The Terrace

Birding from the terrace of our apartment here in Cerro Azul is spectacular. The activity begins a few minutes before 6:00 each morning. First arrivals are usually small flocks of tanagers, then the flycatchers show up, along with a few hummingbirds, seedeater types, woodpeckers and the ever-present House Wrens.

Les began putting halved bananas on the wide railing of the terrace when we moved in here, and it took less than a day for the tanagers to discover this favored snack. He filled two of the long-ignored hummingbird feeders (5 or 6 were hanging empty and moldy when we arrived - nobody lives here full-time), and by the following morning, the hummers were chasing each other away from them.

The following list includes our "every day" terrace birds - species we can see within 25 feet of the terrace:

White-necked Jacobin, Snowy-bellied Hummingbird, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Red-crowned Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Common Tody-Flycatcher, Tropical Peewee, Social Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Gray-breasted Martin, House Wren, Plain Wren, Clay-colored Robin, Hepatic Tanager, Crimson-backed Tanager, Blue-gray Tanager, Palm Tanager, Thick-billed Euphonia, Plain-colored Tanager, Bay-headed Tanager, Golden-hooded Tanager (they arrive in noisy little flocks and are the most numerous species we see from the terrace), Blue Dacnis, Green Honeycreeper, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Variable Seedeater, Yellow-faced Grassquit.

On at least one day so far, we have also seen Keel-billed Toucan, Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker (a Panama endemic), Bran-colored Flycatcher, Streaked Flycatcher, White-shouldered Tanager, Black-striped Sparrow, Giant Cowbird, and just a few minutes ago we saw a lifer from the office doorway - Shining Honeycreeper.

A couple of nights ago as it was getting dark, I was sweeping the terrace and accidently swept across the head of a long, slim snake that was mostly hidden by a log near the wall. It was another lifer - a beautiful and very docile Blunt-headed Tree Snake (Imantodes cenchoa).

Looking a little farther away (using a scope) we have seen White-faced Monkey. And we have heard the quavering calls of Great Tinamou.

It's hard to go anywhere else in the mornings with so much action just outside the doors, but getting up early enough to watch it is never a problem.

Jaguar just in.

This marvelous photo of a jaguar comes to us from Jackie & Greg Willis. They are educators/researchers working on Barro Colorado Island. This image is from one of the motion capture cameras they have set-up for their work. Greg saw one of these fantastic creatures many years ago. Now they have the documentary evidence that these cats swim from the mainland onto the island.

As Jackie told us...

"We hope that if more ecotourists like us are talking about jaguars in the Canal area as a reason to visit Panama, maybe the government will exert enough pressure to enforce the hunting laws. My Panamanian friends tell me about wealthy, high-placed Panamanians who are still gleefully taking trophies of jaguars and tapirs (and) other endangered species, totally illegal, and quite unstoppable. "

This intrepid couple is now working with Canopy Tower to place cameras for documenting their night creatures. Thanks to Jackie & Greg for all of their pioneering work.

Arrangements in Los Altos de Cerro Azul

videocapture of Vistamares © 2009 Leslie Lieurance

Cerro Azul is about 40 minutes from Tocumen International Airport, at an elevation of 2,500-3,000 feet above sea level. We will be staying here until August 22, when we head to the Canopy Lodge for a final 4 days of intensive birding before returning to San Francisco.

In December 2008, Les and I birded in Cerro Azul (C.A.) on just one late-December morning of our nearly 3-week Panama trip, but we were enchanted and impressed by the birding and the area. We knew we had to get back here, one way or another.

After we left the Canopy Tower on July 31, we got our rental car and did a little shopping on the way to C.A. We will be doing most of our own cooking, so we needed supplies. The first house we rented here was huge - up on a ridge with Swallow-tailed Kites overhead and windblown trees down the slope - but we felt we were just rattling around in there, even with Jorge to keep us company.

When Les met Paul (the landlord) at the office to take care of some business, he noticed a 2-bedroom apartment below the office. The little apartment is more our style and it has several advantages over the large house on the ridge. One is the internet availability in the office - no wireless, but we are allowed to use the service in the office whenever we want. (We had no internet availability at the large house!) Another is the show-stopping avian abundance just off the terrace. More on that later.

After 2 days at the big house, we took Jorge to Tocumen for his flight to Atlana, and then we spent 2 more days at the big house before moving to the apartment above the office.

