FLIGHTS OF FANCY ADVENTURES, LLC PANAMA CANOPY TOWER & CANOPY LODGE JULY 19-27, 2014 TRIP REPORT

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1 FLIGHTS OF FANCY ADVENTURES, LLC PANAMA CANOPY TOWER & CANOPY LODGE JULY 19-27, 2014 Keel-billed toucan Sam Fried TRIP REPORT! Panama - a narrow isthmus connecting North and South America, not only is the geographic middle of the Western Hemisphere, but also its biological median. A diminutive country slightly smaller than South Carolina, Panama is home to almost 1000 bird species, making it one of the most avian diverse territories on earth! That s why FOFA has offered 8 birding tours there over the years, seeing well over 600 species of birds during that time.

2 ! Our summer tour this year visited two of the most productive and easiest birding areas in Panama - the southern Canal Zone and the foothills of the central cordillera. And nothing could be finer to enhance the experience than to stay at Panama s premier birding eco-tourism lodges, The Canopy Tower and Canopy Lodge, for all the comforts of home along with fantastic birding right on the premises and nearby areas. Summer tropical birding also has its advantages - none of those annoying neotropical migrants around to completely confuse you when trying to see the resident species and all at much lower prices than the winter/spring high season.! Traveling from Panama International Airport, the skyscrapers of Panama City leap out from the landscape, as the beacons of the financial hub between North and South America. These tall buildings define a horizon that resembles a fleet of rocket ships, with more going up all the time. There was even one completely unique helical building walled by emerald green glass! All this as we drove along a harbor first visited by Europeans 500 years ago, whiles hundreds of Magnificent Frigatebirds soared above the water and around the tall buildings like they were mountain crags.! The Canopy Tower is actually a converted US Naval radar station. Looking like a teal blue cylinder with a volleyball perched on top, the tower sits on top of Semaphore Hill, set amidst and overlooking the forest canopy. With its 360-degree bird's eye views, the birding is nothing short of effortless and amazing. We arrived in time for an afternoon of watching dozens of hummingbirds swarming around the ground floor feeders and then a couple of hours atop the high deck encircling the roof, watching hawks, swifts and swallows plus ships transiting the canal far below. There could not be a better introduction to a birding tour!!! Our first full day started at dawn on the deck, watching toucans, the electric Blue Cotinga, motmots, trogons, tanagers and both two and three-toed sloths slowly ambling through the trees at eye level or below. Then it was our turn to amble down Semaphore Hill, the one mile private road that connects the Tower to the main highway. Walking the hill road is a wonderful experience, as frequent army ant swarms bring antbirds into view, plus getting great looks at mantled howler monkeys, tamarinds, coatimundis and other mammals that are commonly found. Our morning highlight had to be a group of three often heard, but rarely seen, Great Tinamous running across the road! After a delicious lunch in the Tower s 3rd floor dining area, we boarded the Rainfomobile, a truck with outside seating for 16 people to make short-distance trips, and traveled to the Ammo Dump Ponds. So named because the Canal builders stored their dynamite at this site, this small area has several ponds surrounded by tall trees and is always a great spot for finding numerous birds. Gray-headed Chachalacas crashed around in the trees, long-toed Wattled Jacana picked their way over the marsh and a variety of flycatchers flitted around us. Black-striped Sparrows poked around the edges of the water, looking for seeds. Several species of woodcreepers slowly worked their way along tree trunks and branches. Astonishingly bright, a male Crimson-backed Tanager showed his screaming red colors!

3 ! Our second day started early with a visit to the world-renowned Pipeline Road, one the best birding paths in the world. We stayed in an open area first, seeing Lesser Kiskadee, Thick-billed Euphonia and Squirrel Cuckoo, as pairs of Red-lored and Mealy Parrots noisily screeched overhead. On Pipeline, the best bird had to be the tiny Streak-chested Antpitta, a little wraith on toothpick legs that wanders the forest floor. Black-striped Woodcreeper, a trove of trogons - Slaty-tailed, White-tailed, Gartered, and Black-throated, Rufous and Broad-billed Motmots, Great Jacamar, Streaked and Piratic Flycatchers all graced our table. All the while, huge blue morpho butterflies flopped their way along the trail, lending a spectacular iridescence to our walk. A Northern Tamandua (anteater) was spotted in a roadside thicket, while Mantled Howler monkeys roared and Geoffroy s Tamarinds chirped. In the afternoon, we visited Summit Gardens, a nearby botanical park that also features their captive Harpy Eagle program.! July 22 was a perfect morning to walk the Plantation Trail at the foot of Semaphore Hill. A Semiplumbeous Hawk perched conspicuously in one of the giant trees for our viewing pleasure, while crow-sized Crimson-crested Woodpeckers showed off their newspaper colors of black and white and red all over! A few antbirds were ferreted out, including Fasciated and Black-crowned Antshrikes, Checker-throated and Dot-winged Antwren, White-bellied, Spotted and Bicolored Antbirds. Both Red-capped and Blue-crowned Manakins dazzled us. Song Wren lived up to its name with a wonderful performance of its bizarre melodies. Our guide, Carlos Bethancourt, was able to perfectly imitate its song, bringing this elusive species into close view. In the heat of the afternoon, we visited Summit Ponds, finding an array of water birds: Boatbilled Heron, Ringed, Amazon and Green Kingfishers and Gray-necked Wood-rail.! The following day we walked the roads of nearby Gamboa Resort, finding nesting Golden-hooded Tanager, Cinnamon Becard, a Cinnamon Woodpecker that put on quite a close range ant-eating display, Red-throated Ant-tanager, Plain Xenops, nesting Common Tody-flycatcher, Green Shrike-vireo and Black-headed Saltator. Southern Lapwings hunted on the playing field while a flock of Southern Rough-winged Swallows rested on the jungle gym. In the afternoon, taking a break from birding, we drove to Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal. The locks are truly an impressive sight to see, especially when the giant cargo ships, known as Panamax boats, barely squeeze into each lock for a descent to the Pacific ocean. The Canal Museum is also quite educational, from both historical and cultural perspectives. That evening, we went on a great night drive, covering the nearby roadways. Perched Great Tinamou was a surprise, but the mammals were what we sought. Central American Woolly Opossum, both sloths and a very annoyed Kinkajou were caught in our spotlight. At the Tower, we also spotlighted a big-eyed Panamanian Night Monkey.! July 24 was a transition day. We met dawn on the deck and after breakfast, walked down Semaphore Hill to see what we could find. Our very comfortable bus then awaited to take us across the Centennial Bridge west and north to the charming town of El Valle de Anton in the foothills of the cordillera. Situated in an extinct volcanic crater, the surrounding verdant tropical forests, grasslands, clear-running rivers and agricultural areas offer up an abundance and wide variety of bird life. Due to its higher elevation on

