Trip
Information
Tour
Dates: January 15 - 28, 2009
Duration: 14
days
Tour Leader: Hector
Gomez de Silva & local guide
Cost: TBA
From: Panama City
Highlights:
• Diverse and rich wildlife; some of the finest
birding locations in the Neotropics, especially in the Canal Zone
and at Nusagandi
• Spectacular scenery, excellent lodges, and unique
history surrounding the Panama Canal
Featured Birds:
• Blue Cotinga
• Rufous-crested Coquette
• Lance-tailed
Manakin
• Rosy Thrush-Tanager
• Blue Cotinga
• Broad-billed
Sapayoa
• Black-breasted Puffbird
• Tacarcuna Bush-Tanager
Trip Summary:
• Mostly dry and sunny, quite hot and humid in
lowlands, cool at higher elevations, possible rain at Nusagandi
• Easy
to moderate walking, a little hill climbing, some muddy trails
• Mainly
good, modern accommodation; simple, comfortable at Nusagandi
• Bus
or van with driver
• 6 - 12
participants with two leaders
*Single accommodation
at the Canopy Tower and Lodge will have shared bathrooms.
Photo: Blue
Cotinga, Hans Spiecker
|
Panama
is the transition zone between Central and South America. It feels
more “tropical” even
than adjacent Costa Rica, with many representatives of typical Neotropic
families – woodcreepers, toucans, jacamars, motmots, manakins,
antbirds, cotingas, tinamous, plus a plethora of tanagers, flycatchers,
honeycreepers and parrots and much more, and with always the chance
of a mega-bird such as Harpy Eagle and scarce mammals such as Ocelot
or Tapir. This tour focuses on central Panama and the edge of the Darien
at Nusagandi.
We start in the tropical dry forest of Metropolitan Park where Lance-tailed
Manakin, Rosy Thrush-Tanager, Orange-billed Sparrow, Rufous-and-white
Wren and Green Honeycreeper occur, along with Geoffroy’s Tamarin
monkeys. Then it is on to the Caribbean coast, to Achiote Road and Fort
Sherman, for many rainforest species. The cool upper elevations at Cerro
Azul and Cerro Jeffe have a very different avifauna including very special
birds such as Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker, Violet-capped Hummingbird and
Black-headed Brush-Finch. With luck we may see a Harpy Eagle or a Baird’s
Tapir.
Nusagandi is in a world-class birding zone and many endemic species of
the Darien lowlands and highlands can be found here, including the enigmatic
Sapayoa. Then we transfer to El Valle de Anton, a fine place to spend
a couple of days. Here we take in highland birding in the Altos de Maria
and the dry scrub along the coast. This is followed by several days investigating
the superb and rich birdlife of the Canal Zone forests, while based at
the renowned Canopy Tower. This includes the marvelous Pipeline Road which
runs through wet forests in Soberanía National Park. With its short
distances, high literacy rate, excellent infrastructure, outstanding wildlife
and one of the world’s outstanding wilderness lodges, the Rainforest
Canopy Tower, Panama is superb, and our visit will be a truly unforgettable
experience.
See detailed itinerary
below
Click
here to download a registration form
Click here for a
list of species seen on our 2006 Panama tour (153 kb pdf)
|
Itinerary
Day 1 - Arrival In Panama City
The tour begins with an evening orientation at our hotel. Night in Panama
City.
Day 2 - Metropolitan Park in morning, to Colon in p.m.
Metropolitan Park, 260-hectares of Pacific dry forest, harbours many
interesting birds and mammals, including Geoffroy’s tamarin monkeys
and Central American Agoutis. Our first Panama experience will be here,
where Lance-tailed Manakin, Rosy Thrush-Tanager, Orange-billed Sparrow,
Blue-crowned Motmot, Rufous-and-white Wren (a beautiful songster) and
Green Honeycreeper are some we look for as well as a Panamanian endemic,
Yellow-green Tyrannulet. The park is renowned for being very “birdy” and
we should amass quite a tally in our morning here. We leave the park
at noon and drive to Colón, a city on the Caribbean coast, where
we spend two nights. Night in Colon.
