Avian Adventures in Tanzania

This year’s Avian Adventures tour in Tanzania was Peter’s seventh visit to that country.  Although minor changes to the tour itinerary have been made from year to year each one, including this latest, has included Tarangire, Lake Manyara and Serengeti National Parks and Ngorongoro Crater. 

Ngorongoro Crater

In some years, depending on the length of the tour, Arusha National Park has also been included and in recent times there has been a two-night stay in the Ndutu area, in the northern part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.  Ndutu is adjacent to the Serengeti and forms part of the annual migratory route of hundreds of thousands of Wildebeest and Zebra as well as being good for birds. 

Wildebeest

Opportunities have also arisen over the years for short excursions to Eluanata Dam, a recognised Important Bird Area near Arusha and to Olduvai Gorge, an important site for the study of human evolution, located in the Great Rift Valley.

For this year’s tour, we changed things around a little so as to make time for a visit to the Asogati Plain situated to the north of Arusha, the only known location in the world where Beesley's Lark occurs.  Previously regarded as a race of Spike-heeled Lark, a species mostly confined to southern Africa, Beesley’s Lark is now widely recognised to be a separate species.  As has been pointed out elsewhere, although larks have in the past inspired poets including Wordsworth and Shelley they are regarded by many birders as simply exasperating LBJs and their identification treated as something of a chore.  In the case of Beesley’s Lark, its status as well as identification has also been the subject of debate.

To help us find these birds and several other lark species that occur in the same area we engaged with the Beesley’s Lark Conservation Program of Engikaret.  Engikaret is the nearby village that is using income from ecotourism to generate a community development fund and to provide motivation for villagers to help conserve the Beesley's Lark.  On a very limited scale, these birds are tourist attractions!  It’s fair to say, however, that the quest for Beesley’s Lark wasn’t met with universal enthusiasm from tour participants, probably because it came early in the tour when we hadn’t yet seen Lion or Leopard or many of the other ‘must see’ species that people were impatient for.  Never mind that Beesley’s Lark was quite likely to be the rarest bird some of us would see…ever!

Over two weeks we did eventually get to see most of the bird and mammal species that were expected and, as always, one or two that came as a surprise.  Inevitably, there were also one or two minor disappointments – how did we manage NOT to see a Verreaux’s Eagle Owl?

Cheetah

In spite of all the wonderful bird sightings, the one memory that we will all retain involved watching a Cheetah make a kill.  When we first saw it, the Cheetah was lying down but we could see that it clearly wasn’t asleep.  With just its head visible above the vegetation it was keeping a lookout for a meal.  As we watched, we soon realised that it actually had one in view.  It seemed to have a particular interest in a young Thomson’s Gazelle that was gradually coming closer, oblivious to any danger.  The gazelle, which was probably no more than a month old, had strayed away from its mother.  We knew that if we could be patient it wouldn’t be long before the Cheetah would make its move and it took only a few minutes before the gazelle was within chasing distance. At this point the Cheetah stood up and went off like a rocket in pursuit of the hapless creature, which was no match for the cat.  The young gazelle’s short life was over in a matter of a few seconds and a cloud of dust!

Cheetah with gazelle carcass

It was the sort of action that we always hope to see on African tours but which certainly can’t be guaranteed.  As a spectacle it left Beesley’s Lark in the shade!

Although we take every opportunity to look at the mammals, expecting to see around 40 different species, these are always very much birdwatching tours with more than 300 species recorded.  Brief details and some photographs from previous tours can also be found here, here, here, here, here and here.  Below are some photographs from this year; next year's tour is scheduled for 4th to 18th April 2019. 

 Superb Starling

 Grey-breasted Francolin

Black-winged Kite

Black Rhinoceros

Lion 

Red-and-yellow Barbet

Rosy-breasted Longclaw

Long-crested Eagle

Another Lion

Eland

Chestnut-banded Plover

Gabar Goshawk

Saddle-billed Stork

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

Rüppell’s Griffon

Yellow-billed Stork

Black-headed Heron

Grey-headed Kingfisher

Silverbird

European Roller

Tawny Eagle

Hildebrandt's Starling

Grey Crowned Crane

Lesser Masked Weaver

Algarve winter birding

Following our return from Thailand at the end of January we enjoyed almost a month of really good birding in the Algarve before the weather intervened.  However, for more than a week now heavy rain, gale-force winds and even several mini tornados have rather disrupted things!

