Panama: Fall at the Canopy Tower

Day 1: The tour begins at 6:00 p.m. with an introductory meeting in the main room at the Canopy Tower. 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 perhaps the prize of the forest canopy, the stunning Blue Cotinga. After an hour on the deck, we’ll have breakfast and then walk down the hill to the bridge near the main road. In this lowland Pacific Slope forest, we’ll hope to encounter flocks containing Dot-winged and White-flanked Antwrens and Checker-throated Stipplethroat, Black-crowned Antshrike, Cocoa Woodcreeper and canopy species such as Yellow and Scarlet-rumped Caciques and Purple-throated Fruitcrow. 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.  The road is often also excellent for forest raptors such as Double-toothed and Gray-headed Kites, Black Hawk-Eagle, and sometimes Collared or even Slaty-backed 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 Hummingbirds, White-vented Plumeleteer, White-necked Jacobin and Long-billed and Stripe-throated Hermits. In the afternoon we’ll drive north along the Panama Canal 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 Jacana and motionless Rufescent Tiger-Heron along the pond margins and there is always the chance of finding a White-throated lurking in the reed beds. Here too large grass beds contain mixed groups of Seedeaters and Thick-billed Seed-Finch while the tangled vegetation around the larger pond holds Buff-breasted and Isthmian 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, flocks of Orange-chinned Parakeets and Red-lored Parrots, 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 to be the premier lowland 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 species as King Vulture, Streak-chested Antpitta, Black-striped Woodcreepers, Moustached Antwren, Forest and Choco Elaenias, Velvety and Red-capped Manakins, Pied, White-necked, Black-breasted and White-whiskered Puffbirds and the unique looking Song Wren. If we’re very fortunate we might encounter a few scarce or hard to locate species, such as Tiny Hawk, Great Tinamou or Rufous Piha, or any number of other true rarities that call this forest home. Generally, we come across one or two ant swarms attended by obligate ant followers such as Bicolored, Spotted and (less commonly) the superlative Ocellated Antbirds, as well as several species of woodcreeper. Watching dozens of birds in attendance on a swarm, seemingly oblivious to our presence, is an experience 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 is never easy to leave. Night at the Canopy Tower.

Day 4: After an early breakfast we’ll pass over the newly constructed bridge near the Gatun Locks before reaching Achiote Road on the Caribbean coast. The Achiote area is excellent for diurnal raptors, and as we walk we’ll keep our eyes upward for Gray-lined, Common Black, Great Black, and Short-tailed Hawks as well as several other species of kites and falcons. Fruiting trees along the road often attract Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Scarlet and Yellow-rumped Caciques, Blue-headed Parrots and a nice assortment of open-country birds. We’ll also look for local species such as White-headed Wren, Spot-crowned Barbet, Pacific Antwren, Long-tailed Tyrant, and Red-breasted Meadowlark. The region offers an extremely diverse array of birds, and often this day of the tour produces the highest species total of the week. We’ll have a picnic lunch along the banks of the Chagres River just a bit downstream from Lake Gatun, and then in the afternoon head to the coast where we will visit a historic Spanish fort located on a bluff above the Caribbean at the mouth of the Chagres River.  Time permitting we’ll close the day with a visit to a nearby mangrove forest where we might encounter birds such as Streak-headed Woodcreepers, Mangrove Cuckoo, Black-tailed Trogon or perhaps Muscovy Duck before heading back to the tower in the late afternoon. Night at the Canopy Tower.

Day 5: 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 Red-lored, Mealy, Brown-hooded and/or Blue-headed Parrots wheeling around below us. Keel-billed Toucans and Collared Aracari are often common around the tower early in the morning, often perching up in nearby Cecropias. After breakfast we’ll head out to the Gamboa Rainforest Resort grounds on the banks of the Chagres River.  Here there is a nice mix of open and forested habitats, with a corresponding high diversity of birdlife.  Scanning the river might produce hunting Snail Kites or perched Anhinga, and in the lush gardens we usually can track down handsome Flame-rumped Tanagers and impressive Yellow-throated Toucans.  A small trail system through some shorter forest is often productive for mixed flocks, and we’ll seek out a few select birds such as White-bellied and Jet Antbirds, Golden-collared Manakin and Yellow-tailed Oriole.  Later in the afternoon we will visit the nearby Summit Ponds along the old Gamboa Road.  The ponds themselves often hold Boat-billed Heron and an array of kingfishers, and the forest and grassy fields behind the ponds generally produce a few surprises in amongst the regular mixed flocks.  After dinner, we’ll offer an optional night tour back downhill. 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, Black-and-white and Choco Screech-Owls, Common Pauraque and both Great and Common Potoos. 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. Understory flocks here can include several species not found in the adjacent lowlands, such as Spotted Woodcreeper, Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant and White-ruffed Manakin. Migrant warblers are often common as well, including some of the brighter species like Golden-winged, American Redstart and Blackburnian being much more common than in the lowlands. We have reasonable expectations of seeing the endemic Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker, the beautiful and range-restricted Violet-capped Hummingbird and possibly even the amazingly colorful Yellow-eared Toucanet. We’ll visit an impressive array of hummingbird feeders at a local house, where we regularly encounter over 10 species and hundreds of individuals over the course of an hour as well as masses of Shining, Green and Red-legged Honeycreepers. After lunch we’ll drive toward Panama City to investigate the waterfront at Costa de Este. The mangrove linked shores of Panama Bay are a RAMSAR designated site (a wetland of international importance) for waders, supporting a wintering and migrant population estimated at almost a million birds. We’ll arrive in the late afternoon, and should encounter thousands of waders of over a dozen species, as well as hundreds of herons including Yellow-crowned Night-Heron and Cocoi Heron. Night near the Panama Canal.

Day 7: The main tour will conclude this morning with a shuttle to Panama City’s International airport for flights home or to the regional airport for our flight to the Caribbean lowlands on the Western Highlands and Bocas del Toro tour. 

