Ghana Picathartes & Egyptian Plover Set departure tour 9 th 22 nd March, 2014

Transcription

1 Ghana Picathartes & Egyptian Plover Set departure tour 9 th 22 nd March, 2014 Tour leader: Charley Hesse Report by Charley Hesse The undisputed bird of the trip, the weirdly beautiful White-necked Rockfowl or Picathartes (Ken Behrens) Ghana is now well established on the world birding circuit. Made famous by the strange White-necked Rockfowl, or Picathartes, Ghana is still the best place in the world to see one. Other star birds include Egyptian Plover and Standard-winged Nightjar and on this tour we had killer views of all of these. Ghana is also a great place to build your world list and even if you have birded Eastern or Southern Africa, you will still end up with a long list of lifers. We did particularly well on this tour with a final count of 436 species in just 2 weeks, almost cleaning up on several particularly diverse groups like greenbuls, cisticolas and sunbirds. Birding in the humid lowland rainforest of the south wasn t easy, and ranks with some of the most challenging in the world, but Kakum s famous canopy walkway and some fantastic stakeouts for difficult species meant that we found most of our targets. While not luxurious, the accommodation was adequate to comfortable and everyone enjoyed the camping at Ankassa which was particularly well organized. Other than those mentioned above, our avian highlights included both dwarf-hornbills at Kakum, Hartlaub s Duck and African Finfoot on the way to Ankassa, Blue-headed Bee-eater on our drive north, Standard-winged Nightjar, Forbes s Plover and Abyssinian Ground Hornbill in Mole NP. On the tour we had ample opportunity for night watching and found several rarely seen mammals with wonderful names like cusimanse, anomalure and giant pouched-rats. Ghana is friendly, safe and stable with decent infrastructure but most importantly they have the best local guides in Africa. These guys really gave us an incredible trip. Tropical Birding 1

2 9 th March Sakumono Lagoon No birding was programmed until the afternoon but one of the clients and I had arrived last night so after breakfast we spent some time in the hotel garden to pick up our first common birds. Our first short walk around the garden produced Bronze Mannikin, Common Bulbul & Northern Gray-headed Sparrow. From there we walked around to the other side of the hotel where I spotted a firefinch which turned out to be Bar-breasted Firefinch. We climbed up some steps to a veranda which commanded fine views over the area. We spent quite a bit of time here and ticked off many common birds, including Eurasian Kestrel, Pied Crow, Black Kite, Laughing Dove, Little Swift, Barn Swallow, brief views of Purple Glossy- Starling and Village Weaver. The bird of the morning though was a stunning pair of Common Gonoleks, which hopped out on some wires where they sung their distinctive duet. After lunch, we drove to Sakumono Lagoon. On the way we stopped to photograph Yellow-billed Shrike and get much better views of Purple Glossy-Starling. We reached the lagoon, on the other side of the main road from the coast where we saw Royal Tern. We scanned from the side of the road over the lagoon which was at high tide so waders were not too much in evidence. We scanned with the scope to find White-faced Whistling-Duck, Long-tailed Cormorant, Gray, Purple & Squacco Herons, Great, Intermediate, Little & Cattle Egrets, Western Reef-Heron, several Eurasian Marsh-Harriers including a nice adult male, many African Jacanas, Common Sandpiper, Whimbrel and the striking Pied Kingfishers. We also saw several Western Yellow Wagtails and a Plain-backed Pipit nearby. A day-roosting Long-tailed Nightjar was an unexpected bonus at Sakamono Lagoon (Charley Hesse) We got back in the bus to drive around to a different part of the lagoon and on the way spotted our first Wattled Lapwings. We turned off the main road and drove through a residential area, where we saw our first Green Woodhoopoes sat on a roof. We reached a small resort where some people were playing tennis and cooling off in the pool. We could see there were large numbers of shorebirds on the edge of the lagoon but first we wanted to look for Senegal Thick-knee. We walked through some open forest and scrub where we saw African Yellow White-eye, Brown Babbler, Western Plantain-eater, Little Beeeater, Black-billed Wood-Dove & Ethiopian Swallow. Our driver went off through the scrub and soon we called for us to follow him. As we walked up, he pointed out a thick-knee but it ran off before we could get a look. We heard some more calling and managed to track them down for much better views. From here we walked out onto the grassy area bordering the lagoon where we found at least one Black-backed Cisticola amongst the similar and more common Zitting Cisticolas. From here we stared shorebirding and found a full array, with Black-winged Stilt, Spur-winged & Common Ringed Plovers, Spotted Redshank, Common Greenshank, Green, Marsh, Wood & Curlew Sandpipers, Black-tailed Godwits, Ruff and Little Stint. We even saw some Collared Pratincoles, Black Tern and a Black Heron mixed in with all the stilts. The highlight of the afternoon though was flushing a Long-tailed Nightjar. It dropped back down into the grass and we walked up to get views of it on the ground. Our light arrival day birding had been productive with over 60 species seen. Tropical Birding 2

