Continental (Embraer RJ145) FLT CO3343 Leaving Halifax 13:25  Arriving Newark 14:50

Plane delayed leaving until 13:50 due to faulty charger

Continental (Boeing 737) FLT CO887 leaving Newark 17:05  Arriving Panama City 22:21

Left at 19:00, again delayed (this time because of redirection of our plane) and disembarked at 23:45

Bus waiting for us and took us to Canopy Tower arriving there at 01:30 on Sunday morning.  Had a drink and went to bed after seeing a large, pale coloured bat Carlos said was a False Vampire.

We left home by taxi at 10.30a.m., and soon met up with the 17 local members of our group at the airport. Our plane to Newark was slightly late in leaving Halifax, but made up some time in the air. It was a lovely clear afternoon on arrival at Newark, and we had super views of the Statue of Liberty,  the Empire State Building and Manhattan as we circled prior to landing.

At Newark we met up with the 18th member of our group from Montreal. We had a longer wait than we had been expecting as the plane taking us to Panama got diverted elsewhere, and we were very glad of the sandwiches we had brought from home.

We eventually left for Panama City some 2 hours later than originally scheduled, but again the plane made up some of this time in the air. We were met by staff from Canopy Tower, and driven straight there in a bus. The journey took just under an hour, but it was of course too dark to see anything much as we travelled. It was around 1.00a.m. when we arrived, and we were all too tired to take much note of our surroundings. We collapsed into our room after having some cold drinks in the dining room lounge area, as we were all extremely thirsty. The bed was large and very comfortable, and came with a mosquito net. I had never slept with a mosquito net, so we decided to try it out, even though no mosquitoes were making their presence felt.

Canopy Tower is owned by Raul Arias de Para.  It has five rather small single rooms on the second floor sharing a bathroom (although there was a spare bathroom on the next floor up).  Next level up was double rooms with own bathrooms, then the dining and sitting room, and the top level was an outdoor observation deck (which was above tree level).  All levels are connected by steel stairs with sound proofed treads.  The area around the tower is fenced and the gate locked at night to keep out people and animals.  We saw a lot of barbed wire fencing around properties in Panama which indicates a high crime rate although we never felt unsafe.

Personnel were extremely competent and attentive.  Water was potable and safe, and all meals were excellent and varied.  The cook is writing a Panamanian cookbook which we will have to buy when it is available. Wine was free but beer and liquor cost extra.  A book was laid out for us to write down each beer and liquor drink we consumed, and other charges such as internet use ($5 an hour).  These were totted up and paid for on the last day.

Canopy Tower is situated 900 feet above sea level and was cooler than at lower levels.  Breezes also helped to make us feel comfortable.  Bedrooms had large fans in the ceiling or small table fans.

Our two guides for the first week, Carlos and Jose, were excellent.  They knew the birds and the calls well and were able to set their scopes on the birds very quickly so we could all get a good look at them.  They were also quite conversant with the other flora and fauna of the area.

Open vehicles with padded seats were used for day trips.  They also had four-wheel drive vehicles for Pipeline Road and hired an air-conditioned bus and driver for longer day-trips.  They carried drinks and food in the vehicles for morning stops and a couple of lunches.

Canopy Tower is an ecolodge made out of what used to be an old American Radar Tower, which used to survey the goings on in and around the Panama Canal. It is owned by Raoul Arias de Para. The tower has four levels, the ground floor being an exhibition area, reception, and various offices. It is constructed mainly out of steel, with a steel stairway connecting the floors. It was quite echoy, and the partitions between rooms were very thin – so no talking any secrets! The first floor up had all the single rooms, which were very small, and also the Harpy Eagle suite, the second best accommodation in the tower. The floor above that had 5 double rooms and the poshest suite in the place – the Blue Cotinga Suite. Before leaving Halifax, we had had a draw to see who would be the lucky couples to get the suites, and Bob and Wendy got the Harpy Eagle suite, while Ally and I won the Blue Cotinga Suite!  This gave us a lot of extra space, a hammock as well as a large double bed, a bathroom, and our own balcony with a swinging chair on it.  The top floor internally had the kitchen and dining area, also a lounge/library area, and two or three hammocks for siesta time. Above this level was the outside observation deck at the base of the now empty dome which at one time held the radar equipment.  Because of the height it was a little bit cooler, and there was nearly always a lovely breeze blowing about the observation deck. It was a great place to watch for raptors, black and turkey vultures in particular being plentiful.

Up at 06:15 to the sound of howler monkeys and Great Tinamous, breakfast at 07:30 (scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, ham, fruit, cheese, rolls).  Birded from the observation deck and on Semaphore Hill (the road up to the Tower) in the morning.   Had lunch at the Tower.

At 15:30 took open vehickes to the Gamboa area for  birding.  Feeders with bananas attracted a lot of good birds.  The ammo dump ponds yielded a nice Muscovy Duck and a group of White-nosed Coatis with their tails in the air (looking like a flock of geese).  Today we also saw a 3-toed sloth, red-tailed squirrel, howler monkeys, a Geoffrey’s Tamarin and nests of Aztec ants and termites.

By the end of the first day we had seen 107 species of birds of which 63 were lifers for me.

