| One of the great thrills of my first trip to Panama's Canopy Tower, in August, 2003, was the sighting of the striking Spectacled Owl. Our guide knew the bird's favored habitat along Old Gamboa Road, and found the individual below, perched at a modest distance, carefully watching our every move. This enormous creature was truly one of the most exciting finds of my birding life, and I was thrilled to be able to capture the modest images presented here. |
| How times change.... a year later, on my second visit to Panama, we visited Old Gamboa Road again. This time, construction work on the expansion of the Panama Canal disturbed the favored habitat of the Spectacled Owl. Our guide was appropriately careful not to unduly disturb the bird, and we waited at a good distance for our turn at a quick, one-at-a-time scope look at the bird. Hopefully it will stick around! |
| Thankfully, the owls seem to have stuck around, at least for one more year. In July of 2005, the guides at the Canopy Tower told me (on the q.t.) that the Spectacled Owls on Old Gamboa Road had succesfully bred, and the juvenilles were still present. On the day of our field trip to that site, José Soto moved ahead of the group for a few minutes to look for the owls, and claimed to have come up empty (my little group later agreed that he was probably just building the drama). We moved on for a while, and tried for the owls again on our return walk. This time we were successful, and when José beckoned for us to join him in the forest, we were treated to looks at a pair of downy young Spectacled Owls, with watchful parents close at hand. One of the juvenilles was bobbing and weaving his head for no apparent reason, and I collected some great video of the bizarre display. Immediately below is an image of one of the adult Spectacled Owls, and at bottom one of the juvenille, captured in a funky moment! |
| I enjoyed yet another remarkable Spectacled Owl experience in January 0f 2007. On New year's Day I took a bus to the road near the entrance to Old Gamboa Road, and enjoyed a wonderful long morning of solo birding. As I approached the stand of bamboos favored by the Spectacled Owls I was, of course, alert for thier possible presence, and quickly saw the shape of the large owl flying into the forest away from the trail. But I was surprised when I stepped forward and heard a loud hissing noise, and I quickly realized that it was coming from the direction of another adult owl, this one perched directly over the trail, not ten feet overhead! I paused to collect a few moments of film, but, realizing that I was causing the bird some distress, I quickly passed under it and moved down the trail to continue birding. On my return trip past the spot I had no choice but to pass under the bird one more time; I had the same experience of watching a second adult fly off the trail, and heard the same hissing sound. I did not realize until after the fact (and after discussion with my Panamanian birding friends) that the hissing came not from the perched adult but from a juvenille bird that remained unseen very near its parent. I captured audio footage of the young bird's distress call; click here to check out my recording. This time when I cleared the bird(s) on the trail (and the hissing had stopped), I paused for a moment to look for the adult that had moved away, and found it a bit off the trail, peering over its shoulder at me (pictured at right). The images below are of the adult that perched over my path; note that in the image at right its feathers seem to be fluffed up as it glares at me, probably a defensive posture. I regret that I did not recognize the owl family's distress sooner, but once I did I moved on as quickly as possible. The guides at the Canopy Tower are, of course, completely familiar with these owls' behavior, and keep guests at a good distance, where they enjoy scope views of these spectacular birds without causing undue stress. |
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| Copyright© Ken Allaire. All rights reserved. Reproduction, modification, or republication of the images or content contained herein without authorization for any purpose or to produce any product is a violation of the copyright herein and is strictly prohibited. |