Panama Birding Tours Eastern Panama Bayano - Tortí

Panama Birding Tours Eastern Panama and Bayano - Tortí 

East of Panama City you will find a vast wilderness of rainforest habitat.  There are few roads in the area, which is home to the Emberá people. The birding is excellent and here you will find many endemics and near-endemics with Colombia.  This part of Eastern Panama borders the Darien and so we will see many of the same birds we see in the Darien, without actually crossing into the Darien province.   If you are concerned about traveling in the Dairen, then this is the trip for you. 

Bayano - Tortí Printable Bird List
(This is the list of the birds that we have seen in the Bayano - Tortí areas)

Click here:  Panama Bird List for a list of all the birds we have seen over the many years of touring in Panama.

Animals we have seen: Four species of monkeys (Golden-mantled Howler, Geoffroy's Tamarin, Panamanian Night Monkey, Spider Monkey), Anteaters (Northern Tamandua and Giant Anteater), both 2-toed and 3-toed sloths, Coati, Crab-eating Raccoon, Agouti, Panama slender opossum, Rufous soft-furred spiny-rat, Red-tailed squirrel, Variegated squirrel, and Capybara. Many of the mammals will have babies.  We see many reptiles and amphibians including the Spectacled Caiman and the American Crocodile.

You can view photos from someone who was on a previous trip. This is a great example of the trip you will experience if you visit both the Darien and Gamboa. Please click here:  Ersten Imaoka's Photo Album

This is a new tour we have just recently added and so we have many spots available

• Travel Dates  
• 2025: 
• March 9 - 19, 2025, spots left = 0
• March 21 - 31, 2025, spots left = 5
• December 3 - 13, 2025, spots left = 4
• 2026:  
• February 10 - 19, 2026, spots left = 0
• March 8 - 18, 2026, spots left =6
• March 20 - 30, 2026, spots left = 6
• April 1 - 10, 2026, spots left = 6
• Additional Dates:  Tours by Request. Recommended months to travel to eastern Panama are December - April. 
• Group Size: 6 travelers, plus guides
• Trip Length: 11 days
• Rates: $3,650 per person double occupancy, ($900 extra for single occupancy)
• Included: Domestic transfers, lodging, breakfast, lunch, dinner, scheduled group tours, park entrance fees and basic travel insurance.
• Not included: International airfare, customs & immigration fees and visas, alcohol, trip cancellation insurance.
• Adventure level: Easy, please check the “Welcome” page for definition  

Check out our local guides by clicking here: Nando and Ismael (opens a new page), scroll down to the bottom of the page

Private Trips: We are increasingly taking people on private trips. If a group trip does not interest you, please contact us about a private tour and the dates you prefer.  

Special offer:  Included with your trip (one per room) is a copy of the field guide “The Birds of Panama” by George Angehr and Robert Dean.  You will receive this when you reserve your trip so you will have time to study and know the beautiful birds of Panama.

Extended Tours:  If you are interested in a longer trip, many of our tours can be joined back-to-back.  For example, you can sign up for the Darien tour and also the Chiriquí or the Gamboa tour for a 2 - 3 week trip.

**Pearl Islands:  About 30 miles off the coast from Panama City is the island archipelago called the Pearl Islands, which includes over 200 islands.  If you sign up for two tours, back-to-back, you will have a free day in between the tours.  We can help you schedule activities for that day.  We recommend a visit to one of the Pearl Islands.  It is a 1.5 hour boat ride and with opportunities to view sea birds such as boobies, petrels, terns, gulls, and other birds as well. The islands offer great swimming, snorkeling, and other water activities.  

Map of the travel route here: Bayano Map (opens a new page)

This is a new tour we have just added, and we are still working on this page.

Basic Itinerary

Day 1:  Arrival in Panama City
Most flights from the United States arrive late in the evening. We will meet you at the Tocumen International Airport (PTY) with a shuttle to the Riande Airport Hotel, which is a 10-minute drive to the airport. This airport hotel is a birding hot spot with over 230 species:  Tocumen--hotel Riande Aeropuerto.  We will spend 4-nights at the Riande Hotel.

