Ghana birding, Dec 2014 - Jan 2015

Links

• List of birds

When I planned this trip, I decided to fly to Cotonou in Benin and journey overland to Ghana. I’ve never been to Benin or Togo before and since it’s only about 350km by road between Cotonou and Accra (via Togo), I figured this was an ideal and quick opportunity of bagging two new countries. I arranged a driver through Jolinaiko Ecotours based in Accra and he picked me up in Cotonou and drove me from there to Accra with a few stops along the way in Benin and Togo. In Benin we visited the stilt-village of Ganvie, the slave port and voodoo stronghold of Ouidah where I posed for a picture with an African rock python around my neck, and got to do a bit of birding around Grand Popo. In Togo I spent an hour at the grisly voodoo fetish market and visited a local village where they distill palm wine into a fiery moonshine. On Boxing Day, the driver drove me to Accra which we reached mid-afternoon and after saying our goodbyes, I settled in what must be one of the worst places to sleep in Accra. At least the air-con worked but exploding fireworks, slamming doors, shouting and yelling kept me from getting a good night’s sleep. I met my birding guide, Kwame Brown (Malimbetours), and we discussed plans for tomorrow before I got some takeaway for dinner.

27 Dec 2014

At 05:30 I was very glad to say goodbye to the horrible accommodation and after Kwame and his driver Jonathan picked me up, we drove for about an hour to the Shai hills outside Accra for our first birding stop. Granite outcrops of about 50-60m high were covered in tall forest on the slopes and surrounded by alternating dense and sparse woodland on the plains. We took a walk along the track running below the hills and quickly picked up Splendid sunbird, Blue-spotted wood-dove, Lanner falcon, European honey buzzard, Northern crombec and Senegal parrot. Spotted, Northern black and Grey tit-flycatchers were quite common but the real beauties were Violet turaco, Blue malkoha (Yellowbill) and Double-toothed barbet. Later a pair of Vieillot’s barbets entertained us and a group of Blackcap babblers came close enough for a quick glimpse. After getting excellent views of Grey kestrel and five Piapiacs we got back into our vehicle (which has slowly followed some distance behind us) and drove through sparse woodland to a small overhang up the slope of the hills. A Beaudouin’s snake eagle was joined by two Yellow-billed kites overhead and a couple of absolutely stunning Blue-bellied rollers were seen in the trees. On our way out we picked up a Temminck’s courser as our last bird at Shai hills. A long drive of well over two hours followed to reach our night’s accommodation in Tafo. After a late lunch we drove out for another hour or so to the Atewa forests around Apapam. Despite the late afternoon, the birding was still fantastic and we saw Red-vented malimbe, Grey longbill, Red-bellied paradise flycatcher, Red-rumped, Yellow-throated and Speckled tinkerbirds, Orange-cheeked waxbill, Grey-headed nigrita, Chestbut wattle-eye and Vieillot’s black weaver among a few other more common ones. At 5pm the light had started to fade and the steamy day had started cooling down. We drove back to Tafo for dinner and bed. The Royal Bleumich hotel I must admit leaves a lot to be desired and it’s hard to choose between this one and last night’s place as the worst accommodation I’ve seen in a long time. Although I didn’t have an air-con in Royal Bleumich, at least it was quieter and I managed to get to bed early to make up for last night.

28 Dec 2014

Despite a slight delay in getting our packed breakfast sorted, we got away before dawn and arrived at the Atewa hills around 06:30. Initially there was not much of interest with all the birds recorded being common ones we’ve seen so far. Our first good sighting was a Purple-throated cuckooshrike followed by Slender-billed greenbul and Crested malimbe. A big coral tree netted a few good birds with Blue-throated brown sunbird, Green sunbird, Forest penduline-tit and Honeyguide greenbul all noted. A little further we also got Red-tailed bristlebill and Grey-throated flycatcher. It was pleasantly cool so early in the forest but the continuous uphill walking gave me a thorough workout and after three hours I started tiring. It was still another hour before we reached the top of the hill and turned around having added another two lifers: Ussher’s flycatcher and Red-billed helmetshrike (great views!). We went much faster on the way down but did stop for Chestnut-capped flycatcher and an overflying African cuckoo hawk but by the time we reached the road after about 5.5 hours on foot, I was aching. We drove to a roadside café for lunch and then headed to Bobiri forest near Kumasi, a 2-hour drive. Bobiri is also a butterfly sanctuary that lived up to it’s name. It was now late afternoon and hot. A few birds were still around but things had quieted down. A large flowering tree close to a patch of massive bamboo attracted numerous sunbirds and we picked out Buff-throated, Collared and Olive-bellieds. The only other birds of interest was a pair of Grey parrots flying overhead as we were walking back. Arriving at Treasureland hotel, our overnight accommodation in Kumasi, deafening music greeted our tired bodies. We asked the staff if the music can be turned off or at least lowered in volume as there was no function on and there didn’t seem to be any other guests either. Arrogantly and unbelievably, they refused. Threatening to leave the hotel, one lady managed to get the volume turned down, but only for about ten seconds and then it was on full blast again. Kwame had also had enough and he demanded his money back, packed our bags and left in disgust. Our alternative hotel was out in the sticks but it had air*con as well and the rooms were neat and clean and best of all, peacefully quiet.

