January 25-February 2, 2026 with Megan Edwards Crewe & local guides Alex Sanchez & Danilo Rodríguez
What better way to kick off your New Year’s bird list than to head to a place where an exciting week of birding can yield more than 250 (mostly) colorful tropical species. And given that a vast winter storm was hammering much of North America with snow, ice and brutally cold temperatures on the day our tour started, we were doubly glad to be in Panama! This short tour splits its time between two very different properties in the Canopy Family portfolio. First, we spend four nights in the historic Canopy Tower, a former radar tower cunningly converted into a dozen admittedly small bedrooms and an expansive common area, with comfy couches, the dining area, and wide windows on all sides. And of course, the pièce de résistance is the observation platform on the roof, with its view over the surrounding forest, the nearby Panama Canal, and the glittering towers of Panama City in the distance. We finish the tour with three nights at the luxurious Canopy Lodge, where the huge rooms with their private balconies feel particularly grand after the Tower. The covered dining room overlooks a rushing stream and the Lodge’s famous feeders, which some of us were already well familiar with, thanks to its 24/7 webcam broadcast.
Despite some cool, wet and windy weather, our week yielded 262 bird species, including 17 species of hummingbird, some fabulous encounters with various “ant things”, a trio of day-roosting owl species (plus one spotted on our night drive), a classic Neotropical army ant swarm with plenty of avian hangers-on, lots of colorful tanagers, some regional endemics (think Spot-crowned Barbet, Blue Cotinga and Yellow-green Tyrannulet), and a bunch of great mammal sightings to boot. And sharing all of this with a fun group of interesting fellow travelers made it all the more special!
We started our adventures atop the Tower, watching the sun rise over the forested hills and enjoying our first Keel-billed Toucans, Red-lored Amazons and Green Honeycreepers as container ships navigated through the Panama Canal in the distance. After breakfast, we strolled down Semaphore Hill road. Actually, we didn’t get very far to start with, because we lucked into an army ant swarm right outside the gates! While the ants marched over the vegetation in front of us, a squadron of Bicolored Antbirds twitched above them, seizing the fleeing insects. Gray-headed Tanagers bounced across the floor, while a couple of furtive Spotted Antbirds lurked in the undergrowth and a trio of Plain-brown Woodcreepers, a pair of Northern Barred-Woodcreepers and a single Cocoa Woodcreeper patrolled the tree trunks. Two Black-breasted Puffbirds sat high above the chaos, occasionally darting down to grab something; we saw one whacking a quite large scorpion into submission before gulping it down. Once we’d had our fill of the spectacle, we headed further down along the road. Though it was considerably quieter, we did find two White-whiskered Puffbirds hunting near a little stream, a young male Slate-colored Seedeater nibbling bamboo seeds and a quartet of White-shouldered Tanagers in a fruiting tree just over the road. After lunch and a break, we’d planned to head to the Ammo Dump Ponds, but a sudden deluge had us diverting to the Canopy B&B instead. We huddled in the ground floor hallway there, dry and with feeders and nearby trees to watch while we waited out the storm. Once the rain had ended, we ventured out to the ponds. Numerous Wattled Jacanas, a handful of Purple Gallinules, a myriad Gray-breasted Martins, several Pale-vented Pigeons, a crouched Striated Heron and an intent Rufous Tiger-Heron, a lurking Spectacled Caiman and a singing Buff-breasted Wren were among our sightings there.
The next morning saw us head out early to an even higher tower at the Panama Rainforest Discovery Center. At 35m high (and 154 steps – we counted) it gave us our best chance for the spectacular Blue Cotinga – and it came through in spades, with at least three glittering males and a couple of subtler females. Of course, there were plenty of other things to see too: a Gray-headed Kite circled over the forest, Scaled Pigeons perched up on treetops, a trio of honeycreepers – Green, Red-legged and Shining – plus a couple of Plain-colored Tanagers sat together in a nearby tree, Chestnut-headed Oropendolas and Black-cheeked Woodpeckers visited slabs of yellow flowers and a Black-headed Pygmy-Tyrant danced through the canopy around the tower. On the trail below, several Long-billed Hermits sang from eye-level perches on their “exploded” lek. A little mixed flock -- Dusky Antbird, Dot-winged Antwrens, and Checker-throated Stipplethroat – swirled along the entrance road in one spot, while a busy trio of Moustached Antwrens and a tiny Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher worked through roadside vegetation in another. A female Fasciated Antshrike whacked a succession of hapless caterpillars to death after pulling them from dead leaves, and a handsome male Spotted Antbird hunted from low twigs below some busy hummingbird feeders. And our first King Vulture swung in lazy circles overhead, dwarfing the smaller Black and Turkey vultures nearby.
