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So tired. Feet are hurting. I’ve got what seems like a gazillion mosquito bites (Why don’t they ever attack Steve?), and I’d love to skip today’s report. But I’m committed to all you readers out there.
We started the day at the famous Canopy Tower. Previously known as Semaphore Hill, the Tower was used as a signal hill for the U.S. Military during the time the U.S. occupied the Canal Zone. now it has lodging for guests and caters primarily to birders. We visited the top level this morning and enjoyed the cool breeze and canopy top views as we watched hundreds of raptors migrating North.
We then heard about some army ants that were spotted nearby so we went looking for them. Why, you ask? (Trust me, I had the same question.) Turns out, where there are army ants there will be birds that specialize in following them, because ants stir up bugs and the birds like the bugs.
Steve, especially was excited about the army ants. He’d never seen them, but knew all about them since he’s what I call WikiSteve. I actually think he spent more time looking at the ant colonies than he did the birds. I looked at the ant trails too, but that’s because I thought I was going to die. They were all over the place and I’m sure they would have devoured me immediately. The mosquitos have, why not the ants too?
So, we can all check off army ants on our bucket lists.
Speaking of lists, here’s today’s list. Broke another personal best of species in one day: 125; Only 26 lifers today. I guess lifers would have to slow down at some point. Again, I apologize for typos. I blame the iPad. And just a few select photos at the bottom. I’ll be posting a bigger selection of photos from this trip after I get home from holiday. Lifers are in bold.
Gray headed Chacalaca
Anhinga
Magnificent Frigate Bird
Green Heron
Boat billed Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
King Vulture
White Hawk
Zone tailed Hawk
Broad winged Hawk
Swainson’s Hawk
Red tailed Hawk
Black Hawk Eagle
Crested Caracara
Southern Lapwing
Wattled Jacana
Unknown Tern (Royal? We couldn’t tell, as setting sun was in our eyes)
Rock Dove
Pale vented Pigeon
Scaled Pigeon
Ruddy Ground Dove
White tipped Dove
Orange chinned Parakeet
Blue headed Parrot
Mealy Parrot
Squirrel Cuckoo
Spectacled Owl
Chimney Swift
White necked Jacobin (hummingbird)
Scaly breasted Hummingbird
Garden Emerald (hummingbird)
Sapphire throated Hummingbird
Snowy bellied Hummingbird
Rufous tailed Hummingbird
Violations Trogon
Black throated Trogon
Black tailed Trogon
Slaty tailed Trogon
Rufous Motmot
Broad billed Motmot
Ringed Kingfisher
Amazon Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
White necked Puffbird
Black breasted Puffbird
Collared Aracari
Keel billed Toucan
Red crowned Woodpecker
Cinnamon Woodpecker
Lineated Woodpecker
Crimson crested Woodpecker
Buff throated Foliage Gleaner
Plain brown Woodcreeper
Northern barred Woodcreeper
Ruddy Woodcreeper
Cocoa Woodcreeper
Western slaty Antshrike
Checkered throated Antwren
White flanked Antwren
Dot winged Antwren
Dusky Antwren
White bellied Antwren
Spotted Antbird
Bicolored Antbird
Ocellated Antbird
Black faced Ant thrush
Brown capped Tyrannulet
Yellow Tyrannulet
Olive striped Flycatcher
Common Tody Flycatcher
Olivaceous Flycatcher
Black tailed Flycatcher
Bright rumped Attila
Panama Flycatcher
Lesser Kiskadee
Great Kiskadee
Social Flycatcher
Gray-capped Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird
Southern Bentbill
Fork tailed Flycatcher
Purple throated Fruitcrow
Lance tailed Manakin
Red capped Manakin
Lesser Greenlet
Mangrove Swallow
Bank Swallow
Southern rough winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Gray breasted Martin
Black bellied Wren
Rufous breasted Wren
House Wren
White breasted wood wren
Clay colored Thrush
Tropical Mockingbird
Chestnut sided Warbler
Bay breasted Warbler
Gray headed Tanager
White shouldered Tanager
Crimson backed Tanager
Blue Gray Tanager
Palm Tanager
Plain colored Tanager
Red legged Honeycreeper
Streaked Saltator
Bufff throated Saltator
Blue black Grassquit
Variable Seedeater
Orange billed Sparrow
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Red crowned Ant Tanager
Rose breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Giant Cowbird
Great tailed Grackle
Yellow tailed Oriole
Scarlet rumped Cucique
Chestnut headed Oropendola
Yellow crowned Euphonia
Thick billed Euphonia
Fulvous vented Euphonia
Lesser Goldfinch
Not a great photo, but you get the idea of all the migrating raptors that’s going on right now. Huge numbers!
