Our First Host

We spent our first night at the Cerro Azul house on September 24th, and a Rufous-capped Warbler was the first bird we saw the next morning. We heard and/or saw it every day until we left, and consider it our first host at the property.


We had precious little time for birding during the 5 full days we were in Panama on this trip.

Sunday morning I heard a little flock coming through the trees, so I went outside and a young female Canada Warbler popped out from behind a leaf. I called to Les, and he rushed out to check the action. Among the other species were at least 2 Black-and-white Warblers, a Red-eyed Vireo, a Tropical Gnatcatcher, several Golden-hooded Tanagers, a family group of Bay-headed Tanagers, a few Blue-gray Tanagers. It was a fun 15-minute break for us.

Other regulars in the yard this week are Red-crowned Woodpecker, Hepatic Tanagers and Yellow-faced Grassquits. Heard-only birds include Keel-billed Toucans and Western Slaty Antshrikes daily, and a Tropical Screech-Owl nightly - right outside the bedroom window. And we saw an American Redstart a couple days ago. We looked at several other houses that had far better habitat than this one has, and we felt a little sorry for ourselves that those houses did not work out for us. So we are heartened that the yard here is turning out to be productive for the birds and for us.

Another Step

We signed a contract and made a down payment for the house in Cerro Azul, so we feel more confident that we will actually be able to buy this house.

We arrived on Wednesday night, September 23rd, and spent most of Thursday and Friday meeting with the lawyer, the seller, the facilitator, the bank, and waiting for the Dollar guy who met us at the bank to replace the battery in the rental vehicle. A lot of our time was also spent shopping for items such as broom, mop, tools, groceries and other day-to-day essentials for living in a house. Since Thursday night we have been living in the Cerro Azul house.

Being back and actually being in the house has been great, although hectic is a mild description of our 5 full days here during this trip. So much needs to be done. The missionary family (who lived here most recently) vacated the premises sometime in August, and without regular attention, houses in the tropics are quickly claimed by geckos, termites, mildew, mold, musty aromas of various types, plus other insects and arachnids. We have been busy.

On the 29th we head back to SFO.

Panama Viejo

One August day we took some time to visit the arts and handicrafts market in Panama Viejo. There are so many little booths and shops that it's overwhelming - we ended up not buying anything from any of them, although they were all full of beautiful things. Numerous sewing machines were humming away that morning as the women made more molas. Les did buy a little Panama flag to display in our rental vehicle.

We also walked around the grounds of the old fort and up as high as we could go in the tower. The day in Panama City was sunny, blisteringly hot and muggy, but the upper levels in the tower put us into a rousing breezeway, where we cooled off while watching the Magnificent Frigatebirds and Black Vultures at eye level.

Casco Viejo

One day before the end of our trip in August Les wandered the streets of Casco Viejo. This is the section of Panama City built up after the sacking of the original location in Panama Viejo by pirate Henry Morgan. Les was waiting for a phone call to make an appointment with a Cerro Azul property owner. The call never came.

Casco Viejo is a great place to wait for something that doesn't come. The area is undergoing a revitalization which affects some aspects and not others. There are a lot of historic buildings, some restored and others in a state of extreme disrepair. There were a few birds.

Most captivating were the Blue Cranes on the grounds of the Presidential Palace. They wander around within the gates of the Palace, guarded by the National Police.

Overhead the Black Vultures, Turkey Vultures and Swallow-tailed Kites soar with Magnificent Frigatebirds and Brown Pelicans.

The Great-tailed Grackles patrol the streets for handouts.

Canopy Lodge Birding

On August 22 we arrived at the Canopy Lodge. It is wonderful to be back - Les and I were here with friends in December 2008, and it is the most luxurious birding accommodation we have ever experienced. Raul Arias took great care and put much thought into every detail of this lodge. His vision was to create a birding/eco-lodge from the ground up. He chose the location; the placement of the buildings, doorways, windows; considered every view from within; the placement and shape of the paths; the choice of rocks and building materials and much more. The food is excellent; the rooms are simple, elegant, and airy; the beds are comfortable; the amenities complete; the open terrace dining area is protected from the rain while retaining the feeling of being outdoors; the grounds are beautiful; and the birds - most importantly - are fantastic.

