17-Day Ghana Birding and Wildlife Tour with Kakum Canopy Walk

• Get transferred to a bird-friendly hotel after you arrive in Accra, Ghana.
• Get a good night's rest at Erata Hotel and prepare for your 17-day excursion in Ghana.

• Visit the open grassland savannah of Shai Hills, hoping to see and photograph some excellent savannah birds and species associated with this site, such as White Crowned Cliff Chat, Stone Partridge, Blue Bellied Roller, Purple Roller, Violet Turaco, Senegal Parrot, Swallow Tailed Bee-eater, and more.

• After an incredible morning at Shai Hills, scan Sakumono Lagoon to add resident and migratory shore birds to your list, then pass the Winneba Plains before continuing to Cape Coast.

Retire for the day. Stay overnight at Hans Cottage Botel, Cape Coast.

• After an early breakfast, set off to the world-famous Canopy Walkway at Kakum National Park, Ghana's leading destination for birdwatching. You will see birds such as Black Dwarf Hornbill, Violet Backed Hyliota, White Crested Hornbill, Congo Serpent Eagle, and more.

• Break in the hot afternoon for lunch.

• During birdwatching in the evening, look for birds returning from their feeding grounds to roost, as well as owls.

Retire for the day. Stay overnight at Hans Cottage Botel.

• Continue birdwatching around Kakum National Park on day 4 to cover all the areas around the park.

• Species to cover at this site include Rock Pratincole, White Bibbed Swallow, White Headed Lapwing, Tambourine, Blue Headed Wood Dove, and Blue Spotted Wood Dove.

• Break in the hot afternoon for lunch.

• During evening birding, look for birds returning from their feeding grounds to roost, as well as owls.

Retire for the day. Stay overnight at Hans Cottage Botel.

• Continue birding around Kakum National Park to cover all the areas.

• Afternoon birding will take place at Nsuta Reserved Forest to pick up some excellent birds such as Spot Breasted Ibis, Long Tailed Hawk, Congo Serpent Eagle, White Crested Hornbill, Akun Eagle Owl, African Wood Owl, Fraser's Eagle Owl, several Greenbuls, Sunbirds, Barbets, and many others.

• Have lunch in the afternoon.

• During birding in the evening, look for birds returning from their feeding grounds to roost, as well as owls.

Retire for the day. Stay overnight at D&A Lodge, Shama.

• Drive from your guesthouse to this secondary semi-deciduous forest that protects many quality species. Species you hope to see and photograph here include Red Billed Helmetshrike, Dwarf Bittern, Bristle Nosed Barbet, White Crested Bittern, Spot Breasted Ibis, and Western Bronze Naped Pigeon, among others.

• Break in the hot afternoon for lunch.

• During birding in the evening, look for birds returning from their feeding grounds to roost, as well as owls.

Retire for the day. Stay overnight at D&A Lodge, Shama.

• Continue birding around Nsuta Reserved Forest.

• Afternoon birding will take place along the way to Ankasa to pick up birds such as Hartlaub's Duck, Pygmy Goose, Allen's Gallinule, Orange Weaver, Reichenbach's Sunbird, Brown Sunbird, Grey Kestrel, Red-Necked Buzzard, Pygmy Kingfisher, Splendid Starling, Little Grebe, Carmelite Sunbird, and many more.

• Eat lunch in the afternoon.

• During birdwatching in the evening, look for birds returning from their feeding grounds to roost, as well as owls.

Retire for the day. Stay overnight at Hotel Frenchman's Lodge, Ankasa NP.

• Locate Nkulengu Rail, a rare species, in the early morning hours.

• Search for many Upper Guinea endemics such as Hartlaub's Duck, White Breasted Guineafowl, Yellow Casqued Hornbill, African Finfoot, Shining Blue Kingfisher, White Bellied Kingfisher, Cassin's Flycatcher, Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill, Olive Long Tailed Cuckoo, and Dusky Long Tailed Cuckoo. More incredible species may also be spotted here.

• Birdwatch all day. Break for lunch and continue looking for more exciting species before retiring for the day.

Stay overnight at Hotel Frenchman's Lodge, Ankasa.

• Birding will continue around Ankasa Rain Forest.

• Species to cover at this site include Yellow-throated Tinkerbird, Red-fronted Parrot, Little Greenbul, Little Grey Greenbul, Cassin's Spinetail, Sabine's Spinetail, White Spotted Flufftail, Marsh Tchagra, Red-Winged Prinia, African Pygmy Kingfisher, Chocolate Backed Kingfisher, White Bellied Kingfisher, African Dwarf Kingfisher, Giant Kingfisher, Red-rumped Tinkerbird, Blue Breasted Kingfisher, Fire Bellied Woodpecker, Buff Spotted Woodpecker, Pin Tailed Whydah, Red Headed Malimbe, Red Vented Malimbe, Crested Malimbe, Blue Billed Malimbe, Preuss's Weaver, Yellow Mantled Weaver, Red-Tailed Greenbul, White-Breasted Nigrita, Grey Headed Nigrita, Chestnut Breasted Nigrita, Peregrine Falcon, Piping Hornbill, Whistling Cisticola, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Black Cuckoo, Levaillant's Cuckoo, African Emerald Cuckoo, Common Swift, White Rumped Swift, Didric Cuckoo, and Klaas's Cuckoo.

