Panama - Day 4: La Mesa & Cerro Gaital

Short-tailed hawk

     Another early breakfast on the open air dining patio before we head back up to La Mesa and Cerro Gaital.  This morning's overcast and somewhat misty morning made for some difficult photography, but the viewing was still more than acceptable as we traveled back up to La Mesa Road.  We found our best accipiter of the day in the form of this handsome Short-tailed hawk which soared overhead.  With the advantage of having several veteran hawk watchers among our group to augment the proficiency of our guides, we did quite well in finding and identifying hawks on our trip to add to our year lists and in many cases life-lists.  

Southern lapwing

   In the first light on the day, we spotted our first Southern lapwings probing the loose soil of the grasslands for their breakfast of insects and other invertebrates.  These lapwings are more than likely residents of this area of Panama and are great at cohabitation with the locals.  As such, these members of the plover family are doing quite well and are in fact expanding their range as deforestation takes place.

Spotted antvireo

     My best bird of the morning was the Spot-crowned antvireo. This bird is endemic to this region of Panama and is usually found within several feet of the ground.  Our guides heard the bird singing and then with careful scanning of the understory were able to pick it out in the dark shadows.  Once we all had good views of the bird, I enabled the on-camera flash in a successful attempt to grab enough light to make a decent exposure. It's spotted crown and pale eye were captured nicely and the image is a great reminder of our first sighting of this handsome species.

     As we headed back to the Lodge after a good morning of tropical birding,  the sun began to break out and we were anxious to see what new visitors to the fruit feeders we might encounter.  One of our first sightings when we returned was this Green honeycreeper.  My wife Sharon had spotted this handsome tanager several days earlier when she remained back to spend more time at the feeding station while most of us headed out into the field.  The honeycreeper's main staple is fruit and as such is a common visitor to the fine feast prepared for the Lodge's avian guests.

Green honeycreeper

     Another honeycreeper which was not as common although its range stretches all the way from Mexico to Brazil is the Red-legged honeycreeper.  While not being nearly as picky as its Green cousin, it does enjoy a nice banana as a part of its diet and was hence not a rarity at the feeder.  

Red-legged honeycreeper

     Naturally when you are in the tropics, one of the most sought-after families of birds are the hummingbirds.  With close to 60 species found in Panama, you have a good chance of finding something new at anytime and at any place.  Still, one never tires of seeing old friends like this Rufous-tailed hummer.  It was a very common visitor to the many nectar rich flowering bushes found on the grounds.  It was nice to see that they spent more time at the real thing than they did at the hummingbird feeder nearby.  Always great to catch an image where the bird is in its natural element rather than situated on the red plastic perch of a feeder.

Rufous-tailed hummingbird

Giant cowbird

   
     Our afternoon foray lead us to two new cowbird species - the Shiny cowbird and the Giant cowbird. This cowbird is much larger than our north American but is still a brood parasite like out Brown-headed cowbird.  The bird is most commonly distinguished from the similarly sized Great-tailed grackle by a conspicuous ruff around its neck which gives it the appearance of having a relatively smaller head.

     We gather together once again at 6:30 with a glass of wine and our check-list to review the day's sightings with John.  After yet another delightful dinner, we'll sit on the patio and enjoy the mild evening breeze before heading to bed to rest up for tomorrow's new adventure to Rio Indio.  Just another day in paradise.  

Panama - Day 3: Altos del Maria

Birding in Altos del Maria
   

       Day 3 of our Panama birding excursion will be spent touring the highlands of Altos del Maria, a 7000 acre private (yet still mostly undeveloped) community near the town of Sora.  A gated community, the locale is closed to the public, but the folks staying at Canopy Lodge and under the supervision of the local guides are permitted to use the land.  It's a real pleasure to bird these beautiful environs while staying on smooth paved roads!  This may not seem like a big deal, but wait til you see where we go on day 5 - the Rio Indio Road.  Later for that.....

