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Ghana Comprehensive: Rockfowl & Upper Guinea Specials 11Th to 26Th November 2018 (16 Days) Trip Report

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Ghana Comprehensive: Rockfowl & Upper Guinea Specials 11Th to 26Th November 2018 (16 Days) Trip Report Ghana Comprehensive: Rockfowl & Upper Guinea Specials 11th to 26th November 2018 (16 days) Trip Report Black Bee-eater by Tuomas Seimola Trip report compiled by Tour Leader: Tuomas Seimola Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Ghana Trip Report – RBL Ghana – Comprehensive 2018 2 Top 10 Birds 1. White-necked Rockfowl 6. Oriole Warbler 2. Black Bee-eater 7. Guinea/Yellow-billed Turacos 3. Egyptian Plover 8. Yellow Penduline Tit/White-crested Hornbill 4. Yellow-crowned Gonolek 9. Red-cheeked Wattle-eye 5. Violet Turaco 10. Red-billed Helmetshrike ___________________________________________________________________________________ Tour Summary Ghana is often described as the jewel of West Africa. This is not far from the truth. The diverse natural habitats combined with a tourist-friendly atmosphere and well-maintained road network make Ghana a real birder’s paradise. A visit to the World Heritage Site of Cape Coast Castle and understanding its controversial history was a powerful experience. The rainforest areas near Kakum National Park and vast savannas of Mole National Park were certainly highlights of this extraordinary tour. We tallied over 400 species of birds and over 20 mammals. These included highly sought- after gems like White-necked Rockfowl, Egyptian Plover, Blue-moustached Bee-eater, Akun Eagle-Owl, Stone Partridge, White- spotted Flufftail, Yellow-billed Turaco, Red- billed Dwarf Hornbill and many, many more. _____________________________________ The Tour in Detail Our first bird in Ghana was a fabulously performing Yellow-crowned Gonolek seen from the breakfast table – not a bad start! We spent the morning in Shai hills, which is Violet Turaco by Tuomas Seimola located north-east of the capital, Accra. This area is a combination of savanna and forest, and it provides a good diversity of species. A walk through the forested savanna edge produced our first sightings of Double-spurred Francolin, Senegal Parrots, Vinaceous Dove, Black-billed Wood Doves, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, really good views of a pair of Vieillot’s Barbets, Senegal Eremomelas, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Northern Black and several Spotted Flycatchers, Cardinal Woodpecker, Croaking and Short-winged Cisticolas, Violet-backed and Purple Starlings, Plain-backed Pipit and brief looks at a bunch of Brown Babblers. White-crowned Cliff Chat gave us a good show, and we enjoyed long scope views of a cooperative pair. Later, we drove to the far end of Shai Hills, scoring big time during the drive when two Yellow-winged Pytilias were feeding in front of our bus. Other sightings worth a mention were impressive Bearded Blue-spotted Wood Dove by Tuomas Seimola Barbets and a Flappet Lark. Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Ghana Trip Report – RBL Ghana – Comprehensive 2018 3 Before lunch, we made a short visit to Akosombo, alongside Lake Volta. In the gardens, our main target was Mangrove Sunbird, which we eventually found alongside beautiful Buff-Throated and Green-headed Sunbirds. After lunch and a well-earned hour of rest, we headed through Accra to Sakomono Lagoon. We headed to the eastern side of this large area of reedbeds and mudflats. A walk along the lakeside revealed Squacco, Purple and a bunch of Black Herons, Western Marsh Harriers, Senegal Thick- knees, Black-winged Stilt, Spur-winged Lapwing, Grey and Common Ringed Plovers, Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Marsh, Green and Wood Sandpipers, and Common Greenshanks. We also saw a big flock of Collared Pratincoles, Malachite Kingfisher, and we had good views of Winding Cisticola. The biggest surprise was an American Golden Plover found feeding away from the other waders just 30 metres away from us. There is only a handful of previous records for this species Yellow-crowned Gonolek by Dubi Shapiro in Ghana! What a great start to the tour! On our second morning, we were on our way to the famous Kakum National Park and the amazing variety of forest birds that were waiting for us there. We stretched our legs in Winneba plains during the heat of midday, with little bird activity. Amazingly, we saw another pair of scarce Yellow-winged Pytilias feeding along the road. Next up was a roadside stop in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Mankessim. A little tree-lined stream in town held Black-crowned Night Heron and Western Reef Herons, as well as a small colony of Slender-billed Weavers. Before lunch, we made a visit to Cape Coast Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which was well- worth seeing. Walking from one cell to another reminded us of the horrors and monstrosities of which we humans are capable of. Very sobering. After lunch, we headed towards Rainforest