Tanzania - Serengeti

Here are some more photographs from Tanzania, these from our three days (four nights) in Serengeti National Park where we stayed at the Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge.

The Serengeti region covers 30,000 square kilometres and extends into south-western Kenya.  In the time available we could, of course, visit only a small part of it.  The Kenyan part of the Serengeti is known as the Maasai Mara.  In the Maasai language Serengeti means “endless plains”, a description that fits very well.

Although our main focus was on the birds we also devoted plenty of time to the mammals, particularly the cats.  One day we thought we had done well to see 22 cats of four different species (12 Lions, 2 Leopards, 7 Cheetahs and a Serval) but the following day we saw twice as many!  The Cheetahs were an adult female with six young cubs that were going to be a serious challenge for her to feed and keep safe.

 Our room at the Serena Safari Lodge

The plains are studded with isolated granite outcrops, known as kopjes

Lions - lying in the shade

Yellow-throated Sandgrouse - one of three sandgrouse species that we saw

Yellow-throated Longclaw - that really is a yellow throat!

Zebras - thousands of them

Sharpe's Starling - a fruit eater

Spotted Hyaena - they always look a bit menacing

African Fish Eagle - this one was remarkably confiding

Eland - the largest of the African antelopes

White-bellied Bustard - a male of the subspecies erlangeri

Serval Cat - its long legs enable it hunt in the long grass

Cut-throat Finch - only the male has a red band across its throat

Hippopotamus -  one of the most dangerous large animals in Africa

 Hildebrandt's Starling - an East African endemic

Usambiro Barbet - possibly just a subspecies of d'Arnaud's Barbet

Another Lion - we saw more than 80 of them during the tour

On Safari in Northern Tanzania

This year's Avian Adventures tour in Tanzania followed the now familiar itinerary that includes Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. Familiar it might be but it’s an absolutely wonderful area and once again we had a great tour with plenty of birds and huge numbers of mammals. Without any doubt this is one of the world's top wildlife destinations.

If I were write about it in detail I would probably have to repeat much of what I wrote last year so this time I will keep it brief and just share a few photographs.

White-headed Buffalo-Weaver - a common species in Tarangire and the Serengeti.

Black-faced Sandgrouse - regularly found in pairs along the roadside in Tarangire.

Lilac-breasted Roller - very common but always popular.

African Spoonbills - there were hundreds at Lake Manyara. Maybe one day we'll find one in the Algarve!

This Lion did his best to frighten us...

...but he obviously had other more important things to do!

Capped Wheatear - numerous along the road through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Zebras head-resting

Mwanza Flat-headed Agama - the field guide says they are 'quite wary...and often reluctant to allow humans to approach closely'. This one was very much an exception - an impressive beast! They are reported to have become popular as pets because of their resemblance to Spider-Man.

Auditioning for a place in Trafalgar Square? Rocky outcrops like this one are popular resting places for Lions.

Rufous-naped Lark - particularly common in the Serengeti, singing from bushes and termite mounds, but what a monotonous song.

A personal favourite - Double-banded Courser

Long-crested Eagle - if only all raptors were so obliging and easy to identify!

White-backed Vulture - the commonest of the vultures...

...and Lappet-faced, the largest

Little Bee-eater - widespread and usually seen in pairs. In the Ngorongoro highlands we also saw the similar but much larger Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater.

Rufous-crowned Roller - somewhat eclipsed by its much more numerous and brightly-coloured cousin.

Bateleur - another easy to identify raptor. The name "Bateleur" is French for "tight-rope walker", referring to the bird’s characteristic habit of tipping the ends of its wings when flying, as if to keep its balance.

Serval Cat - our attention was drawn to this one in the Serengeti by several very alarmed and noisy Helmeted Guineafowl. Servals hunt in the long grass and can be difficult to see, so we were pleased the next day when we came across another one in Ngorongoro Crater.