21:30 – to bed

In spite of our long tiring journey yesterday, I was awake just before dawn to go up to the observation deck to watch the sunrise. Soon after the door on to the deck was opened, and coffee, tea and biscuits appeared. One of the guides came to help with the bird identification. It was lovely to be able to look down on birds which one normally had to crane one’s neck to look up to see them in the canopy. I saw my first Keel billed toucan, amongst many other species. The two Canopy Tower guides, Carlos and Jose helped us identify the birds.

Breakfast was at 7.30a.m., and it was with a certain reluctance that I dragged myself away from the observation deck to go and eat. I need not have worried too much however, as the dining room area has large windows which are excellent for birding as you munch. The meal was delicious – yoghurt, fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, sausages, ham, cheese, rolls, fruit juice and Earl Gray tea!

When we had all stuffed ourselves sufficiently, Carlos and Jose proposed a walk down the long drive from Canopy Tower to the bottom of the hill. We took our time about the descent, saw many birds, the most memorable being the Broad Billed Motmot and the Slaty Tailed Trogon. Also, a coati ran across the road. The sun rose higher and higher in the sky as we descended the driveway, and it got hotter and hotter, and just when we were beginning to worry about whether we’d be able to make it back up the hill without collapsing, Carlos announced that he was calling for the “Rainforest mobile” from the Tower to come and pick us up. The Rainforest mobile was basically a truck with open air seating for 10, so it had to make two trips to get us all back up the hill to the Tower for lunch.

After another huge and delicious meal, everyone decided that they needed a siesta after the very long day yesterday and the exertions of the morning (to say nothing of all the food).

At 3.30p.m. Carlos and Jose loaded us all up into the Rainforest Mobile and the Bird Mobile (a smaller version of the Rainforest Mobile) and we set off for a local birdy spot near Gamboa. We stopped by some wonderful bird feeding stations, which had fruit and bananas as well as nectar and birdseed. Lots of beautiful tanagers at the bananas, ruddy ground doves at the seed holders, and hummingbirds and a red crowned woodpecker(!) at the nectar feeders.
Leaving the feeders we visited a marshy area with a pond, which yielded a Muscovy duck, and a Little Blue Heron, and we also saw a large group of coatis with their tails straight up in the air, which from a distance looked like a flock of long necked geese. Other mammals seen were a Geoffrey’s Tamarin, Howler Monkeys, and a squirrel. We had brief passing views of the Canal en passant, and got back to Canopy Tower just in time to do bird lists before supper, which was chicken in cilantro sauce, and veggie pie – very delicious, especially with wine, which was free (beer and other alcoholic drinks were not). We had another short spell of stargazing before bed.

We were up before the crack of dawn (5.30a.m.) for breakfast before taking a bus to the Metropolitan National Park not far from Panama City. Our first bird was a Bat Falcon sitting on a wire. We had a lovely walk along a trail, and saw many birds, including good looks at a Blue Browed Motmot. We had good views overlooking Panama City. We then visited a marshy/mangrove swamp area called the “El Diablo Marsh”, where we saw a White Ibis, a Mangrove Warbler, and a Mangrove Black Hawk before returning to Canopy Tower for another sumptuous lunch.

At 3.30p.m. we boarded the bus again for a short trip to the Summit Ponds, where we found one of my favourite species of heron – the Boat Billed Heron. We walked into the forest along a most interesting little trail. There was a clump of the native bamboo, looking similar to the oriental bamboo, except for the huge long thorns on smaller branches at the very entangled base of the clump. Carlos and Jose found a magnificent Spectacled Owl for us, and we had to tiptoe up in little groups of five to see it through a telescope. We also had good looks at a Red-throated Ant Tanager. We ate fish for supper, followed by an early bed.

Up at 04:50, breakfast at 05:30

Left at 06:00 by bus to the Parque Natural Metropolitano in Panama City.  One of the first birds seen was a Bat Falcon perched on a distant electrical tower.  We climbed to a summit that gave us a good view of the country and Panama City in the distance.

We stopped at a mangrove swamp in El Diablo Heights where a Mangrove Warbler gave us a chance for a tick if it is split from Yellow Warbler.

Had lunch back at the Tower at 12:30.  Meat loaf, rice and beans, and fresh fruit.  Napped.

At 15:30 headed out again for Summit Ponds where a Boat-billed Heron was one of the first birds.  Along a trail, Carlos and Jose went ahead and set their scopes up on a bird in the forest.  When we got up to look, there was a magnificent Spectacled Owl.

Supper back at the Tower was breaded sea bass.

We had another early breakfast for a full day trip to the Pipeline Road. For this expedition Carlos had brought in three 4-wheel drive trucks as well as the Birdmobile. Volunteers were asked for to travel in the open Birdmobile, the others were packed into the other vehicles. We had a brief stop at a marsh en route, where we had lovely views of Jacana and a Rufescent Tiger Heron.

The pipeline was for oil, and had been built by the Yanks in case the Panama Canal was captured and their oil supply got interrupted. The Pipeline Road could not in reality be dignified with such a title, as it was little more than a cart track, and in places rather a muddy one. The reason for the 4 wheel drive vehicles was immediately apparent.

We drove along the “road” for 3 or 4 kilometres, and then we all got out and walked for a section. The birds and the scenery were magnificent – Purple Fruit Crow, Chestnut Headed Oropendola, American Pygmy Kingfisher – and the botany was equally interesting even if we were unable to name as many species, and there were pretty butterflies too.

