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Upper Guinea Special Liberia and Sierra Leone Tour Leaflet 2023

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Upper Guinea Special Liberia and Sierra Leone Tour Leaflet 2023 BIRDING AFRICA THE AFRICA SPECIALISTS Upper Guinea Special Liberia and Sierra Leone Tour Leaflet 2023 Rufous Fishing Owl © Tertius Gous 5 – 12 January 2023 (Liberia) 12 – 20 January 2023 (Sierra Leone) Upper Guinea Special 2023 BIRDING Tour leader: Michael Mills AFRICA THE AFRICA SPECIALISTS Birding Africa Tour Summary Tour Africa Birding Summary Tour Africa Birding Specials in comfort • Numerous Upper Guinea Specials: Black-headed Rufous Warbler, Yellow-bearded Greenbul, Rufous Fishing Owl, Emerald Starling, Gola Malimbe • Easy access to Sierra Leone Prinia Yellow-bearded Greenbul © Tertius Gous • No camping required Our Upper Guinea Special tour is one of several White-crested Tiger Heron, African Pitta, Yellow- African tours that we have pioneered, and puts the headed Picathartes, Emerald Starling, Crimson comfort back into birding this little-known region. Seedcracker, Turati's Boubou and Togo Paradise Emerald Starling © Tertius Gous Michael’s incredible focus, dedication and ability Gone are the tough hikes and rough camping Whydah. to locate and show Africa's toughest birds is required on other tours to Sierra Leone, without probably unequalled. He has led dozens of tours compromising on the birds. across the continent and his experience in locating Tour Focus birds on just the soft est of calls or briefest of views Our tour, uniquely, combines the best of Liberia impresses those who travelled with him. and Sierra Leone, in reasonable comfort. Sturdy Th is tour will provide a good chance to see most of 4x4s are used throughout and all nights are the Upper Guinea forest specials. It is heavily bird Dates (2023) accommodated in hotels or guest houses, with no focused although we may see several species of camping required. It will be only the second-ever monkey and squirrel. Liberia 5 – 12 Jan birding tour to Liberia following our successful Sierra Leone 12 – 20 Jan A bird species list will be handed out to you as part fi rst tour in 2020. of your tour booklet at the start of the tour and is In Liberia our entire focus will be on the rich available beforehand upon request. Pro�isional Prices + Single forests of the Mount Nimba area. Highlights here Th e tour coincides with the main dry season, may include Sierra Leone Prinia, Black-headed when getting around is easier. Many birds will be Liberia (8 days) $3150 + $240 Rufous Warbler, Nimba Flycatcher, Gola Malimbe Sierra Leone (9 days) $3150 + $250 breeding or just have fi nished breeding during our and Yellow-bearded Greenbul, among many other visit. Both (16 days) $5990 + $490 forest species. Days will typically be warm and humid, although Th is is complemented by our abbreviated Sierra more pleasant at Mount Nimba. We are unlikely to Book online Leone tour that cuts out all camping and tough encounter any rain. hikes. Birding in Sierra Leone will be more Visit www.birdingafrica.com mixed with gallery habitats accessed at Tiwai Travel conditions are generally reasonable (we Deposit ($150) by credit card Island, lowland rainforest at Tiwai and Gola, and avoid long drives on bad roads), although service Email [email protected] moist savanna at Bumbuna. Top birds we will in hotels is oft en slow and water/electricity supply be searching for include Rufous Fishing Owl, unreliable. 2 | Upper Guinea Special 2023 Upper Guinea Special 2023 | 3 INTRODUCTION The Upper Guinea region holds the westernmost black Weaver, Olive-naped Weaver and Red-vented extent of Africa's lowland rainforests, separated Malimbe. from the main Congo Basin forests by the In recent times Ghana has become the country Dahomey gap. These forests stretch from central most people visit to see these birds. However, Ivory Ghana west across southern Ivory Coast and Coast and Liberia hold the greatest number of Birding Africa Tour Leaflet Tour Africa Birding Liberia to eastern Sierra Leone. They are home Leaflet Tour Africa Birding Upper Guinea endemics (both countries hold all to more than fifteen bird endemics, namely species), and specials such as Black-headed Rufous White-breasted Guineafowl, Rufous Fishing Owl, Warbler and Sierra Leone Prinia do not occur in Brown-cheeked Hornbill, Timneh Parrot, Rufous- Ghana. bellied Wattle-eye, Western Wattled Cuckooshrike, Green-tailed Bristlebill, Yellow-bearded Greenbul, Several birds are also mostly confined to the moist Little Green Woodpecker, Rufous-winged savanna and forest transition zone bordering these Illadopsis, Yellow-headed Picathartes, Sierra Leone forests, such as Turati's Boubou and Emerald Prinia, Red-fronted Antpecker, Sharpe's Apalis, Starling, and it is these species that are the main Black-headed Rufous Warbler, Nimba Flycatcher, focus of our Upper Guinea Special tour. Crimson Seedcracker, Gola Malimbe and Copper- tailed Starling. One of the challenges of birding the region is