Entries about crake

I slept well last night, but am awake at 4:30 this morning. As usual we set off before daybreak at around 6:00.

With no rain overnight, the roads are slightly less muddy this morning, but there are some very deep ruts. Even when it dries up completely, it is going to take some major maintenance to get all these tracks back to 'normality'.

Safari Ants

It is still pretty dark out, so this photograph is not going to be able to show you how the soldier ants stand to one side of the 'path' created by the workers, in order to protect them as they collect building materials and food.

David recorded a couple of videos, however.

Sunrise

The sun is just starting to make its appearance over the horizon. We are hoping for another rainless day.

Not only does the pond provide a great setting for the sunrise, there is quite a bit of wildlife around here too.

Hippo

Black Crake

Marabou Stork

Helmeted Guineafowl

Common Sandpiper

Grey Heron

Elephant

We see a lone old chap in the green grass.

And a hot air balloon on the horizon

White Browed Coucal

Amethyst Sunbird

An exciting lifer.

I am so busy photographing this bird, that I totally miss a hyena walking right by the car.

Cape Teal

The newly formed puddles in the road provide a great place for various ducks to hang out.

Elephants

Word has it there are elephants up on the hillside. We go to check it out.

The tracks are not in a good state, however.

The car ahead is abandoned, with the passengers rescued and taken off in another vehicle. It must be bad around here. Malisa goes off on foot to check out the conditions before continuing.

Not even the grassy verges look solid enough to drive on. Malisa deems the risk of getting bogged down too great, and decides to turn around.

As it is, the puddles are so deep, the water goes over the top of the bonnet of the car!

Secretary Bird

Lions

We see two male lions in the far, far distance, extremely well hidden by the long grass. They are watching a herd of wildebeest even further away.

Topi

Serengeti Visitors Centre

We stop at the picnic area for breakfast, and as usual the place is overrun with rock hyrax.

And a pair of Marico Sunbirds – another nice little lifer.

Lilac Breasted Rollers

We leave the picnic site and continue this morning's game drive.

Stuck Car

We see a car leaning dangerously to one side, stuck in the mud on the track. There are lots of people helping, with many hands making light work.

They're out!

They're a little bit muddy, but otherwise fine; and the clients are still smiling. It's all part of the fun.

We rush through as I have some 'urgent business' to attend to. I do not understand what Malisa shouts out at the other drivers for them to move aside as you would for an ambulance; but I gather it is in the vein of “toilet emergency”. We are heading for the small airstrip at Seronera, and the same thing happens there: the gates magically open as Malisa calls out to the security guard. The toilets at the airstrip are clean, modern and there is thankfully no queue. Phew.

After my urgent visit, we are able to continue on our quest to “see what nature has to offer us”, along more muddy tracks and through more dirty puddles.

Giraffes

I still think giraffes are my favourite animal, and seeing them close by like this is always special.

Fan Tailed Widowbird

A colourful widowbird flits around, but never gets close enough, nor sits still long enough, to get a decent photo of him.

Lions

As usual, a lion sighting has attracted quite a crowd, and there is a bit of a queue to get near enough to actually see these three males. While we wait for our turn, I amuse myself by taking photos of tourists taking photos of.... themselves (despite being in a prime viewing spot for the lions).

While big cats have always been big draws, this is currently compounded by the fact that huge parts of the Serengeti is out of bounds as a result of flooding and inaccessible roads; concentrating safari traffic in a much smaller area.

This guy decides to leave the cool shade under a tree to go and lie in the midday sun. Is he mad?

His brother looks very old and scruffy – look at the state of his mane and the skin in folds across his torso. He seems to have lost the will to live!

We leave the lions – and the crowds they've drawn – behind and head south towards the park gate at Naabi Hill. We had been hoping to drive down to Ndutu via Moru Kopjes, but that whole area is inaccessible at the moment, which only leaves us this one option.

Verreaux's Eagle Owl

He is one large owl!

Look at those pink eyelids.

Zebra

As we get nearer the gate, we see lots of tiny specs on the landscape: literally thousands of zebra! I don't think I have ever seen so many in one place over such a large area before.

Naabi Hill behind

Dust baths seem popular.

The other three zebra seem to be looking on with bemusement

There are not as many babies as I expected to see.

We enjoy our packed lunch while watching the zebra.

I love these sweet little finger-sized bananas

We do, unfortunately, have to leave this stripey spectacle in order to get to our lodge at Ndutu before dark.