That afternoon, we headed to the nearby Summit Ponds, on the grounds of Panama’s border patrol training center. As we worked our way down the road from where we’d parked, two Gray-lined Hawks spiraled over the trees and an aptly named Jet Antbird peered from a scrubby bush. A quartet of distinctively stumpy Short-tailed Swifts winnowed overhead among longer-tailed Band-rumped Swifts. Two Forest Elaenias sallied from a roadside tree, a pair of White-browed Gnatcatchers scolded as they flitted through tangled branches, and a Tiny Hawk rocketed past and disappeared. Dozens of Yellow-bellied Seedeaters nibbled seeds along the roadside while Rusty-margined and Social flycatchers shouted challenges from scattered small trees. At the ponds themselves, we spotted three species of kingfisher: Amazon, Green and an adorably tiny American Pygmy-Kingfisher. A Boat-billed Heron stood hunched among the vegetation and a bright yellow Prothonotary Warbler sat quietly on a conveniently open twig. On our way back to the van, a scolding pair of Scarlet-rumped Caciques showed their eponymous rumps nicely as they jumped through a tree over the road.
We spent the whole of the following day along the famous Pipeline Road, a rough dirt track which winds its bumpy way through a vast swath of tropical forest. Our first stop was especially productive, with a busy flock of Song Wrens boiling across the forest floor to greet us as we climbed down from the “Birdmobile”. We racked up more than 60 species (some heard only) as we worked our way along the road. A male Golden-collared Manakin gleamed against the dark vegetation, two Black-bellied Wrens appeared briefly on branches over the road, and a White-bellied Antbird led us on a merry chase before finally popping up to sing from a roadside stump. A Green Shrike-Vireo dropped lower and lower through a tall tree and a sunbathing Whooping Motmot sprawled on a branch, looking for all the world like a coquettish fan dancer. A gang of White-nosed Coatis nosed through the grasses in an open area, with their straight-up tails making them look like little remote-controlled toys. About the time we reached the entrance to the Rainforest Discovery Center, the heavens opened, so we scurried into the entrance building and spent the next hour-plus under its sheltering roof, waiting for the deluge to end. Eventually it did, and we ventured further down the road to our lunch spot, where we ate our meal under ever increasing sprinkles. Another short drive took us to the farthest extent our vehicle could manage, and we walked from there, finding a handsome Crimson-crested Woodpecker, a couple of circling King Vultures and a trio of woodcreepers – Plain-brown, Cocoa and the very handsome Black-striped – before heavy rain set in again. We sheltered under our umbrellas for a while, hoping it would stop, but eventually “cried uncle” and started back towards the lodge. A break in the weather as we went encouraged us down from the Birdmobile again, and we added a pair of Gray-chested Doves trundling around in the road, a male Red-crowned Manakin glowing against the wet foliage, an eye-level Rufous Motmot, and a pair of Bay Wrens crawling through a tangled pile of branches behind an old guard shack. A rather soggy Gray-lined Hawk at the Ammo Dump ponds finished off our day.
After a final breakfast at the Tower, we packed up and headed southwest towards Canopy Lodge, stopping en route to bird at the Camino de Cruces NP, named for the old trail that cuts across it – a remnant of the colonial period, when that trail was the main route between Panama City and Venta de Cruces. Along the wide path, we stretched our necks trying to lay eyes on an elusive, canopy-dwelling Yellow-green Tyrannulet, studied side-by-side Lesser and Golden-fronted greenlets, watched a Purple-crowned Fairy and a White-vented Plumeleteer dance through the leafy midstory, scoped a couple of singing male Slate-colored Seedeaters and chanced upon an unexpected Swainson’s Thrush (typically only a transient migrant through Panama) rummaging through the leaf litter. On a smaller side trail, we worked hard to get looks at an intermittently singing Southern Bentbill and a noisy pair of Red-throated Ant-Tanagers, which twitched through the dense undergrowth for long minutes before finally popping up into the open. Unfortunately, a Rosy Thrush-Tanager was a ‘heard-only’, chortling in the distance but remaining frustratingly unseen.
We arrived at the Lodge in time for lunch – though the activity at the feeders made it hard to concentrate on the food! After a bit of a break, we strolled up the hill to Canopy Adventure, birding along the way. Right outside our rooms, a White-tipped Sicklebill used its strongly curved beak to probe deep into Heliconia flowers, clinging to the flower spike as it did so. A couple of outrageously plumed Rufous-crested Coquettes flitted over a hedge full of yellow flowers before settling on bare stick perches. A Chestnut-capped Warbler twitched through a tangle of fallen branches. Two sleepy Mottled Owls blinked on their shadowy perches. Tawny-crested Tanagers whirled through plantings right outside the entrance kiosk. And on our walk back, a Black Hawk-Eagle made a thrilling appearance, soaring past the wooded hillside and swooping up to perch – all too briefly – in a treetop before it was chased out by some furious Brown Jays.
