Ornithologically, Cameroon remains little known despite being the richest country in West Africa for birds and the most accessible.  Lying at the junction between West and Central Africa, and forming a key part of the Lower Guinea Endemic Bird Area (EBA), Cameroon and its highland chain supports over 900 bird species, amongst them seven endemics. Cameroon is highly diverse with typical lowland tropical rainforests in the south and west to the Pro-Sahelian savanna in the north, and from rolling plains to volcanic beaches and mangrove swamps.

Cameroon holds 33 restricted range endemics. Amongst these endemics, gems include Grey-necked Rockfowl, arguably Africa’s most sought-after species, Bannerman’s Turaco, Yellow-breasted Boubou, Mount Kupe Bush Shrike, Mountain Robin Chat, White-throated Mountain Babbler, Bamenda Apalis, Banded Wattle-eye, Cameroon Sunbird, Ursula’s Sunbird, Mount Cameroon Speriops and Fernando Po Oliveback. Although only seven of these species are geographically endemic to Cameroon, all of them are most easily seen here. Added to the plethora of endemics many non-endemic specials in the drier northern savannas are found in Cameroon, not least of which are Egyptian Plover, Arabian Bustard, Quail Plover, Stone Partridge, Violet Turaco, Sudan Sparrow and Scissor-tailed Kite in the northern savannas and Grey Pratincole, Bare-cheeked Trogon, Grey-sided and Red-sided Broadbills in the forested southwest.

Our main tour focuses on the savanna of the north where many scarce species have become available in recent years, and then finishes with a flourish as we look for lowland forest birds and the enigmatic Red-headed Rockfowl near Youande. This trip offers two extensions, the first seeking the many endemics of the mountainous Kupe and Bamenda regions, and the second, definitely for the fit and rugged only, a trip to the wild Korup National Park area, adjacent to Cross River NP in Nigeria.

Day 1: Douala. After arrival in Douala, we shall be transferred to a hotel in the city, and depending on time, may attempt a sortie down to the wetlands or forest patches near-by to get to grips with some of the local forest birds.

Day 2: Sanaga River. Amazingly close to Douala, and right on the main road to Yaouande is a stretch of lowland forest teeming with birds. We will come to grips with our first greenbuls and canopy hornbills on this road. But it is some riverine specialties that will be our main quarry. Hartlaub’s Duck is a scarce rainforest anatid, and a much sought-after African bird, and the Grey Pratincole is a dainty and desirable river-bank specialist. Both of these will be targets. Int he evening we return to douala for another night.

Day 3: Douala-Waza NP. Early this morning we catch a flight to the northern town of Maroua, gateway to the Sahel, and Waza National Park. En-route to the park we shall keep an eye out for our first dry semi-desert birds such as Scissor-tailed Kite and Fox Kestrel. This national park, some 1 700 km2 in extent, lies in far north Cameroon just south of Lake Chad. The reserve supports acacia savannah, vast areas of seasonal marshes and grassland, where birds concentrate at the end of the dry season (April). The landscape is mostly flat although around Waza itself some impressive hills dominate the countryside for kilometres. Throughout our stay we shall be based at the main camp at Campement de Waza.

Day 4-5: Waza NP. The next two days we shall explore Waza and the surrounding area, including the plethora of drying wetlands, grassland plains, rocky outcrops and other habitats in search of birds. The area holds the richest birdlife in the entire Sahelian band, where the recorded list seems endless. The many small waterholes teem with waterbirds including Comb Duck, Hamerkop, Saddle-billed Stork and African Openbill and also attract many dry-country species desperate for water in this harsh environment. The best birds at Waza include the highly sought-after Arabian Bustard, River Prinia and Sennar Penduline-Tit. Other range-restricted birds that are best looked for at Waza include Clapperton's Francolin, Black Crowned-Crane, Chestnut-bellied Starling, Black Scrub-Robin and Sudan Golden-Sparrow. The spectacular Waza rocks are a roost site for vultures and other raptors soar overhead during the heat of the day.  The park is also rich in mammals including lions, elephants and giraffe. We make a stop in the whispy golden grasslands further south to look for the enigmatic Quail Plover.

Day 6: Waza to Garoua. After another morning in this spectacular area we head south to the small town of Garoua where we will stay in a hotel not far from the Benoue River.

Day 7: Garoua area. In the last few years this region has revealed some excellent birds including Chad Firefinch and Emin’s Shrike, and we will spend the day looking for these target specialty birds. Before heading to Benoue NP before dark.

Day 8: Benoue NP. We will spend the whole day inside this NP with it’s varied Guinea Savanna. We shall stay at Campement du Bufflé Noir.  We will bird the garden along the Benoue River, looking for Egyptian Plover, Yellow Penduline Tit, Red-winged Grey Warbler and many others.

