Panama Day 2: Birding in a group where styles don’t mix
Our first day in El Valle, Panama at Canopy Lodge only called for a 6:30 a.m. breakfast, which is not too early by birding standards. In fact, some might suggest that was a rather late start, but I trust the folks at Canopy Lodge to know what they’re doing and I’m not going to argue with a later start. Not at all.
So after a quick, hearty meal of scrambled eggs, ham, toast and yogurt we headed to the Chorro de Macho waterfall at the Canopy Adventure area for wet forest and foothills species and then to La Mesa and Cerro Gaital, which is primarily an agricultural area and where there are oodles of chicken farms. (Chickens weren’t really the kind of birds we were after, mind you.)
We were put with a group of other birders who had already been at the lodge and that, of course, worried me. It worried me because birders are always different. For instance, I’m a terrible hiker–I’m painfully slow and I still don’t like the slippery slopes and muddy terrain. Throw gravel and wet leaves in the mix and I panic. We had two hard-core birders in our group and nothing seemed to stop them and they didn’t seem to want anyone stopping them either.
Steve, I know, would like to go hard, hard, hard with the others, but he’s a great husband who helps me on the terrain that causes me angst. Our poor guide was left trying to figure out how to accommodate me and how to make sure his other customers were happy. I made things easier for him by telling him at lunch that I’d like to stay back and get a massage and let Steve head out with the group.
Good call, I think, for everyone. I had a great massage back at the lodge followed by a long nap while Steve had some great birding with the group.
The next day the Canopy Lodge folks arranged for Steve and I to have our own guide for the remainder of our stay. Good job, Canopy Lodge! You read your customers well and know how to accommodate to all types.
Here are some photos of some of the birds we saw on this day and some other random photos.
The list
Here’s our list for this day. 107 species in one day! 25 Lifers for Steve; 23 Lifers for Lisa. (This is our combined list for the day. Unfortunately, we didn’t break it out for what Steve saw in the afternoon, so some of these species I didn’t see at all. I was busy getting a massage and taking a nap.) Lifers are in bold.
- Little Tinamou (heard)
- Gray-headed Chacalaca
- Cattle Egret
- Black Vulture
- Turkey Vulture
- White Hawk
- Broad-winged Hawk
- Southern Lapwing
- Ruddy Ground-Dove
- Squirrel Cuckoo
- Mottled Owl (Only Steve saw and was a lifer for him)
- Green Hermit
- Stripe-throated Hermit
- White-vented Plumeleteer
- Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer
- Violet-crowned Woodnymph
- Blue-chested Hummingbird
- Snow-bellied Hummingbird
- Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
- Orange-bellied Trogon
- Rufous Motmot
- Broadbilled Motmot
- Keel-billed Toucan
- Black-cheeked Woodpecker
- Lineated Woodpecker
- Blue-headed Parrot
- Great Antshrike (Only Steve saw and is a lifer for him)
- Barred Antshrike
- Plain Vireo
- Spot-crowned Antvireo
- Slaty Antwren
- Checker-throated Antwren
- Dusky Antbird
- Chestnut-backed Antbird
- Plain-brown Woodcreeper
- Wedge-billed Woodcreeper
- Cocoa Woodcreeper
- Spotted Woodcreeper
- Olive-striped Flycatcher
- Ochre-bellied Flycatcher
- Sepia-capped Flycatcher
- Paltry Tyrannulet
- Scale-crested Pygmy Tyrant
- Common Tody-Flycatcher
- Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher (heard)
- White-throated Spadebill
- Sulpher-rumped Flycatcher
- Eastern Wood-Pewee
- Rufous Mourner
- Panama Flycatcher
- Boat-billed Flycatcher
- Social Flycatcher
- Gray-capped Flycatcher
- Tropical Kingbird
- Thrush-like Schiffornis (heard)
- Golden-collared Manakin (Only Steve saw and is a lifer for him)
- White-ruffed Manakin
- Lesser Greenlet
- Black-chested Jay
- Gray-breasted Martin
- Southern Rough-winged Swallow
- Scaly-breasted Wren (heard, but eventually saw a couple days later)
- House Wren
- Rufous-breasted Wren
- Rufous-and-white Wren (heard, but eventually saw a couple days later)
- Plain Wren
- Bay Wren
- White-breasted Wood-Wren
- Gray-breasted Wood-Wren (heard)
- Song Wren
- Tawny-faced Gnatwren
- Long-billed Gnatwren
- Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush
- Swainson’s Thrush
- Clay-colored Thrush
- Golden-winged Warbler (Lifer for Lisa)
- Black-and-white Warbler
- Tennessee Warbler
- American Redstart
- Bay-breasted Warbler
- Blackburnian Warbler
- Chestnut-sided Warbler
- Buff-rumped Warbler
- Rufous-capped Warbler
- Canada Warbler
- Bananaquit
- Rosy Thrush-Tanager (heard him last year in Gamboa, but this was the first we saw him)
- Dusky-faced Tanager
- White-lined Tanager
- Crimson-backed Tanager
- Flame-rumped Tanager
- Blue-gray Tanager
- Palm Tanager
- Silver-throated Tanager
- Streaked Saltator
- Buff-throated Saltator
- Variable Seedeater
- Yellow-faced Grassquit
- Hepatic Tanager
- Summer Tanager
- Red-crowned Ant-Tanager
- Black-faced Grosbeak
- Great-tailed Grackle
- Yellow-backed Oriole
- Chestnut-headed Oropendola
- Thick-billed Euphonia
- Tawny-capped Euphonia
Wow, some great shots…. looks like you were having fun, and hanging on tight! thanks for sharing.
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Thanks Sally! Hanging on is usually harder than taking pictures. š
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I am in awe of your birding success. The best day we had in Panama was about 70 some species, and that was with a guide!
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Sue, we had really great guides who knew exactly where the birds were. There was a lot of sharing of info between all the guides at Canopy Lodge, so that helped too. Hey, I’d like to find out more about your trip to Cuba–what organization you went with, etc. My husband and I were talking on the plane as we were coming back (still on a plane as I write this to you) about going to Cuba. He can easily go, as he’s Canadian, but as you know, problematic for me, as I’m from the U.S. We’re also considering Venezuela for next year (with scuba diving in Bonaire), or perhaps a trip to Asa Wright in Trinidad. So many places to see birds! But do tell about Cuba.
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What a trip Lisa! I am so enjoying each and every post. It must be incredible to see so many new species!
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What a list! I’m envious! So glad you had the opportunity for the birding …. and the massage!
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