| Panama: The southern range of a number of Central American birds and the northern range of a number of South American birds overlap or just reach into Panama, creating a great diversity of bird life in a small geographic area. With 960 bird species recorded, Panama has the highest diversity of birds in all of Central America. Nearly 200 species of birds found in Panama are not present in Costa Rica. The ranges of additional species extend only into southern Costa Rica and are missed on typical Costa Rica birding tours. For this reason Panama has become a popular destination for bird watchers. The preferred places to visit on typical birding tours to Panama are the Canal Zone and the western highlands of Chiriqui province. Some birding tours also able to visit the Darien of eastern Panama. Panama has 9 endemic species, of which 2 are found only in the Chiriqui Highlands of western Panama and 6 are found only in the Darien Province east of the canal toward the Columbia border. Also, all "near endemics" are found either in the Chiriqui Highlands and southeastern Costa Rica or in the Darien and northwestern Columbia. The reason for this circumstance is both historical and geographical. Historically, Panama was once below sea level, and the ocean waters formed a natural barrier between South and Central America. Geographically, the truly tropical rainforests of South America do not extend much beyond the Darien. Add recent agricultural expansion as a barrier for most birds, and the highlands of western Panama form a barrier preventing many species from extending into Panama the rest of the country. The result is a truly transitional avifauna, a unique mix of Central and South American species that awaits exploration by the avid birder. The great diversity of birding opportunities along with the fascinating Panama Canal make Panama a great place to visit even for seasoned travelers who have already toured other Central American countries. This adult only trip will be hosted by PK Martin. PK excels at pulling together small groups of birders on trips focused on bird watching. Great local bird guides will assure seeing a number of endemic and other key species with the group finding over 340 species of birds. Canal Zone and Panama City: A number of parks and gardens in and near Panama City provide surprisingly easy access and great views of a wide variety of bird species. Lowland rainforest environments can be found along the Pipeline Road paralleling the canal. The Canal Zone also has its attractions, including the most accessible rainforests in Central America. Metropolitan Park (Parque Natural Metropolitano) is a 265 hectare park, protecting a wild area of tropical dry forest within the city limits. Other birding in the Panama City area includes the Juan Diaz Swamp, Chagres Park, Cerro Azul, Cerro Jefe and Achiote Road. We will have time for a number of excellent day trips to these outstanding birding locations. Chiriqui Highlands: The Chiriqui Highlands are an extension of the highlands of southern Costa Rica. We will spend most of the time in the area of Volcan Baru National Park. Volcan Baru is the highest point in Panama at 11,398 feet. Specialties of the area include Black-breasted Wood-Quail, Spotted Wood-Quail, Chiriqui Quail-Dove, Crimson-fronted Parakeet, Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl, Dusky Nightjar, Charming Hummingbird, Veraguas Mango, White-crested Coquette, and many other hummingbirds, Resplendent Quetzal, Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner, Streak-breasted Treehunter, Grey-throated Leaftosser, Black-banded Woodcreeper, Silvery-fronted Tapaculo, White-throated Flycatcher, Barred Becard, Black-and-white Becard, Yellow-billed Cotinga, Turquoise Cotinga, Bare-necked Umbrellabird, Silvery-throated Jay, Riverside Wren, Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush, Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher, Collared Redstart, Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager, Spot-crowned Euphonia, Large-footed Finch, and Slaty Flower-piercer. The Darien, Fantastic Panama Bird Watching: The Darien Peninsula is home to 30 endemics and near endemics (including other species that can only be seen in adjoining Colombia). These include Russet-crowned Quail-Dove, Azuero Parakeet, Rufous-cheeked Hummingbird, Greenish Puffleg, Dusky-backed Jacamar, Double-banded Greytail, Varied Solitaire, Pirre Warbler, Green-naped Tanager, Viridian Dacnis, and Yellow-green Finch. It is one of the most magnificent and remote wild areas in the world. Darien National Park and Biosphere Reserve encompasses 1.3 million acres. Note on Trip Conditioning: When not birding at short stops, hiking will range from easy to moderate. Some hiking trips will be up to several hours at a time. The most challenging will be the long (5 to 7 hour) yet slow paced hike in the Darien up to Pirre Mountain Camp. |
| Itinerary for Panama Canal Zone and Panama City Area: Day 1: Arrival Day 1, birding in the Panama City starts on the grounds of the local hotel with nice semi-arid grassland habitat. We will actually pick up a few trip birds here, as the group gathers from flights that day. Things really pick up the next day at Metropolitan Park. Day 2 after an early breakfast, we will leave for Metropolitan Park (Parque Natural Metropolitano). Upon a hill to the north of downtown, this 265 hectare park protects a wild area of tropical dry forest within the city limits. It has two main walking trails, the Nature Trail and the Titi-Monkey Trail. With a bird list of over 250 species, the Metropolitan Park is the largest tropical forest city park in Latin America. Comprised of semi-decidous forest, its more open drier habitat supports a number of species lacking in the more humid forests. Walking slowly along the trails, the endemic Yellow-green Tyrannulet is relatively easy to find and the Park is probably the best site in Panama to look for the Rosy-thrush Tanager. Flycatchers such as Tropical Kingbird , Streaked Flycatcher and Dusky-capped Flycatcher are common , as are woodpeckers, such