Panama is famous for its toucans, hummingbirds, parrots, trogons and spectacular Harpy Eagles, but there is another side to the country's birdlife that is every bit as extraordinary. Every year, birds from the Arctic, Canada and the United States undertake incredible journeys southward, and many of them pass directly through Panama. Some remain for months to escape the northern winter, while others stop briefly to rest and feed before continuing their journeys.
Panama is essentially a biological bridge between two continents. Its narrow shape funnels enormous numbers of birds between North and South America, while its Pacific and Caribbean coastlines provide wetlands, mudflats, beaches, mangroves and forests where migrants can refuel. According to Panama's Ministry of Environment, the country has recorded 1,030 bird species, including approximately 177 migratory species. Among those migrants are some of the most beautiful, powerful and astonishing birds you can see anywhere in the Americas.
And then there is the scale of the phenomenon. Panama isn't merely somewhere that a few migratory birds happen to pass through. Millions of birds cross the country during migration. The spectacle becomes particularly dramatic during the autumn raptor migration, when huge numbers of birds of prey travel south toward South America.
The spectacular Swainson's Hawk
One of the stars of Panama's autumn skies is the Swainson's Hawk. This elegant raptor breeds across much of western North America and then undertakes an enormous migration southward into South America.
When migration is at its peak, Swainson's Hawks can appear in huge numbers above Panama. They use rising columns of warm air called thermals to gain altitude without constantly flapping their wings. Once they have climbed high enough, they glide forward until they find another thermal.
This is an extraordinarily efficient way of crossing a continent.
And Panama is one of the places where this strategy becomes spectacularly visible. Audubon Panama's long-running raptor monitoring has recorded enormous numbers of Swainson's Hawks passing over Panama City. In one particularly remarkable 2018 count, approximately 950,937 Swainson's Hawks were recorded as part of a total of more than 2.9 million migrating raptors.
Imagine standing in Panama City and looking upward to discover that the tiny specks above you aren't clouds or insects but thousands upon thousands of hawks traveling south.
The Broad-winged Hawk: one of Panama's great migrants
Another spectacular visitor is the Broad-winged Hawk, one of the characteristic raptors of the North American migration.
Broad-winged Hawks are particularly famous for their tendency to migrate in enormous groups called kettles. When conditions are right, hundreds or even thousands can circle together in a thermal, creating a swirling mass of birds high above the ground.
Panama is directly in their path.
The birds arrive from North America and use the geography and thermals of the isthmus to continue south. They are among the species that contribute to Panama's extraordinary autumn raptor spectacle. Audubon Panama monitors Broad-winged Hawks as part of its long-term migration project from Cerro Ancón.
One of the great experiences for a birdwatcher is to find a kettle forming overhead. At first you may notice two or three birds circling. Then ten. Then fifty. Then suddenly the entire sky seems to be moving.
The Turkey Vulture: the giant river in the sky
The Turkey Vulture might not immediately sound like one of Panama's most beautiful migrant birds, but seeing thousands moving together is one of the country's greatest natural spectacles.
Some Turkey Vultures are residents of Panama, while others are migrants moving between North and South America. This makes identification and counting particularly fascinating because you're seeing different populations using the same landscape.
During major migration events, Turkey Vultures can form enormous streams across the sky. They are masters of soaring flight, using thermals to travel long distances while expending remarkably little energy.
In the record-setting raptor migration over Panama City in 2014, Turkey Vultures and Swainson's Hawks made up the overwhelming majority of the more than two million raptors counted in a single day.
The sight of thousands of vultures moving together can seem almost surreal.
What looks like a few scattered birds can suddenly become an enormous aerial highway.
The Peregrine Falcon
Then there is the Peregrine Falcon, one of the most spectacular birds to pass through Panama.
This is the world's famous speed specialist. During its hunting dive, a Peregrine can reach approximately 200 mph, or more than 320 kilometers per hour.
Unlike the huge kettles of hawks and vultures, you probably won't see thousands of Peregrines filling the sky. This is a different kind of spectacle.