Another crummy photo, but this of the army ants. They were building bridges with leaves and such. And I’m sure plotting my death too.
The Canopy Tower.
I’ve lost track of the days while here in Panama. Is it Wednesday? Thursday? Or is it a Tuesday? I honestly don’t know. When we picked up the car in Gamboa yesterday the man who speaks “un poquito Ingles” asked me what day we were to return the car. At least I think thats what he was asking. I speak “un poquito Espanol,” myself. I honestly stood there and blankly looked at him and then turned to my husband with the same blank stare, looking for the answer. Turns out the answer I was looking for was “Domingo.” Sunday. The day before this adventure comes to an end.
But to end the suspense for you, today, it turns out, is Thursday. And boy was it ever a great Thursday! we broke our record and today saw 111 species and gained 61 new lifers to add to our list. (I also predict that I lost about 10 liters of water, as it was around 95 degrees Fahrenheit today with 90%+ humidity. While I appreciate the wonders it’s doing for my skin, this desert girl just can’t drink enough water.)
Gamboa is very different from the cloud forest of Cerro Punta where we’d been the past five days. It’s right next to the Panama Canal locks and the area is in the Canal Zone where many people from the US lived while the US had its presence here. In fact the B&B where we’re staying–part of the Canopy Tower family of properties–is a renovated home typical of that era. It’s not as mountainous or even hilly here like Cerro Punta. And it’s so hot and humid it just slows me down. It’s a completely different climate.
Venicio or “Beny” as he’s called is our guide for the next three days. I adore him. He keeps my husband and I in stitches as we search for birds. As a Panamanian local he also gives us quite a bit of detail on the area, which I always love. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again here: Steve and I prefer the local guides rather than tours offered by outsiders. As a guest in their country I’d rather support those who live here and who really know the locations of the birds and they have more respect for the area. It’s not to say that all outsiders are disrespectful, but there’s a certain passion local bird guides have and that passion extends beyond just birding. They are passionate about their country and also add a certain flavor an outsider just can’t bring, like where all the great places are to eat.
Okay, here’s our list. Buckle your seat belts and be prepared for today’s awesome report. We birded the well-known Pipeline Road, the Ammo Ponds and spent some time at the observatory Tower at Pipeline Road in the late afternoon when it was cooler. (Mid day called for a mandatory siesta since it was so stinking hot.)
Drumroll please: 111 total species today. 61 lifers for Steve and I. Lifers are in bold. A few select photos at bottom, just to rub it all in some more.
(Apologies in advance for any misspellings or other name errors. I’m trying to read Steve’s handwriting and he’s gone to bed with the book, so I can’t double check and don’t want to walk upstairs to our room. Call me lazy. I’m pooped too.)
