James Lidster on his recently concluded tour of Ghana

You might think, if you believe the news, that West Africa is a no-go area. Thankfully birders know better and once again we were treated to a couple of fantastic weeks birding in Ghana. The people are as friendly and welcoming as ever and the birds didn’t disappoint. The obvious highlight of this trip is always the Yellow-headed Picathartes, and now there is no need to sit for 2 uncomfortable hours on a rock to see it. This year, after a nice walk through a shaded forest and one slight uphill climb, we positioned ourselves on benches and waited for the bird to appear – which they did only 7 minutes later!

Interestingly, for the first time ever the Picathartes nearly got knocked off their 'bird of the trip' position by a Nkulengu Rail (below). This is actually the 2nd tour here we have seen it on, which is no mean feat when you consider that less than 100 people have seen the species… ever.

Elsewhere we visited the canopy walkway at Kakum and saw Rosy and Black Bee-eaters (below), Congo Serpent Eagle (below), and Long-tailed and Bat Hawks. 

For the second year in a row we camped in Ankasa, where our walk-in tents with beds (below) were a welcome change from the terrible hotel we formerly had to use. The tent camp has working showers and washrooms with water, plus cold beer and cooked meals (all of the latter missing from the old hotel). A great way to end a day when you have seen White-bellied Kingfisher, African Finfoot, Hartlaub's Duck, Great Blue Turaco or White-crested Tiger Heron.

In the north we spent 3 nights at Mole where we saw African Elephants (below). The lodge’s ridgetop swimming pool provided the ideal way to cool off in the heat of the day after having seen Violet Turacos and White-throated Francolin (all below).

For a great selection of photos from the tour, check out tour participant Francesco Veronesis’s Flickr page.

Nkulengu Rail 

Black Bee-eater

Congo Serpent Eagle 

Ankasa tent camp

African Elephants

Ridgetop swimming pool in Mole... ahhh! 

Violet Turacos  

White-throated Francolin