The Canopy Tower Lodge sits in splendid tropical forest. Photo: Canopy Tower
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 such truly Neotropical groups as antbirds, woodcreepers, tyrant flycatchers, hummingbirds and tanagers begin to dominate. It all makes for an exceedingly rich birding experience, and our base at the Canopy Tower affords excellent access to an impressive diversity of birds within just a few miles of the lodge.
This tour is timed to take advantage of the beginning of spring migration, when resident breeding birds are joined by wintering migrants and transients from North America. This influx of Nearctic migrants, especially raptors and swallows, makes for a dynamic 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. We’ll also journey further afield to see the humid Caribbean coast, and a nearby sierra where we have access to higher elevation cloud forests.
Following our weeklong stay at the tower, we offer an extension to the eastern foothills, where our rustic but comfortable lodge, nestled in a cooler foothill valley, gives us access to a wealth of new birds more typical of the Darién and Colombia. This region, only recently opened to extensive ornithological research, has already proved to be perhaps the best place in the world to find the extremely local Sapayoa (now a monotypic family) and the Spiny-faced Antshrike.
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 the light of early dawn, we’ll stand, coffee in hand, 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) and the opportunity to watch the hummingbird feeders for Violet-bellied, Blue-chested and Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds, White-necked Jacobin and Long-billed Hermit.
Later we’ll drive north to Gamboa and the justly famous, if 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 can harbor 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: 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 Semiplumbeous, Savannah, Common Black and Short-tailed Hawks, along with several kites and falcons. We’ll also look for local species such as White-headed Wren, Montezuma and Crested Oropendolas, Spot-crowned Barbet, Pacific (Streaked) Antwren, Long-tailed Tyrant, Bare-crowned Antbird and Red-breasted Blackbird. We’ll have lunch at a beautiful historic fort perched at the mouth of the Chagres River, where occasionally we encounter the odd straggler or passing seabird. Here too we’ll explore a section of mangroves, where Black-tailed Trogon, Streak-headed Woodcreeper and a wealth of migrant warblers often occur.
In the late afternoon we’ll continue to the outskirts of the coastal town of Colón, 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 4: We’ll rise early for an all-day expedition to Pipeline Road, considered by many the premier birding location in Central America. As our vehicles (carrying our picnic lunch) follow along behind, we’ll walk Pipeline, making 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, Song Wren and Pied, White-necked, Black-breasted and White-whiskered Puffbirds. 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; if we run across an ant swarm, we may find it attended by obligate ant followers such as Bicolored, Spotted and the superlative Ocellated Antbirds. Watching dozens of birds at a swarm, seemingly oblivious to our presence, is an experience that a naturalist can truly revel in. 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 won’t be easy to leave. Night at the Canopy Tower.
Day 5: We’ll have another early-morning watch from the top of the tower, where flocks containing birds such as Green Shrike-Vireo, Brown-capped Tyrannulet and White-shouldered Tanagers should be visible—if we can keep from being distracted by the Red-lored, Mealy, Brown-hooded 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 Cecropia trees.
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, a host of flycatchers and Crimson-crested, Black-cheeked, Lineated and Cinnamon Woodpeckers 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 and Streaked Saltator, Gray-headed Chachalaca, Jet Antbird 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 Boat-billed Heron, Greater and Lesser Kiskadees and 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 Western Night Monkeys, Kinkajou, Tamandua and bats competing with a long potential nightbird list including 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 brown bat that spends its evenings hunting surface fish in ponds close to forests. Night at the Canopy Tower.
Day 6: We’ll leave early this morning for Cerro Azul. Though only about two hours 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. After lunch we’ll drive toward Panama City to investigate the waterfront at Panama Viejo, which plays host to an amazing assemblage of shorebirds. We should encounter thousands of birds of over a dozen species, and will look especially hard for Collared Plover and Cocoi Heron. Night at the Canopy Tower.
Day 7: We’ll spend the morning near the tower, seeking out any missed targets, then drive back to Panama City in the early afternoon, perhaps stopping along the coast just east of downtown for a second chance at the masses of shorebirds along the shoreline. If we manage to arrive at high tide, the birds can be visible from very close range, offering an excellent opportunity for extensive study. Night in Panama City.
Day 8: Those not opting to continue on the Eastern Foothills Extension will fly home from Panama City.
Eastern Foothills Extension
Day 8: We’ll begin our extension to the Eastern Foothills with an early departure for the lowlands of the Bayano Valley, a biologically rich area that marks the westernmost extent of several species whose ranges are more typical of the Darién or adjacent Colombia. Among several target species here we’ll seek out the little-known Black Antshrike, an enigmatic species with a very small range virtually confined to the lowlands of eastern Panama. Other specialties that we’ll look for include Pale-bellied Hermit, Barred Puffbird, Gray-cheeked Nunlet, Rufous-rumped and Golden-green Woodpeckers, Red-billed Scythebill, Rufous-winged Antwren, Bare-crowned Antbird, Pied Water-Tyrant, Black-billed Flycatcher, One-colored Becard, White-eared Conebill and Orange-crowned Oriole. After a full morning in the lowlands, we’ll head up valley to our lodge for lunch. In the afternoon we will likely take one of the trails that runs behind the lodge, looking for Dull-mantled Antbird and mixed flocks containing Olive, Black-and-Yellow and Tawny-crested Tanagers. Night at Burbayar Lodge.
Days 9-10: Our rustic but comfortable lodge is located along the eastern edge of Panama Province, adjacent to a large protected area controlled by the Kuna people. The lodge buildings are surround by very nice gardens which often host a good diversity of hummingbirds and fruiting trees with attendant tanagers and manakins; the wide terrace, generously stocked with hammocks, affords a good view of the nearby forest edge and sky. At a few hundred feet above sea level, the temperatures (especially at night) will be cooler and the humidity somewhat lower than in the Canal Zone lowlands.
We’ll have two full days to explore the variety of trails around the lodge, looking especially for Sapayoa and Spiny-faced Antshrike. Diversity is high in the foothill forests here, and if we’re lucky we’ll encounter both understory and canopy flocks while walking the trails. Among the several hard-to-find but spectacular birds here are Marbled Wood-Quail; Black-headed Antthrush, Black-crowned Antpitta, Olive-backed and Purplish-backed Quail-Doves, Black-and-yellow, Tawny-crested and Sulphur-rumped Tanagers, Slate-throated Gnatcatcher and Tawny-capped Euphonia.
The trails wrap up and down through the low, undulating hills that surround the lodge, and can be muddy at times even in the dry season. The slopes are occasionally steep, but we’ll go at a slow pace. Afternoon breaks at the lodge will be offered, and birding from just around the lodge grounds can be very productive as well, with mixed flocks often containing a nice diversity of Nearctic migrants and resident flycatchers and tanagers. Nights at Burbayar Lodge.
Day 11: We’ll take stock of our trip list and decide where best to spend this final day of birding: perhaps we’ll simply pick a new trail near the lodge and see what we can encounter, or perhaps we’ll choose to return to the lowlands of the Bayano Valley for the morning. Regardless of our choice, we’ll head back to our hotel in Panama City in the afternoon for a walk in a park adjacent to our hotel and our final dinner. Night in Panama City.
Day 12: The extension concludes this morning in Panama City.
Updated: 10 May 2012
Prices
- 2013 Tour Price Not Yet Available : *
- (2012 Tour Price $3250; with Extension $4500) :
Notes
Maximum group size 10 with one leader and a local guide.
* Tour invoices paid by check carry a modest discount. Details here.