Panama Days 5 and 6 - More Gamboa

Big ass boat on the canal. 

I've been doing a real crappy job of blogging - was without internet for a few days and that put me behind. Plus, finding time when I'm not birding, eating, sitting on a bus, or sleeping can also be a bit of a challenge.

I'm currently in the Western Highlands - Guadalupe to be exact. But lets go back to days 5 and 6 - January the 27th and 28th.

White-necked Puffbird - Jan 27th

January the 27th I birded Old Gamboa Road in the morning and then didn't do any serious birding after that. The Old Gamboa Rd was a bit underwhelming but like everywhere you go it's hard not to add new birds. Finally got a non-falcon, non-vulture raptor - a Gray-lined Hawk - a southern split from Gray Hawk. Or so e-bird tells me. At "summit ponds" at the beginning of the road is the famous spot for Boat-billed Heron in the canal area - we had a bunch of them, an Amazon Kingfisher, and Lesser Kiskadee were highlights.

January the 28th I birded the morning at the Rainforest Discovery Center off Pipeline Rd and went up to the Canopy Tower. It's not cheap, but it's worth it. Saw male Blue Cotinga - a bit far off, but still a stunner. A good flight of raptors were going and we got Great Black Hawks, Gray-headed Kites, Double-toothed Kites, Zone-tailed Hawk, Short-tailed Hawk, and a White Hawk. I did some birding around Gamboa before taking a few buses and arriving after dark in the mountain town of El Valle. More on that later - not too much later I hope.

 A couple of views from the Canopy Tower.

 A male Blue Dacnis, fairly common birds.

At the Discovery Center there is a pile of hummingbirds coming to their feeders there. Here are a couple shots of a Violet-bellied Hummingbird, a Long-billed Hermit, and a Cinnamon Woodpecker. None of these are rare birds, just birds I managed to get usable photos of!