Arrival at Tocumen International Airport (PTY)

ARRIVAL, ORIENTATION, DINNER

Upon arrival at the airport, we will take a shuttle to the nearby Riande Airport Hotel, where you can explore the grounds & gardens to start your Panama birding adventure, or relax poolside.

Dinner & Night at Riande Airport Hotel.

Sleep in, or get up early to bird the hotel grounds before breakfast.

After breakfast, we will be met by our driver who will bring us to the Canopy Tower in a spacious van.

PM: ARRIVAL, ORIENTATION & CANOPY TOWER OBSERVATION DECK.

Located at the top of Semaphore Hill in the rainforest of Soberanía National Park, the tower has stunning views and wildlife.  A member of the staff will greet us as we arrive at the Tower, and we will be provided with an orientation on the use of the facilities. As your luggage is being ferried to your room, we will have lunch at the Tower.  We will also spend some time on the stunning Observation Deck. The view from the platform provides some incredible Panamanian birding opportunities! Here, you get a unique eye-level perspective of the rainforest canopy. Many birds in the rainforest, including toucans, parrots, tanagers of various species, hawks, and dozens of others, as well as monkeys, two species of sloth, and other mammals are commonly seen. From this vantage point you can also see ships transiting the Panama Canal, the majestic Centennial Bridge, and miles of rainforest!  You may also want to watch the hummingbird feeders at the base of the Tower for Long-billed Hermit, White-necked Jacobin, Violet-bellied & Blue-chested Hummingbirds and White-vented Plumeleteer. Occasionally, a Snowy-bellied Hummingbird is spotted! 

After lunch we may start exploring Soberanía National Park by taking a pleasant walk down Semaphore Hill Road. This winding, shady paved road, festooned on its shoulders by wildflowers of many types, is a little more than a mile long and crosses a large creek about half-way down. There are some incredible Panama birding opportunities here, including birds from the forest interior as well as edge-dwellers. Olivaceous Flatbill, Plain Xenops, Black-breasted & White-whiskered Puffbirds, Fasciated & Black-crowned Antshrikes, Slate-colored Grosbeak, Bay-headed & White-shouldered Tanagers, Black-throated & Slaty-tailed Trogons, Broad-billed & Rufous Motmots and even Great Jacamar may be found. Great Tinamou is often heard but harder to see. This road is also great for raptors, such as White, Tiny & Great Black Hawks. During migration it’s easy to see more than 10 species of warbler in one morning. Afterwards we will return to enjoy a delicious dinner and night at the CANOPY TOWER.

We will spend the morning on the expansive roof deck of Canopy Tower and then explore the grounds.

After lunch we head to the Ammo Dump Ponds, which are located just past Gamboa on the way to the Pipeline Road. It is the best place to see the elusive White-throated Crake, as well as a host of other waterbirds. Rufescent Tiger-Heron, Wattled Jacana, and Purple Gallinule are common, and Least Grebe and American Pygmy-Kingfisher are also resident. In this area we also may find Greater Ani, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Whooping Motmot (recent split from Blue-crowned), Southern Lapwing, Anhinga, Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet, Scrub Greenlet, Lesser Kiskadee, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Panama, Social & Rusty-margined Flycatchers, and even Olivaceous Piculet! Panama birding is excellent here, and you’ll definitely add to your impressive list of birds!

Dinner and night at CANOPY TOWER.

Pipeline Road (AM) + Summit Ponds (PM)

After breakfast we board the ‘Birdmobile’ or ‘El Tinamu’ (both open-air safari-style vehicles) that take you to the Pipeline Road, the best place in Central Panama to find forest birds and one of the premier birding spots in the world! This morning we will concentrate our efforts at the beginning of Pipeline, where we will look for Greater Ani, Gray-cowled Wood-Rail, Yellow-tailed Oriole, Masked Tityra, Rosy Thrush-Tanager, Isthmian (formerly Plain) Wren, Streaked Flycatcher, Red-throated Ant-Tanager, Squirrel Cuckoo, Gray-headed Chachalaca, Southern Bentbill, Forest Elaenia, Panama Flycatcher, Green Shrike-Vireo, Blue Ground Dove and Little Tinamou. Other birds recorded here are Black-bellied & Buff-breasted Wrens, Golden-collared Manakin, White-necked Puffbird, Gartered, Slaty-tailed, Black-throated, White-tailed & Black-tailed Trogons, Purple-crowned Fairy, Yellow Tyrannulet, White-bellied & Dusky Antbirds, Fasciated & Black-crowned Antshrikes, and many more.  During migration this entrance road is excellent for migrant warblers, flycatchers, grosbeaks and tanagers.

Lunch at CANOPY TOWER.