2025 Narrative

For 2025 we again offered a short Canopy Tower week to lead into the Western and Eastern Panama Tours. Over the course of five and a half days around the world-famous Canopy Tower we saw 260 species of birds and 16 species of mammals. Around the tower on the first day, we marveled at the busy hummingbird feeders that were hosting an assortment of eight species including lots of pugnacious Snowy-bellied and Blue-chested Hummingbirds and White-necked Jacobins, a single female Sapphire-throated Hummingbird and several Long-billed Hermits. Our first full morning provided a whirlwind of new birds, from White-whiskered Puffbirds and Broad-billed Motmot in the understory, tower-top views Green Shrike-Vireo Masked Tityra, Bright-rumped Atilla and a host of migrant and wintering species from the north. The Ammo Dump Ponds that afternoon produced lots of open-country and marsh birds, including a surprise American Pygmy-Kingfisher, perched Gray-lined Hawk, lots of Wattled Jacanas and a hunting Rufescent Tiger-Heron. On the second day we spent most of our time around the Gamboa resort grounds along the Chagres River, where we enjoyed exceptionally good views of Streak-chested Antpitta and Black-faced Antthrush, as well as an impressively large mixed flock that contained over two dozen species! 

Pipeline Road was quieter than normal this year, with heavy overcast skies and still conditions making it dark and close in the understory. Nevertheless, we picked up a nice group of birds attending an antswarm, with Spotted Antbird and Black-striped Woodcreepers perhaps being the standouts.  

Our day trip out to the Atlantic coast was excellent as usual with an out-of-range Barred Puffbird, White-tailed, Slaty-tailed and Gartered Violaceus Trogons and well over a hundred species of birds. We did particularly well with wrens, seeing White-headed, Black-bellied, Bay, Isthmian, Song and Southern House over the course of the morning.  

Our last day out around the highlands of Cerro Azul revealed a host of tanagers including such gems as Bay-headed, Rufous-winged, Speckled and Golden-hooded as we walked around the roads. The feeders at our lunch stop held a bewildering number of honeycreepers and hummingbirds (10 species) all whirling around in an ever-changing kaleidoscope of colour. And up on Cerro Jefe we lucked into flowering tree that was hosting a half-dozen dazzlingly green Violet-capped Hummingbirds and a male Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker. 

We finished the trip on the shores of Panama Bay, with thousands of shorebirds and herons plying the exposed mudflats, with stately Cocoi Herons, a single Wilson’s Plover and adult Roseate Spoonbill likely the standout species. This tour continues to impress me, as the diversity and richness of the region, paired with ease of access and the comforts of the lodge make for a truly wonderful quick getaway. 

IN FULL: The majority of this year’s participants arrived a day or two early, taking various tours of the canal and city before transferring to the tower on the late morning of the first day. This allowed a few of the keener folks to independently bird the grounds of our Panama City hotel in the morning, an area which proved an excellent introduction to some of the more common lowland birds of the region. Our transfer skirted the edge of the Panama Canal, passing the main shipping port and lochs on the Pacific side and many neighborhoods that still bore the unmistakable marks of American military architecture. We arrived at the tower just a bit before lunchtime, but as our rooms were not ready we spent some time watching the hummingbird feeders at the base of the tower. It was a productive hour or so, with a continual stream of activity buzzing around the four feeders. The most common species were the large and dazzling White-necked Jacobin, sturdy Blue-chested Hummingbird and truly stunning Violet-bellied Hummingbird. Among these species we picked out a few Snowy-bellied Hummingbirds, one quite territorial White-vented Plumeleteer, a single Rufous-tailed Hummingbird and a female Sapphire-throated Hummingbird, as well as the occasional visit from a Long-billed Hermit. It was an uncommonly hot day, and with rising thermals in the late morning there was a reasonable movement of migrating Turkey Vultures circling around the skies. Among the vultures we picked out a higher bird which proved to be a Black Hawk-Eagle that circled a couple of times right above us and then rather quickly moved off through the trees. At one point two well-organized flocks of Wood Storks glided just over the top of the building, providing a bit of non-raptorial migration as well. Since the tour didn’t officially commence until that evening, and a few participants were still making their way to the tower used the rest of the day for some independent birding around the grounds, or simple relaxation.  

We awoke on our first morning at the tower to find the surrounding forest cloaked in a persistent and rather dense fog. Despite the poor viewing conditions, we spent a quite enjoyable hour up atop the tower as the trees that ring the tower were buzzing with a nice array of canopy birds close to eye level. Every morning atop the tower is different, and on this particular morning we were treated multiple views of perched Golden-hooded Tanagers, a lovely Masked Tityra, cooperative Blue Dacnis and Red-legged Honeycreepers, sprightly White-browed Gnatcatchers, a furtive Green Shrike-Vireo (a bulky species which can be devilishly hard to see as they slowly move through thick canopy vegetation) and a nice mixed flock that contained a host of migrant species including Tennessee, Bay-breasted and Chestnut-sided Warblers, Yellow-throated and Red-eyed Vireo, Eastern Wood-Pewee and Summer Tanager. The foggy conditions meant that we couldn’t effectively scan the more distant forest canopy, but happily a few larger birds perched up close to the tower including a single Pale-vented Pigeon, an unusually cooperative Bright-rumped Attila, a pair of Mealy Amazons and a male Gartered Trogon. Our vigil was also accompanied by a small and very active group of Geoffrey’s Tamarins which arrived near the kitchen window in obvious expectation of breakfast. The tower staff duly chucked out a roped-up banana and the five small primates proceeded to surround the fruit like a rugby team, devouring it completely at quite a rapid pace. Their hunger reminded us about the rumble in our stomachs, and the smell of French toast overpowered our birding initiatives and we headed downstairs for breakfast. 

After breakfast, we spent some time back at the hummingbird feeders to catch up those that had arrived later the prior day. The species mix was quite similar to the prior day but there were a lot more White-necked Jacobins vying for the feeder ports and only a few Blue-chested and Snowy-bellied. Likely the most exciting find at the feeders though was high above the feeders. Near the top of a close Cecropia tree we spotted a female Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth with a small baby sloth hugging on tight as she slowly moved through the tree bound for a patch of apparently particularly tasty leaves. Sloths are remarkably common in central Panama, perhaps due to the general lack of large predators (namely Harpy Eagles) and virtually no hunting.  

