Entries about starling

Having enjoyed our picnic breakfast, we set off again for more game viewing.

Dik Dik

We are heading back to Ndutu Lodge to use the facilities before we leave the area, but the route Malisa wants to take is impassable. “There used to be a road here” he explains.

A Greater Spotted Thick Knee doing her best to hide from us

Malisa drops us off at the lodge while he goes off to get fuel for the car.

Meanwhile, we spend our time walking around the grounds, looking for birds and taking it all in for the last time.

Northern Grey Headed Sparrow

Great White Pelicans flying in formation

I can't believe how overgrown the gardens are at Ndutu Lodge, after all the recent rains.

Hildebrand Starling

I am really impressed with the individual terry towels in the 'public' toilets at Ndutu!

Malisa returns and we make our way towards the gate that takes us out of Ngorongoro Conservation Area, of which Ndutu is a small part.

Black Faced Sandgrouse

Lesser Flamingo

Southern Red Bishop

Lesser Masked Weaver

They weave the most exquisite nests!

Strange horizontal rainbow

Lions

Malisa hears on the radio that a lioness has been spotted in a tree near the lake – it sounds like our lady from earlier this morning. We go to check it out.

The lioness looks most uncomfortable and keeps shifting her position.

Under the tree is a male lion, who is periodically sniffing the air, hoping for his mate to come back down.

Meanwhile tourists are busy taking selfies with the lions – I wonder if you can actually see the big cat in that photo, or just the outline of a tree?

Much as we'd love to stay and see what happens with our two kitties, we have to leave in order to get to the gate. Permits are strictly timed and any overstay faces a heavy fine.

There is still quite a lot of flooding in Ndutu.

Zebra

Just less than an hour ago we travelled through heavy flooding, now the roads are annoyingly dusty!

The dust covers everything in a thin layer of dirt – look at the state of my camera!

The dirt being thrown up by passing vehicles also plays havoc with the windscreen of our Landcruiser. A crack developed earlier on the trip, and now, every time we meet a car travelling at speed, Malisa has to hold on to the glass in fear that it would shatter if a stone was to hit it.

We join up with the main road through Serengeti, where a new gate post has been erected since we first started coming here, with tourists lining up to have their photos taken, and vendors hoping to sell them some souvenirs.

The original gate

The new sign

Ndutu Lodge also has a new sign, with the new brand created since the lodge changed ownership.

Sculpture advertising the Museum of Mankind at Oldupai - also new

A would-be vendor heading for the tourists

Lots of giraffes - we count twenty of them!

We stop at Seneto Descent Road (the entrance to Ngorongoro Crater) for a picnic lunch, as are several other people. This is the most crowded I have ever seen this spot. It seems it is not just the camera that is covered in dust – my face was pretty dirty too!

The cloth after wiping my face

Baboons

We see a small baby playing, but as soon as we stop, the parents gather him up and leave.

There are more baboons at Lodoare Gate (the exit from Ngorongoro Conservation Area), including one that jumps on the bonnet of the car while I am in the loo. David tries to quickly grab a shot with my camera.

Once we're through the gate, we hit the sealed road – the first time for eleven days! Not for long though, a mere five kilometres down the road, we turn off right, onto another fairly rough dirt track. This is all new and unexplored territory for us now.

We later turn off the dirt track to an even smaller and narrower lane, winding its way through small hamlets and into the wilderness. This is real off-the-beaten-path stuff, and a completely different type of vegetation – thick and verdant, more jungle-like - to anything we've seen in Tanzania before.

Kisima Ngeda Lodge

As we pull up in the lodge car park, an army of helpers appear out of nowhere. Unless we really want to, there is no need to carry any of our own luggage. After a welcome drink while signing in at the reception, we are shown to our room.

Our room is, in fact, a large tent on a wooden base with a thatched roof. The room is well furnished and there is an en suite western style toilet and shower at the rear of the tent.

The local guide, who will be with us tomorrow for our excursions, arrives to give us a briefing. As he walks up onto our balcony, I get an instant feeling of recognition. He looks familiar. As he introduces himself as Alex, my mind starts ticking. I am not even sure what I am trying to think of, but suddenly it hits me. “Alex” I ask, “what is your surname?” As soon as he replies “Puwale”, I smile – we are already friends on Facebook! What a small, small world!

