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"I was in Panama to bird, and bird I did, morning, noon, and night."
September 16-24, 2004
Panama's Canopy Tower
This page reprinted by permission. Follow the links in the text
for more photos at KenAllaire.com.
On this occasion I had the pleasure of making a return trip to the
wonderful Canopy Tower, in the Canal Area of Central Panama. My first
trip was a little over a year before, in August of 2003 (check out my journals page
for an account of the first trip), and it was truly one of the finest
experiences of my nascent globetrotting life. When both urge and the
opportunity for a serious birding excursion struck me, somewhat at the
last minute, I immediately looked into a return to the Tower. It's a
great big world out there, and there are countless places I have yet to
visit (and bird), but there is something to be said for finding a place
you like and sticking with it. In this case, the Canopy Tower
guarantees some outstanding birding, a good degree of comfort, and is
quite accomodating to the solo traveller (they have single rooms at no
extra cost). They also were quite gracious in being flexible about
altering their standard Saturday- Saturday itinerary, allowing me to
travel using my frequent-flyer miles. Put it all together, and I'm
booked!
Make no mistake about it -- I was in Panama to bird, and
bird I did, morning, noon, and night. If you're looking for a journal
describing the cultural wonders of Panama, stories about the lovely
places and people that this fine nation possesses, you might want to
look elsewhere. The scope of my interest was quite limited, and I
freely admit that I have only a small idea of what Panama has to offer.
Nonetheless, in the course of my birding excursions I've been able to
observe some things not necessarily directly related to my birding
activities. A number of these observations are shared with you below.
In the interest of (relative) brevity, I have strictly limited the text
and images contained on this page, and have created two other pages
dedicated to more specialized (and more spacious) topics. The first
offers much more detail on the birds I spotted on this trip, including dozens of images gleaned from hours of digital video, and a more modest page regarding the mammals and other critters sighted this time 'round. In addition, I have built upon last year's Panama butterfly page
to include a number of new species I spotted this year. I hope that
those of you with a particular interest in any of these categories will
choose to explore a bit further
Setting the Stage... |
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The good news is that Continental has a direct flight to Panama
City from Newark, my preferred airport. The bad news: it arrives at
about 8:30 p.m., which, combined with a long wait at baggage claim, and
an hour's drive to the Tower, means I'm waking the whole darn place up
on my arrival. My taxi driver, Jose, is waiting for me at the airport;
he recognizes me, a remarkable feat given the number of people he
escorts over the course of the year, and that the last time he saw me I
had long hair. Jose is self-employed, but I get the feeling that the
Canopy Tower is his primary source of revenue, and I would guess a
lucrative one at that. My Spanish is better since my last visit, which
is not saying much, but Jose speaks enough English that we actually
manage a fairly lively conversation for a while. As for his driving;
well, I spend most of the trip looking anywhere but the direction we're
heading. People who debate the relative road hazards in American cities
amuse me- they have clearly not spent any time in the developing
nations of the New World!
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As we weave our way through the fringes of
Panama City, a couple of things strike me. First, we pass a huge
cluster of metal structures, absolutely identical, arranged in perfect
rows as far as the eye can see. Given that we are in the vicinity of
the free-trade zone around the Panama Canal, I naturally assumed these
were sea containers, full of cargo waiting to be transferred to its
rightful owners. But certain clues led me away from this conclusion,
and I confirmed my suspicions on my return trip in the light of day,
and also from the air leaving the city; these were not cargo
containers, but private homes, massive housing projects consisting of
thousands of identical rectangular metal shacks. From the air I could
see that some of the residents had made at least token efforts at
decoration; a few trees had been planted, a dollop or two of paint
applied. But generally these steel boxes were featureless, each smaller
than your average overpriced New York City studio apartment, and each
most likely housing an entire family of real, living, breathing,
Panamanian human beings. Then I considered that these citizens might
actually be the lucky ones, having a solid, if bland, roof over their
heads, and perhaps even electricity and/or running water.
My second brush with socio-economic reality came when I passed
through the more affluent, or at least middle-class, neighborhoods.
Most of the homes were one or two stories high, composed of painted
concrete, an appropriately durable medium in a land subject to the
metereological whims of a tropical climate. Each and every one of these
homes was surrounded by some manner of metal grating, usually enclosing
a porch as well as the house itself. I remember observing the same
phenomenon on a short trip to Guatemala a couple of years ago; I can
only come to the conclusion that burglary is a chronic problem in the
region, a shameful consequence of epidemic poverty and social inequity.
This fact is especially sobering in light of the fact that Panama is
one of the mostprosperousnations in the region, and reminds me
that, as an average American, I enjoy a standard of living well above
that of most people in the world.