3 10 th March Shai Hills to Kakum via Winneba Plain We had a very early breakfast and left before dawn. The Shai Hills reserve was less than 30 minutes from the hotel and we were soon walking in along the main track. As the light improved we started to build our list with Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Spotted Flycatcher, Senegal Eremomela and the dapper Whiteshouldered Black-Tit with its striking plumage and pale eye. A Shikra shot across the road as well as an African Gray Hornbill and African Pygmy-Kingfisher. Green-backed Camaropteras were calling everywhere but it took a while for everyone to get views. There was some commotion ahead and the local guide thought it might be birds mobbing a predator. We had great views of Blackcap Babblers, Brownthroated Wattle-eye, African Thrush and Splendid Sunbird. Further on the ranger accompanying us spotted a covey of Stone Partridges under a tree and the local guides went to the back of the thicket to walk them across our field of view. We picked up a Cardinal Woodpecker, a beautiful male African Paradise-Flycatcher and Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird but a calling pair of Mocking Cliff-Chat only gave flight views. The bus caught us up and we drove through some open areas to find several herds of Kob, a kind of small antelope. We also found a Gray Kestrel, White-throated Bee-eaters, Flappet Lark, 2 stunning Blue-bellied Rollers and an African Pied Hornbill. We got out at a parking lot by the start of a trail and saw several raptors including African Cuckoo-Hawk and Lanner Falcon. We started along the forest trail but the canopy was thick and birding difficult. After a lot of work we managed to see Buffspotted Woodpecker, Northern Puffback, Green-headed & Olive-bellied Sunbirds, and the unique Oriole Warbler which finally showed well. We went back to the bus and drove to a site for African Barred Owlet. We had one calling close several times but unfortunately we were unable to locate it. Stone Partridge have recently joined the New World Quail family (Charley Hesse) On the drive back we had Green Woodhoopoe, Tree Pipit, some Olive Baboons and great views of a male Greater Honeyguide. We went back to the hotel for lunch, then packed up and checked out. We were leaving Accra and heading for Kakum National Park. On the way out we had a Black-shouldered Kite on a wire, but little else of interest before arriving at Winneba Plains. Here it was hot and windy but with some hard work and determination we made some good additions to the trip list. First off we had flight views of Black-crowned Tchagra, Black-billed Wood-Dove & Ethiopian Swallow. We made our way through the cisticolas with Singing, Croaking, Red-faced & Siffling Cisticolas and also saw Whinchat, Red-winged Prinia, Plain-backed Pipit, a fine male Copper Sunbird, flight views of Moustached Grass- Warbler, a pair of Yellow-fronted Canaries and several Yellow-shouldered Widowbirds. There were plenty of raptors around too with Eurasian Marsh-Harriers, European Honey-buzzard and finally a Rednecked Buzzard. The main target at Winneba though was the Black-bellied Bustard and luck was on our side. Mike spotted one as it flushed up and we had its mate on the ground slinking away behind a bush. We went back to the bus and set off, but after a short distance found a couple of Bar-breasted Firefinches mixed in with a flock of Bronze Mannikins. All that was left now was a long drive to Kakum. Tropical Birding 3

4 11 th March Kakum Forest After an early breakfast, we drove up in the dark to the nearby Kakum National Park, site of the famous canopy walkway. Dawn was just breaking as we arrived and we walked up the stone path through the forest. After a steep walk up, we arrived at the entrance platform and made our way along the well-made but still rather hair-raising walkway out to the first platform. Even before we got there we saw an Ussher's Flycatcher perching on the top wire of the walkway. We started seeing birds straight away and had a pair of African Cuckoo-Hawks flying overhead and a flyby of the tiny Red-thighed Sparrowhawk. An African Harrier-Hawk also flew by but landed and we had great scope views. We continued picking up new birds at a steady rate with fly overs of Sabine's Spinetail & many Rosy Bee-eaters plus scope views of a distant African Green-Pigeon. In the nearby trees smaller passerines were everywhere and we added African Shrike-flycatcher, Black-winged Oriole, Slender-billed & Golden Greenbuls, Green Hylia, Wood Warbler, the upper Guinea endemic Sharpe's Apalis, Rufous-crowned Eremomela, Violetbacked Hyliota, Scarlet-tufted, Little Green, Green, Collared, Tiny & Johanna's Sunbirds. We went out to the far platform which commanded magnificent views across the forest. Here we had Yellowbill, Cassin's Spinetail, Blue-throated Roller, Naked-faced Barbet, Blue-throated Brown Sunbird, Maxwell's Black & the rare Preuss's Weavers, Chestnut-winged Starling, Gray Greenbul, great views of the often tricky Large-billed Puffback, a close up Hairy-breasted Barbet, Little Green Woodpecker and several fly bys of African Pied Hornbill. Coming back around the loop we stopped at the final platform and added Slender-tailed Squirrel, the seldom seen Tessmann's Flycatcher, Red-rumped Tinkerbird, Chestnut-breasted Nigrita and West African Wattle-eye (recently-split from Chestnut). This beautiful Green Tree Viper was the reptile highlight of the trip (Charley Hesse) By now it was already quite hot and most of what we could hear walking down through the parking lot were noisy cicadas. In the parking lot our local guides managed to find a Black Bee-eater whose electric blue colours were incredible. We drove back to the hotel for lunch and a well-deserved rest and in the afternoon we headed back to Kakum and spent some time on the trails. The forest was deathly quiet, but we found an amazing stream where a plethora of birds were coming down to drink and bathe. We added to our already substantial greenbul list with Swamp, Red-tailed, Plain, Yellow-whiskered, Icterine, Western Bearded- and Yellow-bearded Greenbuls, the latter of which is an incredible rare bird and was only the second time the local guide had seen it here in 7 years! We also had Blue-headed Crested-Flycatcher, African Forest-Flycatcher, Fire-crested Alethe, Forest Robin, White-tailed Ant-Thrush, Gray's Malimbe and even a brief Western Bluebill. Visability was limited and nobody got on everything but it quality of birds we had seen was incredible. We could easily have stayed here for the rest of the afternoon but we needed to get back to platform to wait for hornbills and night birds. Getting out to the far platform was a lot quicker second time and we waited there scanning. We had a distant Palm-nut Vulture and closer Red-headed Malimbe, Yellow-mantled Weaver and Gray-headed Nigrita but no hornbills. We waited until dark and were lucky enough to catch the rare Brown Nightjar flying above the canopy. We walked back along the trails in the dark and found a beautiful Green Tree Viper and the huge Giant Pouched Rat, before getting back to the bus and driving back for dinner. Tropical Birding 4