as Crimson-crested Woodpecker and Red- crowned Woodpecker. Other likely sightings are Blue-crowned Motmot , Rufous-breasted Wren, Lance-tailed Manakin, Lesser Greenlet, Golden-fronted Greenlet, Scrub Greenlet, Green-shrike Vireo, Keel-billed Toucan, and Collared Aracari. An excellent bird guide will help sort out the the mixed species feeding flocks, and you will have terrific looks at a number of colorful honeycreepers (Red-legged Honeycreeper and Green Honeycreeper ) and tanagers (Golden-hooded Tanager, Plain-colored Tanager, Palm Tanager, Blue-gray Tanager and Crimson-backed Tanager). Some of the animals that lives there are White- tailed Deer, Two-toad Sloth and Anteaters. Day 3 we will leave or Panama City hotel and travel a short way to Soberania National Park, one of the most accessible rainforest in the world. This forest is home to more than 400 species of birds and 1,000 species of plants. Some of the special birds we may find along Plantation Road that day include Blue-crowned Manakin, Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner, Chestnut-headed Oropendola, Crested Oropendola, Golden-collared Manakin, Jet Antbird, Red-capped Manakin, Ruddy Foliage-gleaner, Ruddy Woodcreeper, Scaly-breasted Wren, Scaly-throated Leaftosser, Shining Honeycreeper, and Timberline Wren. Not far from the entrance of the park, we will get to the tall old-growth forest where you will find White-Faced Capuchin Monkeys and perhaps the rare Red-napped Tamarin (if we are lucky). Day 4, we will have an early start to bird a full day along the Pipeline Road. The beginning of the road is semi-open woodland with ponds surrounded by flooded vegetation, and excellent habitat to look for Northern Jacanas, Commomn Gallinules and numerous Flycatcher species. We will stop at the ammo dump for Crimson-backed Tanager, Rufescent Tiger Heron, and hopefully White-throated Crake. We should also see several species of tanagers and greenlets new to the trip. We will then visit the Limbo Camp Trail for White-bellied Antbird, Semiplumbeous Hawk, Black-breasted Puffbird, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Blue Cotinga, Pheasant Cuckoo, Boat-billed Heron, and Rosy Thrush-Tanager. Hopefully, we will encounter an ant swarm and its attendant species, like Bicolored Antbird, Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo, and Black-crowned Antpitta. We will consider ourselves fortunate to find an Agami Heron along with Sunbittern, and Buff-rumped Warbler. Days 5 & 6, we will be birding some of the great sites on the Atlantic side of Panama. These sites include Charges Parke, Cerro Azul, Cerro Jefe and Achiote Road.
Days 7 - 10: Chiriqui Highlands: The Chiriqui Highlands are an extension of the highlands of southern Costa Rica. We will spend most of the time in the area of Volcan Baru National Park. Volcan Baru is the highest point in Panama at 11,398 feet. Specialties of the area include Black-breasted Wood-Quail, Spotted Wood-Quail, Chiriqui Quail-Dove, Crimson-fronted Parakeet, Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl, Dusky Nightjar, Charming Hummingbird, Veraguas Mango, White-crested Coquette, and many other hummingbirds, Resplendent Quetzal, Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner, Streak-breasted Treehunter, Grey-throated Leaftosser, Black-banded Woodcreeper, Silvery-fronted Tapaculo, White-throated Flycatcher, Barred Becard, Black-and-white Becard, Yellow- billed Cotinga, Turquoise Cotinga, Bare-necked Umbrellabird, Silvery-throated Jay, Riverside Wren, Ruddy-capped Nightingale- Thrush, Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher, Collared Redstart, Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager, Spot-crowned Euphonia, Large-footed Finch, and Slaty Flower-piercer.
The Darien, Fantastic Panama Bird Watching: The Darien Peninsula is home to 30 endemics and other species that can only be seen in adjoining Colombia. These include Russet-crowned Quail-Dove, Azuero Parakeet, Rufous-cheeked Hummingbird, Greenish Puffleg, Dusky-backed Jacamar, Double-banded Greytail, Varied Solitaire, Pirre Warbler, Green-naped Tanager, Viridian Dacnis, and Yellow-green Finch. It is one of the most magnificent and remote wild areas in the world. Darien National Park and Biosphere Reserve encompasses 1.3 million acres.
Day 6: Darien and back to Panama City and the Juan Diaz Mangroves: After early morning birding in the Darien (optional), fly back to Panama City with a few more birds on airstrip. More birding (Juan Diaz Mangroves) and/or resting options at the Panama City hotel in the afternoon. Day 7 Depature: We can all fly back home. Most flights will require arriving at the airport by 7 AM. |
| To learn about our other great trips, click here. For information about the the price of these services, click here. For more information, contact us at 1-888-203-7464 or by email at info@pibird.com. |
| Brief Itinerary Please call us to discuss flight plans so that we can assure your arrival and departure plans can be well accommodated. Canal Zone and Panama City Area:
Chiriqui Highlands:: The Chiriqui Highlands are an extension of the highlands of southern Costa Rica. We will spend most of the time in the area of Volcan Baru National Park.
More Fantastic Birding in the Darien: The Darien Peninsula is home to 30 endemics and other species that can only be seen in adjoining Colombia. It is one of the most magnificent and remote wild areas in the world. Darien National Park and Biosphere Reserve encompasses 1.3 million acres.
Darien and back to Panama City and the Juan Diaz Mangroves: After early morning birding in the Darien (optional), fly back to Panama City with a few more birds on airstrip. More birding (Juan Diaz Mangroves) and/or resting options at the Panama City hotel in the afternoon. Return Day: We can all fly back home. |
| For more information (including an easy to print itinerary), contact us at 1-888-203-7464 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 and Chiriqui Highlands Extensions to Darien |
Panama Super Spectacular:
17 Days of Birding
17 Days of Birding