A handful of interesting reports came in from the Canopy Tower and Canopy Lodge the last few days, headlined by Carlos Bethancourt's lovely Green-and-rufous Kingfisher pictured at left. This female bird was found near La Seda Creek on Pipeline Road on May 28th, and was gracious enough to pose for photos; this shy species usually spooks quite easily, and Carlos says that of the four birds he has found (in about ten years of birding Pipeline!) this is the first that wasn't flying away from him. By the by, Ridgley's A Guide to the Birds of Panama does not illustrate the female Green-and-rufous Kingfisher, and fails to mention the white neck collar pictured on the bird at left, a good field mark for this gender, at least according to most other field guides and other images I've seen.

On May 30th José Soto and a pair of British birders enjoyed crippling views of a Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon on Pipeline; this species is often part of the dawn chorus as heard from atop the Canopy Tower, but is by far the hardest of the region's 3 species of forest-falcons to actually view. On June 1st José Perez found an Olivaceous Piculet at the Ammo Dump Ponds; this is Panamá's smallest woodpecker, and a very rare find in the Canal area, seen perhaps once a year. Congratulations to all the fellows at the Canopy Tower for their A-list finds!

At the Canopy Lodge, owner Raúl Arias de Para reports that two male Rufous-crested Coquettes were present in the gardens on May 25th. This stunning hummingbird arrives at the Lodge late in the dry season and leaves early in the rainy season, so should not be expected at the Lodge for much longer. On May 23rd Tino Sanchez found a Slaty Antwren in a mixed flock at Cerro Gaital; this species is quite rare and seldom-seen in the El Valle area, although a pair or two might breed locally. Finally, on May 21st Domi Alveo found a Spot-crowned Barbet on the Chorro Macho Trail near the Lodge; this "Caribbean-slope" species has been advancing farther into El Valle over the course of the last year-plus, to the point that Domi says sightings of this stunning bird on the Lodge grounds are quite regular.