Tanzania - Ngorongoro Crater

Our last three nights in Tanzania were spent at the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge, situated on the eastern rim of the wonderful Ngorongoro Crater.  Here we were at 7,800 feet above sea level, high enough for a significant drop in the temperature and also high enough for occasional pauses for breath to be needed when walking uphill!  This was Avian Adventures' fourth time in Tanzania; we reported here about one of the previous visits to Ngorongoro.

 Looking down into the crater from the rim

Part of the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge

Most of the mammal species that we had already seen elsewhere were down there on the vast expanse of the crater's grassland although Giraffes and Impalas were notable exceptions.  As well as Wildebeest and Zebras, Thomson's and Grant's Gazelles were very common and we also found a few Kongoni.  As might be expected with all these prey species present, it wasn’t long before we saw Lions and remarkable numbers of Spotted Hyaenas.  There were also Black-backed Jackals and we were lucky enough to see Serval Cats again.

A typical view in the crater with Zebras and Wildebeest

Lions - they are really impressive at close range

Black-backed Jackal - folklore has it that it received the 'burn' on its back as a punishment for its scavenging habits

Hippos - aggressive, unpredictable and surprisingly fast over a short distance!

Spotted Hyaenas - hunters and scavengers

Serval Cat - mostly nocturnal so we were fortunate to see them on three occasions during the tour

Kongoni - also called Coke's Hartebeest

There were also plenty of birds, ranging in size from Ostrich, Kori Bustard and Grey Crowned Crane down to Fischer's Sparrow-Lark and the tiny Pectoral-patch Cisticola.

Common Ostrich

Augur Buzzard - one of the mostly commonly seen raptors in Tanzania

Fischer's Sparrow-Lark - a very numerous species in the crater and elsewhere

 Ngoitokitok  - a popular picnic site in the crater

If you like the look of Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire and the Serengeti, Avian Adventures have another tour to Northern Tanzania planned for April 2016.

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

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...