Birdwatching In Panama » Where to go?

Pipeline Road Hike

admin — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:10:14 +0000

I always enjoy the early morning hikes along the Pipeline Road, its a great escape from the city noise and traffic, the fresh air with the thousand different smells and the chirping sound of the cicada remarkable acoustic talents mixed with bird songs. Plus of course not to forget the Howler monkeys that are considered the loudest land animal, they have an enlarged basihyal or hyoid bone which helps them make their loud sound. Besides the birds I also enjoy the endless seaming biodiversity that the rain forest has on display like the many butterfly along the way like the Blue Morpho and that brown butterfly seen in the attached gallery to a leaf still rolled up and ready to process some sunlight soon. Sometimes you can spot many birds and sometimes they are hard to see, like that Rufous Motmot that showed me his teeth behind some bushes, a flock of Great Ani’s, some Collared Aracari’s, a Rainbow Billed Toucan and down at the Calamito Lake near the Panama Rainforest Discovery Center a flock of Whistling Ducks that made their appearance that morning. So all in all another good day in Paradise!

Parque Natural Metropolitano

admin — Fri, 22 May 2009 12:01:10 +0000

From their brochure: “At only 10 minutes from downtown the Parque Natural Metropolitano is one of the most accessible tropical forests in the world.” Yes and im amazed that not more folks take advantage of this jewel within the city limits (or maybe thats a good thing, who knows). There are a few nice a easy trails, great for some bird watching or just to enjoy the nature and do some exercise plus some great views from top of the hill over parts of the city. The park is open daily from 6 AM to 5PM and you need to pay a small fee at the Administration office. See any city map for the exact location on de Ave Juan Pablo II. The parks brochure mentions that there are 227 species of birds living here and you surley will see many of them including some Toucans. The parks office also features a small store where you may buy some birding books or t-shirts and other souvenirs. Well worth a visit any time!! You can find some photos from the Parque Natural Metropolitano here.

Santa Clara Beach, Panama

admin — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:26:09 +0000

Got myself a nice little sunburn while visiting the Santa Clara Beach last weekend, so next time I will take some stronger sun protecting lotion along, almost forgot how strong the sun is around there, and while that great ocean breeze cools you off you don’t feel the sun as much until its to late. Santa Clara Beach is about 110 kilometers from Panama City on the Pacific Coast, its a great place to relax, to enjoy the beach, go for a swim but also to watch the great variety of birds around the area. From the always present pelicans to the majestic flight of the frigate birds and many wading bird species to the king fisher and some hawks, plus many herons. I have seen even some blue crowned motmots in the area in the past aldo not this time. Attached are a few images from last weekend.

Santa Fe, Veraguas

admin — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 13:26:29 +0000

Was up in the mountains around Santa Fe for a couple days, however the bad weather that hit almost all of Panama did not allow us to do the planed hikes, so we enjoyed a good BBQ and did just a short hike in the rain and with limited visibility, see the attached images. For more detailed info on Santa Fe, Veraguas please see this earlier blog post.

Mundo Jaguar at Summit Gardens

admin — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 19:13:15 +0000

This post is not exactly about birds but worth checking out anyway, if you have not been to the Summit Garden Nature Park Panama in a while, then you dont know what your missing! There is a new exhibit for a while now already that is well worth seeing, its the Mundo Jaguar (Jaguar World). Great place to see this majestic powerful Jaguar close up and while there yes there is also a great variety of birds to see like the famous Harpy Eagle, the Kink Vulture for example and many others. The park is easy accessible by a short drive from Panama City on the road to Gamboa, see the Panama Map here for location. For more details on the Summit Garden Nature Park Panama see also this earlier post.