We spent rest of the morning slowly walking down the nearly road that winds down Semaphore Hill. The road passes through tall forest with light understory, providing an excellent opportunity to look for understory flocks and birds that use the forest floor. Our morning walk provided a great introduction to our first species of antbirds, surely one of the signature groups of birds in the neotropics. Early in the stroll we found a few Black-crowned Antshrikes, a species which would be quite familiar to us by the end of the week. A rather furtive female Fasciated Antshrike played hide and seek with us up in the canopy, and a few little groups of perky Dot-winged Antwrens eventually showed quite well, with the chestnut and black females being particularly well appreciated. At the end of the morning we found a lovely mixed understory flock, and along with more Black-crowned Antshrikes and Dot-winged Antwrens we ogled our first White-flanked and Checker-throated Antwrens (now rather confusingly known as a Checker-throated Stipplethroat; a species that specializes in foraging in clusters of dead leaves), a pair of White-breasted Wood-Wrens, a diminutive Olivaceous Woodcreeper and a placidly sitting Western Olivaceous Flatbill! That flock proved to be the largest assemblage of birds that we found during the morning, but on the walk down we were very happy to spot perched Rufous and Broad-billed Motmots, a male White-whiskered Puffbird, Cinnamon Woodpecker, chattering Scarlet-rumped Caciques and both Velvety (a recent split from Blue-crowned) and Red-capped Manakins. 

As is often the case birding in closed canopy forests in the neotropics flycatchers provide a large segment of the avifauna, and for us this walk proved productive for these often-tricky species as well, with notably excellent views of a pair of Southern Bentbill and a single tiny Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher. Our “best” flycatcher, although it has recently been recognized as more closely related to the Becards and Tityras was a very vocal and amazingly tractable Russet-winged Schiffornis that sat out on a series of midstory open branches for several minutes as it repeatedly uttered its loud whistled calls.  

Perhaps due to the lingering overcast conditions we found mammals to be uncharacteristically active throughout the morning. Several sprightly Central American Agoutis were feeding along the road edge, chewing (loudly) away on black palm nuts that they held delicately with their surprisingly dexterous paws. A female White-nosed Coati spent some time checking us out before calling for its half-grown young to follow her away from the road. 

A short siesta after lunch suited us perfectly, but by the mid-afternoon we headed downhill and across the Chagres River to visit the feeders at the Canopy Bed and Breakfast in the small nearby town of Gamboa. Here watched a parade of birds coming in to feed on bananas placed on the bird tables. A continual stream of Blue-grey and Palm Tanagers were joined by a few Clay-colored Thrushes, luminous Crimson-backed Tanagers (locally known as Sangre del Toro or the Blood of the Bull), a few Plain-colored Tanagers both Rufous and Whooping Motmots. Central American Agoutis were on the ground below the feeders picking up the scraps, while in the trees around the yard we picked out our first female Red-legged Honeycreepers, a few Green Honeycreepers, a pair of Red-crowned Woodpeckers and several Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds. High above the feeders we picked out a White-necked Puffbird sitting out in some bare branches, and out in the front yard we were happy to spot our first Orange-chinned Parakeets, Boat-billed Flycatchers and Short-tailed Swifts. Just as we were readying to leave we noticed some larger birds flying up into a large tree just a bit down the road. Setting the scopes up we were soon treated to excellent views of a trio of handsome Keel-billed Toucans!  

Eventually we piled back into the truck and headed over to the margins of the Ammo Dump marsh where we were soon studying a mix of swallows which included our first Grey-breasted Martins, Mangrove Swallows and several dozen migrant Barn Swallows. Over the course of an hour or so we covered just a few hundred meters around the margins of the marsh, enjoying close views of an array of species more often found in open areas. Wattled Jacanas showed extremely well, flashing their bright yellow wings as they danced around the open patches of marsh. Here too we located a beautiful adult Rufescent Tiger Heron that was sitting down in the marsh below the road. With the more open birding conditions we tallied a few passing waterbirds and raptors, with a perched Gray-lined Hawk, Yellow-headed and Crested Caracaras and a few Magnificent Frigatebirds flying over the nearby canal. Along the edge of the pond a thicker stand of young trees kept us entertained for nearly an hour as they were hosting a seemingly inexhaustible array of species. There was something to suit everyone’s individual taste. For those that like more colourful species we found perched up Rusty-margined and Social Flycatchers, a stunning pair of Masked Tityra and a little group of Gray-headed Chachalacas, for those who favor seeing more familiar birds in unfamiliar settings we picked out Northern Yellow Warblers, an Anhinga, Great Blue Heron and Great Egret and Tropical Kingbirds, and for those that like a challenge we successfully teased out a skulky Buff-breasted Wren and a pair of Barred Antshrikes out of the thick mash vegetation. We even turned up a few surprise species such as a migrant Yellow-billed Cuckoo that was foraging near ground level in the marsh, and a lovely American Pygmy Kingfisher that lingered with us for several minutes as it carefully studied the water below its perch for any sign of fish. At the end of the day we spent a bit of time listening to a couple of White-throated Crakes that stubbornly refused to come out into the open for us. Perched Tropical Mockingbirds, a nice pair of Common Tody-Flycatchers and a flying flock of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks provided a nice consolation though! We headed back to the tower in the early evening, heads swimming a bit from the number of birds and animals that we had encountered on just our first day, and all within just a few miles from the tower. 