After we had walked a kilometre or two, Carlos summoned up the vehicles. We had a mid-morning snack and some drinks before loading into our transportation to be driven a little further along the trail. We hadn’t gone far before he stopped the cars and he showed us the roosting site of a Common Potoo, a species I had been longing to see. Without the guides we certainly would never have seen this bird, as it disguises itself as a dead tree stump, and its camouflage is perfect!

Everyone was intrigued by the Potoo, and we spent some time studying it, but eventually we were all loaded back into the vehicles and we proceeded on our way. It was at this point that it started to rain, quite gently at first. Up until that moment all of us in the Birdmobile had been enjoying our open-air view as we travelled, pitying the rest of the group cooped up inside the cabs of the 4 wheel drives. The rain became more persistent, and then became a tropical downpour. Fortunately I had my umbrella with me, so two of us were able to get some sort of shelter underneath it, but probably only at the expense of poor Don getting extra water draining onto his lap. Another umbrella and some raincoats were produced from inside the vehicles, and we drove on through the torrents. We got wetter and wetter, but that wasn’t the worst of it, as the cart track we were driving along was also getting wetter, and as it did so, it became muddier and muddier. The driving got worse and worse, and the track became quite hilly, and the vehicles were slipping and sliding all over the place. Finally our Birdmobile got well and truly stuck trying to go up a steep slope, and ended up almost sideways on to the hill, with one wheel perilously poised on the edge of a huge muddy rut. At this point we decided to get out and walk the rest of the way up the hill, leaving the Birdmobile to get itself sorted out, which it eventually did.

Perhaps wisely, it was decided that it would not be a good idea to proceed any further up the trail, so we had a picnic lunch – in the rain – before the vehicles were turned around for the journey back.  We offered to trade places with anyone sitting inside one of the other vehicles for the journey back, but no one took us up on the offer!

The rain eased off and we dried up a bit. I tried to spot the Potoo on the way out, but was unable to recognise the spot. We had good looks at a tamandua and at howler monkeys, and at a White Whiskered Puffbird. The rain came back once we were back on the proper highway, and we go wet for a second time in the Birdmobile. We were back at Canopy Tower just in time to do the lists before supper – pork chops and fried plantain.

Up at 6.00a.m. for an hour and a half on the observation deck before breakfast. There was a wonderful effect caused by fog rising from the Panama Canal, which made everywhere look like a Chinese landscape. Brilliant yellow flowers have appeared overnight on the Guyacan trees – they look spectacular. Birds seen include both toucans, a Green Shrike Vireo, Green Honeycreeper, and a Masked Titrya.

After breakfast we went to the Metropolitan Summit Park, which was very close by at the bottom of the hill that Canopy Tower sits on, to see the Harpy Eagle exhibition, and to do some more birding in the lovely parkland surrounding the exhibits. It was a great day for raptors, and the park was a great place to see the large kettles of hawks which were forming in the thermals. We saw a Black Hawk Eagle, and lots of Swainson’s Hawks and Broad-winged Hawks – a most impressive sight.

Another interesting view was of the Oropendola nests swinging in a tall tree, and the Chestnut-headed Oropendolas themselves, and we saw a gorgeous Blue Cotinga, the bird our “suite” at Canopy Tower is named after. Nor were birds the only things to look at in the Park. Although we did not make any attempts to go and see all the animals that were on display, we could not really help seeing the Baird’s Tapir, which was in a large pen close to where we parked the vehicles. Ally spent some time filming the tapir, and got a brief shot of it swimming in its pool while we were all looking at the Cotinga. The botany was also good – many interesting flowering trees and shrubs, including a Cannonball tree, which had particularly pretty flowers, and fruit which looked like a cannonball.

We went back to Canopy Tower for a pizza lunch, followed by a short siesta, and then everyone except Don went on an optional trip to see the Panama Canal and the Miraflores Lock. We seemed to arrive at the lock at a particularly busy time, as we saw 3 or 4 large vessels pass through the lock, all travelling from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The boats are towed through the lock by 4 to 8 trains (depending on the size of the vessel) running on rails along the side of the lock. Some of the boats were extremely large, and only just fitted into the lock, with only inches to spare on each side. There was also an exhibition about the canal, and a very poor video about the making of the canal, but all in all, it was an interesting afternoon, and not entirely bird less, as we had unusual views of Magnificent Frigate birds and Brown Pelicans in that we were able to see them from above as they flew along the lock below us, and there was also a Laughing Gull which actually flew through the lock gates just as they were closing.

We arrived back at Canopy Tower in time to do some hummingbird and hawk watching, and the trees round the observation deck were full of howler monkeys, which were howling loudly. Don made a recording of the sounds. We had curry for supper and then went to bed really early as we had an extremely early start the next morning for our trip to the Atlantic side of the country.

Up at 03:30, breakfast at 04:00

At 04:30 left by air-conditioned bus for the Colon area and Achiote Road.  Had to wait at the Gatun Locks for a couple of ships to go by before we could cross over the canal.  Met some fellow birders from Winnipeg and the States.

Walked along Achiote Road birding.  Had Swallow-tailed, Double-toothed and  Plumbeous Kites.

Drove to the Parque Nacional San Lorenzo near Fort Sherman to do some more birding.   Had a great look at a kinkajou above us on a limb.  He relieved himself but missed us.

Took the train back to Panama City from Colon.  Saw Snail Kites and Least Grebes from the train. Our bus met us to return us to the Tower.