Alex's Facebook page

After a quick shower and change, we pop down to the bar for a drink, delighted that we can walk about freely without having to call an askari (a Maasai security guard armed with a spear) to protect us from any potential wild animals. It's the first time on this trip that we've had some time to spare before dinner, and Malisa soon joins us.

There is one other group of tourists staying tonight, six people from from the US. I am horrified when I overhear them asking their guide if hunting is allowed, as they'd really like to be able to kill something. Malisa's face is a picture, and I really feel for their guide having to explain to such misinformed and misguided visitors. They are also querying the availability of public conveniences during their trip to see a hunter-gatherer tribe tomorrow. What do they think this is? Disneyland?

As they start to discuss US politics (they are all ardent Trump supporters – there's a surprise!), we try our best to ignore their conversation, which proves rather difficult due to the volume at which they speak. We have a good laugh with Malisa, however, joking about the overheard comments by Whatsapping each other across the table. Little things for little minds.

Dinner

Tomato soup for starters, followed by pork medallions with creamed potato and vegetables, and finished off with a passion fruit mousse.

As always, I am impressed with the arrangements Calabash Adventures have made for us – they really are the best in their field.

We have our picnic breakfast in the car on the plains, completely surrounded by the enormous herd of wildebeest.

We are thrilled when we spot 'our' baby in amongst the crowd – his mum is instantly recognisable by the manner in which her afterbirth is hanging. It's a relief to know that our grandchild survived the first critically vulnerable period of his life.

Zebra

This guys is missing his tail – probably a close brush with a lion or hyena!

Tawny Eagle

Marabou Stork

He's on the lookout for wildebeest placentas for lunch!

Pregnant Hyena

David is not feeling at all well, and asks Malisa to take him back to the lodge. He must be poorly, that's the first time I have heard him ask that in our seven safaris here. Hopefully it is nothing serious.

Once David is safely delivered at the lodge, where we take the opportunity to use the facilities, Malisa and I continue our safari “to see what nature has to offer us” as he always says.

White Backed Vulture

I'm intrigued as to how the vulture became so wet. It seems to me that he might have had an involuntary dip in the lake. He is looking quite bedraggled!

He is certainly busy trying to dry off, waving his huge wings around in the hot, still air.

Giraffe skeleton

Wildebeest crossing Lake Ndutu

With all the recent rains and subsequent flooding, Lake Ndutu has extended its shores considerably across the flat landscape, with shallow pools being creating where the usual path of the wildebeest was.

I think this much deeper section has taken the small group – or confusion, the collective noun of wildebeest – by surprise.

Oh my! There is a tiny baby in the group!

There seems to be some consternation, with the adults agitated and the baby nowhere to be seen. I hold my breath as I am terrified he may have drowned.

He is only tiny, likely to have been born earlier this morning. After a few tense seconds, he re-appears and all is well.

Thankfully, they soon reach shallower waters.

We can all breathe again now.

Speckled Weaver

Red Bishop

Pond Life

Lots of birds – and a few animals – gather down at the lake shore.

Greater and Lesser Flamingo

The lesser flamingo is the more colourful of the two species

Avocet

I had no idea that Avocet use the same principle for fishing as spoonbills – sweeping the bottom of the shallow water from side to side to disturb any living organisms that they can then scoop up and eat.

Greenshank

Kittlitz Plover

Marabou Stork

Common Sandpiper

Giraffe

Giraffe and Wildebeest

In places the earth appears to be dried out, with huge cracks. It is very deceptive, however, as the ground underneath is still very soggy, and as soon as you drive out onto it, the car sinks deep into the mud.

Ndutu Lodge have issued stark warnings to all its drivers and visitors, and will charge 300,000 Tanzanian Shillings to rescue you (ca £100 / US$130).

Oxpeckers

Feasting on a dazzle of zebras (the collective noun for a group of zebras)

Long Crested Eagle

She off hunting for lunch.

Lion

A lazy male lion relaxes in the shade. It's amazing how we've predominantly seen male lions on this trip, no large prides with females and cubs as we have on previous visits.

