Norfolk Birders

                                                      Ghana Trip Report                  By Sue Bryan

(in search of picathartes)

December 26^th 2007 – January 1^st 2008

Sue Bryan and Paul Jeffery

Introduction

This trip was set up as a quick break to escape the miserable grey British winter for some sun and warmth adding a few birds for our world lists. A star bird is always an added bonus and I was intrigued by tales of a mysterious bird that inhabits caves and rocks deep in the tropical forests of West Africa. After a little research and a few E-mails, Paul and I set off in the pursuit of the Yellow-headed (White-necked) Picathartes deep in the jungle!!

Itinerary

26^th Dec    Fly from Heathrow to Accra

27^th Dec    Accra – Sukumono Lagoon – Shai Hills- Kakum NP (Hans Cottage Botel)

28^th Dec    Hans Cottage Botel – Kakum NP

29^th Dec    Kakum NP

30^th Dec    Dotum

31^st Dec    Aboabo

1^st   Jan      Kakum – Elmina – Accra

Flights

British Airways www.ba.com We booked rather late at a cost of £930 because we had to have Business Class on the journey out. However our luck was in and we were upgraded to 1^st Class!

Climate

As expected for the tropics it was very hot and humid with temperatures nearing 100 degrees F. However some days were cloudy with some haze but still very hot.

Habitat

Accra is a busy congested city of 4 million on the Gold Coast.

Sukumono Lagoon is a big lagoon about 12 miles along the coast to the east of Accra. Waders, grebes and ducks may be seen on the water and passerines may be seen in surrounding scrub. Seabirds may also be viewed at sea here.

Shai Hills is about an hour’s drive inland to the north-east of Accra. The reserve is approached from the main Tema to Akosombo road. It has shrubs, trees, some rocky outcrops and savannah-type areas with a couple of waterholes. At the entrance, the track through the reserve needs a 4x4 vehicle where you pick up a local guide for a small fee.

Kakum National Park is located 20 miles north of the seaside town of Cape Coast, a three hour drive west of Accra.  It is best approached from Cape Coast on the Pedu Junction north towards the village of Abrafo. A couple of miles after Abrafo you'll see a large sign to the right that leads you to the visitor centre. Kakum National Park covers 135 square miles of tropical moist forest containing 269 species of birds. A canopy walkway, suspended 40 metres above the ground, offers bird-watchers a fantastic viewing platform for the first 3 hours of daylight before the ‘tourist masses’ arrive.

Elmina is an old harbour town with a castle that was centre of the slave trade. It has salt-pans behind the sea-front with suitable wader-viewing opportunities.

Logistics

Self-drive car hire in Ghana is not an option. We thought we had pre-booked this option but upon arrival at the airport we were met by David from Avis www.avis.com who drove us to our Accra hotel for the night. He explained that he would meet us at our hotel after breakfast and take us to the Avis office. In the morning after breakfast he turned up promptly and took us to the office. After trying to self-hire a vehicle we resigned ourselves to the fact that David was part of the deal. In fact although we then had to pay a daily lodging allowance for David to lodge away from Accra, he turned out to be very good and it meant we did not have to worry about any navigation. (In Accra with no maps or signage this was an advantage). Our 4x4 vehicle was air-conditioned and David stopped the vehicle whenever we asked.

Accommodation

As we had arrived late at night we booked into Airside Hotel near the airport which we booked through the agency of South Travels www.southtravels.com at a cost of £75 for the two of us including breakfast.

For the next five nights we stayed twelve miles away from Kakum National Park at the Hans Cottage Botel. www.hansbotel.com  This hotel has a wide variety of accommodation from very cheap to suites. We opted for a double room with en-suite showers and air-conditioning at a cost of £50 a night for both of us. This included breakfast but as we left before six each morning we mostly missed this. The hotel was well placed with an open-air restaurant set over a lagoon. Weavers’ nests, crocodiles and an egret roost kept us entertained in the evenings or at times when we returned to the hotel between birding sessions.

