The Canopy Tower overlooks a wide swath of lowland forest. Photo: Canopy Tower Staff
Panama is one of those fortunate places where two great avifaunas meet. As one moves from the Costa Rican border east toward the Colombian border, Central American birds drop out and the truly Neotropical groups such as antbirds, woodcreepers, tyrant flycatchers, hummingbirds, and tanagers begin to dominate. It all makes for an exceedingly rich birding experience. Our trip coincides with the drier season of Panama’s fall, when resident breeding birds are joined by the wintering migrants from North America. This influx of nearctic migrants makes for a very diverse avian assemblage. The acclaimed Canopy Tower serves as a delightful home base as we explore several remarkable birding areas including Pipeline Road, which offers arguably the best birding in Central America, with over 400 species recorded from this single locale. After our week-long stay at the tower we’ll relocate to the newly constructed Canopy Lodge, roughly two hours west of Panama City in the Talamancan Foothills. Here we’ll find extensive cloud forest and a substantially new suite of birds.
Day 1: The tour begins this afternoon in Panama City followed by a transfer to the Canopy Tower in Soberania National Park. Night at the Canopy Tower.
Day 2: In early dawn light, coffee in hand, we’ll stand on the top deck of the Canopy Tower, enjoying the sunrise over the forested hillsides below us and scanning the skies and the trees for parrots, pigeons, mixed canopy flocks and the prize of the forest, the stunning Blue Cotinga. After an hour on the deck we’ll have breakfast and then drive to Plantation Road, a nearby forest trail. In this lowland Atlantic forest we’ll hope to encounter flocks containing Dot-winged, White-flanked and Checker-throated Antwrens, Western Slaty Antshrike, Cocoa Woodcreeper and canopy species such as Yellow and Scarlet-rumped Caciques and Purple-throated Fruitcrow. This trail is often excellent for forest raptors such as Double-toothed and Gray-headed Kites and Slaty-backed and Collared Forest-Falcons. We’ll return to the Canopy Tower for lunch and an early afternoon siesta (in our rooms or in hammocks on the top floor) — or to watch the hummingbird feeders for Violet-bellied, Blue-chested, Rufous-tailed and Scaly-breasted Hummingbirds, White-necked Jacobin and Long-tailed Hermit! Later we’ll drive north, along the Panama Canal in part, to Gamboa and the justly famous but perhaps not-so-enchantingly named Ammo Dump Ponds. Here we’ll find our first waterbirds including numbers of Wattled Jacanas. White-throated Crake and Gray-necked Wood-Rail lurk in the reedbeds and there is always the chance of finding a motionless Rufescent Tiger-Heron along the pond margins. Here too large grassbeds contain mixed groups of Yellow-bellied, Ruddy-breasted and Variable Seedeaters and Thick-billed Seed-Finch while the tangled vegetation around the larger pond holds the remarkably similar Buff-breasted and Plain Wrens. Large concentrations of Gray-breasted Martin and Mangrove and Southern Rough-winged Swallows often gather along the canal, which also offers a corridor for pelagic species to cross the isthmus — overhead there could be passing Magnificent Frigatebirds, Brown Pelicans, Ospreys or terns. Night at the Canopy Tower.
Day 3: We’ll rise early for an all-day expedition to Pipeline Road, considered by many the premier birding location in Central America. We’ll walk Pipeline, followed by our vehicles (with our picnic lunch), and make a particular effort to locate such difficult species as Sunbittern, King Vulture, Slaty-backed Forest Falcon, Streak-chested Antpitta, Ruddy and Black-striped Woodcreepers, Moustached (Pygmy) Antwren, Forest Elaenia, Blue-crowned and Red-capped Manakins, Pied, White-necked, Black-breasted and White-whiskered Puffbirds and Song Wren. If we’re very fortunate we might encounter a Harpy Eagle, a few of which are roaming wild in Panama after being released in the last few years, or an ant swarm attended by obligate ant followers such as Bicolored, Spotted and the superlative Ocellated Antbirds. In addition to the birds the forest here is literally alive with butterflies, dragonflies and a host of frogs. Everywhere we look, there will be things of interest and it will not be easy to leave. Night at the Canopy Tower.