We let sleeping lions be, and go off to see what else nature has to offer us today.

Tawny Eagle. "You looking at me?"

Wattled Starling

Cheetah

Malisa thinks we should return to see what the cheetah cubs are doing. We find them not far from where they were yesterday, and today they are mostly sleeping in the shade, occasionally turning over.

After a while the other clients get bored, and one by one the cars leave until eventually it is only us and a car with two serious German photographers left. Our patience pays off when the cheetahs get up from their slumber and start to play!

A few more cars arrive in time to see the cubs trying to climb a tree stub, somewhat precariously!

At one stage one of the cubs walks straight towards our car, and I am sure (hoping) she is going to jump on the bonnet of the Landcruiser!

She veers off last minutes and heads for another car, but doesn't climb on board that one either.

After nearly three hours (and 2,500 photos) of watching this gorgeous family, we have to reluctantly leave and make our way back to the lodge in order to get there before dark.

Also watching the cheetahs playing is a Northern Double Collared Sunbird - another lifer!

Storks

Down by Lake Ndutu, Abdim and Marabou Storks are gathering for the night.

Baby Wildebeest

This young guy is wandering all alone, and Malisa surmises that his mama has been killed. He won't last long on his own, unfortunately.

White Bellied Bustard

By the time we get back to Ndutu Lodge, David is up and about, feeling very much better after a long sleep, plenty of water and a shower.

Dinner

Tonight's gastronomic offerings consists of

Chef's Salad

Fennel Soup (which we decline)

Beef Lasagne

Chocolate Brownie with home made Toffee Swirl Brownie Ice Cream

While we are eating, there is a terrific electric storm going on in the distance. I try to capture it on my phone, but it really isn't very successful. By the time we have finished dinner, the storm has passed.

And so we go to bed on the last evening here in Ndutu. As always, our thanks go to Calabash Adventures for such terrific arrangements.

There are dik diks in the grounds of Ndutu Lodge as we make our way from he room this morning, but it is still silly o'clock and pitch black so no point in trying to take a photo.

Lions

It is still dark when we reach the lake and encounter the lions we saw mating last night. The lack of light really pushes my camera to the limit, but I figure grainy photos is better than no photos.

They get up and start walking, but soon disappear into the thick undergrowth, probably to mate.

We are hoping they'll come out from the bushes, as the female needs space to be able to roll around after copulation, in order to distribute the sperm. We hang around for a while.

Moon

The moon seems to be particularly bright this morning.

Sunrise

For a few minutes the colours are glorious, with a heavy dew hanging over the water.

That moment does not last long, although the mist lingers for a while longer.

More Marabou Storks

They make great foregrounds for sunrise photos.

We even get a couple of hot air balloons thrown in for good measure.

Bearded Woodpecker

It doesn't look like the lions are coming back out again, so we move off to try and find the 'maternity ward' and see if the midwife is on duty (ie a place where the wildebeest are ready to drop their babies).

Red Bishop

Augur Buzzard

From his lofty position atop a tree, he is busy doing his ablutions and morning exercises.

Wildebeest

Such fickle animals, they run along at speed, stop and then walk back the way they came.

While Malisa and David are busy looking our for pregnant mamas who may honour us with the spectacle of their birthing; I spend the time photographing the birds that make wildebeest their home, or at least their dining table.

Wattled Starlings

I love to watch them as they try to stay upright while the wildebeest is walking, often with very comical results. The birds, I mean, not Malisa and David.

Cattle Egret

Secretary Bird

Long Crested Eagle

Dark Chanting Goshawk

Yellow Necked Spurfowl

Singing his little heart out!

African Hoopoe

Pale Tawny Eagle

Dark Tawny Eagle

We hang around for ages waiting for this eagle to fly. Well worth the wait!

African Hoopoe

We see two more hoopoe on the road – it is a bird we rarely see, let alone in any great numbers, but this morning alone they have been around in double figures.

Augur Buzzard

It is time for us to stop for a picnic breakfast and me to finish this blog entry. Stay tuned for more.

This safari was arranged by Calabash Adventures, the best safari company by far!

