From the dining area a small hatch with a ladder leads to
the roof of the tower. Here birders are treated to an above-canopy view of the
surrounding forest which provides a unique perspective and opportunity to observe birds at
eye-level. This a is a great reprieve from typical tropical forest birding
which usually results in birders-neck and a visit to the chiropractor. From the
viewing platform, early observations included Thick-billed Euphonia, Green
Honeycreeper, Black-cheeked Woodcreeper, Plain-colored Tanager, and Red-lored
Amazon. We also spotted our familiar American friend from Canopy Lodge.
As we continued birding from the tower other great birds
continued to appear including Band-rumped Swift, Lesser Greenlet, Blue Cotinga
(female), Scaled Pigeon, Cinnamon Woodpecker, Scarlet-rumped Cacique, Mealy
Parrot, Piratic Flycatcher, Fulvous-vented Euphonia, Tropical Gnatcatcher, and
my first lifer for the day, Brown-hooded Parrot. We then added Paltry
Tyrannulet and Blue Dacnis before heading for breakfast at 7:30am.
Following breakfast we all headed downstairs to commence our
walk down Semaphore Hill. At the entrance to the tower were two hummingbird feeders which had Blue-chested and Violet-bellied hummingbird in attendance; an Eastern
Wood-Pewee was also near the main entrance. Shortly after beginning our descent we spotted
Slaty-tailed Trogon, White-whiskered Puffbird, Blue-crowned Manakin, and Dusky
Antbird. The next bird, an Ochre-bellied Flycatcher, was a lifer for me. This
was soon followed by another lifer, Golden-crowned Spadebill…now this was a
smart-looking little bird. Next was a Spotted Antbird, one of my favourite birds for its striking appearance. The birding continued to be very good, with new trip-list
birds being Purple-crowned Fairy, Slate-colored Grosbeak, Rufous-breasted
Hermit, Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher, Bicolored Antbird, Yellow-margined Flycatcher
(lifer), Song Wren, and Black-tailed Flycatcher.
At the bottom of Semaphore Hill the daytime temperature
and humidity were peaking. A Canopy Tower truck, named “Shrike-Vireo”, met us
at the bottom with cold drinks and snacks. After having those, we climbed into
the open-back seating and were driven back to the tower. We then sat waiting
for lunch, but on inspection of the number of places set at the tables we determined we might not be getting any. However, following a short intervention
it was clarified that we were indeed having lunch and new places were set and
more food magically appeared. A highlight while having lunch was the
appearance of several Geoffery’s Tamarind monkeys just outside the open
windows.
We returned to Gamboa resort at about 1:30pm and saved
Joanna from Amelia. Joanna (my Joanna), Amelia and I then headed to the
bookstore at the Smithsonian Institute, and then to the Amador Causeway. Here we saw several Blue-footed Booby (about 60), Brown Pelican (about 30), Magnificent Frigatebird (about 50) and one Royal Tern. Then the rain began and we returned to the resort, had
dinner, and turned in early. Tomorrow was to be the earliest rise of the trip, at
4:00am, not including the first travel day when we got up at 3:30am.
2014 Panama Birding SummaryTotal species today: 61
Total cumulative species for the trip: 286
Total lifers today: 4
Total cumulative lifers for the trip: 39
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