Day 2:  Panama Canal
No trip to Panama is complete without a visit to the Panama Canal.  Our first stop for the day will be to Ancon Hill, which is also the Hawkwatch station for fall raptor migration.  It is an easy 1-mile walk to the top, and has a fantastic view of the canal, both the original Miraflores locks, and the newer Cocoli expansion locks. Besides birds, along the walk to the top of Ancon Hill we usually see sloths as well.  From Ancon we will head to the Amador Causeway, which used to be a U.S. military area, but now is for recreation. The Smithsonian Punta Culebra Nature Center, will be our afternoon birding location.  On the way back to Riande Hotel, we will have a stop at Panama Viejo, which is the site of the original settlement of Panama before Captain, and privateer, Henry Morgan burned it down in 1671.  Besides learning about history, this area is good for shorebirds. 

Day 3:  Cerro Azul
Early morning departure for a full day of day of birding at the mountain area of Cerro Azul, which is a cloud forest community.  A few notable birds for the day:  Keel-billed Toucan, Slaty-tailed Trogon, Red-lored Parrot, Black-bellied Wren, Cocoa Woodcreeper, Barred Antshrike, White-bellied and Dusky antbirds, many flycatchers and tyrannulets, Lance-tailed Manakin, migratory warblers, Spectacled Owl, Yellow-backed Oriole, Bat Falcon, Double-toothed Kite, Snowy-bellied Hummingbird, Green-shrike Vireo, White-bellied Antbird, and Whooping Motmot. 

Day 4:  Cerro Azul
Cerro Azul (Blue Mountain), is a very different habitat than Panama City and we will find colorful tanagers, such as Speckled, Emerald, Bay-headed, Rufous-wing, Hepatic, and Black-and-yellow Tanager. A variety of hummingbirds are also easily found, such as Violet-headed Hummingbird, Violet-capped Hummingbird, Purple-crowned Fairy, Violet-crowned Woodnymph, Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer and  Hermits, such as White-tipped Sicklebill and Green Hermit. Other birds at Cerro Azul include Yellow-eared Toucanet, the endemic Striped-cheeked Woodpecker, Black-striped Woodcreeper, White-ruffed Manakin, Scaly-crested Pygmy-Tyrant, Olive-striped Flycatcher, Blue-fronted Parrotlet, Scaled Pigeon, Spot-crowned Barbet and Slate-colored Grosbeak,  Black-and-White Hawk-Eagle, Speckled Antshrike and Purplish-back Quail-Dove.

Day 5:  Travel to Tortí
Early departure and birding eastern Panama province and the Bayano Lake area. It is a 2.5 hour drive to Tortí and we will spend most of our afternoon birding along the Tortí River, searching for Little Cuckoo, Jet Antbird, Red-billed Scythebill, Red-breasted Blackbird. Lodging in Tortí will be at the Avicar Hotel for 4-nights.

Day 6: Bayano - Tortí
Birding at the San Francisco reserve, we will spend the entire day here.  A few of the special birds we have seen are:   Yellow-Green Tyrannulet, White Fronted Nunbird, Blue Cotinga, Black-and-White Hawk-Eagle, Black Hawk-Eagle, King Vulture, Barred Puffbird, Rufous-crested Coquette, and Rufous-vented Ground Cuckoo. San Francisco is one of the few places in Central America where the critically endangered Brown-headed Spider Monkey can still be seen. 

Day 7: Bayano - Tortí
On this day we will go exploring and birding along dirt roads in the Nargandi and Cañazas areas. Many of these areas have not been explored for birds.  In the late afternoon we will head back to the San Francisco Reserve for an evening of owling. 

Day 8: Bayano - Tortí
We will return to the San Francisco Reserve for a morning of birding.  In the afternoon and early evening we will explore areas along the Tortí River for birds. 

Day 9: Travel to Panama City
Early morning bird walk along the Tortí River. After lunch, we start our drive back to Panama City with birding stops in the Bayano Lake area.  Lodging will be at the Riande Airport Hotel, which is a 10-minute drive to the airport. This airport hotel is a birding hot spot with over 230 species:  Tocumen--hotel Riande Aeropuerto.  We will stay 2-nights at the Riande. 

Day 10:  Cerro Azul
Early morning departure for a full day of day of birding at the mountain area of Cerro Azul. It is a large area with plenty of birding spots and this day will give us the opportunity to see any birds we have missed. 

Day 11:  Fly Home 
Shuttle to the airport for your trip home.  Most flights back to the States leave early in the morning.