Palearctic waders and terns on Lake Togo and the Aného lagoons

Common, sandwich and royal terns, black tern; whimbrel, greenshank, common sandpiper, ringed plover, little stint; herons and egrets; white-faced whistling duck. Zones humides du littoral (Ramsar), Maritime Region, Togo.

Best time: 1 Oct – 28 Feb (October to February). Where: Togoville – Lake Togo shore and mangroves, Aného – lagoon mouth and sandbars, Agbodrafo – lakeside landing (Togo). Time of day: Boats and shorelines from sunrise to mid-morning.

• You can go on your own
• Free
• Binoculars essential
• Sound 3/5

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 Oct – 28 Feb. October to February: the wintering flocks are settled and the lagoon is at its calmest

Active from 1 Sep to 15 Apr (September to April) in a typical year.

Time of day

Boats and shorelines from sunrise to mid-morning; tern roosts on the sandbars settle in the last hour of daylight

• Waders: sunrise → 10:00
• Tern roost: 1 h before sunset → last light

Depends on the tide: best around low tide. Check local tide tables.

What will you hear?

Terns screaming over the sandbars at Aného where the lagoon meets the sea, whimbrel and greenshank from the flats, egrets settling in the mangroves at Togoville, and the pirogues of the fishing villages.

Binoculars?

Binoculars essential. Terns and waders on the Aného sandbars and lake flats at 100–300 m; binoculars needed, scope helps.

Where to go

• Togoville – Lake Togo shore and mangroves — Pirogue crossings from Agbodrafo; small egret and heron roosts in the shoreline mangroves. Map
• Aného – lagoon mouth and sandbars — Where the lagoon system breaches to the sea (seasonally); the main tern roost. Map
• Agbodrafo – lakeside landing — Base for boat hire on the lake; quieter than Lomé. Map

How to go on your own, and what it costs

Public shorelines: taxi or minibus from Lomé to Agbodrafo, Togoville (by pirogue) or Aného; walk the shore and the lagoon mouth sandbars. No permit.

Cost: Free; pirogue crossings and boat hire negotiable, check current prices.

Field-recording notes

A working lagoon: outboard pirogues, fish-landing and the coastal highway on the southern shore. The northern shore around Togoville and the mangrove creeks are the quiet side. Ramsar site but no formal reserve infrastructure or entry fees; local boatmen are the guides. Numbers are regionally rather than globally important, so this is a sequence for a coastal migration story rather than a spectacle in itself. Wader counts are highest at low water, which on the lagoon follows the rains more than the tide.

Sources

• Zones Humides du Littoral du Togo (Wikipedia)
• Togo names two more Ramsar sites – Convention on Wetlands

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More: all spectacles in Togo · bird migration hotspots · Togo in January · Togo in February · October · Togo in November · Togo in December