Bird watch in Cameroon is unlike no other experience. Cameroon offers one of the best and most exciting birding experiences in West and Central Africa. She has above 900 species of birds, most of which are endemic and near-endemic. Birds’ habitats in Cameroon are mountains, forests, savannahs, and plateaux.
Abroad – Douala International Airport – Douala – Edea – Lake Ossa – Edea – Douala – Maroua – Waza – Mora – Maroua – Garoua – Benue – Ngaoundere – Ngaoundaba – Yaounde – Bafoussam – Bamenda – Dschang – Nyasosso – Buea – Limbe – Douala International Airport – Abroad
Cameroon offers one of the best and most exciting birding experiences in West and Central Africa. She has above 900 species of birds, most of which are endemic and near endemic. Birds’ habitats in Cameroon are mountains, forests, savannahs, and plateaux.
So, this tour will take you to the savannah grand north of Cameroon as well as the forested south and the mountainous west of Cameroon. In the grand north, large concentrations of water birds such as the white-face whistling Duck (Dendrocygna viduata) and the long-tail Cormorant (Phalacrocorax africanus) can be found.
In the western part of the country is the Cameroon Mountain Arc with the Afro-tropical mountain vegetation type. This is where the endemic species such as the Mount Cameroon Francolin (Francolinus camerunensis), the Mount Kupe Bush-Shrike (Telophorus kupeensis) and the Bannerman’s Turaco (Tauraco bannermani) can be found.
In the freshwater ecosystems such as the Rivers Sanaga and Nyong and the lakes such as the Lake Magba and Lake Maga we can find water birds such as the cormorants, darters, storks and the herons.
The south-west of the country has a 350 km coastline with a marine ecosystem that provides a nestling ground for a host of migratory bird species.
Daily program
Day 1: Abroad – Douala International Airport – Douala
Welcome, transfer to hotel and overnight.
Day 2: Douala – Edea – Lake Ossa – Edea
Drive to Edea to discover the Gray Pratincole, Preuss’s Cliff swallows, Black kites, Senegalis Kingfisher, weavers and the African Skimmer in the River Sanaga and the Lake Ossa ecosystems. Return to Edea and overnight.
Day 3: Edea – Douala – Maroua – Waza
Drive to Douala and board a Camair-co flight to Maroua in the Extreme North Region of Cameroon. Drive to the Waza National Park; on the way, we can see birds such as the Rock Loving Cisticula, White Crown Cliff Chat, Red-tailed Lavender Waxbill, African Swallow-tail Kites and the rest. Arrival at Waza National Park and overnight at the Waza lodge.
Days 4 & 5: Waza – Mora – Maroua
Bird watch expeditions at the Waza National Park. This park is rich with the following bird species: The Short-toe Snake Eagle, Hoopoe, Abyssinian Roller, Little Green Bee-eater, Sahel Paradise Whydah, Helmeted Guineafowl, Bateleur, Wooly-Necked Stork, Namaqua Dove, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Four-banded Sandgrouse, Black Scrub Robin, Viellot’s Barbet, Black-crowned Crane, River Prinia, and many more species
Day 6: Maroua – Mora – Maroua
Drive to Mora for more bird watch and thereafter drive to Maroua for overnight.
Day 7: Maroua – Garoua – Benue
Continuation to the Benue National Park via Garoua and overnight at the park.
Days 8: Benue – Buffle Noir Lodge
Bird watch at Benue National Park, where we can seebird species such as the Black-bellied Fire Finch, Senegal Parrot, Long-tailed Glossy Starling, Northern Carmine, Bustard, Violet Turaco, Egyptian Plover, Spur-Winged Lapwing, Adamawa Turtle Dove, White Crested, African Wattled Lapwing, Grasshopper Buzzard, Emins Shrike, and many other species. Overnight at Buffle Noir lodge.
Day 9: Benue – Ngaoundere
Continuation to Ngaoundere. Arrival and overnight in a hotel.
Days 10 &11: Ngaoundere – Ngaoundaba
Drive to the Ngaoundaba ranch. Birds that could be seen here are the Spotted Thrush Babbler, Ross’s Turaco, Puvel’ Illadopsis, the Gray-winged Robin Chat, Schlegel’s Francolin the White-breasted cucoo-shrike, the Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Marsh Tchagra, Dybowski’s and Brown Twinspots, Oriole Warbler, while forest edge and marsh could produce Marsh Tchagra, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, and Dybowski’s and Brown Twinspots. In the open woodlands we’ll look for Schlegel’s Francolin and Brown-chested Lapwing, and we can also expect to find White-collared Starling, White-breasted Cuckoo-shrike, Western Violet-backed Sunbird, Black-necked Weaver, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, and Black-capped Babbler. Overnight at Ngaoundaba ranch.
Day 12: Ngaoundaba – Garoua – Yaounde
Return to Garoua and board a flight for Yaounde. Arrival at Yaounde and overnight at a hotel.
Day 13: Yaounde – Mount Mbaminkom – Yaounde
Drive to Mount Mbamikom for bird viewing. Return to Yaounde and overnight.
Day 14: Yaounde – Bafoussam – Bamenda
Continuation to Bamenda via Banjoun and Bafoussam and possibility of further bird watch en route. Arrival at Bamenda and overnight at a hotel.
Day 15: Bamenda – Awing – Bamenda
Excursion to the Lake Awing to see the Bannerman’s Turaco birds. Return to Hotel and overnight.
Day 16: Bamenda – Dschang – Nyasosso
Take off for Nyassosso through the Dschang escarpment. Arrival and overnight.
Days 17 – 18: Nyasosso – Mt. Kupe Manenguba – Nyasosso
Excursions to the Kupe Manenguba Mountains for bird watch. Return to Nyassosso and overnights.
Day 19 – 20: Nyasosso – Buea – Mount Cameroon
Take off for Buea, located at the slopes of Mount Cameroon, of 4,095mheight, the highest in Central / West Africa. Endemic bird species such as the Mount Cameroon Francolin and the Mountain Saw-wing are found on the forest slopes of this mountain. Overnight in Hut 1 eco-lodge.
Day 21: Buea – Limbe
Drive to Limbe and bird watch at the Limbe Botanic Garden and overnight.
Day 22: Limbe – Douala International Airport – Abroad
Take off for the Douala International Airport. Evaluation and fare ware.
Inclusion: Transportation in a comfortable vehicle with driver and fuel, shared accommodation, Breakfasts and dinners, guide, trackers, all visits and activities mentioned in the program.
Exclusion: Travel insurance, Personal items such as sun cream, insect repellent, souvenirs, additional food and drinks.
