FIELD REPORT – Panama’s Canopy Tower and El Valle’s Canopy Lodge January 4-16, 2020 Crimson-bellied Woodpecker © Doug Johnson Pheasant Cuckoo © Sam Naifeh Green Shrike-Vireo © Doug Johnson White Hawk © Fred Engelman Blue Cotinga © Fred Engelman Prepared by Jeri M. Langham VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS, INC. 2525 WALLINGWOOD DR., AUSTIN, TX 78746 Phone: 512-328-5221 or 800-328-8368 / Fax: 512-328-2919 [email protected] / www.ventbird.com Myriads of magazine articles have touted Panama’s incredible Canopy Tower, a former U.S. military radar tower transformed by Raúl Arias de Para when the U.S. relinquished control of the Panama Canal Zone. It sits atop 900-foot Semaphore Hill overlooking Soberania National Park. While its rooms are rather spartan, the food is excellent and the opportunity Panama’s Canopy Tower © Ruthie Stearns to view birds at dawn from the 360º rooftop Observation Deck above the treetops is outstanding. Twenty minutes away is the start of the famous Pipeline Road, possibly one of the best birding roads in Central and South America. From our base, daily birding outings are made to various locations in Central Panama, which vary from the primary forest around the tower, to huge mudflats near Panama City and, finally, to cool Cerro Azul and Cerro Jefe forest. An enticing example of what awaits visitors to this marvelous birding paradise can be found in excerpts taken from the Journal I write every night during the tour and later e-mail to participants. These are taken from my 18-page, January 2020 Journal. I met you all downstairs to teach you how to identify the many hummingbird species we get here at the Canopy Tower. There are eight nectar feeders to watch and sometimes it was crazy trying to look at more than one feeder at a time. We saw Snowy-bellied Hummingbird, many male and female White-necked Jacobins, Blue-chested Hummingbird, both Long-billed and Stripe-throated hermits, Violet-bellied Hummingbird and White-vented Plumeleteer. We had to endure a few sprinkles from time to time, but, eventually, that rain would give us a nice rainbow view from the Observation Deck on top of the Tower. My big surprise here was having Geoffroy’s Tamarins come bounding in, giving us great looks at them scampering up and down trunks and branches, jumping across from tree to tree, and looking for food in dead leaf clusters and elsewhere on the Cecropia trees. Later in the evening, an Allen’s Olingo would be observed taking an offered banana from one of these trees. ! ! ! White-necked Jacobins Black-and-white Owl Long-billed Hermit !"Sam Naifeh ! Jeri Langham ! Doug Johnson We prepared for our 9:00 a.m. walk down Semaphore Hill after an early morning on the Observation Deck. Maybe it was the wind, but we had to work very hard for every species we saw this morning, which included Slate-colored Grosbeak, Cinnamon Woodpecker, Black- crowned Antshrike, Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher, Spotted Antbird, a female Blue-crowned Manakin, several Dot-winged Antbirds, and a pair of Squirrel Cuckoos. We watched, in amazement, the tiny Azteca Ants on their 2-foot long huge papery nest that was hanging from a tall tree. The “Tinamu” (open truck) brought us our mid-morning snack and cold drinks. One of our nicest experiences after our snack was with a Broad-billed Motmot that allowed multiple photos. We also saw White-shouldered Tanagers, Checker-throated Stipplethroats (some carrying food) and, best for me, a perched Black-and-white Owl. In my previous 22 tours here, we have never seen this owl and only heard it one year. Our first main stop this morning was opposite the large Ammo Dump pond where we identified more than 50 species of birds yesterday. New birds immediately started coming our way, including Yellow-backed Oriole, immature Rufescent Tiger-Heron, Smooth-billed Ani, Green Heron, and Pale-vented Pigeon, plus we had better looks at Wattled Jaçana. We then drove to the intersection near the yellow gate at Pipeline Road and spent the next few hours with two flocks and a nice fruiting tree. Almost immediately we had our best ever looks of Green Shrike-Vireo and Gartered Trogon. The two Whooping Motmots flew away without allowing scope views. The Long-billed Gnatwren circled us several times. Blue Dacnis, Red- legged Honeycreeper, several species of warblers, Cocoa Woodcreeper, Buff-throated Saltator, Masked Tityra, Plain Xenops and much more kept us hopping. Green Shrike-Vireo Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher Pheasant Cuckoo © Sam Naifeh © Doug Johnson © Jeri Langham As we climbed the 176 or so steps of the Rainforest Discovery Center Tower, we heard a Pheasant Cuckoo calling. We were atop the Tower for almost 2 hours scanning in all directions and seeing a distant Gray-headed Kite, two Semiplumbeous Hawks, two