Canopy Tower to Los Altos de Cerro Azul

White-whiskered Puffbird © 2009 Leslie Lieurance

Friday morning, July 31, we went on our final field trip at the Canopy Tower - today the weather was good and we drove to Plantation Road and took a nice walk up and back to the vehicle. We saw many species that are becoming regulars for us (most of them are still really exciting, though!), with the highlight on the way up being a male and a female White-whiskered Puffbird. (See Les's great video capture of the male.) On the walk back we got lucky with a small ant swarm. Jose, our guide again this morning, heard a Northern Barred-Woodcreeper and said there must be ants nearby. Sure enough - attending the swarm we saw a couple of the N. Barred-Woodcreepers, some Cocoa Woodcreepers, several Spotted Antbirds, White-bellied Antbirds, an Oscellated Antbird, Red-throated Ant-Tanagers. It was a good way to end the stay at the Canopy Tower.

Lorenzo drove us to Tocumen International Airport, where we picked up a rental car. The Toyota Yaris we got this time has a decent-sized trunk instead of a hatchback, so we had no trouble fitting in all the luggage for the three of us. The windows, except the front windshield, have black film on them - no need for sunglasses while in this vehicle.

As a Last Resort

Last full day at the Canopy Tower - Thursday, July 30.

Today we got a good, solid taste of the "green season". It rained a little yesterday, and it rained a lot last night. When we got up around 5:30 AM it was not raining. But by the time we were eating breakfast at 7:00, it had started to rain, and it soon became torrential.


The staff ran around shutting windows on the south side of the building. We were scheduled to go to Plantation Road, but it was hopeless. We checked the weather radar, and the storm was huge enough that we knew it would not abate for at least a couple hours. So the departure time and the destination were changed - 8:30 AM to the Miraflores Locks (on the Canal.) Les and I had been there briefly a week or so ago, so we opted to stay at the Tower to do a little writing, record-keeping, reading and studying. Jorge decided to go with the flow, and joined the small group to the Locks.

After lunch we went with our guide Jose to the grounds of the Gamboa Rainforest Resort. Although much of the area is heavily manicured, there are some wilder areas, and a good number of very good birds can be seen. Highlights included more excellent views of White-throated Crakes, a Black-breasted Puffbird, Chestnut-mandibled Toucans, a male Barred Antshrike, a cooperative Jet Antbird and an equally cooperative White-bellied Antbird, Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet, Cinnamon Becard (beautiful bird, and not very common during our travels so far in Panama), Golden-fronted Greenlet, Mangrove Swallows, Blue-black Grosbeak, Giant Cowbird, Yellow-tailed Oriole, Rusty-margined Flycatcher, Social Flycatcher, Lesser Kiskadee.

Lesser Kiskadee © 2009 George Griffeth

A few little things

Still at the Canopy Tower.

Wednesday, July 29th, Domi took us to Pipeline Road in the morning, and as always, the Road produced. Our biggest highlights there were Great Tinamou
(ambled through our field of view as we were watching the leaftosser), Little Tinamou (two, foraging next to the road as we drove back for lunch - Les was shooting the video through the window of the van),

Greater Ani, Streak-chested Antpitta, Spotted Antbird, White-bellied Antbird, Chestnut-backed Antbird, Black-faced Antthrush, Buff-throated Foliage-Gleaner, Scaly-throated Leaftosser.

And in the afternoon, we went with our guide Alexis to the Ammo Ponds. His first feat was pulling in not one, but two White-necked Crakes. Anyone who has ever tried to see this species can tell you how difficult it almost always is. We all enjoyed a nice view of at least one of them.

For many years, one of my most-wanted species has been the Olivaceous Piculet. (I'm a sucker for the teeny, tiny ones, a predilection I share with my good friend Debra - think Rifleman in New Zealand, or Puerto Rican Tody.) Another guest at the Tower this week said he saw the piculet at the Ammo Ponds a day or two before we arrived, so we knew that at least one was in the neighborhood. Alexis heard one calling, and after much perusing of the treetops, he spotted one chipping bark off a small branch high overhead. It moved out of sight after a few seconds, but then it and another flew to a tree across the road, where we all saw it through the scope. Hooray! Also new for us at the Ammo Ponds were Ruddy-breasted Seedeaters.

We saw many other exciting and wonderful birds that day - below is an incomplete list to supplement the highlights mentioned above (in case anyone wants to read more bird names.)

