Dar es Salaam birding, Mar 2013

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• List of birds

After a business visit to Tanga on Tanzania’s north coast, I was able to add 2 days at the end of the trip to do some birding around Dar es Salaam. I made contact with a local bird guide, Andrew Majembe, but unfortunately he was not available and passed me on to two of his friends, Salvatore and Filbert. On Friday morning, 29 March, disaster struck Dar es Salaam when a multi-storey building in the same block where my hotel stood, collapsed, killing at least 34 people. During my entire stay there was the constant noise of heavy machinery and ambulances, trying to get to trapped survivors. It also made it getting into and out of the area problematic and traffic was an absolute mess. But when the two guides came to pick me up very early on Saturday morning, at least the crowds of people have dissipated somewhat and we were able to get out of the area quickly. We started birding north of the harbour on the beach road but as the tide was in, there were no sea- or shore birds around. The only interesting things we saw were Yellow-throated longclaw and African pipit. We got on the harbour ferry and made our way to Kibugumo where we walked around some woodland patches in between cultivated land. Sombre greenbul, Emerald-spotted wood dove, White-browed coucal, Klaas’s cuckoo, Water thick-knee and Black-collared barbet were all calling in the morning heat and it was not long before I added my first lifer for the day: Zanzibar red bishop. Little bee-eaters were quite common and after we also heard Tropical boubou, Green-backed camaroptera and Black-crowned tchagra, we had fantastic views of Collared palm-thrush. As we strolled across a soccer field I noticed something sitting on a telephone wire that didn’t quite look like the omnipresent House crows. We strolled a little closer until I could definitely see that it was some kind of goshawk. Treading softly to not scare it, we crept even closer and then finally we were able to distinguish clearly the yellow facial markings – it was my second lifer for the trip, an Eastern chanting goshawk. It was an hour and a half's drive from here to Dondwe forest where we parked and had a bite to eat before starting a walk. We had to use one of the local village boys as a guide but the chosen path soon disappeared into heavy tangles and we had to turn around. Choosing a different path we skirted the edge of what turned out to be more slash-and-burn cultivation than actual forest. Even so, birds heard or seen included Gorgeous and Orange-breasted bush-shrikes, my first Broad-tailed paradise whydah and Grey tit-flycatcher. It was a long drive back to Dar es Salaam and the idea of making a quick pass at the woodcarver's market in Mwengi was a bad one as the traffic was horrendous. It took us over 3 hours to get back to Dar, quickly buy a mask at the market and return to my hotel. With only 46 birds ID'd for the morning the birding was not particularly great but considering that we were mostly still within Dar es Salaam and I did add 3 lifers, it was OK. Hopefully next I'd be able to head out a bit further into some proper forest.

Zululand forest birding, Mar 2013

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• List of birds

At 4pm I picked Nicola up from work and we left immediately, driving down first the N11 to Ermelo, getting stuck behind endless numbers of trucks and then onto the N2, past Piet Retief and then south to Paulpietersburg, arriving at our farm accommodation outside Vryheid just after 8pm. We had the old farmhouse all to ourselves and had an easy evening before going to bed.

On Thursday morning we were up before sunrise and headed for Vryheid Hill Nature Reserve. Despite being managed by KZN Ezemvelo, the tracks inside the reserve does not seem to be maintained and on top of the hill it’s so washed away that we eventually had to turn around. But the drive through the forest is nice and apart from Broad-tailed warbler (lifer) calling in the grassland below, we also added Red-fronted tinkerbird, Tambourine dove, Sombre greenbul and African paradise flycatcher. On top of the hill it was cold, windy and misty but we did spot a female Buff-streaked chat before we headed back to town again. The Klipfontein Bird Sanctuary was rather disappointing – very overgrown and the hide locked with no explanation of where to obtain the lock combination. We left Vryheid around 10am and made our way slowly to Melmoth, arriving in Eshowe around lunch time. At Bishop’s Seat inside Dlinza forest we had lunch but spotted nothing until we drove back out and Nicola spotted a Narina trogon, low down in the forest, barely 3 meters from the car. We checked into Dlinza Forest Accommodation, a mere 100m from the Aerial Boardwalk and after taking a bit of a rest, spent the last hour of daylight on the boardwalk picking up Cape batis, Trumpeter hornbill, Cape white-eye and Knysna turacos.