29 Dec 2014

Our second hotel was a bit further from our destination for the day so we had to get up early enough to leave at 5am. We drove for about an hour and a half to reach Opuro forest north of Kumasi. This was a bit more open and the early morning was very pleasantly cool. The open forest was much easier for birding and we quickly ticked off Gabon woodpecker, Northern puffback, Yellow penduline-tit, Black sparrowhawk, Red-necked buzzard and European pied flycatcher among a bunch of others. At a small pond we stopped to try and lure out a Spotted flufftail but to no avail. We tried a second time at another, larger pond further down the road and had two birds responding to the call but not appearing either. Other interesting birds we saw included Johanna’s sunbird, Green-tailed bristlebill, Bearded barbet and Red-fronted parrot. An hour or so later we turned around and walked back to where the car was parked. Now it was a five-hour drive to Mole National Park, interrupted briefly for a lunch-stop and fuel-stop. The vegetation changed dramatically as we increased our latitude – the thick green forests, banana and palm trees all disappeared and made way for savannah and arid woodland. The birds also changed. A Grasshopper buzzard got a few pictures taken shortly before we entered Mole National Park and soon after, a real prize: three Abysinnian ground hornbills catching insects fleeing from a surface fire. We checked into the park’s accommodation, Mole Motel, shortly after 3pm and spent the rest of the afternoon birding around the immediate area. Red-cheeked cordonbleus, Red-throated bee-eaters, Northern black flycatchers and Bush petronias were common and to this we added Senegal batis, Chestnut-crowned sparrow-weaver, Pygmy, Beautiful and Scarlet-chested sunbirds and a lone Pearl-spotted owlet. The sun beat down on us in the open woodland and by 5pm I had enough and called it a day. Before dinner I did some laundry and had one of the better meals so far on the trip before relaxing under the air-con.

30 Dec 2014

Breakfast was still before dawn so that we could start walking by 06:00. An armed guard escorted us down into the bush but even before we got down and dirty, I picked up five lifers: Senegal thick-knee, Stone partridge, Lavender waxbill, White-shouldered black tit and Fine-spotted woodpecker. The marshy and pond area immediately below the Motel produced Snowy-crowned robin-chat, Yellow-crowned gonolek, Brown-throated wattle-eye, Whinchat and a whole lot more. Just before 10am it started getting too hot and the birds were also heading for the shade. We had notched up 75 birds for the morning and returned to the Motel for siesta and lunch from 10am to 2pm. At 14:30 we left in the car and drove along a track to a small stream where we got out to walk. Here we added Green-backed and White-crowned night herons, Shining blue kingfisher and both Togo and Exclamatory paradise whydahs. We got out several times as we drove down the track but the dust and noise of the car had started attracting horse flies and by about 5pm we would get swamped by flies the moment we got out the car. So we gave up on trying to walk and drove past an open sandy bit where we saw Forbes’s plover, Flappet and Sun larks and then headed back to the Motel. The sun had already set when we made a last stop at the disused airstrip to listen for White-throated francolins and any nightjars, but the heavy dusk was rather quiet and we left without adding anything. Then it was time for dinner and our last night in Mole NP.

31 Dec 2014
The end of the year was all about the start of a cold and a very long drive. Leaving Mole NP immediately after breakfast we drove for about an hour before turning north onto fair gravel road that turned into a horrible bumpy track. After 50km or so it led to a small town and a crossing (in theory) of the White Volta river. We stopped here and walked along the western banks looking mainly for Egyptian plover. Red-chested and Barn swallows were common overhead and a few Common sandpipers were joined by Western yellow wagtails on the exposed rocks in the shallows. The river was filthy. Garbage floated in the calmer waters where people were washing clothes and dishes alike. The village was built immediately above the river banks and there’s no doubt about where the outhouse effluents went. And people wonder why Africa is so full of diseases. About 15 minutes after leaving the car we stood opposite a few sandy fingers on the far banks where there were no people and we could see up to three Egyptian plovers running up and down. It was 100m+ across the river but with maximum zoom on the camera I was able to get a record shot. A White-crowned and Spur-winged plover a little further along were unfortunately out of range and barely distinguishable with binocs. Back at the car we re-traced our bumpy track back to tar and then drove solidly until 17:30 to reach Kumasi, interrupted only by a brief lunch stop outside Kintampo. In Kumasi we headed back to Davellen lodge, the alternative hotel we stayed at three nights ago when Treasureland Hotel refused to turn down their music. It was New Year’s eve and felt very lonely without Nicola. Depressingly the sore throat that started niggling this morning has now confirmed itself as a full-blown cold and did not pose well for a good start to birding in the new year.

