Current view: Text account
Site description (2003 baseline):
Site location and context
Chorrera Bay contains extensive mudflats (4,300 ha), extending up to 4 km offshore, from Punta San Juanito north of Chame Bay to the Caimito River estuary 15 km west of Panama City. La Chorrera, Panama’s fourth largest city, is 4 km inland from the northern part of the bay, and there is a small port facility at Puerto Caimito on the Caimito River.
Chorrera Bay is an important site for migratory shorebirds, with a maximum one-day count of 9,365 small shorebirds in November 1997. Based on turnover during passage migration, it is estimated that 36,500 Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers may pass through the site.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
The site includes extensive intertidal mudflats. Small areas of mangroves are found near the mouths of the Perequete and Caimito Rivers. Local land use includes cattle and subsistence agriculture.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Pesticides and agricultural chemicals, as well as industrial waste and raw sewage from La Chorrera could have a detrimental effect on the ecosystem of the bay. The mangroves are threatened by extraction for wood, tannin, and charcoal.
Conservation responses/actions for key biodiversity
None currently.
The site is unprotected.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Chorrera Bay (Panama). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/chorrera-bay-iba-panama on 27/12/2024.
