April was the month of the forest fires and of the blooming of the Guayacan Trees. The main fire consumed about 60 hectares of Parque Nacional Camino de Cruces which is about 10 kilometers from the Canopy Tower. Fortunately, we were not touched. El Niño has caused a terrible drought in Panama and the fires are a consequence of this. On a happier side, during April the Guayacan trees bloomed in all their splendor, adding a beautiful bright yellow to the scenery. It is said that these trees usually bloom one month before the beginning of the rainy season, and sure enough, 30 days after these pictures were taken (give and take a few days) we had the first rains of 1998. Thanks God!! The forest was becoming so dry I was afraid of more fires. We also took advantage of the last days of the dry season to repair the road up the hill which had some cracks that needed to be filled before the rains come.

    Robert Ridgely, one of the most respected ornithologists in the Western Hemisphere, came with a group of 20 students of the Young Ornithologists Program of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. They stayed overnight on April 6. Dr. Ridgely is also the author of the book "Birds of Panama" and of the monumental work "Birds of South America", which consists of 4 volumes, 2 of which have already been published. He loved the Canopy Tower and was very happy with it, since it will have facilities for birders and nature lovers to stay overnight right in the rich forests surrounding the Panama Canal. Something that Panama is lacking right now.

    I must share with you an anecdote which occurred during Ridgely's last day in the Tower. We were all walking down the road and watching birds here and there. At one point I was next to him and heard him say a couple of times, while he was looking through his binoculars: "the perfect set-up", "the perfect set-up". I thought he was referring to something he was looking at that moment, perhaps a male and a female of the same species, but I had some doubts, so I asked him. "Bob, please explain what do you mean by the perfect set-up?" And he said, more or less the following: "well, Raul, you have everything!, excellent canopy birding in very comfortable surroundings, then in the evening you just walk out the door and see great owls and to top it of, several mammals!". "The perfect set-up" "This is going to be a success". Needless to say, his words were music to my ears (Beethoven's 9th, to be precise).

    Art Wolfe, the world-famous nature photographer came twice in the early morning hours of friday and saturday, april 10 and 11. He is taking pictures for a book he will publish next year to celebrate the coming of the year 2,000. He must have taken about 100 rolls of film of the sunrise, the surrounding forest and the many birds that came to say hello. I remember several Scarlet Tanagers and Green Honeycreepers that perched very close to the Tower. He wanted a Keel-billed Toucan, which are normally quite common around the Tower, but c'est la vie, that day there was none to be found in the neighborhood. Nevertheless, Art was quite happy and several times said, "This is a great place for photographers", and he should know since he is one of the best in the world. For more information about Art, visit his home page at: http://www.mountainzone.com/artwolfe/home.htm

    We also had three young men from Pennsylvania, Deuane Hoffman, Dick Colyer and Jason Horn. These fellows stayed 3 weeks in Panama and saw about 550 species!! They were all over the place. From Chiriqui to Darien, with stops in El Cope, El Valle and, of course, The Canopy Tower where they added several lifers to their list, including the Crested Owl and the magnificent Crested Eagle. They went back very happy and satisfied with Panama as a birder's paradise!

    Another birder we were privileged to host was USAF General and Mrs. M. McGinty. They came accompanied by Loyda Sanchez and Carmen Martino of the Panama Audubon Society and were very happy with what they saw. Carmen later received an e-mail from Mrs. McGinty which said: "...also the next time you see Raul please tell him thanks and that I am ready to be the resident cook". She liked the Tower so much she is willing to stay here permanently!! You are welcomed, Mrs. McGinty, what a distinguished cook we would have!!

    Finally, in April we received the visit of Dr. Hana Ayala and several members of the ARI (Autoridad de la Region Interoceanica), my landlords!! Dr. Ayala has been contracted by the Panamanian Government to advise it in a new tourism strategy. One based in Panama's natural wonders and not in the traditional shopping, casinos and gambling which our tourism industry has been characterized for many years. Dr. Ayala has chosen the Canopy Tower as one of the "pilot projects" of the new tourism industry Panama wants to develop and we are quite honored with this distinction.