Panama Birding Tour
Panama is a superb birding tour destination that allows us to explore some of the most accessible rainforests and high-altitude cloud forests on Earth. The native flora is simply stunning, and more than 10.000 species have been already identified. With roughly 29% of its territory protected within 15 nature reserves, Panamá is fast becoming a must-see destination for nature travellers the world over. Situated perfectly as a natural land bridge between the Americas, Panama also holds an incredible diversity of bird species and offers the perfect introduction to Neotropical birding. A whopping 978+ species have been recorded in this tropical paradise – that’s more than the USA & Canada combined – and in a country about the size of South Carolina! Furthermore, Panama birding is a joy as long travel days and arduous hikes are not necessary.
We begin our set of Panama birding tours in the vast rainforests of the Darien and its myriad of exciting birding opportunities. Key targets in this area include Harpy Eagle, Rufous-vented Ground Cuckoo, stunning Blue Cotinga, Ocellated and Wing-banded Antbird, Rosy Thrush-Tanager and the bizarre Sapayoa.
Our Best of Panama tour concentrates on three further key areas. We spend several days in the Canal Zone, allowing us an unrivalled opportunity to explore the rainforests of Soberanía National Park. These exquisite forest and wetland sites provide diverse birding, while mammal opportunities are excellent. Our next attraction is the delightful hill country of El Valle de Antón where we explore cloudforest and a new range of mouth-watering Panama birding species!
We finish off our time in Panama with an extension to the Western Highlands of Chiriqui, part of a chain of volcanic mountains straddling the Panamanian and Costa Rican border. One of the obvious targets here will be the awe-inspiring Resplendent Quetzal, along with numerous hyperactive hummers including Volcano Hummingbird, Black-and-yellow Phainoptila (Silky-flycatcher), Turquoise Cotinga, Three-wattled Bellbird, Collared Whitestart, Flame-throated Warbler, the incomparable Snowcap and White-bellied Mountaingem whilst also dedicating time to finding the recently split Chiriqui Yellowthroat.