We headed up to the Candelario trail early the following morning. As we climbed out of the van (across the road from an enormous chicken farm), we were greeted by a snazzy pair of Barred Antshrikes shouting from the hedges, while Southern Lapwings pattered around on the grassy lawn outside the chicken sheds. But it was along the wooded part of our walk that we found the morning’s true gems. Our first stop was at the rather ordinary-looking intersection of two trails. However, it proved to be far from ordinary when Danilo whistled in a mind-blowingly close Black-crowned Antpitta; with a few carefully tossed worms, he enticed it nearly to our boot tips! Wow! Further along the trail, a Bright-rumped Attila shouted challenges from several perches, showing its sulphury rump as it moved. We found a busy mixed flock swirling through the mid-canopy: Emerald and Silver-throated tanagers mingled with a handful of migrant warblers in a fruiting tree while a Northern Plain-Xenops dangled from twigs nearby. Two little Wedge-billed Woodcreepers hitched their way up tree trunks. A pair Chestnut-backed Antbirds flicked through the undergrowth, whistling their eminently imitable song as they foraged. And our newfound friend, the antpitta, followed us for quite a while, presumably hoping for more handouts! As we made our way back to the van, we spotted a big male Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth making its slow, deliberate way through a treetop – definitely a most-wanted mammal for many in the group, and indeed the clear winner of our informal “Mammal of the Trip” competition.
In the afternoon, we ventured a short way uphill to Jose’s toucan feeders, another private spot affiliated with the Lodge. Just above where we parked, a snoozing pair of Tropical Screech-Owls snuggled on a perch. After a short walk, we sat in comfortable seats on the property’s porch and watched a glittering parade of hummingbirds visit the sugar water feeders (some at arm’s length!) while a troop of tiny Geoffroy’s Tamarins raided the bananas nearby, chirruping nonstop as they did so. A Keel-billed Toucan shared a tree with our second sloth, and a handful of tanagers visited the fruit feeders, including a couple of Red-crowned Ant-Tanagers and one of the very few Flame-rumped Tanagers we saw this trip. Then we headed down through Anton del Valle to a private trail near Las Mozas, where our chief quarry was the impressive Spectacled Owl. It took a while to track one down, but we eventually found an adult roosting just above head height in a dense thicket. Other nice sightings there included an active pair of Common Squirrel Cuckoos bounding through branches overhead and a couple of Yellow-crowned Euphonias tinkling away in a treetop.
The following day, we headed to the highlands of Altos del María, spending the bulk of our day in Valle Bonita. Our birding started as we wound our way up the hill, with a couple of Collared Trogons (the “Orange-bellied” form), a pair of Stripe-striped Flycatchers and an unfortunately elusive Thick-billed Seed-Finch at one spot and Spotted Woodcreeper, Spotted Barbtail, and a hunting pair of Tufted Flycatchers at another. Two confiding Dull-mantled Antbirds rummaged along the roadside – a far cry from the furtive one that had lurked (mostly unseen) in the undergrowth at El Candelario! Other spots yielded a skulking Pale-vented Thrush (or two) and a White-ruffed Manakin gobbling berries and a solitary Common Chlorospingus in a roadside tree. A sodden Northern Emerald-Toucanet and couple of Masked Tityras interrupted our snack stop with a brief appearance. After a picnic lunch overlooking a tranquil lake, we wandered along the Explorando trail through a lovely riverine forest. Though it was rather quiet, we did pick up a few new things: deep in the forest, a quiet Sulphur-rumped Flycatcher made repeated sallies, a pair of Black-eared Wood-Quail serenaded us from a wooded hillside (but remained out of view) and a pair of Great Black Hawks cartwheeled over the lake as we finished our loop. On our way out of Valle Bonito, we stopped at the property’s gates, where we added a pair of Scarlet-thighed Dacnis, a handsome Hepatic Tanager, a very drab female Yellow-faced Grassquit and the tour’s only Blackburnian Warbler.
