Upon the entrance of the town, on Achiote Road, is located the Zimmermann Farm- built in the late 1950’s by Paul Zimmermann, a former Canal Zone Industrial Chief in Mount Hope. This private farm is today owned and managed by his daughter Zandra, an ecological advocate dedicated to the maintenance and improvement of this very unique bird sanctuary. The farm of approximately twelve acres of tropical flowers and fauna and hosts a series of easy walkway paths connected by locally built “bohios” or wooden supported palm covered observation stations. From these stations located in prime locations throughout the farm, one can observe the many varieties of birds or just lay back, relax and enjoy the view.
Target species include, but not limited to, White Hawks, Mealy Parrots, Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift, Black-throated Trogon, Black-breasted and Pied Puffbirds, Chestnut-mandible Toucans, Black-cheeked Woodpeckers, Fasciated Antshrikes, Bare-crowned and Bi-Colored Antbirds, Blue Cotingas, Black-chested Jays, White-headed Wrens, Red Breasted Blackbird, Flame-rumped Tanager and Black-headed Saltador.
Accommodations for both day tours and overnight stays are available at the Zimmermann Farm for the bird watching enthusiast.
ACHIOTE ROAD
THE BIRD PARADISE OF PANAMA
Located in the Province of Colon, Republic of Panama, twenty minutes from the Gatun Lake and Locks, lays the small town of Achiote - quietly known by some as the “Bird Watchers Mecca of the World.”
According to Rosabel Miro, the President of the Panama Audubon Society, "The number of birds recorded for the entire country of Panama, according to our database, is around 960. For the Christmas Bird Count, Achiote Road is just one of the sites used in the Atlantic count circle. The highest count ever recorded in the Atlantic count circle, also the Panama record, was 357 species on December 30, 1990. Since 1970, when we started the Christmas Bird Counts in Panama, the Atlantic count has been over 340 species nine times and the last time was 1995 (348)."
Due to the topographical layout of the Isthmus of Panama, the country is virtually a "Bridge of the Americas” for birds as well as fish, butterflies, animals, people, etc,
Chestnut-mandible Toucan
Black-throated Trogan
Yellow Crowned Amazon Parrot
The village of Achiote is located along the world-reknown birding site, the Achiote Road. CEASPA has purchased a small parcel of land on the edge of the village and recently built a community learning center and a lookout, Centro El Tucán, that also can double as an ecotourist center
There are many interesting sights in and around the village of Achiote: Piña Beach and its beautiful white sands are a short drive away, as is the Chagres River and places for boating and wildlife watching. A few kilometers away there is the new well-built Trogon Trail, which winds its way through dense rainforest and offers opportunities for observation of birds and plants.
