soberania National Park (four nights) and Canopy Lodge in El Valle (six nights)

Local Guides – Jose Soto and Moyo Rodriguez, both excellent. Moyo was the most focused guide I have ever been with, not distracted by or drawn into human conversation about television, movies, politics, or religion, he literally pulled birds out of the wood-work.

References – Checklist of Panama Birds in current AOU order was provided by Caligo, adapted from list on web site of Panama Audubon Society. I had plates from both the Costa Rica guide (Stiles and Skutch, 1989) and the Panama guide (Ridgely and Gwynne, 1989), spiral-bound separately with quick indexes for efficient use in the field.

Elevation Range – We birded from sea level to 3500 ft. GPS “go to” distance from my front porch in Grand Junction CO to the highest point we birded at Alta Maria is 2741 miles directly southeast. =)

Place Names – We birded the grounds at Canopy Tower, Semiphore Hill Road from Quebrada Masambi Grande, Summit Botanical Gardens, Macho Falls, Pipeline Road, Ammo Ponds, Chaguras Restaurant viewing areas, Achiote Road, Fort San Lorenzo (World Heritage Site) on the Chagres River, Panama Canal Railway from Colon to Panama City, El Valle de Anton (AKA Crater Valley), the grounds at Canopy Lodge, La Mesa Road, Caraiguana Road, La Samida Trail, El Chiru vicinity lowlands at 100 ft elevation, where it got hot early, and Alta Maria to 3500 ft elevation, with comfortable temperatures all day long.

Miscellaneous Tallies – Our group tally was 259 species of birds, of which 45 were personal life birds (12 of these were hummingbird species). Cost per life bird = $66. Species we had every day were Black vulture, Turkey vulture, White-tipped dove, Great kiskadee, Social flycatcher, Tropical kingbird, Gray-breasted martin, Clay-colored thrush, and Palm tanager. Hummingbirds = 21 spp, Antbirds = 16 spp, Flycatchers = 24 spp, Tanagers = 30 spp

Biggest Surprises (not on my radar screen) – Crested bobwhite, Scaled pigeon, Black-throated (Veraguan) mango, White-tailed trogon, Black-crowned antpita, Blue cotinga, Black-chested jay, White-vented euphonia, Streaked saltator, Shiny cowbird, Western night monkey, and Pygmy squirrel.

String of Pearls – unlimited internet use at Canopy Tower for one-time fee of $5, a sweet moment in church with only a nun and a solo guitar player, sicklebill anticipation, harmonics of Rufous-and-White wren, lunch with hummingbirds, nightjar, and screaming Black hawk-eagle at Alta Maria, incredible vistas of the Pacific Ocean from there, arrival in El Valle, Gray-necked wood-rail burst of song, deep woods antpita, dawn with strong coffee and a male Rufous-crested coquette in the vervain, Western night-monkeys peering cautiously out of a tree cavity, afternoon train ride along the Panama Canal, Alta Maria sky bustling with Swallow-tailed kites, mysterious and secretive scythebill, night-time nature music at both the Tower and the Lodge, hard tropical rain on a metal roof somewhere in a botanical garden, closing electrical storm at Gamboa, and the cool, misty mornings in El Valle!!!

Itinerary –

Day 1 was an Eye Opener from atop Canopy Tower (elevation 900 ft above mean sea level), with outstanding views of Panama City, the Canal, mountains in mist, and superb avian orchestrations. Our first hard rain happened in a convenient place... in a birdie park with large overhead shelter nearby. Tapirs were running and jumping and bouncing in the rain and thunder, very happy campers (did I forget to mention that this was quite entertaining?).

Day 2 included great birds along easy walks, interesting scenery, and an afternoon transit via the Panama Canal Railway from Colon back to Panama City that yielded 20+ Snail kites at Lago Gatun. Ey yi yi!

Day 3 on Pipeline Road was relatively slow birding until we found an ant swarm! We were sort of rained out in the afternoon, but Jose had a fabulous “Plan B” and we made the most of it, adding another 20 trip species and a few lifers. In the end, an unruly Thunderstorm moved in on us and we were ducking for cover, protecting our ears. Nature rocks!

Day 4 began with a very hard rain, perhaps the equivalent of our annual 7” to 8” in Grand Junction CO, woke me up a wee bit early, so I went upstairs to check the internet for weather forecasts, bird reports in western Colorado, and I began journaling about this totally amazing Panama trip. =) Before lunch, we moved to Canopy Lodge in El Valle, elevation 2300 ft, slightly cooler and noticeably less humid, nestled inside a 4- or 5-million year old volcanic crater, beautiful scenery, incredible birds, food, and lodging were all five-star quality. This was a dreamy place, nearby creek gurgling with totally clear water, it was soothing, serene, and heavenly! Yes, this was Heaven!

Day 5 was a bit rainy, so Jose created another Plan B, including an unforeseen magical moment in an empty Catholic church listening to a solo guitarist. Entrancing!

Day 6 began with several minutes of hard-core smiling! We were watching a male Rufous-crested coquette in nearly perfect light, foraging in the Vervain next to our dining area whilst we were hoisting cups of totally yummy-strong coffee. We had seven species of hummingbirds by 0654 hrs. Soon it turned rainy, but we waited it out and found every bird we had been hearing along the Caraiguana Road, several were personal lifers. Rufous-and-White wren walked past my feet, literally, singing the most angelical, harmonically perfect flute music I have ever heard. Striped cuckoo called and quivered above our heads. Also in view were Rose thrush-tanager male and female both, Lance-tailed manikan, Lesser elaenia, Tody motmot, Black-faced antthrush!

Day 7 was spent in the lowlands just outside the crater, 100 ft above sea level, and it produced an amazing number of birds, including many Many raptors. We added 18 new trip species today.

Day 8 we headed for higher ground and added another 31 trip species. This day at Alta Maria (01 July) stands above all for scenery, weather, lack of humans, and mega BIRDS! At times the sky was virtually full of Swallow-tailed kites, and at our shady lunch stop we added several new species of hummingbirds while a Black hawk-eagle screamed over head. Moyo spotted a roosting nightjar that we could not ID, but it didn’t matter. All was perfect and in Divine Order. That afternoon I finally saw my top two (most elusive) quest birds… Brown-billed scythebill and White-tipped sicklebill. Scythebill did not come easy. I lost my footing on a slippery slope, slid down a muddy hill on my butt, managed to see the bird thru some dense woods from my 45-degree-angle vantage point, only because Moyo kept me on the bird so well. Sicklebill didn’t come easy either. This bird required three attempts, fairly steep hikes, sitting still for many hours in low ambient light, and moss had started growing on my north side (tisk). Only a quick, unsatisfactory look was afforded, but there was always tomorrow... How could this Place and its Birds possibly be topped?

Day 9 we focused entirely on getting better views of the sicklebill (my request), and finally, after an eternity, the bird landed right in front of me and afforded perfect views a) on a branch in the open, and b) on the Heliconia it is so well adapted to. Mucho gracias, Moyo!! Mucho gracias!! After we succeeded with this, my face hurt for the remainder of the day from smiling! We then had a 2.5-hour drive to the airport and fairly smooth ride back to Denver CO. C’est une! Loads of fantastic memories, more life birds than I could have imagined, ten pounds overweight from all that good food, suitcase full of dirty, foul-smelling clothes, a couple of mosquito bites (no chiggers!), and yet more memories that will unfold, I am certain, in the days ahead.

Larry Arnold

larry arnold [ This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ]

05 July 2007