Near million birds over Panama fleeing northern winter

CLOSE TO 900,000 migratory birds en-route from Canada and The United States to warmer climes for the duration of the northern winter filled the Panamanian sky on Tuesday, October 31.

It was the largest number registered in 2017 by the Audubon Society.

Every year, between September and November, birds traveling from the north pass through Panama, with  October and mid-November the peak time.

On Tuesday, 890,042 birds that were counted by Audubon Society observers on Ancón hill. The majority of the birds (715.727) were red-legged buzzards.

Until October 31, Audubon had recorded the passage of 1, 247, 255 migratory birds, says Rosabel Miró, director of the institution.

The average number of birds passing through Panama each year is 2.5 million, and the bird record counted in one day is   2.1 million in 2014.