LIBERIA & SIERRA LEONE – Little-known endemics of the Upper Guinea Forests

PRICE INFORMATION

Birdquest Inclusions: Our tour prices include surface transportation, accommodations, meals and entrance fees.

We also include all tipping for local guides, drivers and accommodation/restaurant staff.

Deposit: 20% of the total tour price. Our office will let you know what deposit amount is due, in order to confirm your booking, following receipt of your online booking form.

TO BOOK THIS TOUR: Click here (you will need the tour dates)

Kindly note that single travellers will not be able to opt to share on this tour as the beds in the hotels and lodges are generally double beds. A typical state of affairs in some parts of West Africa.

This tour is priced in US Dollars. Amounts shown in other currencies are indicative.

Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency will be pleased to arrange your air travel on request, or you may arrange this yourself if you prefer.

LIBERIA & SIERRA LEONE BIRDING TOUR: DETAILED ITINERARY

Liberia & Sierra Leone: Day 1  Our tour begins this evening at Monrovia, where we will spend the night at a hotel on the edge of town. Airport transfers will be provided.

Liberia & Sierra Leone: Day 2  This morning, we will begin our birding on the outskirts of the capital, Monrovia, where we will spend the first few hours of the morning in a productive area where we hope to find a number of interesting species. Of particular interest to us will be a first opportunity to find the secretive Capuchin Babbler (here of the grey-hooded form) and the stunning and localized Crimson Seedcracker. Other species restricted to West Africa may include the diminutive Upper Guinea endemic Red-cheeked Wattle-eye, and we will try to see this little jewel with its bright turquoise wattles. We will also have our first chance of Sharpe’s Apalis, the localized Grey-headed Bristlebill, and the splendid little White-spotted Flufftail.

Either here, or during our journey today, we will encounter a large number of more widespread forest and open country species such as Red-eyed, Blue-spotted Wood and Tambourine Doves, Western Plantain-eater, the smart Yellow-billed Turaco, Senegal Coucal, Diederik Cuckoo, Common, Little and African Palm Swifts, Western Cattle Egret, African Swamphen, Common Moorhen, Little Grebe, African Jacana, African Harrier-Hawk, Lizard Buzzard, Yellow-billed Kite, Common Kestrel, Little, White-throated and Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, African Pygmy, Woodland and Giant Kingfishers, Yellow-rumped, Yellow-throated and Red-rumped Tinkerbirds, Western Oriole, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Lowland Sooty Boubou, the black-headed  nigriceps  form of Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher, Northern Fiscal, Pied Crow, Western Nicator, Green Crombec, Grey Longbill, Green-backed Camaroptera, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Barn, Lesser-striped, Red-breasted and Preuss’s Swallows, Slender-billed, Honeyguide, Little, Red-tailed, Little Grey and Simple Greenbuls (our first introduction to everybody’s favourite group!), Swamp Palm Bulbul, Common Bulbul, the hyperactive Green Hylia, Brown Illadopsis (as with all of this group, far easier to hear than see), the aptly named Splendid Starling, African Thrush, Collared, Olive and Olive-bellied Sunbirds, the smart Blue-billed Malimbe, the scarce and attractive Orange Weaver, Chestnut-and-black and Village Weavers, Bronze Mannikin, the sweet-singing Grey-headed Nigrita, Western Yellow Wagtail and Plain-backed Pipit.

We may even find an Allen’s Gallinule, the range-restricted Reichenbach’s Sunbird or the attractive Carmelite Sunbird.

After this excellent introduction to the local avifauna, we will head northwards on a good tar road to Mount Nimba, where we will spend the next five nights. This afternoon we will commence our exploration of the area.

Liberia & Sierra Leone: Days 3-6  Mount Nimba is the highest mountain in Liberia, and thanks to previous mining activities, we can easily access all the habitats of Nimba and even drive right up to the summit!

In the 1960s and 19070s, Mount Nimba was the focus of important, indeed ground-breaking ornithological studies. These took place before iron-ore mining badly damaged the summit area. The mining has now moved to other mountains and the vegetation has recovered to a degree, being part of the East Nimba Reserve. The lowland forest in the area remains unprotected and is suffering badly, although some very rewarding areas remain.

