About the boat tour
We pick you up at 6:30 am in Panama City and drive to the pier in Gamboa. From there we spend the morning, 7:15 am till noon, on a pontoon boat on Gatún Lake and its tributaries, like the Chagres River, in the heart of the Panama Canal.
The boat lets us reach coves and shorelines you cannot walk to, looking for migratory and resident water birds, raptors and forest birds along the edges: Cocoi Heron, kingfishers, toucans and tanagers. Wildlife is part of the show too: monkeys, iguanas, sloths and caimans. Along the way you pass close to the ships crossing the Canal.
You are seated most of the time, with stops for short walks to stretch your legs, so this tour suits anyone, whatever their fitness.
What to expect
With an early start, expect to see 40 to 60 species, plus wildlife and the ships of the Panama Canal.
Good to know: there is no toilet on the boat, and the tour does not cross the Canal locks. Combine it with Pipeline Road, also in Gamboa, for a full day.
Birds to look for
This list comes from our own tours, plus sightings shared by friends and clients. It changes all the time, so send us your sightings at info@guidedbirdtours.com. For everything else, see the Central Panama bird list.
Water birds and forest-edge birds: herons and egrets (including Cocoi Heron), Limpkin, Purple Gallinule, Wattled Jacana, kingfishers, raptors, toucans and tanagers. Ask us for the full list, or see our recent sightings on eBird.
What have we seen lately? Our guides log their sightings on eBird, the bird-checklist database run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. See our recent checklists from Birding by Boat and the rest of Panama.
Practical information
Weather
Usually warm: mornings in the 70s °F (21–26 °C), afternoons in the 80s (27–32 °C), sometimes the low 90s (33 °C) and humid at midday. Rain can come any time, most often in the rainy season (about May to early December). We bird in the cooler hours, when birds are most active. On the lake there is little shade at times.
What to wear
Light clothing, a hat and sunglasses, sunscreen and insect repellent, and a light rain jacket or poncho.
What to bring
Binoculars, a notebook and a camera if you like. Your guide carries a spotting scope and a field guide, and we bring drinking water.
Staying nearby
Gamboa has small family-run B&Bs and the Gamboa Rainforest Resort. Ask us and we will help with the booking.
Food
For lunch we offer El Encanto de Gamboa, a local fonda-style cafeteria in Gamboa, or the lobby restaurant or buffet at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort. Each traveler pays for their own meal.
Field guides we recommend
The Birds of Panama: A Field Guide by George Angehr and Robert Dean (2010), the main reference for Panama. An Illustrated Field Guide to the Birds of Panama by Ernesto Ponce and Giselle Muschett (2006), handy for quick checks.
