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Recently Sighted at the Canopy Lodge | |
| Pale-eyed Pygmy-Tyrant 8 August 2010 El Chiru/Juan Hombron Danilo Rodriguez: "This area has superb birding, as today we scored on Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Sapphire-throated Hummingbird, Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Pale-breasted Spinetail, Crested Bobwhite, Brown-throated Parakeet, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Savanna Hawk, Pearl Kite and Plain-breasted Ground-Dove, in additon to this miniscule little flycatcher, the Pale-eyed Pygmy-Tyrant! Great birding!!!" White-throated Crake 7 August 2010 La Mesa Danilo Rodriguez: "La Mesa seems to keep producing great sightings, and today it did not disappoint! The elusive crake was seen clearly as was Orange-bellied Trogon, Blue-throated Toucanet, Spotted Woodcreeper, White-thighed Swallow, White-ruffed Manakin, Pale-vented Thrush and Thrush-like Schiffornis! We got a whole bunch of the area's specialties today!" Little Tinamou 6 August 2010 Cara Iguana Danilo Rodriguez: "Often heard, but seldom seen... is what you often read, but not today!!! What a cool confident-looking bird, the Little Tinamou! Also seen were crowd favorites, such as Tropical Screech-Owl, Rosy Thrush-Tanager, Striped Cuckoo and Lance-tailed Manakin! Quite an unusual assortment of often difficult birds to find, seen in one day! What fun!" Barred Puffbird 5 August 2010 Canopy Adventure Trail Danilo Rodriguez: "Today was very exciting for me, for just the third time we saw a Barred Puffbird close to the Canopy Adventure!!! near the turn off to Las Nubes!!! Also, around was Barred Forest-Falcon, Long-billed Starthroat, Amazon Kingfisher and, one of my favorites, the Tody Motmot!! What a fabulous day!!!" Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo 3 August 2010 Canopy Adventure Trail/ Cara Iguana trail Tino Sanchez: "Mornings on the Canopy Adventure Trail seems to be the best time & place to see the elusive Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo, and today we scored! Looks a whole lot better than the field guides show! We also scored on Golden-collared Manakin, Black-faced Antthrush, Broad-billed Motmot and a party of Black-chested Jays! After lunch, we found the crowd favorite, the Tody Motmot, along with Sepia-capped Flycatcher and Lance-tailed Manakin. What a great day!" Blue Seedeater 31 July 2010 Gaital Trail Tino Sanchez: "Gaital is one of our premier birding trails, as it never disappoints! Today, we scored on Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch, Gray-breasted Wood-Wren, Blue-throated Toucanet, Black-faced Grosbeak, Spot-crowned Antvireo and, today's star, Blue Seedeater! What a great week of birding here in El Valle! " Barred Hawk 29 July 2010 Las Minas trail/ Las Mozas road Tino Sanchez: "At Las Minas we had great looks at Black Guan (a bird which can be quite difficult elsewhere in Panama, but a regular sighting here!), an awesome little predatory Bat Falcon, Silver-throated & Bay-headed Tanagers, Gray-breasted & White-breasted Wood-Wrens, Orange-bellied Trogon and Blue-throated Toucanet; But the best was the stunner, a Barred Hawk!; On Las Mozas, we found Boat-billed Flycatcher, Lesser Elaenia, Rufous-breasted Wren and a party of Black-chested Jays!" Double-toothed kite 24 July 2010 Raul's Organic Garden Jeff Bouton & Carlos B.: "On our last morning of digiscoping workshop we were taken by Raul Arias to his Organic garden located about 15 minutes from Canopy Lodge. The area in here is so beautiful so was the birding!!! We all got great views of Masked Tityra, Shining Honeycreeper, Scarlet-thighed Dacnis, Tawny-crested Tanager, Chestnut-back Antbird… The Double-toothed Kite juvenile put on a great show for all of us, we all got amazing pictures of this beautiful bird… " Bare-throated Tiger-Heron 23 July 2010 El Chiru/Juan Hombron Tino & Carlos B.: "Our Leica digiscoping workshop took over the Pacific Dry Forest of El Chiru where we all enjoy the birding plus all the amazing pictures we took of many birds… Some of the birds we got to see were; Red-breasted Blackbird, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Savanna Hawk, Brown-throated Parakeet, Eastern Meadowlark, Yellow-headed and Creasted Caracara, Saphire-throated Hummingbird… After a successful morning we headed to Juan Hombron, where we all got to see The Aplomado Falcon, Lesser-yellow Headed Vulture, White-tailed Kite, Pale-breasted Spinetail… Tiger-Heron are so special and we all got great views of this one!.. Follow more about it at John E Riutta blog; http://www.jriutta.com/category/panama2010/" Barred Forest-Falcon 22 July 2010 Canopy Adventure trail Tino Sanchez: "Today on the Canopy Adventure trail we got a good mix of birds, some we seldom see. A nice hummer, the Long-billed Starthroat, was quite nice as was a Rufous Motmot, Dusky-faced Tanager, Rufous-capped Warbler and a Buff-rumped Warbler, who always loves to show off! But the best was a spectacular Barred Forest-Falcon! " |  Blue Seedeater  Double-toothed kite  Bare-throated Tiger-Heron |
    
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Expert Bird Finder
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 |  Danilo Rodríguez Birding Guide |
Danilo's story begins like the story of so many young men in our Panamanian countryside.
He was born near the rural town of Penonome in Central Panamá in 1969. After finishing grammar school he worked as a subsistence farmer practicing "slash and burn" agriculture in his family's plot. However, there was not enough food for everyone, there being six brothers and sisters, and so, at age 16, he migrated to Panama City to look for a job, any job.
Without higher education there were not many opportunities for him but he was lucky to find work as a gardener and "house boy" in the house of a well-to-do family. He worked there for six years until he met his bride, Damaris Moran, who worked as a live-in maid in the house next door. In addition to her other virtues, Damaris had a family whose connections led to a fortunate turn of events for Danilo. As the oldest daughter of Catalino Moran, the caretaker in Raúl's week-end home in El Valle de Anton, she introduced him to success in a career he had never imagined.
About the time Danilo and Damaris married, in early 1991, Raúl was just finishing the Canopy Adventure and was looking for promising young men to work in this new ecotourism activity. Catalino knew this, so he told Raúl about his new son-in-law, who was eager to leave the city and return to the countryside. The rest, as they say, is history.
Danilo and Damaris immediately accepted Raúl's offer of work and moved in with his in-laws in El Valle. A model worker, he proved himself to be responsible, eager for new challenges, and with an extraordinary knowledge of the forest acquired naturally in his early years. He also showed the inherent knack to be a bird guide: a quick eye, a good memory, and a deep love for the natural world. Raúl and Danilo went birding often and, helped only by Ridgely's book, he began to learn the names of the birds, their vocalizations, their habits and habitats. He soon started to report sightings that had never been reported in El Valle; for example, the Dull-mantled Antbird, the Blue Seedeater, and the Rufous Ground Cuckoo -- one of the most sought-after species in Neotropical birding. Some of the members of the Panama Audubon Society would not believe these reports so they asked for evidence, and Danilo provided pictures that he took himself of these rare species.
Danilo had found his true vocation: professional bird guide.
After almost 15 years, Danilo knows the vocalizations and territories of most birds in the El Valle area very well, and can whistle in most of them. He also knows their English names. His patience and persistence for finding birds is exemplary. If the bird is there, he will show it to you. And if it is not, who knows what will show up? In any event, you'll have a great time birding with this Panamanian who has found in nature the path to material improvement and spiritual well being.
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