Ghana........10th to 21st November 2012
Our 11-day Upper Guinea rainforest special tour also takes us to the rarely visited and unspoilt Ankasa rainforest near the border with the Ivory Coast. This beautiful rainforest protects some wonderful species and is the only rainforest in Ghana where the White-breasted Guineafowl is known to be.
As we are dedicating the majority of our time to rainforest birding we are enhancing our chances of finding the more sought-after and secretive Upper Guinea endemic species, which all leads to an extremely impressive and quality bird tally.
Day 1: A flight from UK to Kotoka International Airport, where we will be met by our guide on arrival and transferred to our hotel.
Overnight – Accra
Day 2: After an early breakfast we visit the nearby Shai Hills reserve, an expanse of savannah, grassland and woodland. The birding here is excellent and we hope to find African Grey Hornbill, Violet & Green Turacos, White-crowned Cliff Chat, White-crowned Robin-chat, Rock Martin, Northern Puffback, Rosy & Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters, Blue-bellied & Rufous-crowned Rollers, Piapiac, Yellow-crowned Gonolek, Blackcap Babblers, Senegal Parrot, Red-headed Lovebird and if we are lucky Barred Owlet amongst other species. After a productive morning we return to our hotel and enjoy our lunch before checking out and heading for the nearby Sakumono Lagoon. Here we hope to find Black, Striated, Squacco & Grey Herons, Long-tailed Cormorant, Western Reef Egret, Garganey, Glossy Ibis, Black-winged Stilt, Collared Pratincole, Kittlitz’s Plover, African Spoonbill, Ruddy Turnstone, Black Tern, Senegal Thick-knee and Ruff to mention just a few. After some good birding we head west leaving the busy city of Accra behind. Our destination is Cape Coast where we find the amazing Kakum National Park. En route, we will be stopping at a grassland reserve and lagoon where we hope to find Siffling and Short-winged Cisticolas, Splendid & Copper Sunbirds, Flappet Lark, Red-winged Prinia, Yellow-mantled Widowbird, Black-necked Weaver, Black-crowned Tchagra, Plain-backed Pipit, Black-winged and Yellow-billed Kites, Western Grey Plantain-eater, Grey Kestrel, Lizard Buzzard, Blue-spotted Wood-dove and Black bellied Bustard. Around the lagoon, we aim to see Purple Heron, Purple Swamp-hen, Spur-winged Lapwing and African Pygmy-goose before our arrival at Rainforest Lodge, our base for the next 3 nights whilst we visit Kakum National Park.
Overnight – Rainforest Lodge
Day 3: After an early breakfast we head for the world famous canopy walkway at Kakum National Park, just a 15-minute drive from our hotel. We aim to get there for first light enabling us to spend the most critical bird viewing hours 40 metres above the forest floor on the canopy walkway. The 360 km² Kakum National Park protects secondary Upper Guinea tropical rainforest and the species we hope to see from the canopy include Sabine’s Puffback, Sharpe’s Apalis, Preuss’s Weaver, Red-headed & Red-vented Malimbes, Buff-throated, Tiny & Little Green Sunbirds, Rosy Bee-eater, Green Hylia, Violet-backed Hyliota, Yellowbill, Little Grey & Ussher’s Flycatcher, Shrike-Flycatcher, Grey-headed, White-breasted & Chestnut-breasted Negrofinch, Grey Longbill, White-headed & Forest Wood-hoopoes, Blue Cuckoo-Shrike, Rufous-crowned Eremomela, Naked-faced, Yellow-spotted & Hairy-breasted Barbets, Red-fronted & African Grey Parrots, Velvet-mantled Drongos and if we are lucky Black-collard Lovebird and Yellow-footed Honeyguide. The raptors we aim to see include Red-necked Buzzard, Palm nut Vulture, African Harrier Hawk, Congo Serpent Eagle, Long-tailed Hawk and Cassin’s Hawk-eagle. During the heat of mid afternoon, you will have the option of birding around the hotel with your guide, resting around the pool and bar or you could choose to go on a cultural excursion to Cape Coast castle. We re-visit the canopy in the evening when our main targets will be Brown-cheeked, Black-casqued & Yellow-casqued Hornbills, Brown Nightjar and Fraser’s Eagle Owl amongst other specials.
Overnight – Rainforest Lodge
Days 4 & 5: More early starts as we visit different sections of Kakum National Park hoping to see species we may have missed previously. Our main targets will be Red-billed Helmet-Shrike, Black-bellied Seedcracker, Forest Penduline Tit, Rufous-sided Boadbill, Western Bluebill, Western Black-winged & Black-headed Orioles, Purple-throated Cuckoo-Shrike, Emerald, Thick-billed & Black Cuckoos and Willcocks’s Honeyguide. We leave after the morning session of Day 5 and set off for a remote forest where we will be birding until late, looking for the much sought-after Rufous Fishing-owl, Akun Eagle Owl and Spot-breasted Ibis amongst others.