Rufescent Tiger-Heron, Striated Heron, Snail Kite, Purple Gallinule, Wattled Jacana, Smooth-billed Ani, Squirrel Cuckoo, Slaty-tailed Trogon, Black-tailed Trogon, Violaceous Trogon, White-tailed Trogon, Cocoa Woodcreeper, Plain Brown Woodcreeper, Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet, Greenish Elaenia, Southern Bentbill, Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Lesser Kiskadee, Rusty-margined Flycatcher, Social Flycatcher, Streaked Flycatcher, Piratic Flycatcher, White-winged Becard, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Golden-collared Manakin, Lesser Greenlet, Scrub Greenlet, Green Shrike-Vireo, Black-chested Jay, Black-bellied Wren, Rufous-breasted Wren, Plain Wren, White-breasted Wood-Wren, Song Wren (amazing little fellows who manage to produce beautiful, musical songs while simultaneously muttering a series of varied call notes), Gray-headed Tanager, White-shouldered Tanager, Red-throated Ant-Tanager, Crimson-backed Tanager, Blue-gray Tanager, Palm Tanager, Thick-billed Euphonia, Plain-colored Tanager, Golden-hooded Tanager, Blue Dacnis, Green Honeycreeper, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Yellow backed Oriole, Yellow-tailed Oriole, Scarlet-rumped Cacique.

Las Brisas de Canopy Tower

On Monday, July 27 we said our fond farewells to Sharon and Kathy at Simply Devine Homestays and were transported by Lorenzo to the Canopy Tower. (See Jorge Griffeth's photo of the Tower.) It is wonderful to be back (for Jorge, it's only the first visit), and the refreshing breezes up here are especially wonderful. In Gamboa, a breeze would waft through once in a while, giving us a little hope, but we soon learned that none of them ever lasted long enough to make a difference in the general (dis)comfort level.

After lunch, we went out with Domi, our guide, to Summit Park. The Harpy Eagle exhibit (complete with a caged Harpy Eagle) was our first stop within the park, but the enjoyable part of the field trip was walking around the grounds. In addition to a few other caged animals (Tapirs & Hippos, for instance) there are many wild and unfettered birds on the grounds. They are mostly common lowland species such as White-vented Pigeon, Orange-chinned Parakeet, Keel-billed Toucan, Collared Aracari, Red-crowned Woodpecker, Panama Flycatcher, Masked Tityra, Golden-collared Tanager, Plain-colored Tanager, Blue-gray Tanager, Palm Tanager, Green Honeycreeper, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Clay-colored Robin, Lesser Goldfinch. We also saw a Gray Hawk that day, two Common Nighthawks roosting in an old snag that was festooned with epiphytes, a Yellow-backed Oriole and a Giant Cowbird.

At dinner Monday night, Les, Jorge and I had the incredible good fortune to be seated at the same table as Jackie and Greg Willis. (Photo by Les Lieurance) They have studied the mammal population on Barro Colorado Island for the past 27 years. (They even spent their honeymoon on BCI!) They were at the Tower to consult on the installation of cameras on the property here.

In 1983, Greg saw a Jaguar on BCI, but no photo was taken, and he said almost nobody believed him at the time. People just didn't realize that Jaguars do occasionally visit the island - they swim back and forth from the mainland and some even spend weeks or months on the island. Since then, Jackie and Greg have installed motion-sensitive cameras at various locations on BCI. In April 2009, one of the cameras caught a few photos of a Jaguar, and it was big news on the mammal hotlines and throughout the rest of the world. Greg and Jackie have gotten some great photos over the years, and through careful record-keeping, they know a lot about the personal lives of most of the Ocelots and other mammals who live on BCI - their nightly routines, their territories, their consorts, their menus, their families, etc. After dinner, Jackie used her laptop to give us an impromptu slide show and showed a little video from their research. Jackie and Greg answered our many questions, which led to more questions - it is a fascinating subject - we still can't believe how lucky we were to spend the evening with the Willises.

On Tuesday morning, July 28, we walked along Semaphore Road (gated, and leads from the Tower down to the main road) with our guide Jose Soto. Les and I met Jose in December, and were very pleased to be birding with him again.

Highlights for us included fantastic views of a Great Tinamou sauntering through the forest at close range, a Great Potoo on the same day-roost where it was when we left at the end of December, both Rufous and Broad-billed Motmots, a White-necked Puffbird, a Southern Bentbill, an Olivaceous Flatbill, and a beautiful Orange-billed Sparrow. Jose commented that the sparrows here are a lot easier to ID than the ones we have in the U.S.A.

In the afternoon on Tuesday, we went with Domi to the Summit Ponds. It began raining pretty heavily as soon as we got there, so we sat in the van for a while. Finally, some of us got antsy, and Domi agreed to take a walk with us.
The rain had eased, so it wasn't impossible for birding, and after about 20 minutes, the rain stopped and more birds became active. Highlights there were Capped Heron (we missed this species twice in Bayano in December, and it's a really cool-looking heron, so we were very happy to see one), Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, Scaled Pigeon, Spectacled Owls, Ringed Kingfisher, Amazon Kingfisher, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Seedeaters, Black-striped Sparrow, Slate-colored Grosbeaks.

(All video by Les Lieurance)