PANAMA - Canal Zone & Chiriqui Highlands with Darien Pre-tour Extension.
Dates: 17 – 26 April 2009 (Darien Extension 12 – 17 April 2009).
Tour Leader: Colin Bushell.
We’ll begin our exploration of central Panama in the Canal Zone in Soberania National Park and the famous Pipeline Road. We’ll walk the wide road through pristine rainforest with vehicle support, hoping to find ant swarms with their attendant antbirds and roving flocks of understory species – classic Neotropical birding. We’ll add variety to our itinerary by calling in at some ponds for water-associated species before birding some subtly drier forest allowing us to become acquainted with a slightly different suite of birds.
The Chiriqui Highlands present us with a an opportunity to view cloud forests with Resplendent Quetzals, Three-wattled Bellbirds and a variety of montane hummingbirds and tanagers.
Flights for this tour: KLM have departures from Amsterdam (with connections from UK regional airports) appropriate for this tour. See www.klm.com
Group size: Limited to 8 participants.
Price: £2310.00 (Panama City / Panama City).
Single room supplement: £410.00.
ITINERARY.
Day 1. Arrival at Tocumen Airport near Panama City and transfer to our hotel.
Day 2. This morning we’ll take the short journey to the famous Pipeline Road. Birding can be truly amazing here considering how close we are to the city! From the new observation tower we’ll have a chance to see Blue Cotinga, Chestnut-mandibled Toucan, Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Green Shrike-Vireo, Black-breasted Puffbird and Slaty-tailed Trogon. Walking the road can be very productive here with Pheasant Cuckoo, Great Jacamar, Cinnamon Woodpecker, Black-striped Woodcreeper, Scaly-throated Leaftosser, Streak-chested Antpitta, Chestnut-backed Antbird, Spotted Antbird and Grey-headed Tanager.
Hopefully we’ll find an ant swarm where Bicolored Antbird, Ocellated Antbird or even Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo may be seen. Raptors are always tricky to see in Neotropical forests but Black Hawk-Eagle is a possibility and we have seen Harpy Eagle here too. In the afternoon we’ll check some areas in the Gamboa area where a subtly drier habitat holds White-bellied Antbird and Rosy Thrush-Tanager and the Ammo Dump ponds where Rufescent Tiger-Heron, White-throated Crake, Panama Flycatcher and Yellow-tailed Oriole can be seen. Night birds in this area include Common Potoo, Great Potoo, Mottled Owl, Spectacled Owl and Choco Screech-Owl.
Day 3. Continuing our exploration of the Canal Zone we’ll concentrate on the semi-deciduous forests and ponds of Gamboa this morning. The Summit Ponds are a good place to see Boat-billed Herons and venturing into the forest we should find Lance-tailed Manakin, Golden-collared Manakin, Rufous-breasted Wren, Golden-fronted Greenlet and Pale-eyed Pygmy-Tyrant here. In the afternoon we’ll try the Plantation Trail where Checker-throated Antwrens often accompany the mixed species feeding flocks and Blue-crowned Manakins and Golden-crowned Spadebills favour the forest bordering the creek here. White-whiskered Puffbird and Black-chested Jay favour this area at the foot of Summit Hill too where Rufous and Broad-billed Motmots are very common.
Day 4. We’ll venture to the Caribbean side of the Canal today and explore the Achiote Road. Spot-crowned Barbet and Pied Puffbird are just 2 species occurring here that are hard to see elsewhere and they will be key birds this morning and we’ll be checking those Cecropia trees for this special bird this morning. White-headed Wren will be another target bird today but more widespread species such as several trogons and Chestnut-headed Oropendola will be around.
Day 5. Our final day in Central Panama will be spent at Cerro Azul and Cerro Jefe in search of the endemic Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker and Tarcacuna Bush-Tanager. Speckled and Olive Tanagers could be seen here and a variety of hummingbirds available include Bronze-tailed Plumeleteers, Violet-crowned Woodnymph, Violet-headed Hummingbird and Violet-capped Hummingbird.
Day 6. Transfer to the airport for the flight to David in Chiriqui. On arrival we’ll make the journey to the Volcan Baru foothills at Finca Lerida where we’ll be acquainted with some highland birds like Silver-throated and Speckled Tanagers and look for Three-wattled Bellbird. Later we’ll ascend to our lodge and after check-in we’ll watch some of the hummingbirds nearby that may include White-throated Mountain-Gem, Magnificent Hummingbird, Fiery-throated Hummingbird, Volcano Hummingbird and Violet Sabrewing.