Thank you Calabash Adventures yet again for all the arrangements.

Elephants

We finally find the elephants we went out looking for this morning – or rather: they find us, crossing the road all around us.

Giraffe

This giraffe is being pestered by Yellow Billed Oxpeckers, and keeps trying to shake them off.

White Headed Vulture

Black Faced Vervet Monkeys

Egyptian Geese with chicks

A little less flooding

Hopefully this is a sign that the surface water is receding and some sort of normality can be restored on the roads here in the Serengeti. Providing we don't get more rain, of course.

Or maybe not.

Nile Crocodile

On the far bank of a small lake, a huge crocodile exposes his predator teeth. The reason crocodiles lie around with the mouths open, is to catch birds. The food left in the teeth attracts insects, and the insects in turn attract birds: the lazy approach to hunting.

A Cape Hare unintentionally wanders into the proximity of the crocodile, and freezes to the spot when she realises.

Meanwhile, another crocodile is coming our way.

They are such prehistoric looking creatures.

A third croc fancies his chances with a Black Crake.

He is way too slow for the birds (yet too fast for the camera, or rather my reactions)

Black Headed Heron

Black Faced Vervet Monkeys

I am forever fascinated by their blue balls.

She looks almost human here

White Bellied Busard

Lions

We'd heard on the grapevine that there was a lion close to our lodge, and there, in the fading light, just before we turn the corner into the lodge's parking area, is a big cat under a tree.

Here you can see our tent from where the lion is.

You can see where numerous cars have driven around this tree earlier today. Now we have the lioness to ourselves.

She's on the move.

She joins two others under another tree.

We leave them to it and drive the few metres to our camp, feeling a little nervous as we get out of the car.

I don't think tonight is the night to have sundowners around the camp fire outside, sitting between the tent and the lions.

There are three lions under one of those trees in the distance

The grass is so long beside the path to the tents that a lion could easily hide in there for later on when we go to dinner...

Tsetse Fly Bites

I have been itching like mad all afternoon, and when I get undressed for the shower, I find my shoulder and back are covered in bites, some of which have turned into large blisters.

Dinner

Tonight's dinner is pumpkin soup, followed by beef and pork kebabs with ugali (stodgy grits-like local dish), pilau rice, spinach, pilipili (hot sauce) and salad; followed by rhubarb tart.

Yet again I offer my thanks to Calabash Adventures for this fabulous safari.

Serengeti Visitors Centre

Always busy at lunchtime, we get the last free picnic table in the grounds. The place may be commercialised, but it has a very decent toilet block these days, and there are always lots of birds, rock hyraxes and lizards around to amuse us.

D'Arnaud's Barbet

Grey Headed Social Weaver

Rock Hyrax

Hildebrand Starling

Speckled Fronted Weaver

Mwanza Flat Headed Rock Agama

Once we have finished eating, we move on “to see what else nature has to offer us” - Malisa's favourite saying.

Warthog

He looks like he is smiling

Impala

This poor guy has a bad limp and barely gets out of the way of the passing car.

I fear he will come a cropper sooner rather than later.

Pond Life

We spend a long time watching the comings and goings at a small pond.

Grey Heron

A baby baboon has found a bottle top that someone has dropped. He hope he doesn't choke on it.

Big Bertha* tries to get inside the nostrils of a hippo (*my 600mm lens)

Spur Wing Plover

Marabou Stork

"Look into my eyes..."

Another Grey Heron

Three Banded Plover

A Rueppell's Long Tailed Glossy Starling shows off his beautiful feathers

He later also shows off his singing voice – he's a bit of an extrovert, this one.

Black Crake

Marabou Stork

Nile Crocodile

Blacksmith Plover

Olive Baboons

Nearby a family of baboons eat their way through the vegetation.

We reluctantly tear ourselves away from all the activities that are going on here by the water's edge, and move on to pastures new.

Banded Mongoose

A young giraffe

The sky is dark and foreboding and a sudden gust of wind blows across the savannah. Are we in for a storm?

Dik Dik

I love how names in Swahili are very often repeated, such as Dik Dik. These, the smallest of Tanzania's antelopes, mate for life, and when you see one of them, there is usually another one nearby - here you can see his mate in the bushes behind.

