ECO-ARTS

CENTRAL PANAMA    10 Days
Birding the Canal Zone
January 8 - 17, 2009

Since Eco-Arts hasn’t organized a trip to Panama before, this is an exploratory venture and we will all be learning about the area together. We are only inviting people who have traveled with Eco-Arts on previous excursions.  As our specially invited “beta travelers” you will be among a small group of Panama explorers because we are capping the number of participants at 8.

We will concentrate our birding in the central canal zone, a diverse habitat rich in bird life.

 Activity Level: Daily hiking on trails with moderate elevation gains.

Leaders: Colleen Rooney has a Ph.D. in Environmental Studies and extensive travel and birding experience. She has taught bird identification and conservation at the university level and is committed to introducing people to the adventure of ecotravel and tropical birding in an ecologically sensitive and socially responsible manner.

Eloise Klein Healy has an MFA in creative writing and was the founding chair of the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program at Antioch University Los Angeles.
 

Local Guide: Mahelis Rodriguez, a native of Panama City, has more than six years of guiding experience, and is a certified guide through the National University of Panama, holding a B.A. in Nature Tourism. She speaks English fluently, skills that she learned while studying in Canada (Saint Clair College, Windsor, Ontario) and is one of the top guides in Panama.

Limited to 8 participants
 
 

Birding the Canal Zone Itinerary:

 

January 8     Panama City--Arrival and transfer to our hotel

January 9    Pipeline Road
This road offers great birding opportunities. During World War II a pipeline was built to transfer fuel from one ocean to the other and today the road built for this purpose is one of the best birding locations in Central America. Located at the Soberania National Park, only a 40- minute drive from Panama city, the diversity of pipeline road can be attributed to the habitat heterogeneity in the park; secondary, old growth forest, swamps, streams and uplands.

We hope to see Golden-collared Manakin, Blue-crowned Manakin and Red-capped Manakin, Ocellated Antbird, Chestnut-backed Antbird and maybe even the illusive Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo. In the wetlands, we'll look for Rufescent Tiger-Herons, the secretive White-throated Crake, Snail Kites and maybe a Limpkin.

January 10  Old Gamboa Road - Plantation Road
This is one of the "hot spots" on the east bank of the Panama Canal Corridor, located at the southern most part of the Soberanía National Park, only a 30-minute drive from Panama City. It contains semideciduous forests and it also features the Summit Ponds at the northern entrance of the road. Boat-billed Herons, Lance-tailed Manakin, Rosy-thrush tanager, Dusky Antbird and White-bellied Antbird are some of the species that occur here. Some rare possibilities are Royal Flycatcher, Crane Hawk, Pheasant Cuckoo and Spectacle Owl.

January 11 Cerro Azul and the Panama Canal
On the east side of the Panama Canal are the Cerro Azul foothills. These foothills are a very good place to find species not found in the Canal Corridor; at least 49 species are known for the upper Chagres and Campana Foothills, that are not present in the Canal Corridor. These foothills also offer sitings of colorful tanagers, such as Speckled, Emerald, Bay-headed, Rufous-wing, Hepatic, and Black-and-yellow Tanager. A variety of hummingbirds is present, too.

We will take an afternoon to tour the Panama Canal. The Canal is approximately 80 kilometers long between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This waterway cuts through one of narrowest saddles of the isthmus that joins North and South America. The Canal uses a system of locks -compartments with entrance and exit gates. The locks function as water lifts: they raise ships from sea level (the Pacific or the Atlantic) to the level of Gatun Lake (26 meters above sea level); ships then sail the channel through the Continental Divide.

(Here's an animation about how the canal transit works: click here)

January 12 Achiote
North on the Caribbean west bank of the Panama Canal is located the famous Achiote Road. This area contains mostly evergreen fores and is well known for its raptors. The road is contiguous to the San Lorenzo National Park. Here Gray-headed kite, King Vulture, Short-tail Hawk, White-Hawk and Swallow-tail Kite are frequently seen. We'll also look for White-tail Trogons, Antbirds, Southern Bentbill, Speckled Mourner, Barred Woodcreeper and White-headed Wrens.

     
 January 13   Tocumen Park and Metropolitan Park
Tocumen is a private rice field plantation located in the Tocumen Marsh area next to the Tocumen International Airport. It is only a 25-minute drive from downtown Panama City. The area contains several ditches and small ponds, good spots to find attractive herons like the Cocoi Heron, Capped Heron, Boat-billed Heron and Black-crowned Night-Heron. Some raptors include the Savanna Hawk, Great-black Hawk, Short-tailed Hawk, and Crested Caracara. Some other specialties found on the nearby woodlands of the site are Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Glossy Ibis, Pale-breasted Spinetail, Pale-breasted Hermit.

This metro park is one of the best places in Panama to look for the sensational Rosy-thrush Tanager, its beautiful notes reveal its presence, but it is usually a hard bird to see. Flycatchers are a main target: the Tropical-Kingbird, Streak Flycatcher and Dusky-capped Flycatcher are very common. Gumbo Limbo trees with fruits are good for Red-legged Honeycreepers, Green-Honey Creepers, Golden-hooded Tanagers and White-winged Becards.

January 14 Transfer to Burbayar Lodge in the Easter Foothills

This rustic lodge is conscious of their environmental impact and have taken seriously their low-impact, sustainable, recycling commitment. They do not, however, skimp on the delicious Panamanian-style meals that we'll enjoy on the terrace. From the terraces we can catch sight of several hummingbird species such as the Little Hermit, Garden Emerald, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Black Throated Mango or parrots, including the Mealy Amazon, Brown-hooded Parrot and Blue-headed Parrot.

January 15 Burbayar Lodge

Being at the center of a mountain range, this area shares birds from both the Pacific and the Caribbean sides. The oceans are separated by just 50 kilometres at this point. It’s been estimated that there are about 400 bird species on the area. And Panama has more than 950 in total! The lodge itself has five trails that we will explore. Depending on local information, we will find the best birding locales. We'll start with looking for Keel-billed Toucan and Collared Aracari from the terrace.

January 16 Burbayar Lodge

The forests of Burbayar are bordering the Nargana nature reserve, both part of a natural corridor and buffer zone. This area was designated an Important Bird Area by the Panama Audubon Society. Many endemic species of the Darien lowlands and highlands can also be found here. We'll bird the forest to find the Sapayoa, Speckled Antshrike, Black-faced Antthrush, Black-headed Antthrush, Black-crowned Antpitta, Streak-chested Antpitta, Yellow-eared Toucanet and Green Hermit.

Cost: $2200 (based on double occupancy and at least 8 participants).
Cost will include double occupancy w/ private bath, all meals, land transportation, entrance fees at scheduled stops, and guides.

Airfare and guide tips are not included.

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