PM: SUMMIT PONDS /OLD GAMBOA ROAD (10 MIN. FROM CANOPY TOWER)

Old Gamboa Road and the associated ponds at Summit are great places to find Canal Zone birds. At Summit Ponds we will scan for Green, Striated, Capped & Boat-billed Herons as well as Green, Ringed, Amazon, Green-and-rufous (rare) & American Pygmy Kingfishers, which are all resident here!  We also seek out Rusty-margined & Streaked Flycatchers, Mangrove Swallow, Bat Falcon, Cocoa Woodcreeper and Lineated & Crimson-crested Woodpeckers.  Going straight past the two ponds you’ll be on Old Gamboa Road, one of the birdiest spots around. This road passes through a variety of habitats and has plenty of specialties, including Blue Ground Dove, Great Antshrike, Jet Antbird, Black-tailed & Royal Flycatchers, Lance-tailed & Golden-collared Manakins and the delightful Rosy Thrush-Tanager! We also will find species like White-bellied Antbird, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Yellow-backed Oriole, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Yellow-headed Caracara and more.  Also resident are Gray-headed Chachalaca, with Spectacled Owl a real possibility too, as the guides know where they often roost.  

Night & dinner at CANOPY TOWER.

Transfer to Canopy Camp

Our last dawn at Canopy Tower with coffee on the breathtaking rooftop deck, followed by breakfast. After breakfast we will travel by comfortable passenger van to Canopy Camp, about a 4.5 hour drive to the southeast at the edge of the Darién rainforest, one of the most remote and undeveloped regions in the Americas.

As we drive along the Pan-American Highway, we will scan for roadside birds and open-field raptors including Savanna Hawk and Crested Caracara. At the bridge at Bayano Lake, a great opportunity awaits to see what we can see along the lakeside. This reservoir supports great numbers of water birds, including a large colony of Neotropic Cormorants, as well as Anhinga, Cocoi Heron and the rarer Bare-throated Tiger-Heron. We will scan the water’s edge for Purple Gallinule, Pied Water-Tyrant, Smooth-billed Ani and Ruddy-breasted Seedeater.

A short trail leading from the water’s edge is a great place to look (and listen) for Black Antshrike, found only in Eastern Panama and NW Colombia, as well as other regional specialties such as White-eared Conebill, Rusty-winged Antwren, and Crimson-backed Tanager. Other possibilities include Bare-crowned Antbird, Rufous-winged Antwren and Golden-collared Manakin. Just 10 minutes down the road at Río Mono Bridge, the surrounding forest is home to One-colored Becard, Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, Blue Cotinga, Pied Puffbird, Orange-crowned Oriole, Blue Ground Dove and more. We will also scan the river below for Green-and-rufous Kingfisher and the elusive Fasciated Tiger-Heron. The forest edge and scrubby roadsides around Rio Torti offer good opportunities to see Pacific Antwren, Double-banded Graytail and Little Cuckoo. At a lovely Panamanian restaurant in Torti, the hummingbirds at the feeders will no doubt capture our attention, as Long-billed Starthroat, Sapphire-throated Hummingbird, Scaly-breasted Hummingbird, Black-throated Mango and more enjoy their lunch as well; great hummingbird photo opportunities abound throughout our Panama tour!

Dinner and night at Canopy Camp.

Canopy Camp Trail (AM) + Pan American Highway (PM)

Yellow-throated and Keel-billed Toucans call from the towering Cuipo trees; Red-lored and Mealy Parrots fly overhead; White-bellied Antbird, Bright-rumped Attila, White-headed Wren and Golden-headed Manakin sing from the surrounding forests; while Pale-bellied Hermit and Sapphire-throated Hummingbird visit the flowers around camp. Rufous-tailed Jacamar and Barred Puffbird are also seen frequently around the grounds. We will work our way into the forest on “Nando’s Trail,” in hopes of finding Tiny Hawk, Black Antshrike, Great Antshrike, Olive-backed Quail-Dove, Cinnamon Becard, Black-tailed Trogon, Double-banded Graytail, Gray-cheeked Nunlet, Yellow-breasted Flycatcher, Royal Flycatcher and Russet-winged Schiffornis. We will also be looking for groups of Red-throated Caracara, King Vulture and Short-tailed Hawk overhead in the clearings. Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Plumbeous and Zone-tailed hawks are also possible.

In the open areas, the verbenas are full of hummingbird and butterfly activity, where we hope to see Violet-bellied Hummingbird, Pale-bellied Hermit, Long-billed Starthroat, Blue-throated Goldentail and if lucky, the stunning Ruby-Topaz Hummingbird feeding here. Spot-crowned Barbet, Olivaceous Piculet, White-headed Wren, Red-rumped Woodpecker and Streak-headed Woodcreeper are other birds we may encounter. If desired, we can hike up the slope to stand in the shadows of two giant Cuipo trees.

There will be an opportunity during the week to explore the grounds of the Canopy Camp at night in search of nocturnal birds and mammals, including Black-and-white and Mottled Owls, Great and Common Potoos, Kinkajous, Central American Woolly Opossum and more!