The day does not start well. I have a dreadful night, wheezing and squeaking, and constantly waking up in a panic thinking I can't breathe. This is too much like our trip here in 2017, when I was suffering from pneumonia, and I feel very concerned this morning.

Trying to get out of bed, I drop my mobile phone on the floor, and it lands on the charging lead, which promptly bends. Thankfully I always carry a spare, but when I get that out of my bag, I discover that I have picked up a wrong cable and it doesn't fit! Doh!

Finally making it to the bathroom, I find the toilet full of excrement and blocked. In his sleepy state, David flushed the toilet during his night time visit, but didn't hang around to ensure the flush worked – which obviously it hadn't.

Bleary eyed, I look in the mirror. Last night as I got back to the room, my lips felt sore, and this morning I wake up to a large blister on my bottom lip. I suffer from photo-sensitive dermatitis, and am quite freaked out by this – last time I sun-burnt my lips, I ended up with a secondary infection and three lots of antibiotics. I do not want a repeat of that, so I cover the blister with a couple of Compeed cold sore plasters. They are great for helping to heal cold sores as well as keeping dust out of the wounds and make the sores almost invisible.

As we open the front door, we see that the safari has come to us this morning, in the form of a herd of impala right outside the room.

We have the last room in a row of 12, so we look out onto the bush. I do love this place.

As we walk to the restaurant, we also see some birds along the path. I particularly requested to stay here at Ndutu Lodge for this safari, partly because the grounds usually attract a number of feathered friends to its lovely bird bath near the restaurant. Unfortunately, as a result of the recent heavy rains, the bird bath is completely overgrown and even if there were birds in it you wouldn't be able to see them!

Superb Starling

Fischer's Lovebird

I'm sure there's a bird bath in there somewhere!

With Malisa getting back so late last night from his adventures stuck in the mud, we suggested he slept in this morning. We are therefore having breakfast in the lodge before heading out today – an absolute rarity for us.

We finally leave around 08:00 to “see what nature has to offer us today” as Malisa likes to say.

Red Necked Spurfowl

Elephant

We notice that this guy only has one short tusk. Not sure what happened but he could have damaged them while trying to bring down a tree.

We thought we were in trouble yesterday getting stuck, but this water tanker really is well and truly bogged down. It will take quite some effort to get that out again!

Hippo

It is unusual – and always exciting – to see hippo out of the water. This guy is going for a little stroll in the shallows.

It looks like he is going for a roll!

Ruff

Red Bishop

The Great Migration

The annual movement of wildebeest and other grazing herbivores across the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem is one of the greatest spectacles in the natural world.

Today we watch the wildebeest – and a few zebra - running and jumping, then turning back the way they came from, fickle creatures that they are.

A few zebra join them

Maternity Ward

We head for the lakeside where a lot of expectant mothers are gathered, plus a few with newborn babies. Again we are hoping to witness a birth.

Looking at the way this young lady is lying down and the shape of her rear, we feel sure she is going to drop a baby any minute, and we spend the next fifteen minutes or so watching her stand up, sit down, walk a few steps, then sit down again. Is she going to give birth?

No such luck. We do see a number discarded placentas around though, but we seem to be either too early or too late to witness the birth itself. We do see a couple of wildebeest sparring, however.

Crowned Lapwing

A pair of Lilac Breasted Rollers

The wildebeest all start moving en masse towards the water, and soon they are crossing the shallow lake, one by one in a single file.

First it is just adults, then the odd youngster appears too.

There is a gap in proceedings, which the zebras take advantage of. They are much more nervous than the wildebeest.

The second wave of wildebeest cross in a slightly different place, where the water is considerably deeper. There is a lot of jumping and splashing going on.

We worry for the youngsters, as they can barely hold their heads above water.

We move along the shore a little to get a different view of the animals as they cross.

As soon as we see this little baby set off across the lake, we hold our breath – the water is way too deep for him.

Thankfully mum realises the dangers and turns around.

Flamingos

More and more birds arrive at the lake.

It's a miracle that they don't collide when they land!

It looks like we missed a birth over at the Maternity Ward – this baby is just a few minutes old, and mum still has the afterbirth attached.

