Another two days from Ghana. The first half of the 11th was spent at Ankasa with the drive back to the Kakum area after lunch. It was a quite enough day but we did manage to finally see a Forest Robin after hearing a few on the trip so far. A Fraser's Eagle Owl was accidently flushed by a handful of participant's at the head to the trail but was gone in seconds. We had small numbers of Orange Weavers in amongst colony of Viellot's Black Weaver on the journey later on also.
The main target for the 12th was the White-necked Picathartes. There are only two species in the Picathartes family both of which are found in low numbers and are restricted to West Africa. This particular species is probably the main reason why most birders visit Ghana. They certainly lived to expectations and were probably the highlight for most of us on the trip. They are a truly unique bird. They are reasonably big bird that relies on good quality rainforest with rocky outcrops on which they make their mud nests. Their heads are bald and are somewhat reminiscent of a small dinosaur. We had excellent views of several birds in the area of the cliff face. The nearest village relies heavily on the income provided by visiting birders. As a result the locals can see a clear benefit in keeping the forest intact as without it the Picathartes would be lost. After a memorable time with the Picathartes it was onto Kumasi where we would spend the night before heading up the north and onto Mole National Park. There was an amazing thunderstorm on the journey to Kumasi with lighting flashing every 15 seconds, I've never seen anything like it. This continued for at least two hours and added to a highly memorable bus journey which I won't forget in a hurry...
 |
| Striated Heron |
 |
| Cassin's Flycatcher on nest. |
 |
| Rosy Bee-eater |
 |
| Rosy Bee-eater |
 |
| Rosy Bee-eater |
 |
| Female Violet-backed Starling |
 |
| Melancholy Woodpecker |
 |
| White-necked Picathartes mud nest. |
 |
| White-necked Picathartes |
 |
| White-necked Picathartes |
 |
| White-necked Picathartes |
 |
| White-necked Picathartes |
No comments:
Post a Comment