the generally poor infrastructure and bad roads, Another suite of forest species are confined to a necessitating long drives on bumpy roads and long slightly wider zone, from far western Cameroon hikes combined with camping. We have researched Black-headed Rufous Warbler © Tertius Gous to Gambia, including Red-billed Helmetshrike, and explored the area to find the most comfortable Buff-throated Sunbird, Melancholy Woodpecker, way of seeing these birds, offering a tour that Accommodation and meals International flights Fire-bellied Woodpecker, Kemp's Longbill, Ahanta brings access to the region in a significantly more Francolin, Yellow-casqued Hornbill, Western comfortable way, suitable to a wider range of Accommodation is fairly basic, but generally Participants are required to make their own Piping Hornbill, Western Pied Hornbill, Western travellers and bird enthusiast. Although some comfortable; no camping is required! At Tiwai international flight reservations. White-crested Hornbill, Blue-moustached Bee- of the Upper Guinea endemics are very rare Island participants may be required to share rooms The Liberia tour starts with dinner and eater, Red-cheeked Wattle-eye, Western Yellow- at sites visited (White-breasted Guineafowl, (depending on group size) and all rooms have accommodation in Monrovia on 5 January 2023, billed Barbet, West African Wattle-eye, Fanti Western Wattled Cuckooshrike and Red-fronted shared (within the group) ablutions. At Gola North and the Sierra Leone tour starts with dinner and Drongo, Grey-headed Bristlebill, Baumann's Olive Antpecker), we visit sites on this tour at which all ablutions are also shared. Running water is not accommodation in Liberia (if on the Liberia Greenbul, Fanti Saw-wing, Grey-hooded Capuchin Upper Guinea endemics have been found. always available and electricity often unreliable. segment) and Freetown (if only on the the Sierra Babbler, Yellow-chinned Sunbird, Chestnut-and- Meals are generally simple. Most lunches will be Leone segment) on 12 January 2023. Sharpe's Apalis © Tertius Gous taken in the field. The Liberia segments ends in Monrovia on Water is not safe to drink so we supply free bottled the evening of 12 January 2023 (excluding water in the vehicle that you can take to your accommodation or dinner) and the Sierra Leone rooms for drinking and brushing teeth. Beers and segment on the evening of 20 January (excluding soft drinks are widely available. dinner and accommodation). Participants can depart any time after 16h00 on the Walking day that the tour ends. This tour requires only a moderate degree of fitness. Most walks will last less than five hours and Group size be conducted at a manageable pace. Terrain where we walk is generally flat, except at Mount Nimba Maximum 8 participants in three 4x4s. where it is quite rocky on top. Some river crossings may be made on basic, local bridges or by wading through shallow water. 4 | Upper Guinea Special 2023 Upper Guinea Special 2023 | 5 ITINERARY AND MAP Liberia Tour Itinerary Day L1 5 Jan 2023 Arrive in Liberia. Overnight near Monrovia. Day L2 6 Jan 2023 Monrovia to Mount Nimba. Overnight in Yekepa. Birding Africa Tour Leaflet Tour Africa Birding Day L3 7 Jan 2023 Full day at Mount Nimba. Overnight in Yekepa. Leaflet Tour Africa Birding Day L4 8 Jan 2023 Full day at Mount Nimba. Overnight in Yekepa. S7 Day L5 9 Jan 2023 Full day at Mount Nimba. Overnight in Yekepa. Bumbuna Day L6 10 Jan 2023 Full day at Mount Nimba. Overnight in Yekepa. S1 + S9 Day L7 11 Jan 2023 Full day at Mount Nimba. Overnight in Yekepa. Freetown Day L8 12 Jan 2023 Mount Nimba to Monrovia. Tour ends. S8 S6 L3 – L7 Sierra Leone Tour Itinerary S2 Yekepa & Mount Nimba Day S1 12 Jan 2023 Arrive. Overnight in Monrovia (if on Liberia Tour) or Freetown. S4 Gola North S5 Day S2 13 Jan 2023 Travel to Tiwai Island. Overnight on Tiwai Island. Tiwai Island S3 Day S3 14 Jan 2023 Full day at Tiwai Island. Overnight on Tiwai Island. S2 Day S4 15 Jan 2023 Tiwai Island to Gola North. Overnight at Lalehun. L2 L8 Day S5 16 Jan 2023 Full day at Gola North. Overnight at Lalehun. Day S6 17 Jan 2023 Gola North to Bumbuna area via Kanema. Overnight at Makeni. Monrovia Day S7 18 Jan 2023 Full day in Bumbuna area. Overnight at Makeni. L1 + L8 Day S8 19 Jan 2023 Makeni to Freetown. Overnight in Freetown. Day S9 20 Jan 2023 Most of day in Freetown area. Tour ends. Standard-winged Nightjar © Tertius Gous 6 | Upper Guinea Special 2023 Upper Guinea Special 2023 | 7 DAY-BY-DAY ITINERARY --------------- Liberia ---------------- Unfortunately most of the surrounding lowland forest falls outside of the reserve and is being Day L1: Arrive Monrovia hacked away, and many of the early, mouth- watering finds come from these forests that are no Birding Africa Tour Leaflet Tour Africa Birding Welcome to Liberia, a place few other birders longer pristine. Leaflet Tour Africa Birding have been to or explored! We stay overnight not Still, Nimba offers spectacular birding with easy far from the airport.
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