Tanzania - the 'Big Five' x 2

The months March, April and May provide some of the year's best birdwatching in the Algarve. It can be a very busy time for us. In most years we also try to fit in to this period a tour in some other part of the world for Avian Adventures so it's a good thing that there are two of us!

This year we are even busier than ever, partly as a result of having not one but three Avian Adventures tours to lead during this period. It's little wonder that we haven't had much time to add to this blog!

Our last blog post was about our tour in Costa Rica, a trip that we were able to enjoy together. Since then, June has been guiding in the Algarve while Peter has been leading a tour in Tanzania and next week starts another one in Arizona.

Included here are some photographs from Tanzania - two versions of the 'Big Five' that were seen during a tour that included Tarangire, Lake Manyara, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.  We have blogged before after previous tours in Tanzania (e.g. here, here and here).  We can't recommend this tour highly enough; it provides one of the world's great wildlife spectacles.

The 'Big Five' mammals are those regarded by big-game hunters as the most difficult to hunt on foot although, of course, we like to do our hunting with binoculars and camera.  Our 'Big Five' birds are just some of the larger species seen during the tour, included just for fun!

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.