Winter birding in the Algarve is never lacking in interest.  Without too much effort our daily bird list, even in short daylight hours, usually extends to 90 or more species and often exceeds 100.  No two winters are exactly the same and although huge numbers of birds migrate from Northern Europe to escape the cold, it is only extremely adverse conditions that drive some species this far south.  Only rarely, for instance have we seen Snow Buntings or Long-tailed Ducks in the Algarve and when Redwings and Fieldfares arrive they are only ever in quite small numbers.  Likewise, Short-eared Owls are irregular and unpredictable.  This winter there have been more Siskins than usual, there’s been no shortage of Ring Ouzels in their usual haunts around Sagres and even a few Bramblings have been reported.

Snow Bunting

Redwings

 Short-eared Owl

 Ring Ouzel

Eurasian Siskin

Perhaps not surprisingly the number of birdwatchers visiting the Algarve in winter is relatively small but those who do come are seldom disappointed.  Species such as Alpine Accentor, Penduline Tit, Richard’s Pipit, Caspian Tern, Little Bittern, Bluethroat, Booted Eagle and Black-winged Kite are usually not difficult to find and most years there has been something unusual, like last winter’s Sora, the Bufflehead in early 2016 or the Red-breasted Flycatcher of 2014/15.

Alpine Accentor

 Caspian Tern

Black-winged Kite

 Sora

 Bufflehead

Red-breasted Flycatcher

On 27th December a Pallas’s Leaf Warbler found at Fonte Benémola was just the third record for Portugal.  It was seen for just a few days and then only with difficulty!  It’s remarkable that the two previous records of this species, both in the Algarve, were on 27th December (1999) and 31st December (2002). 

This winter has been exceptional for long-staying rarities and near-rarities.  The star bird has been a Sociable Lapwing that was found at Lagoa dos Salgados in November and remained in that general area at least until last week.  For several weeks a Marsh Sandpiper has been frequenting a site near Olhão and recently a Red-knobbed Coot has been faithful to the same corner of the San Lorenzo golf course. 

 Red-knobbed Coot

Marsh Sandpiper

For a while a Lesser Yellowlegs was also at Lagoa dos Salgados but perhaps influenced by rising water levels there it has since been seen at the ETAR Faro Nascente, Lagoa do Trafal and Foz do Almargem.  Not officially rarities but still scarce in the Algarve, two Temminck’s Stints have been viewable in the Ria Formosa at Quinta do Lago and in that same general area, a possible Pallid Harrier has been seen several times and photographed but it remains the subject of debate.  There have also been occasional sightings near Estômbar of one or two Little Buntings.

 Lesser Yellowlegs

Temminck's Stint

And there have been a few birds that will have only been seen by those who were there at the time.  We were lucky to get a very good but brief look at what could only have been a Little Swift at Lagoa dos Salgados on 2nd February and a Rustic Bunting was photographed near Sagres on the 7th.  Neither of these birds was seen again.  The same is true of a Red-throated Diver seen at the end of December flying out to sea from the mouth of the Guadiana River. 

A few Greylag Geese often occur, most regularly at Castro Marim but otherwise geese are scarce here.  Brent Geese sometimes turn up in the Ria Formosa or at Ria de Alvor and there have been records of Barnacle Geese but their origin is open to question.  Ducks on the other hand are here in their thousands and have sometimes included American Wigeon, Ring-necked Duck and other rarities.

 Greylag Geese

Brent Goose

Finally we have to mention that thousands of gulls descend on the Algarve in winter.  As well as the six regular species (Lesser Black-backed, Yellow-legged, Black-headed, Mediterranean, Audouin’s & Slender-billed) those among us who are prepared to put the time in scrutinising the flocks may be rewarded by finding a Great Black-backed, a Common, a Glaucous or even a Caspian or Ring-billed Gull.  The recent storms brought a number of Kittiwakes into view and this week has seen the arrival of two or possibly three Iceland Gulls.  Remarkably, one of the Iceland Gulls has been seen on the so-called Roman bridge over the Gilão River in the centre of Tavira.

 Slender-billed Gull

Iceland Gull

As we see now the return from Africa of Pallid Swifts, Yellow Wagtails, Red-rumped Swallows and other migrants it would be nice to think that winter is over but in the wake of the destructive 'Storm Emma', the coming days see the Algarve once again on high alert as 'Storm Felix' approaches bringing who knows what new rarities.