Masked tityra

     

     We birded out way up to the gates of Altos del Maria and Valle Bonito.  After a morning of birding in the expected misty conditions, we stop for lunch which had been prepared by the folks back at the lodge and hauled up the mountain by our guides.  The setting was beautiful and productive as we could bird from the gazebo overlooking the lake situated on the grounds.  Even before we began to dine, we had great looks at Spotted sandpiper and Green kingfisher.  After feasting, several decided to have a "big sit" and bird from the gazebo while the rest of us joined Danilo and Moyo for a hike around the lake and through the surrounding forest.  We quickly found a beautiful Masked Tityra and Black-cheeked woodpecker working the trees at the waters edge.

     Continuing into the lakeside forest, we crossed a small bridge where Danilo heard an uncommon find, the Dull-mantled antbird.  Hearing is one thing, but seeing is another and we spent a fair amount of time seeing brief movement in the dense foliage.  Finally, however with the help of sharp eyes we found our quarry and I was able to capture a shot in the shaded setting.  Fortunately, post processing of a badly underexposed image was able to save a decent shot of this elusive bird.

Dull-mantled antbird

     A side note here....it is easy to get so distracted when working so hard to spot a bird and inattention can be disastrous.  Fortunately, this little mishap turned out OK, but one of our number was backing up while peering through her binoculars and ending up falling off the trail and down an 8 foot steep embankment.  After a brief scare, we were able to help her back up the slope and found her to be in fine shape.  

Green thorntail

     After returning to the vehicles and continuing on our journey through the preserve, our guide Moyo slammed on the brakes and yelled out "Green thorntail!"  How he saw and identified this unique hummer while driving his 4WD vehicle down the narrow roadway is beyond me, but he is a guide extraordinaire.  Sure enough, we were all able to get good looks at this beauty and while difficult to capture as it flitted from branch to branch, I was able to capture a less than gallery quality image but one which will remind me of the capacity of our guides to find and id birds so quickly and with such proficiency.

     The day was truly a fantastic day of finding new life birds for all of our group.  Among our sightings of the day was this Barred hawk flying over head as we began our descent back down to the Canopy Lodge.  Just one more special bird added to our growing list of Panama lifers.  All this and we are only half way through our 6 days at Canopy Lodge.  Remarkable!

Barred hawk

     Tech tip - Don't be too quick to throw out those under-developed shots!  Overexposure is one thing and is virtually impossible to salvage a "blown out" shot.  Underexposed is a different case, however. Make sure you are shooting in RAW and you will capture a huge amount of data in a shot which comes out looking black.  The shot of the Dull-mantled antbird above looked totally black when I downloaded it from the camera.  By sliding the "Exposure" slider in LightRoom, the image popped right up and was more than usable.  If I had shot the picture using the JPEG format, less than optimal amount of data would be captured and saving the image may not have been possible.  

     

Panama - Day 2 - La Mesa and Las Minas

Canopy Lodge to La Mesa

 

   

Golden-hooded tanager

 After a fine breakfast at the Lodge, we embark on the first of the day's destinations, La Mesa Road.  Although the cloud forest is living up to its name and the visibility is less than ideal, we still manage to find new exquisite tropical birds such as the Golden-hooded tanager.  The bird is a study in intricate patterning in plumage with golden head, black on the back and chest, and brilliant blue on its face, wings and rump.  Even in the subdued light of the early morning fog, the bird's colors were nicely captured by the digital media of my Nikon.  You can only imagine the striking view presented by this bird in clear early morning sunshine!

Piratic flycatcher

     Flycatchers are a omnipresent family in the forest of La Mesa.  The Piratic flycatcher gets its name from its habit of taking over the nests of other birds rather than building its own.  Note that the bill of this flycatcher is shorter than that of most of its flycatcher "cousins", as well as exhibiting slightly more subtle coloration.

Rusty-margined flycatcher

 


      The Rusty-margined flycatcher is a more brightly adorned with cinnamon edges to its secondary and proximal primaries.  The bright white supercilium (aka "eyebrow") on its brown sooty head and its yellow crown set it apart from the other large bodies neotropical tyrant flycatchers which all look quite similar.

