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| March 6 | Fly to Panama City from Miami, Houston or Atlanta. Transfer to Canopy Tower. |
| March 7 - 9 | Three more nights at the Canopy Tower and lots of field time in Soberania National Park. |
| March 10 - 13 | To Canopy Lodge, sister lodge to the Canopy Tower, for four days in central Panama. |
| March 14 - 17 | Return via the coast to Panama City. Fly to David and to Los Quetzales for 4 nights. |
| March 18 - 19 | Fly to Kangaroo Island. Visit Flinders Chase NP and other reserves. Night at Ozone Hotel. |
| March 20 - 21 | Fly to Panama City and head to the Caribbean slope at Sierra Llorona Lodge. |
| March 22 - 24 | Drive to Hostal Casa de Campo for our last 3 nights and bird Cerro Azul in cloud forest. |
| March 25 | Return to Panama City for departure, the end of 19 wonderful days in this beautiful country. |
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March 6 - 9, Saturday - Tuesday From home to Panama City to the Canopy Tower for 4 nights
Fly to Panama City from Miami, Houston or Atlanta and meet our guide, Jim Danzenbaker, and our resident driver from the Canopy Tower for the short trip to the first amazing location on this wonderful itinerary. Within sight of the Panama Canal, the Canopy Tower is located on top of Semaphor Hill and has a commanding view of the surrounding lowland rainforest. In the far distance from the Canopy Tower, the skyscrapers of Panama City can be seen below the clouds. Huge ocean liners and cruise ships can be seen passing through the canal. A cruise ship floating through the rain forest is a strange sight!
Every morning greet the dawn from the top of the tower, which provides unparalleled opportunities for wildlife action with growling howlers, and calling tinamous, parrots, and toucans. Beautiful tanagers and trogons feed on fruits from the cecropia trees within 30 feet of the observation deck. Often Three-toed Sloths and Black Howler Monkeys can be seen and photographed within 100 feet of the tower. All this will be enjoyed while relaxing in chairs and sipping fresh Panamanian coffee and fruit juice! While at the Canopy Tower, we'll frequent the hummingbird feeders that attract White-necked Jacobins, Garden Emeralds, and Violet-bellied Hummingbirds. Jim Danzenbaker has made many trips to the Canopy Tower, so he knows the birds and mammals quite well. Experienced resident guides are also available to answer questions about the wildlife and the diverse flora. They will lead a night ride along Pipeline Road to look for Night Monkeys and Kinkajoos. In the evening Pauraques are easily heard and there's always a chance for hearing and seeing some owls and other nightjars.
March is the peak of the exciting hawk migration, so throughout the trip Jim will guide your eyes skyward to the migrating flocks of raptors, plus resident King Vultures. The Canopy Tower is a great location to watch the hawk migration. Columns of northward bound raptors may funnel overhead, which can be a spectacular sight! The Peregrine Fund, along with the Raptor Research group, has released several Harpy Eagles on Pipeline, although the release site is miles beyond where we will get in one day. However, the thought of seeing one of these birds in the wild will keep us looking in the canopy. Harpies can pluck feeding monkeys and sloths from the trees with their huge talons without skipping a beat.
Spotted Antbird ©Mike Danzenbaker
On Wednesday we'll take an unforgettable walk down Semaphore Hill looking for mixed species flocks, "bird parties" foraging together. Troops of Geoffrey's Marmosets are regularly encountered, as are agoutis, toucans and elusive bird species, such as antbirds, manakins and puffbirds. After lunch and a rest, visit Summit Ponds, where Amazon and American Pygmy kingfishers, White-necked Puffbird and Collared Aracaris are frequently seen. The ponds also hold a breeding population of Boat-billed Herons.