The next day we usually reserve for our all-day outing to the famous (in birding circles at any rate) Pipeline Road, but on this occasion the weather interfered with our plans. We arrived at the beginning of the road to find that heavy overcast skies were threatening to produce remarkable quantities of rain. After about five minutes of birding around the entrance to the road, where we enjoyed decent views of a pair of Dusky Antbirds, the rains arrived. We deliberated a bit and decided to head to the Canopy Bed and Breakfast feeders (and the comfort of the roof and restroom). While at the B&B we were happy to spot a male Black-crowned Tityra perched up above the building, but rather unhappy to see that the weather forecast was calling for fairly constant precipitation through most of the morning. We deliberated a bit and decided to switch our days around, which meant that we would visit the forest along the Pipeline Road later in the week. A gap in the rain allowed us to move from the B&B to the nearby Gamboa Resort grounds which lie on the banks of the Chagres River. Here we set up under a large metal awning near the small dock where resort workers come in to work from their communities upstream. This comfortable spot had benches and provided sweeping views of the river and the large trees that ringed the parking lot. Here we waited out the weather, and during lulls in the rains were treated to a steady parade of birds visiting some nearby fruiting fig trees or moving along the riverbank. Out over the river we picked out a Bank Swallow that was mixed in with a small flock of Mangrove and Barn Swallows, spotted our first Osprey that was hunting over the marsh, and were treated to a large flock of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks. Here too we managed to tease out a cooperative pair of White-throated Crakes which came (almost) completely in the open near the dock, showing off their rusty heads and zebra striped flanks to good effect in the generally dull morning light. Around the margins of the car park we picked up a pair of Scrub Greenlets, a lovely (if a bit damp) Bat Falcon that was perched up atop the highest bare tree, some Southern Lapwing, a surprisingly obliging Isthmian Wren, our first Ochre-bellied Flycatcher that was bouncing around in a flowering ginger thicket, and a nice selection of Variable Seedeater plumages in a patch of seeding grasses. Whenever the rains eased off a bit, the fruiting figs became stuffed with birds. From our dry vantage point, we could scan the trees quite effectively, picking up our first Thick-billed Euphonias, Great Kiskadee, Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet and Flame-rumped Tanagers along with heaps of Palm, Plain-colored, Crimson-backed, Blue-gray and Summer Tanagers, Northern Yellow and Bay-breasted Warblers and Clay-coloured Thrushes. Our position also gave us an excellent opportunity to again study some of the differences between Lesser Kiskadee and Rusty-margined and Social Flycatchers. Perhaps the most notable part of our big sit though was our lengthy study of a hunting Rufescent Tiger-Heron that was slowly stalking along a grassy (and soggy) slope. Amazingly, and likely due to the overly saturated ground we watched the heron pull out two Yellow-headed Caecilians from the hillside in quick succession. These large and snake-like animals are burrowing amphibians, and are very rarely encountered. In all my previous trips to Panama I had seen only one Caecilian, and that one had also been located first by a Tiger Heron! 

Happily, the rains finally abated mid-morning (roughly coinciding with the arrival of a van to replace our open-topped vehicle) and we were able to spend a quite productive hour wandering around the resort grounds and small forested trail network. The bird activity here was excellent, with a lot of birds perching out in the open to dry out from the morning deluge or crowding into fruiting trees for a late breakfast. Around the resort gardens we found our first Ruddy Ground-Doves, some remarkably soggy looking Gray-headed Chachalacas, a responsive pair of Cinnamon Becards, our first Yellow-olive Flatbill and beautiful wintering Prothonotary Warbler. Near a small wetland Jorge picked up on a gurgling song from the adjacent forest, and once we had tracked it down we were happy to find that the noises author was a pair of Green Ibis, an oddly proportioned forest ibis that is quite scarce in the canal zone in Panama (and was, in fact, a write-in on the tours cumulative list). Once we reached the short, forested trail things really started heating up, with excellent views of a pair of Black-faced Anthrushes striding along the edge of (and then crossing) the trail. In nearly the same location we also enjoyed amazingly close and lengthy views of a singing Streak-chested Antpitta and a calmly perched male Velvety Manakin! A little further down the trail we spotted a Gray-cowled Wood-Rail walking across the path on its ridiculously bright red legs and soon afterwards flushed a Grey-chested Dove from the path edge. Although the noon lunch hour had by this time passed we could hear a lot of bird activity emanating from a clearing around the corner, so we pressed on and were soon surrounded by a very large mixed feeding flock. The flock contained a wealth of new species for us, from Black-cheeked Woodpecker and Cocoa Woodcreepers climbing the trunks to Northern Plain Xenops, Golden-fronted Greenlet, and White-shouldered Tanager foraging among the canopy. In a thick set of vines we coaxed out a very vocal pair of Jet Antbirds, and just before we started walking back to the car we spent a few minutes following a foraging Green Shrike-Vireo which was uncharacteristically low in the trees, showing off its subtle but multicoloured plumage to excellent effect.  

We took a picnic lunch at the nearby resort marina, accompanied by a perched Gray-headed Kite, foraging Smooth-billed and Greater Ani, screeching Yellow-headed Caracaras that were squabbling with a Black Vulture over the carcass of a large catfish near the boat ramp and a soaring King Vulture that lifted off with a mixed flock of Black and Turkey Vultures over the river. Just after lunch we walked a bit along the marina channel, picking up a male Lineated Woodpecker, our first visible Green Heron, an adult and juvenile Purple Gallinule and a couple of teetering Spotted Sandpipers on the docks. 

After we polished off lunch it was still quite early in the afternoon, so we decided to head to the beginning section of the Pipeline Road to see if bird activity there too had been elevated by the morning rains. IN short, it had not, and over the next hour and a half we scrounged up only a few new species. They were good ones though, with a sitting White-tailed Trogon perched just overhead, stunning views of an unusually bold Chestnut-backed Antbird that came up to a chest-high branch and sat for over a minute flaring its tail and repeating its strong three-part whistle, and our first Acadian Flycatchers and White-tipped Doves. In many ways it was the mammals along the road that really captured our attention. During the walk we watched a group of Mantled Howler Monkeys working their way through the trees just next to the road, witnessed a pair of fornicating Central American Agoutis that were enjoying their activities enough that they continued on as the female crossed the road in front of us, found a mother Coati with four young kits and spent a bit of time photographing a quite photogenic White-faced Capuchin! Even better we stopped at a spot that sometimes hosts a family group of Western Night Monkeys, and our run of mammal lucked continued with one (and later two) monkeys peering out of a large tree cavity. These nocturnal primates are undeniably cute, with pleasing round faces and a generally fuzzy countenance. As they are active at night, and do not show discernible eyeshine by torchlight they tend to be hard to see unless you can find a day roost.  

Leaving the forest behind we drove back towards the tower, but our progress came to an abrupt stop as we came into the town of Gamboa. Here we noticed a small group of Collared Aracaris that were down near eye-level on some ripening papaya trees. We hopped out to get a better look and some photos, and were soon amazed when a pair of hulking Yellow-throated Toucans joined the much smaller Aracaris at the papayas. One of these striking toucans then proceeded to spend several minutes grabbing chunks of fruit and posing incredibly well for us. From just a few meters away and right out in the open our photos were truly superlative. This is an uncommon species which often tends to stay up in the forest canopy making them hard to see at length. To make it even better a couple of Keel-billed Toucans were around as well, giving us a clean sweep of the local toucans! During our bird log that evening we were surprised to find that we had seen even more species on day two than day one, despite the change of plans and the poor morning weather! The day had one more mammal in store for us too, as half-way through our list a Kinkajou (a muscular arboreal raccoon relative that somewhat resembles a Madagascar Fossa with a prehensile tail) came up to the tower windows seeking bananas from the kitchen. 