Day 4: We’ll again have an early-morning watch from the top of the tower. Canopy flocks containing birds such as Green Shrike-Vireo, Brown-capped Tyrannulet and White-shouldered Tanagers should be visible if we’re not distracted by the flocks of Red-lored, Mealy, Brown-hooded and/or Blue-headed Parrots wheeling around below us. Chestnut-mandibled and Keel-billed Toucans and Collared Aracari are common around the tower early in the morning, often perching up in nearby Cercropias. After breakfast we’ll walk down the mile-long Canopy Tower entrance road, possibly encountering a troupe of White-faced Capuchins or the very attractive Geoffrey’s Tamarin. The forest floor along the roadside is open in many places, greatly improving our chances of actually seeing such ground-dwelling species as Black-faced Antthrush and Great Tinamou. Three species of motmots, Crimson-crested, Black-cheeked, Lineated and Cinnamon Woodpeckers and a host of flycatchers should help make for a very full morning of birding. In the mid-afternoon we’ll drive to the nearby Summit Ponds where edge specialists such as Buff-throated Saltator, Gray-headed Chachalaca and Golden-fronted Greenlet are often found along the access road. We should also encounter a few mixed flocks of open-country tanagers and flycatchers including the incredible Crimson-backed Tanager. Around the ponds we could see herons, Greater and Lesser Kiskadees and possibly kingfishers including Amazon, Green and even American Pygmy. After dinner we’ll offer an optional night tour back down the road to the ponds. The forest feels like a very different place when it’s dark, with a diverse frog chorus and with Western Night Monkeys, Kinkajou, Tamandua and bats competing with a long potential night bird list that includes Spectacled, Mottled, Crested, Black-and-white and Tropical Screech-Owls, Pauraque and Great and Common Potoos. Once at the ponds there is a good chance we’ll witness the antics of the Greater Bulldog Fishing Bat, a large golden bat that spends its evenings hunting surface fish in ponds close to forests. Night at the Canopy Tower.
Day 5: After an early breakfast we’ll pass Gatun Lock and the Panama Canal before reaching the Achiote Road on the Caribbean coast. Achiote is widely regarded as the best place in the canal area for diurnal raptors, and we’ll keep our eyes upward for Plumbeous, Semiplumbeous, Tiny, Common Black and Short-tailed Hawks and several kites and falcons. We’ll also look for local species such as White-headed and Stripe-breasted Wrens, Montezuma and Crested Oropendolas, Spot-crowned Barbet, Pacific (Streaked) Antwren, Long-tailed Tyrant, Bare-crowned Antbird, Gray-cheeked Nunlet and Red-breasted Blackbird. In the afternoon we’ll continue to the outskirts of the coastal town of Colon, where we’ll board a train back to the Canopy Tower. The train ride affords great views of Barro Colorado Island, one of the world’s premier biological research stations, specializing in tropical ecology and island biogeography. We’ll also pass through areas full of waterbirds, including large numbers of waders and most likely Snail Kites. Night at the Canopy Tower.
Day 6: We’ll leave early this morning for Cerro Azul. Though only a little more than an hour away, these highlands present a whole new world where trees are laden with epiphytes and colorful orchids. Mixed canopy flocks often include a variety of dazzling tanagers such as Emerald, Silver-throated, Bay-headed, Rufous-winged, Speckled and Black-and-yellow. We have reasonable expectations of seeing the endemic Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker, the beautiful Violet-capped Hummingbird and the amazingly colorful Yellow-eared Toucanet. These wet forests also offer our best chance for the very local Black-eared Wood-Quail and Black-headed Antthrush. After lunch we’ll drive toward Panama City to investigate Tocumen Marsh, a haven for both savannah and marsh species that can be otherwise difficult to locate in the Canal Zone including Cocoi, Capped and Striated Herons, Glossy Ibis, Pearl Kite, Pied Water-Tyrant, Little Cuckoo, Mouse-colored Tyrannulet, Little Cuckoo Masked Duck and several species of rails. Night at the Canopy Tower.
