2018 Panama Journal - Day 9 - Part 1

Sunday 2/18/18

What a relief!  Canopy Lodge is at a much higher elevation than the Darien and we were relieved to finally have cool temperatures.  We both slept great for the first time in a week.

Breakfast was at 6:30 a.m.  The meals here are going to be the same as at Camp Darien.  The owner’s sister has been deemed the “Martha Stewart” of Panama.  She is a well-known chef and has written a very popular cookbook.

Very comfortable dining area.

After breakfast we met our guide Danilo.  He is an older gentleman whose son is also a guide with the Canopy Family.  I had quite a bit of trouble understanding Danilo’s English.  The other guide here this week is Eliecer (Eli).  Eli has very good English and is easy to understand. 

The Canopy Lodge specializes in nature tourism, particularly birds.  It is about 60 miles west of Panama City in the village of El Valle de Anton, right in the center of a gigantic crater of an extinct volcano.  This is the largest inhabited crater in the Western Hemisphere.

The lodge consists of 12 bedrooms.  Canopy Lodge is quite different than Camp Darien in that people come and go every day here.  There is not a set Sunday to Saturday schedule.  It was about 2/3 full when we were here with people coming and going.  There were several  non-birding spouse’s and a few folks that just wanted to sit and watch the feeding table all day.

The feeding table was set up in an area that we looked down on from the deck. The staff would load it up with fruit several times each day. 

It didn't take long for the birds to arrive after new food was added.

Danilo was our guide this morning.  We started out at the compost pile.  This is an area where the leftover fruits and vegetables from the kitchen are thrown out.  It was very popular with the Agouti’s and birds.  We saw 15 different birds here this morning! 

Agouti at the compost pile

Cocoa Woodcreeper at the compost pile

Around the Lodge grounds and at the compost pile we saw: Lemon-rumped Tanager, Clay-colored Thrush, Thick-billed Euphonia, Blue-gray Tanager, Louisiana Waterthrush, House Wren, Dusky-faced Tanager, Buff-throated Saltator, Cocoa Woodcreeper, Prothontary Warbler, Red-crowned Woodpecker, Snowy-bellied Hummingbird, Golden-hooded Tanager, Tennessee Warbler, Crimson-backed Tanager, Rufous-capped Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Green Hermit, Tropical Screech Owl. Red-tailed Squirrel, Central American Agouti, Three-toed Sloth.

Blue-gray Tanager

Buff-throated Saltator

Prothonotary Warbler

Green Hermit

There were a total of 7 of us, including Danilo, going out this morning.  We headed to La Mesa Road.  We were in a lot of different habitats this morning, secondary forest, scrubby pastures, and grassy borders along roads.

Birding on La Mesa Road

One of the more interesting birds that we watched was this young Yellow-headed Caracara.

Yellow-headed Caracara

After sitting on this branch for a while, this bird decided the place to be was on a nearby horses rump. The horse felt differently about that! Click on the pictures for a better view of the action.

The pair repeated this sequence a few times before the Caracara got the message and went back to the trees. 

As we walked along the road we saw hundreds of birds.

Blue-headed Parrots

Rufous Motmot

Rufous-capped Warbler

A real treat was spectacular views of a Bay-headed Tanager. While not particularly rare they have a tendency to stay way up on the trees, making photography difficult. This one was a bit more cooperative.

Bay-headed Tanager

Birding along Mesa Road we saw: Broad-winged Hawk, Yellow-faced Grassquit, Black-headed Saltator, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Tropical Kingbird, Chestnut-headed Oropendola, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Plain-colored Tanager, Blue-headed Parrot, Lemon-rumped Tanager, Crimson-backed Tanager, Bananaquit, House Wren, Giant Cowbird, Black-chested Jay, Blue-gray Tanager, Streaked Saltator, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Golden-winged Warbler, Golden-collared Manakin, Silver-throated Tanager, Rufous-capped Warbler, Black-and-White Warbler, Common Tody-Flycatcher, Spot-crowned Barbet, Tropical Peewee (H), Social Flycatcher, Paltry Tyrannulet, Verible Seedeater, Keel-billed Toucan, White-tipped Dove, Cattle Egret, Great-tailed Grackle, Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Plain Ant-vireo, Mourning Warbler, Plain Xynops, Spot-crowned Ant-vireo, Blackburnian Warbler,  Red-crowned Ant-Tanager, Chestnut-capped Brushfinch, Tennessee Warbler, Scaley-breasted Wren, Wedge-billed Woodcreeper, Tawny-crested Tanager, Spotted Woodcreeper, Tawny-capped Euphonia, Yellow-headed Caracara, White-ruffed Manakin, Squirrel Cuckoo, Blue-chested Hummingbird, Olive-striped Flycatcher, Slaty Antwren, White-lined Tanager, Great Kisskadee, Cattle Egret, Hapatic Tanager, Southern Lapwing, Rufous Motmot, Sepia-capped Flycatcher, Crowned Woodnymph, Lesser Greenlet, White-ruffed Manakin, Palm Tanager, Black-chested Jay, Gray-breasted Martin, Shiny Cowbird, Green Honeycreeper, White-tipped Dove.  Rusty-tipped Butterfly, 3-toed Sloth.

After a full morning of birding we were back at the Lodge for a wonderful lunch of Chicken with potatoes, corn on the cob, fried plantain, soup and salad. 

All set for lunch.

While enjoying our lunch we saw:  Green Honeycreeper, White-tipped Dove, Palm Tanager, Dusky-faced Tanager, White-vented Plumeleteer, Buff-rumped Warbler, Cocoa Woodcreeper, and Basilisk Lizard.

Green Honeycreeper male

Basilisk Lizard

Next time:  A great afternoon hike.