4 the western slope, temperatures are lower and conditions are generally drier than in the Canal lowlands. In the wonderful gardens surrounding the Lodge, birds are abundant, including tanagers, antshrikes, wrens, grassquits and flycatchers. Our delightful meals were served on the outdoor patio, surrounded by flowers and feeders. The Canopy Lodge has been open for about four years and is the ultimate in comfort and luxury for the traveling birder. The rooms are huge and elegantly designed, each one overlooking the gardens and the forest, plus the feeders that are arrayed throughout the property. The gardens are landscaped and planted to attract the maximum numbers of birds throughout the year. We arrived in time for a late lunch, followed by birding the extensive and beautiful grounds.! The next two days were full of exciting new birds amidst a variety of habitats. We walked Las Minas Trail, shopped for souvenirs at the local market, and visited Cerro (mountain) Cara Iguana, Cerro Gaital, Mato Ahogado, the Canopy Adventure forest and Valle Chiquito which all brought wonderful discoveries. Without question, seeing a family of Spectacled Owls had to be one of the highlights of the trip, and finding Mottled Owl and a pair of Tropical Screech-owls was fantastico! The Lodge gardens held at least a dozen tanager species, including Flame-rumped, Bay-headed, Blue-gray, Duskyfaced, White-shouldered, Palm, Golden-hooded, Crimson-backed, Plain-colored, Green Honeycreeper and Blue Dacnis. We did a great deal of walking, on wide trails through agricultural land and forest, or up and down steep country roads. The birding was excellent and we added new species at almost every turn. Green Hermit, Violet-headed Hummingbird, Crowned Woodnymph and Snow-bellied Hummingbird were among eight hummer species we encountered. On our walk up Cerro Gaital, at the rim of the caldera, my favorite birds were the rare Orange-bellied Trogon and red-billed Slatecolored Grosbeak. We managed to find several of the highly elusive and secretive Tody Motmots that hide in hillside vegetation. At one little pond, we hit a jackpot of birds, finding Spot-crowned Barbet, Collared Aracari, Plain and Spot-crowned Antvireos, Plain Xenops, White-winged Becard, Black-chested Jay, Orange-billed Nightingale-thrush, Red-legged Honeycreeper and many more. It was one of those situations where everyone was calling out birds and you didn t know where to look next! Both Chestnutheaded and Crested Oropendolas were fairly common.! As with all good trips, the fun comes to an end and it was time to say adios to Panama for this visit. A comfortable coach ride brought everyone back to the international airport for return flights home. Panama never ceases to call you back, however - for one participant, this was her fifth trip here, for another, his fourth. There are some places where you just can t get enough.! Overall, we saw 216 bird species and heard another 13. We came across 14 mammal species as well, including the very rare and endemic Rothchild s Porcupine, hiding in a treehouse bookcase! Butterflies and dragonflies were extremely numerous.! IMPORTANT NOTE: As of January 2014, the owner of Canopy Tower and Canopy Lodge opened a third venue for the Canopy Family, as it is now called - Canopy Camp Darien. After our regular trip, I spent a week at Camp Darien, in the

eastern province of Panama to check it out and plan a trip for 2015. Leave it to say we saw even more species in Darien than we encountered in a longer time on the regular tour!

5 eastern province of Panama to check it out and plan a trip for Leave it to say we saw even more species in Darien than we encountered in a longer time on the regular tour! The Camp is styled on an African Safari Tent Camp, but quite luxurious, with permanent tents on platforms, concrete attached bathrooms and a lovely al fresco dining area and common terrace for gatherings. Situated on 25 acres and landscaped for birds, the property is wonderful for birding. Day trips took us to a wide variety of habitats and encounters with many South American species or those endemic to Darien. Look for upcoming s on this trip, which will probably be one week, including Memorial Day, in May 2015! I look forward to seeing you there. Please let me know if you are interested in this exciting new tour and I will put you on the preferred list for advance notice once the dates and costs are firmed up. All the best and great birding! Sam Sam Fried Flights of Fancy Adventures, LLC 3920 Pinetop Boulevard Titusville, FL sam.fried@live.com Orange-bellied Trogon Sam Fried

Great Tinamou One seen on Pipeline Road, heard most days around the Tower. Little Tinamou One seen near the entrance to Pipeline Road.

Great Tinamou One seen on Pipeline Road, heard most days around the Tower. Little Tinamou One seen near the entrance to Pipeline Road. Bird and Mammal Sightings at Canopy Tower and Canopy Lodge William Young October 4-26, 2012 Below is a list of the birds and mammals I saw during my stay at Canopy Tower and Canopy Lodge from October 4