Thursday we'll head for the famed Pipeline Road, which is only a 15 minute drive from the Canopy Tower. Traversing Soberania National Park, the forest in this area is the most accessible tropical forest in the world with over 380 species of birds recorded. A walk along this road can produce surprise encounters with Tamandua (Lesser Anteater), White-faced Capuchins, Spider Monkeys and South American Agoutis. Surprises along the road also include roosting potoos, Spectacled Caiman in the rivers, and myriad varieties of butterflies, including incredibly dazzling morphos. On a recent visit, a Three-toed Sloth "walked" across the road and allowed observation from five feet away! Begin at Ammunition Ponds, a wetland area, before walking Pipeline Road. No cars are allowed on Pipeline Road, except for the Canopy Tower "rainforestmobile" and vehicles driven by Smithsonian biologists, who have a field camp far down Pipeline Road. With any luck we will encounter an ant swarm that can yield Song Wren, Bicolored, Spotted, and Ocellated antbirds, Southern Bentbill, Rufous and Blue-crowned motmots and numerous woodcreepers. A highlight of Pipeline Road is a close encounter with a flock of antbirds attending an army ant swarm. These birds become so entranced with catching fleeing insects from the army ants that excellent photos can be taken. Birds will alight on branches just meters away. On previous visits, we've watched army ant swarms that have attracted 20 species, in addition to motmots, puffbirds, song wrens, and woodcreepers, up to ten species of antbirds. In the late afternoon we'll visit Plantation Road in search of a variety of spectacular birds. Pipeline Road certainly warrants a second visit as well on another morning. We will concentrate on species not seen the previous day and will spend more time with the antswarms and the fascinating birds that accompany them. In the early afternoon of our last day at Canopy Tower, we will schedule a visit to Miraflores Locks to view the Canal in operation if you are interested. In the late afternoon after our siesta, return to either Plantation Road or Summit Ponds. Both of these locations can be incredible when it's late in the day.
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March 10 - 13, Wednesday - Saturday: At the Canopy Lodge in central Panama cloudforest
We will have one last morning at the Canopy Tower before our transfer to Canopy Lodge, a two hour drive, which will take us across the Canal and into central Panama. We'll stop at Summit Park en route to visit the Harpy Eagle. Although this individual Harpy is a captive, it is an incredible bird to see!
About 90 minutes to the west of Panama City, the Canopy Lodge offers comfort in the heart of the cloud forests of El Valle de Anton. We will arrive in mid-afternoon in time to walk the lodge grounds, covered with tropical flowers. Attracted hummingbirds include Violet-headed, Snowy-bellied and the beautiful Rufous-crested Coquette. Tanager feeding stations can provide excellent photographic opportunities for Bay-headed, Silver-throated, Crimson-backed, Blue-Gray, and Dusky-faced tanagers, as well as striking Orange-bellied Euphonias and Red-legged Honeycreepers. Five foot long iguanas can sometimes stroll across the entrance foot bridge and basilisk lizards run from rock to rock in the nearby creek. Butterfly enthusiasts will be delighted at the variety of mariposas attracted to the stand of vervaine near the dining room. Meals are usually interrupted by soaring raptors near Gaitun Ridge or tanagers at the feeders. In the evening, gather around several of the hummingbird feeders to test your skills at bat photography. In the area, frogs can range in size from 10 inches long to less than the length of your little fingernail!
We'll do an all day trip to a rich cloud forest with bromeliad draped trees and moss covered limbs, attracting hummingbirds, woodcreepers, butterflies and monkeys and maybe a Black-crowned Antpitta. On another day a walk up a nearby trail can produce Sunbittern, Tody Motmots, roosting Mottled Owls and foot long lizards. Beautiful waterfalls, peaceful streams, and large epiphyte covered trees blend to create a lush upper tropical forest. Trails near the lodge can lead to close views of Dull-mantled Antbird, White-tipped Sicklebill, Eye-ringed Flatbill and the much sought after Rufous-vented Ground Cuckoo.
In 4x4 wheel vehicles, drive to upper elevation cloud forest. In this higher, cooler climate, we'll search for special birds of the cloud forest, including Snowcap, Black-and-yellow Tanager and several others. This area also harbors a multitude of butterflies and orchids to keep our photographic eye in fine focus. A picnic lunch will keep us in the habitat all day. With further exploration of the birdlife of El Valle, we'll continue to find new species of parrots, tanagers, and perhaps Tody Motmot, Sunbittern, and Black-chested Jay. Also visit some dry tropical forest, where Tropical Screech Owl, Rosy Thrush-Tanager, Lance-tailed Manakin, Fasciated Antshrike, and Striped Cuckoo reside. We'll continue our search in the afternoon for Barred and Tiny Hawk, Black-crowned Antpitta, and Dull-mantled Antbird. One afternoon we'll explore a different area of El Valle, where we can slowly wander the trails for antbirds, trogons, and tinamous. After dinner we'll search the forest for Black-and-white, Mottled, and Crested owls.