Our departure on our final morning was delayed, no thanks to the high winds that had brought trees down across the road the night before. While we waited for the road to be cleared, we watched the Lodge's feeders. Spot-crowned Barbets and Keel-billed Toucans vied with Gray-headed Chachalacas and Black-chested Jays for spots at the table while a host of tanagers, a Streaked Saltator and a couple of Red-crowned Woodpeckers snuck in occasionally for a quick mouthful. Two Orange-billed Sparrows bounced through the undergrowth, and a pair of Russet-naped Wood-Rails and two Buff-rumped Warblers made their regular appearance along the nearby stream. Eventually, though, we could start to make our way back to Panama City with some stops along the way. At one spot, we found a mix of Orange-chinned and Brown-throated parakeets squabbling in some roadside trees. At another, a Lesser Elaenia sang from a scruffy bush. At a third, a trio of Garden Emeralds and a Sapphire-throated Hummingbird perched repeatedly in a nearby leafless bush while a pair of Fork-tailed Flycatchers wobbled on a windblown telephone wire overhead. Most of our time was spent on some backroads near Playa Juan Hombron. We found a newly plowed field full of Crested Caracaras and a pair of Savanna Hawks, with a line of Groove-billed Anis perched up along the field edge. A bit further along, a Panama Flycatcher flicked along the roadside while a Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture made an all-too-brief appearance just beyond the trees. At a bridge over a small creek, we had stupendous views of a pair of Straight-billed Woodcreepers, pairs of Scrub and Golden-fronted greenlets and a single Northern Scrub-Flycatcher danced through small trees along the roadside and at least eight Greater Anis sat above the water, their distinctively pale eyes easy to see. We moved on to Raul and Denise’s beach house to eat, fighting our way through a ridiculous amount of Sunday beach traffic to get there. While the thumping bass of the next door’s rap music was far from relaxing, we did see Brown Pelican, Magnificent Frigatebird, Neotropical Cormorant and some distant Cocos Boobies while enjoying a delicious cooked lunch. Then it was a looooooong slog through more terrible traffic to get back to our airport hotel, with a couple of Short-tailed Hawks to entertain us on the way.
Other critters of interest:
Mammals:
DERBY'S WOOLY OPOSSUM (Caluromys derbianus) - Two seen clambering through the treetops on our night drive
LESSER SAC-WINGED BAT (Saccopteryx leptura) - Small numbers zoomed in and out of the open windows at Canopy Tower, and at least a few seemed to zip up into the radar dome to roost
GEOFFROY'S TAMARIN (Saguinus geoffroyi) - The squeaking horde raiding the banana feeders at Jose's was particularly entertaining
MANTLED HOWLER MONKEY (Alouatta palliata) - We heard the distinctive roars of these leaf-eating monkeys on several days and caught up with troops at the Rainforest Discovery Center and along Pipeline Road
WHITE-FACED CAPUCHIN (Cebus capucinus) - A sizable troop moved through the trees along Pipeline Road
BROWN-THROATED THREE-TOED SLOTH (Bradypus variegatus) - Several, including a big male working slowly through a treetop near the start of the Candelario trail
VARIEGATED SQUIRREL (Sciurus variegatoides) - The larger of the tour's squirrels, seen around the feeders at Canopy Lodge
RED-TAILED SQUIRREL (Sciurus granatensis) - One at Summit Ponds and others around the Canopy Lodge feeders; the smaller and more uniformly colored of the tour's squirrels
CENTRAL AMERICAN AGOUTI (Dasyprocta punctata) - Daily, with especially good views of the ones regularly nosing around under the Canopy Lodge feeders
WHITE-NOSED COATI (Nasua narica) - A few scurried across the road at Summit Ponds and we found others along Pipeline Road
KINKAJOU (Potos flavus) - One gobbled bananas just outside the dining room windows on our first night at Canopy Tower
EASTERN LOWLAND OLINGO (Bassaricyon alleni) - Another after-dark visitor to the treetops outside the Canopy Tower dining room, also hoping for bananas
Reptiles and Amphibians:
SPECTACLED CAIMAN (Caiman crocodilus) - One lurked in a vegetated pool at the Ammo Dump ponds.
GREEN IGUANA (Iguana iguana) - Including a couple of big, orange males sprawled on branches
TROPICAL HOUSE GECKO (Hemidactylus mabouia) - More often heard than seen, but a few on walls around the lights in the dining rooms
COMMON BASILISK (Basiliscus basiliscus) - A few seen on rocks below the bridge at Canopy Lodge
YELLOW-HEADED GECKO (Gonatodes albogularis) - A tiny one with a moth as big as its head under a bit of furniture at the Rainforest Discovery Center's visitor's center
BROWN WOOD TURTLE (Rhinoclemmys annalata) - A small pile of various sizes at the far end of the Summit Ponds
ROCKET FROG (Colostethus sp.) - We heard these calling from the stream at Canopy Lodge, but never saw them
FOREST TOAD (Rhinella alata) - One sat on a leaf along the trailside at Camino de Cruces NP
Thanks so much for joining us for the adventure. It sure was fun! I hope to travel with all of you again someday soon, somewhere in the world. Until then, good birding!
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/470911
-- Megan