Waking up to thick mist and a chilly wind, we were not very hopeful as we walked back to the Aerial boardwalk but our guide for the morning, Sbu, managed to find a whole bunch of forest birds in the 3 hours we spent with him: Terrestrial brownbul, Chorister and Red-capped robin-chats, Eastern olive sunbird, Scaly-throated honeyguide, Square-tailed drongo, Olive woodpecker, Dark-backed weaver, African goshawk, Red-fronted and Yellow-rumped tinkerbirds and undoubtedly the prize of the day, Spotted ground thrush (lifer for Nicola). Having finished our walk in Dlinza forest we spent another hour at the hide and on the boardwalk before returning to the lodge, picking up lunch and driving out to Entumeni forest. The track into Entumeni was narrow and thickly overgrown; it took some careful driving to reach the picnic spot but it was quiet, secluded and absolutely beautiful. Not feeling like walking much, we just sat around the picnic table and ate lunch and in the process got Yellow-bellied greenbul responding to playback, heard a single Olive bush-shrike call and saw some chattering Collared sunbirds right above our table. Just after 1pm we left again, spotted a lone Red-backed mannikin on the way out before holing up for a rest in the heat of the day. Late afternoon we ventured back onto the boardwalk . Purple-crested turacos were calling raucously and even though a human family with a noisy toddler and baby scared some birds away, we still picked up two Grey cuckooshrikes, Bronze mannikins and a few Cape white-eyes. Back at the Forest Accommodation it was time for dinner and an early night.

It was still dark when we left for Mtunzini and although the sky was clear, a strong wind was still blowing. Sakhamuzi Mhlongo, a Zululand Birding Route guide, was waiting for us at the BP station just outside Mtunzini; we picked him up and he guided us into Ongoye forest where we parked next to the Birding Camp in the eastern section of the forest. This was our first attempt at finding Green barbet. We took a walk down into the forest to where a small stream was running and got good views of Yellow-streaked greenbul, Square-tailed drongo and Collared sunbird but the wind was blowing strongly and made so much noise in the trees that we could not hear any responses to our Green barbet playback. After walking up and down for about half an hour we returned to the car and drove deeper into the forest. The faint track crossed waving grasslands where the car scared up Neddicky,  Croaking and Zitting cisticolas. We parked at the edge of the forest about 3km from where the Birding Camp is and started walking down. Although our Green barbet playback was still unsuccessful, there were plenty of other birds that kept us interested: Black-bellied starling, African paradise flycatcher, Narina trogon and Red-fronted tinkerbird made it onto the list. After walking for almost a kilometer, Sakhamuzi veered off onto a thin trail and a little deeper into the forest. We played the Green barbet call again and then suddenly we all three heard it – a faint response far off. We moved on a little onto a bare granite slab and played the call again – and almost immediately Sakhamuzi saw it fly in – we had it! A single Green barbet was sitting right above us in the tree and we had fantastic views of it as it turned this way and that and eventually called it’s soft chook chook call while we were watching. Nicola even managed to get a few pictures through the binoculars before it flew off. A few other birds also attracted our attention: a Dark-backed weaver made a brief appearance and then a Grey sunbird responded very well to playback. Happy with our success we made our way back to the car and picked up some more forest birds: Grey cuckooshrike, Cape batis and close-ups of Blue-mantled crested flycatcher. On the drive back to Mtunzini we also saw Dusky indigobird and then made a turn at the Umlalazi Nature Reserve where we had brief glimpses of another two lifers we were hoping to get: Palm-nut vulture and Mangrove kingfisher. A nice surprise came in the fly-by of two Broad-billed rollers – a very good record this far south. Just after 12:30 we finally said goodbye to Sakhamuzi who did a great job finding us four lifers for the day. Back in Eshowe it was time for a shower and a rest. Late afternoon we made another call to the boardwalk but the weather has changed: the wind was still blowing strongly but now from the south-west and heavy clouds were racing across the sky. We only stayed for about 10 minutes - it was obvious all the birds were hunkering down for the coming storm, so we followed suit.

It rained during the night and was cool as we packed up at 4am. But a few stars could be seen and it looked like we'd still have a last rain-free birding day. We headed for the N2 and then drove north to reach Bonamanzi Game Park just after 6am. We were hoping to get Lemon-breasted canary and if we we re able to get onto the Hluhluwe flood plain, Rosy-throated longclaw as well. Driving to Lalapanzi camp we heard Bearded scrub-robin, Yellow-bellied and Sombre greenbuls, Terrestrial brownbul and our first Gorgeous bush-shrike for the year. At Lalapanzi we learned that access to the Hluhluwe flood plain is only through a booking and costs R500 per person so we left the longclaw for next time. We had breakfast at one of the hides but this produced few birds and we soon left to drive the rest of the park. Approaching our turn-around time, we heard a strange call that left us baffled. Parking the car, we slowly walked towards the call, close to one of the isolated chalets. Whatever it was stopped calling when we got near but as I searched beyond the chalet I suddenly saw a medium-sized bird of prey take flight from a perch. It was obviously where the call came from and at least now we had an idea of what it could've been. Back in the car we played all the raptor calls and then suddenly we got it - it was a Southern banded snake-eagle! This was quite a surprise lifer and we had to listen to the playback several times to confirm the ID. Happy with a lifer, we left the reserve but just before we crossed the train tracks to get back to the highway, Nicola spotted a longclaw among some Crowned lapwings. Although it was just a Yellow-throated longclaw, we haven't seen this species in almost 3 years and Nicola made another discovery: a whole flock of Lemon-breasted canary feeding in longish grass next to the longclaw and lapwings! Fantastic! Vowing to return to Bonamanzi later in the year, we settled on the long drive home, getting back without incident at 4pm.

