Birding Tours

Our all-inclusive room rate includes a complementary tour along Semaphore Hill Road for stays of three (3) or more nights. Additional tours are priced as follows. Prices are per person, 2 person minimum (or as indicated), US$ as of 28 January 2004 All our tours are lead by experienced, bilingual birding guides who carry Leica binoculars and a Leica 77 mm scope. tour destination price 1. Summit Gardens $5 transportation only -- small zoo and botanical gardens 2. Semaphore Hill Road $45 This is the access road to the Canopy Tower. The birding is excellent and our guides know it like the palm of their hands. It is one and half mile long but it has enough birds to keep you busy a full morning. 3. Summit Gardens and Harpy Eagle Exhibit $45 with bilingual guide 4. Plantation Trail $45 Another great birding spot! You can spend the whole day here and still not reach the end of the trail. 5. Summit Ponds and Old Gamboa Road South $45 some of the "birdiest" spots around, many waterbirds 6. Gamboa Ammo Dump $45 best place to see the elusive White-throated Crake, many waterbirds 7. Pipeline Road $75 6AM-Noon -- considered by many to be one of the top birding spots in the world (includes snacks and beverages). We use the Birdmobile to go deep into the forest; this trip will remain high in your list of "birding stories" for a long time. Recently Sighted along Pipeline Road Ocellated Antbird   22 February 2008   Pipeline road   Carlos Bethancourt: "We had this wonderful bird once again in a army-ant swarm. We also were able to see very well Bicolor Antbird, Plain-brown Woodcreeper, Northern Barred Woodcreper,Blue-crowned Motmot, Gray-headed Tanager. " Black Hawk-Eagle   31 December 2007   Juan grande   Carlos Bethancourt Great Jacamar   30 December 2007   Near Juan Grande Creek   Carlos Bethancourt: "Today we went with a VENT Tour lead by Tony Nunnery and I, to the Pipeline road. Around 10:00 a.m. we saw this metalic green bird alone with Slaty-tailed Trogon, and mix flock of White- flaked Antwren and Dot-winged Antwren." Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant   30 December 2007   Near the New Visitor Center   Carlos Bethancourt: "After a wonderful lunch we went (VENT group) to see the New Discovery Center that is located on Pipeline road. When this small bird started to call high in ficus tree, it did not take long to find this hard bird to see. We all got great view on the scope, it does not happen to often with this specie." Wing-banded Antbird   6 December 2007   Pipeline Road   Alexis Sanchez: "Alexis reported a great view of this alusive bird near limbo plot. Alexis was leading a small group of 4 from Oregon. Wing-banded Antbird is a rare bird to see, pipeline road offer the best chances to see it." Great Jacamar   26 November 2007   Near Juan Grande Bridge   Carlos Bethancourt: "I was with a CALIGO group, we all saw it very well. That day we also saw Streak-chested Antpitta, Song Wren, Black-stripped Woodcreeper and many others." Purple-throated Fruitcrow   8 August 2007   Juan Grande Bridge (1st bridge)   Jose Soto: "a couple building a nest right by the bridge" Double-toothed kite   5 August 2007   Juan Grande Bridge (1st bridge)   Jose Soto: "a couple with its young are seen around the bridge often." Streak-chested Antpitta   1 August 2007   Juan Grande Bridge (1st bridge)   Jose Soto: "we had great views, it can be seen easily." Speckled Mourner   25 July 2007   Juan Grande Bridge (1st bridge)   Jose Soto: "it was heard not seen...." Ocellated Antbird Great Jacamar Great Jacamar Double-toothed kite tour destination price 8. Metropolitan Natural Park $75 6AM-Noon -- dry Pacific forest, try your luck in a different habitat. This is one of the best places to witness the migrating raptors in spring & fall (includes snacks and beverages). 9. Panama Canal Tour $25 Watch huge ships go through the Miraflores Locks, a 1914 marvel still going strong! 10. Night Tour along Semaphore Hill Road and Old Gamboa Road $35 Go looking for owls, pottoos and nocturnal mammals in the comfort of one of our specialized rain forest observation vehicles, the Rainfomobile or the Birdmobile. Click on the map below to get additional information on some of the best birding spots right around the Canopy Tower. The following tours require a minimum of 4 persons. Exceptions can be made by paying a premium. 11. Achiote Road $105 Visit the site of the record breaking Christmas Bird Count of the Panama Audubon Society. This tour is from 5AM until 7PM and includes luncheon and beverages. Return by train in the first intercontinental railway in the American Continent $25 12. Tocumen Marsh and the foothills of Cerro Azul $125 In Tocumen Marsh, and in the surrounding open areas, we have a good chance of spotting certain raptors such as Pearl kite, Savanna hawk, and Lesser yellow-headed vulture, as well as other species smaller in size but not less impressive, namely: Pale-bellied hermit, American pygmy kingfisher, Panama flycatcher, Southern lapwing, and Olivaceous piculet. At mid-morning we travel to the foothills of Cerro Azul and will have a picnic lunch in a private residence overlooking the virgin forests of Chagres National Park . From this spot it is possible to see the Yellow-eared toucanet, considered by many the most colorful of the local toucans, and the Black-and-white hawk-eagle. After lunch we’ll bird the surrounding areas in search of the Tiny rufous-crested coquette (the second smallest hummingbird in the world) and some spectacular tanagers like Speckled and Rufous-winged tanagers. Finally, if we are really lucky, we might see a Panama endemic, the Striped-cheeked woodpecker and the White-tipped sickle bill, a local specialty. 13. El Valle de Antón $105 This tour is from 5AM until 7PM and includes luncheon and beverages. Foothill birding in the caldera of the largest inhabited volcano in the Western Hemisphere. The more adventurous can try the Canopy Adventure, an exhilarating cable ride along the rain forest canopy (click for photos from this tour). Canopy Adventure: take a virtual tour $40 14. Boat Trip in the Panama Canal $99 1-4 $85 5-8 All aboard our new vessel, "The Snail Kite", for a 4-hour tour of the Panama Canal and Gatun Lake in search of the Snail Kite and other species. We'll pass by Barro Colorado Island, administered by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), visit the Primate Reseach Center and have lunch in one of the many beautiful coves of Gatun Lake. Swimming optional. Departure 8AM, return noon, snacks and beverages included (click for photos from this tour). Transportation Services (one way) 1-3 people additional person Gamboa $10 $3 Entrance to Pipeline Road $15 $3 Albrook Airport $30 $5 Panama City $35 $10 Metropolitan Park $40 $10 International Aiport $55 $15 Our prices do not include a 5% tax levied by the Government of Panamá.

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