Getting Reacquainted: The First Two Days
But enough harsh reality.... fortunately, the next 8 days will be
spent in the somewhat insular environment of the Canopy Tower, through
which I am exposed to the best of what this lovely country has to offer
(I won't linger here on the virtues of the Tower itself- for a more
complete description of the creature comforts it has to offer, check
out my Panama 2003 journal
for more extensive details). I wake up on Friday, which happens to be
my birthday, to typically gorgeous sunrise- well, actually, the
mornings here alternate between the glorious sun pictured at the top of
this page to a heavy mist (as seen at left). A couple of times during
the trip, the cloud cover is so heavy as to handicap long-distance bird
observation from the top of the Tower, but there is also a beauty in
listening to the unseen roars of Howler Monkeys, the squawks of passing
parrots, and the calls of two kinds of motmots. As my itinerary
straddles the schedules of two different groups of birders, I spend
this day with a small group who I barely get to know, as they are
departing the following day. They are a low-key bunch, which is
actually a nice way to re-acclimate myself to the sights and sounds of
the rainforest. We spend the morning on an easy hike on the Plantation
Trail (pictured below left), located at the bottom of the hill, and are
soaked by a torrential downpour as we drive back uphill in the open-air
Birdmobile. The heavy rains for the rest of the day are the result of
Hurricane Ivan (Panama generally experiences secondary effects of
Caribbean hurricanes), and, tragically, a number of people are killed
in Panama by flooding in the lowlands. For us, thankfully, the only
impact we feel is that we choose an indoor activity for the afternoon,
a tour of the Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal (pictured at top
left). I've never taken this tour, so I'm delighted to learn more about
this majestic feat of engineering. The Canal is currently undergoing
expansion, a shining manifestation of which is found in a
newly-created, beautifully illuminated bridge that popped up almost
overnight near the Canopy Tower, a structure so new that it does not
even have a road connected to it at this time! My understanding is that
this bridge is a welcome alternative to crossing the Canal at Panama
City, and will certainly simplify life for a couple of Tower employees
who live west of the Canal. The flip side is that the ease of access
could open up development in a somewhat unspoiled region. Here's hoping
a healthy balance is found!
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The
second day is a transition day, with many guests coming and going, and
as such is unstructured, with no scheduled tours. This gives me the
opportunity to bird on my own, and I spend a good part of the day
walking up and down Semaphore Hill, trying my hand at solo birding. I
have a bit of luck, finding an army ant swarm (more on ant swarms
later), and its attendant flock of interesting birds, and by the end of
the day I feel like I've re-learned much of what I picked up on my
first trip, and I'm ready to take things to the next level....
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New Arrivals: Time to Get Serious
Over the course of the day Jose slowly but surely delivered the
folks with whom I was to spend the next 6 days. In contrast to the
small group of the week before, the Tower was now full to the brim,
with a high of 16 guests for a couple of days. This was a diverse lot,
including a couple of of professional ornithologists, some dedicated
birders with neotropical experience, some without, a few well-travelled
general nature-lovers, and a couple of what we affectionately (and
sympathetically) call "non-birding spouses." They came from all over
the U.S. (and one from northern Ontario), from a diversity of
professions and backgrounds, and different degrees of birding skill,
but all shared an abiding love of nature in general, and birds in
particular. We were split up into 2 groups for the week, each with our
own guide, but there was some trading back and forth, and we all shared
our meals together, changing tables almost every time to make sure we
all got a chance to converse. The atmosphere at the Tower is
essentially collegial- well, make that "dorm-like"; in the cozy
confines of the single rooms, one of guests was prone to a somewhat
noisy expression of his bodily functions, particularly during a
prolonged morning bathroom ritual, to the minor irritation and
considerable amusement of the floor's more delicate residents.
Nonetheless, we all got along famously, and I delighted in hearing the
stories of my fellow guests, on the whole a well-travelled and jovial
bunch. The two groups took different field trips each day, and, as
birds can be somewhat emphemeral in nature, each location would produce
different sightings in the course of days, hours, or even minutes.
There was some good-natured mock-competition between the groups, but
really we all celebrated each others' good fortune, and joyfully shared
every detail of a good sighting, hoping that each group would have
equal success. One of our best sightings was shared by all; both tour
vehicles were stopped briefly at the gate at the base of Semaphore
Hill, preparing to head in opposite directions, when Mary Gustafson
spotted a Tiny Hawk perched above the road just ahead. This was a new
bird for most of us, and a rare treat for all, and it certainly would
have been a major disappointment in any of us missed it.
The Guide of all Guides
One of the great pleasures of this trip was that I got to spend the
week in the company of Carlos Bethancourt, one of the Tower's
outstanding guides, and truly a world-class birder. Last year I only
spent half-a-day with Carlos before he fell victim to a fer-de-lance
bite (see my Panama 2003 journal
for a full account of this incident), so I was delighted to have the
full week in his group. Carlos is articulate, gregarious and highly
knowledgeable, and most importantly, extremely enthusiastic; heloveswhat
he does, and his passion for birding is quite infectious. Although he
sees most the birds we encountered on at least a weekly basis, he still
seems as excited as a first-time guest when a particularly good bird
appears (he darn near jumped out of his shoes when we found a
regionally uncommon migrant Cerulean Warbler!). Carlos has the patience
to cater to the needs of all sorts of birders- for example, some folks
are mostly content to have the guide tell them what they are seeing,
and need frequent reminders as to the identity of even the most common
birds (nothing wrong with this- it can be quite relaxing). I go to
another extreme; I generally don't like being guided, and do all sorts
of research before a trip to familiarize myself with the birds I might
see. For me, the primary function of a guide is to in essence render
himself obsolete, to provide me with the tools with which I can cut the
apron strings and move forward on my own. Carlos has an extensive
knowledge of the habits, sounds, and appearance of the birds of Panama,
and the uncanny ability to spot the tiniest bird in the densest
foliage, then call it to us with a pitch-perfect imitation of the
bird's vocalization. But he also has the patience to linger on the
"easy" birds, to spend a long time helping an individual "get on" a
sought-after bird, and to keep all the members of a group with
differing styles absolutely content. Carlos nothing of a top-notch
birding talent, and even better, one hell of a guy. I could spend a
lifetime in the field with him and not come to achieve half the
knowledge he has accumulated, but I would love the opportunity to give
it a shot!