Flock at Sea 2013 cruise and arid north west birding, Mar 2013

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• List of birds for the trip

Total birds for the trip: 214
Nicola lifers: 31
Pieter lifers: 29

After work on the 27th, we started the long drive through the night to Beaufort West. We took turns driving and consumed lots of coke and lollipops to keep awake. We had folded the back seats down and set up our hiking mattresses and pillows, so that the non-driver could get some shut-eye. This set-up worked quite well, and by 3 the next morning we were in Beaufort. We pulled up at a truck stop to sleep the rest of the night, and apart from Nicola screaming in her sleep from a nightmare, the night passed uneventfully. We woke up at 6am and got ourselves tea and coffee from a garage shop. We headed off to Karoo National Park to try and pick up our first lifers for the trip. What a beautiful park, lonely and desolate, and largely untouched by man. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there and ticked off four of the six birds we were hoping to find here: Karoo lark, Karoo long-billed lark, Sickle-winged chat and Southern tchagra, dipping on Karoo eremomela and Cinnamon-breasted warbler. In the early afternoon we headed for our guesthouse, checked in and got an early night.

Another early morning start as we headed towards Cape Town where our ship was waiting. We picked up a few birds along the way, the most exciting being a Black harrier. We arrived at Cape Town harbour and started the daunting process of checking in our luggage (first long queue), and then getting ourselves into some underground concrete basement of the dockyard (second long queue) where we had to wait for checking in. Finally we boarded the MSC Opera and then had a third queue (thankfully shorter) for immigration. Finally free to roam, we navigated the endless decks of glitz and glam and found our cabin, dropped off our hand luggage, and then went back out into the world of money to find some food. And find it we did: there was a cafeteria, a pizza parlour, a burger and chips place, two restaurants, a morning croissant service, an ice-cream cart and in case you were lazy – room service. There were endless amounts of free food available 24/7 but as we soon discovered, of a low quality. Everything was edible, but only a handful of dishes were actually worth the effort of eating. After lunch we went exploring and found the ships duty free shopping court, library, gym and ridiculously expensive spa. Returning to our cabin, we unpacked and then made our way onto the top deck where we all waved madly as the eTV helicopter circled overhead taking pictures of us for the Saturday evening news. We were standing behind the Sea of the “Save our Sea birds!” sign held up by volunteers. After waving the helicopter goodbye, we turned our attention to the sea and saw a few cormorants, gulls and terns as we left the harbour, along with some dolphins cavorting in the waves. In the late afternoon we attended a good talk on how to ID pelagic birds, swallowed some sea-sickness tablets and then off to dinner and bed.

Our first full day at sea! We spent a few hours on the top deck and picked up our first pelagic lifer: Shy albatross; but most of our time was spent running back and forth, following the bird guides directions over the 2-way radios to try and catch a sight of the latest bird to fly over. We soon realized this was a fools game as the ship had to keep moving and most birds were only visible for a few seconds. After lunch we found the best spot to watch – from the double tier of balconies on the very prow of the ship. However a good proportion of the 1000+ birders on board were crammed into this space so you had to wait impatiently until a gap opened up, grab it and then you dare not leave it! But the discomfort was worth it as we picked up lifer after lifer and by the end of the day we had seen Atlantic yellow-nosed and Black-browed albatrosses, Leach’s, Wilson’s and European storm-petrels, Sabine’s gull, White-chinned and Great-winged petrels, Cory’s and Sooty shearwaters and Long-tailed and Parasitic jaegars. We went to bed satisfied with a good day’s birding.