Little Tinamou
Gray head Chacalaca
Least Grebe
Pied billed Grebe
Rufescent Tiger Heron
Great Egret
Striated Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Broad winged Hawk
Yellow headed Caracara
White throated Crake
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Wattled Jacana
Rock Dove
Pale vented Pigeon
Scaled Pigeon
Ruddy Ground Dove
White tipped Dove
Blue headed Parrot
Red Lored Parrot
Yellow crowned Parrot
Mealy Parrot
Squirrel Cookoo
Pheasant Cookoo
Spectacled Owl
Common Pauraque
Short tailed Swift
Green Hermit (hummingbird)
Long billed Hermit (hummingbird)
Rufous breasted Hermit (hummingbird)
Stripe throated Hermit (hummingbird)
White necked Jacobin (hummingbird)
Black throated Mango (hummingbird)
Violet bellied Hummingbird
Rufous tailed Hummingbird
Blue chested Hummingbird
White tailed Trogon
Violaceous Trogon
Black Tailed Trogon
Broad Billed Motmot
Ringed Kingfisher
White necked Puffbird
Pied Puffbird
Keel billed Toucan
Chestnut Mandibled Toucan
Cinnamon Woodpecker
Lineated Woodpecker
Buff throated Foilage Gleaner
Scaly throated Leaftosser
Ruddy Woodcreeper
Cocoa Woodcreeper
Fasciated Antshrike
Barred Antshrike
Plain Antvireo
Checker throated Antwren
Dot winged Antwren
Black faced Ant thrush
Brown capped Tyrannulet
Ochre bellied Fly catcher
Common Tody Flycatcher
Olivaceous Flatbill
Royal Flycatcher
Yellow margined Flycatcher
Black tailed Flycatcher
tropical Peewee
Bright rumped Attila
Panama Flycatcher
Lesser Kiskadee
Great Kiskadee
Rusty margined Flycatcher
Social Flycatcher
Gray capped Flycatcher
Boat billed Flycatcher
Streaked Flycatcher
Piratic Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird
Southern Bentbill
Cinnamon Becard
Masked Tityra
Golden collard Manakin
Yellow green Vireo
Brown capped Vireo
Golden fronted Greenlet
Green shrike Vireo (Not a rare bird but a RARE FIND as it is very difficult to see and not a lot of people get to see this fella. We got an excellent look at him since he came out in the open and I got a great photo.)
Mangrove Swallow
Bank Swallow
Northern rough winged Swallow
Barn swallow
Rufous breasted Wren
White breasted Wood Wren
Black bellied Wren
Long billed Gnatwren
Tropical Gnatcatcher
Tropical Mockingbird
Magnolia Warbler
Bay breasted Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
White shouldered Tanager
Crimson backed Tanager
Blue Gray Tanager
Plain colored Tanager
Golden hooded Tanager
Scarlet thighed Dacnis
Blue Dacnis
Red legged Honeycreeper
Buff throated Saltator
Red crowned Ant Tanager
Great Tailed Grackle
Yellow backed Oriole
Yellow Tailed Oriole
Scarlet rumped Cacique
Yellow rumped Cacique
Last night after we finished dinner I could hardly drag myself back to the suite, as I was so tired. We had another wonderful day birding, this time at Lagunas and then Barillas Archeological site, which was reported to National Geographic in 1944. Got lots of birds, which you’ll see below, followed by some photos.
So, as much as I wanted to write my report, I just crawled into bed and let Steve have the iPad to check his email, since I’m the one usually hogging it. It was great getting nine hours of sleep, and after our breakfast we were about to take off, leaving wonderful Cerro Punta, but the rental car would not start. The battery is fine, but something is wrong with the electrical. We had planned to explore by car the Boquete area, since a lot of Canadian and US expats have retired there. Since we’re serious about retiring here and it’s only an hour away it seemed only logical to swing by on our way to the airport in David.
But we need a car in order to do that. Well, one that actually works, so change of plans.
Right now we’re sitting in front of a toasty fire, listening to classical music in the library at Los Quetzales Lodge, where we’ve been staying. (If you’re ever birding in Panama you MUST stay here!) And no better time for me to report yesterday’s birds than right now as we wait for Alamo to come fetch us.
