Ghana, Day 4, 27 November 2023 - Kakum area, Bokoro Lily Pond & Ankobra River

Our last morning in the Kakum area was back at the scene of the previous evenings soaking.

On the way a flock of Preuss's Cliff Swallows and Barn Swallows was by the bridge in Bremang before we set off for a long walk along yesterdays logging track. During our exploration we found a few of our most sought after birds - Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo, Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, Chestnut-breasted Nigrita, Rufous-crowned Erememola, Ansorge's Greenbul, African Emerald Cuckoo, Chestnut-capped Flycatcher, Tiny Sunbird and a showy Red-chested Goshawk being the pick of the bunch. A brief African Pygmy Kingfisher flashed across the track while Spotted Greenbul, Velvet-manted Drongo, Ussher's Flycatcher, Buff-throated Sunbird, Hairy-breasted Barbet, Yellow-mantled Weaver, Red-headed Malimbe, Green Sunbird, Chestnut-winged Starling and Blue Cuckooshrike provided a splendid back-up cast. 

 

After lunch and a freshed up back at the Rainforest Lodge (plus Mottled Spinetail and Diderik Cuckoo) we hit the road again as we made our way towards the next main phase of the trip - at Ankasa. The first of 2 stops along the way was at the charmingly named Bokoro Lily Pond. He we struck lucky with 2 Allen's Gallinules which nobody had imagined we would see on the trip. Also ticked there was Orange Weaver nest building on an island plus 7 Cotton Pygmy Geese, 8 White-faced Whistling Ducks, Woodland Kingfisher, Little Bee-eater, Copper Sunbird, African Jacana, Northern Fiscal, Spur-winged Plover and Purple Heron of note.        

The other stop was at a roadside wetland/river Ankobra. Here the star birds were Mouse-brown Sunbird feeding hidden young in the nest, Reichenbach's Sunbird, a fly-over Black-bellied Seedcracker, Swamp Greenbul, Malacite Kingfisher and Black-headed Paradise Flycatcher. 

Arriving at the start of the entrance track to Ankasa we tranfserred into a beaten up Landrover which was to be our transport for our stay there. An extremely bumpy, muddy and uncomfortable rise later we were at the lovely lodge just as it got dark. After dark a quick spotlight walk gave us some lovely views of West African Potto near our rooms. 

Ghana, Day 3, 26 November 2023 - Kakum NP area

Still in the Kakum area today but concentrating on some different areas.

The morning session was spent on the edge of the national park in an area of farm scrub and forest edge at Antwikwaa which is to the north of where we were the previous day. 

En-route a roadside stop in the village of Abrafo had us getting to grips with the id of Ethiopian Swallow and Preuss's Cliff Swallow both of which were on telegraph wires in the village.

 

At Antwikwaa our first scheduled stop was for some trackside birding which gave us some really memorable sightings. Initially there were Red-rumped Tinkerbird, Hairy-breasted Barbet, Naked-faced Barbet, Melancholy Woodpecker, Orange-cheeked Waxbill, Chestnut-and-black Weaver and our first Red-faced Cisticolas. Then we dived into a copse where we enjoyed mega views of Puvel's Illadopsis and Red-cheeked Wattle-eye before craning our heads through a gap in the canopy to gawp at a White-crested Hornbill. Even better was to come with some wonderful views of White-spotted Flufftail after much staring into the bushes! Swamp Greenbul and Lesser Striped Swallow were also clocked up before we moved on.

 

A few km further on we stopped for an extended period walking a track along the forest edge until it became too hot. The star birds here were Blue-headed Coucal, 2 Klass's Cuckoos, Grey Longbill, Whistling Cisticola, Green Crombec, Piping Hornbill, 3 Yellow-throated Tinkerbirds, 2 Black-and-white Mannikins and White-breasted Nigrita.

 

Following lunch and an afternoon sietsa we ventured ou again - this time to the forest on the west side of the road opposite the NP. Along the wide logging track here we had 2 Yellow-billed Barbets that kept flying over us in response to playback, Black-winged Oriole,Western Black-headed Oriole, Green Hylia, Red-headed Malimbe, West African Wattle-eye, Sabine's Puffback, Western Bearded Greenbul, Rosy Bee-eater and 3 Blue-throated Rollers in the gathering gloom. We then had to make haste back to the vehicle as potential owling was scuppered by a monumental downpour!

          

Ghana, Day 2, 25 November 2023 - Kakum NP

Day 2 began with a tick from the breakfast table with a confiding Woodland Kingfisher on wires above the swimming pool at the Rainforest Lodge!

The sole aim of the day was to spend time on the famous canopy walkway at Kakum NP. We had 2 sessions there - one in the morning and another shorter one in the evening. This rather wobbly rope bridge walkway has a number of platforms and it was the largest (and therefore most comfortable) one that we spent the majority of our time on. We were shocked a couple of times when we all moved to one side of the platform to see something and it visibly tilted rather suddenly - brown trousers all round!

