GHANA: 15 Day Budget Birding Trip

Today is certainly guaranteed to be a perfect start to a memorable bird watching adventure. Our first stop will be at Sakumono lagoon, an important RAMSAR site, the complex of lagoons and marsh land is also surrounded by a coastal savanna.  Depending on the season we expect to see both resident and migrant shore birds.

Target species: Senegal Thick-knee, Wattled Lapwing, African Jacana, Western Reef Egret, a variety of weavers, cisticolas and wablers. Yellow-billed Shrike, African hobby, African Grey Hornbill, Senegal Parrots and Double-spurred Francolin.

We will continue to Winneba plains in the afternoon.

Target species: Violet Turaco, Green Turaco, African Moustached warbler, Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike , Yellow-crowned Gonolek.

Kakum National Park is the leading destination for bird watching in Ghana. The incredible canopy walkway which is suspended between seven huge forest trees. There are platforms for telescopes and photography. Bird watching from this walkway will allow the seldom seen canopy dwelling birds to be closely observed. We will bird all the areas around the Kakum forest as well as the coastal savannah around Cape Coast. The number of birds we shall seen here exceeds most birder's expectations. We will spend two full days here.
Target species: Black Casqued-hornbill, Brown-cheeked Hornbill,Yellow-billed Turaco, Crowned Eagle, Long-tailed Hawk, Cassins Hawk-eagle, African Cuckoo-hawk, Congo Serpent-eagle, Black Dwarf-hornbill, Pied Hornbill, Golden Greenbul, Slender-billed Greenbul, Yellow-whiskered Greenbul, Western Nicator, Little Greenbul, Blue Cuckooshrike, Western Black-headed Oriole, Western Black-winged Oriole, Violet-backed Hyliota, Sharps Apalis, Black-capped Apalis, Buff-throated Sunbird, Blue-throated Brown Sunbird, Olive-bellied Sunbird, Grey long-bill, Bristle-nosed Barbet, Naked-faced Barbet, Velvet-mantled Drongo, Red-bellied Paradise-flycatcher and so much more, too numerous to mention.

After a final morning of birding at the Kakum area, we will head for Assin Foso. This is surely the highlight of the tour, where we hope to be able to show you Yellow-headed Picathartes. This enigmatic species has quite recently been rediscovered in Ghana after not having been seen in the country for over 40 years. Locals are proud to be able to provide birders the opportunity seeing this most spectacular forest bird.

We will transfer to Aboabo camp in the northern part of Kakum for more forest birding and the possibly to catch up with some species that we might have missed previously around Kakum’s main entrance. Aboabo is a very productive area.  On arrival we take up our rooms in our hotel in order to have a good rest before going out for some evening birding at the Bobiri sanctuary.
Bobiri forest may be smaller than Kakum forest but very productive and serves as a very good stop-over en route to the Mole National Park. Bobiri forest will help to increase our number of forest species as well as provide more oppurtunity to get any species that we may have missed before.

Target species: Red-billed Dwarf-hornbill, Blue-throated Roller, Shining Blue Kingfisher, Bat Hawk, Gray Parrot and Red-thighed Sparrowhawk.

Day 8: Mole National Park which is situated in the north of the country is the best place in Ghana to see savannah birds. Our arrival at Mole will be in the evening and depending on our arrival time we may be able to do some night birding.

Target species: Scops Owl, Pel’s Fishing Owl, Spotted Eagle Owl, Standard-winged Nightjar, Freckled Nightjar, Plain Nightjar can often be found here. Green Wood Hoopoe

Day 9-11: Bird watching at Mole is outstanding; the ease with which one can see the birds is amazing. All Ghana’s savannah birds are to be found here. Birding watching here is impossible without also coming face to face with large mammals, over 800 African Elephants are present in the park. Some of the elephants around the village near the park entrance are extraordinarily tame. Many species of antelopes, several species of monkeys can also be seen and the remarkably tame warthogs and troops of baboons are always to be seen around the hotel. Crocodiles and Water Monitors are also frequently encountered around the water holes.

Target species: Egyptian plover, Forbes plover ,Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Saddle-billed Stork, Bateleur, Martial Eagle, Long-tailed Starling, Purple Glossy Starling,Spotted Creeper, Yellow-bellied Hyliota, Oriole Warbler, White-crowned Robin-chat, Red Pytilia, Red-headed Lovebird, African Golden Oriole, African Hobby, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow, Stone Partridge, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Red-throated Bee-eater, Broad-billed Roller, Exclamatory Paradise Whydah, Pel's Fishing Owl, Grayish Eagle Owl, Northern White-faced Owl.

Today we will depart early from Mole National park and head again for Kumasi leaving the savannah to return to the forests. We will bird our way down south stopping at water holes and attractive spots and arrive at Kumasi in the evening. If there is time to spare we will visit Bobiri forest before sunset as we continue searching for the endless list of species occurring here.

Target species:  Forest Wood-hoopoe, White-headed Hoopoe, African Piculet, Afep Pigeon, Western Bronze-naped Pigeon.

After our morning birding at Bobiri and picking up on any previous missed species we will drive down to the Atewa range. This range is somewhat hilly and in the afternoon we will bird the farm land at the foothills in preparedness for the following day when we will do a long birding walk up the hill.

Target species: Blue-headed Bee-eater, Compact Weaver, Little Greenbul, Puvels Illadopsis, Brown Illadopsis, Red-cheeked Wattle-eye, Western Bluebill, Black-necked Weaver, Naked-faced Barbet, Bristle-nosed Barbet.

Today is normally one of the best day of birding in Ghana. There is nothing like the walk up the Atewa range with the possibility of seeing up to 70 species today. The big target here though is the Blue-headed Bee-eater while encountering many bird waves along the way.

Target species: Green-tailed Bristle-bill, Grey-headed Bristle-bill, Red-tailed Bristle-bill, Red-tailed Greenbul, Western Bearded-greenbul, Yellow-bearded Greenbul, Shining Drongo, Icterine Greenbul, Yellow-spotted Barbet, Yellow-billed Barbet, White-tailed Ant-thrush, White-tailed Alethe, Finch's Flycatcher-thrush, Congo Serpent Eagle, Cassin's Hawk Eagle, Ayre's Hawk Eagle, Letham's Forest Francolin and Ahanta Francolins. The list is endless .

This morning we visit the Shai Hills Resource Reserve for our last birding before your transfer to the airport. Any savannah birds that we may have missed at Mole National Park can be seen here as well as species that are particularly associated with this location.

Target species: Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Senegal Parrot, Red-shouldered Cuckoo Shrike, Violet Turaco, Yellow-winged Pytilia, Green Twinspot, Stone Patridge, Helmeted Guineafowl, Black-bellied Bustard, Yellow-crowned Gonolek, Brown Babblers, Yellow-billed Shrike, Rosy Bee-eater, Blue-bellied Roller.