5 12 th March Kakum farmbush This morning we were heading to an area of farmbush called Antwikwa. Remnant patches of forest mixed with overgrown cultivation can be a very productive environment for birding. Our first stop was to try for White-spotted Flufftail. As we settled in a little clearing inside the forest we saw a pair of Red-cheeked Wattle-eyes. We played the flufftail call and one responded nearby. We kept on playing and got amazing views of this most secretive of birds. Next we spent a long time getting views of Puvel's Illadopsis. This mega skulker gave us such a run-around but we finally had some sort of views and also saw an Olivegreen Camaroptera while we were waiting. We moved onto some open areas which had a wide variety of birds, with a flyby of a Gray Kestrel, the hulking Blue-headed Coucal, Simple Greenbul, Dusky-blue Flycatcher, Gray's Malimbe, Black-and-white Mannikin, Whistling & Red-faced Cisticolas and the dainty gem of an African Pygmy-Kingfisher. There were extensive oil palms here some of which were overgrown and mixed with native trees which held Bristle-nosed Barbet, Black-necked & Vieillot's Weavers, the sneaky Swamp Greenbul, Yellow-throated Tinkerbird and even a Melancholy Woodpecker on top of a distant snag. In some better forested habitat we saw Yellow-billed Turaco, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Rufous-crowned Eremomela, White-breasted Nigrita and Collared Sunbird. We went down a side trail through some overgrown cultivation where we saw a flock of gorgeous, little Orange-cheeked Waxbills and had a Gray Longbill in an overgrown tangle. Further on we went through a shady cacao plantation with Black-winged Oriole, Black-headed Paradise-Flycatcher, Bluespotted Wood-Dove and good views of the powerful Black Goshawk as it flew swiftly by. Thousands of Preuss s Swallows poured out from a culvert under the road (Charley Hesse) We still hadn t found our target Long-tailed Hawk but it was getting hot so we decided to turn back towards the bus. On the way back we had a consolation Cassin's Hawk-Eagle which gave great perched and flight views. We also had a Red-necked Buzzard and a Slender Mongoose shot across the path. It was nice to get back inside our air-conditioned vehicle and we started our drive to the Pra River. On the way, we stopped at a culvert under the road which had thousands of Preuss's Swallows pouring out of it at times. We arrived at the Pra river and we had to walk through a grungy timber yard to where we had a good view of the river. We saw the distinctive White-throated Blue Swallow very quickly but had to scan a little more to find the Rock Pratincoles. We also had a Little Egret nearby and a Malachite Kingfisher shot by just below us. We drove back to the lodge where we had lunch and some time to rest in our air-conditioned rooms before our afternoon birding. We drove along another road through farmbush in a place called Ebekaopa. At our first stop we picked up Northern Fiscal, African Yellow White-eye and Dideric Cuckoo. We drove pretty straight from there to the end of the road which finished in a nice patch of forest bordering the park. As we walked in we saw Naked-faced Barbet, Copper-tailed Glossy-Starling and heard Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill calling. We tried to track it down but they were sneaky birds and always managed to keep at a distance. There was some activity in the canopy and we put the scope on it to get nice views of the uncommon Ansorge's Greenbul, Scarlet-tufted & Green Sunbirds and Chestnutbreasted Nigrita. Tropical Birding 5

6 Further on we had a Gray-headed Bristlebill crossing the trail. We got to a clearing from where we hoped to spot some hornbills flying to roost. As we approached one edge, 4 Red-fronted Parrots flew out of a big tree. Around the edge of the clearing, we also saw African Harrier-Hawk flyby, African Forest- Flycatcher, Blue-throated Roller, Black Bee-eater and scope views of a male Buff-throated Sunbird, at last. We heard Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo, Black-casqued Hornbill and even Great Blue Turaco, but all we got were brief views of the latter disappearing through the canopy. The sun was down and the light was fading quickly as we spotted a raptor flying across the clearing which turned out to be a Bat Hawk. We walked back in the dark to try and find some nightbirds. A Brown Nightjar flew just over our heads and we saw our first Demidoff's Galago although we only heard the screeching calls of Western Tree Hyrax, the nasal honking of the elusive Nkulengu Rail and the soft hooting of a Sandy Scops-Owl. The latter a MEGA bird but they were unresponsive and we had to count ourselves lucky to even hear this rarity. We got back to the bus and had a brief stop to see Long-tailed Nightjar before getting back for dinner. Black Bee-eaters are inconspicuous but not uncommon rainforest birds (Charley Hesse) 13 th March Ebekaopa to Ankassa via Cape Coast This morning we went back along the Ebekaopa road to bird the farmbush and forest. We started first at a forest patch where we tried for better views of Puvel's Illadopsis. The bird was unresponsive, but we did see some other nice birds like Black Bee-eater, White-throated Greenbul, Green Hylia and even a Green Bush Squirrel. The local guide heard a Western Bluebill moving through some scrub and I was lucky enough to spot a Black-bellied Seedcracker, but they managed to frustrate the rest of the group. We went back out to the road and walked along birding the farmbush. This habitat was much easier to bird and we added several species including Piping Hornbill, Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher, Yellowspotted Nicator, Fanti Sawwing and Crested Malimbe with better looks at White-throated Bee-eater, Black-winged Oriole, Green-headed & Olive-bellied Sunbirds and Vieillot's Weavers. In an open area with long grass we found Pin-tailed Whydah, Red-headed Quelea, Black-winged Bishop and Woodland Kingfisher. We finally made it to the forest where our main targets were hornbills. We heard a pair of the secretive White-crested Hornbill but they would not come into view. We were searching especially for Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill which we had heard yesterday and they responded again. A hornbill flew in but it was actually an African Pied Hornbill. We kept on trying and a smaller bird flew in which we got a look at to see it was a Black Dwarf Hornbill, probably a more difficult bird than the redbilled. The Red-billed Dwarf-Hornbill was still calling and finally one flew in close and we had some views of it. Both dwarf-hornbils, What a score! We walked another trail where we had good views of Finsch's Flycatcher-Thrush and some Copper-tailed Glossy-Starlings flying overhead before walking back to the bus. Before setting off we had scope views of a Red-necked Buzzard perched nearby. Tropical Birding 6

7 Our birding here was at an end and we started our drive towards Cape Coast where we had lunch at the fort while scanning the coast to find many Black Kites, Royal Tern, Pied Kingfisher and Common Sandpiper. After this we started driving along the coast and stopped to scan a lake to find Intermediate Egret, Black-winged Stilt, African Jacana, Wood Sandpiper and Common Tern. We continued our long drive towards Ankassa along rough roads under construction and our first heavy rain of the trip. We stopped by the Ebi River where Reichenbach s Sunbird had been seen in the past but the habitat seemed to have been disturbed by all the road construction and all we saw were Malachite Kingfisher and African Pied Wagtail. We stopped further on by some mangroves and started scanning the mixture of pools, exposed mud and mangroves. The call soon went up, Hartlaub's Duck! and we quickly got the scope on 11 of these rare ducks. We were delighted to have seen them and they even flew in closer. Also by the mangroves we saw Great Egret, Western Reef-Heron, Common Ringed Plover, Common Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper and Whimbrel. The rare Hartlaub s Duck sporting their distinctive blue-feathers in flight (Charley Hesse) We were also on the look out for sunbirds and took a short path down to the muddy edges of the water. From here we had even better views of the ducks and also saw Mouse-brown Sunbird, Orange Weaver across the way and a very close Green Crombec. We tried for Reichenbach's Sunbird for quite a while before a beautiful male came in giving great scope views to all. We carried on towards Ankassa and had one final stop at a lily pond. It was very pretty but no birds were immediately evident. The driver, brother to our guide and also a birder, shouted out Finfoot! and we all had great views of a female African Finfoot. A very difficult bird to see anywhere on the continent. Next he spotted us some African Pygmy-Geese by which time he was getting lots of praise. Next our guide came back with a Shining-blue Kingfisher. The 2 guides were jumping up and down and high-fiving and one of the clients said, tongue-in-cheek, I wish they would show some enthusiasm. We had scope views of Splendid Glossy-Starling and Johanna's Sunbird before we carried on the short distance to Ankassa where there was a Yellow-billed Turaco there to welcome us. What an amazing day it had been! The basic but comfortable tents and mattresses were more than we expected and our simple camp dinner was the best food of the trip so far. Tropical Birding 7

