Trip
Information
Tour
Dates: January 4 - 18, 2011
Duration: 15
days
Tour Leader: Hector
Gomez de Silva & local guide
Cost: $4,975
USD, $5,375 CDN, Single supplement $765 USD, $830 CDN
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 and
the Darien
• Spectacular scenery, excellent lodges, and unique history surrounding
the Panama Canal
Featured Birds:
• Sharpbill
• Black-crowned Antpitta
• Rufous-crested Coquette
• Lance-tailed Manakin
• Rosy Thrush-Tanager
• Blue Cotinga
• Broad-billed Sapayoa
• Black-breasted Puffbird
• Tacarcuna Bush-Tanager
• Yellow-eared Toucanet
• Pirre Warbler
• Beautiful Treerunner
• Harpy Eagle (with luck)
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;
a fairly long uphill walk on Cerro Pirre taken at a leisurely pace
•
Good, modern accommodation in Panama City; simple, comfortable, sometimes
rustic at Nusagandi, Cana, Canopy Tower and Patino Punta with some shared
bathrooms; tented field camp on Cerro Pirre and tents at Embera Village
•
Bus or van with driver
•
6 - 12 participants with two leaders
*Single accommodation at the Canopy Tower will have shared bathrooms.
Photo: Blue
Cotinga, Hans Spiecker
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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 eastwards to Nusagandi and on to the Darien.
We take in the vast and superb Darien National Park, where isolated mountains
have resulted in several endemic species especially on Cerro Pirre. The
Darien hosts many species that spill over from neighbouring Colombia – hummingbirds,
antbirds, tanagers, woodcreepers, foliage-gleaners, spinetails, parrots
and more, and maybe Harpy Eagle. 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. Our visit to Punta Patino
could turn up a nesting Harpy Eagle. 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 the detailed itinerary
below.
Click
here to download a registration form
Click here for our species list on the 2007 Panama tour (200 kb pdf)
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 Cana 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 then transfer
by charter flight to Cana. En route we pass over the Pan-American Highway,
which ends some 50 km before the Colombian border, and enter the vast
and impressive Darien National Park, with its huge expanses of forested
hills and the towering presence of the 1575 m high Cerro Pirre. We land
at the airstrip beside the old Cana gold-mine camp and settle into our
simple but comfortable accommodations. Our accommodations are rustic;
8 comfortable double occupancy bedrooms sharing 2 bathrooms (hot water
available), a dining hall with clear views of the surrounding lush vegetation,
an observation deck and a series of trails. Night in Cana.
Days 3 – 5 Cana
Regarded as one of the best birding sites in the world, Cana Field Station
is located in the heart of the 1.2 million-acre Darien National Park,
a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The clearings around our camp attract
caciques and oropendolas, and many hummingbirds including Green Thorntail
and Rufous-crested Coquette. Shrubs and vines support Little Cuckoo,
spinetails, antwrens and wrens, and around the edge of the forest we
may encounter woodcreepers, woodpeckers, flycatchers, euphonies, honeycreepers
and tanagers. Raptors include Tiny Hawk, Bat Falcon, hawk-eagles, and
White Hawk. Flights of macaws pass over the airstrip, and these may
incorporate Great Green Macaw, and Black-tipped Cotinga is a possibility
should there be fruiting trees nearby. An army ant swarm will have its
attendant woodcreepers, antbirds and maybe a Black-crowned Antpitta,
Ocellated Antbird or even a Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo. Upper canopy
species include some little known species such as Double-banded Greytail,
Slate-throated Gnatcatcher, Rufous-winged Antwren, Grey Elaenia and
Yellow-backed Tanager. Mixed species flocks might include Broad-billed
Sapayoa, Spectacled and Fulvous-bellied Antpitta and Black-faced Antthrush.
Several species of trogons, motmots, manakins, becards and orioles enliven
the forests. Nocturnal birds include Pauraque, Chocó Screech-Owl
and Gray and Great Potoo.