March 14 - 17, Sunday - Wednesday: Fly to David and to Los Quetzales Lodge in the Highlands for 4 nights
We depart from Canopy Lodge this morning and pass through the lowland areas near the Pacific coast
to fly to David in the Western Chiriqui Highlands. Some new species to encounter enroute are Sapphire-throated Hummingbird, Crested Bobwhite and Mangrove Black Hawk, as we continue eastward to Panama City. If time permits before our flight, stop for wintering and migrating shorebirds along the shoreline. We'll fly from the domestic airport to David in the Western Highlands, then drive north to Los Quetzales Lodge for four wonderful days. The Highlands in the Chiriqui Province of Western Panama are rich with a variety of birds and mammals not found in central or eastern Panama. The climate is ideal for all day activities, including walking and staking out fruit laden trees or focusing on hummingbird feeders. Los Quetzales Lodge is located on the edge of Vulcan Baru National Park and boasts a bounty of hummingbird feeders, attracting seven species, including the vividly colored Violet Sabrewing. Many warblers and tanagers also are here, especially Golden-hooded and Flame-colored tanagers.
We'll begin exploring the rich Chiriqui Highlands of western Panama in cloud forest heaven. Right away on the wonderful grounds of Los Quetzales Lodge, Jim will be looking to show you Magnificent Hummingbird, Violet Sabrewing, Scintillant Hummingbird, Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher and Sooty Thrush. The high altitude specialties of this area are Silvery-fronted Tapaculo (often heard), Prong-billed Barbet, Barred Becard, Chiriqui Quail-Dove, and Resplendent Quetzal. This is the realm of the Resplendant Quetzal, purported by some to be the most colorful species in the world. It's the national bird of Guatemala and revered by the Mayan Indians. With luck, we will find an active Resplendant Quetzal nest, which has happened on previous trips! We'll also search for Buffy Tuftedcheek, Slaty Finch and Golden-browed Chlorophonia, all have been seen on the lodge grounds and in the national park! Each day experience the beauty of Vulcan Baru National Park and the surrounding countryside, as we encounter new species, such as Purplish-backed Quail-Dove, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Flame-throated Warbler, Spangled-cheeked Tanager, Large-footed Finch and Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch.
We'll visit nearby Finca Dracula to enjoy orchids common in this cloud forest and the feeders at Finca Dracula that attract colorful tanagers and honeycreepers. During our sejour at Los Quetzales we also plan to visit La Amistad International Park, a large forested park that straddles the border between Panama and Costa Rica. Trails traversing the park give access to the lush understory of bamboo and ferns and we'll look for wildlife in this forever green habitat. Trees will be covered with lichens, mosses, and bromeliads, which are watered daily by the clouds. Overnights at Los Quetzales Lodge.
March 18 - 19, Thursday - Friday: Volcan Baru to Boquete and Finca Lerida; nights at the Panamonte
After our final before-breakfast birding, we'll depart from Los Quetzales for more adventures in the cloud forests ahead. Stop to bird the grounds of Hotel Bambito enroute to the Panamonte in Boquete, which is less than a two hours drive from Los Quetzales. The lush habitat on the Hotel Bambito grounds is perfect for Spotted Wood-Quail, Scintillant, Volcano, and Stripe-tailed hummingbirds, Stripe-breasted Woodhaunter, Red-faced Spinetail, Yellow-throated Brush-Finch and possibly dallying North American migrants, including Golden-winged, Tennessee, Black-throated Green, and Wilson's warblers, Summer and Scarlet tanagers, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Migrating raptors ands Vaux's Swifts will be flying overhead and heading northward. Green Violet-ears will dart amongst the blooms. Before long, enter the town of Boquete and arrive at the well-hidden Hotel Panamonte. Soon find yourselves outside enjoying the tanagers and flycatchers. There is also the option of a full day's walk with one of our resident guides, a hike from high in Vulcan Baru National Park to Boquete through prime Quetzal habitat amidst the mossy forest, an unforgettable experience. Boquete is a beautiful town in the mountains of western Panama discovered by Americans about ten years ago. With a population of retired Americans now living there the town is known for its charm, delicious coffee and very friendly people.
A full day will be spent at Finca Lerida, an active plantation, which has a cloud forest inhabited by the incredible Three-wattled Bellbird, a striking bird found only in Panama and Costa Rica. Guided by Jim and our resident guide, enter the trail at Finca Lerida to search especially for Three-wattled Bellbird ("Calandria" - Spanish for lark). The trail crosses through cloud forest, where before long, we should hear the "qwa" calls of Resplendant Quetzals and see several during our walk today. Even though we will have already seen this radiant bird very well at Los Quetzales, we will never pass up an opportunity to view them again. Other species in the forest include Yellow-throated Brush-Finch and Common Bush-Tanager, leaders of feeding bird parties. Before reaching the mirador (overlook), we should hear the 'bonking' calls of Three-wattled Bellbirds and quickly have high hopes of seeing these birds, much more easily heard than spotted! Interspersed during our bellbird experience, we may have views of a singing Collared Trogon and a pair of Tufted Flycatchers building a nest, as seen on a previous trip, with a Mississippi Kite flying overhead. Once we locate a bellbird to observe it singing, it's a highlight to watch it open its bill so wide that the lower mandible appears to touch its upper breast before the bonk resounds. It can be heard for quite a distance and the male bellbirds flails his wattles hanging all around his bill. The wide trail eventually leads to a most memorable picnic spot in a clearing in the grandeur of a cathedral of 300-year-old trees. We hope quetzals will be calling and Gray-breasted Wood-Wrens are singing. On the way back up, we'll look for bellbirds again and locate new birds not seen on the way in, perhaps watch flycatchers hawking insects and spinetail couples, such as Red-faced, going about their furtive behaviors. Kettles of Broad-winged Hawks will be rising, as the air warms with the noonday sun.
