Ghana, Days 11 - 13, 4 - 6 December 2023 - Mole NP

We spent 3 nights staying at the Mole Motel with 2 full days and an early morning sessions birding. During this time we did one morning out in a jeep which allowed us access to some spots that need a 4-wheel drive and visited areas around the Zaina Lodge, Samole Loop and nearby waterholes. 

The bushy savannah habitat reminded me a little of certain areas in Kruger, South Africa but rather more grown up. As such the birding was generally easier than in thick forest. The only hazards were Sweat Bees and Tsetse Flies which necessitated a certain amount of covering up at one spot! 

My personal highlights were the difficult Forbes's Plover, Gambaga Flycatcher and Togo Paradise Whydah, rather unexpected views of 2 Narina Trogons, Grey-headed Kingfishers, Sun Lark, Chestnut-backed Sparrow-lark, Rock-loving Cisticola, Dorst's Cisticola, Rufous Cisticola, Red-throated Bee-eaters, White-headed Vulture, Golden-tailed Woodpecker, Bruce's Green Pigeon, Four-banded Sandgrouse, Brubru, White-shouldered Black Tit, White-fronted Black Chat, Little Weaver, Red-headed Weaver, Vitelline Masked Weaver, Gosling's Bunting and Brown-rumped Bunting.  By the Mole River we had 2 African Blue Flycatchers, lovely views of Moustached Grass-warbler, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Malachite Kingfisher, Blue-breasted Kingfisher and Blackcap Babblers.

It was also a great place to boost the triplist with many new species due to the different habitat. These included a good selection of raptors such as Hooded Vulture, White-backed Vulture, Bataleur, Palm Nut Vulture, Shikra and Banded Snake-eagle plus Painted Snipe, Spur-winged Goose, Helmeted Guineafowl, Stone Partridge, Green Woodhoopoe, Hadada Ibis, Northern Red-billed Hornbill, Abyssinian Roller, Senegal Parrot, African Golden Oriole, Senegal Batis, Senegal Erememola, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Lesser Blue-eared Starling, Long-tailed Glossy Starling, Yellow-billed Shrike, Familiar Chat, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Pygmy Sunbird, Lavender Waxbill, Double-spurred Francolin, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Fork-tailed Drongo, African Paradise Flycatcher, Northern Crombec, Yellow-crowned Gonolek, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-weaver, Sahel Bush Sparrow and Northern Black Flycatcher plus palearctic migrants such as Pied Flycatcher, Whinchat, Northern Wheatear and Willow Warbler. 

A couple of evenings out including 2 visits to an old airstrip got us African Scops Owl, Greyish Eagle Owl, Northern White-faced Owl, Standard-winged Nightjar and Long-tailed Nightjar.      

Mammals were also pretty decent with African Elephant (including one at 20 meters range!), Bushbuck, Western Kob, Common Warthog, Olive Baboon, Green Vervet Monkey and Patas Monkey.

Leaving Mole on  6 December for the long drive south back to Kumasi we first stopped at Laraganga to look at the oldest mosque in West Africa (adding Red-chested Swallow) and then at a roadside between Fulfoso and Damongo. Here it was a bit of a raptor-fest with Beadouin's Snake-eagle, Dark-chanting Goshawk, Lizard Buzzard, Grasshopper Buzzard and c25 Black Kites plus Black-headed Herons and Senegal Thicknees. 

Ghana, Day 10, 3 December 2023 - Opra Forest & The White Volta River at Daboya

Today was the day we made the long drive north from Kumasi to Mole NP so it was mainly travelling day. That isn't to say we did no birding - we stopped at 2 sites, one of which was rather memorable!

The first stop was at the much degraded Opra Forest, a site by the main road north. Here we nevertheless saw a few bits and bobs of interest  - Tambourine Dove, 2 Double-toothed Barbets, 2 Lizard Buzzards, Grasshopper Buzzard, 3 Green Wood Hoopoes, 4 Northern Puffbacks, Chestnut-backed Weaver, 2 Black and White Mannikins and lovely views of 3 Western Bluebills which are always stunning.

 

The other stop was much later in the day and involved a bit of a race against the light. It involved a detour of an hour each way to the banks of the White Volta River at Daboya. Just before we reached Daboya 4 Northern Red-billed Hornbills were my only tick of the day but the main attraction of the site is Egyptian Plover. We duly saw 2 birds while standing in a human latrine on a hill overlooking the river. Being careful where we stood we got some great views with the distant birds even responding to playback and flying much closer. Also there was a Malachite Kingfisher, 3 Pied Kingfishers, c30 Speckled Pigeons, Exclamatory Paradise Whydah, 2 Vinaceous Doves, a swift fly-through Red-necked Falcon and herons flying to roost including hundreds of Cattle Egrets, Squacco Heron and 2 Black-crowned Night Herons.