It is in the interesting habitat around the summit of Mount Nimba that we shall search for the rare and endangered Sierra Leone Prinia. Recent surveys throughout the species’ range suggest that the bird’s habitat is now limited, and the overall population size is very small and highly localized. It favours thickets, gallery forests and forest edges, particularly where disturbed by treefalls or fire. Interestingly, the nest is still not known. Mount Nimba is surely the easiest site to access this interesting Upper Guinea endemic, as you can drive right to the area!

As we make our way to the summit, we’ll keep an eye out for pre-dawn Standard-winged and Plain Nightjars, and we’ll have our first chance of the localized Brown Nightjar. Around the summit itself, birdlife is fairly sparse, though we will add a few new species such as Pallid and Alpine Swifts, Red-necked Buzzard, the attractive Black Bee-eater, Sharpe’s Drongo, African Blue Flycatcher, Short-winged (or Siffling) Cisticola, the nebularum form of the African Stonechat, Long-billed Pipit and Gosling’s Bunting. We will also attempt to find the black-capped form of the Grey-winged Robin-Chat, though this is a tough bird to come by!

We will spend most of our time at Mount Nimba exploring the remnant forests and swamps lower down, where some other special species occur. In particular, we will be looking for the somewhat drab Upper Guinea-endemic Nimba Flycatcher, a species that has a pleasant song but can be difficult to see. Also in the forest are places where the ‘Near-threatened’ Upper Guinea endemic Black-headed Rufous Warbler can be found, and we will be making a special effort to find this rare warbler. It has a fragmented range but is supposedly locally common. It is found in dense secondary undergrowth in swampy places, which can make access a little difficult, but we stand a very good chance of finding this rare species at Mount Nimba.

A big prize in the lower altitude forest is the Upper Guinea endemic Gola Malimbe, and we shall try hard to find this wonderful species. The species was described by Wolters as recently as 1974 and is also known as Ballmann’s Malimbe. Dr Peter Ballmann (born 1941) is a German geoscientist studying fossils from the Ivory Coast, one of which was amazingly the malimbe! The species occurs in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ivory Coast and is classified as ‘Endangered’ by BirdLife International. Habitat destruction appears to be the major threat as this little-known bird seems to require primary forest, old secondary growth and only barely tolerates forests that have been logged.

As well as these mega birds, that are tough to find elsewhere, we will seek out a number of other West African specialities including the gorgeous Blue-moustached Bee-eater, Fire-bellied, Little Green and Melancholy Woodpeckers, the attractive West African Wattle-eye, Western Bearded and Yellow-bearded Greenbuls, the hirundine-like Ussher’s Flycatcher (they usually perch on a prominent snag high in the canopy), the ‘Near-threatened’ Rufous-winged Illadopsis, Kemp’s Longbill, Finsch’s Rufous Thrush, White-tailed Alethe and the glorious Buff-throated Sunbird, surely one of the best in the family! We will also have our first chance to find the attractive Hartlaub’s Duck.

In forest patches, we will look for a number of other interesting species, including secretive Latham’s Francolin and Ahanta Spurfowl, Western Bronze-naped Pigeon, Blue-headed Wood Dove (its great song reverberates around the forest), Guinea Turaco, Blue Malkoha, the skulking Black-throated Coucal, Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo (which often sings at night!), Forest Wood Hoopoe, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Vieillot’s, Yellow-spotted, Western Yellow-billed, Naked-faced and Hairy-breasted Barbets, Speckled Tinkerbird, Willcocks’s and Lesser (Thick-billed) Honeyguides, the scarce Cassin’s Honeybird, the fabulous Rufous-sided Broadbill (hopefully displaying from a perch in the mid-storey), the stunning Yellow-bellied Wattle-eye (the western form here has a reddish belly), West African Batis, Red-shouldered, Purple-throated and Blue Cuckooshrikes, Black-winged Oriole, Sabine’s Puffback, the brilliant Red-billed Helmetshrike, Shining and Velvet-mantled Drongos, Blue-headed and Dusky Crested Flycatchers, the canopy-loving Rufous-crowned Eremomela, Chestnut-capped Flycatcher, Dusky Tit, Tit Hylia, Ansorge’s, Yellow-whiskered, Spotted, Golden and Icterine Greenbuls, Red-tailed Bristlebill, Lemon-bellied Crombec, overwintering Wood Warbler, Black-capped Apalis, Olive-green and Yellow-browed Camaropteras, the sneaky Pale-breasted and Blackcap Illadopsis, the shy Brown-chested Alethe, Grey-throated Tit-Flycatcher, Little Grey Flycatcher, Fraser’s, Little Green, Yellow-chinned and Tiny Sunbirds, attractive Red-vented and Crested Malimbes and White-breasted and Chestnut-breasted Nigritas.

