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PACKAGESPANAMA BIRDWATCHING
Day 1 Arrive to Panama This morning you drive to Pipeline Road in Soberania National Park. Soberania is home to some 525 species of birds. Before entering the road you bird the scrub habitat near Ammo Dump ponds looking for Crimson-backed Tanager, Rufescent Tiger Heron, White-throated Crake as well as several Tyrannulets and Greenlets. Located within this protected area Pipeline Rd. is the site where Audubon Society held its world Christmas bird count record for 19 years straight, with 357 species of birds identified in a period of 24 hours. As one of the most accessible rain forests in the world, Pipeline Road is a great place to look for birds like Slaty-tailed, Black-throated Trogons, Golden-collared Manakin, White-bellied Antbird, Semiplumbeous Hawk, Black-breasted Puffbird, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Blue Cotinga, Pheasant Cuckoo as well as army ant-swarm followers. A picnic lunch will be served at Summit Ponds. Here you will look for the Boat-billed Heron, Rosy Thrush Tanager and other Pacific woodland species. Afterwards you will visit Miraflores Locks at the Panama Canal to learn about its history and marvel at this engineering accomplishment. The canal still operates pretty much as it did when it was inaugurated almost 100 years ago. The SS Ancon steamer was the first ship to officially transit the Panama Canal, on August 15, 1914. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included. Day 3 Metropolitan Nature Park – Old Panama Mudflats You continue to bird at Costa del Este’s scrub and mangrove area where we look for Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Ruddy-breasted Seedeater, Northern-scrub Flycatcher, Mangrove Black Hawk, Mangrove Warbler, Sapphire-throated and Scaly-breasted Hummingbirds, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Black-necked Stilt, Least Sandpiper, Southern Lapwing, Cocoi Heron, Yellowlegs, and Night-Herons. In the afternoon, you drive to the Lodge located in the pre-montane rainforest of the Kuna Yala foothills. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included. This morning you bird the road that leads to the Nargana Forest Reserve. This road is very productive for foothill specialties that include Black and Yellow, Rufous-winged, Bay-headed, Olive and Hepatic Tanagers. Depart Burbayar after lunch and head for Albrook airport in Panama City to board your flight to David, capital of Chiriqui Province. Chiriqui is known as “Panama’s breadbasket” having some of the most breathtaking highland scenery in Central America. Transfer by car to the western side of the Baru Volcano to the town of Volcan. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included. Shared with neighboring Costa Rica and recognized in 1982 as a Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site, La Amistad is located at a point on the Central American land bridge where flora and fauna from North and South America reach their maximum species mix, with great ranges in altitude, precipitation, soils and temperature. You spend the morning hiking and exploring La Amistad in the area of El Retoño in search of Silvery-fronted Tapaculo, Andean Pygmy-Owl, Barred Becard and many other western highland species. After lunch at a local restaurant you drive to Baru Volcano National Park located in the Talamanca mountain range. Baru is the highest point of the country at 3,475 meters above sea level. Baru Volcano and La Amistad parks are part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. Here you will search for Buffy Tuftedcheek, Resplendent Quetzal, Ochraceous Pewee, Silvery-throated Jay, Hummingbirds and other highland species. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included. This morning you will stop at Tapir’s Canyon and Bajo Frio Road in search of Lesser Elaenia, Bay-headed Tanagers, Crested Oropendola, American Dipper, and a myriad other species. After lunch you start your descent to David and drive through some rice, corn and sugar cane fields along Querevalo Road. You will keep an eye out for Brown-throated Parakeets, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Dickcissels, and other grassland birds. You reach the airport in the late afternoon in time to board your flight back to Panama City. Upon arrival you will be transferred to the hotel. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included. Today you are picked up at the lobby of the hotel 2.5 hours prior to your scheduled departure flight and transferred to Tocumen International Airport. Breakfast included.
DISCLAIMER Prices and itineraries are subject to change due to tidal/weather or local conditions, availability or factors beyond the control of Panama Explorers.
If this package doesn't suit your needs, feel free to plan your own, we will be more than happy to quote it for you.
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ID: PE-202