ITINERARY:

Day 1  – Arrive Panama City – Wednesday 09^th Sept 
Expect to arrive in Panama City on Wednesday the 09th and transfer to a nearby city hotel where we will spend the first night. There are plenty of birds in the lush gardens to get you started, if you arrive in the daylight. We will officially start the tour with dinner together tonight.
Riande Hotel, Panama City. D

Day 2 – Metropolitan park – Canopy Lodge  10th Sept
Located right next to Panama City, and only 25 minutes from the Canopy Tower, the forests of the Metropolitan Natural Park are much drier than those that we will be visiting during the rest of the tour. In the morning, we will bird the park and expect to see some species of birds that are rare if not absent in the wetter areas. The beautiful Rosy Thrush-Tanager is common, although never easy to see, as is the striking Lance-tailed Manakin. It’s also a good place to look for Sepia-capped Flycatcher, White-bellied Antbird and you have a good shot at seeing the endemic Panama Tyrannulet. Later in the day, we will travel two hours to the Canopy Lodge and El Valle de Antón in Panama’s Western foothills arriving in time for dinner. We will spend four nights in this beautiful lodge close to a small village, nestled in the crater of an extinct volcano that exploded 5 million years ago. The resultant scenery is quite unique – a steep valley surrounded by jagged peaks and filled with flowers, streams and verdant forests. No wonder it is one of Panama’s most popular getaways. Our home for the rest of this holiday is Canopy Lodge, sister lodge of the Canopy Tower, a charming small hotel built next to a bubbling mountain stream and adjacent to the protected area of Cerro Gaital Natural Monument. In the gardens surrounding the lodge we should easily see Crimson-backed, Blue-grey, Dusky-faced, and Plain-coloured Tanagers, Red-crowned Ant-Tanager, Social Flycatcher, Ruddy-ground Dove, Barred Antshrike, Yellow-faced Grassquit, Rufous-tailed and Violet-capped Hummingbirds, White-vented Plumeleteer, Black-chested Jay, Rufous Motmot, White-tipped Dove, Clay-coloured Robin, Green Honeycreeper and plenty of Thick-billed Euphonias. If the Vervain is in flower then we have a good chance of seeing the tiny Rufous-crested Coquette. We will spend the afternoon birding around the lodge grounds in search of more species. We have been very lucky in the past couple of years to see the rare and much sought Rufous-vented Ground Cuckoo along the banks of the stream just 50 metres from the lodge. Lets keep our fingers crossed for a repeat performance.
Night Canopy Lodge. B, L, D

Day 3 – Cariguana Trail  11th Sept
After breakfast, we continue our quest for more lifers with a trip to La Mesa Road.  This area, which is a visually pleasing blend of secondary forest, scrubby pastures, overgrown fincas and grassy borders, is home to many of the area’s specialties.  Here we look for such great birds as Spot-crowned Barbet, Cinnamon Becard, Scarlet-thighed Dacnis, Silver-throated, Golden-hooded, Tawny-crested & Bay-headed Tanagers, Spot-crowned Antvireo, and Spotted Woodcreeper. Hummingbirds include White-tipped Sicklebill, Rufous-crested Coquette, Crowned Woodnymph, and Black-throated Mango.  Also resident are Northern Emerald-Toucanet, Bran-colored Flycatcher, Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant, and Orange-bellied (Collared) Trogon. We will then return to the lodge for lunch. After some birding around the lodge, we will spend the rest of the day exploring the nearby foothills to search for some of the specialties of this rich avian region. We’ll visit the nearby Cariguana Trail which can produce the much sought after Tody Motmot, plus Long-billed Starthroat, Rufous-and-White Wren, Pale-eyed Pygmy-Tyrant, Chestnut-headed Oropendola, and perhaps Lance-tailed Manakin. In another area, we’ll walk a road surrounded by forest to look for Black-striped Sparrow, Chestnut-backed Antbird, Red-crowned Ant-Tanager, White-breasted Wood Wren, Spotted Woodcreeper and perhaps White-throated Spadebill and even the elusive yet spectacular Black-crowned Antpitta. Further up the hill, there is the possibility of Orange-bellied Trogon, Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer, Spot-crowned Antvireo, Thick-billed Seed Finch, Bran-coloured Flycatcher, Eastern Meadowlark and possibly the skulking Wedge-tailed Grass Finch. We will then return to the lodge in the afternoon in time for dinner.
Night at Canopy Lodge. B, L, D