Lodge, our base for the next few days of exploring Kakum National Park and its surroundings. We continued almost directly to the Ebekawopa area, where we had cracking views of a pair of Black-bellied Seedcrackers, watched a pair of Cassin’s Hawk-Eagle and enjoyed watching a huge colony of Village and Viellot’s Black Weavers. Along the entrance road, we also had our first Usscher’s Flycatchers and the only Fanti Saw-wing of the tour. A few Bates’s Swift were seen feeding above the canopy, but our best bird was a Brown Nightjar seen and heard just after sunset. A very good start to our exploration of the Kakum area! Rufous-sided Broadbill by Dubi Shapiro Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Ghana Trip Report – RBL Ghana – Comprehensive 2018 4 Kakum National Park and several other areas of mosaic forest and farm bush were visited over the next three days. We also visited the Ebekawopa area several times and birded similar areas of Abrafo and Antikwaa. Using a good combination of different habitats produced a healthy list of good birds and a very long list of more common rainforest birds. An amazing array held Red-chested Goshawk, White- spotted Flufftail, Guinea and Yellow-billed Turacos, Cassin’s and Sabine’s Spinetails, almost 200 Rosy Bee-eaters, beautiful Black-Bee-eaters, Rufous-sided Broadbill, Western and Black-winged Orioles, Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, all the possible flashy malimbes, all the wattle-eyes, astounding views of African Emerald Cuckoos, and many more. We also got a very good introduction to the diversity of greenbuls here. Walking along the farm bush areas produced Speckled, Red-rumped and Yellow-throated Tinkerbirds, Green and Tit Hylias, Yellow-browed Camaropteras and Geen Crombecs, among others. Birding was very rewarding, but we also got an understanding of how hard and frustrating forest birding can be. We tried in vain for several calling Olive Long- tailed Cuckoos. Praa River was also visited, and there we enjoyed several smart Rock Pratincoles and beautiful White-bibbed Swallows. On the way back to Rainforest Lodge, we watched hundreds of Preuss’s Cliff Swallows in their efforts of nest making, completely amazed. Preuss’s Cliff Swallows by Tuomas Seimola Good fortune came upon us during our night birding session, and we had views of both Fraser’s and Akun Eagle-Owls, good views of Black-shouldered and Plain Nightjars and, of course, listening the manic pumping of Nkulengu Rail was unforgettable, just like our unexpected meeting with White-crested Tiger Heron. A visit to the famous Kakum Walkway is always a memorable experience, and it didn’t fail us with birds either. Our morning in the canopy yielded us a hoard of hard to get canopy birds, with amazing views of otherwise tough to see species. This bird-filled morning held, besides others, Blue Malkoha, Blue- throated Roller, Melancholy and Fire-bellied Woodpeckers, Hairy-breasted, Yellow-spotted and Yellow-billed Barbets, Yellow-throated Tinkerbird, Cassin’s Honeybird, a pair of Sabine’s Puffbacks, Velvet-mantled Drongo, Spotted and Ansorge’s Greenbuls, Chestnut- winged Starling, Rufous-crowned Eremomela, amazing Violet-backed Hyliotas, Little Grey and Fraser’s Forest Flycatchers, Tiny, Buff- throated and Johanna’s Sunbirds, and Yellow- mantled, Maxwell’s Black and Preuss’s Weavers. The real stars of the morning were two small rare gems of the forest: Red-fronted Antpecker and rarely seen Forest Penduline Tit. White-necked Rockfowl by Tuomas Seimola What a real treat! Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Ghana Trip Report – RBL Ghana – Comprehensive 2018 5 Finally, it was time to leave Kakum behind and head towards new and exciting adventures: Bonkro and its mythical rockfowls. Before that, we had to make a few stops along the way. Notably at Hans Cottage Botel and its small lagoon, where a few pairs of Orange Weavers nest in a bigger colony of Village Weavers. It was still hot and quiet when we arrived at Bonkro, where the presence of White- necked Rockfowl has helped with the construction of a new school, and the village itself is a good example of Eco-tourism at its best. We knew that we didn’t have a lot of time to bird along the trail to the rockfowl roost site, but we made a short stop to try and see a calling Yellow-footed Honeyguide. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find it in the canopy. Eventually, we reached our main Orange Weaver by Tuomas Seimola goal and climbed up the last steep uphill to the benches in front of the cliff. A forty-minute wait in silence is a tough job, but we managed to do it and were rewarded with the amazing entrance of 3 White-necked Rockfowls jumping almost silently below the rockwall. It was such a strong experience that the long walk back to the bus and the two-hour drive to Kumasi was an easy task. Our morning in Kumasi started with an excellent breakfast, which was needed for the long drive towards one of Ghana’s most famous birding and wildlife destinations, Mole National Park.
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