Lay Over Birding

Our return flight from Ecuador to Los Angeles has a lay over in Panama. When we booked our flight using COPA Airlines, we asked the travel agent to give us an extra day in Panama before we continue to LAX.  This was to avoid spending the whole night at the airport. The flight from Ecuador arrives Panama at 5 pm but the connecting flight to Los Angeles leaves at 7 am the following day! So why not extend the lay over for one more day and use that time to go birding.

And birding we did. Thankfully, the Parque Metropolitano was not that far from the hotel where we stayed. We visited this place last year and were amazed at the number of birds here - at a forest smack in the middle of the city.

The relatively short time that we spent here was still fruitful. Although we did not see as many birds as we had seen last year, we still added two lifers to our list. The first was a bit of a sad story: It rained hard the day before and most likely because of the heavy downpour an owl fledgling was dislodged from its nest. We found it perched on a branch about two feet from the ground looking so haggard. We notified that park's staff and they took the owlet assuring us that they will take care of it and release it once it has recovered from whatever ails it. That was a Striped Owl.

The other lifer was a bit of a surprise. I only realized it when I was processing our photos back home in the Philippines. I knew it was an Oropendola but was it the Crested one which we saw last year? Further research showed that what we got this time was the Chestnut-headed kind.

As I mentioned before, although we did not see as many birds as last year, this time I was able to get some closer shots of a few species. (Notice that it was only me who was taking pictures. It was due to an unfortunate incident - the autofocus mechanism of Cynthia's 300mm lens died here in Panama.)

The Keel-billed Toucans were friendlier this time.

The same can also be said about the Crimson-crowned Woodpecker

And the Cocoa Woodcreeper

Even the usually shy Green Honeycreepers were out in the open.

male 

female

At about 3 pm we were sweating from the high humidity and our stomachs were grumbling, having had only cup noodles for lunch. We returned to our hotel and prepared for the long trip back to the U.S.

Birding in Panama, Day 4 - Laughing in the End!

This time Cynthia and I went to Metropolitan Park early. A little after 7 am and we were exploring the trails hoping to see more lifers. And we did! Not as many as the day before, but still we were happy with what had seen.

One of our target birds here was the Keel-billed Toucan. Although quite common - we've seen them at the hotel grounds - they were always high up in the trees and quite difficult to photograph. That puzzled me because we have seen pictures of this species that apparently were taken at close range here in Panama. Even some of the birders we met at the hotel told us that they have seen the Toucan quite close. Anyway, I finally was able to get a good enough shot of this bird. It was still high up in the trees but at least it was not backlit as those we've seen at the hotel.

Another prize catch and lifer we got here was the Lance-tailed Manakin. 

A Green Shrike-vireo was a welcome addition to our life list.

Despite its name, the Plain-brown Woodcreeper was still a beauty to behold.

In contrast, the aptly-named Orange-billed Sparrow was another lifer for us.

Finally, the noisy Yellow-backed Oriole called our attention to itself.

We returned to our hotel after lunch. Later in the afternoon we decided to make one final birding foray at the area near the pond. The "Tero" or Southern Lapwing was even more confiding. It came to just about a few feet from us as it looked for its dinner in a most interesting way. It would stand still and with one foot probe the grass beneath hoping to flush some insect or worm or even a frog or toad into the open.

At sunset, as we were approaching the area behind the hotel, we met some birders. One of them, a British gentleman, was taking photos of what I thought was merely the common Great-tailed Grackle. "Collared Aracari" the gentleman said. I quickly aimed my gear at the silhouetted bird and took several shots. Just like the Keel-billed Toucan, this similarly-shaped bird is quite common here, and also just like the toucan, it preferred the tall trees - at least at the times we saw it. The Collared Aracari was our "goodbye bird" here. Tomorrow, we will be transferring to a hotel closer to the airport.

The starbird of the day, however, was seen just before the encounter with the Collared Aracari.  It was the golden hour as the setting sun filled the skies with a yellow-orange glow. As we were going up to the parking lot, I saw a raptor fly from the golf-practice area to the main course. I managed to fire off only a total of four shots! Thankfully, one was clear enough for me to be able to identify this bird. It was a Laughing Falcon! 

Goodbye, Radisson Summit Hotel, and thank you for the many lifers we got at your premises.

Birding in Panama, Day 2 - More today than yesterday.

Yesterday we racked up 28 lifers. Today we added 46 more - thanks to the two best bird guides in Panama!

Generally speaking, Cynthia and I don't use bird guides when we travel abroad. That is because we watch our wallets as passionately as we watch birds. However having done some research prior to coming to Panama, we learned that having a guide would be a tremendous help especially if we intend to go to the Pipeline Road - one of the prime birding spots in this country. Cynthia contacted the WhiteHawk- a highly recommended Panamanian bird tour company - and made arrangements with them for a one day trip to the aforementioned Pipeline Road.

Angel and Jose were at our hotel at the appointed time of 7 am. Thus began one of the most thrilling and fruitful birding adventures we ever had.

We added our first lifer - Rufescent Tiger Heron - from our first stop by a roadside pond.

A few minutes later and we were gasping for breath as we climbed the tower next to the Rainforest Discovery Center. It was well worth the effort though. Raptors galore were dotting the clear blue skies above us. They were mostly Plumbeous Kites our guides told us.

Flying lower than these was another lifer for us - the Grey-headed Kite.

Although a bit far, a male and female Blue Dacnis showed off their beautiful colors.

female

male

Moving on and encountering lifer after lifer, this time we were rewarded by close looks at two kinds of Trogon at the Soberania Park.

Slaty-tailed Trogon

Black-throated Trogon

At the Rainforest Discovery Center, where we had our lunch break, they had some hummingbird feeders and we added three more species to our list.

Violet-bellied Hummingbird 

White-necked Jacobin

Long-billed Hermit

Our final stop was at a place they call "marina" perhaps because it has a huge pond connected to a river. We got three kinds of kingfisher here: The Ringed, Green, and Amazon - the last one being a lifer. Our prized catch here was the Limpkin, a bird that looks like a cross between a rail and a heron. We missed this when we visited Florida back in 2009.

A bonus bird, and totally unexpected, was a Yellow-headed Caracara walking on the road!

The star bird for today was another Motmot. We were all inside the car and going to our next destination when I spotted this bird by the road. "Motmot..out in the open!" I shouted. Angel stopped the car and we took photos of the Broad-billed Motmot without even having to get off.

By 3 in the afternoon, our  tour was over. My wife and I were both excited and exhausted. And extremely happy.