Canopy Lodge Birding Itinerary (6 nights / 7 days)

Day 1: El Valle de Antón (Western foothills) Cariguana Trail

We will spend six nights on the edge of a lovely village nestled in the crater of an extinct volcano that erupted 5 million years ago. The resultant scenery is quite unique -- a steep valley surrounded by jagged peaks and filled with flowers, streams and verdant forests. No wonder it is one of Panama's most popular getaways.

If today is a Sunday, we will arrive in time to visit the "Sunday Market" when artisans come down from the surrounding mountains to sell their goods. The El Valle Sunday Market is considered one of the best supplied in the region. This will be an excellent opportunity to buy local handicraft directly from the "manufacturer." Prices are usually negotiable. There are ceramics, bateas (wooden trays), woven baskets, hats, carved and painted totumas (cups made from squash) and trinkets made from acorn, as well as vegetables, fruits, ornamental plants, flowers and orchids. Our home for the next seven days will be Canopy Lodge, sister company of the Canopy Tower, a charming small hotel built next to a lovely mountain stream and adjacent to the protected area of Cerro Gaital Natural Monument. In the gardens surrounding the lodge we can easily see species like the Crimson-backed, Blue-gray, Dusky-faced and Plain-colored Tanagers, Social Flycatcher, Ruddy-ground Dove, Barred Antshrike, Yellow-faced Grassquit, Rufous-tailed and Violet-headed Hummingbirds and Clay-colored Robin. After lunch, we will start our foothill birding at the dry Pacific forest of the Cariguana Trail. Here, we can expect to see some of the specialties of this rich avian region, for example: Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Yellow-olive Flycatcher, Lance-tailed Manakin, Rufous-and-white Wren, and Rosy Thrush-Tanager. Canopy Lodge (L, D)

Day 2: El Valle de Antón, Cerro Gaital Trail and The Canopy Adventure

(*The Canopy Adventure is optional and has an additional fee, but note that if you are staying at the Lodge a 10% discount of the price for this Adventure will apply.)

Today we will wake up early and go birding around the mountain trails surrounding the crater where it is possible to find one of the most sought after species in neo-tropical birding: the Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo. This area also offers frequent sightings of Gray-headed Kite, White-tailed Emerald, Green-crowned Brilliant, Emerald Toucanet, Orange-bellied Trogon, Spotted Barbtail, Rufous-capped Warbler, Tawny-capped Euphonia, Common Bush-Tanager, Black-faced Grosbeak, and if we are lucky we might see a Black Guan, Purplish-backed Quail-Dove, Scaled Antpitta, or Black-headed Antthrush.

After lunch, those who wish will also have the opportunity to experience The Canopy Adventure. A series of zip lines high in the canopy by which travelers can explore the rain forest using safe and modern climbing techniques. After an invigorating short climb to the top of the ridge through bird-rich forest, you strap in and soar through the treetops, where you see a wealth of unexpected natural beauty and activity. Swooping from platform to platform high among the sturdy cloud forest trees, you pass over the stream and waterfall not once, but twice.

The Canopy Adventure is located in a private refuge in the foothills above El Valle. The main attraction of this refuge is a beautiful 150 foot high waterfall called Chorro Macho; the birdlife and the flora are especially rich and diverse because the area has been a wildlife refuge for several years. The principle purpose of this refuge, apart from the obvious task of keeping the area free from poachers and loggers, has been to provide sustainable, nature-based employment to ten young men who would otherwise be practicing traditional slash and burn agriculture to support themselves and their families. The refuge is a way to keep the forest ecosystem whole while providing much needed employment. Those who prefer not to do the Canopy Adventure can explore the trail around the waterfall where it is possible to see Green and Little Hermit, motmots, Slaty-tailed Trogon, Dull-mantled Antbird, and Tawny-crested and Dusky-faced tanagers. Canopy Lodge (BLD)

Day 3: El Valle de Antón, Chorro Macho Trails and bird feeders

Another day of birding in the foothills will take us early in the morning to the northern rim of the crater to explore the trails of the Chorro Macho private reserve. Some very special birds have been sighted here: the majestic White Hawk, the tiny Tody Motmot, the bizarre White-tipped Sicklebill, and the elegant Sunbittern will be high in our list of target species as well as some colorful tanagers and honeycreepers like the Silver-throated, Golden-hooded and Bay-headed Tanagers, Blue Dacnis and Scarlet-thighed Dacnis. This trail will also offer good possibilities of seeing Brown-hooded and Blue-headed Parrots, Squirrel Cuckoo, Fasciated Antshrike, Black-faced Antthrush, and Black-chested Jay.