Lion Cub

When a lioness with young goes off hunting, she will leave her cubs behind, with strict instructions to stay where they are (we have seen this in action previously – fascinating!). This little cub obviously did not do as he was told, and wandered off. Now he can't find his siblings, nor his mum.

He walks out onto the road, but is unsure of which way to go.

Maybe she went this way?

Maybe not...

He strikes a lonesome, forlorn figure. We follow him for a while as he makes his way along the road, aimlessly darting into the grass on the left, only to pop over to the right hand side soon after.

Eventually he changes his mind completely, and walks back the way he came, right by our car.

Providing he doesn't deviate too far from where she left him, there is every chance that they will be reunited. When the mum gets back, she will call out for him.

Rain Storm

I was right earlier when I surmised we'd get a bit of a storm – after some huge lightning bolts and deafening thunder, the heavens open.

Followed by a rainbow.

Nile Crocodile

This one is very much bigger than the one we saw earlier.

African Hoopoe

It is still raining, and the poor hoopoe is looking somewhat bedraggled.

Two Banded Courser

Nubian Woodpecker

Giraffe

An old male giraffe is being greatly bothered by the Oxpeckers all up his spine. His tail cannot reach that far so he shakes his neck violently to try and rid himself of the birds.

Unusually, he is feeding on the ground rather than from a tree.

Augur Buzzard spreading his wings to dry after the rain

Fischer's Lovebird

Leopard

Seeing a leopard on safari is always rewarding, as they are the most difficult of the three big cats to spot. Seeing two leopards is lucky! Seeing THREE leopards in the same day is just greedy! (we saw two others earlier in the day at two different sightings)

This guy is posing beautifully for us.

He's a big male, and judging by his restlessness, he's about to jump down from the tree.

He is soon on the move.

Is he going to jump or just rearrange himself in a different branch?

As he disappears the other side of the trunk, I expect he will be gone without a sight now.

There he is! He's coming down!

All around me I can hear the high speed clicking of cameras. Unlike everywhere else we've been at any time in Tanzania, this sighting has attracted a number of serious photographers, including half a dozen other Big Berthas.

Having a high frame rate certainly increases the odds of capturing the animal just at the right time.

Soon all we can see is the top of his tail. I can't believe just how long the grass is!

It looks like he is making his way towards the road.

Could we be lucky?

There he goes, between the cars!

He re-emerges briefly the other side of the road, and disappears into the bush for the night.

We really need to get going anyway, as the day draws to a close.

We make a brief stop at a very exciting lifer - the Green Winged Pytillia

There is not much of a sunset tonight, but Malisa does stop a couple of times for me to photograph some dramatic cloud formations.

Looks like rain in the distance

Sunburn

My lips feel very sore this evening when I get back to the tent. After a couple of incidents over the years, my bottom lip in particular has developed photosensitive dermatitis, and I am quite paranoid that they have become sunburnt. Three years ago an innocent sunburn turned into a secondary infection covering my entire mouth is open sores, something I really don't want a repeat of.

Insect Bites

My arms are itching like mad and I soon discover why – the bites from those horrible little tsetse flies have turned into blisters and angry red patches. I smother them in antihistamine cream and hope they get better overnight.

Dinner

We have company this evening in the restaurant: a Swedish couple and their driver.

After another delicious dinner, starting with green banana soup (which tastes much better than it sounds); we retire to bed to the sounds of a not-so-distant lion.

Main course: tender steak with croquette potatoes, vegetables and a fruity salad

Peach cobbler to finish

Thank you Calabash Adventures for yet another amazing day on safari.

Marakissa River Camp

Abdoulie takes us to this delightful camp for refreshments and bird watching. The camp is set on the riverside (there is a hint in the name), and features many different species. We spend a couple of delightful hours here, nipping between the covered terrace overlooking man made water pools, and the river below.

Abyssinian Roller

Yellow Billed Shrike

Beautiful Sunbird, preening

Purple Glossy Starling

Yellow Throated Leaflove

Red Cheeked Cordon Bleu

Lesser Honeyguide

Piapiac (AKA Black Magpie)

Scruffy Looking Village Weaver

Western Plantain Eater

Black Crake

Giant Kingfisher

Kingfisher Diving

While we are down at the river's edge, I spot a Pied Kingfisher in the corner of my eye, just about to dive into the water. I swing my camera around and manage to grab a quick shot as he carries his lunch away.

Having devoured the fresh snack, he comes back, sitting on a nearby branch, contemplating his next move.