Thailand...again - 5

An overnight stay in Nakhon Sawan gave us an opportunity to take a boat trip on the lake at Bueng Boraphet.  Last year this trip was one of the highlights of our time in Thailand and we had no hesitation when a repeat was suggested.  It has to be said, however, that this second trip didn’t quite live up to our expectations.  One of the main reasons for this was this year’s much higher water level, which certainly had an effect on bird numbers and distribution.  Another reason was that the boatman was intent on finding for us a Baer’s Pochard that had been seen just a few days earlier.  What was supposed to be a three-hour trip turned into more than four hours and when it finished we had to hurry to meet the check-out time back at the hotel. 

Baer’s Pochard is a rare bird and there is no doubt that we would all have liked to see it but Beung Boraphet is the largest freshwater swamp and lake in central Thailand covering 224 square kilometres (for readers in Staffordshire that’s just about 300 times the size of Belvide Reservoir!).  We would have needed some luck to find it, particularly given the large numbers of Garganey, Lesser Whistling Ducks and other species on the water.  Really, we spent far too much time concentrating on just this one target although the morning’s bird list was still impressive, including Pied & Eastern Marsh Harriers, Black-eared Kite, Pheasant-tailed & Bronze-winged Jacanas, Green & Blue-tailed Bee-eaters and White-throated Kingfisher as well as many long-legged waterbirds.

 Blue-tailed Bee-eater

Oriental Darter

Our next three nights were spent at Ban Bang Home Resort, near the coast on the Gulf of Thailand.  How very different it seemed without the continuous, torrential rain that we experienced there last year.  The same could also be said of the nearby saltpans at Pak Thale and Laem Pak Bia, where we were able to enjoy looking at the thousands of waders without the need to be regularly drying off our binoculars.  The boat trip to the sandspit, which previously had been quite unpleasant, was this time really enjoyable and we were able to get much better views of Malaysian Plover, Chinese Egret, Pacific Reef Egret and the other species that make this short boat ride well worth the effort.

 Ban Bang Home Resort

 Pacific Reef Egret

 Malaysian Plover

Chinese Egret

During our time in this area we identified 38 wader (shorebird) species, including Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Nordmann’s Greenshank, Far Eastern Curlew, Long-toed Stint, Asian Dowitcher and Malaysian Plover.  We also saw White-faced Plover, also known as Swinhoe’s Plover, which (depending on who you ask) may or may not be a separate species from Kentish Plover.  What a treat it was to see a flock of about 1,200 Eurasian Curlews but at the same time be able to watch more than 300 Terek Sandpipers gathering to roost.

Spoon-billed Sandpiper...in the 'scope!

 Great Knot

 Marsh Sandpiper

 Black-winged Stilt

Spoon-billed Sandpiper

We also managed to visit several sites that we didn’t get to last year.  Notable was a lake near Wat Takaro where we went to look for Spot-billed Pelican.  We found just one but among the many accompanying ducks we were surprised to find a drake Red-crested Pochard, thought to be only the fifth or sixth record of this species for Thailand.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and we had to head for Bangkok and one last night in Thailand before our flight home.  On the way to the capital we stopped at Nong Pla Lai rice paddies, where Booted, Greater Spotted & Eastern Imperial Eagles and Black-eared, Black-winged & Brahminy Kites were all seen.

 Brahminy Kite

 Black-eared Kite

Greater Spotted Eagle

Our flight from Bangkok was an evening departure, which meant that we had plenty of time for birding on our last day.  We went first to Muang Boran Fish Ponds, located on the outskirts of the city but by 8.30 a.m. the heat and humidity were such that we decided to head for the coast and Bang Poo. Here a Slaty-breasted Rail showed well from the hide and among the huge numbers of Brown-headed Gulls and Whiskered Terns present, we were able to find both Black-headed & Slender-billed Gulls both scarce winter visitors.

 Slaty-breasted Rail

Brown-headed & Black-headed Gulls

Will we go again to Thailand?  Possibly – it’s a big country and there are lots more birds to see!  In spite of the dreadful weather early on in both trips and some seriously hard beds, we have really enjoyed most aspects of Thailand, including the food.  Thanks are due to Neil & Pennapa Lawton for arranging it all.