With its huge expanses of rich tropical rainforest, the isthmus of Panama is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world. Panama's unique ecology started 15 million years ago with the geological emergence of the Isthmus from the ocean, Panama became the only land bride connecting the ecosystem of the Nor and South American continents. Birds are a primary indicator of biodiversity and Panama takes the grand prize with over 972 species of birds, more than the United States and Canada combined. There are also 125 animal species found only in Panama. The Audubon Society bird census states that Panama City is on of the "Top 10 Places in the World for Bird Species".
So, of course when in Panama "Go Birding" or bird watching. The Gamboa Rainforest is nestled in the Panama Canal Area of the rainforest, about 1/2 hour from Panama City. We stayed at the Canopy B&B which was near the Gamboa Rainforest Resort. It was considered a B&B but it seemed more like a ecological hostel to me. Anyway, we signed up for a tour with Canopy Tower to go to the Pipeline area for bird watching. Canopy Tower was named by Travel and Leisure magazine as one of the top 25 ecolodges in the world. It offers a close to nature experience with world class bird watching. It is a unique tree-high lodging area with a panoramic view of the rainforest. It is a former radar station turned into a lodge. The Canopy guide picked us up at 7am for the Pipeline Road tour, it is one of the top places in the world for nature observation and bird watching. We saw many birds and heard many more. My favorite birds were the Juvenile Herons which were brown and white
spotted and Adult Herons which were rustic in color. Our guide Jane was excellent in identifying all the different sounds and sights while birding. We also saw several Holler Monkeys, which sound like Jurassic Park when they howl. Then we went back to the Canopy Towers for lunch after the hike and that was fabulous as well. All in all we really enjoyed birding and we may take up the hobby when
we go walking by the lagoon by our house.
spotted and Adult Herons which were rustic in color. Our guide Jane was excellent in identifying all the different sounds and sights while birding. We also saw several Holler Monkeys, which sound like Jurassic Park when they howl. Then we went back to the Canopy Towers for lunch after the hike and that was fabulous as well. All in all we really enjoyed birding and we may take up the hobby when
we go walking by the lagoon by our house.
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