The following day we had an early breakfast and then set out for our full daytrip to the north coast of the Canal Zone. It’s a bit of a drive, but this area never fails to entertain, and the Atlantic slope day is often the most diverse day of the tour. After crossing the isthmus, we stopped briefly for a restroom break on the edge the rather industrial city of Colon, then skirted around the city and crossed over the canal using the newly finished and quite impressive Atlantic Bridge. This suspension bridge is over two miles long and over 500 meters high and from the top we could see both the old and new lochs in operation. With the completion of the bridge there has been a marked increase in repair and development of roads and facilities on the western side of the canal; with the National Park receiving much of the attention with an opulent new visitors’ center, lots of new signage and a much-improved road.  

The new roads continued past the dam, which allowed us to get to our birding site near the little town of Achiote in good time. Here we spent a heady hour and a half slowly walking along the main road, where we found a lot of activity along the forested northern edge of the road. It’s hard to pick out favorites when you encounter so many species at once, but our views of perched White-tailed, Gartered Violaceous and Slaty-tailed Trogons, a foraging Lineated Woodpecker, gaudy Fulvous-vented Euphonias, perched Blue-headed Parrots in near-perfect light and sprightly Chestnut-capped Warblers down at eye level all met with universal approval. In the thickets along the road edge, we teased out an uncharacteristically cooperative Bay Wren. This boisterous but usually secretive species defies the normal brown tones of most of the family, exchanging them for burnt orange, copper, black and white. Some judicious use of playback attracted several nice mixed flocks, and among the migrant species we picked out a suite of new residents such as Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, Pied Puffbirds, Crowned Woodnymph, Lesser Greenlets and Black-chested Jays. In generally clear skies above the road, we were thrilled to spot Lesser Swallow-tailed, Band-rumped and White-collared Swifts coursing over the treetops. In some of the larger trees out in the more cleared sections we spotted perched Gray-lined and Savannah Hawks, as well as singing Keel-billed Toucan, sunning Smooth-billed Anis and our first Pied Puffbirds and Black-chested Jays. Small mixed flocks passed by or were attracted to our playback, mostly consisting of wintering warblers such as Tennessee, Chestnut-sided, Bay-breasted and Yellow. In each group though we found some new resident birds too, such as Fulvous-vented Euphonia, Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, Crowned Woodnymph, and Thick-billed Seed-finch.  

After a couple of hours on the main road we reached the parked bus to have a mid-morning snack, accompanied by a quick flyby from a Laughing Falcon, a nice liftoff of raptors which contained about a half-dozen Broad-winged Hawks, and a short interlude with the locals who were busy running a group of surprisingly sprightly cattle into a new pasture. Once our snack break wrapped up, we spent a further hour or so walking down the dead-end Providencia Road, which meanders along the base of a largely forested ridge, with a few overgrown fields and some houses along the road. It is often a bird-rich walk, and this year we were not at all disappointed. In 2024 Jorge had located a pair of Barred Puffbirds (the first sighting for the region) and when we tried a bit of playback the bird appeared again on cue! This large brown puffbird with baleful and vaguely evil-looking yellow eyes is typically found only in the Darien region of the country, with just a handful of reports this far west. Near the end of the road, we were treated to a lovely pair of White Hawks and an adult King Vulture circling over the road. White Hawks are a simply stunning species, with a nearly all-white body on broad wings and a white tail with a sharp black subterminal tail band. Here too was an excellent mixed flock which contained an annoyingly furtive pair of Spot-crowned Barbets, our first visible Southern House Wrens, an Orchard Oriole and a couple of Bannanaquits. The open field at the end of the road captured our attentions as well, with a Northern Tropical Pewee along the fenceline and two distant Fork-tailed Flycatchers out in the field amongst the snoozing cattle.  

After our time on the Providencia road, we headed a bit further north to the small town of Achiote where we stopped in at a small café. Here, in addition to the use of their bathrooms, we were treated to an impromptu feeder stop when the owners put a couple of bananas out on a feeding table. Almost immediately a swarm of colour appeared, with a swarm of Red-legged and Green Honeycreepers, Flame-rumped, Crimson-backed, Palm and Blue-gray Tanagers, a Baltimore Oriole and a few Clay-coloured Thrushes, Thick-billed Euphonias, Buff-throated Saltators and Bananaquits all vying for the best bits of fruit. Under the feeding table lurked a couple of bare-necked chickens (a breed particular to Panama, and one that usually elicits varying evaluations with regard to beauty) and in a nearby tree we spotted a perched Red-lored Amazon which provided us with an excellent photographic subject (marred only slightly when we found out that the bird was a pet of the café owners).  

Our last stop in the area for the morning was at a small loop trail that winds into a section of San Lorenzo National Park. We found the trail a trifle muddy and poorly maintained in places, an obvious sign of its rather limited use. Perhaps due to the paucity of visitors we found the area to be excellent for birding. Likely the most memorable birds along the walk were the wrens. Early on as we made our way around the loop Jorge cued in on the soft chuckling call-notes of a White-headed Wren way up in the canopy. These attractive wrens have only a limited worldwide range, occurring on a narrow strip of the Panama lowlands and adjacent Colombia, and as they require large epiphyte-laden trees to prosper the population around Achiote seems to be declining rapidly as small-scale farmers keep clearing land for their crops. Just a bit further along we found an understory flock which contained an unusually cooperative Black-bellied Wren which flashed an obvious white throat at us as it bounced around in mid-story vine tangles. Here too was a family party of Song Wrens which sat out on some knee-high tangled branches and showed off their orangey throats and odd weak-looking bills. The trail system also produced our best views of a foraging Common Squirrel Cuckoo and a perched pair of Black-breasted Puffbirds, our fifth (and final) species of puffbird for the tour. Once back at the bus we took a picnic lunch back at the trailhead, interrupted only once by the arrival of a calling Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant overhead. It took a little while for us to track it down, but the scope views were worth it. This is the world’s smallest passerine bird species, and although easily heard it can be devilishly difficult to pick out from its customary canopy haunts.  

