Panama: El Valle's Canopy Lodge Pre-trip Jan 30—Feb 03, 2006
Posted by Marshall Iliff
Marshall Iliff
Marshall Iliff, a lifelong nature lover, began birding at age 11 after attending a National Wildlife Federation Camp in the mountains of North Carolina. He attended VENT...Related Trips
This was the first time I had seen the new Canopy Lodge at El Valle, and all I had heard was born to bear. The location is lovely, set along a clear, rushing stream (with Green Kingfishers, waterthrushes, and even the occasional Sunbittern, Raul tells us), and looking out on the hills of El Valle. The rooms are well-appointed and comfortable, with spacious bathrooms and an excellent view. An open-air veranda is a great place to have our meals since temperatures are always comfortable, and the food is as flavorful and delicious as it is at the Canopy Tower. I was impressed.
The birds around the lodge are no less impressive. Not only do a variety of tanagers (including Dusky-faced, Tawny-crested, White-lined, Red-crowned Ant-, Crimson-backed, Flame-rumped, and Golden-hooded), and euphonias battle the common Clay-colored Robins, Buff-throated Saltators, and Tennessee Warblers for space on the feeding tray, but some other specialties do so as well. Furtive Orange-billed Sparrows are more easily seen on the feeding trays than at any other location I’ve visited?this is a striking sparrow that deserves to be seen out in the open, but rarely is, since it favors dense cover in the forest. Occasional clumsy Chestnut-headed Oropendolas glide in for their share, with their yellow tail feathers flaring and their crests erect. But the Rufous Motmots have to be the best of the bunch?I have never thought of motmots as feeder birds. Now if only the Tody Motmot could be trained to come to the feeder.
I actually do not hope that all birds end up habituated to feeders, since it adds to the experience to seek out special birds in the deep forest. We sought the Tody Motmot throughout our trip, and were finally rewarded on our last morning when we spotted a pair sitting stock-still deep in the brush. We had “walk away” looks at these cooperative birds. But the motmots were far from the only highlight. My favorite day was the day we visited the recently explored Altas del María location. Our day began deep within a dense cloud near the top of this high elevation locale. The clouds made the birding challenging, but we managed looks at Silver-throated Tanager, Common Bush-Tanager, Keel-billed Toucan, and Spotted Woodcreeper. Snowcaps were zipping around in good numbers, but seemingly never stopping. Finally a male perched for quick scope views, but he only stayed long enough for a couple of people to cycle through. As the morning progressed we had a number of other highlights: several different cooperative, perched Orange-bellied Trogons; a screeching flock of Orange-chinned Parakeets pausing in a treetop; a rare Brown Violet-ear singing from his display perch; a responsive Thrush-like Schiffornis singing his loud advertisement before giving us point-blank looks; and multiple mixed flocks with their own unique blends of species?Ochraceous Wrens, Tawny-capped Euphonias, striking Black-and-yellow Tanagers, Tufted Flycatchers, Spotted Barbtails, Green Honeycreepers, and Scarlet-thighed Dacnis were but a few of the highlights.
On other days we explored the forest trails of El Chorro. The dark, narrow trails produced nicely for us; first a roosting Mottled Owl was seen, followed by a pair of Black-faced Antthrushes that responded to our tape by walking across the trail in front of us. Hummingbird feeders within the forest are a great way to see Violet-crowned Woodnymph, two species of plumeleteers, and other hummingbirds. But the best hummingbird show was outside the forest. Banks of purplish flowers growing in several trees were watched throughout our stay for two special species: the Green Thorntail and the Rufous-crested Coquette. Strangely, most patches had little hummingbird activity. But on our last morning we found a patch that must have been in the perfect nectar cycle. As our last morning’s bird walk concluded, we paused to watch those flowers. Almost immediately a male Rufous-crested Coquette came into view. We had seen females on two occasions, but it was even better to see a male with his wild reddish crest and little white rump band. Other hummingbirds were swarming around, including Violet-headed, Blue-chested, Violet-capped Woodnymph, and White-necked Jacobin. Then a tiny greenish one was spotted: a female Green Thorntail. This active little bird usurped our attention until, just minutes later, an elegant male thorntail appeared, with long outer tail feathers flaring as he fed. This was only the second adult male that some of the veteran local guides had seen in the area. Fortunately even those who had gone back early were able to share in this special sighting, since the thorntails continued to feed in this flower patch for 30 minutes more. The hummingbird show, highlighted by the two specialties, made for a great conclusion to a wonderful four days of El Valle birding.