The Peregrine is a precision hunter.
It can migrate enormous distances and use Panama as part of its journey between North and South America. The country's aviation authorities specifically list the Peregrine Falcon among the migratory species that can reach great altitudes while crossing the isthmus.
Seeing one is often a matter of patience and luck. You might notice a fast-moving falcon crossing an open area, particularly around coastlines and other areas where it can pursue birds.
And knowing that the bird you're watching may eventually travel thousands of kilometers makes the encounter even more remarkable.
The Mississippi Kite
The Mississippi Kite is another fascinating migrant.
This graceful raptor breeds primarily in the southern United States and then travels south for the winter. It is smaller and more elegant-looking than many of the larger migrating hawks, and it can be spectacular when seen in groups.
Mississippi Kites are among the species that have been observed during Panama's massive autumn raptor migrations. During major migration events, they can join the great aerial flow moving south toward South America.
For birdwatchers, they provide another reason not to look only for the biggest birds. Sometimes the most beautiful raptor in the sky is a relatively small one gliding effortlessly above the forest.
The Osprey: the fish hunter
The Osprey is another impressive migrant that can be encountered in Panama.
Unlike many of the hawks passing through the country, Ospreys are specialists at catching fish. Their enormous talons and reversible outer toes allow them to grasp slippery prey, and they can plunge into water to catch fish.
Panama is an excellent environment for a fish-eating migrant because the country has two coastlines, countless rivers, lakes, wetlands and enormous areas of productive marine habitat.
An Osprey sitting on a branch above a Panamanian river or coastline is already an impressive sight. Watching one dive toward the water is even better.
The species is among the migratory birds specifically identified in Panama's official information concerning birds crossing the isthmus.
The Scarlet Tanager
Not all of Panama's migrants are giant raptors.
One of the most beautiful is the Scarlet Tanager, a brilliantly colored songbird that breeds in North America and migrates south.
The male's combination of intense red plumage and dark wings makes it one of the most visually spectacular migrants a birder can encounter.
During migration, these birds can appear in forests alongside Panama's resident tropical species. This creates one of the great pleasures of birdwatching in Panama: you can be looking at a forest containing species that evolved in the tropical Americas while simultaneously encountering birds that have just traveled thousands of kilometers from Canada or the United States.
Panama's Ministry of Environment specifically identifies the Scarlet Tanager as one of the country's migratory species.
The Prothonotary Warbler
The Prothonotary Warbler is another beautiful migrant and one of the easiest to appreciate if you happen to encounter it.
Its brilliant golden-yellow body seems almost tropical, which is ironic because it spends part of its life breeding in North America before migrating south.
Unlike some migrants that remain high above the country during their journey, warblers can be encountered inside forests, along waterways and around vegetation where they are searching for insects.
For photographers, these tiny birds can be incredibly rewarding. They are colorful, active and often surprisingly difficult to photograph because they rarely sit still for long.
Orioles, warblers and tanagers: Panama's colorful seasonal visitors
One of the most fascinating things about migration is that it isn't just about huge raptors.
Panama also receives a seasonal influx of smaller songbirds, including warblers, orioles and tanagers. These birds move primarily at night or during the cooler parts of the day, and many arrive exhausted after crossing enormous distances.
The official aviation information for Panama notes that nocturnal migration includes songbirds and waterbirds crossing the isthmus after sunset.
That means migration is happening above you even when you can't see it.
A forest that seems quiet at sunset may actually be sitting underneath an invisible highway of birds.
The Western Sandpiper: one of Panama's greatest migration stories
If the raptors represent Panama's great aerial migration spectacle, the Western Sandpiper represents one of the country's greatest coastal migration stories.
This tiny shorebird breeds in the Arctic and travels enormous distances south. Along the Pacific coast of Panama, huge numbers can gather to feed on the rich mudflats and wetlands.
The birds may be small, but their journey is enormous.