Day 3 - Achiote Road and Fort Sherman
Today we bird the nearby Achiote Road in the San Lorenzo Protected Area,
where we may see White-headed and Black-bellied Wrens, Gray-chinned
Nunlet, Spot-crowned Barbet and many other rainforest species including
Lesser (Thick-billed) Seed-Finch, Collared Aracari, Lineated Woodpecker
and Barred Antshrike. At Fort Sherman, a former U.S. military base,
we visit 16th century Ft. San Lorenzo (in the Protected Area) that sits
atop high bluffs at the mouth of the Chagres River. Now a World Heritage
site, the fort was constructed to help guard stolen Inca gold from pirates
in the Caribbean! Night in Colon.
Day 4 - Cerro Azul
Today we visit Chagres National Park, whose forests provide water to
both Colón
and Panama City as well as to the Panama Canal. In this national park we stay
one night at Cerro Azul, where trails lead up through rainforest and cloud forest.
The upper reaches of Cerro Azul and Cerro Jefe are covered in elfin forest, and
some very special birds are found around 771 meter (2400 feet), such as Stripe-cheeked
Woodpecker, Violet-capped Hummingbird, Black-headed Brush-Finch and Tacarcuna
Bush-Tanager, as well as the more widespread Emerald, Bay-headed, Black-and-yellow,
and Rufous-winged Tanagers. With a lot of luck we may see one of the few Harpy
Eagles that occur in the Cerro Azul area, and there are also Baird’s Tapir.
Night at Cerro Azul.
Day 5 - Cerro Azul; drive to Burbayar in p.m.
We spend the morning birding Cerro Azul, and then head off to the tall foothill
forests at Nusagandi and our two night stay at Burbayar Lodge. Night at Burbayar
Lodge.
Day 6 - Burbayar Lodge and Nusagandi
Burbayar Lodge lies four kms south of Nusagandi on the Llano-Carti road— the
only road that traverses the Serranía de San Blas, the breathtakingly
beautiful foothills joining Panama and San Blas to Darien and home to the indigenous
Kuna. Burbayar Lodge is a lodge that provides all the basic comforts but is totally
natural! Burbayar in the Kuna language means spirit of the mountain. There are
trails leading from the lodge through the forest, some ending at waterfalls.
Burbayar is in a world-class birdwatching zone and is one of Panama’s top
birdwatching sites. The forest is part of a biological corridor linking species
east and west, Pacific and the Caribbean, as well as being on a zone between
lowland and piedmont regions. It is an Important Bird Area, with many endemic
species of the Darien lowlands and highlands to be found. The list of birds is
increasing each year: about 400 species occur. Several hummingbird species such
as Stripe-throated Hermit, Garden Emerald, Black Throated Mango; parrots including
Mealy, Brown-hooded and Blue-headed; toucans such as Yellow-eared Toucanet and
Keel-billed Toucan; tanagers like Golden-hooded, Sulphur-rumped, and Flame-rumped.
Rare and stunning species include Sapayoa, Speckled Antshrike, Black-faced and
Black-headed Antthrush, Black-crowned Antpitta, Streak-chested Antpitta, and
Green Hermit. Night at Burbayar Lodge.
Day 7 - Burbayar Lodge to El Valle de Anton
We reluctantly leave Burbayar Lodge and journey west to El Valle de Anton.
Rufous-crested Coquettes and Green Thorntails frequent vervain hedges, Rufous
Motmots and Dusky-faced Tanagers visit feeders, whilst White Hawks soar overhead.
Night in El Valle de Anton.
Days 8 Altos de Maria
Today we visit the highlands at Altos de Maria, where we should turn up many
cloud forest specialties, including Yellow-eared Toucanet. The forest streams
have Sunbitterns, the upper forests have such goodies as Brown-billed Scythebill,
and we should amass a fine total. Night in El Valle de Anton.
Day 9 - El Chiru lowlands in a.m., transfer to Canopy Tower
We leave El Valle de Anton, and visit the dry coastal scrub which has a different
complement of birds, including Sapphire-throated Hummingbird, Savanna Hawk and
Red-breasted Blackbird. We then head to our next destination, the superb Canopy
Tower.
