Hallowe'en Birding

We are back in Cerro Azul and glad to be here. We arrived on October 28th and the following 2 days were consumed by meetings with our lawyer, the seller of the house, our facilitator, bank officers and their assistants, and shopping for more household items.

So today, October 31st, we ventured no farther than Las Nubes for lunch and then to a little store slightly further down the hill for a stalk of those small, creamy bananas we love (and which we share with the yardbirds.) At least a dozen more were on the stalk before Les took the photo, and we paid $1.50 for the stalk. Before lunch we tried to catch up on mail and organizing, but were distracted for almost 2 hours by birding. We stayed in the yard the whole time.

It all started when I looked out the window of the guest bedroom about 8:00 AM and spotted our first Bay-breasted Warbler for the yard. We scrambled outside, leaving our tea on the porch (where some tiny ants discovered it and were swarming all over and in the cup by the time I returned.) Bay-breasteds numbered at least 6, and we also saw several Tennessee Warblers, a Yellow-throated Warbler, a Blackburnian Warbler, a Northern Waterthrush, 2 American Redstarts, 3 Black-and-white Warblers, and a bright male Golden-Winged Warbler. As soon as the fog lifted, the Broad-winged Hawks made a strong push overhead - about 25 of them in groups of 2 to 8. Plain Xenops was another new yardbird, along with Green Honeycreeper, Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet and Streaked Saltator.

We started our fruit feeder yesterday, and the tanagers discovered it the same day. When we returned from errands about 5:30 PM yesterday, several Plain-colored Tanagers were sitting in a pine tree staring down at the empty banana skins and chattering impatiently. Les restocked it first thing this morning (we feed the birds before we have breakfast), and tanagers took full advantage of it until about 10:30 AM. Feeder birds included Plain-colored Tanager, Hepatic Tanager, Blue-gray Tanager, Palm Tanager and Thick-billed Euphonia. Other tanagers in the yard today (but not at the feeder) included Bay-headed, Golden-hooded and Crimson-backed.

Another first for the yard was a visual on Keel-billed Toucan - finally!

During cocktail hour late this afternoon, as we sat outside enjoying life, Les spotted a Rufous Motmot near the back of the house - it was a great way to end a great day.

Going Birding in the Neighborhood

On Monday September 28th, Les walked up the road a few steps to make a cell phone call. While he was chatting, he spotted the Tropical Screech-Owl at its day roost. After Les finished his call to Alberto, he called me and said, "Come out, and bring your bins!" After viewing the owl, we saw a few warblers about, so we followed the flock up the road a little farther. We spent about 30 or 40 minutes with this flock (our most concentrated birding of the trip), and it was such fun for a couple of warbler-starved Californians. We saw multiples of American Redstart, Blackburnian Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, the usual tanagers plus Palm and Crimson-backed, and several Lesser Greenlets.

There were no vehicles on the roads during our mid-morning field trip. Later in the day a Cocoa Woodcreeper landed on one of the pine trees less than 20 feet from the kitchen door. We are liking this neighborhood more and more.

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.