Panama: El Valle's Canopy Lodge Extension Feb 07—12, 2009
Posted by Kevin Zimmer
Kevin Zimmer
Kevin Zimmer has authored three books and numerous papers dealing with field identification and bird-finding in North America. His book, Birding in the American West: A Han...Related Trips
As always, the El Valle area treated us to some great birds, beautiful accommodations, and some unexpected surprises. We did encounter a brief stretch of foul weather (rain, wind, and mist) on our day at Los Altos del Maria, and unusually persistent strong winds negatively impacted birding throughout the trip—the weather everywhere seems off these days. In spite of this, we managed to find a number of good birds, while enjoying repeat views of a lot of the more widespread foothill species.
The feeder show at the Canopy Lodge is not to be missed! At peak times, it can be nearly impossible to tear a group away from the lodge feeders to go anywhere else! Not only was activity at the feeders frenetic, but the diversity of birds attracted was truly remarkable. To see such normally skulking birds as Rufous-capped Warbler, Dusky-faced Tanager, and Red-crowned Ant-Tanager attending feeders is a rare treat, and the spectacular Rufous Motmots are grand icing on the cake.
Our day at Altos del Maria was memorable for a number of things. The vistas were spectacular, the weather atop the ridge was frustrating, and the birds were simultaneously challenging and thrilling. We scored an adult male of the much sought-after Snowcap, along with multiple Rufous-browed Tyrannulets (exceptionally good views), dazzling Black-and-yellow Tanagers, endearing Tufted Flycatchers, and the diminutive Ochraceous Wren. We spent considerable time trying to see a pair (or possibly family group) of spectacular Black-crowned Antpittas that were attending a small swarm of army ants. The antpittas stayed mostly in a dense Heliconia thicket, only occasionally offering good views for a few of us. We made one last stop back at the thicket at the end of the day, on the theory that the third time was a charm. Just as we were getting into position, a plump bird flushed from the ground and landed on an exposed limb about 10 feet above the ground. Danilo initially identified it as a juvenile Black-crowned Antpitta, but as soon as I could see the bird in my binoculars, it was clear that it was actually a Scaled Antpitta! No sooner did I voice this than the bird flipped around on the branch and faced us, clearly revealing its distinctive facial and throat markings. Unfortunately, the bird was visible only through a relatively narrow window, and in the ensuing scramble of people trying to get an angle, the bird flew and was never seen again. This secretive species is undoubtedly more common than the relatively few records would suggest, but nonetheless, it is a rarely seen bird in Central America. I've seen other subspecies in Mexico and South America, but in 20+ years of birding Panama and Costa Rica, this was my first Scaled Antpitta in Central America. None of the local Canopy Lodge guides had seen this species since they found a nesting bird at Cerro Gaital seven years ago!
The El Valle area has an interesting mix of habitats, and we explored as many as possible during our short visit. One of the most interesting is the semi-deciduous forest, examples of which we visited at El Valle Chiquito and along the Cara Iguana Trail. Here, we secured nice studies of the spectacular Rosy Thrush-Tanager (how can anything be that pink?), the comical Barred Antshrike, the furtive White-bellied Antbird, and the impressive Blue-crowned Motmot. But our biggest triumph came in finally pinning down a pair of Tody Motmots (after hearing multiple individuals at various spots), and enjoying scope-filling views.
The dry lowlands around El Chirú stood in stark contrast to the lushness of Los Altos del Maria and El Valle itself, and provided us with a completely different mix of birds, highlighted by great views of the near-endemic Veraguan Mango, perched Brown-throated Parakeets, Panama Flycatcher, Mouse-colored Tyrannulet, and a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl being mobbed by a number of smaller birds.
But two hummingbirds at El Valle really stole the show. A patient stakeout of a Heliconia patch on La Mesa finally yielded repeat great views of the bizarre and seldom-seen White-tipped Sicklebill (after a few of us had just glimpsed the species at Los Altos del Maria). Then, at the eleventh hour, we finally scored on a stunning male Rufous-crested Coquette at a flowering vervain in front of the Canopy Adventure. The bird was known by local guides to be frequenting this particular spot, but several previous tries by us had been unsuccessful. Furthermore, the flower patch seemed to be zealously guarded by a territorial Violet-crowned Woodnymph, which didn't seem to bode well for the continued presence of the much smaller coquette. I visited the spot during our lunch break on our last full day in El Valle, and was delighted to find that the coquette was still there. I decided to try again with the group at the same time of day on our last day, on the reasoning that hummers are often creatures of habit when it comes to making the rounds of favored feeding spots. Virginia, for whom hummers rank a notch higher than all other birds, went to the spot a little ahead of the rest of us, who were still settling bills and checking out of the lodge. When we drove to the spot, Virginia's grin immediately answered the question of whether or not the coquette had been in. We piled out of the van, and Virginia was still relaying the details of her sighting when the coquette reappeared, almost too close to focus on with our binoculars. It spent the next several minutes methodically working from one flower in the shrub to the next, seeming to levitate or float between perches rather than actually fly, its wispy rufous crest bobbing in the wind. It was a most dramatic and soul-satisfying conclusion to a very enjoyable trip!