We were up at 3.30a.m. to drive in a bus to the Atlantic side of the country to bird the Achiote Rd in the early morning before it got to be too hot. We had a long hold-up crossing the Canal, as a boat had to go through and we had to wait for it, but we saw Saffron Finches while we were waiting – the only time on the whole trip we saw this species (I spotted them from the bus, and asked Jose what they were).

The Achiote Rd certainly had lots of interesting birds, but it was a very busy road and the pleasure of birding was somewhat marred by having to jump out of the way of the kamikaze bus drivers, who whizzed by at top speed. Nevertheless, we did see Wood Stork, Swallow-tail Kites, White Hawk, and Plumbeous Kite. It soon became very very hot, and extremely humid.

We had a picnic lunch in the shade at the start of a short trail through jungle. After eating we walked the trail, splitting up into 2 groups each with a guide, as the trail was too narrow for such a large party to go together. Our group did not see many birds on the trail apart from one trogon, but the vegetation was beautifully jungly, and it was such a treat to get off the busy road where you always had to have one eye on the lookout for traffic.

Then it was back to the bus for a short drive, and we stopped again to see a lek of Golden Collared Manakins – tiny little birds with a spectacular golden collar. The males snap their wings and produce an extraordinary sound – a bit like a Christmas cracker being pulled, or a sharp handclap. The manakins were hard to see in the jungle, and we spent a long time making sure that everyone had a reasonable view of them, and just as we were about to leave that spot, we also saw a beautiful Kinkajou lying on an overhead branch very close to the whole group. The kinkajou, who appeared to be wide awake and horrified by our presence, rather like a Victorian Old Maid who has just discovered a man under her bed, was so surprised she “took a leak” and very nearly pissed on some members of our group. However, she did not run off and hide, but most cooperatively stayed and stared at us staring at her, a really lovely animal. The guides were most surprised, as the Kinkajou is a nocturnal species, and they said they had never had such a good view of one before – usually you have to go chasing after them with torches at night, and don’t see much more than the reflection of their eyes.

After reluctantly leaving the kinkajou to its interrupted sleep, we piled back into the bus and drove past the Gatun Dam, where there were lots of herons, including a Tricoloured Heron. We saw a Mangrove Black Hawk catch and fly off with a snake – the only snake I did see the whole trip. The hawk perched on a branch, and we thought he had dropped the snake, but he was actually just manoeuvring a bit so that he could catch hold of the neck just behind the head to kill it. We drove to the Parque Nacional San Lorenzo near Fort Sherman, where we saw Red-breasted Blackbirds on the fence.

The bus then took us to the train station for our transcontinental train journey back to the Pacific side of the country. We sat in the bubble car, and had great views as we traveled along the side of the Gatun Lake, where we saw dozens of snail kites, but not too much of the Canal, which was a bit of a disappointment. We were back at Canopy Tower for supper and an early bed as we were all exhausted.

We had another early start to the day as we set off in a bus for the Tocumen marshes. This is an agricultural area, where there is a lot of rice grown. There were also several smallish ponds at the start of the walk, where we saw both kinds of Night Herons and lots of Egrets. A few of us, myself included, were lucky enough to get brief views of Southern Lapwings before they flew off. There were also good looks at Yellow headed Caracara, Swallow tailed Kites and Fork tailed Flycatchers. One of the ponds had a caiman in it. We all heard a very noisy cicada in a tree (the same noise that we heard every day in Costa Rica, but there it occurred only at sunset).

Leaving the marsh area, we set out in the bus for the foothills, and went to Cerro Azul for lunch. The president of the Panama Audubon Society has a wonderful villa here, and we were allowed to use it as a marvellous place for our lunch. The gardens were gorgeous, full of flowers and birds and butterflies, so many that at times it was hard to know which direction to look in next. There was a wonderful vista from the garden too.  There was a wonderful vista from the garden too. Alasdair was so taken with the spot that he recited Keats’ famous sonnet as he reckoned we were about as near to Darien as we were going to get on this trip!



Birds which I especially remember are the Emerald Tanager (I only managed fleeting glimpses of this one), Speckled Tanager (great looks at this one), and especially the rare hummingbird – the White tipped Sicklebill. To see this last bird, Carlos and Jose took some of us a considerable distance down a very steep, narrow, muddy path to a wilder area where the specific type of Heliconia flowers grow that this particular hummingbird likes to feed upon. Sure enough, they managed to find a bird about 40 feet off the path, almost buried in the jungle. However, they got it in the scope, and we were all able to see it reasonably clearly, and Richard took a still picture of it. For the botanists amongst us, the garden was a great treat as it was full of flowers, most of which were unfamiliar and interesting to look at. The flowers attracted lots of butterflies, especially a particularly beautiful type whose wings were transparent, called Glass-winged butterflies according to Jose.

