Birding in Panama
Details for 10-Day Trip:
Central Panama plus
Chiriquí Highlands
Details for 10-Day Trip:
Central Panama plus
Chiriquí Highlands
| Day 1: Arrival into Panama City You will be met by a representative of the tour at the airport and driven to the Albrook Inn Hotel. The Hotel is located in a nice area, surrounded by nature and with easy access to the main birding sites of the Panama Canal rainforest. If your flight arrives early enough, you will be able to bird the grounds of the hotel, likely picking up your first Panama life birds. Though this is mostly an arrival day, we will offer afternoon birding for anyone arriving by 1 PM. That evening, we will all have supper together and a full trip orientation. We will finish up by 8 PM so that everyone can get a good night's sleep for an early start in the morning. Day 2: Pipeline Road & Discovery Center Tower You will enjoy birding at its best with an early start on Pipeline Road, at the Discovery Center Tower, with views of the surrounding forest from 100 feet high. Enjoy fantastic views of the tropical forest and get looks at canopy birds, such as the Blue Cotinga, flocks of Keel- billed Toucans, Blue Dacnis, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Mealy Parrots, Scaled Pigeons and more. You will visit the Rainforest Discovery Center gardens where some easy to photograph birds could include: Slaty-tailed Trogon, Black-breasted Puffbird and Broad-billed Motmot. Admire hummingbirds at feeders, with at least 9 species, such as White-necked Jacobin, Violet-bellied Hummingbird, White-vented Plumeleteer, Violet-crowned Woodnymph, and Black-throated Mango. As you walk Pipeline Road, look for Great Jacamar, Cinnamon Woodpecker, Streak-chested Antpitta, different species of Antbirds, and, with some luck, maybe the Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo! Before leaving the area, we will drive around Gamboa to look for bird tables with fruits that lure more birds of open areas such as Blue-gray Tanagers, Red-legged Honeycreepers, Red-crowned Woodpecker, Green Honeycreeper and more. We will continue birding through the afternoon at various local sites. Day 3: Old Gamboa Road & Plantation Road Today we will explore another hot spot at the Canal corridor, looking for Spectacled Owl and Blue-crowned Motmot. We will scan the Summit Ponds for Amazon, Green and Ringed Kingfishers and nesting Boat-billed Herons. Birding under the evergreen forest of Plantation Road, there is always the possibility to find army ant swarms - and many of the birds that follow these ants, such as Spotted Antbird and Ocellated Antbird. Some other specialties of Plantation Road include: Golden- crowned Spadebill, Olivaceous Flatbill and White- whiskered Puffbird. The rainforest of the Panama Canal is highly diverse! We will continue birding through the afternoon at various local sites. Day 4: Metropolitan Nature Park - Drive to the Caribbean Side With a list of 267 species, Metropolitan Nature Park is the largest tropical forest park within the limits of a Latin American city. This a good place to find birds of the Pacific forest side of the Panama Canal. Some of the key birds are the Panama endemic Yellow- green Tyrannulet (rare), Lance-tailed Manakin, Green Shrike-Vireo and the elusive Rosy Thrush-Tanager. We will also look for the difficult to find Pheasant Cuckoo. As an added bonus, both Two-toed and Three-toed Sloths plus Geoffroy's Tamarins are often seen in this park. After lunch in a local restaurant, we’ll be driven to the Caribbean side of the Canal to spend two nights at the Sierra Llorona Ecolodge. Day 5: Achiote Road – Atlantic side of the Panama Canal We'll spend the day on the Western Caribbean side of the Canal. Along Achiote Road, on the edge of San Lorenzo National Park, we’ll search for Spot-crowned Barbet, Pied Puffbird, and White-headed Wren. At mid-morning, we'll go to the Trogon Trail, a short loop under ever-wet forest to look for forest-interior birds, such as Chestnut-backed, Spotted, Bicolored and Ocellated Antbirds. Several species of trogon could be found, like White-tailed Trogon and Black-throated Trogon. Achiote is an important site for diurnal raptors - skies should be watched for King Vulture, Gray-headed Kite and Hook-billed Kite. Lunch will be at a community-owned restaurant at Achiote. Day 6: Sierra Llorona – Caribbean Slope Morning birding will be on the slopes of Sierra Llorona. This place is located 300m above sea level, where conditions are good for finding some foothill tanagers such as Sulphur-rumped Tanager and Rufous-winged Tanager. The private trails of the reserve are good for Syristes, Olive-striped Flycatcher, Olivaceous Flatbill and more. Sierra Llorona is an excellent place to find owls, such as Crested Owl, Mottled Owl and Black-and-white Owl. Also, Common and Great Potoo sometimes call right outside your window. In the afternoon, we will transfer to Panama City to take our flight to the Western Highlands where we’ll spend three nights at the Hotel Dos Rios. Day 7: Los Quetzales Trail & Volcán Barú National Park The big target today is Resplendent Quetzal. The bird could be found eating wild avocados, hopefully giving everyone a chance for the perfect photo. The Quetzal was the most sacred symbol of the Aztecs and Mayas. The name quetzal is an ancient Indian term for tail feather, and the bird itself represents liberty. We should look also for Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher, Barred Becard, Black-faced Solitaire, Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch, Black-capped Flycatcher, Buffy Tuftedcheek, Ruddy Treerunner, Emerald (Blue-throated) Toucanet and much more. We'll continue birding around the area of Cerro Punta looking for more highland birds and regional endemics. Day 8: La Amistad International Park Today we will visit La Amistad International Park. This Park is a World Heritage site and part of the Talamanca Mountain Range, a volcanic-origin formation that congregates the highest concentration of regional endemic and threatened species in Panama, such as Silvery-fronted Tapaculo, Yellow-thighed Finch, Collared Redstart, Flame-throated Warbler, Prong-billed Barbet and Wrenthrush (Zeledonia). In the afternoon, we will visit Cielito Sur, a private reserve with a trail that winds through hillside forest, passing several streams, providing an opportunity to see more of the highland bird species. You will be sure to enjoy several sets of hummingbird feeders around the reserve where you can watch the White-throated Mountain-gem, Green Violetear, Snowy- bellied Hummingbird, Stripe-tailed Hummingbird, Scintillant Hummingbird, Volcano Hummingbird, Green-crowned Brilliant and more. Day 9: Volcán Lakes & Chiriquí Highlands The lakes near Volcán are very good for species not found on the higher slopes of Cerro Punta. Wetland species include: Masked Duck and Northern Jacana. Interesting birds of woodland areas such as Golden- winged Warbler, Olivaceous Piculet, Spotted Wood-Quail, Pale-breasted Spinetail, Fiery-billed Aracari and Collared Trogon could be found. After lunch, we drive back to David to take a late afternoon flight to Panama City. Day 10: Departure to Tocumen Airport Early morning birding around the hotel (if time permits) and transfer to Tocumen Airport (PTY) for international flights. |
| Detailed Itinerary |
| 10 Days Birding in Central Panama plus Chiriquí Highlands |
| For More Information or to Register for this Trip, call Charles at 888-203-7464 or directly at 720-320-1974 or by email at info@PIBird.com. |
| Canal Zone and Rainforest (Metropolitan Park, Pipeline Road & Discovery Center Tower, Plantation Road & Old Gamboa Road), Atlantic Side of Canal (Achiote Road), Caribbean Slope (Sierra Llorona), Cerro Azul Foothills & Chagres National Park, Chiriquí Highlands Extension to Darién |