We have two guides on our tour. One guide will remain at Cana, whilst
the second guide leads a group to higher elevations on Mount Pirre for
camping for two nights at the remote Pirre Tent Camp, located at over
4,200 feet above sea level in the cloudforest. Our walk of 8 kilometres
up the slopes of Cerro Pirre for a gain of 800 metres in altitude will
be taken leisurely, about 6 hours in duration, and is of moderate to
fairly strenuous difficulty. During our walk, we could encounter Sharpbill,
Golden-headed Manakin, Tody Motmot, Wing-banded Antbird, wood-quails
and quail-doves. Our campsite is at mid-elevation on Cerro Pirre, and
from here we make forays to search for the range-restricted Rufous-cheeked
Hummingbird, Varied Solitaire – a beautiful singer, Chocó Tapaculo,
Brown-billed Scythebill, Yellow-eared Toucanet, Grey-and-gold Tanager
and Yellow-green Grosbeak. At the summit of Cerro Pirre, in elfin forest,
we look for endemics such as Pirre Warbler, Green-naped Tanager, Pirre
Bush-Tanager and Beautiful Treerunner, and with luck we may find Ochre-breasted
Antpitta and Chocó Tinamou. Three nights at the Cana Field Station,
or two nights at the Pirre Tent Camp and one at the Cana Field Station.
Days
6 and 7 – Punta Patino Nature Reserve
In the morning of Day 6, we transfer to Punta Patino Nature Reserve
for a two-day stay. Punta Patiño, at 30,000 ha, is the largest
private reserve in Panama. Owned by ANCON, Association for the Conservation
of Nature, a Panamanian environmental nonprofit organization, the lodge
is on the Golfo de San Miguel, a little under an hour by boat from the
small town of La Palma. We land at La Palma, located near the mouth
of the Tuira River, and then transfer to our lodge. The Punta Patiño
Lodge is located atop a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, surrounded
by native vegetation. The 10 comfortable cabins are air-conditioned
and have private bathrooms. A dining hall and a chapel dating back to
the early 20th century are all part of the lodge's facilities.
This is the home of the Emberá, one of two indigenous peoples
in the Darien, and we may meet with members of the community complete
with formalities. Our main focus in this area will be Harpy Eagle: there
should be a current location of a nesting Harpy, and we will make the
obtaining of views of this magnificent bird a high priority. This involves
an overnight camping at the Embera Village, which is a 45 minute boat
ride from the lodge. Times of departure and return the next day depend
upon the tide. The nest is 5 km from the village along a flat trail;
however, it will likely be hot and humid.
Accommodation will be in simple
but comfortable tents. As well as Harpy Eagle, there will be lots more
to see in this bird-rich region. Specialties include Orange-crowned
Oriole, Double-banded Greytail, Black Oropendola, One-coloured Becard
and White-eared Conebill. Capybara, Gray fox, Tayra, Geoffroy’s
tamarin, Night Monkey and Collared Peccary occur here. Nights at Punta
Patino.
Days 8 and 9 - Burbayar Lodge and Nusagandi
We transfer to Burbayar Lodge which 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 in the
Kuna language means spirit of the mountain. Burbayar Lodge is a lodge
that provides all the basic comforts but is totally natural! 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. There are trails leading from the lodge through the forest,
some ending at waterfalls. 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. Nights at Burbayar Lodge.
Day 10 - Cerro Azul
We leave Nusagandi and 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 even see one of the few Harpy Eagles that occur in the Cerro Azul
area, where there are also Baird’s Tapir. Night at Cerro Azul.
Day 11 - Transfer to Canopy Tower
We leave Cerro Azul and head to our next destination, the superb Canopy
Tower.
Days 12 & 13 - Summit ponds and gardens, and Pipeline Road
The Canopy Tower was built in 1965 by the United States Air Force to
house 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 14 - 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 15 - 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 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 at Burbayar Lodge, in simple but comfortable 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. At Cana, we stay at a simple lodge
with shared bathroom facilities, Our accommodations are rustic but comfortable;
8 double occupancy bedrooms sharing 2 bathrooms (hot water available),
a dining hall and an observation deck. For those hiking to higher elevations
on Mount Pirre, we camp at the remote but comfortable Pirre Tent Camp
for two nights, located at over 4,200 feet above sea level. Our walk
of 8 kms up the slopes of Cerro Pirre for a gain of 800 metres in altitude
is taken leisurely, although it is of moderate to fairly strenuous difficulty.
Patino Lodge affords good comfortable accommodation in cabins that are
air-conditioned and have private bathrooms, with an attached dining
hall. The tents at the Embera Village will be simple but comfortable.
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,
with the hikes up Cerro Pirre and to the Harpy Eagle nest being challenging;
the walk to the camp on Cerro Pirre is a fairly long uphill climb, taken
at a slow and relaxing pace, as there are usually lots to see on the
ascent. 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.
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