Birding in Panama - Part 1
This is Part 1 of 2: Birding on the Pipeline Road Trail. Part 2 will focus on our Gatun Lake journey.
In May of this year, my husband and I took our first trip to Panama. This area of the globe is rich with biodiversity, and as a birder, the possibilities felt exhilarating. I opened Merlin shortly after settling in and headed to the Explore tab to see who might be around. At my coastal Virginia home, we have around 70 to 130 species hanging out depending on the season. In Panama City, Merlin showed me roughly 400 possibilities.
I bagged 74 life birds in one week between Panama City and Boquete. Some of these were happy chance sightings while walking around Old Panama and Casco Viejo, sitting by the pool in the Campo Alegre neighborhood, or strolling through the Punta Culebra Nature Center. However, we also booked a guided trip—and were rewarded with an incredible, unforgettable morning and a whopping 31 species in a single tour.
We booked with Whitehawk Birding, and before I go into the details, let me say: I cannot recommend them enough. The booking process was easy, and the pre-tour communication was organized and effortless. Our guide was friendly, professional, deeply informative, and genuinely excited to be out birding—everything you could want in a guide. I would 100% book with them again. If you’re heading to Panama or Costa Rica, do yourself a favor and check them out. (I’m not affiliated with Whitehawk Birding; I just think they’re doing amazing work!)
We chose a half-day tour split between the famous Pipeline Road Trail and a boat cruise up the Panama Canal into Gatun Lake. Our guide, Domi, picked us up promptly at 6:30 AM. Not an ideal wake-up time on vacation, but the early bird gets the… bird?
About halfway to the trail, Domi pulled over on the side of the road and said he wanted to show us something. We stepped out of the van and walked up to a nearby tree. I stood there wondering: Where are we? Why are we stopping here? Domi set up his spotting scope with a clear target in mind and invited us to look.
Deep inside a tree cavity, peering right back at us, were two dark eyes. He explained that a Panamanian Night Monkey family lived inside, and early in the morning, you can sometimes catch them looking out. It was an incredible start to the day.
From there, we drove into Soberanía National Park toward Pipeline Road. Before reaching the trail, we hit a clearing, and Domi suddenly exclaimed, “It’s a Whooping Motmot!”
We piled out of the van as fast as we could. Of course, I had no idea what a Whooping Motmot was yet, but I was thrilled to find out. Right ahead of us on a branch sat a stunning, multicolored bird with striking turquoise accents and a long, racquet-tipped tail. It turned this way and that, obligingly letting us admire it from every angle.
We ended up staying in that clearing for nearly 30 minutes because it was a hub of bird activity. We spotted antwrens, antshrikes, antbirds, Cinnamon Woodpeckers, and Red-lored Amazons flying by in noisy flocks. We walked slightly ahead to a vantage point at the top of a valley, watching birds ride the sky for a bit before returning to the van.
Oddly enough, once we actually stepped onto Pipeline Road, the bird activity slowed down. Inside the dense, shadowed forest, spotting movement was much tougher. But then my husband heard something large in the canopy above—a great catch. It took a few tries to pin down the location, but soon Domi dialed the scope onto a Yellow-throated Toucan.
Let me tell you: there is almost nothing more exciting than seeing your first wild toucan. Perched high above us, he hopped from branch to branch, looking down over the forest. Through the scope, his rich maroon bill and bright yellow chest popped dramatically against the greenery.
We only walked about a quarter-mile down the trail itself. I quickly learned that forest birding is far less about racking up mileage and much more about standing still, listening, and slowly pacing back and forth to track down your quarry.
With the second half of our tour waiting on the water, it was soon time to head back to the van. On the walk out, a distant howling began echoing through the trees, getting closer by the second. Branches rustled high above as a Mantled Howler Monkey called out to his troop. I snapped photos as fast as I could before he melted back into the canopy.
Back in the van, the wildlife sightings didn’t stop—it’s Panama, after all. An agouti dashed across the gravel road just 30 feet ahead of us. It moved so fast I barely registered what I was looking at, and I certainly didn’t have time to grab a photo, but another unique species went into the tally.
We had already seen so much beauty and wildlife packed into a single morning, and we were only halfway through. The water was up next, promising an entirely new set of species to explore.
Stay tuned for Part 2: Birding the Panama Canal and Gatun Lake!
If you’d like to learn more about the excursions Whitehawk Birding offers, you can explore their options directly on the Whitehawk Birding Website.