Days 6 &7: We spend a full day birding at this excellent rainforest on Day 6 and the morning of Day 7 before setting off after lunch on Day 7 for Ankasa in the western region of Ghana for what should be a major highlight of the tour. Ankasa is Ghana’s only near pristine wet evergreen Upper Guinea rainforest a rarely visited beautiful forest protecting some wonderful species. We arrive in the afternoon we will try for various owls before returning to our accommodation in preparation for the following morning’s birding.
Day 8: An early start as we dedicate the morning to birdwatching in Ankasa, which protects so many of Ghana’s specials. We hope to find Hartlaub’s Duck, African Finfoot, Dwarf Bittern, Crowned Eagle and Great Blue & Yellow-billed Turacos. We also look for the Yellow-casqued, Black-casqued, Red-billed Dwarf and Black Dwarf Hornbills should we have missed them at Kakum National Park. Other highlights are: White-bellied, Shining Blue & Chocolate-backed Kingfishers, Red-billed Helmet-shrike, Purple-throated Cuckoo-Shrike, Black-capped, Pale-breasted, Rufous-winged and Brown Illadopsis, Red-tailed & Green-tailed Bristlebills, Yellow-bearded, Western Bearded, Plain & Red-tailed Greenbuls, Blue-headed Wood Dove, Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo, White-tailed Ant Thrush, Red-fronted Antpecker and if we are lucky during early evening birding on Day 7 we may spot Nkulengu Rail. We set off back to Cape Coast stopping for lunch at Takoradi then head on to Brenu Beach, an area of grassland savannah, for our late afternoon and early evening birding en route. Here we hope to find Viellot’s Barbet, Preuss’s Cliff Swallow and Marsh Tchagra amongst other species.
Overnight – Rainforest Lodge
Day 9: Another early start as we head towards Aboabo on the north-west border of Kakum National Park. This is perhaps the most productive section of Kakum National Park where we hope to see African Piculet, Black-capped Apalis, Black-throated Coucal, Red-vented & Crested Malimbes, Yellow-throated & Black Cuckoos, White-spotted Flufftail, Bristle-nosed & Yellow-spotted Barbets, Western Nicator, Kemp’s Longbill, Grey & Brown-necked Parrots, Chestnut-capped, Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher and, if we are lucky, the much sought-after Tessmann’s Flycatcher amongst other species. After lunch we set off for a remote village where we trek into a nearby forest which is a nesting site for one of the most sought-after birds in the world, the prehistoric-looking White-necked Picathartes. There are around 30 nests at this location and catching a glimpse of this remarkable bird is an amazing feeling. Once everyone has enjoyed good views we set off for Kumasi the capital of the Ashanti region.
Overnight – Kumasi
Day 10: We wake early to visit Bobiri Forest Reserve which is actually a butterfly sanctuary. Upon arrival, we will search this lush forest for Swamp Palm Bulbul, Tit-hylia, Afep & Bronze-naped Pigeons, Yellow-footed Honeyguide, Green-headed Sunbird, Red-billed Dwarf, Brown-cheeked & White-crested Hornbills, White-headed Wood-hoopoe, Brown Illadopsis, Western Nicator, Forest Francolin, Little Green Woodpecker, Narina’s Trogon, Blue-throated Roller, Golden Greenbul, and some of the many raptors present including Cassin’s Hawk-eagle, Red-thighed Sparrowhawk, African Cuckoo Hawk and Long-tailed Hawk. After lunch we set off for Atewa and bird the lower portion of the range in the afternoon which should prove to be very productive. Here we hope to see Blue-headed Coucal, Black-bellied Seedcracker, Compact & Grosbeak Weavers, Dideric Cuckoo, Western Bluebill, Rufous-winged Illadopsis, Red-cheeked Wattle-eye and perhaps Baumann’s Greenbul.
Day 11: We spend the early part of the day at the Atewa Range; this is the main site in Ghana where we can see the Blue-headed Bee-eater. Other specialities include the endangered Rufous-winged Illadopsis, Nimba Flycatcher, Many-coloured Bush-Shrike, Forest Scrub Robin, Narina’s Trogon, Western Bronze-naped Pigeon, Forest Robin, Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, Red-cheeked Wattle-eye, Fraser’s, Johanna’s & Tiny sunbirds and Shining Drongo amongst others. After a wonderful morning we freshen up, take lunch and re arrange our bags before setting off for the airport and our return flight to the UK.
Tour ref: AA1249
Cost: £2675
Deposit: £400
Single Room Supplement: £200
Leaders: Peter Dedicoat / June Taylor
Max Group: 12 + Leaders
Includes: Economy class scheduled return flights (UK-Accra-UK), accommodation based on twin occupancy, meals, transport in Ghana & services of leaders.
Excludes: Travel insurance, drinks & items of a personal nature.