Tranquilo Bay has listed over 230 species of birds on-sight and over 635 from our daily excursions to nearby bird-rich environments. Bocas del Toro, Panama is geologically gifted, creating extreme species diversity; there are an incredible variety of ecosystems, habitats and altitudinal zones only a short distance from the lodge. Our guides are passionate about observing wildlife, excellent at spotting as well as identification and frequently work with bird watching groups and individuals with birding specific itineraries.

Bird watching in Panama, an area roughly the size of South Carolina, includes over 1000 recorded bird species, more than the U.S. and Canada Combined. The Province of Bocas del Toro hosts two overlapping Endemic Bird Areas, (EBA 019) Central American Caribbean Slope and (EBA 020) Panama and Costa Rica Highlands. A Panama birding tour is not complete without visiting western Panama’s Caribbean slope, one of the most important areas for restricted range avifauna in the world.

Tranquilo Bay is located on 200 pristine acres, adjacent to Bastimentos National Marine Park, amongst the convergence of 3 distinct ecosystems. This creates an extremely diverse and unique wildlife observation site where flora and fauna overlap from separate worlds increasing diversity. In a week it is possible to identify over 100 species of birds without leaving the property. There are several elevated porches throughout the facility, creating an incredible eye-level view. While birding onsite you might also encounter white-faced capuchin monkeys, night monkeys, two and three toed sloths, iguanas, caiman, butterflies, a variety of frogs and lizards, and within the canopy a collage of rain forest hardwood and fruit trees, lianas, mangroves, ferns, orchids and cycads.

In western Panama the Caribbean Slope of the Talamanca mountain range, Tranquilo Bay’s back yard, plunges some 11,000 feet from the high alpine forest of La Amistad National Park into the lowland rainforests bordering the Caribbean Sea, in a span of less than 40 miles. Within the areas we explore from our comfortable facility the altitude ranges from 7,000 feet to sea level in a zone where over 600 species of birds can be found. This extreme biodiversity and high level of endemic species is due to abrupt changes in altitudinal zones and extreme geographic features creating many distinct ecosystems, as well as, migratory corridors.

Tranquilo Bays latest eco-adventure soars 100’ above sea level; bringing you to the top of the forest canopy for a panoramic birds-eye view of three distinctly different ecosystems within Bastimentos National Marine Park. The bird watching, wildlife and photo opportunities from this incredible vantage point are truly sublime.

Our central location in the archipelago allows us to explore freely, traveling by boat directly from the facility for all of our excursions. Due to dramatic geographic formations and Bocas del Toro’s dynamic environment the range of different bird habitats seem endless.