Around Canopy Camp and Nando trail

When it's only the second day, the week seems never ending.  The morning began with birding down Canopy Camp's entrance road and ended the same way.   

Above:  Juvenile Roadside Hawk (Rupornis magnirostris) and below Cinnamon Woodpecker (Celeus loricatus) at nest cavity.  No photos were possible for me but we also saw nesting Double-banded Graytails (Xenerpspestes minlosi) in a tree over the Canopy Camp entry road.

2:05 minute video of the same Cinnamon Woodpecker vocalizing and moving around the tree trunk.  We saw Cinnamon Woodpeckers nearly everyday.  Last year near I recall seeing only one on Pipeline Road.

Above:  The only place we saw Golden-headed Manakin (Ceratopipra erythrocephala) was on the Canopy Camp trails.  They stayed high up in the trees for the time I saw them and this is probably my best photo showing the white eye.  

Above and below:  These Golden-collared Manakins (Manacus vitellinus) were also seen on the Canopy Camp trails, an mostly heard but occasionally seen elsewhere throughout the week.  These may turn out to be my best little bird photos of the week.  I did need a second try for these.

Vocalizing Black-crowned Antshrike (Thamnophilus atrinucha - formerly Western Slaty) on the Canopy Camp trail.

We left the Canopy Camp area for afternoon birding.  I wasn't expecting to see Spot-breasted Woodpecker (Colaptes punctigula) but we saw two well in an area of scattered trees and woods around a cattle field.  My photo in the sun shows the feather markings on the back. Unfortunately, no good photos of this bird's beautiful head.

I was also surprised to see Striped Cuckoo (Tapera naevia), but we saw two well through the spotting scope.  The bird was distant as is obvious by this crazy photo (so pixelated it looks like a watercolor), but it confirms my first sighting of this charming little bird.  We also heard Little Cuckoo (Coccycua minuta) a couple of times but never did see one.

 This was a beautiful area.  A shot of distant Panama trees in the middle of the field.

Above and below:  we saw and heard Rusty-margined Flycatchers (Myiozetetes cayanensis) every day in a variety of habitats.  These are two of my best photos.

Above:  Four Orange-crowned Orioles (Icterus auricapillus) were spotted together high up in a tree along a road that, in places, we walked.  The main reason for being on this road was to find Black Oropendolas (Psarocolius guatimozinus) - which we eventually saw well, blue cheek patch and all.

The entrance road was also our location for our one evening of night time birding and mammal sightings.  The bird above is a sleeping Streaked Flycatcher (Myiodynastes maculates) that we woke up with our flashlights and chatter.  Not far beyond the Tropical Screech Owl (Megascops choliba) below responded by flying in to its vocalization and perching in the open.  I am pleased with my photos because I almost got no photos.  My first attempts were blurred nothings.  Then I remembered to increase the ISO and got this and a few others that I was thrilled with.

We also heard both spectacular owls, the Black and White (Ciccaba nigrolineata) and Crested (Lophostrix cristata) on this night, but were never able to lure them into the open to be seen.  The best owling after this was heard owls from our tents - (I had a couple of sleepless nights) - although there was always discussion the next morning at breakfast on which owl exactly was heard.