They are using Panama's coastline as a critical refueling station on a journey that connects the Arctic with South America.
Audubon identifies the Western Sandpiper as one of the important migratory shorebirds found in Panama and notes that enormous numbers arrive along the country's coast.
For anyone who thinks birdwatching means wandering through a jungle looking for colorful birds, the shorebird spectacle offers something completely different.
You can stand on a Pacific mudflat and watch thousands of tiny birds moving together like a living cloud.
The Marbled Godwit
The Marbled Godwit is another remarkable shorebird that uses Panama.
It is a much larger bird than the Western Sandpiper, with a long slightly upturned bill and beautifully mottled brown plumage.
During the northern winter, Panama provides important feeding habitat for these birds.
They use mudflats and intertidal areas where they can probe the sediment for food.
The image of a flock of godwits feeding along a Panamanian coastline is a reminder of how important the country's wetlands are. What may appear to a casual visitor to be nothing more than mud and shallow water can actually be one of the most productive habitats in the entire migration system.
The Black-bellied Plover
The Black-bellied Plover is another northern migrant that spends time in Panama.
In breeding plumage, it is a dramatically patterned bird with a black belly and contrasting white markings. During the winter its plumage becomes much more subdued.
These birds are often found along beaches, mudflats and estuaries.
They are another example of the extraordinary journeys happening along Panama's coastline. A bird feeding quietly on a Panamanian beach may have spent its breeding season thousands of kilometers away in the Arctic.
The Ruddy Turnstone
The Ruddy Turnstone is one of the most entertaining shorebirds to watch.
Its name comes from its feeding behavior. Rather than simply picking food from the surface, it uses its strong bill to flip over stones, seaweed and other debris looking for small invertebrates.
During the northern winter, these birds arrive along Panama's coasts.
They are beautifully patterned, with a combination of brown, black and white that becomes especially striking when viewed up close.
Audubon identifies the Ruddy Turnstone as one of Panama's important migratory shorebirds.
The Semipalmated Plover
Another small but important migrant is the Semipalmated Plover.
These tiny shorebirds travel between northern breeding grounds and tropical and South American wintering areas, with Panama providing crucial stopover habitat.
Their small size makes their migration almost difficult to comprehend.
A bird weighing only a few dozen grams can cross enormous distances, navigate across unfamiliar landscapes and oceans, arrive in Panama and immediately begin feeding.
The concentration of Semipalmated Plovers in the Bay of Panama is particularly significant. Panama's Pacific mudflats are among the most important stopover habitats for migratory shorebirds in the Western Hemisphere.
The Black Skimmer
The Black Skimmer is one of the most unusual-looking birds you can see along Panama's coast.
Its bill is completely unlike that of most birds. The lower mandible extends farther than the upper mandible, allowing the bird to skim across the surface of the water with its lower bill submerged.
It flies low over calm water, slicing the surface with its bill in search of small fish.
Seeing a group of Black Skimmers moving across the Pacific at sunset can be an unforgettable experience.
Audubon includes the species among Panama's important coastal birds.
🦅 Millions of raptors: Panama's greatest migration spectacle
Of all Panama's migratory bird phenomena, the autumn raptor migration may be the most spectacular.
During the main migration period, enormous numbers of birds move south through the narrow isthmus. Panama's Civil Aviation Authority reported that the 2025 raptor migration season began in August and continued through December, with millions of raptors representing up to 14 species moving through the country.
Audubon Panama has been monitoring this phenomenon from Cerro Ancón since 2004. The monitoring project has recorded extraordinary numbers, including more than 2.9 million raptors in 2018.
There have also been extraordinary individual days. Smithsonian reporting documented more than two million migrating raptors passing over Panama City in a single day during a record-setting event in 2014.
That is almost impossible to comprehend until you see a migration kettle yourself.
The sky can appear to come alive.
Why does Panama attract so many migrants?
The answer is geography.
Panama is a narrow bridge between North and South America. Birds migrating between the continents don't have an endless landscape to choose from. The isthmus concentrates movement.
