Canopy Lodge, Panama

Although only two hours away from the Canal zone the foothill forests and dry savannahs around the lodge support a remarkably different avifauna.  Here we added nearly 100 more species, but much more importantly encountered a heady number of truly rare and beautiful species, like an entirely unexpected Uniform Crake and the incomparable Black-crowned Antpitta.  The lodge grounds proved incredibly productive, with daily visits from a White-tipped Sicklebill, Gray-cowled Wood-Rail, and a close-by adult male Rufous-crested Coquette.

Around town, we teased up a Tropical Screech and Spectacled Owls snoozing away on day roosts, and very cooperative Tody and Lesson’s Motmots. The La Mesa Area produced a simply incredible experience with a semi-tame Black-crowned Antpitta, a lovely Orange-billed Sparrow and a wealth of butterflies like Confusa Tigerwing.  Uphill, around Altos del Maria we encountered this handsome Northern Emerald Toucanet and numbers of the undeniably cute Tufted Flycatchers.

In all we tallied 357 species of birds, including an amazing 45 species of flycatchers and a never before achieved clean sweep of all 35 species of tanagers, as well as a nice array of mammals, reptiles and amphibians (like this cute Red-webbed Treefrog) in 10 days in the field! This tour continues to impress me, as the diversity and richness of the region, paired with ease of access and the comforts of the lodge make for a truly wonderful experience.