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Getting Ahead of the Curve...
This trip was my second to the Canopy Tower within the year, which
means, as I kept reminding the other guests, that I know "next to
nothing." Which I suppose puts me ahead of the curve a bit. In my group
I've got the most neotropical experience, or at least the most
experience in birding this part of Panama, which means I can more
readily find and identify the more elusive species. I was fortunate to
find some truly excellent birds on my own, and generally could share
them with the group, which was quite gratifying. It is only on my
second trip here that i feel like I'm starting toget it, that
I'm starting to understand what I'm looking for and listening to. I'll
discuss this at greater length, in the context of some of the species I
found, on my Panama 2004 Birds
page. In brief, the birds and other wildlife spotted on this trip
exceeded even my wildest expectations- even species I'd seen before,
such as the Mantled Howler Monkey pictured above right, presented
themselves in new and exciting ways (check out my Panama '04 Critters
page for more on the non-avian highlights of this trip). I arrived in
Panama needing to spot 27 new species to reach the milestone of 1000
birds for my lifetime (a modest 10% of the generally accepted world
total), and gave it a darn good shot. A few of the birds were quite
easy, as it turned out, such as the White-whiskered Puffbird pictured
above left, seen almost every day at close range. Many other possible
candidates turned out to be much more elusive; I'd like to take this
opportunity to thank carlos and my birding group, who quite graciously
took several detours in the effort to help me achieve my goal. I fell 6
species short, closer than I thought I'd get- I'll discuss my quest in
more detail on the birds page.
One particular experience deserves a more detailed description on
this page: the now legendary tale of the Motmot and the Grasshopper.
One afternoon, on the way down Semaphore Hill for a walk along the
Plantation Trail, we stopped the Birdmobile when Carlos saw the signs
(as only he can) of an army ant swarm. A little background: army ants
are perhaps the most fearsome predators in the rainforest, swarming in
search of prey in groups of perhaps a million ants. They can take prey
as large as lizards and baby birds, and anything small enough to eat
tends to run like hell ahead of the advancing swarm. Humans also tend
to take note, as a few army ants on the body, while not fatal, can
inflict excruciating pain. We also pay attention because ant swarms are
invariably attended by certain species of birds, often referred to as ant swarm obligates, who feed on the insects escaping the onrushing ants.
At this particular swarm, among the attendees were at least three
handsome Broad-billed Motmots (pictured at right) who, much to our
delight, were much too focused on the prospect of a good meal to
concern themselves with our proximity. We spent almost half-an-hour at
this swarm, an eternity in birder's time. Towards the end of our stay,
someone noticed that a huge grasshopper (2-3 inches long) had attached
itself to the back of Liz from California, a reasonably safe haven from
the army ant horde. As typical nature geeks, we made no motion to shoo
the creature (pictured at right), but simply chuckled and rushed to
capture photos. Finally, Carlos asked if everyone had seen enough, and
plucked the grasshopper from Liz's back and tossed it in the air. A
nearby Motmot, who was clearly paying close attention, instantly darted
from its perch and plucked the insect from midair just above our heads,
and proceeded to "tenderize" its meal by smacking it repeatedly against
a branch. Carlos was doubled over with laughter, clearly having had
some idea of what might occur if he tossed this bait into the air, and
joking that this was how the guides lured all the really good birds. We
were thrilled by the experience, a fitting end to our experience of one
of the exciting natural spectacles of the rainforest, the ant swarm.
Hasta Luego, Panama...
It is with sadness that I leave Panama one more time -- this place
has come to hold a special place in my heart, and I hope for many
return visits. As a birder and a world traveller, there are so many
places I have yet to see, but there is something to be said for finding
a place you like and sticking to it, getting to know it (and its birds)
intimately. Panama represents an excellent opportunity for me to do
just that; it has a solid economy, a largely English-speaking populace,
and a potential for high-quality ecotourism that is largely untapped.
Adding to the intrigue is the fact that soon there will be a sister
eco-lodge to the Canopy Tower, in El Valle de Antón
to the west, an area I visited briefly last year, and one that holds
somewhat different birding possibilites. I am certain that my affection
for, and devotion to, Panama is something that will last a lifetime!
More on KenAllaire.com:
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