A bank of fog covered our approach to Walvis Bay at 7am. We had breakfast already by 06:30 and were eagerly looking for new birds as we entered the harbour. Soon we realized that a long queue of people will want to disembark so at 07:15 we joined it about 10m from the front. We docked late and only about an hour and 15 minutes after we joined the queue were we able to leave the ship. To our dismay we discovered that we were not waiting for only 3 other people as per our tour instructions. There were two large vehicles, each holding ten people and we would not leave before both vehicles were full. As there were only 2 Namibian immigration officials, the waiting turned into an ordeal and it took until just before 11:30 for our two vehicles to fill up – THREE HOURS to disembark the ship! At last all of our group made it off. We were all very disappointed with the loss of time but with Geoff Lockwood as our guide, we were still very hopeful to find Gray’s lark as we headed north to Swakopmund. On the salt road opposite the salt works we stopped for a beautifully perched pale form Tractrac chat and ended up walking for a good half hour across the stony plains, searching this ideal habitat of Gray’s lark. Unsuccessful, we returned to the vehicles and soon heard news from another group who found the larks a bit closer to the salt works. Off we went and we had barely stopped the car in a spot that looked ideal when I spotted two little birds fluttering on the ground beside us. And there they were – two exceptionally well camouflaged Gray’s larks. We soon spotted a third, fourth and fifth lark and then everyone tried to get a few good close-ups. With our aim achieved we had a fair bit of time to drive around the edge of the salt works' pans and apart from common birds like Curlew sandpipers, Sanderlings, Black-winged stilts, Greater and Lesser flamingoes, we had far-off views of Chestnut-banded plover (lifer) and Common redshank (Southern African lifer) and fantastic sightings of Damara tern (lifer). Strangely, a lone Common whimbrel was walking around the gravelly desert as we got back on the road and headed back to Walvis Bay. Getting back on the ship was less of a pain and within half an hour we were back on the front deck as the ship sailed out of Walvis Bay harbour, hoping to connect with Black terns that were spotted earlier in the morning. We dipped on the Black tern, but as the sun set on a cloudy sky, we still picked up three more lifers: Pomarine jaeger, Subantarctic skua and Arctic tern. Another fantastic birding day despite the time lost in the morning.

Monday dawned very foggy and me (Pieter) feeling a little uneasy on the legs. It seemed the ship was trying to catch up on lost time too as we were cruising at quite a pace and even over the relatively smooth surface, it was pitching and rolling like a (excuse the pun) drunken sailor. Luckily I wasn’t nauseous and found that if I lay down and kept my head still it was all right. So we used this as an excuse to relax and not worry too much about birding (it turned out we didn’t have to feel very guilty as nothing new was spotted during the day). The ship’s TV was a lost cause but luckily we had plenty to watch on the computer and had a nice easy day. Our suitcases had to be packed and ready before we went to bed as these had to be placed outside the cabin before midnight. With this chore complete, we were off to bed, looking forward to the rest of our trip.

Oh, the waiting. Rushing off to breakfast at 6am to get ready early to disembark proved pointless. A bank of fog in Table Bay made for some very pretty sunrise pictures but probably also caused us to dock more than an hour late. At least we were expecting more immigration officials than we had in Walvis Bay and we did actually manage to get off the ship by about 10:15. Finding our suitcase was easy and then it was a quick rush to get to the car and out of Cape Town, heading north towards West Coast National Park. Stopping only for a few quick views of some Rock kestrels, we were soon in West Coast NP and drove up to the first Geelbek hide. The tide was still high and only flamingoes were wallowing in the deep water. But the tide was on its way out so we decided on a seafood lunch at our wedding venue (Geelbek restaurant) and I had the first palatable coffee in five days. After lunch the hides were in great condition and most of the common species turned up: Eurasian curlews, Sanderlings, Curlew sandpipers, Grey plovers, Black-winged stilts, Ruddy turnstones, Common, Kittlitz’s and White-fronted plovers. Alas, no rarities were around and after a good hour’s birding from the hide, we headed back out making a quick stop at Seeberg hide as well. Just as we entered Langebaan we spotted two female Southern black korhaans on a bright green lawn – a bit of an oddity as they're usually well hidden in tall brown grass. We checked into our friendly B&B, bought some dinner and got an early night.

The rising sun caught us driving towards Velddrif. The tide was out and at the estuary hide we were able to spot a number of birds but most were far out on the sandbanks. Around Cerebos salt works we added a few more birds but nothing new. After another quick turn at the estuary hide, we drove up past Rocher pan towards Verlorenvlei , Graafwater and eventually Clanwilliam. It was getting hot but a nice picnic spot in Pakhuis pass was a perfect spot for lunch. Beyond Pakhuis pass the Cederberg has burnt badly and it was a long and dry drive up towards Calvinia. It was late in the day and we were hot – we only cared for dinner and bed.

