Sierra Leone - Tour Destination
Click here for Rockjumper's article that appeared in African Bird Club Bulletin

Sierra Leone is a core West African destination, offering visitors a diverse range of exciting Upper Guinea forest birds and mammals. Rockjumper pioneered this remote country during reconnaissance trips in 2005 and we have run numerous subsequent tours. Sierra Leone’s biologically rich rainforests support no less than 15 of the 16 Upper Guinea endemic bird species including the fabled White-necked Rockfowl, which has been seen on every single one of our tours!

Our tour begins in the bustling capital Freetown, where we will explore the Western Peninsula Forests for many of Sierra Leone's Upper Guinea Endemics. One of the undoubted highlights will be visiting breeding colonies of the mythical and endangered Picathartes, and our chances of securing a sighting are excellent. These birds occur here at their highest densities and are revered and therefore unmolested by local villagers. Whilst exploring the forest trails on foot and paddling through steamy mangrove swamps, we will be searching for the likes of Hartlaub’s Duck, White-browed Forest Flycatcher, Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, Black and Red-billed Dwarf-Hornbill, the huge Yellow-casqued Wattled Hornbill, endemic Sharpe’s Apalis and Thick-billed Cuckoo.

Further north we will visit the famed Gola Forest, the largest tract of lowland rain forest in Sierra Leone. The great diversity of spectacular species here includes Gola Malimbe and Yellow-bearded Greenbul, Blue-headed Bee-eater, Kemp's Longbill, Rufous-winged Illadopsis and with luck, exciting mammals including Western Chimpanzee, Western Red Colobus and Zebra Duiker may be seen skulking through the forest. An interesting diversion from Gola will be a visit to Tiwai Island, one of Sierra Leone’s largest inland islands, on the Moa River. Here we will search for the rare and endemic White-breasted Guineafowl. The seldom observed Pygmy Hippopotamus occurs and we can expect to encounter no less than seven species of monkeys. Additional tour targets will include Brown-cheeked Hornbill, Turati’s Boubou, Togo Paradise Whydah, Emerald Starling and the dazzling Crimson Seedcracker. We can even dream about the mythical Shelley’s Eagle-Owl.

We look forward to pioneer-birding with you in the emerald forests of this jewel in West Africa’s crown!

Please contact us for the detailed itinerary for this tour.

tour name & date for 2011	Picathartes, Rock Fowl & Upper Guinea specials: 5 - 20 Dec (16 days)
tour costs for 2011	US$4,425 pp, US$500 ss
max group size	8 & 1 Rockjumper leader
tour leader 2011	Keith Valentine
habitats covered	lowland rainforest, woodlands, mangrove swamps, rivers, Guinea savanna
climate	hot and humid, some rain
tour pace & walking	reasonably brisk pace, some longer forest trails
accommodation	comfortable to simple hotels and some basic camping
ease of birding	moderate in the savanna and challenging in forests
no. of species expected	300+
top mammals	Pygmy Hippopotamus, Chimpanzee, King & Western Red Colobus, Campbell’s Monkey, Zebra Duiker, Potto
other attractions	little explored forests
photographic opportunities	good

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