On Saturday afternoon, Danilo was our guide. We enjoyed our reunion (he guided us in December - he knows the birds of the area as well as anybody and is an excellent guide) and had a great afternoon of birding.

On Sunday August 23 through Tuesday the 25th, Tino was our guide. (Hey, Lodge - where is Tino's link?) Tino is yet another of the impressive guides here, and he is also an accomplished artist. We did not have the opportunity to bird with Tino in December, and are delighted to make his acquaintance and have his help this time. Les got some good video of a few of Monday's highlights.

Getting Around in Panama

I consider it a feat of extreme care, luck, and expertise that Les drove the little Yaris around for 22 days without getting a detectable scrape or a dent on it. (He might have gotten a teeny dent on the front bumper, but it was in exactly the place where dents had already been noted prior to our taking possession, so the careful inspection by a Thrifty agent came out fine. Most of the vehicles we see on the roadways have numerous small dents and scrapes and many have large ones. Vehicle rental companies here go over the car with a fine-toothed comb when you turn it in, and as a renter, it is wise to do the same when you pick it up. Drivers here are very aggressive, and they honk a lot. The type of honk conveys subtle information - I know you!; Hi, let me in.; Don't pull out in front of me!; Don't be an idiot!; You ARE an idiot.; Coming through.; Go ahead.; Take it.; Muchas gracias!; and more.)

Before we rented our first car in Panama, while we were still in Gamboa last month, we ventured out on buses and in taxis. It costs 65 cents to get from Gamboa to the Albrook terminal on the Coop Saca bus line. We took the Saca buses to the terminal a few times, and it takes about 45 minutes. From the Albrook terminal, you can get just about anywhere - buses run to the interior, to Costa Rica, to the Darien, and all over Panama City.

The Diablo Rojos are the city buses, they run all around the city, and the cost is 25 cents each ride - no transfers - we took a few rides on them too, sometimes being surprised when we were dropped off in sketchy neighborhoods. But we maintained our auras and came out unscathed. The Rojos are converted school buses from the U.S.A. The conversion consists of inventive and artistic paint jobs, and often they have fancy neon lights around the license plates and around the windshields. Some of the paint jobs have themes, such as Elvis, the Black Christ, Beyonce, various Latin pop stars, Betty Boop, Hello Kitty, Jimi Hendrix, Sting. Most of the buses belch diesel smoke, referred to as Devil Fumes. Sometimes the wheels fall off them, but we were fortunate not to experience such an event.

Photo © George Griffeth 2009
We also took taxis a few times. It's very inexpensive to get around town in taxis, although it's best to agree on a price with the driver before getting in. Some of them try to foist the gringo rate on visitors. One time in December, we got from our motel to Metropolitan Park for $5 (we now know that rate was probably a dollar or two more than it should have been.) Then, when we left the park, the driver (not the same as the first time) told us it would be $10 to take us back to the motel. I told him "No way - we got here for $5.", then turned on my heel and started to walk away. He promptly said, "OK - $5.", so we got in and went back to the room.

The Melastome Eaters

Tomorrow morning we wrap things up here in Cerro Azul and head for the Canopy Lodge, where we will spend our last 4 nights in pure birding luxury before returning to San Francisco. So this morning (August 21), for our last birding hike in Cerro Azul (of this particular trip), we decided on the Maipo Trail. It goes right into Chagres National Park, and is teeming with birds, many of them the type we don't see in the less wild areas of C.A. Quite a few of the melastome trees were full of berries, and that's where we saw the most birds. Amongst the species eating these berries were Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Red-capped Manakin, White-ruffed Manakin, Olive Tanager (abundant, traveling in large flocks, and very noisy), Palm Tanager, Blue-gray Tanager, Fulvous-vented Euphonia, White-vented Euphonia, Bay-headed Tanager (abundant), Emerald Tanager, Speckled Tanager, Yellow-and-black Tanager, Scarlet-thighed Dacnis, Blue Dacnis, Green Honeycreeper, Shining Honeycreeper. Carlos has told us from the beginning that planting melastome trees is the way to go - we are believers.

Two of the Red-capped Manakins were in full display mode, landing on a branch with lowered heads, wings held at an angle, fluffing up their ruffs and shuffling sideways along the branch. Sorry - no video - but it was quite a sight to behold.