01 Jan 2015
I rose at 05:10 with the sore throat still very much sore and feeling the initial tingles of the onset of Runny Nose phase. We left before dawn to reach Bobiri forest around 06:30 and birded here until about 10am. I was not feeling great but the birding perked me up as it was really good: I ticked off Chestnut-winged and Copper-tailed starlings, Red-fronted parrot, Chestnut-capped, Fraser’s forest and Ussher’s flycatchers, Naked-faced barbet, Crested and Red-headed malimbes, Yellow-bearded greenbul, Sharpe’s apalis, Forest woodhoopoe, Yellow-mantled weaver and Green hylia among the common ones. Back at the car we returned to Kumasi for an early lunch followed by a 2-hour drive to Bokra where we spent the early afternoon birding along a forestry track. It was quiet here and we returned to the car with only four new birds for the day. We drove deeper into the forest and through two very rural villages, the last at which we stopped and parked. It was now around 15:00 and we were at a known picathartes nesting site. It was about half an hour’s walk into the forest and we initially went slowly to add a few birds including Johanna’s sunbird but when we started climbing to the rocky outcrop in the forest we went quicker and quieted down. We reached a large boulder at the top of the hill under which the picathartes’ build their muddy nests. Another birding couple and their guide were already installed on a rickety bench and we joined them as quietly as we could – it was 15:45. The next hour or so crawled by slowly as we tried our best not to make any noise when we shifted from one sore butt cheek to the other. Then finally, just before 5pm, we got our first glimpse of a White-necked picathartes as one flew into a corner behind some tangles and started it’s toilette. Fading daylight, overcast weather and forest understory all conspired against photo opportunities and when the bird eventually came closer and went about its business on a rock about 10m away, it was so dark that even my highest ISO setting (6400) still needed a flash and long exposure (1/15 second). Since I didn’t have a tripod, I had to try very hard to keep the camera as still as possible. I managed a few shots where the bird is at least recognizable but it was now 17:30 and we still had a 3-hour drive ahead of us. Leaving the other couple, we rushed back to the car and drove until just before 9pm over terrible roads to reach Cape Coast. Our accommodation for the next three nights was at Hans Cottage Botel (it’s not a spelling error) that’s built on and around an artificial crocodile swamp. Feeling hungry and sick (the post-nasal drip had started and the sore throat was, well, a real pain), I had a quick dinner of chicken and rice, took some tablets and collapsed into bed. It was not the greatest New Year I’ve had physically, but the birding was good with a total of 52 forest birds plus the big prize picathartes.

02 Jan 2015
With New Year’s parties still going on until after midnight, I didn’t get too much sleep and felt tired at breakfast at 05:30. The Sore Throat phase was largely past now but Post-Nasal Drip was in full swing. We drove for about half an hour (again, horrendous roads) to Kakum National Park – you’d think they’d recognize the commercial value of such a place and do something about the road. Kakum’s famous for its high canopy walkway – seven platforms built around huge trees, interlinked with bouncy suspended walkways. Before we got to the walkway though, we could hear a broadbill “calling” and took a shortcut into the forest, approaching slowly. It was a Rufous-sided broadbill and we got great views before heading onto the walkway. We spent the next two hours on the platforms and got really excellent views of canopy birds we would otherwise just see shadows or silhouettes of. The best sightings were Tambourine dove, Yellow-billed turaco, Golden greenbul, Naked-faced barbet, Seimund’s sunbird, Cassin’s honeyguide, Blue cuckooshrike, Yellow-mantled weaver, Violet-backed hyliota, Little green woodpecker, Green hylia, Black dwarf hornbill and Western nicator. At 9am, large groups of extremely noisy people arrived – the park’s regulations on no-noise on the walkway specifically were universally ignored and there was no-one around to enforce it anyway. With promises from Kwame that it would only get worse during the day, we left, picked up a Blue-billed malimbe and Yellow-bearded greenbul on the way back to the car and returned to Hans Cottage for lunch. A quick walk around the swamps at the Botel produced Vieillot’s black weaver, Grey kestrel, Red-necked buzzard and a few Pied kingfishers. After lunch I had a couple of hours rest over the hottest part of the day before setting out again at 3pm to Brenu beach road. It was blindingly hot and my constantly running nose did not help. Birding was relatively quiet but we did see Compact weaver, Bar-breasted firefinch and Black-rumped waxbill in the space of two minutes in a grassy patch just off the road. A tidal lagoon area covered in palms and mangroves was surprisingly quiet and we only saw Senegal thick-knee, Common sandpiper and a Western marsh harrier here. Kwame knew a place where an owl has been seen regularly and after reaching the spot we waited until dusk. The owl was a no-show though and we left just after 6pm.