It was with considerable reluctance that we left Cerro Azul. I for one could have easily spent an entire day there just sitting in the garden, admiring the view and the flowers, and searching for birds and butterflies, but eventually Carlos dragged us away. On the way home we stopped at the coast just outside Panama City, and were bowled away all over again by an amazing maelstrom of sea birds – pelicans, frigatebirds, plovers, sandpipers, terns, gulls, whimbrels, dowitchers, egrets, herons and others – thousands of birds filling the air, a truly spectacular sight. Once more it was difficult to know where to look next, as there were so many birds in the air and on the ocean. Pelicans put on a magnificent display of high altitude diving, against a spectacular backdrop of Panama City skyscrapers. Large flocks of small shore birds wheeled and turned as one amazing unit, their wings flashing a gleaming silver in the sunshine as they moved. A small flock of Black Skimmers was also spotted – an unusual sight according to Carlos. For me this must rank as possibly the most diverse and spectacular collection of shorebirds and waterfowl I have ever seen at one time.
Once more Carlos and Jose had a hard time dragging us away from such a performance, but eventually they got us all rounded up and loaded on the bus for home. The drive back took us past the ruins of Old Panama City, but we did not have time to stop.

Back at Canopy Tower, we just had time to do the bird lists before supper. We went to bed soon after supper, worn out after such an amazing and interesting day.

Bus took us to Tocumen Marsh.  Agricultural machinery was working in the fields using GPS and satellite to ensure perfectly level areas for planting rice.  Had great looks at Crested Caracaras as well as Black-necked Stilts and a Savannah Hawk.

Went to the Parque Nacional Chagres in Altos de Cerro Azul.  Fernando, the caretaker (and a birder) let us in to the property of the President of the Audubon Society.   Most of the group hiked down a steep incline where they saw a White-tipped Sicklebill.  We sat and watched Yellow-faced Grassquits coming to the feeder.

Stopped to see shorebirds in Panama City (Costa del Este).  There were huge numbers of Brown Pelicans and numerous shorebirds.  The shoreline was littered with garbage, probably from the many ships, and Little Blue Herons were wandering about the garbage.  We passed  the ruins of Old Panama on the way home.

It is a typical seaside resort with fresh water swimming pools as well as the salt water beach.  Rooms were roomy and comfortable with good air-conditioning.  Maids made up the rooms daily.  The water here was also potable and safe to drink.  There is no forest handy but we did find a variety of habitats within strolling distance.  Some ponds and a few thickets provided quite a few birds, but not many new to the trip.  At the lifeguard station on the beach, green, yellow or red flags were flown.  Green was O.K. to swim and yellow was swim at your own risk (probably because of offshore winds or undertows).  Red was “don’t swim” and occurred when the tide was low and sting rays burrow beneath the sand.  We didn’t see the green flag up very often.

Up at 06:00, Breakfast at 08:00

10:00 left by air-conditioned bus for Barceló Playa Blanca.  Stopped at the Summit golf course to see Southern Lapwings.  Drove across the Bridge of the Americas to the other side of the canal.

Stopped at a little shop (Quesos Chela) for cheese patties and a cold oatmeal drink recommended to us by Anna at the Tower.  Some liked it and some didn’t.

12:30 arrived at Barceló Playa Blanca.  Put our stuff away and had a very good lunch at the buffet.  The afternoon was our own to do with as we liked.

18:00 met to update our checklist and have some cool drinks.

This was our last morning at Canopy Tower, and I was up at first light out on the observation deck so as not to miss a minute of it. We had our closest and best look at a Keel billed Toucan.

We left at 10a.m. in a bus for the Hotel Barceló at Playa Blanca. We had a couple of stops en route, firstly at a nearby golf course where we had been told to look for Southern Lapwings for everyone who had missed them at the Tocumen Marsh yesterday. I was somewhat surprised when the birds were exactly where we had been told to look for them, and this time everyone had reasonably good looks at them in the scope.

We crossed over the Canal at the Bridge of the Americas, and drove by some pretty spectacular mountains.  The other stop was at a particular wayside café, which is famous for its special oatmeal drinks. Blake ordered one for everyone. Most people liked them very much, but I was not keen, so I gave most of mine to Don.

We arrived at the Barceló in good time for lunch. We had a pleasant enough room, large in size, on the third floor, with a balcony overlooking a large freeform swimming pool. The food in the buffet for lunch was terrific – vast amount of choice, so much so that it was impossible to taste everything, even if you took only miniscule helpings.

We spent the rest of Saturday getting our bearings and settling in at the Barceló. One of our first activities was to go to the ocean for a dip in the briny. We had brought our snorkels in the hopes that there would be something to see, but unfortunately the water was very murky, and it was impossible to see anything more than a foot from your face. The ocean bottom was sand, which also made it unlikely that there would be anything much there, even if the visibility was terrific. This was a bit of a blow, but the water was lovely and warm, and the waves were good, so we enjoyed floundering around with the rest of the keen swimmers in our group. Unfortunately, as the tide went out we were chased from the water by the lifeguards. At first we thought this was because they were worried about dangerous undercurrents sweeping us out to sea, but eventually we discovered it was because they were concerned that we might step on a sting ray, which bury themselves in the sand, and can be stood on by the unwary when the water is low.

Ken went out and did some birding, and came back with reports that the birding was, perhaps surprisingly, quite good, given the lack of trees in the immediate vicinity, and we made plans to go on an early morning walk led by Ken the next day.

We were up relatively early for Ken’s early morning walk, which started along the beach and then headed up the bank of the Falleron River. The birds were plentiful, and we had good looks at a Caracara. We spent quite a long time chasing Crested Bobwhites, but only achieved fairly distant views of them. (The Fallaron River is quite large, and although it is possible to ford it right on the beach at low tide, it is impossible to cross anywhere else without swimming, so care has to be taken to watch the state of the tide when crossing. Its presence so close to our swimming beach is probably responsible for the murkiness of the water leading to the lack of snorkelling.)