Same drill as previous days. Here’s all our birds we saw yesterday with the bold ones identified as lifers. 105 total and 36 lifers for both Steve and me combined; 39 lifers just for me.
Blue-winged Teal
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Swallow-tailed Kite
Swainson’s Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Roadside Hawk
Yellow-headed Caracara
White-throated Crake
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Rock Dove
Scaled Pigeon
Ruddy Ground-Dove
White-tipped Dove
Chiriqui Quail Dove
Squirrel Cookoo
Mottled Owl
Green Hermit
Bronzy Hermit
Stripe-throated Hermit
Violet Sabre Wing Hummingbird
Green Violet Ear Hummingbird
Violet-crowned Wood Nymph (Hummingbird)
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
White-throated Hummingbird
Magnificent Hummingbird
Collard Trogan
Blue-crowned Motmot
Red-crowned Woodpecker
Smokey-brown Woodpecker
Pale-breasted Spinetail
Slaty Spinetail
Red-faced Spinetail
Spotted Barbtail
Ruddy Treerunner
Buff-throated Foilage Gleaner
Olivaceous Woodcreeper
Plain Antvireo
Yellow Tyrannulet
Greenish Eluenia
Lesser Eluenia
Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant
Common Tody Flycatcher
Slate-headed Tody Flycatcher
Tropical Peewee
Bright-rumped Atilla
Dusky-capped Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Social Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird
Masked Tityra
Lesser Greenlet
Black-chested Jay
Blue and White Swallow
Gray-breasted Martin
Plain Wren
House Wren
White-breasted Wood Wren
Gray-breasted Wood Wren
Orange-billed Nightingale Thrush
Ruddy-capped Nightingale Thrush
Clay-colored Thrush
White-throated Thrush RARE BIRD! (We got a great look at him through Ito’s scope, but too far for me to get a decent photo.)
Golden-winged Warbler (New for me, but not new for Steve.)
Tennessee Warbler
Flame-throated Warbler
Tropical Parula
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Black and White Warbler
American Redstart
Prothonotary Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Slate-throated Redstart
Collared Redstart
Mourning Warbler (New for me, but not new for Steve.)
Masked Yellow Throat
Wilson’s Warbler
Golden-crowned Warbler
Rufous-capped Warbler
Common Bush Tanager
Cheerie’s Tanager
Blue Gray Tanager
Palm Tanager
Silver-throated Tanager
Bay-headed Tanager
Scarlet-thighed Ducnis (New for me, but not new for Steve.)
Buff-throated Saltator
Slaty Flower Piercer
White-naped Brush Finch
Black-striped Sparrow
Summer Tanager
Flame-colored Tanager
White-winged Tanager
Red-crowned Ant Tanager
Eastern Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
Three-striped Warbler
Ito was an awesome guide for our three full days of birding. I highly recommend him.
HUGE day birding today. We’re still in the Chiriqui province near Cerro Punta. Ito took us to Hartman’s Coffee Farm in the area where there are loads of trees. The plantation is the only coffee plantation in the area that grows its coffee using shade of banana and plantain trees. There are loads of other trees on the farm as well.
It was a very active morning due to the very early rain. Speaking of early, we got up at 4:30 this morning so we could meet Ito at 5:30. Good thing we did. It took us an hour to get to the farm and once we got there the sun was just rising and there were birds aplenty.