If we are fortunate we will also come across one or two of the rarer species such as the superb Long-tailed Hawk, the elusive Least Honeyguide, the skulking Leaf-love, Puvel’s Illadopsis, the scarce Tessmann’s Flycatcher, the seldom-seen Baumann’s Olive Greenbul, the scarce Forest Penduline Tit, the canopy-loving Violet-backed Hyliota, Compact Weaver, Magpie Mannikin, Grey-headed Oliveback, African Firefinch or Red-fronted Antpecker.

In the areas of farmbush, a liquid ‘hello georgie’ may lead us to a glistening African Emerald Cuckoo, whilst hooting may lead us to fabulous Many-coloured and Fiery-breasted Bushshrikes, whilst a sweet song may signal the presence of a Forest Scrub Robin. Overhead we will keep an eye out for Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle, European Honey Buzzard, Red-throated Rock Martin and Square-tailed Saw-wing, and other species we may see here include African Green Pigeon, Levaillant’s and Klaas’s Cuckoos, West African Pied Hornbill, the noisy Blue-throated Roller, Double-toothed Barbet, African Hobby, Lanner Falcon, Moustached Grass Warbler, Whistling Cisticola, Willow Warbler, Chestnut-winged Starling, Black-winged Red Bishop and Tree Pipit, whilst along the streams we may find Cassin’s Flycatcher and Mountain Wagtail.

Liberia & Sierra Leone: Day 7  We must leave splendid Mount Nimba early this morning and head for the border with Sierra Leone. The crossing is straightforward and not especially time-consuming, given that we are in West Africa!

After crossing into Sierra Leone we have a relatively short drive ahead to Tiwai Island, situated in the middle of the Moa River and at the western edge of Gola West Forest Reserve, where we shall stay for four nights surrounded by beautiful forest.

Liberia & Sierra Leone: Days 8-10  Tiwai in the Mende language means ‘big island’, and at 12 square kilometres (over 4 square miles), it is one of Sierra Leone’s largest inland islands. Over 250 species of birds have been found here, and the forest is also known for its high concentration of primates that include Chimpanzees and the stunning Diana Monkey, as well as Sooty Mangabey, Campbell’s and Spot-nosed Monkeys, King and Upper Guinea Red Colobus and the uncommon Olive Colobus. Even the extremely rare Pygmy Hippopotamus has been found here, although we would need to be extremely lucky to see this shy, largely nocturnal creature during our visit.

Our main reason for visiting Tiwai Island is to look for the regionally endemic and very special Rufous Fishing Owl, and we have an excellent chance of finding this super species, perhaps roosting in a palm grove. As we explore the river, we may well find Egyptian Plovers, which appear in the dry season, as well as African Finfoot, Rock Pratincole and White-crowned Lapwing. Also along the river, we will look for White-browed Forest Flycatcher and the attractive White-bibbed Swallow, whilst overhead, we should see our first noisy Timneh Parrots, another regional speciality. Hornbills may also be prominent, and indeed eight species have been recorded on the island. Classified as Vulnerable by BirdLife International, the prehistoric-looking Yellow-casqued Hornbill is pleasingly common here, and the swish and whirr of its wings should be a familiar sound. We also hope to add the scarce Western Dwarf Hornbill to our list here.