         

      These larger bodies flycatchers were not the only game in town as evidenced by the much small and aptly named Paltry tyrannulet.  At 4" in length, it is among the smallest of flycatchers but is easily distinguished from the other diminutive family members by its distinctive yellowish hue along the edges of its wing feathers.

Paltry tyrannulet

     This morning also afforded us with our best view thus far of a bird we would run into on many future occasions throughout the area.  The Black-chested jay is large and bright and would be easily identified by even the most novice birder.  While it is primarily black with white underparts, it also sports radiant blue accents above and below its bright yellow eyes.  The bird was often seen in communal flocks of 6 to 8 birds.

Black-chested jay

     Of course no trip to Central America would be complete without sightings of the iconic toucan!  Our first sighting of this incredibly patterned bird was the Keel-billed toucan.  While feeding mostly on fruit, it will on occasion take small invertebrates.  Even at a distance and in the overcast foggy skies, the bird is so large and colourful that it was easy to spot.  We appreciated the fact that it remained in place for quite a while as we observed and photographed what had to be our "bird-of-the -day".

Keel-billed toucan

          Upon our return to the Lodge for an afternoon break, we could not tear ourselves away from the feeders.  Once again, they provided endless entertainment as we welcomed back old "friends" and found new ones such as this Green honeycreeper.  While it is wonderful and productive to venture out from the Lodge (and highly recommended!), those whose mobility is limited for whatever reason could easily spend the entire week in the comfort of the Lodge grounds.  The feeders, forest habitat, and local pond offer a seemingly endless pageant of some of the most beautiful and entertaining birds and mammals on the planet.  A virtual paradise to be sure!

Green honeycreeper

Canopy Lodge-Day 1 Continued

 

With so many strikingly beautiful birds coming to the feeders at the lodge, it was almost overwhelming.  This edition of Naturally Digital will focus on those birds and will more than likely be more photos than text.  A little more about the physical setting first, however.

     The Lodge is a birder's dream come true.  Roll out of your "open-air" quarters at the crack of dawn to the wake-up call of tanagers, motmots, chachalacas, and more.  We folks from America find it hard to find places of such tranquility.  The omnipresent "white noise" of overhead aircraft, traffic, crowd noise etc are all but absent here.  With the occasional exception of a delivery truck bringing up fresh produce to the lodge, all one hears here are the sounds of nature.  What a treat!

     As we enjoy the freshly prepared breakfast prepared with eggs and produce delivered earlier this morning from the nearby farms, it is hard not to eat too quickly so as to move over to the captains chairs lining the railing overlooking the feeders.  We help one another in our attempts to identify one new bird after another and locate each new species for the rest of our group.  With a maximum occupancy of 28 guests, there is plenty of room for everyone to enjoy the show.

Gray-headed chachalacas

     The most dominant bird of the feeder community is the gray-headed chachalaca.  While certainly not the most colourful of the visitors to the fruit-filled feeders, it is certainly the largest.  When a pair of chachalacas decides to dine at this table, the rest of the birds generally step back and wait their turn.  About the only other patrons with priority seating are the local squirrels - Red-tailed and Variegated.  So interesting to think of our feeders back home being raided and dominated by our Grey squirrels and see basically the same scenario playing back here in the cloud forests of Panama!

Variegated squirrel

     But now, introducing some of the more striking avian guests of the lodge.....

      One of the most common birds seen was the Flame-rumped tanager.  The bird is a study in contrasts with its jet black body accentuated with a brilliant yellow lower back and rump.  This is surely one of those birds which you see once and never forget its very appropriate name.  I have mentioned how tranquil this idyllic setting usually is, but as seen here, little spats over "whose banana is this anyway!" erupt.  Here, a female Flame-rump and a Clay-colored thrush voice their displeasure with one another.

Crimson-backed tanager

     Another handsomely plumaged bird which frequents the feast is the Crimson-backed tanager.  His dark body adorned with a beautiful deep red back, rump, and lower underparts is further accented by his silvery based bill.

