Birds to See in Panama in May
68 species listed for May · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024
68 bird species on our list for Panama are recorded regularly in May. Of these, the most often recorded are Turkey Vulture, Palm Tanager, Crimson-backed Tanager, Rock Dove and Great White Egret. New this month: White-rumped Sandpiper, Upland Sandpiper, Red-winged Blackbird and Red-necked Phalarope.
Leaving after last month25
- Bay-breasted Warbler
- Swainson's Thrush
- Tennessee Warbler
- Broad-winged Hawk
- Chestnut-sided Warbler
- Baltimore Oriole
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- Scarlet Tanager
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak
- American Redstart
- Merlin
- Gray-cheeked Thrush
- Philadelphia Vireo
- Black-throated Green Warbler
- Gray Catbird
- Magnolia Warbler
- Ring-billed Gull
- American Herring Gull
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Ovenbird
- Painted Bunting
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Blackpoll Warbler
- Arctic Jaeger
- Pomarine Jaeger
Residents
(33)Recorded all year
Turkey Vulture
Cathartes auraLC
Recorded all year
Palm Tanager
Thraupis palmarumLC
Recorded all year
Crimson-backed Tanager
Ramphocelus dimidiatusLC
Recorded all year
Rock Dove
Columba liviaLC
Recorded all year
Great White Egret
Ardea albaLC
Recorded all year
Cattle Egret
Ardea ibisLC
Recorded all year
House Sparrow
Passer domesticusLC
Recorded all year
Roadside Hawk
Rupornis magnirostrisLC
Recorded all year
Lineated Woodpecker
Dryocopus lineatusLC
Recorded all year
White-winged Dove
Zenaida asiaticaLC
Recorded all year
Black-crowned Night-heron
Nycticorax nycticoraxLC
Recorded all year
Muscovy Duck
Cairina moschataLC
Recorded all year
Ferruginous Pygmy-owl
Glaucidium brasilianumLC
Recorded all year
Common Potoo
Nyctibius griseusLC
Recorded all year
Cocoi Heron
Ardea cocoiLC
Recorded all year
Acorn Woodpecker
Melanerpes formicivorusLC
Recorded all year
Mottled Owl
Strix virgataLC
Recorded all year
Mourning Dove
Zenaida macrouraLC
Recorded all year
Short-billed Dowitcher
Limnodromus griseusVU
Recorded all year
Sandwich Tern
Thalasseus sandvicensisLC
Recorded all year
Glossy Ibis
Plegadis falcinellusLC
Recorded all year
Franklin's Gull
Leucophaeus pipixcanLC
Recorded all year
Hairy Woodpecker
Leuconotopicus villosusLC
Recorded all year
Blue-footed Booby
Sula nebouxiiLC
Recorded all year
Red-tailed Hawk
Buteo jamaicensisLC
Recorded all year
Great Curassow
Crax rubraVU
Recorded all year
Harpy Eagle
Harpia harpyjaVU
Recorded all year
Gull-billed Tern
Gelochelidon niloticaLC
Recorded all year
Pied-billed Grebe
Podilymbus podicepsLC
Recorded all year
Cattle Tyrant
Machetornis rixosaLC
Recorded all year
Common Tern
Sterna hirundoLC
Recorded all year
Scarlet Macaw
Ara macaoLC
Recorded all year
Eurasian Collared Dove
Streptopelia decaoctoLC
Recorded all year
Summer visitors
(1)Arrives to breed; scarce or absent in winter
Winter visitors
(26)Present outside the breeding season
Barn Swallow
Hirundo rusticaLC
Regularly Aug–May
Whimbrel
Numenius phaeopusLC
Recorded all year
Grey Plover
Pluvialis squatarolaLC
Recorded all year
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodiasLC
Recorded all year
Osprey
Pandion haliaetusLC
Recorded all year
Willet
Tringa semipalmataLC
Recorded all year
Semipalmated Plover
Charadrius semipalmatusLC
Recorded all year
Western Sandpiper
Calidris mauriLC
Recorded all year
Least Sandpiper
Calidris minutillaNT
Regularly Jul–May
Northern Waterthrush
Parkesia noveboracensisLC
Regularly Sep–May
Lesser Yellowlegs
Tringa flavipesVU
Regularly Jul–May
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Calidris pusillaNT
Recorded all year
Ruddy Turnstone
Arenaria interpresLC
Recorded all year
Greater Yellowlegs
Tringa melanoleucaNT
Recorded all year
Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinusLC
Regularly Sep–May
Willow Flycatcher
Empidonax trailliiLC
Regularly Aug–May
Red Knot
Calidris canutusNT
Regularly Aug–May
Sanderling
Calidris albaLC
Recorded all year
Marbled Godwit
Limosa fedoaVU
Recorded all year
Solitary Sandpiper
Tringa solitariaLC
Regularly Jul–May
Stilt Sandpiper
Calidris himantopusNT
Regularly Jul–May
Dickcissel
Spiza americanaLC
Regularly Sep–May
Mourning Warbler
Geothlypis philadelphiaLC
Regularly Sep–May
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Empidonax flaviventrisLC
Regularly Sep–May
Purple Martin
Progne subisLC
Recorded all year
Common Yellowthroat
Geothlypis trichasLC
Regularly Sep–May
Passage migrants
(8)Seen mainly in spring and autumn migration
White-rumped Sandpiper
Calidris fuscicollisVU
Regularly May–Oct
Pectoral Sandpiper
Calidris melanotosLC
Regularly Mar–Nov
Alder Flycatcher
Empidonax alnorumLC
Regularly Apr–Oct
Sand Martin
Riparia ripariaLC
Regularly Mar–Nov
Red-winged Blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceusLC
Regularly May–Aug
Red-necked Phalarope
Phalaropus lobatusLC
Regularly May–Oct
American Golden-Plover
Pluvialis dominicaLC
Regularly Sep–May
Upland Sandpiper
Bartramia longicaudaLC
Regularly May–Oct
Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made