Before sunrise we left our guesthouse to get some early morning birding at Akkerendam Nature Reserve. Unfortunately we discovered the reserve only opens at 8am. We drove back through town onto the dirt road towards Ceres and picked up a few common birds along the side, before returning to Akkerendam just after 8am. We had high hopes for Cinnamon-breasted warbler and Karoo eremomela and drove first to the picnic site and then to the dam itself. The dam had a fair number of waterbirds, most notably a single Great crested grebe but even after a walk around the dam, we again dipped on both our target birds. Leaving a little earlier than planned, we took a slow drive up towards Brandvlei. Unfortunately there were so many Stop/Go road works on the way that we couldn’t stop at all the good spots to wait and look for Sclater’s lark and we ended up arriving in Brandvlei early. We visited some of the closer spots recommended in SA Birdfinder but did not find anything of note. Back in Brandvlei we bought a few nice lamb chops and then drove out to our accommodation at Oom Benna’s. We had the entire self-catering house to ourselves and after we rested a little in the heat of the afternoon we took a slow drive on some of the farm roads; alas no new birds seen. Then, as we started our braai and darkness started to settle, we saw shapes flying around and dropping down to the ground outside the house. I suspected these might be nightjars and Nicola quickly got out the spotlight. When another one dropped to the ground about 3m from us, Nicola had the spotlight ready and I the binoculars. And there we had it – Rufous-cheeked nightjar!

Early on Friday morning we left our Oom Benna’s and went looking for our target birds as per the guidance of SA Birdfinder. The desert air was still cool in the morning but it promised to be another hot day. Early on we picked up a few common birds but after reaching our third recommended spot for the day, Nicola spotted something moving along the reddish gravel next to the road. We started getting excited as we eliminated other possible larks and after about 5 minutes’ diligent work we had our first lifer for the day – Red lark! Another birding couple arrived soon after and together we spent some time at a farmer’s water trough, waiting for Sclater’s lark. But all that came were Lark-like buntings, Grey-backed sparrowlark and Yellow canaries. We also tried the second and third water troughs on the recommended route but added nothing spectacular. Marginally disappointed we took an uncharted farm road heading north back towards the R27 and after only 10 minutes we stopped to look at something moving around the grasses about 10m off the road. This turned into another female Yellow canary but as Nicola was looking at it she spotted something black perched inconspicuously on a bush. A closer look revealed our second lifer for the day – Black-eared sparrowlark, a very elusive and tricky bird to find; we were ecstatic! And not five minutes later we got a third when I spotted movement on some whitish gravel and we got excellent views of our first Stark’s lark. With an unprecedented 3 lifers in the day, we were very happy and made our way back on to the R27 and headed up towards Upington. Just before Kenhardt some lapwing-like birds flew past just in front of the car and landed just off the verge. Immediately realizing it must be coursers, I screeched to a halt and started reversing when a third bird landed about 15 metres in front of us. Jerking the binoculars up before it flew off I yelped when I realized it was our FOURTH for the day – Burchell’s courser! After managing to get a few pictures of the single bird, we carried on through some more frustrating roadworks, eventually arriving in Upington around 4pm. We checked into our guesthouse with welcome air-conditioning, bought some food and settled for the night.

With the holiday approaching its end, we were still hopeful for some new birds but an early morning trip to Spitskop Game Reserve outside Upington held nothing new although there were plenty of Capped wheatears, Northern black korhaans, Chat flycatchers and even a lone Ludwig’s bustard. We had a long drive for the day so before 11am we headed for the N14 and drove to Delareyville where we spent our last night. On Sunday morning we had a chilly and windy morning at Barberspan Bird Sanctuary that, although it didn’t produce any new birds, really was in prime birding condition and we added Kori bustard, Chestnut-backed sparrowlark, Willow warbler, White-fronted, Kittlitz and Common ringed plovers, Common greenshank, Ruff, lots of Rock kestrels, calling Zitting and Desert cisticolas, Grey, Black, Goliath and Squacco herons, SA shelduck, Cape teal, Yellow-billed stork and African spoonbill plus a whole bunch of other common birds. However, with still another 450km to drive, we left at 10am, patiently waited at some more roadworks and eventually arrived home around 4pm.

Birding-wise a really fantastic holiday. It’s getting harder and harder picking up lifers and although we expected to get some pelagic birds, getting 16 pelagics plus another 13 terrestrials (15 for Nicola) exceeded our expectations significantly. The Flock at Sea cruise was amazing to experience. The guides were fantastic on the ship and on shore and the one talk we did attend was excellent. However, the boat itself failed to impress and I think it’s unlikely we’ll get on a luxury cruise ship again.