Monday, February 25, 2008 - Bird Safari on the Gold Coast, Ghana

We had a very succesful Ecotours birding holiday in January-February in Ghana, West Africa. We recorded 394 species during the 2 weeks. Bird of the trip was Yellow-headed Picathartes with 4 birds seen extremely well at one of their nesting sites.

There were many trip highlights, as we saw 10 hornbill species including Black-casqued, Brown-cheeked, Red-billed Dwarf and Black Dwarf Hornbills, 9 species of kingfishers including Chocolate-backed and Shining-blue Kingfishers, as well as 8 species of bee-eaters, including Black, Blue-headed and Rosy Bee-eaters.

Kakum with the Canopy Walkway and Aboabo was very rewarding. We recorded Long-tailed Hawk and African Cuckoo-Hawk, Latham's Francolin, Red-fronted and Grey Parrot, Yellow-billed Turaco, Black Bee-eater, Little-green and Fire-bellied Woodpecker, many greenbuls, flycatchers and sunbirds, White-tailed Alethe, Finsch's Flycatcher-Thrush, Kemp's Longbill, Blue Cuckoo-Shrike, Copper-tailed Glossy-Starling to name just a few.

Another highlight was Mole National Park with many mammals, including African Elephant, 3 species of monkeys, 4 species of antelopes including Roan Antelope, and of course fabulous birds. The unbelievable male Standard-winged Nightjar or the pair of Greyish Eagle-Owls sitting quietly in a tree or the Denham's Bustard recorded only a couple of times in Mole were all unforgettable. Our long list in Mole included such gems as Saddle-billed Stork, White-headed Vulture, Martial Eagle, Red-headed Lovebird, Violet Turaco, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Black Scimitarbill, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill, Fine-spotted Woodpecker, Sun Lark, White-fronted Black Chat, African Blue Flycatcher, White-shouldered Tit, White Helmet-Shrike, Western Violet-backed Sunbird, Black-headed Weaver and Black-faced Firefinch.



We also visited Sakumono Lagoon and other coastal wetlands for Black Heron and Yellow-throated Longclaw, Bobiri Forest for Shining Drongo, Preuss's Weaver and lots of colourful butterflies, and Atewa Hills for Blue-headed Bee-eater, a nice array of barbets, greenbuls and flycatchers.

Ghana once again proved to be a very exciting birdwatching destination with a good combinatin of Upper Guinea Forest and Savanna specialities, nice hotels, good food and friendly people.