After leaving there it was still quite a drive to Mole where we eventually checked into the Mole Motel for the start of a 3 night stay and had a rather late dinner!

    

Ghana, Day 9, 2 December 2023 - Kwabena Sam Forest & Bobiri Butterfly Sanctuary

After a slight mix up due to our guide having been given the wrong itinerary (!) we were back on track with only the schedued one night in Bonkro and an afternoon visit to Bobiri. 

Leaving the guesthouse we had a showy Blue-headed Coucal near our cabins before we drove the short distance to the nearby Kwabena Sam Forest and began an extended walk along another muddy and puddled track. Our targets of Afep Pigeon and Bronze-naped Pigeon were nowhere to be seen but what we did see more than compensated. Initially 2 Red-fronted Parrots flew along the road and a Black Cuckoo showed distantly but well and made up for untickable views at Ankasa. Along the main track we went on to find African Emerald Cuckoo, Blue Cuckooshrike, Usshers Flycatchers, Tambourine Dove, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Klass's Cuckoo, Velvet-mantled Drongo and Yellow-mantled Weaver. Some lovely perched views of Long-tailed Hawk stole the show however and as we reached a slightly more open area Congo Serpent Eagle and African Cuckoo Hawk both fell in quick succession - a real purple patch! We then came to a large wide ride cut through the forest which was being cultivated by local villagers. A walk along the wide stretch yielded some great birds again with 4 Grosbeak Weavers, a very showy Black-throated Coucal, 4 Blue-throated Rollers, 2 Little Green Sunbirds, Red-headed Malimbe, Cassin's Honeyguide and White-throated Bee-eaters.

 

The afternoon session was at Bobiri Butterfly Sanctuary after a drive north via the city of Kumasi. Along the entrance track to the reserve centre here we scored with c15 Red-billed Helmetshrikes, Honeyguide Greenbul, Sharpe's Apalis, Green Crombec, Little Green Sunbird, Fire-bellied Woodpecker, Chestnut-capped Flycatcher, Buff-throated Sunbird, White-breasted Nigrita, Maxwell's Black Weaver and best of all in terms of rarity Yellow-footed Honeyguide. Continuing beyond the centre we encountered the biggest ant swarm I've ever seen (literally millions completely covering the track) but emerged the other side after much swearing and slapping of legs! Our quarry were roosting parrots and after we found a good gap in the trees allowing viewing we saw c6 African Grey Parrots and c4 Red-fronted Parrots. The former in particular were very pleasing being endangered due to illegal trapping for the pet trade. 

          

Ghana, Day 8, 1 December 2023 - Jukwa, Pra River and Bonkro

The trip entered another phase today but before we left the Kakum area we spent a good morning session on a side road in Jukwa just around the corner from the Rainforest Lodge. Just before we left the lodge I was in the right place at the right time as 2 Magpie Mannikins put in appearance to the side of the lodge with the Woodland Kingfisher also putting in another appearance.

Along the dirt side road is a newly discovered site for Baumann's Greenbul and we managed to see 2 of this scarcity. While at the same spot a fantastic Marsh Tchagra showed well as did Pale Flycatcher, Red-faced Cisticola, 2 Copper Sunbirds, Simple Leaflove, Black-winged Bishop and Oriole Warbler. On the opposite side of the road I got views of a Lowland Sooty Boubou and a Brown-crowned Tchagra also joined the party. Other goodies included Honey Buzzard, African Harrier Hawk, Lesser Honeyguide, Mosque Swallow, Northern Fiscal and Green-backed Camaroptera. We then moved off down a narrow side track where White-throated Bee-eaters were everywhere together with Western Bluebill, Grey-headed Nigrita and Tit-hylia. Much staring into bushes then gave me some superb close-up views of Blue-shouldered Robin-chat after a couple of views of it flying back and forth across the track.

 

It was then time to move on and head north. Out stop on the way to Bonkro was at the Pra River where despite very high river levels we scored somewhat fortuitously with 2 Rock Pratincoles perched at distance on a partially submerged tree. The other main target here is White-throated Blue Swallow and we saw about half a dozen of this attractive hirundine around the bridge with 2 Mottled Spinetails too.

 

Leaving there in the searing heat with welcome icecreams we then made our way to Bonkro and checked in to the Picathartes Guesthouse in advance of our evening assault for the main target. Starting out into the forest mid-afternoon it was a good walk to the site where the picathartes roost in nests on a massive boulder. Sitting patiently on the benches we waited...and we waited. Things were starting to look dodgy (put down to a Red-breasted Goshawk in the area) but we heaved a sigh of relief as a single Yellow-headed Picathartes eventually showed up in the gloom at 17.20