8 14 th March Ankassa We set off while it was still dark to look for owls. We tried a couple of likely spots known to our guide but there was no sign. We jumped in a landrover and drove a short while to a spot for the rare Akun Eagle- Owl. This time we had a response, but try as we might, they would not come in. There was also an unresponsive pair of African Wood-Owls calling nearby. Their voices were added to by the gruff call of the elusive Nkulengu Rail which echoed through the darkness. Driving back for breakfast at dawn, we found a young Striated Heron next to a rain water pond in the road, no doubt looking for frogs and tadpoles. I took a couple of photos and again of another individual further on. Just a few feet from it was another which turned out to be the smaller and much more elusive Dwarf Bittern, which also stayed put nicely for photos. On the drive back, we also flushed a Red-chested Goshawk from the road. After breakfast we took the landrover to where the road became so muddy it was impassable, and walked from there. We started with calling Pale-breasted & Blackcap Illadopsis but only the latter was seen, and briefly. We did soon hear a Rufous-sided Broadbill, a major target here. It responded and we got scope views of this beautiful little bird up in the sub-canopy. Next we had a White-bellied Kingfisher which shot across the road and we also added our first Blue Cuckooshrike, Western Black-headed Oriole, Blue-headed Crested- Flycatcher and a large flock of Spotted Greenbuls. Ankassa seems to be one of the best places to see the elusive Dwarf Bittern (Charley Hesse) Further on we encountered a large mixed flock which contained Swamp, Red-tailed, Western Bearded- & Yellow-bearded Greenbuls, plus Maxwell's Black Weaver, Gray's Malimbe and Yellowbill. We saw another Yellow-billed Turaco nearby but only heard the distinctive calls of the Red-billed Helmetshrike. We crossed huge pylons carrying electricity into nearby Cote D Ivoire. A single White-throated Bee-eater was perched on one of the wires and our first Square-tailed Sawwing circled over the clearing. We arrived at a small pond, hoping for a better look at White-bellied Kingfisher but found it pretty dead. We walked back, spotting a Black Bee-eater on the forest edge, our first proper view of Red-vented Malimbe on an exposed limb and some circling Cassin's Spinetails. We walked up another fork in the road and reached the old camp, which was still in good condition despite having been abandoned several months earlier. There we had lunch and rest before our afternoon walk. After trying to call in a Chocolate-backed Kingfisher for a while before lunch, we were lucky enough just to spot one on a branch. We had more mixed flocks, adding Little & Icterine Greenbuls, Fire-crested Alethe, Scarlet-tufted Sunbird and while I was trying to get the clients on a Brown-eared Woodpecker, the local guide spotted a Spotted Honeyguide which trumped my bird. Tropical Birding 8

9 We heard a Red-chested Owlet but it wouldn t come in, but from then we had a steady stream of new birds, with Fire-bellied Woodpecker (finally), Dusky-blue Flycatcher, Gray-throated Tit-Flycatcher, Western Olive Sunbird and also the MEGA Dusky Crested-Flycatcher, a lifer for one of our local guides which tells you how seldom seen this bird is. We also had mammals in the shape of Green Bush Squirrel and African Giant Squirrel which wasn t a patch on its Asian counterparts in size. Two of our major targets for the afternoon had been Black-casqued & Yellow-casqued Hornbills. In the late afternoon they started to become more active but we were frustrated several times when we just couldn t get on close birds due to the thick canopy. One person commented that it would be a great place for a canopy tower. Finally we found a window and scoped a pair of Yellow-casqued Hornbills and had a flying Blackcasqued Hornbill a while later. It was getting dark and we were owling our way back. Just after I commented that it was a good time for an Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo to fly over, one did so. Demidoff's Galagos started calling in the bushes and we spotted a couple of these speedy critters. We tried again at the Akun Eagle-Owl stake out and heard them but still couldn t entice them in. We did have a consolation prize of Lesser Anomalure, a rarely seen mammal which we had scope views of. It had been a long, exhausting day but we had some terrific sightings. Chestnut-breasted Nigritas are rainforest canopy-dwelling members of the waxbill family (Charley Hese) 15 th March Ankassa to Kakum Again we were out owling in the morning, but this time we finally manage to see the Akun Eagle-Owl, albeit flight views. Driving we had better luck with mammals and saw but Giant Pouched Rat and Common Cusimanse, a rather ungainly, large mongoose. At breakfast I spotted an African Giant Squirrel before we set off for our final walk along the road. We had good views of a Yellow-billed Turaco straight away but it was slow after that with just a Western Olive Sunbird seen and a pair of Whitecrested Hornbills heard. We turned onto a trail where we heard many of the (by now) familiar sounds of the forest, with Western Bearded- & Little Greenbuls, Green Hylia and Pale-breasted Illadopsis which a couple of people managed a glimpse of. We did see Icterine Greenbul and our target Shining Drongo but only heard Black-casqued Hornbills. From here we headed back to a bridge where we had spent plenty of time owling but not yet birded in the day. Birding was slightly easier here and we had scope views of a pair of Cassin's Flycatchers on the river, the stunning African Emerald Cuckoo in a distant tree and a Blue-throated Roller on a snag. A pair of Chestnut-breasted Nigritas appeared to be building a nest next to the bridge and an African Harrier-Hawk was seen soaring in the distance. Our birding time was up and after an early lunch, we packed, said goodbye to the extremely hospitable staff and set off. Tropical Birding 9