Feeling hungry again, he hovers over the river, hoping to spot a fish.

Bingo! Not only did he manage to catch one (just – he is barely holding on to it by the tip of its head), but he also speared a dead leaf.

Which is now stuck on his beak.

Speckled Pigeon

Palm Nut Vulture

Western Reef Heron

African Black Kite

Great White Egret

Back up at the terrace we are joined by the two Dutch ladies we met at Brufut and Tanji. It seems that we are all doing a very similar birding circuit.

African Thrush

Blue Bellied Roller

Beautiful Sunbird

The female sunbird is nowhere near as colourful as the male

Orange Cheeked Waxbill

Red Billed Firefinch

A squirrel joins in the fun

Having had our fill of birdies this morning, we head back to the lodge, getting stuck in a very hot car as we hit a traffic jam along the way.

Lunch

It is lovely to see lots of people have come for lunch here at Tanji today – a big birding party plus a few other couples. We get a very warm welcome from our favourite waitress Awa, who throws her arms out and shouts our names as soon as she sees us. She has drastically changed her appearance from yesterday by going from long, black hair to extremely short, pillarbox red! It suits her. Mind you, she is such a pretty girl she'd look good in anything.

Butter fish in a delicious spicy sauce, served with chips.

We are watched during lunch by a troupe of the local Green Vervet Monkeys, as well as a couple of birds

Red Billed Firefinch

Grey Backed Camaroptera

After a delightful siesta, we spend the rest of the afternoon chatting to Haddy, the owner of Tanji Eco Bird Lodge, hearing all about her plans for the property as well as solving all the world's problems. As you do.

Dinner

Dinner is a low key affair again as usual, with just the two of us and staff.

Chicken Yassa

After dinner we retire to our room to let the staff go home while David and I share a few drinks on the balcony, going over the delights of the day.

I spent most of the night tossing and turning, trying to find a position that didn't hurt my arm. That'll teach me for spending so long at the waterhole photographing the birds. Not. I even struggle to bring my hand up to my face this morning, affecting washing, brushing my teeth and hair, and eating. Photographer's elbow. A bit like a tennis player having played in an all day tournament after normally just having a game once or twice a week. The pain won't stop me going out taking photos of birds though.

Abuko

This morning Malick is taking us to Abuko. He's decided that we are going to be better off walking along the plantations just on the outskirts of the woods, rather than inside the thick forest itself, where the conditions will be rather difficult in terms of photography: dark and too many branches in the way. Sounds good to me.

Onions

Bitter Tomato

Sweet Potato

Mango

Tapping the palm toddy

Scarecrow. Or should that be scaredog?

I don't think the strips of cloth hung from this pole to keep the birds away from the crops are working too well.

We almost immediately spot birds in the trees and on the ground. As before, any lifers (new species to me) will be denoted with *

Sacred Ibis

African Grey Hornbill

Hooded Vulture

Blue Breasted Kingfisher*

Grey Woodpecker*

Woodland Kingfisher

Spur Winged Plover

Striated Heron

Black Crake

Malick warns us to be careful as we step over the ants who are making their way along a well-defined path.

African Jacana

Senegal Coucal

White Billed Buffalo Weavers*

Two different species of Egrets - Intermediate and Cattle

Squacco Heron

Black Heron

David testing out his directional microphone, hoping to cut out some of the "click click click" he normally gets on his videos from my photography.

Blue Bellied Roller*

Giant Kingfisher with a Tilapia in his beak

Rose Ringed Parakeet

Pied Crow

Gull Billed Tern*

Red Eyed Dove

Long Tailed Cormorant

Senegal Thick Knee*

This is a very special and important moment in my birdwatching mission – my 1000th lifer!

Ta da!

While I have been interested in seeing and photographing birds for a very long time, it is only in the last 13 years or so that I have taken it to the next level and making a point of identifying and recording the birds I see. I would not consider myself a serious birder, but I am an ardent list-maker, so to make 1000 different species makes me jubilant and proud.

Little Bee Eater

Hammerkop

Broad Billed Roller

Hooded Vulture

Reef Heron

Purple Heron

Long Tailed Cormorant

Great White Egret

I came to The Gambia with a very short wish list, consisting of only three species that I really wanted to see: Western Bluebill, Western Plantain Eater and the Abyssinian Roller. Having ticked off the first two yesterday, Malick promised me the roller today. He succeeded in spotting it, and the bird put on a delightful display for us.

