Panama Panama Panama

Gamboa, The Darien, and Bocas del Toro

Hello Fellow Travelers!

I have just returned from a full month in Panama. My travels covered nearly the length of the country; from the Chiriquí Highlands near the western border, and all the way to the end of the Pan-American highway in Yaviza, close to Colombia. If you have not been to Panama, it is time to go.

This past November, I spent a month in Panama. On October 30th, we witness over 68,000 raptors migrating over Panama City. This was the count from the Hawkwatch station on Ancon Hill. The raptors migrate over the city because of the excellent thermals rising from the urban area.

It was 1-week earlier that we witness the massive migration over El Salvador and based on the estimated mileage that the birds cover each day, it was probably the same mass of birds coming through. For more info about El Salvador, click here: Birding El Salvador My next El Salvador trip is schedule for October 9 - 16, 2024 and there are 4 spots left.

This upcoming September I have a very special trip to Bocas del Toro, Panama. My tours to Panama are always expanding and including more areas of the country. Most trip are 10 days, but if you want a longer trip, you can easily sign-up for two trips back to back.

Click here to view the webpages:

Gamboa _ Chiriquí _ The Darien _ Bocas del Toro

My local guide in Panama is "Nando" and he is what I call a birding savant. His ability to hear and find birds is astonishing. On this past trip, we had time to go birding on our own and did some exploring of new places. At one location, Nando said, "There's a bird from your country". I looked and it was an Ovenbird. I live in the western United States, and I have seen Ovenbirds only a few times in my life because they are an eastern species. This bird was a "Lifer" for Nando, it was such a cool experience to identify a bird for him. The main reason I knew the species was because when I was in El Salvador I saw an Ovenbird. I said to Nando, "Do you think it is the same bird?" and he said "probably" and we both laughed.

Special offer: Included with your trip (one per room) is a copy of the field guide “The Birds of Panama” by George Angehr and Robert Dean. You will receive this when you reserve your trip so you will have time to study and know the beautiful birds of Panama.

**Pearl Islands: About 30 miles off the coast from Panama City is the island archipelago called the Pearl Islands, which includes over 200 islands. If you sign up for two tours, back to back, you will have a free day in between the tours. We can help you schedule activities for that day. We recommend a visit to one of the Pearl Islands. It is a 1.5 hour boat ride and with opportunities to view sea birds such as boobies, petrels, terns, gulls, and other birds as well. The islands offer great swimming, snorkeling and other water activities.

Recommended Reading: The complete history of the Panama Canal, written by David McCullough and titled "The Paths Between the Sea". It is excellent, and everything you ever wanted to know about the 400 hundred year history of people who dreamed, attempted, and built the Panama Canal. The book was published in 1977 and so ends just before the time that President Jimmy Carter negotiated the Torrijos-Carter Treaty, which was ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1978 and gave the Panamanian government control of the canal. The book weighs about 3 pounds, seriously, it doesn't travel well, so read it before you travel to Panama.

Below is a video that I took with my cell phone through the scope.

This male Harpy Eagle was sitting above the nest, overlooking a young chick. The eagle was there for about an hour, and then flew away. Check out the neck rotation of this bird!

Kaiyote Tours Harpy Eagle The Darien Panama

Gamboa Rainforest birds we have seen: Gamboa Bird List

Chiriquí Highland birds we have seen: Chiriquí Bird List

Darien Raptors Tour, birds we have seen: Darien Bird List

Bocas del Toro birds we have seen: Bocas Bird List

Animals we have seen: Four species of monkeys (Golden-mantled Howler, Geoffroy's Tamarin, Panamanian Night Monkey, Spider Monkey), Anteaters (Northern Tamandua and Giant Anteater), both 2-toed and 3-toad sloths, Coati, Crab-eating Raccoon, Agouti, Panama slender opossum, Rufous soft-furred spiny-rat, Red-tailed squirrel, Variegated squirrel, and Capybara. Many of the mammals will have babies. We see many reptiles and amphibians including the Spectacled Caiman and the American Crocodile.

If you would like to see photos from a photographer who was on a previous trip,

please click here:

Ersten Imaoka's Photo Album

More Photos below: Sometimes the newsletter is longer than what will appear in the email, and you will need to click on the "view entire message" icon to see all the photos.