Hi Mike,
You're lucky if you saw the Capybara that often... I found them difficult to see but I wasn't along the river much...
For the Quetzals, they cannot be seen along Pipeline road as they almost never occur in that part of the country.... Vulcan Baru National Park around Boquete is a sure bet for them... I saw three males in one afternoon once in April there....the waterfall trail near Boquete (I think it is called Cascadas trail or something like that) is not as commonly used by tourists as the Quetzal trail and I found it was better than the namesake trail for actually finding that bird. The actually Vulcan Baru trail is also incredible (though it is a vicious hike) and if you make it to the top you can see volcano birds that are nowhere else. There you can actually rent a 4x4 and drive to the top which can be exciting... but you will miss alot of wildlife if you do that.
I know what you mean about it changing your life... the Gamboa area is amazing.... I love Panama in general... Vulcan Baru is also incredible as is the snorkeling on the Caribbean side....
As for driving in (to pipeline road), you can only take a vehicle to the gate that is about 1/2 kilometer from the Smithsonian Boat Launch... the road is passable by car further in but only Smithsonian vehicles and park staff are allowed in there unless on foot or on a bike. A bike is also a good option and they can be rented in Gamboa (I think they can atleast). When I went there I would often hitchhike on Smithsonian vehicles (I was working as an intern for them so that was easy for me) or construction trucks that stopped at km 4 but the construction trucks may no longer be there. If you are there early in the morning you may get lucky and catch a ride deeper in...but expect to walk back on your own. Do stick out your thumb for smithsonian vehicles though... many of the scientists will stop and give you a lift.
As I said though, once you pass 4 km you are in good territory and you don't need to go all the way to 8 or 10 km for most birds. However, the deeper you go the more exotic it gets... and mammals tend to be deeper in...as I said I was lucky enough to see an Ocelot past KM. 8 and some very very lucky people see Jaguars and Tapyr in that area (both are very rare). A friend of mine also saw a Brocket deer in there... Tayra are also a possibility but coati, peccaries, and forest rabbits are the most common ground species, as well as howler monkeys, white faced capuchins, geoffery's tamarin, both sloth species, and kinkajous in the trees. Oh and Tamandua.... When I was there I had heard several reports of the Harpy between KM 3 and 7 and that is about where I saw it too. There are only 8 or 9 of them in all of Soberania (highly endangered) so there is no guarantee that one is still hanging around pipeline road... but it is probably the best place to try. If you contact Fundo Peregrino and ask them if they know if the Harpy is still there they will usually give an honest answer. If you are adventurous and there in Dec-February you can also walk along the streams and look for Glass Frogs sitting on top of leaves that are 4-7 feet above the water (give or take) they are hard to spot but are among the most beautiful creatures I've ever seen. I managed to see two species while there... however, never do this alone as it is also snake territory and I once ran into a 4 foot Fer De Lance when there with my herpetologist friend! Generally you must be out at night for the frogs but I highly recommend doing atleast one night walk as you are likely to see Tamandua, kinkajous, night monkeys (if you are lucky I never saw one), and many frogs. The glass frogs produce very small eyeshine... only slightly larger than the ever present twinkle of large spiders. If you are too afraid of snakes to leave the trail don't worry- you are safe on the trail, even at night. They almost never cross the trail, even at night. I never saw a venemous species on the trail at night... I assume that they spend very little time on the trail.
As you can tell I am quite nostalgic about the place.... I can't wait to go back! It is truly magical..... Let me know how it goes! If you want to ask about other stuff I am happy to help! I had alot of time there to really learn the place and make the mistakes you'll want to avoid on a short trip!
-Andrew
