About the park
Metropolitan Nature Park (Parque Natural Metropolitano) is a protected forest on the Pacific side of Panama City, and one of very few tropical forest parks inside a major city in Latin America. It is an excellent place for both resident and migrant birds.
Most of the birding is on the park's five main trails, through dry and secondary forest, with open grassy areas around the visitor center. It takes about three hours to cover the best trails at a birder's pace, which leaves time to return to the spots where the birds are most active.
The park is a great first morning in Panama: it is close to the city, easy to walk, and full of birds you will not see on the wetter Caribbean slope.
What to expect
With an early start, expect to see 50 to 70 species by noon.
First day in Panama? The park is only ten minutes from most Panama City hotels, so it fits well on arrival or departure days. Combine it with Pipeline Road for the wetter forest of the Canal area.
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.
Dry-forest specialties
- Yellow-green Tyrannulet (Panama endemic)
- Lance-tailed Manakin
- Rosy Thrush-Tanager
- White-bellied Antbird
- Sepia-capped Flycatcher
- Red-crowned Ant-Tanager
Also look for
- Keel-billed Toucan
- Collared Aracari
- Spot-crowned Barbet
- Red-crowned Woodpecker
- Lineated Woodpecker
- Slaty-tailed Trogon
- Squirrel Cuckoo
- Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
- White-necked Puffbird
- Black-breasted Puffbird
- Barred Antshrike
- Bare-crowned Antbird
- Chestnut-backed Antbird
- Panama Flycatcher
- Yellow-bellied Elaenia
- Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher
- Southern Bentbill
- Masked Tityra
- Purple-throated Fruitcrow
- Golden-collared Manakin
- Bay Wren
- Black-bellied Wren
- Stripe-breasted Wren
- Gray Hawk
- Pale-vented Pigeon
- Short-billed Pigeon
- Northern Waterthrush
- Thick-billed Euphonia
- Flame-rumped Tanager
- Golden-hooded Tanager
- Streaked Saltator
- Buff-throated Saltator
- Variable Seedeater
- Yellow-faced Grassquit
- Yellow-tailed Oriole
- Scarlet-rumped Cacique
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 Metropolitan Nature Park 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.
What to wear
Light clothing in earth colors, long pants (better than shorts), hiking shoes, a hat and a poncho. Bring insect repellent and sunscreen, and be ready for rain.
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
Panama City's hotels are about five to ten minutes from the park, from luxury hotels to B&Bs and hostels. Ask us and we will help with the booking.
Food
Panama City has restaurants of every kind, a few minutes from the park. 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.