Ngorongoro Crater seen from the rim, some 600 metres above.

Tacazze Sunbird - a garden bird at the Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge.

White-naped Raven - this is a seriously big bird - check out that huge bill!

One of the very approachable Yellow-billed Kites that frequent the Ngoitokitok picnic site in Ngorongoro Crater.

There was more water in the Crater this year than I've seen before and as a result more wetland birds. Ducks included Cape Teal, Hottentot Teal and these Red-billed Teal.

We watched for several minutes as this Black-headed Heron wrestled with a snake and was finally able to swallow it.

If only Great Bustards were as approachable as Kori Bustards!

Cheetahs were hard to find this year but eventually we had close-up views.

Finally, a sunset! Huge old baobab trees like this one are a feature of Tarangire.

Once again thanks go to our local driver/guide, Peter Loishiye Laizer and Roy Safaris for their contributions to making our birding safari the undoubted success that it was.

Tanzania - Part 3

On Day 5 of our tour in Tanzania we made the long drive from Lake Manyara to the Seronera River Valley in the Serengeti, one of the world's most famous wildlife areas where we stayed for four nights at the Serengeti Serena Lodge.

July isn't the time of year to witness the spectacular migration of Wildebeest and Zebras for which the Serengeti is best known but there was still more than enough to see and our stay provided a wonderful experience. Maybe we did see only a few thousand Wildebeest and Zebras rather than the million or two that are present at other times of the year but the variety of mammals and birds was truly impressive.

Zebras at a waterhole

Of course, this was a bird watching tour and on numerous occasions when we were doing just that, watching birds, we attracted looks ranging from pity to scorn from the drivers and occupants of the many other safari vehicles that we encountered. They were interested only in finding the so-called 'Big Five' and mention of a Rattling Cisticola or a Tawny-flanked Prinia left them totally bemused. It wouldn't do for us all to be the same but it was hard not to think that it was they who were missing out. Why wouldn't you, for instance, want to look at colourful Fischer's Lovebirds and Lilac-breasted Rollers, handsome Blacksmith and Crowned Lapwings, the dapper little Capped Wheatear or bizarre Secretary Birds and Southern Ground Hornbills? It's hard to fathom!

Secretary Bird

We did stop from time to time to look at Lions, Leopards, Cheetahs, Buffalo, Giraffes and all the rest. In fact one day we were lucky enough to see two Cheetahs hunting. One minute they were lying down seemingly asleep, the next they were in pursuit of the one poor individual that they had singled out amongst a herd of a hundred or so Thomson's Gazelles that were fleeing in a cloud of dust. Their speed was amazing and the gazelle had no chance of escape; it was all over very quickly. Actually, it wasn't quite over because another spectator at this kill had been a Lioness and just when the Cheetahs thought they had their meal, this Lioness appeared from nowhere and took it off them! We watched as she struggled to make off with it, presumably to feed her cubs. Meanwhile, the Cheetahs, no doubt a bit put out by this, had little choice other than to start again and plan another strike.

Lioness with stolen Thomson's Gazelle

Cheated Cheetahs

There are many predators here and huge numbers of prey species. It was routine to come across the carcasses of Zebras, Buffalo, Wildebeest and the rest and often it was the presence of vultures that first drew our attention to them from some distance away. White-backed Vultures were easily the most numerous but Lappet-faced were also reasonably common and we also saw Ruppell's Griffons and White-headed Vultures. Also cleaning up after the Lions were Spotted Hyaenas without whom the plains would be littered with bones; their highly acidic digestive system can apparently deal with almost anything!

African Buffalo

Lappet-faced Vulture

Spotted Hyaena

The diversity of wildlife in the Serengeti is the result of diverse habitats: vast grasslands, riverine forests, swamps, kopjes and woodland. Much has been written about it and it has featured in countless television documentaries but it really should be very high on anyone's list of 'must visit' places to see at first hand.



More to follow...