The perfect finish to a perfect morning's birdwatching. Thank you Malick.

Yet again Lariam (malaria prophylaxis) upsets my sleep with a series of bad dreams: while faced with a plethora of colourful birds, my camera refuses to operate despite repeatedly and frustratingly pressing the shutter. I wake up agitated and distressed, realise it is thankfully just a dream and return to sleep. And the dream. The same horrid dream. This repeats itself time and time again and by the time the alarm goes off at 6am, I am exhausted.

Birding Pool

Knowing we are too early for the breakfast, and will be out for most of the morning, we grab some snacks from our bags and head to the bird pool to wait for the guide to arrive.

As it is still fairly dark, photography is almost impossible, so we just sit and enjoy until Malick turns up.

Police Check Point

We pre-booked Malick – Chris Packham's birding guide of choice - through The Gambia Experience before we left home, just to make sure we had a couple of days of serious birding organised. Having someone who knows where to go and the transport to take us there is half the battle.

As with so many African countries, The Gambia has its fair share of Police Road Blocks where they check the drivers' paperwork. It also acts as an opportunity to investigate the birds that hang around here, feeling on rubbish left behind.

Yellow Crowned Gonolek

Red Cheeked Cordon Blue

Red Bellied Paradise Flycatcher

Western Red Billed Hornbill

Brown Babbler

Brufut

Our destination for today, however, is Brufut, a community-organised bird sanctuary protected by the West African Birds Study Association.

Before we reach the woods themselves, we stop near some habitation at the edge of a few plantations and take a short walk to see what species can be found around here. We are very excited to spot so many 'lifers' (species new to us, indicated by * below) in such a small area.

Yellow Billed Shrike*

Stone Partridge*

Piapiac*

White Crowned Robin Chat*

White Faced Whistling Ducks

Greater Honeyguide*

Village Weaver

Blue Bellied Roller*

Senegal Wattled Plover*

Black Crake

Long Tailed Glossy Starling

Fine Spotted Woodpecker*

African Jacana

Pied Crow

White Billed Buffalo Weaver*

Greenshank

Spur Winged Plover

Beautiful Sunbird (female)

Bearded Barbet

Splendid Sunbird (female)

Copper Sunbird*

Intermediate Egret

Northern Red Bishop in non-breeding colours*

Variable Sunbird (female) The female sunbirds all look very similar.

Common Sandpiper

Pied Kingfisher

Black Headed Heron

The plantations include such crops as cashew nuts and mango trees.

Unripe cashew fruits with the nuts not yet having developed - they will be hanging down below when ripe

Mango fruits

Brufut Woodland Bar

We continue to an area known as Brufut Woods, where there is even a bar serving drinks. Fearing that they may not be open this late in the season, Malick had already contacted them by phone earlier, to make sure they put the kettle on.

A number of benches are set out, overlooking an area with several bird baths in the trees and on the ground. I notice that rather than putting out food for the birds so that they become dependent on humans for feeding, only water is provided. I like that.

This is the civilised way of photographing the birds.

We spend the next couple of hours watching, photographing, and listening to the birds, seeing their family squabbles, how they interact with each other and some obvious pecking orders.

As before, any lifers are denoted with *

Red Cheeked Cordon Bleu

Senegal Coucal

Black Billed Wood Dove*

I usually have a wish list of birds (or animals) I wish to see when we travel, and this is one of only three on my list this time:

Western Plantain Eater*

Bronze Mannikin

Yellow Throated Leaflove*

Laughing Doves

Common Bulbul

Red Billed Firefinch (female)

Black Necked Weaver*

Greater Honeyguide*

Lavender Waxbill*

Orange Cheeked Waxbill*

African Thrush*

Splendid Sunbird

Hooded Vulture

We employ the services of a local guide to help us go in to the woods to look for the Long Tailed Nightjar which is often found in this area. After a short moment of concern when the bird is not where he saw it half an hour earlier (as nocturnal birds, nightjars don't tend to move far during the day unless they are spooked), he spots it on the ground, very well camouflaged.

We start making our way back to the main road, along dirt tracks frequented by more animal carts than vehicles.

But first, Malick wants to check out some palms on the way.

Grey Woodpecker*

Having seen them here in the last couple of days, this is what he was looking for:

Red Necked Falcons*

And so ends a very productive morning's birdwatching. Now back to the lodge for the rest of the day.