10 We stopped briefly in the same mangroves as before, and saw Great Egret, Western Reef-Heron, Spurwinged Plover and Common Greenshank but nothing as exciting as on the way in. Further along the coast we turned down the Brenu Beach road to bird some open habitats. Our first bird down here was a Piapiac perched on a cow, new for the trip list. We parked and scanned from the road. We had flybys of African Gray & African Pied Hornbills, Blue-spotted Wood-Dove and one of our guides scoped a beautiful pair of Sulphur-breasted Bushshrikes calling in the top of a distant tree. We walked down a track where we had a White-throated Bee-eater, great views of Vieillot's & Village Weavers, glittering male Splendid & Copper Sunbirds, some secretive Black-rumped Waxbills, and Bar-breasted Firefinches. We walked back to the road and walked through more open areas looking for Marsh Tchagra which our local guide spotted but it eluded the rest of us. We did see Northern Fiscal, Red-winged Prinia, Black-winged Bishop, Yellow-shouldered Widowbird, African Firefinch and even a Slender Mongoose which shot across the road. We also heard Red-faced & Singing Cisticolas but had to give up on the tchagras. We set off again and saw Western Plantain-eaters and Woodland Kingfisher perched on wires before we arrived at our lodge near Kakum NP where we were back for a 1 night stop. Ghana is not only great for birds but also has over 1000 species of butterflies (Charley Hesse) 16 th March Aboabo to Picathartes site We had a very early breakfast followed by a 2 hour drive to our first birding stop. This was also an area of farmbush and forest edge called Aboabo. As soon as we stepped out of the bus we saw many birds, with Klaas's Cuckoo, a pair of Blue-headed Coucals, scope views of a distant African Hobby plus Vieillot's Weaver and Splendid Glossy-Starling. We walked along a fairly open area of farm bush with our first Senegal Coucal and Bates's Swifts, plus a flock of Red-fronted Parrots in flight, dozens of African Pied Hornbills, a pair of Fire-bellied Woodpeckers and finally decent views of Swamp Greenbul. We walked up a hill along the main track and heard the distinctive call of Bronze-naped Pigeon although it took us a while to locate it. We carried on walking along the road picking up Tambourine Dove, our first Black Spinetails, Blue-throated Roller, a Forest Woodhoopoe flying in to the top of a tall tree, Ussher's, Dusky-blue & African Forest-Flycatchers, Collared, Tiny & Blue-throated Brown Sunbirds, Redvented, Crested & Red-headed Malimbes and Yellow-mantled & Preuss's Weavers. It was an incredibly productive stretch of road and we added quality to quantity with some rare birds like Forest Penduline-Tit and African Piculet. This stretch was disturbed forest rather than farmbush and in some of the remnant tall trees, we saw several canopy species like Rufous-crowned Eremomela, Violet-backed Hyliota, Gray-headed & White-breasted Nigritas and the rarely seen West African Batis. We also had a couple of mammals, with Fire-footed Rope Squirrel running across the road and scope views of Green Bush Squirrel feeding on some berries. Tropical Birding 10

11 Our birding time here was up and we drove on to lunch. After we ordered, we took a look outside where we saw African Jacana on a small pond and a Woodland Kingfisher nearby. In the afternoon we were to have the highlight of the trip, the White-necked Rockfowl or Picathartes as it is often called. We drove to a small village a couple of hours away but just before we got there, we found the road blocked by a fallen tree. This didn t faze our guides and driver who started hacking at the trunk and branches with machetes. In no time the road was clear and we arrived at the village where lots of excited school kids were to welcome us. We met our local guide, and together we walked through some open areas before entering the forest. We heard numerous cuckoo species, including Red-chested, Black, Klaas's, African Emerald & Dideric Cuckoo but the most interesting we actually managed to call in. This was the Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo and it responded by flying in a few times although always just for a second. Another bird we still hadn t seen was the Blue-headed Wood-Dove, which also flew in and we managed to get scope views of. There were a couple of mixed flocks which had Gray-headed & Green-tailed Bristlebill, White-throated Greenbul and Gray-throated Tit-Flycatcher. African Jacanas are common birds but always a pleasure to see (Charley Hesse) We had to be at the Picathartes stake out before the birds arrived so we had to limit out birding on the way up. The final stretch was a steep climb but we made it in good time and sat down on the specially made benches which sported a good view upslope of the nesting rock. We had to wait just over an hour before a White-necked Rockfowl showed up. The guide spotted it and looking up we had perfect views of a bird perched on top of a rock. After a few seconds it hopped to another rock, then out of view. Clouds had been gathering the whole time we sat there and now wind started to build. A storm was brewing. We waited until the wind had died a little, but half way down, the heavens opened and we were properly rained on. Even though there had been blue skies before we left, I luckily brought a dry bag for our cameras and other electronics. Our clothes were drenched but we made it down safely having seen our bird. Dry clothes felt great and we had some well-deserved rest after our eventful afternoon. Tropical Birding 11

12 17 th March Opro forest to Mole NP We had a very long drive to Mole but we started the day with some birding at the Opro forest which is a logging concession. We entered the reserve after a 2 hour drive and first stopped to look at a Broad-billed Roller which was new for the trip. A small flock of Red-billed Helmetshrikes showed themselves briefly but one participant missed them as he was watering the bushes. Next we started calling out a Blackcap Illadopsis in the forest, when the driver called us over and said he had found a Blue-headed Bee-eater. It had moved from where he had found it but we relocated a pair and had great views of this species which normally is only seen after a tough hike at Atewa. Walking along the road we had flybys of Gray Kestrel, African Pied Hornbill, Tambourine & Blue-spotted Wood-Doves and we also heard a bush-shrike and scanned the trees but could only find African Green-Pigeons & Black-headed Oriole. Other good birds along the road were Forest Woodhoopoe, Bristle-nosed Barbet, Large-billed Puffback and Yellowspotted Nicator. We turned on to a trail trying for Forest Scrub-Robin in the undergrowth and Purplethroated Cuckooshrikes up in the canopy. We saw several birds but they were just Slender-billed Greenbuls and Western Black-winged Orioles. We heard a pair of Guinea Turacos which were calling very close by but we still couldn t get to see this bird. We started driving back out and had a couple of stops. We found a small flock which included Velvet-mantled Drongo, Sharpe's Apalis and Green Hylia and further along had a Narina Trogon calling but it didn t come in. From the bus, we spotted an African Forest-Flycatcher and flushed a Blue-breasted Kingfisher from the roadside. The Upper Guinea endemic Sharpe s Apalis (Charley Hesse) It was time to continue with our long drive. On the way we stopped for lunch and saw some Red-chested Swallows before continuing. Early in the drive we saw a few birds on wires and roadside trees like Blackshouldered Kite, Lizard Buzzard, Dark Chanting-Goshawk and Abyssinian & Blue-bellied Rollers. We also had a brief stop to check out some small bird activity and we found Black-crowned Tchagra, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Northern Black-Flycatcher and Scarlet-chested Sunbird. At a waterhole further north we found Grasshopper & Red-necked Buzzards, Wattled Lapwing, Hamerkop and Senegal Coucal. We had a long way to go, but the road was recently improved and we made good time. We had more stops closer to Mole where we added our first Speckled Pigeons, Vinaceous Dove, Hadada Ibis and great views of the difficult Brown-rumped Bunting. After entering the park we saw Olive Baboons, Helmeted Guineafowl, African Gray Hornbill and Striped Ground Squirrel which shot across the road. We arrived at the Mole Motel and from the viewpoint saw many White-faced Whistling-Duck, Common Warthog, Kob and heard the distinctive call of the Senegal Thick-knee. It had been a long day but we decided that we still had the energy for a night drive. After checking in and freshening up, we drop out of the park to an area famed for Standard-winged Nightjar. Other birders were looking for them already so first we tried for Northern White-faced Owl which we heard but could get to come in. Along the road we found a group of Senegal Galagos and some Bushbuck before heading to the Standard-winged Nightjar site. We saw several males flying with their standards and had one in the headlights so we got out and walked closer and closer for great photo opportunities. What a day it had been! Tropical Birding 12