I didn’t think we could top yesterday’s number, but we easily did. We got 104 birds today, including 55 lifers! Here’s the report and a few photos follow (Lifers are in bold):
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Swallow-tailed Kite
Roadside Hawk
Short-tailed Hawk (first time for me; Steve’s already seen this guy)
Swainson’s Hawk
Barred Forest-Falcon
Yellow-headed Caracara
Rock Dove
White-tipped Dove
Chiriqui Quail-Dove
Crimson-fronted Parakeet
Brown-throated Parakeet
Blue-headed Parrot
Squirrel Cookoo
Vaux’s Swift
Green Hermit Hummingbird
Bronze Hermit Hummingbird
Stripe-throated Hummingbird
Scaly-breasted Hummingbird
Green Violet Ear Hummingbird
Garden Emerald Hummingbird
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
Charming Hummingbird
White-throated Mountain Gem Hummingbird
Green-crowned Brilliant Hummingbird
Magnificent Hummingbird
Blue-crowned Motmot (One of my faves! first saw this guy in Belize)
Fiery-billed Aracari
Chestnut Mandibled Toucan
Red-crowned Woodpecker (this is the one Steve saw yesterday and I didn’t, but today I saw him!)
Pale-breasted Spine Tail(I didn’t see this guy, but Steve did)
Ruddy Tree Runner
Lineated Foilage Gleaner
Spotted Woodcreeper
Wedge-billed Woodcreeper
Streak-headed Woodcreeper
Spot-crowned Woodcreeper
Plain Antvireo
Lesser Elaenia
Yellow-bellied Elaenia
Scale-crusted Pygmy-tyrant
Common Tody-Flycatcher
Tropical Peewee
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher(This was new to me. Steve knows this guy from Canada)
Yellowish Flycatcher
Black Phoebe
Dusky-capped Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Social Flycatcher
Boat-billed Flycatcher
Piratic Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird
Barred Becard
Masked Tityra
Yellow-throated Vireo (New for me, not new for Steve)
Brown-capped Vireo
Blue and White Swallow
Southern Rough-winged Swallow
Rufous-breasted Wren
House Wren
Orange-billed Nightingale Thrush
Clay colored Thrush
Flame-throated Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black Burnian Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler (Again, new for me, but not new for Steve.)
Wilson’s Warbler
Buff-rumped Warbler
Gray-headed Tanager
Cheerie’s Tanager(New for me, but old for Steve)
Blue Gray Tanager
Palm Tanager
Speckled Tanager
Bay-headed Tanager
Golden-hooded Tanager
Scarlet-thighed Dacnis(Steve saw this, but I didn’t.)
Blue Dacnis
Green Honeycreeper
Buff-throated Saltator
Yellow-faced Grassquit
Yellow-thighed Finch
Orange-billed Sparrow
Sooty-faced Finch
Chestnut-capped Brush Finch
Stripe-headed Brush Finch RARE BIRD! (And I didn’t see it. Steve did. Super bummed.)
Summer Tanager
House Sparrow
Eastern Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
Crested Oropendola
Yellow-crowned Euphonia
Thick-billed Euphonia
Yellow-throated Euphonia
Elegant Euphonia (This was new to me. Not new to Steve.)
Lesser Goldfinch
Flame-colored Tanager
Cattle Egret
Rufous-collared Sparrow
Plain Chacalaca
Torrent Tyrannulet
And after reviewing photos this evening I showed this photo to Steve to confirm what it was and he can’t ID it. I must have shot this when he and Ito were looking at a tree of warblers. I’ll be showing it to Ito tomorrow, but if anyone has a guess, let me know. I’ll report back tomorrow with the news.
Here are a few more photos from today:
It was a big day of birding today. We had breakfast at 6:30 then met our guide, Ito, and headed just up the road past where we are staying to the cabins, also owned by Los Quetzales Lodge. We took Ito’s truck since our little Hyundai SUV hybrid couldn’t make it on the treacherous road going up the mountain.
I have to say this was probably the worst road I’d ever been on. Ito took it very slowly and thank goodness he did. I thought we just might not make it out of there in one piece. It was a rocky ride both up and down.
Would love to give more details and be able to edit and post some more photos but we have a 5:30 start in the morning and I’m going to have to call it an early night.
Buenos noches everyone.
(scroll to bottom for badge and photo)
Here is our list of birds from today. The ones in bold are lifers.
