Recently Sighted at the Canopy Lodge

Expert Bird Finder
Danilo Rodríguez

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.

our sister sites