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.

Travel Dates:
2025
March 2 - 9, 2025, spots left = 4
March 15 - 22, 2025, spots left = 6
March 23 - 30, 2025, spots left = 3
April 5 - 12, 2025, spots left = 6
April 13 - 20, 2025, spots left = 6
2026
January 13 - 22, 2026, spots left = 6
More dates to be added....
Group Size: 6 travelers, plus guides
Trip Length: 8 days
Rates: $3,250 per person double occupancy, ($700 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 sport with 225 species: Tocumen--hotel Riande Aeropuerto. We will spend 3-nights at the Riande Hotel.

Day 2: 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, Snow-bellied Hummingbird, Green-shrike Vireo, White-bellied Antbird, and Whooping Motmot.

Day 3: 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 4: Travel to Tortí
Early departure and birding western 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 3-nights.

Day 5: 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 6: Bayano - Tortí
On this day we will go exploring and birding along dirt roads in the Nargandi and Cañazas areas. Many of these area have not been explored for birds.

Day 7: Travel to Panama City
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 sport with 225 species: Tocumen--hotel Riande Aeropuerto

Day 8: Fly Home
Shuttle to the airport for your trip home. Most flights back to the States leave early in the morning.

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