Mourning Dove
House Sparrow
Domestic Pigeon
Swainson’s Hawk
Turkey Vulture
Black Vulture
White Collared Swift
Vaux’s Swift
Blue and White Swallow
Cattle Egret
Blue Gray Tanager
Great Tailed Grackle
Violet Sabre Wing Hummingbird
Scaly-breasted Hummingbird
Green Violet Ear Hummingbird
Striped-tailed Hummingbird
White-throated Mountain-gem Hummingbird
Magnificent Hummingbird
Volcano Hummingbird
Orange-bellied Trogan
Resplendant Quetzal (male and female; we sorta saw this in Costa Rica, but really only saw a tail feather sticking out of the nest there, so I’m calling today’s a lifer since we got full views today of several.)
Prong-billed Barbet
Blue-throated Tucanet
Red-crowned Woodpecker (only Steve saw this lifer for himself; I was inside downloading photos to the iPad)
Harry Woodpecker (This is the Panama race– looks much darker than the one we see in our backyard at home, so I’m calling this a lifer.)
Lineages Foilage Gleaner
Buffy Toughed Cheek
Ruddy Woodcreeper
Streak-headed Woodcreeper
Mountain Elaenia
Tufted Flycatcher
Ochraceous Pewee(RARE BIRD ALERT! We were so lucky. He just flew right in front of us and sat out in the open for awhile.)
Yellowish Flycatcher
Dusky-capped Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird
Barred Becard
Yellow-winged Vireo
Gray-breasted Martin
Clay colored Robin/Thrush
Brown-capped Vireo
White-breasted Woodwren
Gray-breasted Woodwren
Black-faced Solitaire
Ruddy-capped Nightingale Thrush
Black-headed Nightingale Thrush
Mountain Thrush
Flame-throated Warbler
Slate-throated Redstart
Collared Redstart
Wilson’s Warbler
Black-cheeked Warbler
Wrenthrush
Sooty-capped Bush Tanager
Palm Tanager
Emerald Tanager
Silver-throated Tanager
Yellow-faced Grassquit
Yellow-thighed Finch
Slaty Flower Piercer
Large-footed Finch
Chestnut-capped Brush Finch
Rufous-collared Sparrow
Flame-colored Tanager
Black-thighed Grosbeak
Golden-browsed Chlorophonia
Yellow-bellied Sisken
Wedge-Tailed Grass Finch
Of course we saw more than fifty birds today, but there’s not a badge for any numbers between 50 and 100. Oh well!
We’ve been in Panama for six days now. The first day was a city tour in Panama City with our private tour guide, Fernando. (See my other blog for details on that day.) And then we flew to Isla Colon in Bocas del Toro where we spent three days scuba diving. Yesterday we got back to the mainland and had a taxi take us to Changuinola where we were supposed to pick up a rental car, but there was no rental car. We stayed the night and took the 4 1/2 hour bus ride over the mountains to David City where we picked up a rental car and then drove through more mountains to here in Cerro Punta where we’re staying the next four nights at the fabulous (and I mean FABULOUS) Los Quetzales Lodge. We no sooner dropped our bags in our spectacular suite (I splurged!) and we were out on the balcony spotting loads of birds. We saw seven lifers in only seven minutes! We don’t begin our full day of birding until tomorrow morning. I’ll have more to report then. In the meantime, here is my report of birds of note so far without really doing much. Panama City March 20 Not really trying to bird. Just arrived and took a city tour and visited the Panama Canal and its museum. Here’s what we saw, though: Gray-breasted Martin (Lifer for Steve and me) Great-tailed Grackle Bocas del Toro March 20 Again, not birding really. We were in Bocas (Isla Colon, to be exact) for scuba diving. Variable Seed Eater (Lifer for Steve and Me) Pale Vented Pigeons Rufous Tailed Hummingbird (Lifer for Steve and Me) Thick-billed Sea-Finch (Lifer for Steve and Me) Changuinola March 24 Kettles of dozens and dozens of Swainson’s Hawks, Broad-winged Hawks and Turkey Vultures (Broad-winged is a new lifer for me); They’re migrating to US and Canada and passing in huge numbers this time of year Two Swallow-tailed Kites displaying wonderfully in the breeze Black Hawk David City Airport as we were picking up our rental car Pair of Ruddy Ground Doves Fork-tailed Fly Catcher Tropical Kingbird Gray-breasted Martin Los Quetzales Lodge in Cerro Punta Blue Gray Tanager Palm Tanager (Lifer for Steve and me) Silver Throated Tanager (Lifer for Steve and me) Rufous Collard Sparrow (Lifer for Steve and me) Slaty Flower Piercer (Lifer for Steve and me) Green Violet Ear Hummingbird (Lifer for Steve and me) White-bellied Mountain-Gem Hummingbird (Lifer for Steve and me) Volcano Hummingbird(Lifer for Steve and me) 
Before when I would vacation, the only resources I would need were travel guides. 