There are some other special birds that are seen here with some frequency. We first discovered Brown Nightjar here in 2008 and we shall have another chance to look for this species during our stay. There is also a fairly good chance of seeing the amazing Nkulengu Rail at a roost. The secretive White-crested Tiger Heron and the colourful pulih race of the African Pitta (favouring the thick, tangled undergrowth that predominates here) also occur, though both usually require persistence and good fortune. The pitta is an interesting form that could conceivably end up as a full species or, perhaps more likely, be reassigned to Green-breasted Pitta. More difficult and, therefore, less likely are Olive Ibis and White-breasted Guineafowl. The guineafowl, in particular, will demand a lot of luck.

Along the extensive trails and waterways, we will search for many of the forest birds that occur in Sierra Leone. Interesting species that we are likely to encounter at Tiwai include Hartlaub’s Duck, Western Crested Guineafowl, the spectacular Great Blue Turaco, Shining-blue and Chocolate-backed Kingfishers, the secretive White-throated Greenbul, White-tailed Ant Thrush, the gorgeous little Orange-breasted Forest Robin, Mangrove Sunbird, Yellow-mantled and Maxwell’s Black Weavers, and Red-headed Malimbe. We will also have another chance for tricky species, such as Black-throated Coucal, and may also see one or two scarcer species, such as the elusive Black Spinetail, the smart White-backed Night Heron, Yellow-throated Cuckoo, Cassin’s Hawk-Eagle, Akun Eagle-Owl, Red-thighed Sparrowhawk, and the elusive Yellow-footed and Spotted Honeyguides

More widespread birds that we may find include White-faced Whistling Duck, Red-chested Cuckoo, Senegal Thick-knee, Common Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, African Woolly-necked Stork, Hadada Ibis, Reed Cormorant, Striated Heron, (Western) Osprey, Palm-nut Vulture, African (Red-chested) Goshawk, Black Sparrowhawk, African Wood Owl, Malachite and Pied Kingfishers and African Pied Wagtail.

Liberia & Sierra Leone: Day 11  After some final birding at Tiwai, we shall travel to Lalehun, the headquarters of the Gola Rainforest Park, for a three-night stay.

Liberia & Sierra Leone: Days 12-13  The formation of the Gola Rainforest Park, which covers 71,070 hectares, was the result of a collaboration between the Sierra Leone Government, the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and was enacted in December 2010.

Over 330 species of birds have been recorded from the Gola Rainforest Park, which incorporates two different forest reserves, Gola West (6,200 hectares) and Gola East (22,800 hectares). West African forests feature some challenging birding, so much patience and plenty of time are needed in order to unearth some of its avian treasures.

More Upper Guinea endemics occur here at Gola, and we shall be trying hard to see Brown-cheeked Hornbill and Copper-tailed Starling whilst, inside the forest, we aim to lure the ultra-skulking Green-tailed Bristlebill into view. During some stealthy searching along the forest trails, we may encounter Latham’s Francolin, and there is another slim chance for the extremely secretive White-breasted Guineafowl. If we are lucky, we will also see one of the other more difficult species, such as the seldom-seen Grey-throated Rail, Congo Serpent Eagle, African Dwarf Kingfisher, the rare Lyre-tailed Honeyguide, ‘Western’ Lagden’s Bushshrike or even the poorly-known Lowland Akalat. We will also have another opportunity to find Timneh Parrot and even the spectacular Gola Malimbe.

One afternoon we shall visit an accessible White-necked Rockfowl (or Yellow-headed Picathartes) site. It is an uphill walk to the nesting site, where a large rock overhangs a stream, and in the late afternoon, we can expect to see several birds visiting the nesting area before going to roost for the night. The birds here can be shy, so they may not stay long. Sometimes, however, they are rather unafraid and stay for longer.

Other species to look for at Gola include the spectacular Long-tailed Hawk, Crowned Eagle, Afep Pigeon, Sabine’s Spinetail, the ‘Black-shouldered’ form of Fiery-necked Nightjar, Narina Trogon, the splendid White-bellied Kingfishers, Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill, (Western) Piping and Black-casqued Hornbills, the stunning Western Long-tailed Hornbill, Brown-eared and Buff-spotted Woodpeckers, African Shrike-flycatcher, Plain Greenbul (along with more chances of many of the greenbul species we may have already seen), Fraser’s Forest Flycatcher, Ashy and Dusky Blue Flycatchers, and Blue-throated Brown, Johanna’s and Superb Sunbirds.

