Panama, that long narrow country lying roughly east-west, and joining South America in the south to Central and North America, hosts at least 972 species of birds. The easily accessed canal area is one of the best places for birds, but it’s also easy to get to both coasts and into the highlands that run down the middle of the country.
Endemic Bird Areas in Panama
Endemic bird areas are home to bird species that have a small range and therefore require careful conservation. Panama has many endemic birds and five endemic bird areas:
- Caribbean lowlands – coastal land on the Caribbean side of western Panama. The endemic Escudo Hummingbird is found only on the island of Escudo de Veraguas.
- Pacific lowlands – coastal land on the Pacific side of Western Panama. This area is home to the Brown-backed Dove, Azuero Parakeet, Veraguan Mango Hummingbird, and Coiba Spinetail, resident nowhere else on Earth.
- Western Highlands – the Cordillera Central running down the center of the country. This area has more endemic birds than any of the others, including the restricted range Glow-throated Hummingbird and Yellow-green Finch.
- Darien lowlands – lowlands and wetlands lying to the east of the Panama Canal, the only home of the Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker.
- Darien Highlands – a small fragmented habitat lying mostly near the border with Columbia. Restricted –range endemics here are the Beautiful Tree-runner, the Green-naped Tanager, and the Pirre Bush-Tanager
Best Places for Birds in Panama
For birding excursions, Panama can be divided up into three regions: Western, Central, and Eastern Panama. Western and Central Panama are the easiest to get to and provide innumerable opportunities for both beginner and experienced birders.
Western Panama – this is the region that stretches eastward from the border with Costa Rica and includes the Cordillera Central highlands. Because of the great range in both elevation and habitat, hundreds of species of birds are found here. Good birding locations are accessible from the Pan-American Highway, which runs through the lowlands on the Pacific coast:
- Los Quetzales Trail – a hiking trail through mountain rain forest from Cerro Punta to Boquete. In particular, watch for hummingbirds, and the Resplendent Quetzal
- Las Macanas Wetlands, Azuero – an important freshwater stopover for migratory birds, just a short drive from the highway. There is a watchtower here for observing birds in the marsh.
- El Valle – the caldera of a long extinct volcano surrounded by towering peaks. Birds abound in the valley and in the heights.
- Seabirds – many birds breed on the islands off the Pacific coast, including boobies, frigatebirds, gulls, martins, noddies, pelicans, storm-petrels, and terns.
Central Panama – the region closest to the canal and to Panama City is the most accessible for birders and the birding is good in many locations:
- Pipeline Road – a 17 km trail along the east bank of the Panama Canal, running through Sobarania National Park. Its varied habitats support antbirds, trogons, manakins, the Great Jacamar, amazons, parrots and many other species.
- Migratory Raptors – more than 1.5 million migrating raptors fly over this narrow neck of land during spring and fall migrations. If you’re there at the right time, there’s no better place in the Americas to see such numbers and variety.
Eastern Panama - Travel is difficult if not impossible in much of this region The Pan-American Highway ends at Yaviza in Darien, and the jungle hides not only natural dangers but also guerillas and other covert groups, especially close to the Columbian border. If you must go, check with local authorities first.
Sources:
Birdingpanama.com
Rosemary Drisdelle - Rosemary Drisdelle has been published many times as a nonfiction writer and several times as a poet. Her first book, Parasites: Tales of ...
Join the Conversation