And a slightly older one – maybe one or two days.

He still doesn't look too steady on his feet.

Another new-born, still wet with and the afterbirth still attached to the mother.

We move on to have out picnic breakfast and to see what else nature has to offer us. Stay tuned.

Thank you Calabash Adventures for arranging this amazing safari for us.

After breakfast we continue on our quest to see the wildebeest migration and maybe even a female giving birth.

The first thing we come across, is a less-than-a-day-old baby suckling his mum.

Large herds of wildebeests attract a number of followers as they cut across the savannah, in the form of flies, which again entice birds, in this case Cattle Egrets, who ride along, hoping for a tasty snack.

Marabou Stork

Grant's Gazelles

Thomson's Gazelle

The difference between Grant's and Thomson's (affectionately known as Tommies), is not just that the latter is much small (which of course isn't easy to see in a photograph), but also the shape of the horns, and the dark stripe along the side.

Here you can see them together – Grant's in the front with the paler body and the curved horns, and Thomson's at the back: smaller with a distinctive dark stripe.

Dung Beetles

Hundreds of thousands of wildebeest in one place naturally produces a lot of waste, with the waste again attracting dung beetles. Lots of them. Malisa knows what a fascination I have with these cool little recyclers, and stops for me to take some photos as they roll away their prized balls of shit.

So, why do they do it?
While there are different types of dung beetles, these little critters we see here, start by converging on a fresh pile of dung and rolling it into a ball. Sometimes you see several beetles on a pile of dung, and they can transform a huge mount of manure into perfect balls in minutes.

Usually it is the male doing most of the rolling – they can roll up to 50 times their own weight – with the female simply hitching a ride.

Things don't always go to plan.

When a spot with soft soil is found, they stop and bury the ball.

After mating under ground, the female lays eggs inside the dung. Once the new brood has hatched, they eat their way out of the ball, thus the dung doubles up as housing as well as food.

By burying and consuming dung, they improve nutrient recycling and soil structure; as well as the dispersal of seeds found in the animal waste. Additionally, by removing the manure, they decrease the number of flies that would otherwise be attracted to the wildebeest.

I just love these little animals!

Hyena

A pregnant hyena eyes up a zebra.

While they are known to be opportunist predators, hyenas generally go after abandoned kills. In this case, our female is looking for placentas left on the ground after animals have given birth.

The zebra nearest us is limping badly, and we momentarily get quite concerned for safety, but either the hyena doesn't notice, or she has not got the energy in her at her current state to pursue a potential prey. There is less chance of losing her baby by foraging for leftovers than chasing a large animal.

Marabou Stork

Meanwhile, a Marabou Stork circles above. They too are carrion eaters, so probably looking for placentas too.

And an Abdim Stork

Kori Bustard

Judging by his flamboyant courtship display, this guy doesn't have food on his mind, he is looking to attract a female.

Zebra with Young

This guy seems to have a lot of passengers.

Wattled Starlinsg

Black Headed Heron

Far in the distance we see him stalking something on the ground, then dip down and reappear with a snake in his beak!

For the next ten minutes we watch the battle of wits between the still-live snake and the hungry bird.

It is a tough flight. The snake keeps trying to slither out of the heron's mouth but obviously the heron gets the better of it.

While trying to re-arrange the snake within his beak, he drops it at one stage, but is very quick at picking it up again.

We are fascinated by the spectacle unfolding before us - this surely has to be today's highlight!

Knob Billed Duck

As we are watching the heron, Malisa calls out to alert us to a Knob Billed Duck flying overhead. I grab my other camera (I have been using Big Bertha for the heron, but find that too heavy and cumbersome for birds in flight), but by the time I get myself sorted, it has almost passed us over.

Wildebeests

As we continue our journey across the flat meadows near Ndutu, we find ourselves surrounded on all sides by wildebeest. There are literally thousands of them, everywhere we look, as far as we can see into the distance.

Today's challenge is to find a wildebeest – or zebra – just about to give birth so that we can witness the beginning of a new life. It seems, however, that we are too early for the wildebeest, and too late for the zebra.

