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Birding in Panama
The Republic of Panama, has long been one of the best kept secrets for birdwatchers from all over the world. Conveniently located between North and South America, and between the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, Panama has long been known as a place of transit, and a place to meet, and birds are no exception to this. The typical neotropical families, like trogons, ant birds, and tanagers are well represented, some, like the tyrant flycatchers, by a hundred different species, and others by just a few. The total number of bird species found in Panama, about 950, is surprisingly large, especially when you consider the relatively small surface of the country. Some 150 of these are neotropical migrants that only occur in the country from September till April. It is not rare to see more than twenty different migrant warblers and vireos on a good morning on spring or fall migration, and that added to fifty or sixty resident species. This variety is partly explained by the fact that Panama is a land bridge between the two continents. Therefore, the resident avifauna is composed of a mix of birds from both North and South. In Panama it is possible to find species typical of Central America like Passerini's Tanager, Green Shrike-Vireo, and Resplendent Quetzals, as well as their South American Counterparts: Flame-rumped Tanager, Yellow-browed Shrike-Vireo, and Golden-headed Quetzal. As it would be expected, the South American birds are easier to find on the eastern portion of the country, while the Central American species are found west of the Canal Area. The birds of the central part of the country, the area surrounding Panama City, the Panama Canal and Gamboa, include species from both ends. The Soberania National Park, where the Gamboa Rainforest Resort is located, has the most easily accessed forests of Central America, and birding is easy and productive. Many species are very common throughout the grounds of the Resort, and a few hours of birding just in the gardens can produce a long list of birds. Tropical Kingbirds, Social Flycatchers, Clay-colored Thrushes and Blue-gray, Palm and Crimson-backed Tanagers are hard to miss, as is the ubiquitous Great-tailed Grackle. On a morning walk you may find Lance-tailed Manakin, Slaty-tailed Trogon or a Pheasant Cuckoo. The Rosy Thrush-Tanager is very common here, and you'll certainly hear, if not see, one or two. Pipeline Road, which starts just about a mile from the Resort, passes through 18 miles of forest protected by Soberanía National Park, and is a world-renowned birding destination. If you want to see forest birds, like Rufous-breasted Ground-Cuckoo, then Pipeline Road is the place to go. You'll certainly see a lot of Atlantic Slope birds and you may even find some foothill species like Tawny-crested Tanager or Sirystes. Also, just around the Resort grounds, you will have several opportunities to find many more of the 950 species found in the country.
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