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Wednesday 3 November to Saturday 13 November 2010 Wednesday 2 November to Saturday 12 November 2011 with James Lidster and Robert Ntakor as leaders.
Cost: £2260 plus about £560 for flights (2010) Click here for explanation of price breakdown Maximum group size: 8 with 2 leaders.
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Lying on the Gulf of Guinea along Africa's tropical western coast, Ghana is a country rich both in ancient tradition and in the history of Europe's early colonial expansion into West Africa. Our tour begins amidst the lagoons of the Gold Coast, where migrant waders from Europe swell the numbers of resident waterbirds. We then move inland to the primary tropical rainforests of Kakum National Park, home to a world-famous canopy walkway that will place us on eye-level with a vast array of rainforest species, including numerous hornbills, parrots and barbets. Our tour also includes an ground-breaking couple of days at Ankasa, an area seldom visited by birders, and a trek into the forest will take us to the secret home of the cave dwelling Yellow-headed Picathartes, one of Africa's most elusive birds. Ghana has a well-deserved reputation as one of Africa's friendliest and safest countries, qualities that are still only enjoyed by a small number of tourists.
Day 1: Tour starts with a flight from London to Accra. On arrival we will be met by our ground crew and transferred to our hotel for the night. Night near Accra.
Day 2: After an early breakfast (an essential part of this tour to avoid the heat of the day) we will head to the Shai Hills. This mixture of savannah scrub and rocky outcrops is home to several species that we will not have chances for again during the tour. Our main targets will be White-crowned Cliff-chat, Rock Martin and Double-toothed Barbet but being our first morning in Ghana there will be plenty more to distract us. The open landscape is good for raptors, Blue-bellied Roller and both Vieillot’s and Bearded Barbets are also present. We’ll then make our way around the top of Accra and further west towards the famous forests of Kakum. On the way we will stop at the Sukomona lagoon where wintering shorebirds from the north will include such familiar species as Curlew and Marsh Sandpipers, Collared Pratincoles and Ruff, all mingling with less familiar Malachite and Pied Kingfishers, Long-tailed Cormorant and possibly Yellow-throated Longclaw. Herons and egrets abound and we’ll see Black Egrets, hopefully adopting their ‘umbrella’ feeding tactics. We may stop at Winneba plains, a site where Black-bellied Bustard is possible - if the grass is too high - and where raptors could include our first Red-necked Buzzards, Black-shouldered Kites or even an African Hobby. If time allows we will stop close to our hotel to search for African Finfoot. Night near Kakum. Days 3-4: Kakum National Park is part of a huge protected area of rainforest covering 375 square miles and the focus of our attention for the next two days. Besides the fabulous forest, Kakum is perhaps best known for its amazing aerial walkway that stretches through the forest canopy 120 feet above the ground. The forest canopy is rich in bird life and no two visits to the walkway are the same. With an ever-changing mix of mouth watering Upper Guinea forest specialities and superb African birds we could hope to see any of the following species: Congo Serpent Eagle, Red-thighed Sparrowhawk, Cassin’s Hawk Eagle, Blue-headed Wood Dove, African Grey and Red-fronted Parrots, Yellowbill, Bristle-nosed, Naked-faced and Hairy-breasted Barbets, Gabon and Fire-bellied Woodpeckers, African Emerald Cuckoo, Yellow-billed Turaco and possibly Great Blue Turacos. Hornbills are well represented and we could encounter Piping and White-crested Hornbill as well as Velvet-mantled Drongo, Black-winged and Western Black-headed Orioles, Blue Cuckoo-shrike, Violet-backed Hyliota, Ussher's Flycatcher, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, a selection of Greenbuls including Golden, White-throated, Western Bearded, Honeyguide and Icterine, Sabine’s Puffback, Preuss’s Golden-backed Weaver, Red-headed and Grey’s Malimbes and many species of Sunbird including Fraser’s, Johanna’s, Buff-throated, Olive, Blue-throated Brown, Little Green and Collared. On one afternoon we will return to the canopy as hornbills become more active as they feed before roosting. This offers our best chance of Brown-cheeked and both Black and Yellow-casqued Hornbills. The atmosphere in the afternoon can be very different from the morning and if we stay until dark we hope to hear, and possibly see, Brown Nightjar and maybe Fraser’s Eagle Owl. We’ll also be birding other areas of the park away from the canopy where we'll search for such gems as African Cuckoo-hawk, Black Sparrowhawk, White-spotted Flufftail, Rock Pratincole, Black and Rosy Bee-eaters, Cassin’s, Sabine’s and maybe Black Spinetails, Red-billed and Black Dwarf Hornbills, Blue-throated Roller, Preuss’s and White-throated Blue Swallows, Western Nicator, Purple-throated Cuckoo-shrike, Forest Robin, Forest and White-headed Wood-hoopoes, Yellow-billed and Yellow-nosed Barbets, Red-rumped