In the afternoon we went to investigate the possibilities of riding horses and/or taking a kayak trip. We ended up booking a kayak trip, and in the late afternoon we met up with our guide Pablo, who spoke no English. However, Alasdair’s rudimentary Spanish seemed to work most of the time, and we set off in a double kayak, me in front, with Pablo in a single kayak leading the way. The normal trip goes a very short distance up the Fallaron River before retreating back to the ocean and heading along the coast to the next resort – the Decameron. We decided that the river would make a much more interesting trip than paddling along the coast, so we tried to explain all this in pigeon Spanish to Pablo. Somewhat surprisingly, Pablo got the gist of what we were trying to communicate, and we ended up with a most enjoyable long, leisurely paddle up the river. There were plenty of birds along the  river bank, and they seemed to allow us to approach surprisingly close in the kayak without flying away. We had good looks at Pelicans, Black Vultures, Great and Snowy Egrets, Little Blue Heron, Ringed Kingfisher to name just a few. We passed through a fishing village, and met some locals paddling a dugout canoe. There were also a couple of folk in swimming. Eventually we ended up at what Pablo explained was the back of the Decameron resort.

Up at 05:50 and went birding with Ken at 06:30.  Only got one lifer today but it was a covey of Crested Bobwhites.  Nothing was scheduled for today.  09:00 breakfast and then back to room to cool off.  Had lunch at the buffet, then sat on the beach and watched the pelicans and terns diving.  Had a quick swim in the Pacific which was very nice on a hot day.

Up at 05:45 and a small breakfast was available to us at 06:00.  06:30 left by air-conditioned bus for El Valle de Anton in Cocle Province with Jose and Danilo (another very competent guide)

El Valle is a big crater left when a volcano blew its top off.  Some of the hills are heavily treed while others are bare.  Drove up by Chorro El Macho where Canopy Adventure is located.  Turned back when we got into fog and drizzle and birded at lower level.

We had lunch at the home of Raul Arias de Para, owner of Canopy Tower.  It was beautifully located with a stream running below and feeders set up for serving bananas.  These attracted a goodly number of tanagers and Chestnut-headed Oropendolas.  Flower gardens attracted hummingbirds, including a Rufous–crested Coquette.  Hammocks and chairs were set up in which to relax and watch the birdlife.  Raul took us for a look at his new lodge which is under construction.  It certainly would be a nicer place to stay than at the seaside resort which is uncomfortably hot.  I gave Raul my Nova Scotia Bird Society hat pin, a small token of our thanks for the way we were being treated.

Food was made by Raul’s own cook and was excellent.  We had a chicken paella, salad and banana cake.

We stopped at some gift shops in El Valle.  Supper back at the resort’s buffet.  22:00 to bed

We were up betimes to catch the bus for our birding trip to El Valle etc. Our guides for the day were José, whom we knew from last week at Canopy Tower, and Danilo, another of Raoul’s guides. The first stop en route was at a new trail which had just been made at El Chiru. We arrived there when it was still dark, and were able to listen to the sounds of the birds before dawn, which included the call of a Common Pauraque, a bird of the nightjar family. As dawn broke we were able to see enough to be able to follow a very pretty, but somewhat narrow trail for such a large group. It was difficult for everyone to see the birds which the guides found.

Back in the bus, we drove on to El Valle, which is located inside the crater of a volcano. The route driving up and into the volcano crater is very scenic, with good mountain views. We had a short stop at an orchid farm to please the botanists amongst us, and indeed it was interesting to see how they went about propagating orchids. Then it was on to Raoul’s newest place, which he is developing as another ecolodge to complement Canopy Tower. There was a special hummingbird feeder spot carved out in the jungle, where we stopped for 15-20 minutes to see the hummingbirds. Then we walked over a very rickety feeling and wildly swinging footbridge over a small river, and followed the river downstream towards Raoul’s house, where we were to eat our lunch. The path by the river was a particularly lovely walk, with lots of interesting shrubs and trees to look at, as well as lots of birds. Just before we arrived at the house, the river opened out and emptied into the most gorgeous “natural swimming hole” I have ever seen. The water was crystal clear, yet warm, and the banks of the pool were covered with beautiful tropical vegetation. It was so lovely that it was hard to restrain oneself from jumping in for a quick plunge immediately, but we were expected for lunch, so we had to keep moving onward.

We arrived at the house, and once more it was hard to imagine a more beautiful spot. The dining area was open to the garden on three sides, and what a garden it was! The flowers and the shrubs were gorgeous, and there were four or five bird feeding stations well supplied with bananas, which were already attracting lots of attention from the birds. There were so many of them it was difficult to know which way to look first – many different tanagers, a Red-crowned Woodpecker, a Tennessee Warbler, and of course the Oropendolas, the biggest and noisiest of all the birds. I sat down in a rocking chair and prepared to be entranced by all the avian activity. Hummingbirds flitted past including a fleeting glimpse of a Rufous-crested Coquette. A Tody Flycatcher was building a nest in a creeping vine against the wall of an adjacent building. There were wonderful stand-offs for the bananas between a Clay Coloured Robin and a much smaller Blue Grey Tanager. A Rufous Motmot paid a visit to the feeder furthest from the house, giving us the best look at this species that we had ever had. And of course the Chestnut-headed Oropendolas were everywhere, making their funny “gobbly” noises somewhat reminiscent of champagne bottles being opened and poured out. There was so much to see and enjoy that it was almost hard to drag oneself away to the lunch table.

