More Panama photos: Tanager, Bat Falcon, Soberania National Park sunrise

I'm still alive and back safely in Ontario after a fantastic trip to Panama! Sorry for the gap in posts, I was en route to home and then buried with photo business upon arrival.

I have so many photos from Panama to share.... here are a few more. Will post more as I catch up on processing of the raw files. Check back soon!

Photo 1: Bat Falcon, Soberania National Park, Gamboa, Panama
Canon EOS 1Ds mark III; 500mm f/4 lens & 2x teleconvertor
A pair of Bat Falcons were roosting in the town of Gamboa and obliged for this photo at sunrise, shortly before taking off to hunt.

Photo 2: Lemon-rumped Tanager at Canopy Lodge, Panama
EOS 1Ds mark III; 500mm f/4 lens & 1.4x teleconvertor
The fruit feeders at Canopy Lodge are one of the best places I've ever photographed birds... it was a constant stream of tanagers and other colorful birds!

















Photo 3: Sunrise over Soberania National Park from the Canopy Tower, Gamboa, Panama
EOS 5D mark II; 70-200mm f/2.8 lens; Singh-Ray LB ColorCombo polarizer & 2 stop hard edge ND grad

Panama - part 3 (Pacas, Aracaris, Euphonias, Motmots... life is good!)

Having a great time down here... with some outstanding photo opps! First three photos are from the Soberania National Park area in Gamboa. The mammal is a Paca - a rarely photographed jungle animal. It was coming into the grounds of the research station where I was staying at night to feed. I laid down on the ground to get this eye level portrait and had someone shine a flashlight on it so there was enough light to focus.

Fruit Loops is my favorite cereal, so I was determined to get photos of toucan-family birds on this trip. This Chestnut-collared Aracari (below) was an unexpected bonus - it landed on the perch above the fruit feeder!

There's a National Geogrpahic assignment photographer shooting nocturnal mammals in the forest canopy - so he's rigged a tall scaffolding setup with a platform on top. I climbed up there in early morning to photograph canopy birds, but couldn't resist the beautiful sunrise over the forest.

I'm now staying at the beautiful Canopy Lodge (http://www.canopylodge.com/) in El Valle de Anton, and having incredible success with birds coming into the banana feeders. This is one of the best feeder spots I've ever seen and I'm definitely going to bring a bird photography workshop here in the future. Here are a couple from my first afternoon at the lodge yesterday. I'm tweaking the setup this morning and today's results will be even better!

There are abot a dozen male Thick-billed Euphonias (below) coming to the feeder! 

A Rufous Motmot (below) hangs around the lodge and periodically comes into the feeders. It was so close I couldn't fit the whole bird into the frame, so I opted for a head portrait.

All of these photos have been taken with an EOS 1Ds III; 500/4 IS lens [the Paca was shot with a 70-200/2.8 lens], usually with a 1.4x or 2x teleconvertor. A 580EX II flash has been used for fill light on all of the birds.

Gotta run..... many more birds to photograph!

Panama birds - part 2

Here are a couple of photos I shot today..... common birds that are coming into fruit feeders at the lodge where I'm staying. I put the stick over the feeder and the birds started using it almost immediately. 

Both photos were taken with an EOS 1Ds III; 500/4 IS & 2X teleconvertor; 580EX fill flash

Need sleep.... I'm baked from the heat!

Top photo: Red-legged Honeycreeper
Bottom photo: Blue-gray Tanager

Panama jungle birds!

Here's a quick post from the small town of Gamboa in the Soberania National Park area of central Panama. I've been having a great time photographing tropical birds including a mix of common and difficult to shoot species. My body is still adjusting to the persecuting heat and humidity - especially on the long daily walks in the jungle carring 40lbs of camera gear. The "Balboa" beers at lunch are well-earned and an aspirin after dinner helps to dull the pain in my back and shoulders!

I'm being hosted/guided by Advantage Tours Panama  and my guide Rey is finding lots of cool things to point my lens at. Check back for more photos soon... I have tons to share!

Photo 1 (below): Common Potoo, Metropolitan Park, Panama City
EOS 1Ds mark III; 500mm f/4 IS lens; 580 EX II flash (fill at - 1 2/3); Exposure: ISO 500; 1/80s @ f/7.1
A huge thanks to guide Roberto for leading us to this incredible and well-camouflaged bird! 

Photo 2 (below): Red-rumped Cacique in Metropolitan Park, Panama City

EOS 1Ds mark III; 500mm f/4 IS lens with 1.4x TC; 580EX II fill flash at -1 2/3; Exposure: ISO 640; 1/160s @ f/5.6

Photo 3 (below): Spectacled Owl, Gamboa, Panama
EOS 1Ds mark III; 500mm f/4 IS lens & 1.4x TC; 580EX II fill flash at -1 2/3; Exposure: ISO 640; 1/40s @ f/5.6