03 Jan 2015
We were up and away early again to reach Antikwaa forest, about half an hour’s drive north of Kakum National Park at 06:45. The birds were already calling when we got out of the car and we quickly noted Vieillot’s barbet, Blue-spotted wood-dove and Red-rumped tinkerbird. Little greenbuls were common and a Black bee-eater posed several times for a few photos. New birds for the trip included Preus’s cliff swallow, Green crombec and Yellow-billed barbet but our repeated calls for Red-billed dwarf hornbill went un-answered. By 9am things had started quieting down as the temperature rose and we returned to the car for another half hour drive to Twifo Praso for White-throated blue swallows, several of which were seen sitting on distant rocks in the river and also flying overhead. Lunch was back at Hans Cottage and we then left only again at 15:30. The afternoon, if anything, was even hotter than the morning and at Brimsu Water Works, birding was painfully slow. So slow in fact that Kwame gave up and decided to try another foresty area close to Kakum. Here it was quiet as well but we did see very distant Piping hornbills and got decent views of Dusky blue flycatcher. We were back at Hans Cottage just after 6pm.

04 Jan 2015
The last day of the trip had arrived and although I was looking forward to the birding, I was very keen to finish and go home as well. We got an early start and drove out to the same forest outside Kakum we were at yesterday afternoon. Conditions were extremely foggy and consequently the humidity so high that I was pouring in less than two minutes. The fog also didn’t help the birding and the only thing of interest was a Tropical boubou calling from some thickets. As the road narrowed to a track and then a footpath, it entered the forest proper and here things got more interesting. Little green woodpecker and Chestnut wattle-eye were seen clearly and Rosy bee-eaters were flying overhead. But it was the day of for greenbuls – in all we saw ten – Little grey, Swamp, Simple, Little, Yellow-bearded, Icterine, Red-tailed, Cameroon sombre, Western bearded and Spotted greenbuls. I got a brief glimpse of Blue-headed crested flycatcher but both Red-tailed and Green-tailed bristlebills were seen much better as the males were displaying. Probably the highlight for me was a fantastic view of a Blue-headed wood-dove. We scared one up in Bobiri forest a few days earlier but as I was unable to note identifying features myself, it never got recorded. At 10am we were back in the car and I could finally start drying out a little in the air-con during the two-hour drive to Winneba. At Winneba, Kwame was to hand me over to a driver for the return to Accra while he met up with two new clients for a 3-week trip. But we got to Winneba a little earlier and had enough time for a quick walk along the Winneba lagoon beach. This was great since we now got to see some water birds for a change and we quickly added 13 new birds for the trip: Black-winged stilt, Marsh and Curlew sandpipers, White-fronted, Common ringed and Grey plovers, Ruddy turnstone, Bar-tailed godwit, Damara and Royal terns, Eurasian oystercatcher, Common redshank and a Shikra. We went for lunch in Winneba where we met the two new clients – very affable Germans – before we said our goodbyes and I left for Accra. The driver dropped me off at the Pink Hostel – a terribly basic backpacker’s that I booked to just have a quick shower before going to the airport. Although a bit cramped, the shared bathroom at least had a decent shower. But there was no air-con so I was sweating again even before I finished drying off. I didn’t really care to stay at the backpacker’s so immediately got a taxi to the airport. Check-in opened about 20 minutes after I arrived, so after a short wait I got checked in and then quickly went through immigration and security and spent the next two hours in the lounge before the flight home.

It was a really great birding trip, despite the uncomfortable conditions and my cold. We recorded 315 species in total for 9 days – that’s pretty impressive for such a short time especially since we had a number of long drives and mid-day siestas. The New Year’s challenge for one thousand African birds also got a fantastic start with 178 species recorded, about 125 of which I can only see outside of South Africa.