and Yellow-throated Tinkerbird, Red-billed Helmet-shrike, Green Crombec, Tit-hylia and both Copper-tailed and Forest Chestnut-winged Starlings. There is still much to discover in these areas and if we are really lucky surprises may include a Yellow-footed Honeyguide or African Piculet. During the heat of the day there will be chance for a swim or relax at our hotel, which is ideal for birders. There is a Cattle Egret roost just metres from our evening checklist and a small lake close by is home to Green-backed and Squacco Herons with Nile Crocodiles lounging on the banks. A small vegetated island in the lake holds a Village Weaver colony and a few Vieillot’s Black Weavers are usually present. This concentration of ‘food’ often attracts a Shikra or African Harrier Hawk who specialise in delicately unwrapping weaver nests! There is also a small colony of Orange Weavers and we may see African Jacana, Pied and Malachite Kingfishers, African Pied Wagtail and Bar-breasted Firefinch while eating our lunch! Nights near Kakum. Day 5: After a final morning around Kakum we'll continue our journey westwards to spend two nights near Ankasa, an area of pristine tropical rainforest on the border with Ivory Coast. It is said to be one of the last homes of Chimpanzee in Ghana although they are seldom seen. Our hotel is situated over an hour from the forest, with this in mind we will have an early night in anticipation of the very long day to follow. Night near Axim. Day 6: At the time of writing only a few birding trips have been made to Ankasa but the mouth-watering list of birds includes a second chance for many of the species from Kakum along with many more new birds including African Finfoot, Crested Guineafowl, Shining Blue and Chocolate-backed Kingfishers, Rufous-sided Broadbill White-tailed Alethe, Piping Hornbill, Square-tailed Saw-wing, Yellow-bearded Greenbul, Black-capped Apalis, White-tailed Ant-Shrike, Dusky Blue and Blue-headed Crested Flycatchers, Chestnut-breasted Negrofinch, and Pale-breasted and Blackcap Illadopsis. There will be the added excitement of discovering something new in this poorly known area - Dwarf Bittern, Olive Ibis and Hartlaub’s Duck have been seen although they do not appear to be regular. In the evening we’ll stay out for some night birding with the very rare Akun Eagle Owl as the main prize but with African Wood Owl, Shelley’s Eagle Owl, Brown Nightjar, and Nkulengu Rail also possible while we may also get a sighting of an African Civet Cat Day 7: We’ll return to Ankasa in the morning, hoping to catch up on any missing species before returning towards Kakum. Our afternoon birding will be dependant on what we haven’t seen and may include another try for African Finfoot or perhaps a visit to Brenu beach road for some more open country species. Night near Kakum Day 8: After a final morning birding around Kakum our attentions will be turned towards the main target of our tour, the Yellow-headed Picathartes. Everything about this bird is special and after a long, hot walk up a forested hillside we’ll take our places and wait patiently for the star to appear. Numbers vary, but we stand a very good chance of seeing this elusive, forest species as it returns to its rocky overhang to roost. From our vantage point we’ll then make our way back downhill and to the bus, arriving at our next hotel for a late dinner and (hopefully) a celebratory drink! Night in Kumasi. Day 9: We start the day with an early visit to Bobiri butterfly reserve. This stretch of forest is rich in bird life and specialities may include Long-tailed Hawk, Fire-bellied Woodpecker, Fraser’s Forest and Chestnut-capped Flycatchers, Red-billed Dwarf and White-crested Hornbills, Tambourine Dove, Cassin’s Honeybird, Afep Pigeon, Purple-throated Cuckoo Shrike and both Crested and Red-headed Malimbes. After lunch in a roadside café we’ll spend the afternoon at the base of the Atewa hill range where we spend the afternoon exploring some lowland farmland and scrub. Once again we should see an interesting variety of species with Common Fiscal, Blue-headed Coucal, Yellow-billed Shrike, Klaas’s Cuckoo, Simple Leaflove, Grosbeak Weaver, Black and White Mannikin and White-breasted Negrofinch all possible. Night at Koforidua Day 10: There will be an early morning drive to Atewa hill range, transferring on the way to 4x4’s for the journey uphill. This site is home to one special bird – Blue-headed Bee-eater and although never present in large numbers we hope to see this species during our time there. Other birds may include Narina’s Trogon, Shining Drongo, Grey Longbill, Green-tailed Bristlebill, Bioko Batis, Shrike Flycatcher, Olive Green Camaroptera, Forest Scrub Robin and Chocolate-backed Kingfisher. There is still much to be discovered in this area and during our recent visits we have seen Western Bronze-naped Pigeon, Yellow-footed Honeyguide, Sharpe’s Apalis and Ayre’s Hawk Eagle. After lunch we will head to a hotel to repack and shower before making our way to the airport and our evening flight back to London, where the tour ends on Day 11.
E-mail or phone +44 (0)1767 262522 for availability.
Last updated June 2010 |
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