For raptors, the effect is particularly dramatic because large birds prefer to migrate over land where they can take advantage of thermals. Thermals don't form over the open ocean in the same way, so Panama's land bridge provides an enormously valuable route.
This creates what birdwatchers call a migration bottleneck.
And Panama happens to be one of the greatest bottlenecks on Earth.
🏙️ You don't have to leave Panama City
One of the wonderful things about Panama's migration is that you don't necessarily need to travel deep into the jungle to experience it.
Cerro Ancón, right in Panama City, is one of the country's best-known locations for watching migrating raptors.
During the right period, you can stand in the middle of the capital and watch birds traveling thousands of kilometers above you.
It is one of those extraordinary experiences that makes Panama different from almost anywhere else.
You can have skyscrapers, traffic and modern city life below you while millions of migrating birds are using the same piece of geography as an ancient continental highway.
🌴 The forests become temporary hotels
For smaller migratory birds, Panama's forests are more than just something they fly over.
They are places to eat and rest.
A warbler arriving after a long journey needs insects. A tanager needs fruit and other food. Shorebirds need rich mudflats. Raptors need thermals and suitable landscapes.
This means protecting Panama's forests, wetlands, mangroves and coastal mudflats is critical not only for Panama's resident birds but also for species that may spend only a few weeks or months in the country.
The Ministry of Environment emphasizes that Panama's habitats provide food, shelter and resting areas for migratory birds passing through the country.
When is the best time to see migrants?
There are two major migration seasons.
The autumn migration, when birds leave North America and head south, generally occurs from around September through November, although raptor migration can begin earlier and extend into December.
The spring migration, when birds return north toward their breeding grounds, generally occurs from around March through May.
For sheer numbers of raptors, the autumn period is particularly spectacular.
For birdwatchers interested in seeing a combination of migrants and Panama's resident tropical birds, both migration seasons can be rewarding.
🔭 Where should you look?
For raptors, Cerro Ancón and the Panama City area are particularly famous.
For shorebirds, the Bay of Panama and its extensive mudflats and wetlands are enormously important.
For forest migrants, areas around the Canal Zone, Soberanía National Park and other forested areas can be excellent.
And for anyone exploring Panama's Pacific coastline, beaches, estuaries and mangroves can produce surprising migrant sightings.
The important thing is to remember that different birds use different habitats.
If you want hawks, look upward.
If you want shorebirds, look toward the mudflats.
If you want warblers and tanagers, look into the vegetation.
The magic of migration
Perhaps the most beautiful thing about Panama's migratory birds isn't simply their colors or their numbers.
It's the journey.
Think about a Scarlet Tanager leaving a forest in Canada and eventually appearing in Panama.
Think about a Western Sandpiper leaving the Arctic and arriving on the Pacific coast.
Think about a Swainson's Hawk crossing thousands of kilometers while using thermals to save energy.
Think about a Peregrine Falcon traveling between continents.
These birds don't recognize political borders.
They don't know where Canada ends and Panama begins.
Their world is a continuous network of forests, wetlands, coastlines and skies.
Panama is simply one of the most important chapters in their journey.
🇵🇦 Panama: where two continents meet in the sky
That is what makes birdwatching in Panama so extraordinary.
You aren't simply looking at Panama's birds.
You are looking at the birds of an entire hemisphere passing through one remarkable country.
According to Panama's Ministry of Environment, approximately 177 migratory bird species regularly pass through the country. And during the great autumn raptor migration, millions of birds can pass overhead.
So the next time you are walking through a Panamanian forest, standing on a Pacific beach or sitting outside in Panama City, take a moment to look up.
The bird flying overhead may have started its journey thousands of kilometers away.
It may have crossed forests, deserts, mountains and oceans.
It may be using Panama as a place to rest before continuing even farther south.
And somewhere above you, at almost any time during migration season, one of the greatest wildlife spectacles in the Americas may be happening completely unnoticed.