Itinerary

DAY 1: ARRIVAL

We will meet you upon your arrival to Tocumen International Airport (PTY), Panama City, Panama for transfer to your hotel in Gamboa. There will be time to check in and relax before a short orientation and our first dinner together. 

DAY 2: PIPELINE ROAD AND GAMBOA

Today we begin our Panama bird watching tour by visiting the world-famous birding route, Pipeline Road, located where the Chagres River and Gatun Lake meet. During World War II an oil pipeline was built to transfer fuel from one ocean to the other in case the Panama Canal was ever attacked. The Canal was never assaulted and today the preserved road is an easily accessible path that leads into the heart of a Neotropical forest. Pipeline is well known for its trogons – five of them can be seen on a very lucky day: Slaty-tailed Trogon, Gartered Violaceous and Graceful Black-throated are the most common.

We will be alert for a melancholy sound emanating from the forest floor, letting us know that Streak-chested Antpitta is nearby. We will also search on the ground or on very low perches, for army ant-followers such as Ocellated Antbird, Bicolored Antbird, Chestnut-backed Antbird and, if we are very lucky, the prized Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo! Today will surely be a highlight of our Birds of the Panama Canal tour.

DAY 3: METROPOLITAN NATURAL PARK & BAY OF PANAMA

Metropolitan Park on the western side of Panama City is a natural paradise. Our morning walk here will take us through Pacific dry forest in search of flycatchers, motmots, trogons, wrens, tanagers and manakins. Graceful Black-throated Trogon, Yellow-crowned Amazon, Whooping Motmot, Dusky Antbird, Rufous-and-white Wren, Lance-tailed Manakin, Crimson-crested Woodpecker, and Yellow-green Tyrannulet (endemic) are just a few of the common birds found in this park. This park is also wonderful for butterflies, such as Stigma Skipper, Carousing Anteros (Jewelmark), and Red Cracker, and mammals, including Geoffroy’s Tamarin, White-nosed Coati, and White-tailed Deer.

After a great morning of birding, we will head to the coastal region of Panama City – Amador Causeway, Panama Viejo mudflats, and Costa del Este, where the Juan Diaz River meets the Pacific Ocean, attracts a wide variety of shorebirds, waders, mangrove species, and even seabirds. If the tides are in our favor, we can observe hundreds of migratory Western and Semipalmated sandpipers, Willets, Black-necked Stilts, Wood Storks, and several species of herons feeding in the mudflats. Around the treed edges, we’ll keep an eye out for Mangrove Yellow Warbler, Pale-eyed Pygmy-Tyrant, Northern Scrub-Flycatcher, Barred Antshrike, and if lucky, Mangrove Cuckoo! 

DAY 4: PANAMA RAINFOREST DISCOVERY CENTER AND SUMMIT PONDS

Today we return to Pipeline Road early this morning to spend the morning birding at the Panama Rainforest Discovery Center. Here we climb the tower to get a “birds-eye-view” of the rainforest and perhaps a peak at ships passing through the Canal. We will also visit the area’s hummingbird feeders to see some of the buzzing visitors, such as Violet-bellied Hummingbird, Blue-chested Hummingbird, Crowned Woodnymph, Long-billed Hermit and many others. This will provide us with an amazing Panama bird watching experience! In the afternoon, after our lunch and a pleasant rest, we will visit the Summit Pond to seek for Boat-billed Heron, American Pygmy Kingfisher, Rosy Thrush-Tanager, Jet Antbird, and Pale-eyed Pygmy-Tyrant.

DAY 5: CERRO AZUL

The upper basin (~2,800ft) of the Chagres River – the largest river in the Panama Canal watershed, along the boundaries of Chagres National Park. The gated community of Cerro Azul is the ideal place to find the endemic Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker. In addition, we will focus on finding Yellow-eared Toucanet, Blue Cotinga, Black-and-yellow Tanager, Tawny-capped Euphonia, and White-ruffed Manakin, among many other species.

We can also visit a private property in the area with feeding stations which will give us a great chance to see and photograph Snowy-bellied Hummingbird, Shining Honeycreeper, Bay-headed Tanager, White-whiskered Puffbird, Black-faced Antthrush, Rufous-and-white Wren, and Rufous Motmot.

DAY 6: GATUN LAKE BOAT TOUR & MIRAFLORES VISITOR CENTER

Today we will visit Gatun Lake – the last major part of the Panama Canal on our tour. Encompassing more than 40% of the waterway and the most important water reservoir for the canal’s operation, Gatun Lake is probably the most picturesque place on this famous waterway. Exploring the lake by boat, we will search for some aquatic species such as Limpkin, Wattled Jacana, Purple Gallinule, Snail Kite, and Pied-billed Grebe, among others. In the lake, we may also have a chance to get up close to enormous container ships and intricate sailboats in transit through the canal.

At midday, we will head back to the hotel for lunch and a rest before gaining first-hand experience of the Panama Canal’s operation and history during our visit to the Miraflores Visitor Center.

DAY 7: DEPARTURE

This morning you can enjoy a final morning in Gamboa at your leisure. Then you will check out and transfer to the international airport to catch your return flights home.