You don’t have to do a lot of research when you just want to hang out at a pool or on a beach. If I was going to Europe, a travel guide could tell me where to shop, where to eat, where to stay and what museums to visit and their hours.
Birding is a whole new ball game. It requires homework.
Thankfully in marriage we’ve learned that the split in responsibilities matches up with our interests and core competencies. (It’s why Steve doesn’t fold the laundry and I do.) I love to make all the travel plans, not just because I enjoy putting all the puzzle pieces together when planning the itinerary, but I’m a bit of a control freak and to be honest, if I let Steve choose the accommodations we’d be tenting it the whole way. Or sleeping in places that read on their website as “simple,” “we cater to hikers/surfers,” and “best value in town.”
Sorry, I don’t go on vacation to get head lice.
So Steve lets me take on the challenge of balancing the travel budget with things that make me happy (balcony! fireplace! spa! world-renowned chef! more than two stars–any stars!) while he does the homework about birds.
The thing about Panama is that you can go pretty much anywhere and see some lifers. Our trip for the next two weeks is going to focus on the Western side of Panama. We’ll hit the Eastern side next time we go to Panama and maybe there will be some decent accommodations in the Darien region by then. (I hear that the Canopy Tower group is working on a Canopy Tent facility in the Darien region. Given their high-caliber accommodations, I would only expect high quality from them. Fingers crossed.)
Here are our primary sources of information for our Panama trip. Steve (who is also Rainman) has studied the map
and I think he has it memorized now. (I’ll find him on the floor with the map spread out, studying it for hours.) This map we ordered from Amazon and it’s turned out to be a great map. It’s printed on that really great durable paper that kind of feels like it’s Tyvek. Probably not the same, but almost.
I actually bought The Birds of Panama field guide for Steve after reading the reviews for it on Amazon. It seems to be the one that got the best reviews and this latest edition (2010), according to the reviewers, is much better than the earlier editions. It has everything in the right place, with range maps and today’s customary set-up with the text, range maps and plates all on the same double-page spread. 
It’s a little hefty, though not as much as the Birds of Belize tome, which we dragged around Belize. Thank goodness!
After Steve began studying The Birds of Panama field guide he learned that we needed to order A Bird-finding Guide to Panama, which is a narrative terrific guide that tells you exactly where to find the birds you’re looking for. In fact, if you were to visit without hiring a guide this book would get you to where you needed to find the birds you’re chasing. The detail goes as far as telling you to “drive to the gate, walk about 10 feet where you see the sign and take the path….” 
It also has recommendations for accommodations that cater to birders and even lists bird guides.” Steve’s got Post-it flags all throughout this book and he even left it for me to study for my own education when he was out of town so I would be prepared.
Other resources we’ve turned to have been the usual: Birdingpal.com, contacting the accommodations for advice, TripAdvisor, and just general searches on the Web.