Lunch and a siesta at Canopy Camp, followed by an exploration along the Pan-American Highway - We will head southeast and bird the forests and swampy meadows along the road toward Yaviza, at the very end of the Pan-American Highway! Black-billed Flycatcher, Sooty-headed Tyrannulet, Jet Antbird, Black Oropendola, Pied Water-Tyrant, Bicolored and Black-collared Hawks, Pearl and White-tailed Kites, Limpkin, Spot-breasted Woodpecker, Ruddy-breasted Seedeater, Yellow-hooded Blackbird, Black-capped Donacobius and Red-breasted Meadowlark can all be found as we head further into Darién.

Dinner and night at Canopy Camp.

Harpy Eagle Full Day

Darién is a stronghold for Harpy Eagles and other large forest raptors, and holds Central America’s largest population of this rare and majestic bird. If there is a site available to visit, whether an active nest or a fledged juvenile in a reliable location, it will be included in the itinerary. Please keep in mind that we can never guarantee the sighting of a Harpy Eagle (or anything in nature), even at a reliable site, but we will be sure to try if there is a chance!

We will follow our knowledgeable local guides in search of nesting Harpy Eagles and the even rarer Crested Eagle - nothing is guaranteed but with the help of local community knowledge our chances are very good. Depending on rainfall and conditions, may include some walking or travel by horseback.

We will start very early, long before sunrise, and drive to Yaviza, at the end of the Pan-American Highway. Arriving at dawn in Yaviza, we will board a “piragua”—a dugout canoe—and traverse the still waters of the Chucunaque and Tuira rivers. The river edges offer shrub and grass habitat, as well as mudflats and beaches depending on the water level. There are plenty of birds to see along the riverside: Neotropic Cormorant, Anhinga, Great Blue, Cocoi, Little Blue, Tricolored, Striated and Capped Herons, Snowy Egret, White and Green Ibises, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Pied Water-Tyrant, Bronzed Cowbird, Yellow-hooded Blackbird and both Crested and Black Oropendolas. White-tailed Kite and Black-collared and Common Black Hawks may be found cruising overhead.

We will meet a local truck and head south out of town past the airstrip, to the trailhead at the border of Darien National Park! This trail is wide, traversing through lowland rainforest and alongside a river. If very lucky, we may see Harpy Eagle or Crested Eagle, as both of these magnificent raptors roam the dense forests here. Hopefully with some success in the morning, we can rest and have a picnic lunch in the field, and continue to bird along the trail. Other large forest eagles, including Ornate Hawk-Eagle, can also be found in the area, as well as Gray-cheeked Nunlet, White-fronted Nunbird, Green-and-rufous Kingfisher, Agami Heron, Red-throated Caracara, Chestnut-backed Antbird (the eastern Panama race, which may be a separate species, shows white dots on the wings), Chestnut-fronted and Great Green Macaws, Scarlet-browed Tanager and more. After lunch and a break, we will retrace our steps and start our way back to El Real, then head back to Yaviza by river. Along the Pan-American Highway, we can scan for bird activity as the sun sets.

El Salto Road (AM) + Quebrada Felix (PM)

El Salto Road extends 6 km north from the Pan-American Highway and ends at the mighty Río Chucunaque. This open road and surrounding dry forest is a great place to search for regional specialties including Golden-green Woodpecker, Double-banded Graytail, Blue-and-yellow and Chestnut-fronted Macaws, Black and Crested Oropendolas, Blue Cotinga, White-eared Conebill, Black-breasted Puffbird, Orange-crowned Oriole and the majestic King Vulture. A trail at the end of the road will take us into low-canopy forest, where we hope to find Bare-crowned Antbird, Pale-bellied Hermit, Olivaceous Piculet, Streak-headed Woodcreeper and Forest Elaenia.

Quebrada Felix - this newly discovered site awaits exploration! Quebrada Felix is nestled in the base of the Filo del Tallo Hydrological Reserve, and is just a short drive from the Canopy Camp. Surrounded by tall trees and mature lowland forest, we will walk along the rocky stream in search of some of Panama’s most wanted species, including Black-crowned Antpitta, Scaly-throated Leaftosser, Speckled Mourner, Ocellated Antbird, Rufous-winged and Moustached Antwrens, White-fronted Nunbird, Wedge-billed Woodcreeper, Royal Flycatcher and the endemic Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker. It is also a great spot to find Fasciated Tiger-Heron, Green-and-rufous Kingfisher, Bicolored Antbird, Golden-crowned Spadebill, Double-banded Graytail and much more. Crested and Solitary Eagles have even been spotted here, a great testament to the mature forest of the area. Quebrada Felix is becoming a favorite spot among our guides and recent visitors!

Dinner and night at Canopy Camp.

Transfer to Panama City & Departure

If time permits, after breakfast we  may have one last walk around Canopy Camp.

Then our shuttle will transfer us to Panama City and Tocumen International Airport (a 4 hour drive from Canopy Camp), arriving by 1:30pm for return flights home, with awesome memories of birds, mammals, wildflowers, butterflies and everything else we experienced while birding in Panama!

For those staying on for the Panama Extension, the shuttle will take us to the Casco Viejo of Panama City after dropping the others at the Airport.

Please note that this itinerary may change without prior notice due to weather, alterations in habitat or other conditions.