This is a post that includes pictures of birds observed around Summit Pond, near the Canopy Family Tower in Panama. It is part of my travelogue of our nine-day birding trip to Panama. If you would like to go to Part 2 of the travelogue which covers the sights around the Canopy Tower CLICK HERE. If you would like to got to Part 1, which focuses on birds and sights around the Canopy Lodge CLICK HERE.
On our last day in Panama our flight home didn’t leave until the afternoon so our Red Hill guide Adam was kind enough to take us out one more time, to Summit Pond. This area was near the training facility of the national police so there were lots of cadets running around in formation. In spite of all the human activity there were quite a few birds around and we were able to pick up a couple more Lifers on our last few hours there.
There was a major stir in the birding community in early 2023 set off by the sighting of a Bat Falcon in Texas. Never before seen in the U.S. many birders went down to get this once in a lifetime Lifer. Could this Bat Falcon be the same one? Probably not, but it could be…
Our local guide Carlos, after sighting a “good” bird, would let out a string of OMGs. How many depended on how “good” it was. This Collared Forest-Falcon rated two OMGs.
It’s always a thrill to find that you’ve found the wintering location for one of Chicagoland’s migratory birds. In this case we saw a Green Heron foraging along Summit Pond. It will make its way back up north later in the spring.
The Tanagers we saw while in Panama were all very colorful – except for this one. Completely lacking in color, it only had the bright white wing bar on an otherwise black body.
Although the White-shouldered Tanager itself isn’t that colorful, this one found a bright red vine with berries to feed on.
This Black-striped Woodcreeper climbs up the trunk of a tree even though the tree is leaning over severely.
This Yellow-faced Grassquit was foraging on the ground nearby. The striping on the head make it easy to identify.
This White-necked Puffbird was seen on a telephone wire alongside the road on the way back from Summit Pond. Puffbirds in general were one of our favorite families to view.
This Black-breasted Puffbird was seen near the trail as we walked away from Summit Pond. Puffbirds in general were not easily flushed so they were easy to view and photograph.
If you would like to return to Part 2 of the Panama Birding Travelogue which covers the sights around the Canopy Tower CLICK HERE. If you would like to go to Part 1, which introduces our Panama Birding trip and focuses on birds and sights around the Canopy Lodge CLICK HERE.