Lying a little north of the Equator, just below the “bulge” of the continent, Cameroon combines the best of birding in western and central Africa. The country’s list of 900 species is the highest in West Africa, and with no fewer than 26 endemics, Cameroon is a must for any world birder.
The northern scrub and semi-arid Sahel are a haven for dry-country birds, while farther south are the moister regions of the Guinea Woodland belt and the crater lakes, grasslands, and forests of the Adamawa Plateau. We’ll explore lowland rainforest along the coast and spend time birding the lower slopes of Mount Cameroon, in addition to visiting the higher reaches of Bamenda, made famous in Gerald Durrell’s Bafut Beagles and The Overloaded Ark. Finally, we’ll venture into the heart of mountainous western Cameroon to explore Mount Kupe and the Bokossi Mountains.
Day 1: The tour begins in London with a flight to Douala, where we’ll spend the night.
Days 2-4: We’ll take an early flight north to Garou, then drive to Ngaoundaba Ranch for three nights. Ngaoundaba Ranch is a former hunting lodge set on the rim of a dormant volcano. We’ll spend time birding all the habitats here, including gallery forest, marshland, a crater lake, and open woodland. In the gallery forest we hope to see Ross’s Turaco, Gray-winged Robin Chat, Spotted Thrush Babbler, Puvel’s Illadopsis, and the charismatic Oriole Warbler, while forest edge and marsh could produce Marsh Tchagra, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, and Dybowski’s and Brown Twinspots.
In the open woodlands we’ll look for Schlegel’s Francolin and Brown-chested Lapwing, and we can also expect to find White-collared Starling, White-breasted Cuckoo-shrike, Western Violet-backed Sunbird, Black-necked Weaver, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, and Black-capped Babbler. Nights at Ngaoundaba Ranch.
Days 5-6: After a morning’s birding close to the ranch, we’ll drive to Benoue National Park, birding in the savanna woodlands along the way, where we expect to see Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Lesser Blue-eared Starling, Senegal Parrot, and Black-bellied Firefinch.
Our base for the next few days will be Campement du Buffle Noir. We’ll bird in the riparian forest and miombo-like woodlands, where we can expect to find Adamawa Turtle Dove, Gray Pratincole, the striking Egyptian Plover, Emin’s Shrike, White-crested and Violet Turacos, Bearded Barbet, Grasshopper Buzzard, Stone Partridge, Abyssinian and Blue-bellied Rollers, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Senegal Eremomela, and White-throated Francolin.
Day 7: Today we’ll head to Lagdo, arriving in time to relax during the heat of the day in the beautiful clear waters of Lagdo Lake, keeping binoculars close by for any Fox Kestrels that may wander past. Night at Lagdo.
Days 8-10: An early morning walk should show us our first arid-country species, such as Rock-loving Cisticola, Fox Kestrel, White-crowned Cliff Chat, Red-tailed Lavender Waxbill, and Black-faced Firefinch. After breakfast we’ll continue north along the road to Chad, traveling through the northern town of Garoua. En route we should find our first African Swallow-tailed Kites. We’ll notice the transition as we enter the southern edge of the Sahel, an extension of the Sahara Desert. Our base for the next three nights will be in Waza National Park, on the edge of the Sahel and just south of Lake Chad. The park covers approximately 1,000 square miles of acacia savanna, seasonal marshes, and open grassy plains interspersed with impressive granite “koppies.” This area holds some of the richest bird life in the entire Sahelian region, with possibilities including Arabian Bustard, Quail Plover, Clapperton’s Francolin, Black-crowned Crane, Black-headed Lapwing, the fabulous African Swallow-tailed (Scissor-tailed) Kite, Fox Kestrel, Bedouin’s Snake-eagle, Chestnut-bellied and Four-banded Sandgrouse, Northern Carmine and Little Green Bee-eaters, Viellot’s Barbet, Black Scrub Robin, Red-pate Cisticola, Cricket Warbler, River Prinia, Sennar Penduline Tit, Yellow-crowned Gonolek, Sahel Paradise Whydah, Black-rumped Waxbill, White-rumped Seedeater, Sudan Golden Sparrow, and many more.
