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 - 2

One of the highlights of our recent trip to Thailand was the three-hour boat trip we enjoyed at Bueng Boraphet, one of the country’s largest wetlands, located near the city of Nakhon Sawan, about 240km north of Bangkok.

We always like boat trips but especially ones that are on flat calm fresh water lakes like this one and on a stable boat with comfortable seating.  Add hundreds of birds, good light for photography and a boatman who could spot birds and identify them and we had a near-perfect morning.  As well as the birds, a fine array of water lilies and lotus flowers were quite a sight in themselves and made a very nice setting for many bird photos.

Most of the birds we saw were, of course, wetland species and several of them were familiar to us from Europe.  There were many Great & Little Egrets, Grey & Purple Herons, Black-crowned Night Herons, Glossy Ibises and Little Grebes.  However, lots were new including Bronze-winged & Pheasant-tailed Jacanas, Little & Indian Cormorants, Oriental Darters, Grey-headed Swamp-hens, White-browed Crakes and most numerous of all, Asian Openbills.  The Pond Herons we saw here were presumed to be Chinese Pond Herons but separating this species from Javan Pond Heron is nigh impossible unless they are in breeding plumage.

 Pheasant-tailed Jacana

 Grey-headed Swamp-hen

 Indian Cormorant

 Purple Heron

 presumed Chinese Pond Heron

 Oriental Darter

 Cotton Pygmy-goose

Asian Openbill

There were a few passerines such as Bluethroat, Zitting Cisticola and Striated Grassbird and raptors, too with Peregrine Falcon, Eastern Marsh Harrier, Black-winged & Black-eared Kites all seen well.

Black-winged Kite

Bueng Boraphet will forever be associated with the enigmatic White-eyed River Martin, a species that presents one of the most puzzling mysteries of Asian ornithology.  Although quite distinctive in appearance it had been completely overlooked until it was discovered during a ringing expedition there in 1968.  It was recorded again at the lake during several subsequent winters but it hasn’t been seen with certainty anywhere since 1980.  As a result very little known about it but it’s an interesting story that you can find here.

White-eyed River Martin remembered

We returned to Bueng Boraphet at the end of our tour for a walk around the Waterbird Park on the south side of the lake.  This area of wetland with reedbeds and scrub proved to be quite productive and it was here that at last we saw Siberian Rubythroat.  Other highlights of the morning were Burmese Shrike, two Indian Nightjars, Blue-tailed & Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters, Freckle-breasted Woodpecker, Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker and Brown-throated Sunbird.

Blue-tailed Bee-eater