Panama: Fall at El Valle's Canopy Lodge Extension Oct 23—28, 2010
Posted by Barry Zimmer
Barry Zimmer
Barry Zimmer has been birding since the age of eight. His main areas of expertise lie in North and Central America, but his travels have taken him throughout much of the wo...Related Trips
"Snowcap!" came the cry from someone in our group. This tiny (2 and 3/4 inches) wine-colored hummingbird with the bright white cap was one of our main targets for the day on Altos del Maria above El Valle. Now we had it perched and were able to enjoy scope views for several minutes. Quickly though, we were distracted by a male White-tailed Emerald. This species of hummingbird is rather rare in the region (I had never seen one here before) and now he was contesting the Snowcap for a patch of flowers. Our local guide, Moyo, then spotted a Brown Violetear—the rarest hummingbird of the three. With hummingbirds buzzing all about us, a small mixed flock came in. Stunning Black-and-yellow Tanagers (one of the prettiest of the whole family) actually posed briefly in the scope. A couple of flashy Green Honeycreepers joined them along with several Shining Honeycreepers and a Bay-headed Tanager. A noisy cluster of Common Bush-Tanagers poured through along with a Tufted Flycatcher. Overhead, a rarely seen Barred Hawk circled lazily about, as a Thrush-like Schiffornis sang from the thicket. Moments later the schiffornis was seen within ten feet! All this swirl of color and rarity within a ten-minute period!
The Canopy Lodge extension to our Fall at Panama's Canopy Tower tour is the perfect complement to a week in the Canal Zone. Here in the cooler foothills west of Panama City one can find an entirely different set of birds. Over the course of five days we tallied 194 species, an impressive 67 of which had not been seen on the Canopy Tower tour. This gave us a grand total of 341 species for the entire trip.
We began our birding right around the lodge where tray feeders just outside the dining area play host to an incredible variety of birds. Rufous Motmot, Chestnut-headed Oropendola, Buff-throated Saltator, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Clay-colored Thrush, Thick-billed and Tawny-capped euphonias, and nine species of tanagers (including the incomparable Crimson-backed and Flame-rumped) swarmed over the bananas and papaya. It was almost impossible to drag ourselves away from this spectacle. Eventually we took a short walk up the road and added Broad-billed Motmot, Stripe-throated Hermit, Violet-crowned Woodnymph, Bay Wren, and Tawny-crested Tanager, among others.
Our first full day was spent on La Mesa in the morning and at Cariguana in the afternoon. Forest along the Las Minas Road yielded Blue-throated Toucanet, Spotted Woodcreeper, Great Antshrike, Golden-collared Manakin, Black-headed Saltator, and Silver-throated Tanager. A short distance away we had a pair of Dull-mantled Antbirds within feet of the group. Bat Falcon, Tawny-faced Gnatwren, Plain Antvireo, a very rare Black-throated Blue Warbler, and Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch were also seen. The lower elevation, drier forests of Cariguana produced the highly sought Tody Motmot, along with Blue-crowned Motmot, roosting Tropical Screech-Owls, Lineated Woodpecker, and Lance-tailed Manakins.
The next day we headed to the coastal Pacific lowlands for an entirely different group of birds. Savannah Hawk, Mangrove Black-Hawk, Brown-throated Parakeet (an allopreening pair from 20 feet!), Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Sapphire-throated Hummingbird, Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, and Mouse-colored Tyrannulet were among the highlights.
Day three found us on Altos del Maria where we enjoyed the previously described ten-minute frenzy. The highlights on this particular day were almost too many to list. Black-crowned Antpitta from 30 feet, Brown-billed Scythebill (a lifer for me!), Orange-bellied Trogon, and a perched White Hawk stand out among the others.
On our last day we visited the Rio Indio area to the north of La Mesa. Here we tallied another tour first—the Barred Puffbird (!!!), Jet Antbird, Black-faced Grosbeak, and Buff-rumped Warbler. A last-minute check of the Canopy Adventure before heading back to Panama City produced a roosting Mottled Owl at eye level about 15 feet away! What a spectacular conclusion to an already fantastic trip!