Another beautiful morning. Jeffrey drove us higher up the mountain where we walked the gravel, rutted road, alternating climbing and descending through spots of warm sun and windy shade. Small birds at the treetops strained our neck muscles, Prong-billed Barbets laughed at us while staying irritatingly out of sight. Bird of the morning had to be the Flame-throated Warbler: white belly, dark back and bright neon orange chest. The color pops out as it briefly lands...

Today dawned sunny and brisk, but warmed nicely as we shed layers throughout the morning. Jeffrey, the owner of Mount Totumas Lodge, suggested our scratchy visitor last night might have been a type of weasel or rat, running between the tin roof and our ceiling. The owners have hummingbird feeders ringing the main buildings as well as a blind next to a stream-fed pool. We had an excellent morning seeing 11 species of hummingbirds, beautiful Spotted Wood-Quails, b...

An afternoon flight allowed us to spend the morning in Metropolitan Natural Park in the center of Panama City in what used to be the Canal Zone. 573 acres of forest and trails held 50 some species of birds, seen or heard, while joggers and walkers passed us wondering what we were looking at. There were mammals too: agoutis, coatis, titi and howler monkeys, and even a white-tailed deer! Amazing to see how productive a tract of land in an urban center can be for wi...

Today is our "buffer" day, the extra day we like to build in for unplanned weather delays or missed connections before the start of our tours. Good thing because a big snowstorm is hitting Boston today and flights have been canceled. Meanwhile, we had a smooth travel day yesterday, arriving for a late dinner at our hotel last night, able to sleep in this morning (the last time we can do that once our tour starts!). I had a swim this morning, then this a...