Panama Photography Tour at Canopy Lodge, El Valle de Antón

A private road transfer from Tocumen International Airport climbs into the cloud-forested hills of El Valle de Antón, ending at Canopy Lodge, an intimate birding base set in the crater with celebrated fruit and nectar feeders and a streamside garden near La Mesa Road. Settling into the feeders and grounds offers a low-effort first look at Panama's birds, as Crimson-backed, Blue-gray, Flame-rumped and Plain-colored Tanagers mix with Thick-billed Euphonias, Chestnut-headed Oropendolas and Red-legged Honeycreepers, while Rufous-tailed, Snowy-bellied and Violet-headed Hummingbirds work the flowers. Dinner is included.

Birding unfolds along the Las Minas ridgeline road, roughly twenty minutes from the lodge, where forested mountains, grassland and small fincas spread below and clear days reveal both oceans near the summit. Slow, rewarding watching may bring Wedge-tailed Grass-Finch, Black-and-yellow and Bay-headed Tanagers, Spot-crowned Antvireo, trogons and manakins, with a forested slope offering the best chance for Black-crowned Antpitta and Black-headed Antthrush. Later, the short Cara Iguana Trail passes through one of the last stands of quality Pacific dry forest near El Valle, holding Lance-tailed Manakin, Rosy Thrush-Tanager, Tody and Lesson's Motmots, wrens and antbirds. Canopy Lodge El Valle provides the base.

Birding from Canopy Lodge El Valle starts along La Mesa Road, where secondary forest, scrubby pastures and overgrown fincas create productive edges. Look for Spot-crowned Barbet, Scarlet-thighed Dacnis, Silver-throated and Golden-hooded Tanagers, and Northern Emerald-Toucanet, while White-tipped Sicklebill, Rufous-crested Coquette, Crowned Woodnymph and possibly Orange-bellied Trogon work roadside flowers. Later, the scrubby roadsides of Mata Ahogado hold Rosy Thrush-Tanager, Black-headed Saltator, Great Antshrike and White-ruffed Manakin; flowering Inga trees may attract Snowcap, and there is time to listen for Purplish-backed Quail-Dove. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included.

Leaving the valley for the Pacific side, the full-day Pacific Dry Forest and Santa Clara Beach excursion reveals dry forest, savanna and open coast where raptors dominate, including Yellow-headed Caracara, Gray-lined, Zone-tailed and Savanna Hawks, Peregrine and occasionally Aplomado Falcon, plus Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Red-breasted Meadowlark and Brown-throated Parakeet. Shorebirds, boobies and terns appear near the coast, with Common Potoo sometimes found. An afternoon at Juan Hombrón Rice Fields brings Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Crested Caracara, Gray-cowled Wood-Rail, Southern Lapwing, herons, Glossy Ibis and Straight-billed Woodcreeper. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included, returning to Canopy Lodge El Valle.

From Canopy Lodge El Valle, a morning climb up Cerro Gaital's misty cloud forest brings highland birds such as Black Guan, Northern Emerald-Toucanet, Spotted Barbtail, Slaty Antwren, White Hawk, Green-crowned Brilliant and Violet-headed Hummingbird, with Scaled Antpitta and Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo recorded there. After lunch, the Valle Chiquito road passes woodlands and two rivers; at Río de Jesus look for Green Kingfisher and Sepia-capped Flycatcher, plus a Chestnut-headed Oropendola colony, Tody Motmot, Yellow-throated Vireo, Yellow-backed Oriole, Black Hawk-Eagle and wrens. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included.

Breakfast at Canopy Lodge El Valle precedes a full-day birding outing on the Caribbean slope, roughly forty minutes away, in fine forest that few birders visit. At Río Indio, look for Sulphur-rumped Tanager, Spot-crowned Barbet, Barred Puffbird and Black-chested Jay, with White-collared and Band-rumped Swifts overhead. Hermits move through the understorey while becards and antbirds appear steadily. Lunch and dinner are included back at the lodge, set in the El Valle de Anton crater with its fruit and nectar feeders and streamside garden.

A full-day 4x4 excursion climbs to the cloud forest of the continental divide east of El Valle, reaching about 3,600 feet. Highland species appear in turn: Yellow-eared Toucanet, Black Guan, Black-crowned Antpitta, Barred Forest-Falcon, Red-faced Spinetail, Spotted Barbtail and Brown-billed Scythebill. Hummingbirds feature the Snowcap, Band-tailed Barbthroat, Purple-throated Mountain-Gem and White-tipped Sicklebill. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included. The day is based at Canopy Lodge El Valle, a birding lodge in the El Valle de Anton crater with fruit and nectar feeders, a streamside garden, and access to La Mesa Road and cloud forest trails.

A final morning at Canopy Lodge El Valle allows optional garden birding, with the feeders and grounds drawing tanagers, motmots and hummingbirds in the soft light. Breakfast is included before the road transfer from El Valle de Antón to Tocumen International Airport, roughly three hours by road. This closing stretch pairs a last look at the lodge's streamside garden and cloud forest setting with the journey back to Panama City.