Summer at Panama's Canopy Tower Aug 02—09, 2008
Posted by Michael O'Brien
Michael O'Brien
Michael O'Brien is a freelance artist, author, and environmental consultant living in Cape May, New Jersey. He has traveled extensively throughout North and Central Ame...Related Trips
Summer in Panama is a time of incredible abundance and a frenzy of activity. Due to daily rains, the vegetation is lush, the flowers are blooming, and the birds are either nesting or feeding their recently fledged young. Abundance of resident birds reaches its peak at this season. Although the "green season" produces daily rain showers, they come in a predictable pattern, usually for an hour or two in the afternoon (during siesta time!). The result is cooler temperatures and increased bird activity compared to the dry season. The Canopy Tower itself is simply spectacular. At each level, large windows offer views of wildlife at every forest stratus. The lounge and restaurant area offer an incredible 270-degree panoramic view, so distractions during mealtime are frequent! From the top of the tower one can see the Panama Canal, the skyscrapers of Panama City, the Pacific Ocean, and miles of forest including the 55,000-acre Soberania National Park that runs along much of the Panama Canal. One can also see incredible birds such as the canopy-specialist Green Shrike-Vireo that is rarely glimpsed from ground level, or the spectacular Blue Cotinga that frequently perches on treetops. The tower is also a fine vantage point from which to listen to the dawn chorus, to watch soaring raptors at midday, or to watch bats foraging at dusk.
On this year's tour, we began our first morning atop the tower where we became acquainted with many of the local species, including some magnificent ones. Scaled Pigeon; Brown-hooded, Red-lored, and Mealy parrots; Band-rumped Swift; Purple-crowned Fairy; Keel-billed Toucan; Brown-capped Tyrannulet; White-shouldered, Crimson-backed, and Plain-colored tanagers; Blue Dacnis; Green Honeycreeper; and Scarlet-rumped Cacique all greeted us that morning. We heard a host of other species as well, including a Mottled Owl for those who got up early. But the real prize was the Blue Cotinga that sat out briefly in full view under dazzling morning light! We’re supposed to work a little harder for that one!
After a fabulous breakfast (the food at Canopy Tower is incredible!), we took a stroll down Semaphore Hill and were able to track down many of those other forest species we were hearing from the tower. On that walk we found Black Hawk-Eagle (soaring and calling overhead), Squirrel Cuckoo, Stripe-throated Hermit, Black-throated Trogon, Broad-billed Motmot, Black-breasted Puffbird, Plain Xenops, Cocoa Woodcreeper, Fasciated Antshrike, Checker-throated and Dot-winged antwrens, Olivaceous Flatbill (building a nest!), Blue-crowned Manakin, Song Wren, Long-billed Gnatwren, and Slate-colored Grosbeak. Our afternoon outing took us to the Ammo Ponds which introduced us to a completely different marsh and edge habitat where we saw a host of new birds including Black-bellied Whistling-Duck; Anhinga; Rufescent Tiger-Heron; Wattled Jacana; Greater Ani; Red-crowned Woodpecker; Yellow-bellied Elaenia; Panama, Rusty-margined, Social, and Streaked flycatchers; Great Kiskadee; Gray-breasted Martin; and Scrub Greenlet. Thus was the beginning of a wonderful week at the Canopy Tower.
Through the week we visited many wonderful sites and had many, many highlights. Some especially memorable sights included the Striped Cuckoo at Tocumen Marsh; the Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker and some dazzling hummers and tanagers at Cerro Azul; intimate views of a Streak-chested Antpitta at Pipeline Road; the White-throated Crakes and White-winged Becard at Chagres River; the roosting Great Potoo at the base of Semaphore Hill; the Choco Screech-Owl on the night drive; the Green Shrike-Vireo at the tower; stunning views of Capped Heron, Collared Forest-Falcon, and Spectacled Owl at Old Gamboa Road; a Golden-collared Manakin lek at Achiote Road; the hummingbirds, euphonias, and honeycreepers at Fort San Lorenzo; the Rufous-and-white Wren at Metropolitan Park; the flocks of shorebirds including many Collared Plovers at Costa de Este; and that quick (and much talked-about!) view of a Great Tinamou dashing across the road.
Birds were not the only highlights on this tour. A family group of mantled howler monkeys were seen munching on cecropia leaves right outside the Canopy Tower on most days. We saw both two-toed and three-toed sloths almost daily and counted an amazing 12 sloths on our night drive. Also on the night drive were two woolly opossums and two kinkajous. At Metropolitan Park we saw a mother and baby Geoffroy's tamarin dashing through the canopy. Butterflies were everywhere including some spectacular gems such as Regal Greatstreak, Two-eyed Eighty-eight, Pointed Leafwing, and All-blue Morpho. We ended the tour with a fascinating visit to the Miraflores Locks where we toured the museum and watched a ship pass through the locks.