Leaving the Achiote Road behind we headed back east, stopping along the top of the earthen dam that forms Gatun Lake to look at a pair of American Kestrels and two small groups of Lesser Capybaras that were out on the shorter grass lawn along the lake shore. The first of these groups contained a half-dozen small babies, which resembled slightly oversized guinea pigs. The second group was a more dynamic one, with a pair of Capybaras hanging out in a deep puddle like a romantic couple on a hot-tub date. We continued our run of fornicating mammals when the male mounted the female (still in their hot tub) while the third animal looked on with a somewhat disinterested stare. As we reached the spillway it started to rain, making us thankful for the dry mornings birding time along the Achiote Rd. We then passed by the rest of the canal zone lochs, stopping to look at the huge container ships that were being guided around by tugs, or floating up or down in the multi-chambered loch system. It’s truly an amazing operation, and the lifeblood of the entire economy of the country.  

We spent the remainder of the afternoon around the picturesque Fort San Lorenzo, which sits perched on a bluff at the mouth of the Chagres River. Originally built by the Spanish in the very late 1500’s the fort has recently undergone substantial renovations with lots of newly installed interpretive signs and (rather annoyingly from a birding prospective) rebuilt and generally sanitized walls. Once at the fort we waited for the rain to subside a bit and then walked out to take in the atmospheric surroundings. From the top of the old ramparts we were treated to an amazing scene, with hundreds of Black Terns (joined by a few Common, Royal and Sandwich Terns and a few Brown Pelicans) frantically feeding along a current line not far offshore. Wiping the water from our lenses we trained the scopes on the feeding mass of birds and were thrilled to spot a Brown Booby sitting on the water and at least 4 Brown Noddies in amongst the feeding terns! This marked only the second sighting of Noddies for all of our WINGS tours in Panama, and indeed, the species was a lifer for Jorge! We also noted a large group of loafing terns sitting down on the beach near the Chagres River Mouth, so after returning to the bus we took a short detour down to the river. It took a little while longer than we expected as our driver had to reverse down the road, through an active construction zone (a laudable feat accomplished by a clearly experienced driver) but soon we were in place just across the river from the tern flock. Scoping the birds from under a picnic gazebo we were able to tease apart the identification factors that mark Common, Sandwich, Royal and Black Terns at leisure. Along with the terns we picked up our first Western Sandpiper, Sanderling and Tricolored Heron, which certainly made our drivers heroic efforts seem worthwhile. We headed back to the tower, passing through some rather heavy rain bursts along the way. Happily though, the rains tapered off as we left the coast, which enabled us to get out for a night drive down the Semaphore Hill Road. The drive was amazingly productive, with a Great Potoo spotlit as it sailed overhead uttering its hollow barking call along the forest edge, and (astonishingly) two separately perched Crested Owls and a placidly sitting and very close Spectacled Owl all right along the road. This marked my first sighting of Crested around the tower, and the three owls made this the most productive nocturnal bird outing ever (the night trip generally picks up an array of mammals, a Potoo and perhaps Common Pauraque but little else from a bird standpoint). Likely our success was due to the fact that there had been no rain around the tower all day, and the night birds were taking advantage of the drier conditions to hunt along the forest edge. 

The following day we again met up atop the tower, this time to (slightly) brighter conditions than on our first morning. The birds were much the same as on our first visit, with close views of various tanagers and warblers, a single Gartered Violaceous Trogon and Green Shrike-Vireo and a pair of garrulous Scarlet-rumped Caciques. We did turn up a few new species though, including some perched Scaled Pigeons and a single Great Crested Flycatcher, and a few that we hadn’t seen from the tower before such as a Black-breasted Puffbird (devouring a recently caught anole lizard), perched Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher and foraging Fasciated Antshrike. We then left the tower shortly after breakfast so that we could spend the morning exploring the world-famous Pipeline Road. The Pipeline Road is a cross-country dirt road which passes through an extensive swath of Soberania National Park. It provides unparalleled access to high quality forest with over 400 species of birds recorded by visiting birders and research teams from the Smithsonian Institution which have used the road for decades of projects on tropical lowland forests. When taken in combination with the Chagres River watershed and indigenous blocks of land along the coast which stretch eastwards all the way into Colombia the forest here is perhaps the largest block of mostly untrammeled tropical forest in the lowlands of North America.  

Each trip along Pipeline Road is different, and a visiting naturalist soon gets the feeling that they could spend months here and still be picking up new sightings. A strong rainstorm that hit the area back in August caused some substantial flooding along the beginning of the road, washing out the bridge over Juan Grande Creek. Unfortunately for us this meant that we would have to walk from the start of the gated section of the road which meant that we would be limited to roughly the first mile of the road during our morning. Normally the tower trucks have access to the generally restricted section, which allows us to travel back to the beginning of the climb up to the continental divide. The Smithsonian has been petitioning the canal authority to rebuild the bridge, and apparently the project is on the docket, slated for sometime in 2026. In general, the heavy overcast and humid conditions kept the bird activity depressed throughout the morning, with feeding flocks getting about their business in earnest and not much in the way of a dawn chorus. There were still birds to see though, and we spent our time well. Right near Juan Grande creek we were treated to close views of a male Spotted Antbird as it bounced between saplings just a foot or so off the ground. Once we navigated around the non-functional bridge it took a while to find our first flock activity, but soon enough we stumbled across a swarm of foraging army ants. Generally ant swarm associated birds prefer the large black-and-red army ants rather than the little black ones but in this instance we found quite a few birds feeding over the smaller ants. The most common species was Spotted Antbird, but we found Rufous and Broad-billed Motmots, our first Gray-headed Tanagers, White-whiskered Puffbird, a pair of Chestnut-backed Antbirds and both Plain-brown and Cocoa Woodpeckers. It’s a common misconception that ant associated birds are eating the ants, but in fact, the birds are watching above the swarm to grab any insects or other prey that are fleeing from the marauding insect horde. The birds were quite tame, feeding unconcernedly just a few feet into the forest, and we lingered with them for some time taking in the show. For the rest of the morning Manakins proved to be common in the understory, with nearly a half-dozen Velvety and a female Red-capped all popping up right along the road edge. Woodpeckers too were well represented, with Black-cheeked, Crimson-crested, Lineated and Cinnamon all showing well. A pair of handsome carbon-gray Slate-coloured Grosbeaks lingered near the road for several minutes, flashing their oversized coral-red bills and white goatees at us as they maneuvered around in a small fruiting tree.  