In the afternoon we will visit the private gardens of a local birder who maintains well-attended feeders attracting certain foothill specialties difficult to see otherwise; like the striking Flame-rumped Tanager and the rare White-lined Tanager. Other foothill species coming to the feeders are: Buff-throated Saltator, Black-striped Sparrow, Blue-crowned Motmot, and Red-crowned Woodpecker. Perhaps the biggest highlight of this amazing birding spot is the huge colony of Chestnut-headed Oropendolas located in a group of Eucalyptus trees right next to the feeders. These magnificent birds come down to the feeders and dwarf the other participants of the feast. This is a great opportunity to take close-up pictures of a bird normally seen high in the trees. It is also fascinating to see the parasitic Giant Cowbirds sneaking in the long nests of the oropendolas to lay their eggs. Canopy Lodge (BLD)

Day 4: El Valle de Antón, El Chiru forest and La Zamia Trail

Today we will have an early breakfast and travel outside El Valle to visit a patch of dry forest just one hour away near the small village of El Chiru. The contrast with the lush and wet foothills of El Valle is dramatic. This habitat consists of relatively permanent growth of low and often straggly bushes and small trees with grass interspersed. It is a distinctive habitat of the Pacific lowlands and there is little of it left because most of the population in Panama has settled in the Pacific Coast. We will search for Pearl and White-tailed Kites, Crested Bobwhite, Brown-throated Parakeet, Blue and Plain-breasted Ground-Doves, Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher, Pale-eyed Pygmy-Tyrant, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Lance-tailed Manakin, and Rufous-browed Peppershrike among other feathered residents of this scarce scrubby area. Bird activity is high during the first few hours then it gets hot and it will be time to return to the much cooler foothills. We will have lunch back in the Canopy Lodge and afterwards we will bird the La Zamia Trail at the base of the Cerro Gaital Natural Monument. This is an easy, level trail in which the rare Rufous-vented Ground Cuckoo has been seen occasionally. We will also look for the Little Tinamou, Gray-headed Chachalaca, Blue-crowned Motmot, Common Potoo, and Sepia-capped Flycatcher.

For those interested in Botany, it is worth noting that La Zamia trail is named after the rare and primitive genus of palm-like plants called Zamia of the order Cycadales. Some of these unusual and ancient fern-like dioecious plants with aerial or subterranean stems are found in this trail. Canopy Lodge (BLD)

Day 5: Altos del Maria (eastern ridge)

Set in the mountains on the continental divide east of El Valle, the Altos del Maria provide a spectacular addition to the Canopy Lodge birding package. Departing early in the morning from El Valle in comfortable 4x4 sport’s utility vehicles, we will drive back along the Pan-American Highway and then up into the mountains. As the sun rises over the highlands ahead of us, spectacular mountains, vast valleys, and towering cliffs will be revealed. Ascending an excellent paved road, we will climb a ridge to our destination for the morning, an expansive area of cloud forest at 1100 meters above sea level. Early morning birding will take us along some of the wide, gravel roads in the area. Around mid-morning, we will stop at a nature center for a rest, bathrooms, and a check of the hummingbird feeders. Afterwards, we will search some trails through the woods for additional forest birds, before returning for a picnic lunch at the nature center.

This area harbors an exciting variety of highland forest birds. Some of the characteristic species of this cloud forest include White Hawk, Orange-bellied Trogon, Spotted Woodcreeper, Red-faced Spinetail, Spotted Barbtail, Russet Antshrike, Tufted Flycatcher, Rufous-browed Tyrannulet, White-ruffed Manakin, Ochraceous Wren, Gray-breasted Wood-Wren, Pale-vented Thrush, Black-and-yellow Tanager, Dusky-faced Tanager, Tawny-crested Tanager, and Slate-colored Grosbeak.

At the hummingbird feeders we may spot Band-tailed Barbthroat, the exquisite Snowcap, Purple-throated Mountain-Gem at the extreme eastern edge of its range, and Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer. Even the bizarre Brown-billed Scythebill has been seen here. After lunch, we will drop down into a valley and climb to the ridge on the opposite side via a smooth gravel road. Reaching some large swaths of mature humid forest along this ridge, we will explore some trails and roadside spots in search of more forest birds. Around mid-afternoon, we will head down the road on the far side of the ridge and back into El Valle for some relaxation time prior to dinner. Canopy Lodge (B, D) Picnic lunch

Day 6: Altos del Maria (western ridge)

Again boarding 4-wheel drive SUV’s, we will head back to the Altos del Maria. Today, however, we will concentrate our effort along the ridge above Mata Ahogado. This ridge is blanketed in an impressive shroud of mature cloud forest. Birding mostly from the roadside, we will search for some of the species we missed yesterday, plus Double-toothed and Gray-headed Kites, Purplish-backed Quail-Dove, Violet Sabrewing, Green Thorntail, Emerald Toucanet, Eye-ringed Flatbill, and White-throated Robin. Rarer species including Plumbeous Hawk, Brown-billed Scythebill, and the spectacular Black-crowned Antpitta occur in this area and are to be watched for. Later in the morning, we will explore a some trails into the woods, perhaps including a fairly steep, but well-maintained path to a lookout. Here we will have additional chances for secretive species of the forest interior.

In late morning, we will descend to a river, where a paved trail allows access to riparian woodland along a mountain stream. Kingfishers and Black Phoebe are to be watched for here. Ascending to the visitor’s center again, we will enjoy a picnic lunch and a little more birding in search of any new species that are still possible. Because of the high altitude of this site (up to 1200 meters, or 4000 feet), the temperatures frequently remain cool late in the day and mid-day birding can be surprisingly good. Canopy Lodge (B, D) Picnic lunch

Day 7: Panama City

After a leisurely breakfast and some last-minute-birding in the gardens surrounding the lodge, we will drive back to Panama City and catch our return flights home. Canopy Lodge (B)

We are pleased to offer a similar itinerary at our sister ecolodge. Please visit the Canopy Tower 8 Day Itinerary.

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