As a grand finale enjoy feeding hummingbirds at the main buildings of Finca Lerida - Green Violet-ears, Scintillants, Scaly-breasted, and perhaps a few Rufous-tailed and Snowy-bellied hummingbirds. A Three-wattled Bellbird can even be a "yard bird" here, perched on an exposed dead limb high up in the canopy. We'll depart the finca and drive along a circular route to a caldera with lush vegetation. Check along a fast moving stream for nesting American Dippers. Even along the roadside birds can be very abundant with woodpeckers, other tanagers, buntings and orioles. Broad-winged Hawks will be descending from their migration heights and allow for good viewing. At the hotel a river runs by and here expect to have excellent close views of honeycreepers and dacnis. Also take time to relax and enjoy the beautiful town of Boquete. We'll have dinner each evening at the hotel and go over all the day's findings.
March 20 - 21, Saturday - Sunday: Fly to Panama City and on to Sierra Llorona for 2 days
Sierra Llorona Lodge is a recently renovated lodge located on the Caribbean slope about 8 miles from the Caribbean and the city of Colon. Hummingbird feeders attract hoards of Crowned Woodnymphs, White-necked Jacobins, and Long-tailed Hermits, which all vie for the photographer's eye. Trails on the property lead to a swimming hole in the rainforest and a shelter that may house a poison dart frog or two. The second level of the lodge puts us eye to eye with tanagers that roost close to the lodge each night and with parrots squawking by every morning and evening enroute to feed and back to roosting sites. An all day trip to Achiote Road on the west side of the Panama Canal will put us into the rich rainforest habitat along the Caribbean Slope, which has many monkeys, sloths, and iguanas, plus birds not yet encountered at the Canopy Tower. Leave early to the famous Achiote Road and look for Black-and-white Hawk Eagle, White-headed Wren, Jet Antbird, Sulphur-rumped Tanager, Black-breasted Puffbird, Spot-crowned Barbet, and Yellow-backed Oriole. We'll return to the lodge for dinner and a good night's sleep!
March 22 - 24, Monday - Wednesday: To Hostal Casa de Campo and Cerro Azul in cloudforest
Take one last walk on the trails of Sierra Llorona, then head for our final destination in Panama. We hope to encounter Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Slaty-tailed Trogon and Chestnut-backed Antbird before departing. This afternoon drive to Cerro Azul. Perhaps stop at Metropolitan Park in Panama City enroute to look for ant-tanagers, Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher, Dusky Antbird, Golden-fronted Greenlet, and Yellow-Green Thyrannulet. With a late afternoon arrival at Hostal Casa de Campo, we'll view Plain and Buff-breasted wrens, Black-striped Sparrow, Garden Emerald, Rufous-capped Warbler, Rufous Motmot and a few toucans. If it's already dark, we'll look for them in the morning. We're here for 3 great days in the cloudforest highlands, which is to the east of Panama City, the home of a variety of tanagers that are not found in other parts of Panama. Visit Altos de Cerro Azul in Jefe for our last higher altitude experience. Trails are wide and bird flocks and mammals can be encountered at any time. One trail descends down a sloping hill rich with motmots and a troop of White-faced Capuchins. Dueting Tropical Screech Owls heard here on the lodge grounds may be one of our lasting memories of the wildlife of Panama. Casa de Campo is a small, but comfortable bed and breakfast, which will allow us to enjoy true peace and quiet.