At our chosen turn around spot we found another mixed flock, this time comprised mostly of midstory birds such as Black-crowned Antshrike, Dot-winged and Checker-throated Antwrens, Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher and Cocoa Woodcreeper. Here we tracked down a pair of beautiful Black-striped Woodcreepers, a single Rufous Mourner and a fairly uncooperative but very vocal pair of Spot-crowned Ant-Vireos. A bit further back in the woods we could hear a Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon calling, but as is usual for this rather retiring species our attempts at playback were not productive. Near this flock we also tracked down a singing Scaly-breasted Wren which rather surprisingly actually sat up off the ground for us to admire. Once back at the bus we enjoyed a late morning snack and then started heading back to the tower, stopping for our first Graceful Black-throated Trogon that was perched over the road. While watching the trogon we also noticed an actively foraging Sulphur-rumped Flycatcher and a little mixed flock which contained an eye-level Yellow-winged Flatbill and a pair of White-flanked Antwrens.  

After a late lunch and brief siesta back at the tower we met up for an afternoon visit to the Old Gamboa Road and Summit Ponds which are tucked behind the sprawling border police training facility. This diverse area centers around a pair of small, forested lakes, but also includes open grasslands, viny dry forests, and scattered parkland with large emergent trees over a dense grassy understory. The walk from the parking area to the beginning of the trail was productive, with excellent views of Yellow-headed Caracaras, some perched up Collared Aracaris, flyover Short-tailed, Band-rumped and Lesser Swallow-tailed Swifts, a male Slaty-tailed Trogon devouring a large praying mantis and some almost tame Tropical Kingbirds that followed us along the road. At the small lakes we located some impressively large Meso-American Sliders, a perched Boat-billed Heron that was sitting in such a way that we could clearly make out its oversized wide bill and large dark eyes. While scanning the edges of the pond we picked out perched our first Amazon Kingfisher, perched Mangrove and Southern Rough-winged Swallows, Little Blue and Green Herons, and a couple of Prothonotary Warblers. In the tall trees lining the back of the lake we scoped some more cooperative Black-chested Jays that were creeping through a large palm thicket.  

Leaving the ponds behind, we walked further down the trail, actually the remnants of the original road between Panama City and Gamboa, and after a few hundred meters came out of the woods to a more cleared area with dense grasses and sprawling open canopy trees. A little mixed flock of migrants kept us entertained here, with good views of Chestnut-sided Warbler, a lovely Golden-winged Warbler, our first visible Northern Waterthrush, a foraging Purple-crowned Fairy that was gleaning insects from the canopy and a furtive Long-billed Gnatwren that was bouncing around in a section of thick vines. A bit further back we picked up a diminutive Olivaceous Woodcreeper, perched Ochre-bellied Flycatcher and both Forest and Greenish Elaenias. The latter is a scarce species in November, and this marked only our second fall sighting. In the back section of forest we spotted a perched Gray-lined Hawk in a trailside palm tree, found a very photogenic Graceful Black-throated Trogon and picked out a flighty Black-tailed Flycatcher that was bouncing around near the forest floor. This cute little flycatcher (and its cousins that we saw earlier in the day; Sulphur-rumped and Ruddy-tailed Flycatchers) was recently excised from the larger Tyrant Flycatcher family and placed in a little group with the larger Royal Flycatcher. On most fall trips we see neither Sulphur-rumped or Black-tailed, so to see them on the same day was a real treat! On the walk back we heard but could not coax out a little group of Red-throated Ant-Tanagers, watched a Bat Falcon streak across a clearing and spent a bit of time photographing a trio of interacting Keel-billed Toucans. 

Our final full day of the trip we left the tower early on an all-day excursion, heading south and then a bit east, to the delightfully cool mid-elevation sites of Cerro Azul and Cerro Jefe, not too far from the international airport. It’s a bit of a drive around Panama City and then up to the nearly 3000ft heights of the ridgeline, but the change in habitat and wealth of birds definitely makes it worthwhile. Once we reached the controlled access housing development that covers much of the higher reaches of the mountain, we had to make a brief stop at the office to take care of entrance fees and use the facilities. Our first stop was at a large flowering tree where Jorge had spotted several Violet-capped Hummingbirds a week prior to our visit. Luck was with us, as nearly a half-dozen individuals of this very attractive and range-restricted species were buzzing around the canopy. The lighting was suboptimal however, so we vowed to return later in the day. A bit further uphill, we stopped at the base of Cerro Jefe, but given the stiff breeze and sudden arrival of rain we decided to save that site for later, opting instead to descend a bit and change over to the Pacific slope in an effort to improve the weather conditions. This worked an absolute treat, as we arrived along the La Frente loop to find the conditions much drier and virtually windless. We walked a stretch of this housing development, where the highlight species was undoubtedly a pair of White-ruffed Manakins that appeared at the beginning of the walk, completing the sweep of possible Manakins for the tour. It was a good stretch for hummingbirds too, with a couple of Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer among the more familiar species. Here too we found two striking Golden-winged Warblers, our first Swainson’s Thrush and Shining Honeycreepers and a chattering group of flyby Brown-hooded Parrots. By this point the weather had really cleared, and since the cloud forest habitat up on Cerro Jeffe tends to get very quiet in sunny weather we decided to return to the base of that hill before it got too warm. Our first stop was back at the flowering tree where this time we were treated to eye-level views of a perched male Violet-capped which posed for several minutes, showing off its luminous green body and bright violet crown. Even better, while watching the hummingbird we noted a Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker hammering away on a stump in the background. This is a scarce denizen of Panamanian foothill forests and our first endemic species for the trip. It’s an attractive woodpecker, clad in an olive suit with a nicely patterned front, bronzy wings and mantle and a bright red crown, and one that we see on only about half of our visits to Cerro Azul. We then walked up through some cloud forest habitat that lines the Cerro Jeffe ridge. It was not as birdy as we had hoped, but we did turn up a small flock of Carmiol’s Tanagers, a cooperative Spotted Woodcreeper, and a generally uncooperative pair of Black-and-Yellow Tanagers. At one point we flushed a Plain-brown Woodcreeper and a Spotted Antbird off the trail edge. Both birds scooted well downslope through the thick undergrowth and we could hear several other ant-associated birds calling from that direction leading us to suspect that a downslope antswarm had captured the attentions of most of the ridgeline birds.  

