Venture to
Canopy Tower, Panama
December 5-12, 2004
A visit to Panama provides the perfect introduction to tropical
birding and a week at the very comfortable Canopy Tower is almost the best way
to start. Our Ventures group of 14 almost filled the accommodations with only
2-3 other birders around and to start the day watching from the roof of the
tower is a unique experience. With a cup of coffee in our hands, we started each
morning scoping birds on the forest canopy and found both Keel-billed and
Chestnut-billed Toucans, the brilliant Blue Cotinga, Semiplumbeous Hawk and
great views of Green Shrike-Vireos. Most of the daily birding was done within e
asy reach of the tower, except for a full day excursion to Achiote Road in the
Caribbean lowlands. Here a fruiting fig tree really brought in a great selection
of birds including Gray-headed Chachalaca, both Yellow-backed and Yellow-tailed
Orioles, and the near endemic White-headed Wren. Perhaps the best site of all
was Pipeline Road - a 17 kilometer muddy track through the forest that offers
some of the finest birding in the world. We made 2 visits to this wonderful
place, the first in the morning and the second all day walking and driving
through the wet and muddy conditions. But of course the birds made up for this
and some of our best sightings included a very obliging Streak-breasted Antpitta,
which treated us to very close views, a small ant swarm with 5 attendant
Bicolored Antbirds and a striking Ocellated Antbird along with Ruddy Woodcreeper
and a host of others. Our last day was spent looking for shorebirds in Panama
City as a change from birding within the forests. Here we sifted through a mass
of shorebirds finding Marbled Godwit, Red Knot and Sandwich Tern. While some
folks birded, others shopped for local handicrafts followed by a most
interesting visit to Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal. Here a visit to the
new museum helped us to understand what a tremendous undertaking it was to build
this Canal. This whole week in the Panama Canal Zone was a most rewarding and
very comfortable experience.
Savannah Hawk by Simon Thompson
Red-capped Manakin by Marcia Hawk
Spotted Antbird by Simon Thompson
| Birds | |
| Great Tinamou (H) | Scaly-throated Leaftosser |
| Little Tinamou (H) | Plain Xenops |
| Pied-billed Grebe | Faciated Antshrike |
| Magnificent Frigatebird | Barred Antshrike |
| Neotropic Cormorant | Western Slaty-Antshrike |
| Anhinga | Spot-crowned Antvireo |
| Brown Pelican | Checker-throated Antwren |
| Black-bellied Whistling-Duck | White-flanked Antwren |
| Blue-winged Teal | Dot-winged Antwren |
| American Wigeon | Dusky Antbird |
| Tricolored Heron | Jet Antbird |
| Little Blue Heron | White-bellied Antbird |
| Snowy Egret | Chestnut-backed Antbird |
| Great Blue Heron | Bicolored Antbird |
| Great Egret | Spotted Antbird |
| Cattle Egret | Ocellated Antbird |
| Green Heron | Black-faced Antthrush |
| Striated Heron | Streak-chested Antpitta |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron | Blue Cotinga |
| Boat-billed Heron | Purple-throated Fruitcrow |
| Rufescent Tiger-Heron | Red-capped Manakin |
| Little Bittern | Blue-crowned Manakin |
| White Ibis | Golden-collared Manakin |
| Wood Stork | Ochre-bellied Flycatcher |
| Black Vulture | Common Tody-Flycatcher |
| Turkey Vulture | Paltry Tyrannulet |
| King Vulture | Brown-capped Tyrannulet |
| Osprey | Southern Beardless- Tyrannulet |
| Gray-headed Hite | Yellow Tyrannulet |
| White-tailed Kite | Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet |
| Snail Kite | Forest Elaenia |
| Double-toothed Kite | Greenish Elaenia |
| Tiny Hawk | Yellow-bellied Elaenia |
| Crane Hawk (H) | Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant |
| Semiplumbeous Hawk | Pale-eyed Pygmy-Tyrant |
| White Hawk | Southern Bentbill |
| Common Black-Hawk | Brownish Twistwing (H) |
| Savanna Hawk | Olivaceous Flatbill |
| Gray Hawk | Yellow-Olive Flycatcher |
| Roadside Hawk | Northern Royal-Flycatcher |
| Broad-winged Hawk | Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher |
| Short-tailed Hawk | Eastern Wood-Pewee |
| Swainson's Hawk | Tropical Pewee |
| Zone-tailed Hawk | Acadian Flycatcher |
| Black Hawk-Eagle | Long-tailed Tyrant |
| Crested Caracara | Bright-rumped Attila |
| Yellow-headed Caracara | Dusky-capped Flycatcher |
| Barred Forest-Falcon | Panama Flycatcher |
| Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon (H) | Great Crested Flycatcher |
| Collared Forest-Falcon (H) | Tropical Kingbird |
| Peregrine Falcon | Fork-tailed Flycatcher |
| Gray-headed Chachalaca | Boat-billed Flycatcher |
| White-throated Crake | Streaked Flycatcher |
| Gray-necked Wood-Rail (H) | Rusty-margined Flycatcher |
| Purple Gallinule | Social Flycatcher |