It is hard to explain just how good the birding is from the walkway - after early morning fog had lifted we were constantly picking up new birds and I ended up with an amazing 39 lifers during the day! Without wanting to simply list what we saw (you can check out my eBird checklist for that) the highlights for me personally were Yellow-billed Turaco, Black-casqued Hornbill, Brown-cheeked Hornbill, Blue Malkoha, Velvet-mantled Drongo, Rosy Bee-eater, Black Bee-eater (posing on the wires of the walkway itself), Blue Cuckooshrike, West African Batis, Forest Penduline Tit, Tit-hylia, Rufous-crowned Erememola, Spotted Greenbul, Golden Greenbul, Yellow-whiskered Greenbul, Blue-throated Brown Sunbird, Copper-tailed Starling, Chestnut-winged Starling, Johanna's Sunbird, Buff-throated Sunbird, Red-headed Malimbe and Yellow-mantled Weaver. Two excellent primates also put in an appearance - Lesser Spot-nosed Monkey and Mona Monkey.

At ground level after the morning session we were also treated to a displaying male Rufous-sided Broadbill and after dark on a damp evening a Brown Nightjar in a tiny clearing. 

Ghana, Day 1, 24 November 2023 - Shai Hills and Winneba Lagoon

As we'd arrived after dark the previous evening today was the first birding of the trip.

Checking out of the Alexis Hotel in Tema we had Purple Glossy Starling, Purple Heron and the first Bronze Mannikins and Northern Grey-headed Sparrows of the trip from the hotel forecourt before we hit the road. A bizarre sight of a Black Crake flying across the road proved to be the only one of the entire trip just before we pulled up at the main entrance of Shai Hills. 

The site is one of dry savannah scrub surrounding a large rocky hill/outcrop. It is the site that everyone visits for White-crowned Cliff Chat (the local ssp of Mocking Cliff Chat) and we saw 3 of these at distance on an elevated rocky area. Other highlights as we explored the track on the west side were Yellow-throated Leaflove, a couple of typically elusive Grey-headed Bristlebills, Copper Sunbird (my 3000th world species), Splendid Sunbird, 2 Oriole Warblers, Violet-backed Starlings, White-shouldered Black Tit, Red-shoudered Cuckoo-shrike (another big target here), Cardinal Woodpecker, Vieillot's Barbet, Bearded Barbet, Double-toothed Barbet, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Croaking Cisticola, Siffling Cisticola, African Grey Hornbill, Grey Kestrel, Honey Buzzard and Red-necked Buzzard. Foster then lead us up a steep rocky path to a cave where there were a large number of roosting Egyptian Tombs Bats. A Guinea Turaco was nearby and the area by the entrance and carpark had plenty of Olive Baboons.

 

After lunch at the hotel we started the long journey westwards along the coast stopping near the village of Ekumfi to see 2 Mosque Swallows, African Jacana and nearby a Black-shouldered Kite.

 

Our main scheduled stop on the journey was at Winneba Lagoon. This was the only coastal estuarine site we visited so was a good opportunity to boost the trip list. A good variety of waders were present with the best being Black-winged Stilts, Spur-winged Plover, Marsh Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, plenty of Curlew Sandpipers, Whimbrel, Little Stints and Sanderling. Royal, Sandwich and Common Terns were also present as were several Western Reef Herons, Yellow Wagtail and African Pied Wagtail.

 

Ghana, introduction and logistics

Ghana is the most convenient and safe country in West Africa in which to see a significant number of the upper guinea endemics. It has been a stable and safe destination for many years and combined with a good road and tourist infrastructure makes it the obvious choice for any birder wanting to visit the region.

There is a 'tried and tested' route around the country that virtually every tour follows. Ours with the main birding tour company Ashanti was no different. This route takes in the following sites:

Shai Hills

Winneba Lagoon

Kakum NP (including the canopy walkway)

Ebi River

Ankasa

Bonkro (for Yellow-headed Picathartes)

Bobiri Butterfly Sanctuary

The White Volta river at Daboya (for Egyptian Plover)

Mole NP

Atewa Range

plus a few roadside stops en-route

 

Our guide from Ashanti was Foster Frimpong one of their most popular guides. He truly did go the extra mile to help ensure we had the best possible chance of getting the birds. This meant 05.00 starts each morning with the days often ending with night birding after dark. As such it was a full-on and intensive trip that left me ready for a holiday when I got home! 

There were 4 of us on the trip and becuse of that number Ashanti offered us a private tour for the same price per head as a scheduled tour which was about GBP2925 each.

Transport was in a very comfortable small minibus which had plenty of room for us all (and a great aircon system!). At Ankasa the entrance road to the lodge and beyond is in really bad condition so we transferred to battered ancient landrover for 3 days there. The same level of comfort was not forthcoming with up to 7 of us plus luggage crammed in! There were quite a few long drives on the trip (especially to and from Mole) with progress slow due to traffic, numerous pot holes and speed bumps the size of small hills!  

We flew with KLM from Norwich to Accra via Amsterdam which was very convenient and relaxed.

Accomodation was in mid-range hotels and lodges which were all adequate and clean. Some obviously better that others.

Worst ones - Mole Motel and Nelsban Palace Hotel

Best ones - Rainforest Lodge, Ankasa Guesthouse and for entirely different reasons the Picathartes Guesthouse.

Food was reasonably good but a little repetitive in the end. Certainy better than we had feared. As well as the local staples of plantain, a bean stew called 'red red', peanut soup, rice etc there was also plenty of 'western' food on the menus inclusing pizza, fries, fish, pasta, etc. We certainly didn't starve! 

The following screen grab from my eBird shows the birding spots we visited