13 18 th March Mole NP Today was our first full day birding Mole National Park. On the way to our first birding site we spotted a family of Stone Partridges in the road. We stopped at a point and walked to a clearing that was coming alive with birds. Here we saw Senegal Eremomela, Red-billed & Black-faced Firefinches, Lavender Waxbill, Bush Petronia, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, many Little Weavers, Pin-tailed & Long-tailed Paradise-Whydahs and Pale-winged Indigobird. We also had flyovers of Rose-ringed Parakeets, Senegal Parrots and Black-billed Wood-Dove. From here we walked through the low-stature dry forest and picked up many more birds, with Bruce's Green-Pigeon, the stunning Violet Turaco, Finespotted & Cardinal Woodpeckers, the large African Cuckoo, several Brown-throated Wattle-eyes and our first good views of the beautiful Violet-backed Starling. We reached a waterhole which had dried out a lot leaving a few small drinking pools. We got close to one particular spot and had great views of Swamp Flycatcher, Snowy-crowned & White-crowned Robin-Chats, many Red-throated Bee-eaters, Bronzetailed Glossy-Starling, Common Gonolek, Oriole Warbler and Green-backed Camaroptera. After some time photographing those birds we started walking around the waterhole, flushing a covey of Double-spurred Francolin, Hamerkop, Black-crowned Night-Heron and spotting our first Long-tailed Glossy-Starling and Pearl-spotted Owlet of the trip. A Blue-breasted Kingfisher showing off its best feature (Charley Hesse) We came across another pool with many small birds, including Yellow-fronted Canary, Black-rumped Waxbill, Red-billed Quelea, Orange & Black-winged Bishops and Black-headed Weavers. We walked along the road for a while and had our first White-backed Vulture and Bateleurs of the trip. We got back in the bus and took a drove for a while and saw Senegal Coucal, Abyssinian Roller (which posed beautifully for photos) and a troop of Callithris Monkeys. We stopped at another spot and took a walk through the forest. He we picked up Gray-headed Kingfisher, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, a fantastic pair of Bearded Barbets, Melodious Warbler and several European Pied Flycatchers. We got at a dense thicket along a small stream where the guide flushed a Yellow-winged Bat and spotted us a skulking pair of Red-winged Pytilias. Next we found a great flowering tree with Scarlet-chested, Western Vioetbacked, Beautiful & Pygmy Sunbirds coming in to feed. We drove on to another spot with nice riparian woodland along a small stream where we saw Striated Heron, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Malachite Kingfisher, dozens of Orange-cheeked Waxbills & Red-cheeked Cordonbleus plus African Paradise- Flycatcher. Tropical Birding 13

14 We reached the main waterhole which our hotel looks over but from the far side. There were many Whitefaced Whistling-Ducks, along with the odd Spur-winged Plover, African Jacana, Hadada Ibis and Squacco Heron. There were several Nile Crocodiles in the water and a pair of Senegal Thick-knees skulking in the nearby thicket. We walked out onto the plain and found our first African Elephants of the trip drinking out at another pool. We felt quite vulnerable watching them on foot even though we were at a safe distance. There were also a few Kob drinking and several raptors flying overhead, which we identified as Red-necked Buzzard, White-headed Vulture and African Fish-Eagle. We drove back to camp and our driver spotted the stately Saddle-billed Stork in some long grass on the way. It was getting pretty hot but we had one last birding stop before lunch. I spotted a Northern Red-billed Hornbill which disappeared quickly into the bushes, then we got out to investigate a Golden-tailed Woodpecker and Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike. We also had our first Mottled Spinetails of the trip. We went back to camp for lunch and found a troop of Olive Baboons at the viewpoint. One of the highlights of our trip was watching a male Standard-winged Nightjar raising its standards during its display flights from this perch. What an incredible bird!(charley Hesse) We rested after lunch until it had cooled down a little, then we drove to some other good sites. At the first, we walked around and added more great birds including Gray Woodpecker, Northern Puffback, Black Crake, Vieillot's Barbet, Yellow-breasted Apalis and Streaky-headed Seedeater. We drove on to the next site, seeing our first Waterbuck and Patas Monkey on the way. We arrived at a burnt area with lots of open ground where we saw several Sun Larks but failed to find our target Forbes Plover. We went onto another waterhole which we walked around but only found a Black-headed Heron up in a tree. We waited around until dark for owling and called in the beautiful Northern White-faced Owl. There were also several African Scops-Owls calling but they gave us the run-around and one participant unfortunately failed to get on a perched bird before it flew off. Nightjars were more cooperative and we had Standard-winged & Long-tailed Nightjars flying around us. It was time to head back, but we had a great night drive on the way with Plain Nightjar, many Senegal Galagos, 2 Common Genets (including 1 hunting a mouse), a Bush Duiker and finally a Scrub Hare before arriving back for a late dinner. Tropical Birding 14

