Haven’t you always dreamed of birding in Panama? I have for far too long, and now I’m finally going to visit. Care to join me?

Regular readers of 10,000 Birds are already familiar with the paired paradises presented by the world-famous Canopy Lodge and Canopy Tower, thanks to Charlie’s intrepid explorations in April 2009. With only four full days on the ground, Charlie still managed to encounter a combined 220 bird species and have a tremendous time while he was at it. You should see his pictures. Plus, he still hasn’t stopped raving about the lodging, food, and hospitality.

At last, my dream of visiting both the Canopy Lodge and Canopy Tower will be coming true. And because I’m the kind of guy who finds birding with a group of friends the very best way to travel, I asked Raul Arias de Para, the gracious proprietor of these outstanding ecolodges, if he’d offer our readers a deep discount for the trip. To say he came through would be an understatement.

The trip, which I’ll now refer to as Mike’s Magical Panamanian Birding Adventure, will be start at the Canopy Tower June 11th to June 15th and move to the Canopy Lodge June 15th to June 17th, checking out on June 18th. We’re talking about an 8-day, 7-night trip from 6/11-18/2010.

• Day one (June 11):   Arrival
• Day two (June 12): Semaphore Hill Road AM; Ammo Ponds PM
• Day three (June 13): Plantation Trail AM; Summit Ponds PM
• Day four (June 14th): Pipeline Road AM; Chagres River PM
• Day five (June 15): Transfer to Canopy Lodge AM; Canopy Lodge grounds PM
• Day six (June 16): La mesa road AM; Cara Iguana Road PM
• Day seven June 17: Cerro Gaital AM; Las Minas Road PM
• Day eight (June 18): Check out.

The price includes:

• Lodging
• All meals (wine with dinner)
• Snacks and beverages during outings
• Airport group transfers
• Transfer between lodges
• Transportation to all the birding spots
• National parks entrance fee
• Professional local bird guide service

AIRFARE IS NOT INCLUDED. If you’ll be taking this trip, contact me so I can share my travel plans.

This package, which can only be extended to 3 doubles and 1 single for this trip, can be yours for only…

Double room: $1,202.00 per person

Single room: $1,022.00 per person
(Note that single room occupants at the Canopy Tower have to share a bathroom)

I know this is short notice for a major trip, but I’m also aware that most birders will jump on a great opportunity when one arises. This trip will be profoundly fun with tons of top Neotropical birds in ecoluxe style. We’ll see the Panama Canal, stay in an extinct volcano, and encounter toucans, trogons, tanagers, motmots, puffbirds, antbirds, antwrens, antthrushes, antpittas, ant-tanagers… you get the idea! Contact Yaritza Medina (ymedina AT canopytower DOT com) or Cristela Cherebin (ccherebin AT canopytower DOT com)  to book your trip ASAP. We only have 7 spots for this avian odyssey.

Note: We at 10,000 Birds are not making any money from this offer. We requested instead that we get the lowest possible rate for our friends.

So who’s with me?