Birding Panama

Birding Panama was co-founded in 2007 by Panamanian guide Jose Carlos Garcia, a graduate in Nature Tourism from the National University of Panama, and Mahelis Rodriguez. The company is a fully Panamanian-owned operator headquartered in Panama City, billed as 'run by birders' and built around a network of local guides, drivers, lodges and community partners. Itineraries cover all of the country's classic birding regions: the Chiriquí Highlands (Boquete, Volcán and the Los Quetzales trail), the Central Panama canal corridor, Darién, El Valle and Cerro Azul, with custom photography and Harpy Eagle extensions on offer. Garcia has worked with Hawk Mountain Sanctuary's raptor conservation programme and is fluent in English. The outfit is positioned at the local end of the market and consistently appears on independent best-of-Panama guide lists.