Days 10 & 11 - Summit ponds and gardens, and Pipeline Road
The Canopy Tower was built in 1965 by the United States Air Force to house a
powerful radar used in the defense of the Panama Canal. It was closed in 1995
and in late 1996 was transferred to the government of Panama, who signed a long
term concession to transform the site into a center for the observation of the
neotropical rainforest. It is now a wilderness lodge surrounded by 100-foot high
tropical rainforest. Close by is famous Pipeline Road, which runs for 17 km through
wetter forests in the heart of Soberanía National Park. The flat roof
of the Tower is a great place to watch the canopy and its wildlife, as well as
the Panama Canal and, in the distance, the skyline of the city. Roads and trails
radiate through the rainforest from the building. Hummingbird feeders attract
species such as Purple-crowned Fairy, White-necked Jacobin and Violet-bellied
Hummingbird.
Over 280 species of birds have been recorded within one mile of the Tower, including
3 species of forest-falcons, 16 species of hummingbirds, Chestnut-mandibled Toucan,
Great Jacamar, Masked Tityra, Bright-rumped Attila, Broad-billed and Rufous Motmots,
Blue-crowned Manakin, Blue Cotinga, Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, Brownish Flycatcher
(also known as Twistwing), Plumbeous and Semiplumbeous Hawks, Great Black Hawk,
Black Hawk-Eagle, Crested Eagle, King Vulture, Green Shrike-Vireo, Short-tailed
Nighthawk, Spectacled Owl, Black-chested Jay and many antbirds, woodcreepers,
puffbirds and trogons. Mammals include three-toed and two-toed sloths, mantled
howler monkey, Geoffroy’s tamarin, white-faced capuchin, and agoutis.
Old Gamboa Road passes through scrubby and poor secondary growth habitat as well
as pastures and other open country areas. Both Jet and White-bellied Antbirds
occur in the brushy thickets, and other interesting birds in this area included
Scrub Greenlet, Golden-collared Manakin, White-necked Puffbird, and Rusty-margined
Flycatcher. Summit Ponds are medium sized, well-vegetated ponds surrounded by
a thin strip of woodland, and hold a variety of herons including roosting Boat-billed
and occasionally Capped Herons, as well as kingfishers and Greater Anis.
Pipeline Road starts out in scrubby mature secondary tropical moist forest with
patches of primary forest, eventually going into primary forest. This legendary
place ranks as one of the finest birding areas in the neotropics, and daily tallies
can be very impressive. Tanagers, woodcreepers, antbirds, toucans, puffbirds
including Black-breasted, forest-falcons including Slaty-backed, and much more.
We will concentrate on those goodies that we haven’t already found, and
with luck we may find Rufous-breasted Woodpecker or Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo.
Day 12 - Canopy Tower in a.m.; Panama City in p.m.
We leave the truly outstanding Canopy Tower and, time permitting, we visit the
Pacific mangroves at Juan Díaz, very close to Panama’s international
airport, where specialties include Mangrove Black-Hawk, Green-and-rufous Kingfisher,
Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Rufous-browed Peppershrike and Mangrove Warbler.
Night in Panama City.
Day 13 - Departure home
Our tour ends after breakfast when we head to the airport and our flights home.
What
to Expect
Our days usually
start with an early morning, before-breakfast walk. Almost without
exception it is best to begin birding at daybreak
in
the tropics, when bird activity and song are at their peaks. In forest
regions, we concentrate on “edge” birding until the light
is sufficient to enter forest trails. Often bird activity slackens
off by noon and we may return to our hotel for lunch and a short siesta.
Sometimes we have picnic lunches prepared for us so that we can eat
in the field. This approach maximizes our time in the field and allows
us a more flexible schedule. After a siesta, we bird again in the
coolness of the late afternoon, and on occasion we may stay out after
dusk to search for nightbirds.
Accommodations range from very good to simple but comfortable. At
Nusagandi, we stay in private cabins with private bathroom facilities,
where electricity
is supplied by generators. At Canopy Tower small single rooms share
one bathroom between 5 rooms; all twin rooms have private bathrooms.
There are steps to each floor of the tower, including the top floor
which is the dining room and the flat roof great for canopy viewing.
Weather conditions range from hot to cool; mostly, it will be warm with
a mixture of sun and cloud. Walking conditions range from easy to moderate;
if there has been rain, then trails could be muddy. Strong, waterproof
footwear is advised and a light rain-jacket and waterproof hat are often
essential. There will be opportunities for photography, as many birds
and other wildlife allow close approach. In the evening we eat at a
favored restaurant or at the hotel or lodge where we are staying. At
this time we discuss the day’s activities, review the list of
birds and other wildlife that we have seen and heard, and prepare for
the next day.
|