15 19 th March Mole NP We heard we had breakfast listening to a Grayish Eagle-Owl calling nearby. We started our birding nearby looking for White-throated Francolin. We tried the call and after a short time had a response. They got closer and closer and crossed open ground in front of us giving us great views. A second bird then came in and gave us excellent close views. In the dry woodland nearby we had a White-breasted Cuckooshrike flyby and several African Golden Orioles calling although they didn t show themselves, we did get good looks at the attractive Bruce's Green-Pigeon and also flushed a Dorst's Cisticola, which perched up long enough for us to ID it. We drove further into the park and had some good roadside birding with Whistling & Rufous Cisticola (also new for the trip), Red-winged Prinia and better views of White-breasted Cuckooshrike and African Golden Oriole. We got out and walked around a surprisingly productive area of woodland where we saw Senegal Eremomela, African Yellow White-eye, beautiful male Pygmy & Scarlet-chested Sunbirds, Black Scimitar-bill, Fine-spotted Woodpecker, White-shouldered Black- Tit, Northern Crombec, Violet-backed Starling and bredding plumage male Black-headed Weaver. The latter which a couple of people initially took for a black-headed oriole which are not found here. Next we went to a large pond which had African Jacana, Malachite Kingfisher and Purple Heron on it whilst overhead flew Wahlberg's Eagle, Red-chested Swallow and Gabar Goshawk. We took a walk around it to find many Bush Petronias, the large and striking Levaillant's Cuckoo, a nicely plumaged Grayheaded Kingfisher and a pair of Red-winged Pytilias. We drove on to a bridge over a stream where we got out to look for Red-headed Lovebird but only managed to find Rufous-crowned Roller, Senegal Parrot, Copper Sunbird and plenty of Red-throated Bee-eaters. Common Genet was one of many fascinating nocturnal animals seen on this tour (Charley Hesse) On the drive back we saw a covey of Double-spurred Francolins, Brown Babblers, a stunning Purple Glossy-Starling and several raptors including White-backed Vulture, Bateleur, Lizard & Grasshopper Buzzards. Back at the hotel we saw more Olive Baboons and from the viewpoint a group of elephants. Our afternoon birding session was spent exploring burnt open areas looking mainly for Forbe s Plover and on the way we had a Woolly-necked Stork fly over the road. At the first site, we had nice photo opportunities of the distinctive race of Helmeted Guineafowl along with Stone Partridge, Abyssinian Roller, Sun Lark and our first Brubru. In another open area we had many African Grey and a pair of Northern Red-billed Hornbills. On our last stop we spotted the rare Stanley Bustard which we started taking pictures of when the driver spotted an Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill, 2 great birds! One of our guides went off to search for Forbes Plover and we walked around the clearing a bit. Then we heard the guides shouting and we sprinted over as fast as we could. They had seen them but then lost them again. We called them again and a pair came flying in close and allowed us fantastic scope views before running off. It was getting dark on the drive back and I managed to spot another Common Genet up in a tree. We also saw a young White-tailed Mongoose near the camp. After dinner we went out and found the Grayish Eagle-Owl in a large tree close to our rooms. Another great day at Mole. Tropical Birding 15

16 20 th March Mole NP to Bolgatanga, via Tongo Hills Today we were leaving Mole National Park and continuing on with our journey. From our breakfast table we saw Callithris Monkeys in a tree nearby and an African Elephant down in the waterhole below. We had just enough time before we left to do a spot of birding behind the hotel looking for African Blue Flycatcher. We spotted a few nice birds, including Bruce's Green-Pigeon, Gray-headed Kingfisher, Redthroated Bee-eater, Bearded Barbet, Northern Black-Flycatcher and Lavender Waxbill. We found a grey water outlet pipe emptying down the slope and this spot seemed particularly popular with birds. Here we saw Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat, African Thrush, European Pied Flycatcher, African Paradise- Flycatcher and Green-backed Camaroptera but the African Blue Flycatcher was nowhere to be seen, so we packed up the bus and left the park. We saw many raptors on the road to Tamale, including Grasshopper & Red-necked Buzzards, Dark Chanting-Goshawk and the splendid Beaudouin's Snake-Eagle which was new for the trip. On the wires we also found Little Bee-eater, Abyssinian Roller and Purple Glossy-Starling. We had a quick birding stop at a muddy pond which held African Jacana, Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper and Hamerkop and also found large numbers of Spur-winged and Wattled Lapwings close to the White Volta River. There s no such thing as an ugly bee-eater but Red-throated is particularly beautiful (Charley Hesse) Our next birding stop was a viewpoint over an open area where we had our first Woodchat Shrike plus Ethiopian & Wire-tailed Swallows and Zitting Cisticola. On the way through a dirty, litter-strewn town we saw a flock of Piapiacs which seem to prefer this type of environment. We had a lunch stop at a restaurant in a shady courtyard where we saw several Dwarf Epauletted Fruit Bats in the top of a tall tree. After lunch we made another stop at a small reed-fringed lake covered in water lilies and other aquatic vegetation. It was mid-afternoon and very hot but we put up with it as the place was heaving with birds. As we approached the viewpoint a small flock of Zebra Waxbills took off. We also had large numbers of Bronze Mannikins and African Silverbills flying around. We identified a large number of small birds in flight as Black-faced Quailfinches by their calls but it was only after I scrambled down the slope and walked around the edge of the water that I managed to photograph one of these tricky birds. Also on the lake were Long-tailed Cormorant, Intermediate Egret, Purple Heron and Eurasian Marsh-Harrier which we saw through the scope but I only had brief flight views of a Greater Painted-Snipe and only heard the rare Lesser Moorhen. Tropical Birding 16

