Birdwatching: Hummingbirds

Panama’s birds are not shy.  Depending on the season, location and luck you can expect to see many different species in one day.   Of all the vast variety of bird species in Panama, the hummingbirds are of our favorite.  There are more than three hundred species of hummingbirds in Panama constituting the family Trochilidae, many of which have romantic names, such as the green-crowned brilliant, the purple-throated mountain gem and some other with more beautiful names.   The fiery-throated hummingbird, for example is a glossy green, shimmering iridescent at close range, with a dark blue tail, violet-blue chest, glittering coppery orange throat, and brilliant blue crown set off by velvety black on the sides and back of the head.  Some males take their glamorous plumage one step further and are bedecked with long streamer tails and iridescent mustaches, beards and visors.

These little, high-speed animals are so named because of the hum made by the beat of their wings; at up to one hundred beats per second, the hummingbird’s wings move so rapidly that they are often undetectable by the naked eye.  Hummingbirds are often seen hovering next to flowers, from which they extract nectar and insects with their long, hollow, and extensile tongues forked at the tip.  Alone among birds, they can generate power on both the forward and backward wing strokes, a distinction that allows them to fly backwards.

Hummingbirds are loners and they bond with the opposite sex only for the few seconds it takes to mate.  Many, such as the fiery-throated hummingbird, are violently territorial.  With luck, you might witness an impressive aerial fight between males defending their territories.   Come to Panama for birdwatching this season!  Contact us for more information at info@ecocircuitos.com

 

 

 

Canopy Tent in Darien for birders!

Birdwatching

Toucan

birding in Darien

entomology in darien

achiote in darien

Barred Puffbirds, Rufous-tailed Jacamars, White-headed Wrens and many more make up a distinct dawn chorus like no other in Panama.  Located in Central America’s most diverse and least-explored region, the Darién province of Panama is a birder’s paradise.  Situated in the humid lowlands of far eastern Panama, near the end of the Pan-American Highway, at the new Canopy Camp you can feel the wilderness around you, from just a step outside your tent.  Towering giants – Cuipo trees – provide a panorama of Darién, and are in clear view above the forest canopy, right from your tent.  It is in these enormous rainforest giants that Harpy Eagles and Crested Eagles place their nests and raise their young.

While you sip your morning coffee, listen for the buzzy trills of Golden-headed Manakins lekking in the forests beside the camp.  A walk with your knowledgeable guide will be thoroughly awe-inspiring and entertaining.  From tiny, colorful poison dart frogs on the forest floor to Red-throated Caracaras in the canopy above, these forests are full of life.  At the end of the day of exploring the region, settle into your tent and doze off to the calls of owls, potoos, nightjars and a symphony of frogs, bidding you good-night from the forests of Darién.

While enjoying the wilderness all around us, camp in comfort in custom-designed African safari-style tents with all the amenities we offer at our other eco-lodges.  Come explore Darién with us, we are sure you will have the birding adventure of your life!  contact us at info@ecocircuitos.com  or visit our site at EcoCircuitos Panama for more adventures