Kilum-Ijim: Bannerman's turaco and the Mount Oku forest
Bannerman's turaco (Tauraco bannermani), banded wattle-eye, Bamenda apalis, Cameroon montane greenbul, mountain robin-chat; Lake Oku clawed frog in the crater lake. Mount Oku, Kilum-Ijim community forest, North-West Region, Cameroon.
Best time: 1 Dec – 28 Feb (December to February). Where: Elak-Oku – Kilum forest trails, Lake Oku – crater lake (Cameroon). Time of day: From first light to about 09:00.
- Partly on your own
- Low cost
- Binoculars helpful
- Sound 4/5
Open it in the interactive calendarSunrise and sunset listening times for the day you pick, and the map.
When is the best time?
Peak: 1 Dec – 28 Feb. December to February: dry, clear mornings at 2,000–2,800 m; the turaco calls all year but carries best in the dry, still air
Active from 1 Nov to 31 Mar (November to March) in a typical year.
Time of day
From first light to about 09:00; turaco calling again in the late afternoon
- Dawn chorus: first light → 09:00
- Afternoon turacos: 16:00 → sunset
What will you hear?
The deep, hoarse 'kow-kow-kow' of Bannerman's turaco rolling across the last big montane forest of the Bamenda highlands, wattle-eyes and apalises in the understorey, and cattle and church bells from the villages below.
Binoculars?
Binoculars helpful. The turaco calls from the forest at close range; binoculars help see its red wings and the wattle-eyes in the understorey.
Where to go
- Elak-Oku – Kilum forest trails — Village at the foot of the forest with community guides; trails climb to Lake Oku. Map
- Lake Oku – crater lake — Sacred lake inside the forest at 2,200 m; frogs at night, turacos in the surrounding forest. Map
How to go on your own, and what it costs
Shared taxi Bamenda–Kumbo–Elak-Oku; ask at the community forest office/fon's palace for permission and a guide (customary). The lower forest edge tracks are walkable alone at dawn.
Cost: Community permission and guide fee by negotiation; check current prices.
Free or no-guide alternative: The forest-edge farm tracks above Elak-Oku are free at dawn and the turaco's call carries down from the forest without entering it.
Field-recording notes
Community-managed forest: a village guide and the traditional authorities' permission are the norm, and the lake is sacred — no swimming, no boats, no collecting. Cold nights (frost possible), heavy dew, wood smoke from the villages at dawn. The North-West Region has been at the centre of the Anglophone conflict since 2017; check current travel advice very carefully and ask the community before travelling.
Sources
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More: all spectacles in Cameroon · dawn choruses · Cameroon in January · Cameroon in February · Cameroon in December