Danilo Jr. greeted us warmly when we arrived at Canopy Lodge just in time for lunch on April 25. He had been one of our favorite guides at the Tower and we were happy to see him again. After lunch, we had a little time for birding on our own and exploring the grounds of the lodge. A beautiful creek provided the perfect place for for Mrs. Flame-rumped Tanager to have a nice bath.
Female Flame-rumped Tanager
I also had just enough time to find a life bird for myself before Danilo took us out on our first birding trip from the lodge. I really liked the Dusky-faced Tanagers, who looked quite different from the other tanagers to me. A few weeks after I got home, I learned that the latest taxonomic changes moved this bird to a new family, confirming that it really is different from the other tanagers like the Flame-rumped Tanager above.
Dusky-faced Tanager
While I was photographing the tanagers, Diane relaxed on our room’s lovely balcony and found herself a life bird, too, a Bay-headed Tanager in the tree tops, which was particularly exciting because it’s a species that does not come to feeders. I would eventually see one a few days later.
Our first guided trip was a walk from Canopy Lodge to Canopy Adventure, where more adventurous (and younger) folks can climb to the top of the ridge and then soar through the treetops on a zip-line. We took a different path, easier, but still steep and slippery, to look for Mottled Owls, which we did not find. When I teased Danilo that I wanted something for our efforts, he found a nice Orange-billed Sparrow. We also enjoyed seeing the gorgeous stream and waterfall. And, we got two wonderful life birds on the walk there, Lance-tailed Manakin and the very shy Bay Wren. Sorry, I wasn’t able to get photos of either.
Diane in front of the beautiful waterfall at Canopy Adventure.
Danilo also introduced us to the compost pile, a big heap of rotting fruit just a short distance along a little path by the creek at the lodge. We had seen our first Black-faced Antthrush on Pipeline Road just the day before, but here we really got to know the bird. He was shy like so many of the birds in the rainforest, but not so skulky that we could not see him at all. With just a little patience, nearly every trip to the compost pile was rewarded with views of this adorable little bird strutting through the open area by the rotting fruit, holding his tail erect and singing his “happy” song. I thought that he would be a great character for an animated movie. Of all the birds that we saw in Panama, this was the one who stole our hearts.
Black-faced Antthrush. A poor photo, but you can’t hide that “personality.”
We had a larger group the next morning with Danilo Sr. guiding us for our first full day of birding at the lodge. We were only a couple of hours from Canopy Tower, but the habitat was sufficiently different that we saw many new species. I got 13 life birds that day, my favorite being this gorgeous male Silver-throated Tanager.
Silver-throated Tanager
The following morning was much like the previous with our group of 7 and several more life birds. One that cooperated for a photo was this White-bellied Antbird.
White-bellied Antbird
We also had nice looks at a Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth.
Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth
That afternoon we had a special treat. Diane and I needed to see the Spectacled Owls that were nesting nearby. The others had already seen them, so Tino, a bird and butterfly guide and the manager of Canopy Lodge, took Diane and me on a private tour. We had incredible looks at both an adult Spectacled Owl and a recently fledged juvenile.
Spectacled Owl (adult)
Spectacled Owl was on my most-wanted list and I was thrilled to see these birds.
Spectacled Owl (juvenile)
Other wonderful sightings that afternoon included a Tody Motmot and a Yellow-green Vireo on her nest.
Yellow-green Vireo on her nest
The following day, Diane and I explored the lodge grounds by ourselves. We had scheduled a couple of extra days so that we could relax and do whatever we wanted part of the time. I attempted to photograph a blue morpho butterfly, which turned out to be impossible, even with plenty of time to work on it. I was able to get a fairly clear photo of the butterfly with its wings closed, but as soon as it opened them, the butterfly immediately became a blue blur. “Blue Morpho” refers to a group of butterflies, not a single species. The one I photographed is a Common Morpho, Morpho helenor.
The Social Flycatcher by the natural pond with the treehouse was more cooperative. One of the guides told us that a pair was nesting in that area.
Social Flycatcher
A Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet also posed for a photo.
Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet
And, just as at home, no bird feeder is complete without a squirrel. Red Squirrels did not monopolize the feeders, but we saw them frequently.
Red Squirrel
Canopy Lodge was a great place to explore a little and rejuvenate ourselves. We thoroughly enjoyed the free time and we were looking forward to more guided trips the next day as our Panama adventure continued.
Birding for Life 