ANKASA FOREST
GHANA
Ashantiland, Western Region (SW)
Lat: 5°27′00′′N 2°04′00′′W, 50,900 ha, about 300 m ()
Protected/registered status
Best Time for visit; anytime ()
Birding Site Guide
Ankasa Forest is located about 365 kilometers west of Accra near the border with Côte d'Ivoire about 25 km from the coast. Sowodadzem is on the entrance road located at 120 km from Takoradi, 22 km from Elubo along the Takoradi-Elubo section of the Ghana- Côte d'Ivoire International highway. It comprises of two protected areas Nini-Suhien National Park and the Ankasa Resource Reserve. It is wet evergreen tropical rainforest with high species diversity. Main river watersheds are the Ankasa, Suhien and Nini.
Species
Over 263 species of bird have been recorded including: Hartlaub's Duck Pteronetta hartlaubii (photo), African Pygmy-Goose Nettapus auritus, White-breasted Guineafowl Agelastes meleagrides Vulnerable, Crested Guineafowl Guttera pucherani, White-crested Bittern Tigriornis leucolopha, Striated Heron Butorides striata, European Honey-buzzard Pernis apivorus, Red-thighed Sparrowhawk Accipiter erythropus, Gray-throated Rail Canirallus oculeus, African Finfoot Podica senegalensis, Blue-headed Wood-Dove Turtur brehmeri, Great Blue Turaco Corythaeola cristata, Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo Cercococcyx mechowi, Red-chested Owlet Glaucidium tephronotum, African Pied Hornbill Lophoceros fasciatus, Yellow-casqued Hornbill Ceratogymna elata, Piping Hornbill Bycanistes fistulator, Shining-blue Kingfisher Alcedo quadribrachys, White-bellied Kingfisher Corythornis leucogaster, Chocolate-backed Kingfisher Halcyon badia, Red-fronted Parrot Poicephalus gulielmi, Square-tailed Sawwing Psalidoprocne nitens, Yellow-throated Greenbul Atimastillas flavicollis, Olive-green Camaroptera Camaroptera chloronota, Pale-breasted Illadopsis Illadopsis rufipennis, Blackcap Illadopsis Illadopsis cleaveri, Rufous-winged Illadopsis Illadopsis rufescens Near-threatened, Cassin's Flycatcher Muscicapa cassini, Dusky-blue Flycatcher Bradornis comitatus, African Forest-Flycatcher Fraseria ocreata, Forest Scrub-Robin Cercotrichas leucosticta, White-tailed Ant-Thrush Neocossyphus poensis, Copper-tailed Starling Hylopsar cupreocauda Near-threatened, Splendid Starling Lamprotornis splendidus, Fraser's Sunbird Deleornis fraseri, Reichenbach's Sunbird Anabathmis reichenbachii, Red-vented Malimbe Malimbus scutatus, Crested Malimbe Malimbus malimbicus, Maxwell's Black Weaver Ploceus albinucha and others.
Other Fauna
African Forest Elephant, Leopard, maybe 10 species of primate (more research needed to confirm species such as Chimpanzee) rare sub-species include Roloway Diana Monkey, Geoffroy’s Pied Colobus and White-naped Sooty Mangabey. Bongo and Yellow-backed Duiker.
Over 600 species of butterfly have so far been recorded.
Flora
This is the richest botanical area of Ghana, due to highest rainfall and there are over 800 species of plants. This includes some recently discovered endemic plants such as Psychotria.
Trips can be booked through Kwame Brown:
Name / Kwame Brown
Email / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Company / Adventure Birding Tours Ghana
Website / www.adventurebirdingtours.com
Number / 233-554626748
Whatsapp / 233-271392937
Country / Ghana
Province / Tema Accra
Interests / Birdwatching, Twitching, Photography, Adventure, Culture, Bespoke, Walking, Long walk, Tourist sites, Museum, Monument, Aboretum, Architecture appreciation and Sports.
Hotspots / Parks, Forests, Reserves, Preserves, Conservations, Sanctuaries, Mountains and Wetlands.
Sites / Shai-hills, Sakumono Lagoon, Muni Lagoon, Winneba Plains, Kakum National Park and surroundings, Nsuta Forest, Ankasa Forest, Picathartes site, Bobiri Butterfly Sanctuary, Opuro Forest, Mole National Park, Tongo Hills, Tono Dam, Egyptian Plover site, Atewa Forest, Kalakpa Forest.
Author: Kwame Brown, BSG
www.birdingsiteguide.com