17 Before reaching the town of Bolgatanga, where we were spending the night, we were to do some birding at the Tongo Hills, a scenic landscape strewn with large boulders. Our main target here was the Fox Kestrel and we spotted a pair circling overhead as soon as we stepped of the bus. Next we walked along the base of the rocks which were interspersed with bushes and other plants. Here there were a large number species, with Black-billed Wood-Dove, Cinnamon-breasted Bunting, Northern Gray-headed Sparrow, Black-winged Bishop, Black-rumped Waxbill, Red-cheeked Cordonbleu and Red-billed Firefinch. Scanning through all the birds feeding on the open ground I also spotted a pair of Rock-loving Cisticolas which were our second target and good views were had by all. We went to check out a small waterhole where there were a large number of Red-chested Swallows coming down to drink, with just a single Redrumped Swallow, a new bird for the trip. We also had a stunning male Scarlet-chested Sunbird. One last target bird here was the Mocking Cliff-Chat which we had only glimpsed at Shai Hills at the beginning of the trip. It took a while to locate but eventually we found a nice male for scope views. Just as we were done, a sand storm started brewing and we made quickly for the bus and drove to Bolga. When we arrived at the hotel there was a Speckled Pigeon on the roof to greet us. Could this be Ghana s first Golden-breasted Bunting? (Mike Austin) 21 st March Upper White Volta & Tono Dam Today was our big day for the Egyptian Plover, one of the star birds of the trip. Before we got there, we spotted several White-billed Buffalo-Weavers next to their distinctive stick nests along the road. Then we found a spot with many starlings, including both Greater & Lesser Blue-eared, Purple Glossy-Starling and Long-tailed Glossy-Starlings. We also found the Chestnut-bellied Starling which was new for the trip and one of our targets here in the dry north. Before we got to the plover site, we got off the bus to bird some scrubby habitat. Here we had nice views of Vieillot's Barbet along with a good diversity of smaller birds, like Willow Warbler, Rufous Cisticola, Red-winged Prinia, Yellow-fronted Canary, Specklefronted Weaver and finally our main target here, the distinctive Cut-throat. We had one big surprise here too. We came across a bunting that had our guide confused. It looked very like Brown-rumped Bunting but had pale patches in the wing. Also the song wasn t right. Our very experienced local guide was scratching his head and I realised that the bird could be a Golden-breasted Bunting, which wasn t in the Ghana bird book. The call was a match and we photographed what was very likely be a first record for Ghana. Tropical Birding 17

18 We arrived at the plover site on the upper White Volta river and started walking along the banks. We found our first pair of Egyptian Plovers almost immediately and had good scope views. They were a little distant for photos and we hope to find some closer birds. We walked further along the river through agricultural areas dotted with trees that were surprisingly productive for birds. Here we saw Speckled Pigeon, Mourning Collared-Dove, Western Plantain-eater, Gray-headed & Pied Kingfishers, Little Bee-eater, Abyssinian & Rufous-crowned Rollers, African Gray Hornbill, Gray Kestrel, Yellow-billed Shrike, African Yellow White-eye and Scarlet-chested Sunbird. For one of the clients, near the top of his wish list was Northern Carmine Bee-eater but to begin with we only had one silhouetted in flight. We finally got much better views of both perched and flying birds much closer and in better light. We saw a sand bar further downstream with many birds on it and we walked closer to check them out. On the way we found more Egyptian Plovers on our side of the river and got great photos of these confiding birds. On the sand bank were Senegal Thick-knee, Black-winged Stilt, many Common Greenshanks and a surprise African Skimmer. Our veteran local guide had never seen it at this location before and it was only his 3 rd time. For our second guide it was a life bird, his second for the day. It was getting hot by now and we walked back to our air-conditioned bus and waved at all the friendly locals who had gathered to see us off. We only went as far as a local dam which was full of birds. Here we saw Spur-winged Plover, Longtailed Cormorant, Hamerkop, Striated Heron, Wattled Lapwing, Common, Green & Wood Sandpipers and our first Common Snipe of the trip. We also had great views Yellow-billed Oxpecker on a cow. It had been a great morning and we drove back to Bolga for lunch and a rest. The unique Egyptian Plover has finally been put in its own family (Charley Hesse) In the afternoon we drove to Tono Dam which was not too far from Bolga. We got out downslope from the dam and birded an area of open forest and scrub looking for Four-banded Sandgrouse. We saw several Cinnamon-breasted Buntings straight away and after that we found Northern Red-billed Hornbill, Northern Crombec, Senegal Eremomela and Lesser Honeyguide. We flushed a pair of Spotted Thickknee which landed nearby and gave us good scope views. Nearby we found a ploughed field where many small birds were feeding. Here we had Sun Lark, Vitelline Masked-Weavers and Red-cheeked Cordonbleus. All of a sudden a pair of Four-banded Sandgrouse flushed and we had good flight views. Next we managed to track down another target, the Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark. Other species seen during the afternoon were Dark Chanting-Goshawk, around 30 Bruce's Green-Pigeons feeding in a fruiting tree, a Green Woodhoopoe flying by, several Senegal Parrots, Double-spurred Francolin and Senegal Coucal. Our last full day of birding drew to a close and we made our way back to Bolga to check on one of our group who wasn t feeling well and had stayed behind to rest. Tropical Birding 18

19 22 nd March Bolga to Accra We had a 3 hour drive to the airport in Tamale for our flight back to Accra, so we only had a bit of time for birding on the way. We stopped again at the Nasia wetland. We scoped the lake to find many water birds, including Long-tailed Cormorant, Hamerkop, Purple Heron, Intermediate Egret, Squacco Heron, Purple Swamphen, African Jacana & Malachite Kingfisher. Our main target which we had missed last time was the rare Lesser Moorhen. Scanning the far side of the lake, I finally spotted one although it was rather distant and looking into the sun. We also had a Black-shouldered Kite on a wire and a few other bits and bobs nearby, like Vinaceous Dove, Senegal Coucal and Gray Kestrel. It was a great place for finches and waxbills and we saw Yellow-fronted Canary, Black-rumped Waxbill, Red-cheeked Cordonbleu, Black-faced Quailfinch, African Silverbill and Zebra Waxbill, the latter which was the last lifer of the trip for one participant. There were many swallows flying over the water and I managed to pick out a Rufous-chested Swallow from the numerous Red-chested Swallows. We were still hoping to pick up another couple of new birds for the trip which we did with Heuglin's Masked-Weaver in a roadside acacia tree, a Greater Painted-Snipe flying under the bridge, a Great Reed-Warbler skulking in some bushes and a Winding Cisticola in the long grass at the water s edge. We also got better views of the skulking Moustached Grass-Warbler and added to the mammal list with Greater Cane Rat. A flock of Piapiac were the last noteworthy bird before we stopped for lunch and then went on to the airport for our flight back to Accra where clients connected with their international flights. We counted up our final totals to find our trip list stood at 436 bird species (21sp seen only), with 31 mammals and 7 reptiles. A very respectable number for our recently shortened tour. More importantly we thoroughly enjoyed the very varied birding here, from very tricky rainforest birding in the south to the easier birding in the drier north. We had also got great views of our 2 most important targets, the White-necked Picathartes and Egyptian Plover. Black-faced Quail-finch is a tricky bird to catch on the ground, let alone photograph (Charley Hesse) Tropical Birding 19