Liberia & Sierra Leone: Day 14  Today, we shall drive northeast to Makeni for a two-night stay. We will break the journey in the Kenema area, where a visit to some rice fields should produce the localized Forbes’s Plover and Black-backed Cisticola. More widespread waterbirds here may include Black Crake, Little-ringed Plover, Wood Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Squacco Heron, Great, Yellow-billed and Little Egrets, and Winding Cisticola. We may even find an African Crake, Dwarf Bittern, Greater Painted-snipe, or the rare Great Snipe, all of which are possible.

The journey takes us through palm savannahs, and we should look out for any bushfires that may have attracted species such as Grasshopper Buzzard or Blue-bellied Roller. Other common roadside species include Hooded Vulture, Long-crested Eagle, Laughing Dove and Northern Grey-headed Sparrow.

Liberia & Sierra Leone: Day 15  Today, we shall be birding in the savannahs and gallery forests in the vicinity of the Bumbuna Falls at the base of the Sula Mountains. The area is fairly well populated with numerous small farms and villages and is also the site of a recently finished hydroelectric dam.

The avifauna of the area includes a number of species that will not be found elsewhere during this tour. Our main target will be the attractive and localized Emerald Starling and the restricted range Turati’s Boubou, and we have a good chance of finding both of them here. We shall also be on the lookout for the impressive Oriole Warbler, the pretty little Dybowski’s Twinspot as well as Yellow-winged Pytilia, the host species of the spectacularly long-tailed parasitic Togo Paradise Whydah. Two other tricky species that are possible are Cameroon Indigobird and the difficult Jambandu Indigobird.

There are numerous other species to look for in this area. Raptors are often conspicuous, and we will keep an eye out for the scarce Beaudouin’s Snake Eagle and African Cuckoo-Hawk as well as Black-winged Kite, Brown Snake Eagle, Wahlberg’s Eagle, Shikra, Western Marsh Harrier and Grey Kestrel.

A number of wintering Palearctic migrants also frequent this open environment, and we may well see species such as European Bee-eater, Sand and Western House Martins, Common Reed and Melodious Warblers, Garden Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Common Nightingale, European Pied Flycatcher and Whinchat.

In open areas we will look through the flocks of seedeating birds for new species such as Bush Petronia, Olive-naped Weaver, Red-headed Quelea, Yellow-mantled Widowbird, Western Bluebill, Orange-cheeked, Common and Orange-breasted Waxbills, Black-and-white and Magpie Mannikins.), Pin-tailed Whydah, Yellow-fronted Canary and Cabanis’s Bunting.

Other species we may see in this bird-rich area include Helmeted Guineafowl (surprisingly scarce in Sierra Leone), Double-spurred Francolin, the characterful Stone Partridge, Grey Heron, Hamerkop, African Wattled Lapwing, Vinaceous Dove, Black Scimitarbill, Broad-billed Roller, Grey-headed and Striped Kingfishers, Cardinal and African Grey Woodpeckers, Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher, Senegal Batis, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, colourful Grey-headed and Orange-breasted Bushshrikes, Black-crowned Tchagra, Northern Puffback, African Golden Oriole, Fork-tailed Drongo, African Paradise Flycatcher, Yellow-gorgeted Greenbul, Fanti Saw-wing, African Red-rumped Swallow, Red-faced, Singing and Croaking Cisticolas, Red-winged Warbler, Senegal Eremomela, Northern Crombec, Northern Yellow White-eye, Violet-backed Starling, Northern Black Flycatcher, Green-headed, Splendid, Variable and Copper Sunbirds and Yellow-throated Longclaw.

We may also encounter one or two of the less common species, such as Western Banded Snake-Eagle, the attractive Abyssinian Roller, Red-chested Swallow, Western Violet-backed Sunbird and (Black-faced) Quailfinch.

Liberia & Sierra Leone: Day 16  Today, we will head for Freetown Airport. We may pick up the odd new bird as we go, such as Western Reef Heron, Black Heron, Eurasian Whimbrel, Sandwich Tern and Mottled Spinetail. The tour ends at the airport in the afternoon.