GHANA: The Best of West Africa A Tropical Birding Set Departure March 10 - 26, 2013 Guide: Ken Behrens All photos taken during this trip by Ken Behrens TOUR SUMMARY Ghana has become a very popular birding destination in recent years, and for good reason. It is a friendly, easily accessible country with decent lodging, and an excellent set of Guinea savannah and West African rainforest birds. Even more importantly, this tour almost guarantees sightings of two of the world’s best birds: the prehistoric and almost mythical White-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes) and unique and beautiful Egyptian Plover. Ghana is easily accessible by direct flights from the US and Europe, and this is a short tour that often works well for those who can’t take long vacations. In the past, we included the Atewa forest in this itinerary, but in recent years, the road to this forest has not been maintained, and visiting this site now requires a long day of walking. For this reason, we chose not to include Atewa on this year’s itinerary. In future years, we will offer Atewa as a short optional pre-tour for those who don’t mind a long hike. Ghana: The Best of West Africa March 10-26, 2013 This tour continued in the tradition of Tropical Birding’s highly successful Ghana tours. We had fabulous experiences with Picathartes and Egyptian Plover, and racked up 445 bird species and 23 mammals. Perhaps most importantly, everybody on the tour thoroughly enjoyed themselves! From the southern coast to the dry northern savannahs, we enjoyed good company, surprisingly excellent Ghanain food, and wonderful birding. Things kicked off in the capital of Accra, where we made an excursion to Sakumono Lagoon on the first afternoon. This estuary is always birdy, and usually holds some unexpected species. A large flock of African Pygmy-Geese certainly fell into the The superb Picathartes. unexpected category, as did a Black Coucal in the marsh. We enjoyed sightings of Garganey, Spotted Redshank, Collared Pratincole, Black Tern, Pomarine Jaeger, and Peregrine Falcon, plus an array of other shorebirds, herons and egrets, and common scrub birds. As the hazy West African sun set, we were well satisfied with our first afternoon of birding. Although the early part of our itinerary focuses on rainforest sites, our first full day was spent in a Guinea Savannah site, the Shai Hills. The Gap of Dehomey cuts down to the sea in this part of Ghana, meaning that dry conditions and savannah prevail in a narrow band, with rainforest to the east and the west. This slice of savanna set off by a Vieillot’s Barbet on our first morning, towering cluster of inselbergs holds a totally at Shai Hills. Ghana: The Best of West Africa March 10-26, 2013 different set of birds than those found just a little farther west in the rainforest zone. We were delighted by Bateleur, Levaillant’s Cuckoo, a flock of European Bee-eaters, Violet Turaco, African Pygmy-Kingfisher, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Vieillot’s and Double-toothed barbets, Greater Honeyguide, Senegal Parrot, African Hobby, Senegal Eremomela, White-shouldered Black-Tit, White-crowned (Mocking) Cliff-Chat, Blackcap Babbler, Gray Tit-Flycatcher, Violet-backed Starling, and Senegal Batis. Unfortunately, Puvelʼs Illadopsis and Barred Owlet were their usual elusive selves, and were only heard. Traveling back through the busy capital, with a stop at a supermarket for some people to stock up on wine, we made our way to Rainforest Lodge, 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 Crested Malimbe is just one of four beautiful malimbe species found in Kakum National Park. walkway. Some people are intimidated by the prospect of the canopy walkway, but most find that it’s not too bad once they arrive. One good thing about this canopy walkway as opposed to some other walkways and Ghana: The Best of West Africa March 10-26, 2013 towers, is that you start on the level, then the ground subsides under you. You don’t have a long climb up an intimidating staircase! Of the dozens of species of rainforest birds we saw, a few stood out as highlights. The group of Yellow-billed Turacos that showed off at close range was certainly one of them. Also ranking high was an amazing show from a couple of Black Dwarf- Hornbills on the canopy tower. One of them even sat on the tower wire only a few meters away! Otherwise, hornbills were scarce, though we had great views of the Upper Guinea endemic Brown-cheeked Hornbill. A big flock of swifts that included some of the rare Bates’s Swift was another highlight, at least for those who enjoy craning their necks to the sky to make challenging IDs! A Rufous-sided Broadbill showed off while doing its amazing display flight, and was definitely Black Dwarf Hornbill on the famous canopy walkway of Kakum NP. a crowd favorite. Excellent raptors included Congo Serpent-Eagle, African Cuckoo-Hawk, Black Goshawk, and Cassin’s Hawk-Eagle (two times). The shy Blue-headed Wood-Dove and Puvel’s Illadopsis showed well for most people. 