Guiding

We are indebted to Mark Williams of Ashanti African Tours Ltd. www.ashantiafricantours.com (Tel +44(0)8707662283) who put in touch with an excellent local guide in the form of Robert Ntakor robertntakor@yahoo.com (+44233243958989) who spent 4 days guiding us around local birding areas and private trails. Robert arranged early entrances (a must) toKakum National Park and the logistics and machete wielding local guides to the picathartes site. Mark was extremely helpful phoning us to make sure things were going to plan and Robert was superb in his local knowledge, bird calls and mimicry to call birds out.

Money

We took American Dollars with us that we exchanged at the hotels for Cedis. ATM machines are available in Accra  but once outside the city almost impossible to use (except at the few and far between hotels) All petrol has to be purchased with local currency as credit cards are not accepted.

Daily Log

December 26^th

Flew BA 1^st class to Accra

December 27^th

After a night at Airside Hotel, David arrived with our 4x4 and took us to the Avis office. This delayed us by a couple of hours as we struggled through the horrendous traffic jams of Accra. Once we had established that David was to accompany the vehicle as our driver and paperwork was completed we headed to Sukumono lagoon.

                  Sukumono Lagoon                                          Collared Pratincole

The lagoon just east of Accra on the coast was full of waders and we soon clocked up 40 species including Kittlitz’s Plover, Collared Pratincole and Spur-winged Plover. Yellow-throated Longclaw posed in the bushes as Black Spinetails flew overhead. We scanned through the terns and soon we located a Damara Tern, a tick for both of us. A Senegal Coucal sat on top of a bush as we watched Palm Swifts hurtling by.

The heat was welcome and it was good to be birding in T-shirts and shorts once again. We were conscious that we were much later than anticipated and were keen to get to Shai Hills because although the birding was good we were after world ticks rather than species we have seen before. David got us near to the reserve but was not too sure where the entrance was. After stopping to ask we soon located it and picked up a reserve guide. It was obvious that the reserve did not have too many visitors and we practically had the place to ourselves.

   Senegal Coucal

The track-way was steep and rough and I was now glad that we had paid the extra for a 4x4 vehicle. We were too late in the day for small birds but we did see Martial Eagle, Purple Turaco, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater and Senegal Eremola. On leaving we had a Western Grey Plantain Eater.

With a longer stop than we anticipated we had a drink at a local restaurant admiring an Agama Lizard before heading west back through the horrendous traffic of Accra. If you have never been to an African city before it is a sight to behold as vehicles are crammed as wide and high with goods and people as possible. We made slow progress as David nudged his way through the traffic before we eventually managed to reach the outskirts of the city.

Agama Lizard

The roads in Ghana are generally good but there are unexpected pot-holes which require the driver’s full attention. Once we were motoring we made good progress to Gold Coast. Here we turned right at the traffic lights and headed inland towards Kakum. It was now dark and we needed petrol. Money juggling took place as we had been unable to get Ghanaian Cedis in England and had brought American Dollars. Arriving late at night on Boxing Day at the airport and getting whisked through meant we had little opportunity to sort ourselves out especially as the hotel could only let us have a small amount of Cedis. Credit cards are not accepted at petrol stations. Still we had just enough and a couple of miles later arrived at Hans Cottage Botel. Our room was comfortable, with a welcome shower.

December 28^th

I had had a bad night with a migraine making me very sick. At 5am Paul left on his own to meet Robert and David. I cursed at being ill on holiday and missing potentially one of the best morning’s birding on the Kakum canopy walk-way. By mid-morning I felt a little better and got up to sit in a sofa by the lagoon. I still felt a little rough but managed to watch the birds come and go around the lagoon.

                    Malachite Kingfisher                                             Pied Kingfisher

Village Weavers were busily building their nests near the water and I watched them carefully threading each reed in and out of their carefully constructed nests.

                       Village Weaver                                                          Village Weaver nests

A Nile Crocodile swam lazily below me as I took his photograph. I returned to bed whereupon Paul returned after an excellent morning with Robert. He had seen a lot of birds and wondered how I was feeling. After a light lunch I felt able to join them as I was assured it was going to be an easy stroll through the forest. We saw Little Grey Greenbul, Buff-spotted Woodpecker and Yellow-billed Turaco as well as a few other birds skulking in the dark under-story. Robert certainly knew his calls.

Returning to the Botel we agreed to pick Robert up from his village at 5.30am for a six o’clock start on the canopy walkway the next morning.