The food was of course, excellent, and we were able to keep one eye on the bird feeding stations at the same time as keeping the other eye on our own plates, and there was time for another short sit in the hammocks and rocking chairs after we had finished eating before we were reluctantly herded back to the bus for the return journey. The bus driver was persuaded to go back via Fallaron Village, so that we could see the ruined and deserted house of the infamous General Noriaga, and also so that everyone could visit the tourist shop that Ally and I had found yesterday. We got back to the Barceló just in time for me to have a late afternoon swim before the group assembled for the bird lists and supper. Then it was early to bed after such an early start to the day.

Up at 04:00 and a small breakfast available to us at 04:30.  Left at 05:00 on air-conditioned bus to reach El Chiru as dawn was breaking.  Heard a nightjar calling which Jose identified as a Pauraque.  Had a Gray-headed Chachalaca fly in close to us and then quickly fly away.  Walked around the path that Danilo and friends had created.

Drove to El Valle and had lunch again at Raul’s (pork and beans and rice).  Birded in area and saw the Sleeping Princess hills.  Visited an orchid growing establishment (Asociacion de Productores de Orquideas de El Valle y Cabuya) .  Here, and in other places, there were locals banging on drums and carrying icons to celebrate San José.  I had earlier asked Danilo if it was our José and he replied that our José was “no san”.

On the way back to the resort we had the bus driver take us past Noriega’s house.  It is gated and locked from the street side and was overgrown and vandalized.  We drove behind the De Cameron Resort and shopped at a gift store there.
Got back to the resort at 17:00 and had a short nap.  Had supper at the buffet at 19:30 and went to bed at 20:30.

Up at 06:45 and had breakfast at 07:00.  Birded around the resort in the morning

At 13:00 most of us went snorkeling off an island close to our beach.  The island had a number of Magnificent Frigatebirds and Brown Pelicans roosting on it and was coverd with guano.  The water was great and there were a variety of fish to be seen, and a number of us had trouble getting back on board until we realized we should take our fins off first.

The tour boat from the Decameron resort broke down and our boat had to tow it back.  Our guy then took us over to the beach behind Noriega’s house and we all walked through it.  Some of us picked and ate tamarinds from the property.  The boat time was longer than scheduled but very few of us had bills in our bathing suits to tip the captain for taking us to Noriega’s.

At 19:00 we lined up for the A La Carte restaurant but found they had lost our reservations.  Most of us ate instead at a small open spot by the beach called Restaurante Velero.  I liked my calamari and others seemed to like their sea bass (red snapper?) done in either a garlic or tomato sauce.  It was more comfortable than the buffet since a breeze was blowing through, and there was hardly anyone else there.  We drank lots of wine

We got up for a short walk along the beach before breakfast. Alasdair decided to leave the cameras behind this time, and to just enjoy the walk unencumbered. This proved to be a bit of a pity, as it was a most photogenic scene that met our eyes! The local fishermen were coming in to land their catches at the village, and it was a very arresting and attractive sight. All the people in the village, men, women and children were there, together with the local pack of dogs. Pelicans, Frigatebirds, and Vultures were circling in the air overhead in their dozens. The boldest of the vultures landed on the beach, hoping for the odd bit of waste fish scrap to come their way, and amazingly the dogs and the vultures ignored each other, even when they were sometimes extremely close to each other.

At one o’clock, 12 members of our party assembled to catch the boat to go snorkelling. The ride out to Fallaron Island in the pontoon boat was choppy, but pleasant enough, and nobody was seasick. The island is inhabited by hundreds of pelicans and frigatebirds, and smelt of guano quite strongly. It has a couple of sea caves which go right through the island, so you can see from one side to the other at low tide.

We anchored at a rocky bit just to the left of the island, and we all donned our masks, and snorkelled. The water was a bit clearer than back at the resort, and there were some fish around to be seen, but compared with Cuba or Costa Rica it was a bit of a disappointment. One of the boatmen came in the water with us, and dived down and produced starfish and sea cucumbers for us to look at. As far as fish went, I saw needlefish, parrotfish, and boxfish, also a few butterfly fish, and the striped fish that I think are called ‘sergeant majors’. There was also a very pretty blue fish with a bright yellow patch girdling its back. After about 45 minutes in the water, we were summoned back to the boat. Another boat from the rival hotel in Falleron, which had been there when we arrived, had broken down and needed our assistance to return to shore. A towrope was produced, and it hitched itself up to our stern, and off we went. We pulled them right round the island, so that everyone got a good view of all the birds, and then towed them back to the Decameron Hotel in Falleron village.

After dropping them off, our boat took us a short way up the coast and stopped just beside General Noriaga’s house, which we had seen from the landward side yesterday. General Noriaga is apparently presently in jail in Florida for some of his multitudinous crimes. Our guides said that if he ever dares to come back to Panama, he will be sent straight to jail here as well. We disembarked from our boat, and our guides took us up into Noriega’s ‘garden’ – now a total wilderness, and picked some cashew nut fruits, tamarinds, and almonds from his fruit trees. The fruit of a cashew is particularly juicy, and was very refreshing on a hot afternoon. We then explored the ruins of what must have been a magnificent villa at one time, but now was extremely squalid and totally wrecked – broken glass, and worse, was everywhere on the ground, and you had to be extremely careful where you walked. However, the only corpse encountered in the house was that of a bat.