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, Ghana: The Best of West Africa March 10-26, 2013 most notably Cassin’s Honeyguide and Violet-backed Hyliota. Another favorite sighting was of a group of three male Johanna’s Sunbirds engaged in some sort of sing-off, all perched up and glowing in the morning light. The birds’ fearless exuberance and glittering colors combined for an unforgettable and unexpected spectacle. Behind these highlights stood a diverse supporting cast of Cuckoos, Tinkerbirds, Hornbills, Greenbuls, Sunbirds, Malimbes, Negrofinches, and more. A green mamba that was superbly spotted at a comfortable distance by one of our local guides was certainly the reptilian highlight. The Pra River held Rock Pratincole and White-throated Blue Swallow, while culverts elsewhere swarmed with Preussʼs Swallows. Shining-blue Kingfisher on one of the beautiful ponds in Ankassa NP. Heading east from Kakum, we next birded Ankassa Reserve, a more remote and pristine rainforest site near the Ivory Coast border. Birding here is tough, and made us appreciate the ease of birding from Kakumʼs canopy walkway! Nonetheless, the rewards were great, and included a handsome pair of Hartlaubʼs Duck, a huge flock of Great Blue Turacos, massive monkey-eating Crowned Hawk-Eagle, Chocolate-backed, Shining-blue, Dwarf, and White-bellied Ghana: The Best of West Africa March 10-26, 2013 Kingfishers, albeit only a glimpse of the latter, Brown-eared Woodpecker, Black Bee-eater, Buff- spotted Woodpecker, great views of Yellow-bearded Greenbul, White-tailed Ant-Thrush, Black- capped Apalis, Cassinʼs Flycatcher, Tiny Sunbird, and Red-vented Malimbe. On our last morning, we bumped into a large feeding flock that contained a couple of Red-fronted Antpecker, a rare and elusive Upper Guinea endemic. Mammals are always hard to find in the rainforest, but we did enjoy a glimpse of bay duiker, and the thrilling sound of a forest elephant in the distance. Coastal scrub held Carmelite and Reichenbach’s Sunbirds and huge flocks of Splendid Glossy-Starlings. After Ankassa, we had another quick stop in Kakum, and managed to catch up with a few new species including Blue-headed Coucal, Yellow-billed Barbet, Melancholy Woodpecker, Chestnut-bellied Helmetshrike, Blue Cuckooshrike, Forest Penduline-Tit, Golden Greenbul, Narrow-tailed Starling, Western Bluebill, and Black-billed Seedcracker. A White-spotted Flufftail showed itself to only one lucky person. Lengthy scope 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 the world’s most magical birds, the White-necked Rockfowl, also known as Yellow-headed Picathartes. A short hike took us into the forest and up the hill that hosts a colony of picathartes. Along the way, we sighted a Gray-throated Tit-Flycatcher while taking a breather. Although the wait for picathartes is sometimes long, we were in luck on this trip, and the first bird appeared within 40 minutes. Despite having seen this bird many 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 Western Green Mamba was the highlight reptile in the Kakum area. Ghana: The Best of West Africa March 10-26, 2013 National Park is one of Ghanaʼs finest parks, offering great birds, good mammals, and sweeping views from the well-situated lodge. During our 3-night stay at this loge, we made excursions by bus and foot every morning and late afternoon, while the hot middays were spent in the cool of the lodge’s air-conditioning. Our outings turned up Stone Partridge, Banded Snake-Eagle, Palm-nut Vulture, Ovambo Sparrowhawk (one individual several times), Forbes’s Plover, White-throated Francolin, Spotted Thick-Knee, Four-banded Sandgrouse, Bruceʼs Green-Pigeon, Red-headed Lovebird, Grayish Eagle-Owl, Red-throated and Northern Carmine Bee-eaters, Fine-spotted and rare Golden-tailed Woodpeckers, lots of Bearded Barbets, Black Scimitar-bill, White-breasted Cuckooshrike, Sun Lark, Spotted Creeper, Dorst’s Cisticola, Moustached Grass-Warbler, surprisingly massive White-crowned Robin-Chat, White-fronted Black-Chat, African Blue- Flycatcher, many Pygmy Sunbirds, Brown-rumped and Cabanis’s Bunting, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, Lavender Waxbill, Black-bellied Firefinch, and Togo Paradise-Whydah.