                               Village Weaver Nest                                                    Nile Crocodile

December 29^th

Up at 5am to meet Robert for a 6am start I was aware that something had flown in front of the vehicle in the dark. I was not too sure what it was. I was not to find out until later when David our driver took me to a tree stump as we finished our canopy walk. There on the tree stump was a dead Fruit Bat. It had got caught on the vehicle’s bumper and was now being displayed for all to see. It had a 40 centimetre wingspan.

Fruit Bat

I was delighted to be feeling a lot better if a little unsteady. The canopy walkway is not for the feint-hearted as the rope and ladder construction is 40 metres above ground-level threaded through the canopy of the trees.

 Kakum Canopy Walkway

I stepped unsteadily onto the rope bridge. Paul has always made rope bridges swing a bit to scare me, but this one was not only high but long as well. I decided not to go any further until he was safely at the next stable wooden platform constructed high up around a tree. In fact he disappeared along several lengths and I was free to get on. However it still swung about and birding was only possible once on a stable platform.

Kakum National Park

The birds came thick and fast with views of Rufous-sided Broadbill, Red-fronted Parrot, Velvet-mantled Drongo, Gabon Woodpecker, Red-headed Malimbe, and stunning views of Buff-throated Sunbird. An African Grey Parrot flew through as we watched White-throated Bee-eaters spin around for bees in distant trees.

A Yellow-mantled Weaver came to sit on one of the support ropes followed by a Velvet-mantled Drongo. All too soon the park was open to the general public and very noisy tourists tramped along the walkway spoiling any chances we had of listening for calls. In actual fact by 9am there were not so many birds anyway and by 10am we returned to the Hans Cottage Botel, a short drive away after taking photographs of some White-throated Bee-eaters sitting on the wires at the exit.

          Velvet-mantled Drongo                                          White-throated Bee-eater

It was very hot and I enjoyed a swim in the swimming pool as I didn’t fancy a dip with the crocodiles in the lagoon. After lunch we picked up Robert from the visitor centre of the park and he took us to the start of a forest trail. As got out of the vehicle an Ayre’s Hawk Eagle flew above our heads. It was to be some time before we saw another bird on the dark trail threading our way through thick undergrowth. Birding was quiet but we added a Yellow Casque Hornbill to our lists, before an old bare tree in the sun yielded a small colony of Naked-faced Barbets, Bristle-faced Barbets and Narrow-tailed Starlings.

Returning to the Botel we smiled as we tried to guess what was available on the menu. Most items were unavailable but we ate well. It had been a good day and my list had grown to 135 species. There is something wonderful about a good day’s birding sitting out in the hot air relaxing by a lagoon with food and drink recounting the birds seen.

December 30^th

The day had arrived that I had been waiting for. Special arrangements had been made for us to visit a secret site to see White-necked Picathartes. I was not too sure how the day was going to pan out as enquiries as to how long it would take to get to the site varied between 3 and 6 hours. We were told that we would need to be at the remote village by 2pm. Paul asked if we could do some birding en-route. We stopped at a couple of stops and added Preuss’s Swallow, Cassin’s Flycatcher and African Goshawk. We stopped at a roadside restaurant for breakfast as we watched Red-rumped Swallows overhead.

 Roadside Shop (with sewing machine!)

After turning off the main highway we drove a long a track that took us through some villages. New poles were being installed to supply the villages with electricity for the first time. It was sad that most villagers would not be able to afford it. We arrived at the village by 12pm and wandered through Cocoa plantations in search of birds. A Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird gave us the run around as we followed its calls. A beautiful Long-tailed Hawk called from the trees before Robert located it hiding high up.

It was now very hot and we whiled away the time sitting by the truck. Very soon we were surrounded by inquisitive children and villagers who brought us plantains (bananas), oranges and coconuts. We were equally fascinated by them and it humbled me how willing they were to share, no matter how poverty stricken they were. We drank from the newly installed village pump as Robert and David shared a local meal.