By this time, it was rather late in the morning, so we opted to head to the back porch of a house owned by a pair of ex-pat Americans with a long relationship with the Canopy Tower staff. With comfortable seats and a panoramic view of their nearly twenty feeders it made for an ideal respite in midday. Within just minutes of our arrival, we realized just how many hummingbirds one could fit onto a feeder. We estimated that 50-80 birds were visible at any given time, often zipping in and out right between us as we watched. Apparently, the owners were going through an impressive 4-5 gallons of sugar water daily, a testament to just how many birds were using the feeders! The diversity here was impressive, and in about a ninety-minute vigil (and over lunch) we tallied Crowned Woodnymph, Green and Long-billed Hermits, pugnacious Bronze-tailed and White-vented Plumeleteers, Blue-chested, Rufous-tailed, and nearly uncountable numbers of Snowy-bellied and Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds and White-necked Jacobins!  

In addition to the hummingbird species, we had an excellent showing of honeycreepers, with a number of Shining, joined by a few Red-legged and Green Honeycreepers crowding in at the feeders and perching on nearby branches. The owners of the house also put out cooked rice and bananas at separate feeders just off the back deck. At those feeders we studied multi-coloured Bay-headed Tanagers, a nice comparison of Thick-billed and Fulvous-vented Euphonias, some pugnacious little Yellow-faced Grassquits, Rufous Motmot, a single White-tipped Dove, and the central American subspecies of Hepatic Tanagers (here of the very distinctive highland subspecies that scarcely resembles the northern birds that reach the US and is surely an excellent candidate for full species status). Perhaps the marquee sighting was of a young male Rufous-winged Tanager that was coming in occasionally to the proffered rice feeder. This highland species doesn’t normally occur at this elevation, and this individual was only the third one to appear at the house feeders! The show was simply amazing, with birds constantly whirling around in a festival of colour and noise in virtually every direction. In addition to the birds we were treated to a little group of nearly hand-tame Geoffrey’s Tamarins that was intent on reaching the feeder arrays as well. It was difficult to pull ourselves away from such a birding paradise, but eventually we did; full of some delicious chicken sandwiches and chocolate cake and with little space remaining on our camera cards.  

Our final birding stop up in the highlands was along the Romeo and Juliet Road, which is lower in elevation than much of the development, with taller trees and lush gardens around some quite impressive houses. Here we spent about an hour morning walking along the paved road finding a couple of mixed flocks along the way. The first group contained a trio of new flycatchers; Mistletoe Tyrannulet, Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant and Olive-striped Flycatcher. Also present was a male American Redstart and a truly snazzy adult Golden-winged Warbler. Some short bushy melastoma trees nearby were in fruit and in addition to our first Crimson-backed and Blue-gray Tanagers for the day we were thrilled to spot a single Speckled Tanager foraging on the small fruits. This is a truly gaudy study in lime-green, white and yellow and liberally covered with fine black dots. It’s a species that we don’t see here every year, and one that is usually up on the upper ridges, diving in and out of thick fruiting tree canopies. Just before we loaded up the bus to head downhill Jorge spotted a flowering tree with significant hummingbird activity. We hurried over and discovered that among the group of feeding birds was a single Brown Violet-ear. This is a rather enigmatic species around Cerro Azul, appearing some years in the wet season in small numbers and lingering only until the beginning of the dry. It has been several years since we recorded one on our November trips. It took some doing to get everyone views, as the bird was quite active and kept perching behind clusters of leaves, but eventually we succeeded. This was a great species to end our day up on the mountain with, so we turned the bus southwards and drove back down to the coast near the top of Panama Bay. The region is a RAMSAR-designated shorebird site that supports well over a million birds during migration and several hundred thousand throughout the winter months. Although almost all of the species here are familiar to most North American birders, the abundance of birdlife here is often spectacular. We don’t have much flexibility in our arrival time here, so each year the tide is a bit different. On this occasion we arrived at a time when the tide was already well out. The birds were spread thinly over the mudflats, with lots of birds thronging along the retreating shoreline too far out to really enjoy in the scopes. There were still lots of closer birds to look at though, and we spent an enjoyable hour or so working our way slowly through the masses of shorebirds, scoping Black-necked Stilt, Willet, Black-bellied, Wilson’s and Semipalmated Plovers, Hudsonian Whimbrel, Short-billed Dowitchers, Spotted Sandpipers and Semipalmated, Least and Western Sandpipers in turn. 

Apart from the shorebirds there were many other species to keep us busy, with an excellent diversity of herons including Yellow-crowned and Black-crowned Night-Herons and two handsome adult first Cocoi Herons. The last is a species that is very similar in size and structure to our more familiar Great Blue, but one that dresses in a much smarter white, black and grey plumage. The central canal zone is about as far west into North America that one can find this species, which effectively replaces Great Blue throughout South America. Some other species of interest here included hordes of Magnificent Frigatebirds and Neotropic Cormorants, our first White Ibis, a few Wood Storks, a small flock of Blue-winged Teal and a striking adult Roseate Spoonbill (which is a somewhat recent colonizer in the area). We wrapped up our mammal list here too, with a family group of Northern Racoons scampering across the mudflats and rapidly disappearing into a section of short mangroves. 

Due to the recent recognition of Mangrove Yellow Warbler as a full species we tracked down a couple of these handsome dark-headed birds in the fringing mangroves and palms along the coast. Although quite different in appearance, habitat and behavior they still vigorously responded to our recordings from the migratory northern birds (perhaps illustrating that the split is a bit dodgy). Nearby we were happy to spot a pair of Yellow-crowned Amazons perched in the thick creekside vegetation, marking our final new bird species for the trip. We left the coast and headed the short distance over to our hotel at the base of the Amador causeway, with our driver selecting an excellent, if convoluted, route which allowed us to avoid most of the (often unbelievably bad) Panama City traffic and see some of the downtown core and colonial center of the city. We arrived a bit later than we had hoped due to the traffic, but in plenty of time for a final dinner on the banks of the canal. I want thank this year’s wonderful participants and our local leader Jorge, for making this such a rewarding and bird-rich tour and I look forward to many more trips to this dynamic and rich country in the coming years.

-          Gavin Bieber

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