African advent Day 24

And finally, by no means the rarest bird of the trip, these nesting Chestnut-and-black Weavers at Hans Cottage did provide my favourite photograph when I noticed a new nest that was essentially just the doorway and waited for its owner to return.  Happy holidays!

African advent Day 23

Exclamatory Paradise-Whydah in full breeding plumage was another bird I was very pleased to find, especially after seeing a tailless, immature male.

African advent Day 22

Red-throated Bee-Eaters were very common at Mole but I couldn't take my eyes off their bright colours.

African advent Day 21

The beautiful Forbes's Plover is one of the main target birds in Mole and we got to see three of them really well.

African advent Day 20

With it being the end of the rainy season, I didn't get to see or photograph many butterflies other than a few common species such as this Western Joker (Byblia anvatara crameri).  In Atewa Forest, however, we did see a few, small puddle parties reminiscent of those in the Amazon.

African advent Day 19

Greyish Eagle-Owls were very common at Mole NP.  Driving back after dark we encountered at least five of them hunting along the road.

African advent Day 18

Long-tailed Glossy Starlings were common at Mole NP and we even located an active nest.

African advent Day 17

Mole National Park had plenty of mammals with Northern Bushbuck regularly feeding around the accommodation, and my first elephant, a single, young, male Savannah Elephant, encountered during one of the drives.

African advent Day 16

Indigobirds are notoriously difficult to identify but we saw Wilson's Indigobird in both the south and the north of the country.

African advent Day 15

At Bobiri butterfly sanctuary, some Swiss researchers had set up a moth light.  Here are what seem to be Balacra flavimacula and Caryatis phileta.

African advent Day 14

In the south, the brightly coloured Yellow-crowned Gonolek was rather skulky and difficult to see whereas at Mole, I had this pair feeding on the grass outside my room early every morning.

African advent Day 13

Heading further north and crossing into the savannah belt, we started to see more and more of these traditional houses.  Having arrived at Mole NP, the local warthogs made sure we knew what we had to do!

African advent Day 12

 

Visiting during the rainy season meant that the bishops and widowbirds were resplendent in full breeding plumage.  This is a male Black-winged Bishop.

African advent Day 11

On our way north to visit the picathartes, we encounted this large flock of Preuss's Cliff Swallow.

African advent Day 10

For today's post, here is a selection of dragonflies photographed during my trip.

African adventure Day 9

As mentioned in my trip write-up, I got to see all four malimbes but, them being mainly canopy-dwellers, I only got a photo of this Blue-billed Malimbe.

African advent Day 8

Having settled into my room at Frenchman Lodge, my guide came rushing back with this Graceful Chameleon he'd spotted crossing the entrance road.

African advent Day 7

Next, we headed west towards the Ivory Coast and the lovely, but rustic (no hot water!) Frenchman Lodge adjacent to Ankasa Forest.  The lodge grounds were good for birds with Pin-tailed Whydah feeding outside my room, Reichenbach's Sunbird and plenty of African Pied Hornbills.

African advent Day 6

Hans Cottage actually has three species of weaver nesting.  Whilst trying to photograph this Orange Weaver, I almost stepped on this guy!

African advent Day 5

Our two mornings spent on the rope bridges of the famous Kakum Canopy Walkway provided my favourite birding of the trip being very much like birding the observations towers at Cristalino Jungle Lodge.  We picked one platform as a base and just stood there waiting for birds to pass by, which yielded a ridiculous 35 new species the first morning, plus difficult birds such as Black-casqued Hornbill and Violet-backed Hyliota on our second visit.