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GHANA: Picathartes and Plover a Tropical Birding Set Departure

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GHANA: Picathartes and Plover a Tropical Birding Set Departure GHANA: Picathartes and Plover A Tropical Birding Set Departure April 3 – 18, 2010 Guide: Ken Behrens All photos by Ken Behrens. All except one taken during this trip. INTRODUCTION Although Ghana is a relatively unknown destination for birding tours, it is quickly becoming the premier destination in West Africa. In contrast to most of the other countries in the region, it is safe, and the people are remarkably friendly. Its infrastructure is also exceptional, with good hotels, restaurants, and roads through most of the country. In terms of birding, Ghana has a huge amount to offer. The southern rainforests are a great place to find Upper Guinea endemics (restricted to the rainforest west of Togo) as well as a full range of West African forest species. Meanwhile, the northern portion of Ghana lies in the Guinea savanna belt, with a completely different set of birds. The most exceptional thing about Ghana from a birding perspective is the list of 'marquee species' that it holds. Foremost among these is Yellow-headed Picathartes, one of the most spectacular and sought-after birds in the world. Ghana is the best place to see this species, and sightings here are virtually guaranteed, whereas stories of missing Cameroon's elusive Red-headed Picathartes, abound. Put simply, Ghana is the best place in the world to see a Picathartes. In addition, Egyptian Plover has become a regular feature on this tour, after the confirmation of its presence at a new site during scouting prior to last yearʼs tour. Other spectacular birds likely in Ghana include Hartlaubʼs Duck, Congo Serpent-Eagle, Long-tailed Hawk, White-throated and Forest Francolins, Great Blue, Yellow-billed and Violet Turacos, Fraser's Eagle-Owl, Standard-winged Nightjar, Shining-blue, Dwarf, and Blue-breasted Kingfishers, Blue-headed, Red-throated, and Rosy Bee-eaters, White-crested, Black Dwarf, Brown-cheeked, Black-casqued, and Yellow-casqued Hornbills, Fire-bellied Woodpecker, Rufous-sided Broadbill, Blue Cuckoo-shrike, Green-headed, Buff-throated, and Reichenbachʼs Sunbirds, and Long-tailed Glossy-Starling. Ghana: Picathartes and Plover April 3 – 18, 2010 TOUR SUMMARY This trip was extremely successful, netting 463 species, of which only 14 were heard only. This total places this trip among the most successful trips ever run to Ghana by any tour company. All of the ʻmarqueeʼ species mentioned above were seen, along with loads of others. The logistics of the trip went smoothly, and new accommodation options allowed us to travel with even more comfort and maximized birding time. This year, we changed our itinerary to include a visit to Ankassa National Park, a pristine chunk of rain forest near the border with Ivory Coast. Though the birding is challenging, the suite of wonderful birds on offer is more than adequate compensation. The tour started in Accra, where the participants gathered. On the first morning, we made a trip to the Winneba Plain, an area of coastal grassland that is quite different from all the other sites visited on the tour. Black-bellied Bustard was seen easily, and a tromp through the fields also produced Red-winged Warbler, Common Gonolek, Woodchat Shrike, Flappet Lark, Simple Greenbul, Plain-backed Pipit, Yellow-shouldered Widowbird, Black-rumped Waxbill, and African Firefinch. Afternoon visits to coastal lagoons turned up a large array of shorebirds, terns, and an unexpected Black-necked Cisticola. Egyptian Plovers put in an excellent, close-range showing on this tour. Ghana: Picathartes and Plover April 3 – 18, 2010 Birding began in earnest at Shai Hills Reserve once everyone had arrived. This slice of savanna set off by a towering cluster of inselbergs is just outside the rainforest zone and holds a totally different set of birds than those found a little farther south and west. We were delighted by Double-spurred Francolin, Senegal Parrot, Violet Turaco, African Pygmy-Kingfisher, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Green Woodhoopoe, Double-toothed Barbet, Senegal Eremomela, Yellow-bellied Hyliota, Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat, White-crowned (Mocking) Cliff-Chat, and Senegal Batis. Long and close-range views of Oriole Warbler won top honors for most participants. Unfortunately, Guinea Turaco, Puvelʼs Illadopsis, and Barred Owlet were their usual elusive selves, and were only heard. Traveling back through the busy capital, and making a couple of stops to search for waterbirds, we made our way to Hans Cottage, our base for exploration of Kakum National Park. Although Kakum is far from pristine rainforest, it offers some of the best forest birding in the region. In some cases, the degraded nature of its habitat seems to make the birding earlier, though one wonders how long rain forest birds can persist in such areas. The parkʼs canopy walkway is an excellent place to see birds of the upper levels of the forest, while hikes along roads and trails below