We’ve already got our bird guides arranged and we’re packing our bags right now. We even got a whole new wardrobe at Eddie Bauer. They have a great Travex line that’s lightweight, breathable, and water resistant. Perfect for the humid tropical temps of Panama.
Be sure to stay tuned as I’ll be blogging and posting photos along the way.
If anyone out there has been to Panama and has any great advice or recommendations, feel free to comment here and let us know.
When Steve and I spent two weeks in Belize a couple of years ago (one week on Ambergris Caye scuba diving and the next week at Crystal Paradise Resort in the Cayo district outside San Ignacios), we spent a day at Mountain Pine Ridge.
Eric Tut, our guide, drove us and another couple for about 40 minutes on a gravel road up to the reserve where we were surrounded by pine trees. I hardly knew I was in a tropic jungle anymore.
It was a bit of a quiet morning, and we were also in a prime location to see the 1000-foot falls.
1000 Foot Falls
And good thing they posted this sign:
While looking out at the 1000 Foot Falls, we also got this awesome view of the Orange-breasted Falcon.
Orange-breasted Falcon
Orange-breasted Falcon
While a “quiet” morning we did see a variety of birds.
Of course, once it hits around noon or so it got really quiet. And hot. So Eric took us to the Rio On Pools for a dip in the pools. I love this kind of birding–bird in the morning and then go for a dip afterward to cool off. (Remember: Always bring a bathing suit on birding adventures.) On the way back to Crystal Paradise, we stopped at a little store for ice cream cups. The ice cream is made by local Mennonites and I have to tell you, it is some of the best ice cream I’ve ever had.
Ahhh, the life.
Here’s an “album” of our morning at Pine Ridge (click on any of the photos to enlarge and it will take you to a slide show):
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- 1000 Foot Falls
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- Good thing they have this sign!
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- Orange-breasted Falcon
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- Orange-breasted Falcon
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- White-collard Seed Eater
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- White-bellied Emerald Hummingbird
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- Swallow-tailed Kite
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- Yellow-faced Grassquit
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- Red Billed Pigeon
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- Chipping Sparrow
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- Basilisk Lizard (or Jesus Christ Lizard)
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- Flowers at Mountain Pine Ridge
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- Hepatic Tanager (Wish all birds would pose like this.)
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- Yellow-faced Grassquit
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- Epidomax (sp?) Flycatcher
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- Hepatic Tanager
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- Mountain Pine Ridge
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- 1000 Foot Falls
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- Strict ambiance this morning
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- Azure-crowned Hummingbird
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- King Vulture
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- Dusky Flycatcher
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- Acorn Woodpecker
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- American Redstart
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- Rufous-capped Warbler
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- Steve, our guide (Eric), and another birder (Melinda)
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- Rio On Pools
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- Rio On Poos
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- Steve and the Rio On Pools
It’s been a slow couple of weeks. My husband has been out of the country on business and I’ve been home nursing a cold, so there’s not been much birding for us.
Did you all remember a couple of weeks ago that there was the Snow Goose Festival in Delta, Utah? My husband and I went there a couple of years ago. Sadly, the snow geese just weren’t around. They were there but they were keeping their distance. I’m not sure exactly who the festival is for–us birders or hunters who begin their hunt shortly after the festival. Here’s a couple of the shots I got back then:
Snow Geese
Horned Lark
Okay, enough of Memory Lane. I will say that I’m rather proud of myself that last weekend as I was standing on my front porch I noticed a new guy on a tree branch. I grabbed the camera and even though I had the 300 mm lens, this was the best shot I could get:
American Kestrel
The proud moment was that I thought to myself, “I think this is an American Kestrel.” I then found our field guide and voila! I was right! I quickly emailed the photo to my husband who confirmed it for me. I did it! I identified a bird on my own! You see, that’s a big deal to me. I think I’m getting better at this.