Day 4 – Cerro Gaital – Valle Chiquito  12th Sept
Today after breakfast, we proceed to Cerro Gaital, a steep, forested, mist-shrouded mountain that you see from the lodge! Cerro Gaital (3,500’) is the namesake of Cerro Gaital Natural Monument, which protects more than 335 hectares of mature cloud forest.  This area offers sightings of Black Guan, Northern Emerald-Toucanet, Orange-bellied (Collared) Trogon, Spotted Barbtail, Common Chlorospingus, Silver-throated Tanager, Black-headed Antthrush, Slaty Antwren, Spot-crowned & Plain Antvireos, Black-faced Grosbeak, Blue Seedeater, Rufous-capped Warbler, Gray-headed Kite, White Hawk, Tawny-capped Euphonia, Pale-vented Thrush, Northern Schiffornis, White-tailed Emerald, Green-crowned Brilliant, Violet-headed Hummingbird and Crowned Woodnymph.  Scaled Antpitta and Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo have been recorded here! After a full morning of Panama bird watching, it’s time for lunch at the Canopy Lodge. After lunch we are off to Valle Chiquito for more Panamanian bird watching! This valley is accessible by a newly paved road and passes through nicely forested woodlands crossed by two rivers.  At Rio de Jesus we search for Green Kingfisher and listen for Sepia-capped Flycatcher.  We also admire a nice colony of Chestnut-headed Oropendolas in a Cecropia tree. We try for Tody Motmot, Yellow-throated Vireo, Yellow-backed Oriole, White-bellied Antbird, Gray-chested Dove, Yellow-billed Cacique, Zone-tailed & Gray-lined Hawks, Black Hawk-Eagle, Lance-tailed Manakin, Panama Flycatcher, Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, Little Tinamou, Long-billed Starthroat, and Garden Emerald.  Wrens are abundant here, with Black-bellied, Rufous-and-white, Bay, and Rufous-breasted Wrens all lurking about in the thickets!
Night at Canopy Lodge. B, L, D

Day 5 – Altos del Maria  13th Sept
Set in the mountains on the continental divide east of El Valle, the Altos del Maria provide a spectacular location for this full day trip. Departing early in the morning from El Valle in comfortable vehicles, we will drive along the Pan-American Highway and up into the mountains. As the sun rises over the highlands ahead of us, spectacular mountains, vast valleys, and towering cliffs will be revealed. Ascending an excellent paved road, we will climb a ridge to our destination, an expansive area of cloud forest at 1100 meters above sea level. We’ll bird the wide, gravel roads and around mid-morning, we will stop at a nature centre for a rest, bathrooms, and a check of the hummingbird feeders. Afterwards, we will search some trails through the woods for additional forest birds. This area harbours an exciting variety of highland forest birds including White Hawk, Barred Forest-Falcon, Yellow-eared Toucanet, Orange-bellied Trogon, Spotted Woodcreeper, Brown-billed Scythebill, Black-crowned Antpitta, Red-faced Spinetail, Spotted Barbtail, Russet and Great Antshrikes, Tufted Flycatcher, Rufous-browed Tyrannulet, White-ruffed Manakin, Ochraceous Wren, Grey-breasted Wood-Wren, Pale-vented Thrush, Black-and yellow Tanager, Dusky-faced Tanager, Tawny-crested Tanager, Yellow-billed Cacique, Black-headed Saltator and Slate-coloured Grosbeak. Amongst the dazzling hummingbirds we will look for the exquisite Snowcap, as well as Band-tailed Barbthroat, Garden and White-tailed Emeralds, Purple-throated Mountain-Gem, Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer and the remarkable White-tipped Sicklebill. Later in the afternoon we will head back into El Valle for a little relaxation or some time to check the gardens, or look at the myriads of dragonflies on the pond, prior to our dinner.
Night Canopy Lodge. B, L, D

Day 6 – Las Minas – Mata Ahogado – 14th Sept
After breakfast (during which we watch for Orange-billed Sparrow and Bay Wren calling just around the dining area), we head to Las Minas, an excellent trail for Panamanian bird watching. The road follows the ridge line, with sweeping vistas of forested mountains, speckled with grasslands and small fincas.  The views from here are fantastic, as on a clear day near the summit both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans can be seen!  Specialties of the region include Wedge-tailed Grass-Finch, Black-and-yellow, Bay-headed & Emerald Tanagers, Tawny-capped Euphonia, Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant, Spot-crowned Antvireo, Gray-headed Kite, Barred Hawk, Bat Falcon, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Swallow-tailed Kite, Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer, White-tipped Sicklebill, Green Thorntail, Orange-bellied (Collared) & Black-throated Trogons, Tawny-faced Gnatwren, Plain Antvireo, the endemic Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker, Spotted Woodcreeper, Red-capped & White-ruffed Manakins, Band-rumped Swift, and Black Guan.  A forested slope here is also our best chance for Black-crowned Antpitta and Black-headed Antthrush! After this birding excursion, we get back in time for lunch and then packed our bags and set off back towards Panama City and our next destination the Canopy Lodge, where we will spend the next 5 nights. 
Located in the heart of the rainforest in the 50,000-acre Soberanía National Park, the Tower used to be a Military Radar Station until it was converted into a unique and wonderful accommodation that is perfect for birdwatchers and nature lovers. With panoramic views from bedroom windows, the dining room and especially the roof-top, the Tower offers the ideal base from which to explore the forests of central Panama. It is no wonder that National Geographic named the Canopy Tower as one of 50 top eco-lodges in the world, and it is listed as one of the 50 places to bird before you die. Night at Canopy Tower. B, L, D

