The Best of Panama: Canopy Tower and the Darién

Welcome to our Best of Panama birding tour! Panama is perhaps one of the best and most accessible birding countries in the neotropics. With easy access, an excellent infrastructure, and a huge bird list of 1,012 species, it is an obligatory birding destination. Panama is perfect for any newcomers to the neotropics, who will certainly fall in love with the natural history and the overwhelming number of birds, including colorful tanagers, sparkling hummingbirds, noisy parrots, and gorgeous motmots and trogons. For those who already have neotropical birding experience, Panama offers an exquisite set of seldom-seen and highly sought-after species, such as Bare-crowned and Ocellated Antbirds, Black-crowned Antpitta, and if we are lucky, the elusive Rufous-vented Ground Cuckoo.

The rare Rufous-vented Ground Cuckoo will hopefully be encountered on this trip.

During this 12-day birding tour you will start the adventure visiting Canopy Camp in the Darién Province, a beautiful and safe area to visit, far from the Colombian border. During the next four days we will look for a whole set of range-restricted species shared only with Colombia, some of them quite tough to find in other neotropical countries. The amenities at Canopy Camp are very comfortable; each camping unit provides a safari-style tent with wooden floors, beds, electricity, fans (however, no air-conditioners), a second room for luggage, and a private bathroom outside the tent. Some of the birds that we’ll be on the lookout for in the Darién include White-eared Conebill, Double-banded Greytail, Dusky-backed Jacamar, Black Oropendola, Spectacled Parrotlet, Black-crowned Antpitta, Bare-crowned Antbird, Black Antshrike, Grey-cheeked Nunlet, Spot-crowned Barbet, and Orange-crowned Oriole. We will also try for Blue Cotinga, Green Shrike-Vireo, Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker and perhaps even the rare Harpy Eagle.

We hope to encounter the mighty Harpy Eagle in the Darién (photo Dr Uwe Speck).

Next, we will explore the Gamboa area near the Panama Canal, where we will be based at the world-famous Canopy Tower Lodge. This tower, a former US military center, built to house powerful radars used in the defense of the canal, is today one of the most magnificent birding lodges in Latin America. The tower allows guests a magnificent 360° view of the surrounding forests of the Soberanía National Park. Here, we will stay a total of four nights, exploring the great surroundings, including places like the Pipeline Road, Summit Ponds, Semaphore Hill Road, and the Gamboa Marina Resort. At these sites we will look for species such as Brown-hooded Parrot, Northern Mealy and Red-lored Amazons, Keel-billed and Yellow-throated Toucans, Rufous and Broad-billed Motmots, American Pygmy Kingfisher, Boat-billed Heron, Crimson-backed and Golden-hooded Tanagers, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Spotted Antbird, Dot-winged Antwren, Long-billed Gnatwren, Song Wren, Slaty-tailed, Gartered, and White-tailed Trogons, and if we are lucky, Rufous-vented Ground Cuckoo and Ocellated Antbird. The lodge’s surroundings are also good for other wildlife, including Brown-throated Sloth, Nine-banded Armadillo, Central American Agouti, and Lesser Capybara.

The brightly colored Yellow-throated Toucan will hopefully be seen on this tour.

Finally, we will visit Canopy Lodge in the Valle del Antón (Anton Valley), surrounded by lush, forested hills and ridges and home to several special species, such as Yellow-eared Toucanet, Snowcap, Ochraceous Wren, White-tipped Sicklebill, Black-and-yellow Tanager, Tiny Hawk, Tody Motmot, Rosy Thrush-Tanager, Grey-headed Chachalaca, and Collared Trogon. Here, we’ll also have another chance for Rufous-vented Ground Cuckoo. Canopy Lodge is a very comfortable and beautiful lodge, situated in a peaceful location, surrounded by gardens where we will try for Tropical Screech Owl and with luck, Uniform Crake as well as several tanagers such as Bay-headed and Dusky-faced Tanagers.