The park is also rich in mammal species, and we should see Red-fronted Gazelle, Kob, Topi, Western Roan Antelope, Bohor Reedbuck, and Patas Monkey, as well as the more familiar African Elephant, Sahel Giraffe, and African Lion. A night drive should produce Long-tailed Nightjar, Northern White-faced Owl, and, with luck, the stunning Golden Nightjar, which Rod Cassidy discovered in Cameroon in 2003.
Day 11: Today we’ll leave early to drive south to Morou, where we’ll catch a flight to Douala and then drive up into the Bamenda highlands, where we’ll spend the night.
Days 12-13: The birds we’ll be searching for in the forest remnants of the Bamenda Mountains include the rare and highly local Bannerman’s Turaco, Fernando Po Swift, Banded Wattle-eye, Bangwa Forest Warbler, Green Longtail, Cameroon Pipit, Cameroon Sunbird, and Bannerman’s Weaver. Despite the lack of extensive habitat, we’ll find our time here filled with some great birdwatching, and we’ll also look for Western Green Tinkerbird, Green-backed Woodpecker, Black-collared and Gray Apalis, Neumann’s Starling, Brown-capped Weaver, and Thick-billed Canary. Nights in the Bamenda highlands.
Days 14-16: We’ll drive through agricultural lands to the base of Mount Kupe for three nights in the village of Nyasoso. Most of Kupe and the nearby Bokossi Mountains are covered in pristine forest, and the area holds some of West Africa’s most sought-after birds, many of them listed as endangered or threatened. High on our wish list are White-throated Mountain Babbler, Ursula’s Sunbird, Bates’s Weaver, and Mount Kupe, Green-breasted, and Montiero’s Bushshrikes. Other species we’ll search for include Cassin’s Hawk-Eagle; Pied and White-crested Hornbills; Naked-faced, Bristle-nosed, Yellow-spotted, and Yellow-billed Barbets; Brown-eared, Gabon, and Elliot’s Woodpeckers; Sabine’s Spinetail; Forest Swallow; Square-tailed Saw-wing; Black-throated and Black-capped Apalis; Tit and Green Hylias; Black Bee-eater; and Bare-cheeked and Bar-tailed Trogons. We should also encounter a host of greenbuls, warblers, flycatchers, weavers, twinspots, negrofinches, and waxbills. Nights at Nyasoso village.
Day 17: Today we’ll drive to Mundemba, our access point to legendary Korup National Park. Roadside birding can be very productive, and we’ll make numerous stops, hoping to see our first Spotted Greenbul, White-thighed or Piping Hornbill, Black-headed Waxbill, or Long-legged Pipit. Night in Mundemba.
Days 18-19: We’ll have two full days to explore the lowlands of Korup National Park. This vast wilderness area offers an excellent chance for Red-headed Picathartes, our main target species; we’ll spend one night camped deep in the forest so that we can be at the roosting cave early. We’ll also see numerous greenbuls and hosts of other forest birds including Green-tailed and Common Bristlebills, Black-capped and Pale-breasted Illadopsis, and the diminutive Forest Robin. Other highlights may include Blue Cuckooshrike, Bare-cheeked Trogon, Blue-headed Wood Dove, and Black-casqued, Yellow-casqued, and Red-billed Dwarf Hornbills.
Days 20-21: After some early morning birding we’ll transfer to the town of Beua, at the foot of Mount Cameroon. The better part of the afternoon and most of the next day will be spent on the mountain in search of its several endemic species; some stiff climbing will be necessary if we are to see Mount Cameroon Speirops or have even a slight chance at Mount Cameroon Francolin. Other species may include the endemic Little Oliveback, Cameroon Olive and Western Montane Greenbuls, and Cameroon Mountain Robin. Later in the afternoon of Day 21 we’ll transfer to Douala for our last night in Cameroon.
Day 22: Our final morning will be spent at the Sanaga River at Edea, where we should find Gray Pratincole and African Skimmer. Later we’ll transfer to the airport for our flight back to London, where the tour ends on Day 23.
Updated: 07 July 2008
Prices
- 2009 price about $11,150
- Single Occupancy Supplement $910
Notes
Maximum group size 12, with two leaders. Both leaders will accompany the tour regardless of group size.
This tour is organized by our British company, Sunbird.