Day 9: Benoue NP to Ngaoundaba Ranch. A walk along the Benoue River will be arranged for the morning, providing opportunities to see White-crested and Violet Turaco, Bearded Barbet, White-breasted Cuckoo-Shrike, Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike, Little Weaver and Cinnamon-breasted Bunting. Other Guinea savanna specials include Blue-bellied Roller, Grasshopper Buzzard, Stone Partridge, Four-banded Sandgrouse, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Senegal Parrot, Abyssinian Roller, Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill, Heuglin’s Wheatear, Yellow-billed Shrike, Senegal Batis, White-fronted Black-Chat, Senegal Eremomela, Bush Petronia, Red-winged Pytilia and Pygmy Sunbird. After a late breakfast we leave for Ngaoundaba Ranch, where we will be staying for the next couple of days.

Day 10-11: Ngaoundaba Ranch. We spend the two full days exploring this magnificent ranch, a former hunting lodge situated in a superb setting alongside an ancient crater lake. Surrounded by forest savannah mosaic, the lake and the remnant patches of gallery forest provide a perfect introduction to the birds of the Adamawa Plateau. Many bird species have been recorded at this ranch, amongst them a number of species difficult to see anywhere in Africa including Schlegel's Francolin, Brown-chested Lapwing, Puvel's Illadopsis, Thrush Babbler, White-collared Starling, Bamenda Apalis and Dybowski's Twinspot. We will bird the ranch buildings and adjacent open woodland  which supports White-collared Starling, White-breasted Cuckoo-Shrike, Marsh Tchagra, Gambaga Flycatcher, White-shouldered Black-Tit, Yellow Penduline-Tit, Sun Lark, Bar-breasted Firefinch and Brown Twinspot. We shall also explore the gallery forests  for Black-headed Batis, Grey-winged Robin-Chat, Grey-headed Oliveback, Violet-tailed Sunbird, Thrush Babbler as well as two of Africa’s star turacos White-crested and Lady Ross'.  Night drives offer chances of the magnificent Standard-winged, Pennant-winged, Black-shouldered and Long-tailed Nightjars.

Day 12: Ngoundere to Garoua. We retrace our steps back towards Garoua, where we overnight once more.

Day 13: Garoua to Youande. Another travel day, we fly to Youande, where we will bird some good lowland forest close to town where we may encounter some lowland forest birds such as Brown-eared Woodpecker, or Great Blue Turaco.

Day 14: Youande Forests. Today could be the highlight of the trip with a trip to a forest that is home to the strange and skittish Red-headed Rockfowl. One of the world’s most difficult birds to see we shall invest this morning birding this pristine patch of forest. The remainder of the day shall be spent looking for greenbul, broadbills, starlings and many other residents of the lowland forests around the capital city.

Day 15: Departure. Those choosing to depart may leave, or you may also continue on an extension to the endemic-rich portions of southwest Cameroon and the mountains of the border region.

Southwest Montane endemics extension (7 days)

This extension targets the many endemics of the Cameroon mountain EBA (Endemic Bird Area), concentrating on the Bamenda and Kupe areas.

Day 1: Youande to Bamenda. Primarily a travel day, we head into the heart of this endemic rich region. After travelling to Bamenda we will check into the hotel in Bamenda.

Day 2: Bamenda. We will spend the day at the Bafut-Nguemba Forest Reserve, looking for Cameroonian endemics, Bannerman’s Turaco, Banded Wattle-eye, Bamenda Apalis and the near-endemic Bannerman’s Weaver. Other specials that can be seen here include Yellow-breasted and Mountain Boubou Shrike, Mountain Robin Chat, Forest Swallow, Cameroon Mountain Greenbul, Green Longtail and Cameroon Sunbird.

Day 3: Bamenda to Mt Kupe. An early morning departure will have us heading for the village of Nyasoso at Mt Kupe. We will walk the scrubby trails at the base of the mountain in the evening looking for forest edge birds such as Bristle-nosed Barbet, Western Green-Tinkerbird, Red-rumped Tinkerbird, Yellow-throated Tinkerbird, Yellow-spotted Barbet, Hairy-breasted Barbet, Double-toothed Barbet, Blue-headed Wood-Dove, Fiery-breasted Bushshrike, Swamp Greenbul and Green Longtail.