                           Village Children                                                     Newly-installed Village Pump

                      Village Shop                                                Paul drinking his ‘pint’ of Coconut Milk

Football nearing Manchester United standard on the village field with the local school in the background

In the middle of the afternoon we set off with Robert with 3 machete wielding villagers. Two locals went ahead hacking out a jungle trail. We soon came to a crossing point in a river where a large tree was fortuitously placed for us to carefully balance our way over it. It was extremely hot and humid and I felt a little worried that I might lose my balance and fall in to the water below. The men raced ahead making no allowances for my short legs as they hopped over various fallen articles in our way through the undergrowth. The trouble with jungle trails is that once you get behind you have no idea where to go. Luckily we came across another dwelling and it gave me time to catch up. I was fascinated with the drying of Cocoa Beans taking place. After about a 45 minute walk we came to a cave-like structure deep in the forest. It was dark and gloomy with no bird-life. Luckily mosquitoes were few and except for a few ants we sat down for a long vigil waiting for our Rockfowl (picathartes).

Several hours passed as we watched ants and we moved slowly to adjust our positions without making a sound. We tried to hide behind undergrowth but still keeping a sight of the overhang where 2 nests were plastered to the underside of a rock. One of the local guides made a low whistle; he indicated that he could see the White-necked (Yellow-headed) Picathartes. However it was some time before we finally watched 2 Rockfowl hopping along the rocks and branches. They had a strange movement and we were thrilled to see them. We carefully extricated ourselves so that we did not disturb them from roosting in their nest cups. We walked back through the forest elated and extremely grateful for the scheme that has been set up with the local community.

The scheme works by paying an equivalent fee of US $25 per person to a representative of the local community. This encourages the community to protect the birds rather than hunt them. We organised this via Mark Williams of Ashanti African Tours www.ashantiafricantours.com .There is an agreement that no photographs are taken or GPS taken of the site.

After a long journey back we enjoyed a late evening meal back at the Botel.

31^st December

Leaving at 5.45pm we headed to the northern section of Kakum National Park at Aboabo. It was a 2 hour drive and we stopped at a market to obtain some bread and located a stall with a frying pan that made us a delicious omelette to put in the bread. It kept us fed so that we could continue our birding. We stopped at a small rivulet where Red-chested Swallows were in abundance. Once at Aboabo we drove along a rough track-way through good primary forest. Birding was fairly slow but we added some good birds. A Blue-throated Roller flew around the wrong side of  some trees but we added Red-necked Buzzard, Ashy Flycatcher and Forest Wood-hoopoe.

Paul and Robert at Aboabo

My next bird was to cause a celebration later on in the evening as Blue Cuckoo-shrike became my 3000^th bird on my world list. Robert’s knowledge of bird call and skill at identifying some of the smaller birds quickly added Green Crombec and Tit Hylia. A Fire-bellied Woodpecker clung to a tree before an Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo sat perfectly still watching us. Robert then impressed us with a call that he recognised as a Crowned Hawk-Eagle. We searched for a while before it was located miles up in the sky above us. We had several sightings as it spiralled up displaying to a female bird. It was wonderful to watch. It was extremely hot in the mid-day heat and a snooze was required by all, so whilst the others dozed in the vehicle I found some shade on the track and cat-napped. Later, walking further down the track we had a flurry of activity and a White-breasted Negro Finch gave me the run-around before I finally located it along with Bate’s Sunbird and Bioko (Fernando Po) Batis.

On the return journey we stopped to watch a mixed flock of Piping and Pied Hornbills. Little Bee-eaters were also feeding at the roadside vegetation. We returned to our hotel and bade farewell to Robert. We had certainly been impressed by him and admired his knowledge and birding skills. Mark of Ashanti African Tours phoned us to ensure all had gone well. We thanked them both for making our trip so enjoyable.

Our evening meal, back at Hans Cottage Botel, was kindly accompanied by a bottle of champagne that Paul bought to celebrate my 3000^th bird. Quite a way to end 2007!

1st January

After a poor night’s sleep, our day of departure dawned. Paul and I had the majority of the day to amuse ourselves in before our late evening flight back to London. At breakfast we started our new year-list whilst we had a lazy breakfast in the heat. Besides Pied Crows, a Western Plantain Eater sat in a tree above our room. Sitting by the lagoon Little Swifts and Red-eyed Doves flew around. After breakfast we wandered around the lagoon and watched the Malachite and Woodland Kingfishers waiting patiently for their breakfasts.