• Do birdwatching the whole day.

• Break for lunch and continue looking for more interesting species before retiring for the day.

Retire for the day. Stay overnight at Hotel Frenchman's Lodge, Ankasa.

• Visit the White Necked Rock-fowl nesting site.

• Check out of the hotel after an early breakfast and reach a remote village to target the pre-historic bird, Yellow-Headed Picathartes.

• Continue the journey to Kumasi.

Retire for the day and stay overnight at Excelsa Lodge, Kumasi.

• Scan Opuro Forest for species such as Superb Sunbird, Lesser Moorhen, Grey Headed Bristlebill, Fiery Breasted Bushshrike, Black Sparrow-hawk, Northern Puffback, and Hamerkop.

• Expect to find Wire Tailed Swallow, Red Chested Swallow, African Moustached Warbler, Rufous Cisticola, Grey Rumped Swallow, Chestnut Backed Sparrow Lark, Red-Billed Firefinch, White-Headed Lapwing, White Helmetshrike, African Golden Oriole, Purple Roller, Blue Bellied Roller, Lesser Blue Eared Starling, Gabar Goshawk, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Purple Starling, Abyssinian Roller, Black Faced Quailfinch, Mosque Swallow, Yellow Billed Kite, and more at the Egyptian Plover site.

Stay overnight at the Mole Motel.

• After an early breakfast, set off for an exciting forest in a transitional zone between the southern wetter forest and the northern drier woodland habitat, where you will find some quality species. Birds you might see and photograph here include Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Denham's Bustard, Forbes's Plover, Four Banded Sandgrouse, Banded Snake Eagle, Brown Snake Eagle, and many more.

Retire for the day. Stay overnight at Mole Motel, standard hotel in Mole National Park.

• Continue birding at Mole National Park to add more savannah birds to your list. See species such as Yellow Mantled Widowbird, White Breasted Cuckooshrike, Wilson's Indigobird, Exclamatory Paradise Whydah, Togo Paradise Whydah, Spur Winged Goose, Green Woodhoopoe, and others.

Retire for the day and stay overnight at Mole Motel, Mole National Park.

• Depart from Mole for Kumasi.

• Stop along the way to add a couple of species to your list before reaching Kumasi.

• Visit Bobiri Forest, depending on the time.

Retire for the day and stay overnight at Excelsa Lodge, standard hotel in Kumasi.

• Visit Bobiri, well known for its important forest bird species such as Grey Parrot, Narina's Trogon, Long Tailed Hawk, Dusky Tit, Black Dwarf Hornbill, Forest Wood Hoopoe, Fraser's Eagle Owl, African Wood Owl, Black Sparrowhawk, Black Coucal, Violet Backed Hyliota, Little Grey Flycatcher, and Narrow Tailed Starling.

• Simple Greenbul, Plain Greenbul, Ansorge's Greenbul, White-Throated Greenbul, Red-Tailed Greenbul, and Little Greenbul will entertain you.

• Palm-nut Vulture, Hooded Vulture, African Harrier Hawk, Velvet Mantled Drongo, Grey Throated Flycatcher, Dusky Blue Flycatcher, Fraser's Forest Flycatcher, and Red-Bellied Paradise Flycatcher await you.

• Barn Swallow, Ethiopian Swallow, Green Headed Sunbird, African Cuckoo Hawk, Black-Throated Coucal, Blue Cuckooshrike, Black Winged Oriole, Moustached Grass Warbler, Red Headed Quelea, and more will be ticked at this site, along with a large number of butterflies.

Retire for the day and stay overnight at Royal Bluemich Hotel Tafo.

• Head back to the Upper Guinea rainforest habitat early in the morning, where many of Ghana's sought-after notable species are found. Hope to see Tit Hylia, Green Hylia, Magpie Mannikin, Narina's Trogon, Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill, Black Dwarf Hornbill, African Grey Parrot, and Red-fronted Parrot.

• Also spot African Emerald Cuckoo, Klaas's Cuckoo, Levaillant's Cuckoo, Didric Cuckoo, Red-Bellied Paradise Flycatcher, White-Throated Greenbul, Western Bluebill, and Tessmann's Flycatcher.

• Count yourself lucky if you see Baumann's Greenbul, among others.

• After an incredible birding day at Atewa, head to the hotel to relax and enjoy a nice meal.

Depart for the airport.