Day 7. Today we’ll set out to find Resplendent Quetzal and we’ll undoubtedly find many other quality birds like Yellow-thighed Finch, Large-footed Finch and Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush during our search. Roving feeding flocks may include Buffy Tuftedcheek, Spotted Barbtail, Spectacled Foliage-Gleaner and Ruddy Treerunner. Black Guan, Silvery-fronted Tapaculo, Prong-billed Barbet and Zeledonia are all possibilities here too. We may well find Dusky Nightjar after dark here too.
Day 8. This morning we’ll visit Finca Hartman near Santa Clara. Forest remains in this area alongside shade-grown coffee, supporting a good variety of birds including Turquoise Cotinga, Fiery-billed Aracari, White-crested Coquette and White-tailed Emerald.
Day 9. We leave the highlands today but not before stopping near Cerro Punta where Blue-throated Toucanet, Golden-browed Chlorophonia, Black-and-Yellow Silky-Flycatcher and Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher can all be seen. We’ll look for Veraguan Mango as we descend to the western lowlands reaching David in time for our late afternoon flight to Panama City. Overnight Panama City.
Day 10. Morning birding at the Metropolitan Nature Park before our transfer to the airport for flights home.
Darien Pre-Tour.
Dates: 12 – 17 April 2009.
Tour Leader: Colin Bushell with assistance from local guides.
Darien is one of the finest examples of wilderness on Earth. We’ll fly over tropical lowland and hill forests on our way to Cana and the remoteness of our venue will be evident the minute we disembark from our plane. Macaws frequent the edge of the airfield and the sounds of antbirds, trogons and other tropical families resonate from the forest as we make our way to our lodge. Over the next few days we’ll immerse ourselves in the avaifauna of Darien, sampling the lowland trails and the steady hike to Pirre where endemic birds await us in the cloud forest.
Despite the remoteness of Darien we’ll make our stay here as comfortable as possible. Please see notes following the tour description regarding Cana.
Group size: Limited to 8 participants.
Price: £1095.00 (Panama City / Panama City).
Single room supplement: £165.00.
Includes: Accommodation, meals, transfer on arrival in Panama with group, travel to Darien returning on day 6 to join main tour, services of Toucan Birding Tours leader and local guides, gratuities to local guides, drivers.
Not included: International flights to Panama, airport departure taxes, beverages with meals, drinks, gratuities to hotel staff, phone calls, laundry, items of a personal nature.
Day 1. Arrival at Tocumen Airport near Panama City and transfer to our hotel.
Day 2. This morning we’ll take our flight (approx. 1 hour) to Cana in the Darien lowlands. We’ll explore the trails for Dusky-backed Jacamar, Viridian Dacnis, Dusky-faced Tanagers, White-fronted Nunbird, Grey-cheeked Nunlet and lots more. The open areas around the airstrip are a good place to scan for White Hawk, Great Green Macaw, Black-tipped Cotinga and even Crested Eagle has been seen here in the past. Overnight in the rustic (but comfortable) Cana Field Station.
Day 3. With a light daypack we’ll make our way up the slope of Mount Pirre, taking the 5 – 6 hour hike (including birding stops) to the cloud forest camp. Conditions should be favourable as most of the walk is beneath the canopy and the chance to see Tody Motmot, Yellow-eared Toucanet, White-ruffed Manakin or even Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo may well take our minds off the hike! Our camp will consist of two-man tents beneath a thatch-covered structure and is readily prepared by camp staff.
Day 4. After breakfast we’ll begin our exploration of Pirre in search of its endemics. Rufous-cheeked (Pirre) Hummingbird, Pirre Bush-Tanager and Pirre Warbler will be our main targets here. Great Curassow, Tooth-billed Hummingbird, Varied Solitaire, Beautiful Treerunner and Immaculate Antbird will also be high on our wish-lists. Overnight in cloud forest camp.
Day 5. A leisurely descent from Pirre to Cana searching for birds as we go. The rest of the day will be spent around Cana and today we’ll hope to see Barred Puffbird, Golden-headed Manakin, Yellow-green Tyrannulet and Black-crowned Antpitta.
Day 6. Early morning near Cana (depending on the time of our flight) before our flight back to Panama City. We’ll meet with the rest of the group starting the main tour in our hotel tonight.
PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE YOUR FLIGHT TO PANAMA UNTIL YOU HAVE RECEIVED DEPARTURE CONFIRMATION OF THIS TOUR FROM TOUCAN TOURS. Thank you.
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