     I've already mentioned the many varieties of hummingbirds which frequent the grounds.  One has to be on the top of your game to be able to distinguish one species from another.  The locals seem to find telling one species from another as simple as telling one of their staff members from another, however!  This beautiful Blue-chested hummer was frequently seen taking advantage of the flowers and the feeders provided at the Lodge.

Blue-chested hummingbird

Broad-billed motmot

          Last but certainly not least on today's showcase of gorgeous birds found at the Lodge will be the Broad-billed motmot.  This medium-sized motmot is generally found at the lower levels of the forest and since we will be spending much time at higher elevations during out journey, it is a great opportunity to find this bird here at the Lodge.  Tomorrow, we will begin exploring La Mesa and Las Minas - other birding venues away from the Lodge.  What a fantastic experience to be here birding the beautiful country of Panama!

     

Birding Panama - Day 1: Canopy Lodge

     Located about 2 hours outside of Panama City in the vicinity of El Valle del Anton lies Canapy Lodge. The Lodge is a mecca for birders from all around the world and offers wonderful accommodations amidst some of the most lush habitat in Central America.  The Lodge is located on the slopes of a caldera of an extinct volcano and is surrounded by the Cerro Gaital National Monument.  The cloud forest provides habitat for a remarkable variety of tropical avian wildlife.

Safron finch

     As we flew into Panama City on the evening prior to the beginning of our adventure, we were all anticipating a great week of birding.  Eight members of our local birding club, the Mearns Bird Club of Orange Country, NY, had planned a special tour of the preserve and surrounding environs, and our expectations were only heightened by the reputation of this world renown birding locale.

Blue-gray tanager

      Upon rising early the next morning, we joined our guide John Coons in scanning the surroundings of the urban setting of the Comfort Inn in Panama City.  If birdwatching the grounds of the hotel was any indication of what was ahead of us, we were certainly in for a special experience.  Among the birds we first spotted were the beautiful Safron finch, Ruddy ground dove, Social flycatcher, Blue-gray tanager, and a Magnificent frigatebird flying high overhead.

 

Magnificent frigatebird

     Before making the trip up into the caldera, we made a stop at one of the many parks found in the area.  Metro Parc is an oasis within the borders of Panama City where one can find a nice assemblage of tropical avian species.  Within a few minutes on the trail, we encountered our first beauty, the Whooping motmot.  The motmot family is a small group of birds which perch on a low limb and seek out insects which are often scared up by swishing their long spatulate tails from side to side.

Whooping motmot

    Among the many new species we encountered was a reclusive Common Potoo.  The grey and brown speckled pattern of its plumage and the way it perches among the branches make this bird difficult to find to say the least.  Even as I photographed the bird, I really wasn't sure I was getting it in the frame of my camera until I was able to examine the downloaded image more closely on the computer screen.  One of the common names of this bird is the "Pour-me-one", an intriguing name but one for which I have not a clue as to origin.  Note in the photo how the bird perches in an upright position so as to mimic the surrounding branches of the tree.  The one feature which gives up the potoo's position is its orange eye which is visible in the photo.

Common potoo

   We were soon on our way up the mountain passes to our home for the next 6 days, Canopy Lodge.  Upon arrival, we were shown to our quarters, spacious stone floored living areas with large comfortable beds and beautiful balconies overlooking the dense foliage of the cloud forest.  The dining area is all open air and overlooks a number of rustic feeders which the staff continually fills with the birds favorite fare....fruits.  It was one continual parade of colorful birds of this tropical paradise, and we were quickly learning the names of those which were the most common and likely to visit.  One of the wonders of Panama's bird life is the number of species of hummingbirds.  We quickly learned to spot the Snowy-bellied and Rufous-tailed hummers! There are 59 species of hummingbirds in Panama and we were only scratching the surface of the great number of these birds found throughout this magical country.  With many of the hummers favorite floral feasts found on the grounds of the lodge, it was not hard to spot these tiny wonders as they flitted from flower to flower in search of the nectar hidden down within the blossoms.  More on the many sightings at the Lodge on our first day in the next installment of Naturally Digital...coming soon!

Rufous-tailed hummingbird

Snowy-bellied hummingbird