Day 7 – Semaphore Hill and Ammo Dump  15th Sept  
Today will be spent birding Canopy Tower and Semaphore Hill and its likely to begin right from your bedroom window with Tanagers, Toucans, and Tityras all possible. Nothing can compare with birding from the Observation Deck on the roof of the tower and that’s where we will be at dawn. Coffee is served right up top while we scan the tree tops for Keel-billed Toucans, Mealy, Red-lored, Brown-hooded and Blue-headed Parrots, Green and Red legged Honeycreepers, Collared Aracari, Scaled Pigeon, Scarlet-rumped Cacique, and with luck a few specialties such as Green-shrike Vireo, Blue Cotinga or Black-breasted Puffbird. It not unusual to get close views of Three-toed Sloth, Mantled Howler Monkeys and even Red-crested (Geoffroy’s) Tamarins from this delightful vantage point. A look at the hummingbird feeders may produce Blue-chested and Violet-bellied Hummingbirds, plus Green Hermit and maybe White-vented Plumeleteer. At mid morning we’ll take a walk from the Tower down Semaphore Hill Road. This paved road is a little more than a mile long and passes through excellent forest where we get a good chance to see many birds and several mammals. The list of species of Semaphore Hill Road is extensive, and includes birds from the forest interior as well as the edge. We will look for Olivaceous Flatbill, White-whiskered Puffbird, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Slate-colored Grosbeak, Bay-headed Tanager, and with luck Great Jacamar. Amongst the leaf litter we could find Great Tinamou or Marbled Wood-Quail, though both are much easier heard than seen. We also have good opportunities for raptors including White, Tiny and Bicolored Hawks, and if there are any ants around we may get to grips with the beautiful Ocellated and Spotted Antbirds. In the afternoon, we will visit the famous Ammo Dump Pond located just north of Gamboa, and close to the famous Pipeline Road. It is one of the best places to see the elusive White-throated Crake, as well as a host of other water birds. Least Grebes, Common Moorhens and Purple Gallinules are common, and Rufescent Tiger-Heron, Snail Kite, Limpkin, Least Bittern and American Pygmy-Kingfishers can sometimes be found but are not as quite as easy.
Night at Canopy Tower. B, L, D

Day 8 – Pipeline Road  16th Sept
Today we spend the day at the world famous Pipeline Road, the best place in Central Panama to find many unusual and sought after forest birds, and there are plenty of them. The road stretches for 17 kilometres through prime forest where there are plenty of side trails plus eleven creeks and rivers. We will first search the entrance area where targeted species will include Rosy Thrush-Tanager, Golden-collared Manakin, Crimson-crested Woodpecker, Black-tailed and Black-throated Trogon, Plain-brown and Cocoa Woodcreeper, Fasciated and Black-crowned Antshike, Rusty-margined Flycatcher, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Black-chested Jay, Blue Dacnis and Slate-coloured Grosbeak. We will then walk sections of the Pipeline Road and dependent on recent information or news on ant swarms we will search particular areas or trails. There are many possibilities along this famous birding road and we can hope to connect with a few of the forests prized birds. The Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo occurs here but we absolutely need to find the ants if we have any chance of this “mega”. Both Red-capped and Blue-crowned Manakins can be found, alongside such sought after species as Black-breasted Puffbird, Great Jacamar, Speckled Mourner, Streak-chested Antpitta, the very skulking Pheasant Cuckoo, White-tailed Trogon, Rufous Motmot, Cinnamon Woodpecker, Scaly-throated Leaftosser, Black-striped Woodcreeper, Moustached Antwren, Forest and Gray Elaenia, Checker-throated Antwren, Bicoloured, Spotted and Ocellated Antbirds, Brownish Twistwing, Thrush-like Schiffornis, Song Wren, Red-throated Ant-Tanager, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Tiny and Plumbeous Hawks, Black Hawk-Eagle, Crane Hawk and all three Forest-Falcons can readily be heard although seeing them is always tricky. This area also offers us our best chance to see the elusive Panamanian Night Monkey, hopefully during daylight. Let’s just hope that the Pipeline Road will be a birding day to be remembered! 
Night at Canopy Tower. B, L, D

