MOLE NATIONAL PARK

GHANA

Swala, Kulmasa, Northern Region (N)

Lat: 9°42′N 1°50′W, 484,000 ha, 150 m ()

Protected/registered status 
Best Time for visit; anytime ()

Birding Site Guide

This is Ghana's biggest conservation area and it is in the NW of the country. As well as grassland savanna, there are forests much of it riparian, and the S boundary is a steep escarpment.

Species

Helmeted Guineafowl Numida meleagris, White-throated Francolin Peliperdix albogularis, Woolly-necked Stork Ciconia episcopus, Saddle-billed Stork Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis, Marabou Stork Leptoptilos crumenifer, Yellow-billed Stork Mycteria ibis, Black-headed Heron Ardea melanocephala, White-backed Night-Heron Gorsachius leuconotus, Hadada Ibis Bostrychia hagedash, Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus Endangered, White-headed Vulture Trigonoceps occipitalis Critically endangered, White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus Critically endangered, Bateleur Terathopius ecaudatus Near-threatened, Beaudouin's Snake-Eagle Circaetus beaudouini Vulnerable, Brown Snake-Eagle Circaetus cinereus, Banded Snake-Eagle Circaetus cinerascens, Martial Eagle Polemaetus bellicosus Vulnerable, Wahlberg's Eagle Hieraaetus wahlbergi, Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax, African Hawk-Eagle Aquila spilogaster, Dark Chanting-Goshawk Melierax metabates, Gabar Goshawk Micronisus gabar, Grasshopper Buzzard Butastur rufipennis, African Fish-Eagle Haliaeetus vocifer, Denham's Bustard Neotis denhami Near-threatened, Forbes's Plover Charadrius forbesi, Greater Painted-Snipe Rostratula benghalensis, Four-banded Sandgrouse Pterocles quadricinctus (photo), African Scops-Owl Otus senegalensis, Northern White-faced Owl Ptilopsis leucotis, Pel's Fishing-Owl Scotopelia peli, Pennant-winged Nightjar Caprimulgus vexillarius, Standard-winged Nightjar Caprimulgus longipennis, Freckled Nightjar Caprimulgus tristigma, Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa epops, Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill Bucorvus abyssinicus, Red-throated Bee-eater Merops bulocki, Northern Carmine Bee-eater Merops nubicus, Abyssinian Roller Coracias abyssinicus, Fine-spotted Woodpecker Campethera punctuligera, Golden-tailed Woodpecker Campethera abingoni, Brown-backed Woodpecker Dendropicos obsoletus, Red-necked Falcon Falco chicquera, Red-fronted Parrot Poicephalus gulielmi, Brubru Nilaus afer, Gray-headed Bushshrike Malaconotus blanchoti, White-breasted Cuckooshrike Coracina pectoralis, African Golden Oriole Oriolus auratus, Square-tailed Drongo Dicrurus ludwigii, Fork-tailed Drongo Dicrurus adsimilis, Rufous-rumped Lark Pinarocorys erythropygia, Sun Lark Galerida modesta, Wire-tailed Swallow Hirundo smithii, African Blue-Flycatcher Elminia longicauda, African Spotted-Creeper Salpornis salvadori, Yellow-breasted Apalis Apalis flavida, Blackcap Babbler Turdoides reinwardtii, Yellow-bellied Hyliota Hyliota flavigaster, Gambaga Flycatcher Muscicapa gambagae, Swamp Flycatcher Muscicapa aquatica, White-crowned Robin-Chat Cossypha albicapillus, Common Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus, White-fronted Black-Chat Myrmecocichla albifrons, Long-tailed Glossy Starling Lamprotornis caudatus, Pygmy Sunbird Hedydipna platura, Beautiful Sunbird Cinnyris pulchellus, Bush Petronia Petronia dentata, Red-faced Pytilia Pytilia hypogrammica, Red-winged Pytilia Pytilia phoenicoptera, Red-billed Firefinch Lagonosticta senegala, Black-faced Firefinch Lagonosticta larvata, Exclamatory Paradise-Whydah Vidua interjecta, Togo Paradise-Whydah Vidua togoensis, Wilson's Indigobird Vidua wilsoni, Baka Indigobird Vidua larvaticola and also many savannah birds.

Other Fauna 

There is a healthy population of Elephant.

Flora 

Commercial hardwoods such as Burkea Africana and other species such as Butyrospermum paradoxum and Terminalia spp.

A fuller list of species can be found here: Wikipedia; Mole National Park.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_National_Park

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