| Common Moorhen | Lesser Kiskadee |
| Sunbittern | Great Kiskadee |
| Wattled Jacana | Thrush-like Schiffornis (H) |
| Marbled Godwit | Cinnamon Becard |
| Whimbrel | Masked Tityra |
| Greater Yellowlegs | Black-crowned Tityra |
| Lesser Yellowlegs | Black-chested Jay |
| Solitary Sandpiper | Green Shrike-Vireo |
| Spotted Sandpiper | Yellow-throated Vireo |
| Willet | Golden-fronted Greenlet |
| Ruddy Turnstone | Scrub Greenlet |
| Short-billed Dowitcher | Lesser Greenlet |
| Red Knot | Swainson's Thrush |
| Semipalmated Sandpiper | Clay-colored Robin |
| Western Sandpiper | Tropical Mockingbird |
| Black-necked Stilt | White-headed Wren |
| American Golden Plover | Black-bellied Wren |
| Black-bellied Plover | Rufous-breasted Wren (H) |
| Semipalmated Plover | Bay Wren |
| Southern Lapwing | Rufous-and-white Wren (H) |
| Ring-billed Gull | Plain Wren (H) |
| Laughing Gull | Buff-breasted Wren |
| Franklin's Gull | House Wren |
| Royal Tern | White-breasted Wood-Wren |
| Gull-billed Tern | Song Wren |
| Sandwich Tern | Tawny-faced Gnatwren |
| Rock Pigeon (I) | Long-billed Gnatwren |
| Scaled Pigeon | Tropical Gnatcatcher |
| Pale-vented Pigeon | Mangrove Swallow |
| Short-billed Pigeon | Gray-breasted Martin |
| Ruddy Ground-Dove | No. Rough-winged Swallow |
| White-tipped Dove | So. Rough-winged Swallow |
| Gray-chested Dove | Barn Swallow |
| Orange-chinned Parakeet | House Sparrow |
| Brown-hooded Parrot | Lesser Goldfinch |
| Blue-headed Parrot | Tennessee Warbler |
| Red-lored Parrot | Yellow Warbler |
| Mealy Parrot | Chestnut-sided Warbler |
| Squirrel Cuckoo | Bay-breasted Warbler |
| Greater Ani | Black-and-white Warbler |
| Smooth-billed Ani | Prothonotary Warbler |
| Mottled Owl | Northern Waterthrush |
| Spectacled Owl | Kentucky Warbler |
| Great Potoo | Rufous-capped Warbler |
| Lesser NIghthawk | Orange-billed Sparrow (H) |
| Common Pauraque | Bananaquit |
| White-collared Swift | Rosy Thrush-Tanager (H) |
| Band-rumped Swift | Olive Tanager |
| Short-tailed Swift | Grey-headed Tanager (H) |
| Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift | Sulphur-rumped Tanager |
| Long-tailed Hermit | White-shouldered Tanager |
| Stripe-throated (Little) Hermit | Red-throated Ant-Tanager |
| White-necked Jacobin | Summer Tanager |
| Black-throated Mango | Scarlet Tanager |
| Violet-bellied Hummingbird | Crimson-backed Tanager |
| Blue-chested Hummingbird | Flame-rumped Tanager |
| Snowy-bellied Hummingbird | Blue-gray Tanager |
| Rufous-tailed Hummingbird | Palm Tanager |
| White-vented Plumeleteer | Yellow-crowned Euphonia |
| Purple-crowned Fairy | Thick-billed Euphonia |
| Slaty-tailed Trogon | Fulvous-vented Euphonia |
| Black-tailed Trogon | Plain-colored Tanager |
| White-tailed Trogon | Golden-hooded Tanager |
| Black-throated Trogon | Blue Dacnis |
| Violaceous Trogon | Green Honeycreeper |
| Ringed Kingfisher | Shining Honeycreeper |
| Amazon Kingfisher | Red-legged Honeycreeper |
| Green Kingfisher | Saffron Finch |
| American Pygmy Kingfisher | Blue-black Grassquit |
| Broad-billed Motmot | Variable Seedeater |
| Rufous Motmot | Yellow-bellied Seedeater |
| Blue-crowned Motmot | Ruddy-breasted Seedeater |
| White-necked Puffbird | Thick-billed Seed-Finch |
| Black-breasted Puffbird | Slate-colored Grosbeak |
| Pied Puffbird | Black-headed Saltator |
| White-whiskered Puffbird | Buff-throated Saltator |
| Spot-crowned Barbet | Streaked Saltator |
| Collared Aracari | Blue-black Grosbeak |
| Chestnut-mandibled Toucan | Crested Oropendola |
| Keel-billed Toucan | Chestnut-headed Oropendola |
| Black-cheeked Woodpecker | Yellow-rumped Cacique |
| Red-crowned Woodpecker | Scarlet-rumped Cacique |
| Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | Yellow-tailed Oriole |
| Cinnamon Woodpecker | Yellow-backed Oriole |
| Lineated Woodpecker | Baltimore Oriole |
| Crimson-crested Woodpecker | Orchard Oriole |
| Plain-brown Woodcreeper | Red-breasted Blackbird |
| Ruddy Woodcreeper | Great-tailed Grackle |
| Northern Barred Woodcreeper | Giant Cowbird |
| Cocoa Woodcreeper | |
| Mammals | |
| Central American Wooly-Opossum | Central American Agouti |
| Jaguarundi (Susie) | Rothschild's Porcupine |
| White-nosed Coati | Two-toed Sloth |
| Geoffroy's Tamarin | Three-toed Sloth |
| White-faced Capuchin | Red-tailed Squirrel |
| Mantled Howler Monkey | Variegated Squirrel |
| Capybara | False Vampire and Sac-winged Bats |
| Reptiles and Amphibians | |
| Basilisk | Common Slider |
| Spectacled Caiman | Green Iguana |
| House Gecko | Leaf-mimic Toad |
| Anole | Frog sp (Hyla) |
| American Crocodile | |
| Insects | |
| Blue Morpho | Army Ants |
| Caligo (Owl Butterfly) | Bullet Ant |
| A large selection of butterflies! | Helicopter Damselfly |
| Leafcutter Ants | Small scorpion |
Dining Room