Day 9 – Cerro Azul  17th Sept
Today we head into the foothills of Cerro Azul in the Chagres National Park northeast of Panama City. This area can often be shrouded in cloud but that won’t stop us looking for a selection of species that are not readily found in the canal corridor. It is possible for us to see the Yellow-eared Toucanet, considered by many to be the most colourful of the local toucans, plus Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle, Black-striped and Olivaceous Woodcreepers, Emerald, Speckled, Bay-headed, Hepatic and Rufous-winged Tanagers, and good chances for the endemic Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker. We may get chances to visit some hummingbird feeders where we can hope for Snowy-bellied and Violet-headed Hummingbirds, White-necked Jacobin, Green Hermit, Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer, and with luck the rare Violet-capped Hummingbird. Other species may include Red-capped Manakin, Yellow-crowned, Thick-billed and Fulvous-vented Euphonias, Ruddy-tailed and Yellow-margined Flycatchers, Lesser Greenlet and Russet Antshrike. With a lot of luck we could also come across one of the smallest hummingbirds in the world the stunning Rufous-crested Coquette, or even the bizarre looking White-tipped Sicklebill. A stop beside the exposed mudflats close to Panama City gives us a chance to check for shorebirds. There should be good oportunities for Willet, Short-billed Dowitcher, Western, Spotted and Semipalmated Sandpipers, Hudsonian Whimbrel, Lesser Yellowlegs, Wilson’s and Collared Plovers, Black-necked Stilt, and over the sea we should find Brown Pelican, Blue-footed Booby and Magnificent Frigatebirds.
Night at Canopy Tower. B, L, D

Day 10 – Plantation trail – Chagres River  18th Sept
After breakfast, we take a short ride to the bottom of Semaphore Hill to Plantation Trail, one of our premier birding areas, often said to rival the Pipeline Road itself!  This easy trail passes through mature rainforest and follows a small creek (Rio Chico Masambi) and is a reliable place to find Golden-crowned Spadebill.  Oftentimes at the parking area near the entrance we find Black-chested Jays.  Other birds to look for along the trail include Ocellated, Bicolored, Chestnut-backed, White-bellied & Spotted Antbirds; Broad-billed & Whooping Motmots, five species of trogon; White-whiskered Puffbird; hummingbirds (Blue-chested, White-necked Jacobin and others); Plain-brown, Northern Barred, Cocoa, and Ruddy Woodcreepers; Cinnamon, Crimson-crested & Black-cheeked Woodpeckers; White-breasted Wood-Wren; Song Wren; Dot-winged, Checker-throated & White-flanked Antwrens; Purple-throated Fruitcrow; Bright-rumped Attila; Gray-headed Tanager; Long-billed Gnatwren; Black-crowned & Fasciated Antshrikes; Red-capped & Blue-crowned Manakins; Great Tinamou; Ruddy-tailed, Royal & Yellow-margined flycatchers; Yellow-rumped Cacique; Scaly-throated Leaftosser; and, occasionally, Great Jacamar or the endemic Yellow-green Tyrannulet! We will then return to the tower for lunch. After lunch, we take a short drive to Chagres River and the accompanying fields and forest. First, we must stop at the Canopy Bed & Breakfast in the picturesque village of Gamboa to look at the bird feeders!  With a beautiful backdrop of Cerro Pelado, the backyard at the Canopy B&B is teeming with bird life.  At the fruit feeders, we are likely to see Red-legged, Shining & Green Honeycreepers, Lemon-rumped, Crimson-backed & Blue-gray Tanagers, Thick-billed Euphonia, Yellow-bellied & Variable Seedeaters, Whooping Motmot, and Gray-headed Chachalaca, with Central American Agoutis lurking about under the feeders. Next, we’re off to Chagres River, the main tributary for the Panama Canal. The birding along the river banks and the forest edges of Gamboa Resort can be spectacular! Here, we search for Amazon, Green & American Pygmy Kingfishers, as well as Whooping Motmot and Cinnamon Woodpecker. We could also see Gray-cowled Wood-Rail, Cocoi, Green & Striated Herons, Wattled Jacana, Pied-billed Grebe, Anhinga, Royal & Sandwich Terns, Brown Pelican, Neotropic Cormorant, Tricolored & Little Blue Herons, Rufescent Tiger-Heron, Mangrove Swallow, Black-chested Jay, Lesser Kiskadee, Rusty-margined Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Cacique, Black-bellied & Buff-breasted Wrens, Fasciated & Barred Antshrikes, Cinnamon Becard, Slaty-tailed Trogon, White-bellied Antbird, and even Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon and Blue Cotinga at times!
Night at Canopy Tower. B, L, D

Day 11 – Canopy Tower – Panama City – End of Tour – Saturday 19th Sept
After a leisurely breakfast and some last-minute-birding in the gardens surrounding the lodge, we will drive back to Panama City and catch our international return flights home.

Please note the above itinerary may be changed around depending on weather conditions and other local factors that may be out of our control.