are necessary to sight the understory birds whose songs float up to the swaying ropes of the walkway. Of the dozens of species of rainforest birds we saw, a few stood out as highlights. The pair of Fraserʼs Eagle-Owls that we found in a nocturnal expedition was certainly one of them. Excellent raptors included Congo Serpent-Eagle, African Cuckoo-Hawk, and Long-tailed Hawk. Parrots were well represented by Gray, Red-fronted, and Brown-necked. Although they never seem to land, it was still a great treat to see Rosy Bee- eaters circle overhead. A couple of scarce species graced our time in Kakum, most notably Black Spinetail, Spotted Honeyguide, and Olivaceous Flycatcher. Behind these highlights stood a diverse supporting cast of Cuckoos, Tinkerbirds, Hornbills, Greenbuls, Illadopsis, Sunbirds, Malimbes, Negrofinches, and Kakum’s fantastical canopy walkway. Ghana: Picathartes and Plover April 3 – 18, 2010 more. The Pra River held White-headed Lapwing, Rock Pratincole and White-throated Blue Swallow, while culverts elsewhere swarmed with Preussʼs Swallows. Heading east from Kakum, we next birded Ankassa Reserve, a new addition to our Ghana itinerary. Birding here is tough, and made us appreciate the ease of birding from Kakumʼs canopy walkway! Nonetheless, the rewards were great, and included another Congo Serpent-Eagle, diminutive Red-thighed Sparrowhawk, a rare gray form Long-tailed Hawk, handsome pair of Hartlaubʼs Duck, Great Blue and Yellow-billed Turacos, Shining-blue, Dwarf, and White-bellied Kingfishers, albeit only a glimpse of the latter, Black Bee-eater, Black Dwarf and Yellow-casqued Hornbills, Buff-spotted Woodpecker, Yellow-bearded Greenbul, Finschʼs Flycatcher-Thrush, Black- capped Apalis, Lemon-bellied Crombec, Cassinʼs Flycatcher, and Red-vented Malimbe. One morning, a keen photographer in the group split from the group and came back with good photos of a Red-fronted Antpecker – frustrating for those of us who didnʼt see it, but itʼs good to know that this scarce upper Guinea endemic is present in Ankassa! After Ankassa, we had another quick stop in Kakum, and managed to catch up with a few new species including African Piculet, Yellow-billed Barbet, Gray-throated Tit-Flycatcher, Bioko Batis, Blue-headed Crested-Flycatcher, and Large-billed Puffback. Excellent views of the epically skulky Kempʼs Longbill were much enjoyed. Before heading north, we had a final mission in the rainforest: to sight one of Africaʼs most magical birds, the Yellow-headed Picathartes. A short hike took us into the forest and up the hill that hosts a colony of picathartes. Although the wait is sometimes long, we were in luck on this trip, and the first bird appeared within 20 minutes. Despite having seen this bird several times, I am overwhelmed by every new experience of it. It is truly one of the most awesome birds in the world, and seeing it is an almost mystical experience. Ghanaʼs north is much more arid, and instead of forest, it holds savanna, and an accompanying set of different birds. Mole National Park is one of Ghanaʼs finest parks, offering great birds, good mammals, and sweeping views from the well-situated lodge. Every morning and evening, we made excursions by bus and foot, while the hot mid-days were spent in the cool of the air- conditioning. Our outings Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver is a striking bird that is fairly common in Mole NP. turned up Bat Hawk, Palm- nut Vulture, multiple Beaudouinʼs Snake-Eagles, Ovambo Sparrowhawk, Ayresʼs Hawk-Eagle, White-throated Francolin, Spotted Thick-Knee, Four-banded Sandgrouse, Bruceʼs Green-Pigeon, Red-headed Lovebird, Ghana: Picathartes and Plover April 3 – 18, 2010 Grayish Eagle-Owl, Red-throated and Northern Carmine Bee-eaters, Fine-spotted Woodpecker, Rufous-rumped and Sun Larks, Fanti Saw-wing, Rufous Cisticola, Moustached Grass-Warbler, White-fronted Black-Chat, African Blue-Flycatcher, Bronze-tailed Glossy-Starling, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, and Black-faced and Black-bellied Firefinches. The incredible Standard-winged Nightjar again featured as a highlight of Mole. This nightjar is a normal nightjar EXCEPT for two huge, blob-tipped feathers that grow out of the middle of its wing. First-time observers invariably think that the nightjar is being chased by bats or other birds due to the weird, bouncing rhythm of these bizarre ʻstandardsʼ! Another special sighting was a Thick-billed Cuckoo that flew over calling loudly. This is a bird that is fairly widespread but very difficult to find anywhere in Africa. Unfortunately, the Pelʼs Fishing-Owls that are often a feature of Ghana tours had disappeared, perhaps due to the water levels on the ponds near their favored roost. Our last stop in the north was the town of Bolgatanga, near the border with Burkina Faso. This area is even drier and more open than Mole, though itʼs amazing to think that as dry as northern Ghana is, itʼs the wettest place for 2000 miles, given the immensity of the Sahara to its north! We enjoyed excellent success encountering the specialty birds of this little-explored area.
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