One of the reasons for a 2-week tour to Cameroon was to take much better shots of the Grey-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes oreas). Called also the Red-headed Picathartes, the very primitive-looking rainforest dwellers were already the main reason to visit Campo Maan National Park in April 2017. The drive to Campo Maan National Park was tedious… Continue reading Grey-necked Rockfowl in Campo Maan National Park / Cameroon
Category: Birds of Cameroon 2017/2018
The Mount Kupé Bushshrike in the Bakossi Mountains
A fresh, sunny morning in the Bakossi Mountains. The initial stretches of the trail are even for a fairly distance, getting steeper and even insanely steep inside the core primary forest. The last patch we did inside primary forest before getting to one of the territorial spots of the Serle’s Bushshrike – better known as… Continue reading The Mount Kupé Bushshrike in the Bakossi Mountains
Mountain Robin-Chat on red ants road at Mount Cameroon
During the night, a heavy thunderstorm had fallen with heavy downpours over Douala and the southwestern province. Now in the early morning a few birds are on the hiking trail. In an open site, some specialists have found themselves plundering an ant-train. Unlike in South America, these birds actually seem to eat the ants themselves.… Continue reading Mountain Robin-Chat on red ants road at Mount Cameroon
Swifts over Sanager River/ Cameroon
Swifts (Apodiformes) in the family Apodidae are small birds which spend the majority of their lives flying. These birds have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead only on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long swept-back wings which resemble a crescent or boomerang. There are 13 species occurring in Cameroon.… Continue reading Swifts over Sanager River/ Cameroon
Mount Cameroon: a heaven for little birds
Arriving from the Northern Extension of the Rockjumper Rainforest & Rockfowl 2017 – tour we were more than tired as we had arrived on a late flight from Garoua via Yaoundé. To postpone the breakfast to get some sleep was not advisable. The birds do not sleep during the day. And: the morning hours are… Continue reading Mount Cameroon: a heaven for little birds
Cameroon Olive-Greenbul (Phyllastrephus poensis) near Bamenda in the Cameroon Highlands
A dark olive-brown bird moves between twigs and branches. The trees are on the slope above the crater lake are not so high. This allows for very nice pictures of birds, which would otherwise be rather up in the canopy – largely invisible from the ground. This time, the brown bird with the striking beak… Continue reading Cameroon Olive-Greenbul (Phyllastrephus poensis) near Bamenda in the Cameroon Highlands
Congo Serpent-Eagle (Dryotriorchis spectabilis) in the Cameroon lowlands
Driving from Edea down to Kribi in April 2017 we managed to catch a bird, unobtrusively crouching on a branch of a medium-sized tree right along the road. The bird had large eyes, but was sitting right in the open. Wow, this was the Congo Serpent-Eagle (Dryotriorchis spectabilis) is a medium-sized eagle that occurs in… Continue reading Congo Serpent-Eagle (Dryotriorchis spectabilis) in the Cameroon lowlands
Fiery-breasted Bushshrike in the Cameroon Highlands
To discover a Fiery-breasted Bushshrike (Malaconotus cruentus) in the mountain rainforest of south-western Cameroon is a very special privilege of a birding trip. As soon as we started to climb a hiking trail at Mount Kupe, we saw the mountain chain of Mt. Kupe, Mt. Oko near Kumbo and Mt. Cameroon. A beautiful chain of… Continue reading Fiery-breasted Bushshrike in the Cameroon Highlands
Little Greenbuls fly catching insects in the rain
Having been in Campo Ma’an National Park in southern Cameroon already the 2nd day, we experienced a heavy thunderstorm with endless rain. Probably not the first front of the rainy season brought heavy rain and thunder – and myriads of flying insects. Just outside our basic camp, birds made sallies into the air, to catch… Continue reading Little Greenbuls fly catching insects in the rain
Grey-necked Picathartes in Campo-Ma’an National Park/ Cameroon
Now the afternoon was for the Grey-necked Picathartes or Grey-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes oreas). We expected an arduous trip of hiking for hours through tropical heat in the National Park. Some people say, that the bird only appears after rain storms. If this would be true, we would be unlucky, as on our first day in… Continue reading Grey-necked Picathartes in Campo-Ma’an National Park/ Cameroon
Neumann’s Starling flight along cliffs in Bamenda/ Cameroon
Having birded the Bamenda highlands until midday, we expected an impressive rainstorm, over the buzzling town of Bamenda while admiring several Neumann’s Starling (Onychognathus neumanni) obviously feeding on the cliffs just below the plateau of the upper parts of the suburbs. Neumann’s Starling are said to be observed from some rocks in the a semi-suburban/… Continue reading Neumann’s Starling flight along cliffs in Bamenda/ Cameroon
Cameroon: bird photography on a guided birding tour
The Birdlife of West Africa was on the schedule for April 2017. I decided for the Africa specialist Rockjumper. Cameroon is a vast and diverse land; lying just north of the equator. This bird-rich nation forms the inter-grade between West and Central Africa and harbors a wide range of habitats, ranging from steamy lowland rainforest… Continue reading Cameroon: bird photography on a guided birding tour