We were quite glad to leave such squalid surroundings, and climb aboard the boat for the short ride down the coast to the Barceló.  Once back I went out by myself in search of the Caracara nest that the others had discovered somewhere near the parking lot, and a Pearl Kite nest that had been found near a small pond. I managed to find the pond, and I did see a Caracara, but could not find either of the nests, so eventually I gave up
.
It was a bit of a rush to get back to our room and changed for our dinner, which was to be in the “A la carte restaurant” this evening, but we made it for 7 o’clock, the appointed hour. Alan and Mary Jane were already there, and had encountered some difficulties in that the restaurant did not seem to be expecting our group, so we waited for Blake, who had made the reservation to get things sorted out. Joan arrived wearing a lei of shamrocks – we had forgotten all about St Paddy’s Day. Blake came and tried to get us in – to no avail – so rather reluctantly we were shuffled off down to the local lunchtime restaurant on the beach. We decided to make the best of it, and in any case it was a very picturesque spot, with the waves breaking on the beach in front of us, and a lovely cooling sea breeze blowing gently through the open-air building. The food was fine, but not particularly memorable. The wine was good, and there was plenty of it.

Up at 05:30 and a small breakfast at 06:00.  Left at 06:30 for El Valle in an air-conditioned bus with Jose and Danilo.   Passed the house of Noriega’s brother-in-law.

Birded El Valle in the morning.  Had great looks at a three-toed sloth close above our heads.  At 12:30 we had lunch again at Raul’s.  Delicious Panamanian chicken soup consisting of chunks of chicken, potatoes, corn, plantain on which we ladled broth.  Dessert was fresh pineapple and palm leaf cookies.

We stopped in El Valle again to buy more gifts and visit the grocery store.  Back at the resort we had supper at 19:00 at the A La Carte restaurant.  My meal of caesar salad, fish chowder and fish vol au vente was excellent.

I was up extra early to go on a quick trip with Ken to see the Pearl Kite on its nest. It is extremely well hidden – I just saw its head. We also saw 2 Peregrines. We had a quick breakfast, and then we all piled onto the bus to go to El Valle again. We had a lovely early morning walk up “Carre Iguana” – named after a hill which is supposed to resemble an Iguana’s head. We saw lots of birds, but nothing that particularly stands out in my memory. We were back briefly at the hummingbird feeders, and then over the rickety bridge and down the path towards Raoul’s house. Before we got there however, we turn off the route and scrambled up a very steep narrow path in search of Tody Motmots. Jose and Danilo heard them calling, and eventually after a stiff climb, managed to get on in the spotting scope fleetingly, but only Ken was able to see the bird before it flew.

Since path was too steep and rough for most of the group, we gave up and went back down the hill to Raoul’s place for lunch. Lunch was, as we had come to expect, a delicious meal – chicken soup and a salad. After we had finished, there was a brief opportunity for those who wanted to, to go back to the swimming hole for a quick, cooling swim. The water was quite cool, but not freezing, and it was a most refreshing experience in most beautiful surroundings.

All too soon it was time to leave El Valle for the last time. We had a quick stop for last minute souvenirs.

We were back at the Barcelo by 4.00p.m. so that there was plenty of time to do packing. I flung a few things into a suitcase, and then decided that this was a waste of perfectly good birding time, not to mention swimming time, so I stopped and went off by myself to see if I could relocate the Pearl Kite. Even although I now knew exactly which tree it was nesting in, and even pretty approximately where the nest was in that tree, I was still unable to locate either the bird or the nest. However, all was not lost, as I had a very good view of a Black-shouldered Kite mobbing a Crested Caracara instead.

Today was the day we finally got to eat in the proper “A la carte” restaurant – Blake had made very sure that nothing went wrong with our reservations this time. I was a bit disappointed to learn that two items on the menu were unavailable – the avocado salad, and the chocolate meringues for dessert – both things I would have liked to have sampled. However, the stuffed eggplant as an appetiser, followed by filet mignon was very good. No one lingered very long at the end of the meal as we all had to pack for a very early start to the airport in the morning. I was in bed by 10.20p.m.

Up at 04:30 breakfast at 05:00.  Bus left at 05:30 and arrived at airport at 07:00

Continental (Boeing 737) Flt CO886 Leaving 10:50 from Panama City
Arriving Newark 15:52 – arrived ½ hour early

Continental (Embraer RJ145) FLT CO2453 leaving 17:05
Arriving Halifax 20:36

Arrived to snow flurries in Halifax although we quickly drove out of them on the road into the city.

We were up before the crack of dawn, and then down to the restaurant to look for the promised light breakfast. No food! We proceeded to the reception area to see if it was there – no food!! The man on the reception desk tried phoning to get it sorted out. We then discovered that there were no bellboys either to retrieve our luggage from our rooms, so we made off with a luggage trolley to do it ourselves. The porters caught up with us just as we were discovering that the luggage trolleys did not fit into the lift to go up to our third floor room. The porters gave us to understand that it was necessary to bring the luggage down from the rooms to the ground floor by hand, and then put it on the trolley, so we let them take over.

We were on the bus at 5.30a.m. and arrived with plenty of time to spare at the airport. The flights to Newark and then on to Halifax were uneventful. We returned to light snow, but at least it wasn’t a blizzard like last year.