7 days all inclusive
1597 USD per person in double occupancy minimum 4 persons
Included in price: English/Spanish bird guide with field scope and the latest Panama field guide, pickup and drop off Tocumen Airport/Panama City hotel, all road transportation, all lodging (from ARRIVAL DAY to DAY 6), and park entrance fees.
Excluded: Lunch and dinner, alcoholic beverages, items of personal nature, gratuities, government tax (7%), airport departure tax, or inernational airfare.
Central Panama +Canal + Cerro Azul or El Valle
Metropolitan Nature Park - Achiote Road - Old Gamboa Rd. -Pipeline Road - Rain Forest Discovery Center - Cerro Azul or El Valle
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This is our 7-day, all Inclusive Central Panama (C.P.) birding tour Package, dedicated to birding all Central National Parks and other locales on a variety of habitats, including marshlands and lowland rainforest and highlads to the west of Panama city.
We will visit both the most and the least frequented birding hotspots including the world-renowned Pipeline Road, Achiote Road, Old Gamboa Road, Plantation Trail, Fort Sherman, San Lorenzo National Park, Panama Rainforest Discovery Center, Altos del Maria, El Valle and more.
As a conservative estimate, expect between 160+ species during this trip (a much higher number is possible). Please note that the species mentioned below are merely representative of the birds that might reasonably be expected in the areas involved.
ITINERARY
Day 1 Arrival, Transfer to Panama City Arrival at Tocumen International Airport. After customs take the right door/exit where your guide will be waiting with your names on a plate to welcome you and transfer to Panama City. Lodging: Panama City
Day 2 Parque Metropolitano and drive to Achiote
Our first birding day will start at 6:00 am at the Metropolitan Nature Park in Panama city (470 acres of dry second and youngest growth forest with patches of grassy areas ) giving us the opportunity to beginning with the search of the Lance-tailed Manakin, the endemic Yellow-green Tyrannulet, Rosy Thrush-Tanager (uncommon), Orange-chinned Parakeets, Pheasant Cuckoo (rare) and more; after lunch birding will continue until around 3:00pm when we will start our ride to Achiote Town. On the road (driving slowly) we’ll stop for birds along the road and at well known spots like at Gatun Lock and at the Chagres River (Gatun Dam spillway) in search of Road-site Hawk, American Kestrel, Cocoi Heron, Tricolored Heron, Kill-billed and Chessnut-mandible Tucan, Yellow-headed Caracara…after dinner we will go over the bird-list and vote for the best bird of the day (bb of the d), follow by a short night birding walk in search of owls, nightjars, nighthawks and pauraques. And after a long and productive day, a well deserved night sleep. Lodging: Centro El Tucan, Achiote depend on availability.
Pied Puffbird ©Gonzalo Horna
Day 3 Achiote Road, and drive to Gamboa
The early birding day starts in Achiote Road and surrounding areas looking for species that favor humid condition. We will be on the search of the Spot-crowned Barbet, White-headed Wren, Long-tailed Tyrant, Blue Cotinga, White Hawk, Flame-rumped Tanager, Montezuma Oropendola and many other species that can be found here. At 8:30am a well deserved breakfast with binoculars at hand to catch a gleans of a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, a probable Barred and Fasciated Antshrike and others. After breakfast the birding fiesta will continue at trails and in shaded coffee plantation. After lunch (2:00pm) in route to Fort Sherman and Fuerte San Lorenzo (wet lowland tropical forest with also areas of grass, scrubs, mangroves , marshes and coastline) we will look for the Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Golden-collared Manakin, Rufous Motmot, Checker-throated Antwren, Piratic Flycatcher, birding along the way and later on the afternoon back to Gamboa Town. After dinner we will go over the day bird-list and select the high light and the bbd. Lodging: Gamboa / Panama City, depend on availability.
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Day 4 Pipeline Road/ Rainforest Discovery Center
We’ll start the day at the new Panama Rainforest Discovery Center. From atop their canopy tower we hope to see Blue Cotinga and a number of forest raptors. Trails around the center have been good for Great Tinamou and Pheasant Cuckoo, and with luck we may find an ant swarm with a Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo (rare) in attendance. In the late morning we will work the first couple of kilometers of Pipeline Road proper, where we might find Golden-crowned Spadebill, Southern Bentbill, Green Shrike-Vireo, Gray Elaenia, White-wiskered Puffbird, Oropendolas, Caciques, Hummingbirds and Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant, among many others. Later in the day we will check out the Ammo Dump Ponds, where we might find Ruddy-breasted Seedeaters, White-throated Crake, Rufescent Tiger-Heron, Snail Kite and other wetland specialties.
At noon before the farewell dinner we will work on our “last day bird-list” and vote for the “bb of the d”. The group will summarize on the complete tour bird-list, a vote for the best bird and the best day of the tour and the correspondent comments for the complete tour will be appreciated. Lodging: Gamboa / Panama City, depend on availability.
Day 5 Old Gamboa Rd, drive to El Valle
Early birding on the Old Gamboa Rd. also known as the Summit Pond area traverses areas of dry forest, scrub, grassland and natural ponds. A walk down the road will allow a great views of many species including Great Antshrike, Pale-vented Pigeons, Blue Ground-Doves, Orange Chinned Parakeets, Red-crowned Woodpecker, Lesser and Great Kiskadee, Boat-billed Heron, Streak Saltator, Ringed, Amazon and Green Kingfishers are possible and more. In the afternoon will drive to El Valle. We’ll stop for a visit en route in the Altos del Maria area, our best chance to find Snowcap, White-tipped Sicklebill, Rufous-browed Tyrannulet, Red-faced Spinetail and many others. Thanks to the construction of a new through-road, this barely involves a detour, so we will pass smoothly on to El Valle, where we will bird late in the day as time allows. And the day bird-list with the “bb of the d” and comments will end a successful day. Lodging: El Valle.
Cocoi Heron
© Gonzalo Horna
Day 6 Cerro Gaital/La Mesa
We’ll work the foothills above El Valle for most of the day, hoping for local specialties such as Blue Seedeater, Orange-bellied Trogon, Slaty Antwren and many more. We’ll probably spend the afternoon around the Canopy Adventure, which might yield Tody Motmot (a 2nd spot is also possible for this one), Rufous-crested Coquette, and maybe even a staked-out Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo. At noon before the farewell dinner we will work on our “last day bird-list” and vote for the “bb of the d”. The group will summarize on the complete tour bird-list, a vote for the best bird and the best day of the tour and the correspondent comments for the complete tour will be appreciated. Lodging: Gamboa / Panama City, depend on availability.
