Birding for Life

My trip to Panama last month started on a whim, as so many of my trips have. A couple of years ago, I made a birding trip bucket list; this trip wasn’t on it. I think that I’ll blame – or maybe credit – my friend, Sandra, for this one. She is a much better birder than I am and also more motivated, and some of that ambition may be rubbing off on me. Her goal is to see half of the world’s birds, now somewhere over 5,500. My more modest goal is 2,500. Sandra and I have a big trip to South America starting in November, and I really want to celebrate reaching my goal on that trip. Fearing that I wouldn’t make it, I looked for a quick and easy trip to pad my list a bit. Panama’s Canopy Camp fit the bill perfectly. I had been to the other two Canopy lodges in 2017 and had a great time. The guides are excellent, and there wouldn’t be any planning required. When I told Sandra about my plan, she decided to come with me.

We flew to Panama City on September 15 and met our guide, Oscar Fría, and the seven other participants the following morning. We all marveled at the migrating Mississippi Kites right over our heads in the hotel parking lot—an estimated 200 birds! And then we started the three-hour drive south toward the Darién Province. The day went quickly, with a couple of stops for birding and a nice outdoor lunch where we could watch birds while we ate. Below are the Snowy-bellied and Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds, a Blue-gray Tanager, and my favorite plumaged Blue Dacnis, an immature male, that entertained us during our meal.

We arrived at the camp mid-afternoon, giving us just the right amount of time to get settled in our comfortable safari-style tents and explore a little. I was happy to get two life birds that first day, a Sapphire-throated Hummingbird and a Pale-bellied Hermit. In the gallery below are those birds (top row), along with a Blue-chested Hummingbird and a White-necked Jacobin that frequented the area near the deck where we ate our meals.

It was exciting to be in the Darién, described by Raúl Arias, owner of the Canopy Family lodges, as the largest and least inhabited province of Panama, the one with the biggest tracts of primary forests, the longest and widest rivers, the tallest trees, the least accessible province, the least known. Here, in this hotbed of biological diversity, the camp itself sits atop a small plateau in lowland rainforest.

We birded around camp the next morning, and I got several more life birds. One of my favorites was the lovely Gray-cheeked Nunlet that Oscar digiscoped for me.

Another highlight was this Golden-headed Manakin. I missed it the first time the group saw it because I had gone back to our tent for something. Later, Sandra spotted it right from our deck!

Chestnut-headed Oropendolas were a constant presence around the camp.

I also loved this gorgeous female Black-crowned Tityra, a photo lifer.

On the 18th, we birded an area not far from the camp where more life birds awaited. I really like woodpeckers, so I was delighted to add this Golden-green Woodpecker to my life list.

This Orange-crowned Oriole was another wonderful bird and also a “lifer.”

A female Blue Cotinga was not a life bird, but what a beauty! I couldn’t have been happier if she had been a lifer. It was my best view ever of this species and my first look at a female.

Friday was a big day–the quest for Harpy Eagle. I saw my life Harpy in Ecuador a few years ago. Read about that experience and learn more about the eagle in Ecuador 2021: Limoncocha (Part 4 of 6). But I don’t think that any birder would pass up an opportunity to see this special bird, so I was happy to have another experience with it.

While assembled at the edge of the field before we started our trek, these Black Oropendolas bounced around a bare treetop on the opposite side of the field. The oropendolas were life birds, and I was very happy to have even a distant view.

We were lucky to have a relatively easy trek to the Harpy Eagle nest, about two-thirds of a mile each way on a shaded trail through the forest. In contrast, many birders have walked for hours in the sun or ridden horses to get to a Harpy Eagle nest. The trail was not exactly easy, though, with lots of mud and exposed tree roots. I couldn’t help thinking that these birds must intentionally choose nest sites in inaccessible areas. Here is the majestic female Harpy Eagle on her nest!

Our good luck continued the next day with an outing to Yaviza Forest and nearby areas. During the trip, no one talked of our proximity to the Darién Gap, but a little research at home revealed Yaviza as the terminus of the Pan-American Highway. There were smaller roads going south, and our eBird trip report map shows that we ventured south of Yaviza for a few birding stops, including our Harpy Eagle outing. The economy of Darién seems complicated, but we were told that cattle ranching is important, and there was evidence of it everywhere. The pretty pastoral scene below with the mountains in the distance is typical of many areas we visited.

We saw some special birds this day, with the Spot-breasted Woodpecker an instant favorite. Oscar told us that it is his favorite woodpecker, and it’s easy to see why.

This Red-throated Caracara was another standout species that day.

One more great bird was White-headed Wren. Not only does it look quite unlike most other wrens, it’s also much larger.

We saw a few mammals at the camp, but not many species. Oscar told us that they are scarce due to hunting for food by the local people. However, we did see White-nosed Coatis and Geoffroy’s Tamarins nearly every day.

There’s still a lot of the trip remaining. Watch for part 2. It was a fun group with some of the nicest people that I’ve ever met on a birding trip; every single person was kind and helpful. Sandra, John & April, Rob & Lynn, Gloria, Pablo, Amarilys, it was a delight sharing this adventure with you. Oscar was a great guide, and the Canopy staff was outstanding. Birding trips are about more than just birds, and these wonderful people made this one of my favorite trips.