Gamboa, with its picturesque houses, was our starting point and headquarters for this week filled with wildlife. Well maintained gardens were home for a Buff-breasted Wren nesting, an energetic male Fasciated Antshirke and Gray-headed Chachalacas. At the mouth of the Chagres river we enjoyed views of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, Blue-winged Teal and Muscovy Duck. There was also a Pied-billed Grebe and Magnificent Frigatebird. We also came across interesting mammals and reptiles such as White-throated Capuchin Monkey, Mantled Howler Monkey, Geoffroy´s Tamarin, American Crocodile and iguanas. A bird commotion in the brush at the river edge revealed a Red-tailed Boa that had just digested a small bird although one of the highlights for the tour was a Red-brocket Deer, a lifer for Eliécer – our local guide.
Along the famous Pipeline Road we saw the unique Green Shrike-Vireo, White-whiskered Puffbird, two species of trogons (gartered and slaty-tailed), woodpeckers, motmots, a family of Purple-throated Fruitcrow plus Golden-collared and Blue-crowned manakins.
In the unparalleled Canopy Tower we enjoyed the diminutive but well-dressed Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, a young male Blue Cotinga, Brown-hooded Parrot in flight and much more. Down, along the road, we experienced army ant specialists. All tour participants saw the beautiful Bicolored Antbird and some glimpsed the bird-gem of the swarm, the Ocellated Antbird.
Our last afternoon was spent at the Metropolitan Park, where we received our last and most important gift for the day: a Rosy Thrush-Tanager perched and seen throughout the scope. This rounded-up this compact tour that visits so many locations, in a Relaxed & Easy pace, and still offers you an amazing mix of birds, history and culture of unique Panama. Want to see more? Join us next year in another Neotropical bird experience!