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Abundantly endowed with lush tropical jungles, Panama has one of the largest diversities of birds in the world offering astonishingly easy access for enthusiasts. Indeed, Panama is truly a birdwatcher's paradise. |
With an amazing 954 species of birds in the country belonging to 59 families, bird lovers, accompanied by an experienced guide should have no problem spotting at least 350 species in a week!
The best places to view rare species of aves are the Pipeline Road, former Canal Zone which is 45 minutes from Panama City; Canopy Tower which is also 45 minutes from Panama City; Achiote Road, Darien Province, Cerro Azul which are only an hour from Panama City; Boquete, Guadalupe, Cerro Punta, Volcan- Chiriqui Highlands in West Panama and El Valle de Anton, which is an hour and a half from Panama City.
The Pipeline road has exciting sites to view most of birds in the country. The road from here runs through the primary and secondary rainforests in the Soberania National Park. Here you can see a lot of trogons, caciques, woodpeckers, ant shrikes, ant wrens, hummingbirds, fruit crows and many more species. So far, 380 species have been recorded along Pipeline Road and this road holds the record for the most birds watched in a single day.
The Canopy tower in the rainforest of the Panama Canal watershed never fails to delight even the most experienced birders. It was chosen by Audubon Magazine as one of the top 10 nature lodges in the world. If in other places twenty tourists are looking at one bird, in Panama you have one tourist looking at twenty birds.
Panama is one of the most bio-diverse places on earth and home to the largest tropical research organisation in the world, the Smithsonian Institute of Tropical Research is in Panama. Panama is the only country in the world where you can be actually be certain of seeing the reclusive Quetzal for certainty.
Cana, rated one of the top ten birding sites in the world, is home to an astonishing diversity of bird life, including four species of macaws, as well as several species endemic to the Darien. In the country's Caribbean side, some birders will explore Nusagandi in San Blas or walk the Achiote Road for lots of raptor sightings.
Panama is a birdwatcher’s dream vacation offering more species than any other country of North or Central America. So pack a set of comfortable walking shoes, loose-fitting clothing, a light jacket, insect repellent, binoculars and camera and brace yourselves for a bird-watching treat!