Soberania National Park in Panama

admin — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:49:56 +0000

With an extension of 19,341 hectares the Soberania National Park, located in the Province of Panama and Colon o was created in the year 1980, forming part of the protected Panama Canal Watershed. The Soberania National Park counts with 105 species of mamals, 525 species of birds, 79 species of reptiles, 36 species of fish and an incredible abundance of plants. There are some great hiking trails in this park esay accessible by a short drive from Panama City along the way to Gamboa and beyond. The best known and a must for birdwatchers is the Pipeline Road where many bird counting records where set and where you also find the The Panama Rainforest Discovery Center with its observation tower. Other great trails are the Plantation Road, the Camino de Cruces trail and the El Charco trail, also the Summit Nature Park is located there and well worth a visit.

Summit Ponds

admin — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:27:27 +0000

Here is another great spot to view some exotic birds: the Summit Ponds! Just in front of the Summit Nature Park (on the opposite side of the road to Gamboa) is a small road that leads a downhill and just a few yards down there to the left is the way that leads to the Summit Ponds, it consists of 2 small ponds where if lucky you might see the Boat-billed Heron, the Greater Ani and many smaller birds, if you follow that road further you find some huge bamboos where the Spectacled Owl’s hang out. On some trees nearby we also spotted a pair of The Bat Falcon’s.

Pipeline Road Weekend Hike

admin — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:12:09 +0000

Was out walking along the pipeline road last weekend. Not sure it happens just to me or to everybody but there seam to be days when those birds just don’t want to be seen or my eyes cant find em (even do I hear many quite well) then there are other days when they just seam to sit in front of you and ask please take my picture. Well question: are bird count numbers generally down and might it be to changes in the environment or because of road works going on along the pipeline road? (Also guess it does not help to have so many cars driving along there) A couple weeks ago I did see the Harpy Eagle spotting some howler monkeys (see attached photo), some Trogons and many other birds, this time almost nada. So I exchange the long lens for the macro and look around for strange alien insects and butterflies when suddenly this Blue Chested Hummingbird makes a short appearance (see attached images) nice only wished he would have stayed a bit longer, well anyway for me the hike along the pipeline road is always a refreshing adventure even without seeing to many birds, the fresh air, the many sounds from zirpping to howling filling the rain forest’s air and all the diversity of life forms around, there is never a dull moment. Just standing there experiencing it all is a great and satisfiing feeling, just wish I could be there more often! For more information about the Pipeline Road including a little map from the SSI see this page here and for other great places to hike in Panama see the index here.

For more nature photos (and where you also can upload your own photos) please see YourNaturePhotos .com here.

Altos de Campana National Park

admin — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:11:03 +0000

Here is another great spot for birdwatching close to Panama City. Located in the Province of Panama about 50 kilometers (one hour drive) west from Panama City. Just a few kilometers after passing Capira a side road takes up up to the park. Campana is Panama’s oldest National Park, being legally established in 1966 in part to protect the Panama Canal watershed. The Park protects 4,925 hectares of great biological diversity. At the parks administratives office at the entrance you need to pay a small fee, they have a little brochure that shows the trails of the area. Some of the bird species reported in the area are for example the are Orange-bellied Trogon, the White tailed Hawk, some rare hummingbirds and many others you can discover as well. Also make sure to wear good hiking shoes as some of the trails are very slippery in the rainy season, and dont try to hold on to the trees that are full of sharp thorns like I did!

El Charco Nature Trail

admin — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 14:31:17 +0000

Here is an easy short trail not to far from the city that gives you or your visitors a great view of the Soberania National Parks rain forest. Its easy to find along the Road to Gamboa after passing the Summit Gardens. The Charco Nature Trail follows a little creek – the Rio Sardinillia – and features a little waterfall and a pond with pick nick facilities. Be sure to wear good shoes because they might get wet when you cross the creek at some points. You never know what you see along this trail, I have seen many birds as well as mammals like the coatis, howler monkeys and some squirrels. But most impressive are the huge trees along that trail! So enjoy a good days out and you might combine this little hike with a visit to the Summit Garden thats close by.