Day 7: We’ll spend the early morning around the tower and then, reluctantly, begin our drive toward the Talamancan Foothills of western Panama. A lush valley just above the lovely town of El Valle del Anton is home to the new Canopy Lodge. This two-story building lies alongside the scenic Rio Guayabo and abuts both a large plot of privately owned forest and the Cerro Gaital Natural Monument. The lodge grounds have been extensively planted with Heliconia, Erythrina and Verbena are there are several feeding stations continuously stocked with bananas. Hummingbirds abound: Violet-headed and Snowy-bellied Hummingbirds, Garden Emerald, Green, Stripe-throated and Rufous-breasted Hermits, White-vented Plumeleteer and Violet-crowned Woodnymph are usually most common but with luck there’s even a chance for Long-billed Starthroat or Rufous-crested Coquette. The lodge verandah is a great place to watch for many of these species and to enjoy our excellent meals. After a siesta we’ll drive to El Valle del Anton where a trail, dubbed the Cariguana Track for the shape of the ridgeline above the road, provides an opportunity to look for drier-climate species including the gorgeous Lance-tailed Manakin as well as Rufous-and-white Wren, Piratic Flycatcher, Scrub Greenlet, Panama Flycatcher, White-lined Tanager and Yellow-crowned Euphonia. Night at the Canopy Lodge.
Day 8: We’ll spend a relaxed day inspecting the nearby forested areas around the Macho Falls where, among large trees and a mix of open and tangled understory, we’ll have three main target birds: White-tipped Sicklebill, Tody Motmot and Rosy Thrush-Tanager. Other species of interest include Bay and Scaly-breasted Wrens, Flame-rumped Tanager, White-thighed Swallow and Black-headed and Streaked Saltators. In the afternoon we’ll explore a nearby trail in search of Blue-crowned Motmot, Lesser Elaenia, Pale-eyed Pygmy-Tyrant, Barred, Great and Fasciated Antshrikes, Sepia-capped Flycatcher, Red-crowned Ant-Tanager, White-throated Robin, Striped Cuckoo and Black-chested Jay. Night at the Canopy Lodge.
Day 9: We’ll drive up the hill today to the Cerro Gaital Natural Monument. At an altitude of 1,800 feet, Cerro Gaital encompasses a fine stand of lower cloud forest reminiscent of the forests around Cerro Azul. Here in the western highlands the birds are significantly different, however, and include the local Orange-bellied Trogon as well as Barred Forest-Falcon, Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant, Tawny-crested Tanager, Black Guan, Bran-colored Flycatcher, Black-faced Grosbeak, Long-billed and Tawny-faced Antwrens, Plain Antvireo, White-ruffed Manakin and Silver-throated Tanager. After lunch and a siesta we’ll search the forested roads around the highland town of La Mesa. The forest here is a fragmented version of Cerro Gaital but mixed flocks tend to be common, large and diverse, and Emerald (Blue-throated) Toucanet can often be found. Night at the Canopy Lodge.
Day 10: Today we’ll explore the higher country of Los Altos del Maria. At roughly 3,000 feet above sea level, the forest here is often shrouded in fog and is perpetually wet. Even at the height of the “dry” season these epiphyte-laden, soggy forests are remarkable. The road is generally in good condition and we’ll spend the day in the upland areas and on a long road back through the mountains to El Valle del Anton. Species here that are likely to be new for us include Rufous-browed Tyrannulet, Band-tailed Barbthroat, Red-faced Spinetail, Brown-billed Scythebill, Black-crowned Antpitta, Slaty Antwren, Spot-crowned Antvireo, Pale-vented Robin, Ochraceous Wren, Tufted Flycatcher, Purplish-backed Quail-Dove, Gray-capped Flycatcher and the exquisite Snowcap. Night at the Canopy Lodge.
Day 11: On our final day of birding we’ll descend to the dry Pacific forests of coastal Cocle province. Here a new host of birds await us including Crested Bobwhite, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Pearl Kite, Brown-throated and Yellow-crowned Parrots, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Savannah Hawk, Blue Ground-Dove, Sapphire-throated Hummingbird and Rufous-browed Peppershrike. After a full morning along the coast we’ll head back to the Canopy Lodge for lunch before moving to the Country Inn Amador, on the shores of the scenic Panama Canal and close to the Pacific. In the late afternoon we’ll walk down to the coast to look for roosting flocks of gulls and terns, shorebirds and possibly even a distant Brown or Blue-footed Booby. Night at the Country Inn Amador.
Day 12: The tour concludes this morning in Panama City.
Updated: 14 October 2009
Prices
- 2010 price not yet available
- (2009 price about $4,830)
Notes
This tour is limited to eight participants with one leader; 14 with two leaders.
Single Occupancy note: The single occupancy supplement for this tour reflects a single booking in a double-occupancy room with en suite bathroom facilities. The Canopy Tower and Canopy Lodge also offer smaller single rooms with shared bathroom facilities. Guests staying in these rooms would share facilities (two toilets, one shower) with up to four other people.