Western Grey Plantain Eater

We packed our bags and persuaded David to drive us to Elmina. Ghana forms part of the Gold Coast and is historically important for the terrible travesty that took place on Ghanaian people during the slave trade period in their forced transportation to America. Elmina has a castle with all the grim reminders that I wanted to visit.

                     Elmina Harbour                                                             Elmina Castle

Paul and I wandered around the castle and were horrified by the dungeons that over a thousand salves were crammed into in the stifling heat during that time. We wandered onto the beach as Palm Swifts swirled around the Date Palms. Hooded Vultures flew above us as we looked over the harbour. We found some old salt pans where waders were picking their way through the scattered rubbish. Black-winged Stilts mixed with Greenshanks and Marsh Sandpipers. A Western Reef Heron stood at the back as Gull-billed Terns and Little Egrets flew around. Children soon surrounded us with curiosity wondering what we were doing. Bird watching was quite clearly not a recognised activity in the village.

We moved onto a western-type resort motel at Coconut Grove where we could relax and have a meal before our travel back to Accra.

                  Coastline at Elmina                                                         Paul at Coconut Grove

Sandwich and Royal Terns flew on the sea as we waited for our meal to arrive. All too soon it was time to make our three hour journey back to Accra. We soon joined the traffic jams and spotted a Yellowbill Shrike on the wires. A Peregrine sat on a building and at the airport we spotted an African Thrush on a fence.

We had had an excellent mini-break made all the more enjoyable by the wonderful helpful local people we had encountered.

    Ghana Trip List Dec 26^th 2007 – Jan 1^st 2008

1.        Long-tailed Cormorant           Phalacrocorax africanus        Sukumono Lagoon    27/12/2007

2.        Little Egret      Egretta garzetta                                            Sukumono Lagoon        27/12/2007

3.        Western Reef-egret    Egretta gularis [garzetta]                   Sukumono Lagoon     27/12/2007

4.        Grey Heron     Ardea cinerea                                                   Sukumono Lagoon    27/12/2007

5.        Cattle Egret     Bubulcus ibis                                               Sukumono Lagoon         27/12/2007

6.        Squacco Heron           Ardeola ralloides                               Sukumono Lagoon      27/12/2007

7.        Striated Heron             Butorides striatus [striatus]              Kakum National Park  28/12/2007

8.        Black-shouldered Kite            Elanus caeruleus                    Kakum National Park  27/12/2007

9.        Yellow-billed Kite       Milvus migrans parasitus                 Sukumono Lagoon     27/12/2007

10.     Palm-nut Vulture         Gypohierax angolensis                      Kakum National Park  29/12/2007

11.     Hooded Vulture          Necrosyrtes monachus                     Sukumono Lagoon     27/12/2007

12.     African Harrier-hawk Polyboroides typus [radiatus]          Kakum National Park 29/12/2007

13.     African Goshawk        Accipiter tachiro                               Moree   30/12/2007

14.     Shikra  Accipiter badius                                                      Sukumono Lagoon         27/12/2007

15.     Long-tailed Hawk       Urotriorchis macrourus                     Dotom 30/12/2007

16.     Red-necked Buzzard  Buteo auguralis                                     Aboabo         31/12/2007

17.     Tawny Eagle   Aquila rapax                                          Shai Hills        27/12/2007

18.     Ayres' Hawk-eagle     Hieraaetus ayresii                              Kakum National Park  29/12/2007

19.     Martial Eagle  Polemaetus bellicosus                                     Shai Hills        27/12/2007

20.     Cassin's Hawk-eagle  Spizaetus africanus                              Aboabo          31/12/2007

21.     Crowned Hawk-eagle Stephanoaetus coronatus     Aboabo           31/12/2007

22.     Peregrine Falcon         Falco peregrinus                               Elmina   01/01/2008

23.     African Jacana            Actophilornis africanus                    Kakum National Park  27/12/2007

24.     Black-winged Stilt      Himantopus himantopus                   Sukumono Lagoon     27/12/2007

25.     Collared Pratincole     Glareola pratincola                                Sukumono Lagoon  27/12/2007

26.     Grey Plover     Pluvialis squatarola                                      Sukumono Lagoon       27/12/2007

27.     Common Ringed Plover         Charadrius hiaticula              Sukumono Lagoon