Panama | Between Two Continents: Birding in Panama with Sarasota Audubon Society

Upon arrival at Tocumen International Airport, meet your guide and travel to the hotel. Check in starts at 3 pm.

Start the day with breakfast and an orientation at the hotel restaurant, then depart for the Rainforest Discovery Center, located at the world famous Pipeline Road. Begin at the visitor center, observing up to 14 species of hummingbirds that have been recorded at the feeders. Continue along the trails observing birds of the undergrowth such as manakins, anteaters and trogons. Ascend the 130-foot tower to observe birds in the canopy layer such as the Mealy and Red-lored Parrots, Keel-billed and Yellow-throated Toucans, Blue Cotinga, Masked Tityra, and Green and Red-legged Honeycreepers. Continue birding along Pipeline Road, looking for Crested Eagles and Hook-billed Kites. Golden-collared Manakin, White-bellied and Blue-throated Antbirds, and Pheasant Cuckoo may also be seen. Return to the hotel for lunch then journey to Plantation Road. This old, graded dirt road passes along a mature forest and is approximately four miles long. Go birding along the road in search of interior forest birds, such as Spotted, Bi-colored and Ocellated Antbirds, Gray-headed Tanagers, and Plain-brown, Northern Barred and, if you're lucky, Ruddy Woodcreepers following army ant swarms. Be on the lookout for the Hook-billed Kite, while Golden-crowned Spadebills are regulars around the creek, and White-breasted Wood Wrens, tinamous and leaftossers are easy to spot. (Temperature: 72°-90° F - Hot/humid - Elevation: 100-400 feet - Lowland tropical rainforest, tropical secondary forest, lagoons and rivers with floating vegetation.)

Today, head out for birding at Metropolitan Nature Park, perhaps the only forest reserve within a major capital city in Latin America. Despite proximity to Panama City, it boasts rich avifauna. Enjoy a picnic lunch then travel to the Panama Canal's famed Miraflores Locks for exploration of the museum, hopefully seeing a ship passing through the locks. Before dinner this evening, meet with a member of the local Audubon chapter for a lecture on the birds of Panama.

After breakfast, travel to the airport for the flight to David, Chiriquí. Stop for lunch at a local restaurant, then travel 3,900 feet above sea level to the highlands of Boquete. Spend the day seeking out Quetzals on the Pipeline Trail. These magnificent birds, with their emerald green two-foot tails flowing behind them, are exceedingly rare in Central America. Your chances of seeing them here are excellent.

After an early breakfast, depart for the nearby Los Quetzales Trail in Volcán Barú National Park. Established in 1976, the park is part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor and is home to over 250 species of birds including quetzals, Volcano Junco, Yellow-thighed Finch, Black-and-White Hawk- Eagle, Black Guan, skulking Wrenthrush, Silvery-throated Tapaculo, White-naped Brushfinch, and mixed flocks containing a wealth of colorful tanagers and warblers. Return to the hotel for lunch, before departing for the Volcán Barú summit. Ascend the volcano to its peak at 11,398 feet. Common species to be seen are Volcano Hummingbird, Fiery-throated Hummingbird, Flame-throated Warbler, Sooty-capped Chlorospingus, Sooty Thrush, and Timberline Wren. Enjoy sunset and a picnic dinner at the summit. This evening look for owls as you descend the volcano.

Today, travel to the Chiriquí midlands, south of Volcán, in search of species such as the Red-headed Barbet, Sepia-capped Flycatcher, Emerald Tanager and Rufous-browed Tyrannulet. Stop at Birding Paradise, located in an intermediate zone providing species of birds from both the highlands and lowlands, more than 20 species of hummingbirds can be found here. To follow is a stop at Macho de Monte Canyon to spot Fiery-billed Aracari, Riverside Wren, Orange-bellied Trogon, and Orange-collared Manakin. Have lunch in Volcán at La Carbonera. After lunch, you will have the opportunity to spot some of the species that can be found at Las Lagunas ("the Lakes"), Panama's highest elevation natural wetlands that sit 4,000 feet above sea level. Here there is a chance to see the Masked Duck, Chiriquí Yellowthroat, Blue-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup, Crested Guan and more. Afterward, journey to Janson Coffee Farm for additional birding opportunities and some snacks before returning to Boquete. Enjoy dinner at the hotel this evening.

After an early breakfast, check out of the hotel and travel back to David, Chiriquí to board the flight back to Panama City. Have lunch, check into your hotel, and then explore the Panama Bay Mudflats, designated a wetland of international importance or Ramsar site, as well as a site of hemispheric importance by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN). The Bay of Panama is an important wintering habitat to thousands of shorebirds including Western Sandpiper, Semipalmated and Black-bellied Plovers, Willet, Whimbrel, and Short-billed Dowitcher. Additionally, explore the Panamá Viejo ruins and Costa del Este areas. Resident raptors of interest may include the Gray-lined Hawk, Crested Caracara, Merlin, and Peregrine Falcon. Travel to Casco Antiguo historic district for a walking tour before your farewell dinner with folkloric dancing at Las Tinajas (dancing is only available on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays).

Travel to the airport for the flight home. Check out is at 12 pm.