Our last two days in the field we will devote to birding the Cerro Azul area. This cloud forest harbors many amazing species of birds: Violet-capped Hummingbird, Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer, Orange-bellied Trogon, Yellow-eared Toucanet, White-ruffed Manakin, Scaled Pigeon, Plain Xenops, and Tacarcuna Brush-Finch. Just the tanagers include Black-and-yellow, Olive, White-shouldered, Silver-throated, Speckled, Rufous-winged, Gol6 - den-hooded, and Bay-headed. We are likely to locate several species-rich flocks that may include woodcreepers, hummingbirds, and Blue-black Grosbeak. We will hope for cloudy skies and no wind, optimal conditions for this unique habitat. March is the best month for calm, windless conditions. Right around the hostal look for Violaceous Trogon, Long-billed Starthroat, Rufous Motmot, Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant, and Rufous-capped Warbler. During one afternoon we'll search the area around the hotel grounds and some of the smaller roads in the area in search of flowering trees that could harbor feeding hummingbirds, honeycreepers and tanagers. Red-throated Ant-Tanager, Western Slaty-Antshrike, Olive Tanager, and Yellow-faced Grassquit are all possibilities.
March 25, Thursday: Return to Panama City for flights homeward
Today drive to Panama City for our departure, the end of 19 wonderful days in this beautiful country.
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Costs, Payments and Cancellations: Upon receiving your deposit, we will send trip materials, including a travel guide with trip essentials, reading list, species lists, and maps. Deposits are refundable before the final payment date, except for $150. The $150 may go toward another tour if a reservation is made within six months of the departure date of this trip. There are no refunds given after the final payment date. Trip cancellation insurance applications are available. Trip options, if any, and singles are extra.
| Cost per Person | |
| Trip cost, double occupancy | $5,600 |
| Payment Schedule | |
| Deposit - to reserve your space | $500 |
| March 10, 2009 - second payment | $1,000 |
| November 30, 2009 - final payment | remaining balance |
Included:
Not Included:
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Reservations: Please contact us to assure space availability and to let us answer your questions. Then, print our reservation form, fill it out, and post it to us in the mail with your deposit:
Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris
20800 Kittredge Road
Saratoga, CA 95070
Toll Free: (800) 527-5330
Local: (408) 741-5330
Fax: (408) 741-0358
Email: info@cheesemans.com
Flights: Arrive in Panama City from Miami, Houston or Atlanta on March 6.
Depart from Panama City on March 25.
Jim Danzenbaker
Leaders: Jim Danzenbaker has been guiding tours throughout Panama for over a decade Jim grew up on the coast of New Jersey, where he started birding with his family at Brigantine NWR and Cape May and has never stopped. After moving to California, he began leading pelagic trips in Monterey Bay. On one trip, Jim spotted a Streaked Shearwater, as many people were dozing off. No one will ever forget Jim's enthusiastic yell, "Streaked Shearwater"! People who travel with him appreciate his friendliness, enthusiasm for finding birds and mammals, and willingness to share information. Jim lives in Washington state and works for Kowa, who makes fantastic sporting optics. Jim has also been the ornithologist on our Antarctica Expedition staff since 1998. You will have wonderful "Kowa views" when you travel with Jim Danzenbaker!
Travel Insurance: There are many types of travel insurance, including emergency medical and evacuation insurance, and also trip cancellation insurance. Unless you specifically decline it, Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris requires, at a minimum, insurance to cover emergency medical care and evacuation for the duration of the tour. We have had good experience with Access America. Visit their website for complete details and we will also send you their brochure with your trip materials. You can purchase a policy via their website, phone or by mail. If you choose, separate trip cancellation insurance to cover trip costs is also available. Whatever insurance you purchase, be sure to review the terms of all available policies carefully in order to buy the policy that you need.
Health: Malaria prophylactic has not been necessary for this itinerary in the past, nor are any vaccinations or inoculations. Please check for updates however with a travel health clinic. The water (from springs) is excellent at some lodges. Jim will let you know where the water is good to drink.
Climate: Temperatures vary greatly. The Pacific coast is often hot, while the cloudforests can be surprisingly cool. Rain can be encountered during any season, even in March during the dry season.
Mailing List: If you would like to be on our mailing list or request information, please use our online request form or send us your name, address, email address and phone number. Please note we will never share your personal information with anybody!
Responsibility: Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris, Saratoga, California, act only as agents and shall not be responsible or become liable for any delay incurred by any person in connection with any means of transportation, nor for the loss, damage, or injury to person or property by reason of any event beyond the control of the agency or default of such agency suppliers. We reserve the right to cancel the tour prior to departure in which case full refund will constitute full settlement to the passenger. No refund will be made for any unused portion of the tour unless arrangements are made at the time of booking. All rates are based on current tariffs, exchange rates and fuel prices and are subject to adjustment in the event of any change therein. By sending your initial deposit, you agree to accept our payment schedule as a contract. If payments are still outstanding two weeks after the due date, your space may be forfeited. Baggage is at the owner's risk.
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