Our time in the Darien region was drawing to a close. On the morning of the day we were heading back to Panama City, we had one more exciting discovery. As we were driving to a birding destination, I was scanning the area for birds and I saw a capped heron down in a small stream. I immediately yelled out to our guide, “capped heron, capped heron”. This was a species we’d been looking for all week. As soon as our driver found a safe place to pull over, we piled out of the bus and walked back to the area where I had spotted the heron. It was elusive—it knew we were there, and flew a short distance before landing in a tree. This was the best possible outcome, as this allowed everyone to get on the bird with their binoculars, and several participants got their spotting scopes on the bird. This is one of those bird species where pictures just don’t do the bird justice. Seeing the bird in real life was a thrill for many of the participants in our group. In fact, some people stated it was their favorite bird of the whole trip! It ended up being the only time we saw a capped heron on the trip. After lunch, we made our way back to Panama City, enduring endless road construction and very bumpy conditions along the Pan-American Highway.

Seven hours later, in the dark of night, we arrived at our destination, Hotel Gamboa Resort—this would be our base for the final three days. Early the next morning, long before it was light, we made our way to the Canopy Tower adjacent to the Rainforest Discovery Center. The metal structure is 130 feet tall. From the top of the tower, we were literally looking down on the canopy of the rainforest. Unfortunately, it was raining, and not a little bit, and this was our only scheduled time to visit the Canopy Tower. The weather made birding very challenging as the birds were hunkered down for the duration of the storm. At some point we had to leave as we needed to stay on our schedule. It was disappointing, as this should have been one of our most productive birding days.

After the rain let up we walked the famous Pipeline Road, known to avid birders all over the world. This narrow dirt road is no longer used by vehicles, so birders can stroll at their leisure and enjoy the incredible variety of rainforest species. In 1985, the National Audubon Society set a record for the highest number of bird species observed in a 24 hour period—on the Pipeline Road—an incredible 385 species! Our time was slow and deliberate, as our expert local guide focused his efforts on finding one species at a time based on vocalization.

Our guide was gifted in hearing, identifying, and finding the most obscure birds in the dense vegetation of the jungle. Some of the highlights for this area included ruddy quail-dove, pheasant cuckoo broad-billed motmot, black-breasted puffbird, streak-chested antpitta, black- faced antthrush, blue cotinga, and several species of antwrens, mannakins, and woodcreepers. While the quantity of bird species observed was not impressive, the quality of the bird species observed was off the charts. I suspect that for many of the species observed, I will never have the opportunity to see them again in my lifetime. It was a very special experience.

Our final day included more birding on the Pipeline Road and a visit to the Miraflores Visitor Center at the Panama Canal. I almost had to pinch myself as I humbly acknowledged how blessed I was to be on this trip.

Until next week, Happy Birding!

Eric Moore is the owner of The Lookout, in Prescott, where you will find a Hallmark department, wild bird products, and Swarovski and Vortex optics. Eric has been an avid birder for over 60 years. Eric can be contacted at eric@thelookoutaz.com