Days 4-5: Mt Kupé & Bakossi Mts. The next two full days will be spent exploring the wonderful trails around this mountain, the center of the Cameroon highlands Endemic Bird Area, with its host of specialty birds including Mount Kupé Bushshrike. The forests here are also home to a total of 27 of the Cameroon Mountain EBA birds including many scarce or threatened species which despite having a more extensive range are difficult to see anywhere in Africa. Diversity is high, with 8 species of kingfishers, 8 woodpeckers, 3 trogons, 7 honeyguides, 21 greenbuls, 14 shrikes, 5 wattle-eyes and 17 sunbirds.  The most sought-after species are Grey-headed Broadbill, Mountain Boubou, Green-breasted Bush Shrike, Black-necked Wattle-eye, Crossley’s Ground Thrush, Mountain and White-bellied Robin-Chats, Forest Swallow, Cameroon Mountain and Grey-headed Greenbuls, Green Longtail, White-tailed Warbler, Black-capped Woodland Warbler, White-throated Mountain Babbler, Fernando Po Oliveback, Cameroon and Ursula’s Sunbirds.

On one of the days we will take a 4x4 and venture up into the famed Bakossi mountains. Here we stand our best shot at seeing the famed Mount Kupé Bushshrike and the almost as rare Green-breasted Bush-shrike. The Bakossi’s though are home to a wonderful variety of birds including Bocage’s Akalat, Black-faced Rufous Warbler, Yellow Longbill, Black-billed Weaver and many others. 

Day 6: Mt. Kupe to Douala. After a final day looking for Mt Kupe’s gems and avian wonders, we make our way back to Douala, where we enjoy a nice hot shower and final meal before a farewell dinner.

Day 7: Douala. Today we head to the airport for our international departures, or to overnight if continuing on to the Korup extension.



Korup NP Extension – The hunt for Picathartes (6 days)

Day 1: Douala to Mundemba. From Douala we head out early to Mundemba, the HQ in the south of the Park. There is some great forest en-route and we will enjoy some great lowland forest birding on the way to Mundemba. Tonight we stay in Mundemba and bird the forest scrub and forest edge habitat around the guest house which may produce Chattering Cisticola, Grey-headed and White-breasted Negrofinch, Long-tailed Paradise-Whydah and Olive-bellied Sunbird. In the secondary growth Black Bee-eater, Western Bluebill and Black-bellied Seedcracker are possible.

Days 2-5: Korup NP. Today we venture into the heart of Korup where we spend the next three nights at the amazing Rengo Rock Camp. Korup National Park was proclaimed in 1986, covering 1259 km2 of unique lowland rainforest in southwest Cameroon. A forest refugium that survived the Ice Ages that impacted the remainder of central Africa, this isolate of lower guinea rainforest supports a greater diversity of plant and animal species than comparable forests elsewhere in Africa. It is estimated to be more than 60 million years old. It supports more than 400 species of tree and 425 birds; there are also 174 species of reptiles and amphibians as well as 140 species of fish from the Korup area.  After heading deep into the forest, we will spend the next three nights sleeping in huts which are surprisingly comfortable and decidedly dry even in the severest showers, camping at a basic camp, where we search for the magical Grey-necked Picathartes. Many other lowland forest birds abound here including a magical pair of Vermiculated Fishing Owls that we located on our 2003 trip, plethoras of greenbuls, Forest Francolin, White-crested and Piping Hornbill, Buff-spotted Woodpecker, Blue-headed Crested-Flycatcher, Red-tailed Ant-Thrush, Black-eared Ground-Thrush, Black-capped and Brown Illadopsis, Gray's and Rachel’s Malimbe, Black-casqued and Yellow-casqued Hornbill, Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush, White-browed Forest-Flycatcher, Sjostedt's and Xavier's Greenbul, Yellow Longbill and Little Green Sunbird. We will also listen and look for Rufous-sided Broadbill, particularly in the early mornings, Bare-cheeked Trogon, Blue Cuckoo-Shrike, Green Hylia and Red-vented Malimbe amongst the host of other species occurring in the park. For the extremely lucky we might encounter the wonderful Black-eared Ground Thrush or Long-tailed Hawk nest of prior trips. After spending three nights at Rengo we head back to Mundemba for our last night near the park.

Day 6: Mundemba to Douala. After waking up at Mundemba we bird the superb roadside scrub on our way out. Some of the excellent forest near the bridges are good for Great Blue Turaco and Black-bellied Seedcracker. The Cassin’s Grey Flycatcher also flit up and down the river. Then make our way out of Mundemba back to Douala for our outward bound flights. Transfer to flights. If your flight only leaves the following day you will have to request an additional overnight stay in Douala. 

Tour Info:

CLIMATE: Ranges from hot and dry in the Sahel to chilly and damp in the mountains, hot and humid in Korup.

DIFFICULTY: Easy to moderate in the north. A few hikes in the southwest are strenuous. Korup requires substantial fitness.