Collared Araçaris, several Scaled Doves, Crane Hawk, Brown-hooded and Blue-headed parrots, Blue Dacnis, Red-legged Honeycreeper, and best of all, a Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, one of the smallest of all passerines. The songs of the Pheasant Cuckoo were finally more than I could take and down we went. As we were eating our snacks, it flew past Carlos and within five minutes he found it perched and we soaked up the view for about 30 minutes. Song Wren and Red-throated Ant-Tanager also cooperated after this wonderful experience. Our plan for our full day on the Pipeline Road was to walk in a ways birding, then have Jorge bring both vehicles forward to pick us up and take us further down the road. After that we would walk and he moved the two vehicles forward. Several Blue Morpho butterflies were spectacular and Tena spotted a Tent-making Bat hanging under the leaf it had made into a tent. Today we would have luck with a number of difficult-to-see Neotropical specialties. Rufous Mourner, Russet-winged Schiffornis, Pied and White-whiskered puffbirds, Blue- crowned and Red-capped manakins, Checker-throated Stipplethroat, Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Bicolored Antbird, Gray-headed Tanager, Long-billed Gnatwren, Fulvous-vented Euphonia, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Plain Xenops and more were among them. One event I always enjoy is listening to Carlos often whistle the call of Streak-chested Antpitta until one responds, and then he manages to get the scope on this tiny egg on legs deep in the forest. We had our picnic lunch at a flat pullout on the Pipeline Road. Carlos and Jorge set up the table and brought out the ham & cheese and chicken sandwiches with lettuce and tomatoes to add as we pleased, fresh pineapple and watermelon, sliced carrots and celery with a great dip, and cake for dessert. As we arrived, Jorge informed us that a Blue Cotinga had been feeding fairly low when he arrived. He was able to show us the bird way up in a tree, and after lunch it dropped down for great views and photos. This was also our day to see two new trogons - Black-throated and White-tailed. We also had several Slaty-tailed Trogons and we heard a Gartered Trogon. We saw a White-nosed Coati on the drive in and a nice Northern Tamandua as we were leaving. Blue Cotinga © Sam Naifeh Gartered Trogon © Doug Johnson At the entrance to Cerro Jefe, Carlos heard a distant Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker, the endemic species that is the main target here. It did not respond…I was getting nervous because there were simply NO BIRDS on this cold and overcast day! But then, as we passed the entrance gate, I saw a group of 6-7 Carmiol’s Tanagers fly into a fruiting tree. Next, a male White-ruffed Manakin cooperated for a few photos. As we walked back toward the van, the endemic Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker decided to cooperate enough for all to see it. WHEW! Walking up the steep hill, things were again quiet, but we did add an Emerald Tanager, saw some Golden-hooded Tanagers, glimpsed a Violet-capped Hummingbird and were teased by a Bicolored Antbird. Walking back down the hill and past the fruiting tree, we suddenly heard some tanagers and all Hell broke loose! Emerald, Speckled, Golden-hooded, Bay- headed, Rufous-winged (rarest), Black-and-yellow, and Hepatic tanagers kept us enthralled. It was so much fun, but it was exhausting as Carlos and I tried to get all of you on new species. ! ! ! Black-and-yellow Tanager ! John Sevenair Snowy-bellied Shining Honeycreeper Hummingbird ! Doug Johnson ! Fred Engelman We drove to the home of Jerry and Linda Harrison where Linda would prepare lunch for us. They have remodeled this wonderful home and its setting is fantastic, especially the nectar, rice and banana feeders by the back porch where the hummingbird show defies description. Dozens of hummingbirds fight for space at the 14 nectar feeders. Diversity was excellent as we saw 10 hummingbird species: Crowned Woodnymph, Bronze-tailed and White-vented plumeleteers, Green Hermit, White-necked Jacobin, and Rufous-tailed, Blue-chested, and Snowy-bellied hummingbirds. The Green Thorntail and male Rufous-crested Coquette took the prize for rarity. The dazzling colors of several Red-legged, Shining and Green honeycreepers were stunning. Thick-billed and Fulvous-vented euphonias, Bananaquits, and Hepatic Tanagers added to the spectacle. Black-cheeked Woodpecker and several Yellow-faced Grassquits, as well as Blue-gray, Palm and Crimson-backed tanagers made it difficult to leave this little paradise. ! ! Yellow-faced Grassquit Crowned Woodnymph Crimson-backed Tanager ! Doug Johnson ! Doug Johnson ! Sam Naifeh I was up on the Observation Deck by 6:00 a.m. since it was our last morning at the Canopy Tower.