Zebra Dust Bath

Zebra on Heat

Someone ought to tell this female zebra on heat that mounting another female zebra is not going to satisfy her sexual urges, nor is it going to produce baby zebra.

“Stop it! You're scaring the children!”

The other female is obviously not in the mood for lesbian love, and kicks out before making her escape.

Car stuck in the Mud

In the distance we see a car at an odd angle; obviously unable to get out of a bit of a hole, quite literally.

The ground is so deceptive here: the savannah looks its normal grassy self on the surface, yet – in some place – as soon as you drive on it, it is all boggy underneath.

There are already other people helping the female driver of the grounded vehicle. A few years ago there were no female drivers here in th Northern Circuit, but that is slowly changing as the lodges prepare accommodation to support both genders. On this trip we see two lady drivers.

It rather concerns me seeing the vultures circle above – what do they know that we don't? The presence of a number of wildebeest, however, indicates that we are reasonably safe from predators.

At the beginning of this trip, Malisa mentioned about making sure he had a couple of tow ropes in the car, now I am beginning to understand why, as a rope is attached to the stuck car, with another vehicle ready to pull them out. They are travelling together in a group of three cars, with the passengers being a bunch of very friendly Americans.

The lead car goes full whack in top speed and makes it all look very easy. One of the passengers, however, makes the mistake of standing up in the vehicle as they are being pulled out, and ends up completely airborne. I am pretty sure she must have hit her head on the roof – that's gotta have hurt!

Malisa tells us to hold on for dear life as he drives across the boggy area at full speed too, creating some serious bounce, resulting in painful jarring of my back. We stop the other side of the bog to make sure all the vehicles get across. The atmosphere here is like that of a party, with everyone treating it as an adventure. There is lots of clapping and cheering going on.

There's an enormous amount of surface water about!

Hyenas

We see four hyenas scattered in different places, in amongst the zebra. Neither species seem that bothered by the other.

As we move to get closer, we almost run over this fifth one in a den.

Eland

A small herd of eland appear on the horizon. Traditionally hunted for their delicious meat, these large antelopes are usually very skittish.

For that reason there is no point in trying to get any closer to get a better shot, so I grab Big Bertha instead (my 600mm lens). Because of how far away these critters are, there is a lot of atmospheric distortion in the air, making the images quite soft.

Abdim Stork

Pee break

Unlike the Serengeti where there are a number of organised picnic areas with modern toilets, here at Ndutu it's au naturel. You'd think that after all these years I would have learned to face into the wind when 'marking my territory', especially on a gusty day like today. Not a chance. The only casualty is my knickers, my jeans remain unscathed, and thankfully there are no other tourist vehicles around as I take them off. The wildebeest don't seem to mind.

You - and I - will be pleased to know there are no pictures.

Thomson's Gazelle

A mother and her ten day old baby.

We race across the savanna – not because we're in a hurry, but in order to prevent ourselves getting bogged down in the marshes - to reach a tree which will provide shade for our picnic lunch.

More to follow in the next blog entry. Thanks to Calabash Adventures for arranging this safari for us.

It's late afternoon as we leave Serengeti National park behind and head for pastures new, with five nights in the Ndutu region of Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

There are just as many zebras here as there were the other side of the park border. Of course the animals don't have to check in and out of the parks as we do, and there are no physical borders.

Wattled Starling

A tree by the side of the road is alive with these colourful and impressive-looking birds.

They get their name from the long wattles found on the throat of breeding male birds, who also display unfeathered yellow skin and a black forehead (the rest of the year they are a dull grey)

Female

Jackson's Chameleon

Without warning, Malisa comes to a screeching halt on the apparently empty road. Except it is not so empty. Malisa's eyes never cease to amaze me – he has spotted a chameleon crossing the road!

They are seriously bizarre in the way they walk.

Having safely crossed the road, our little friend disappears up the bank and into the undergrowth. What an exciting sighting!

European White Stork, a seasonal migrant

The dark line you see just before the horizon is thousands upon thousands of zebra and wildebeest making their annual migration through the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. Some 3-4 million animals in total are part of this spectacle.

Lions

Also watching this amazing phenomenon is a pride of seven lions, but not for the same reasons as us: they see it as a line-up of prospective lunch choices.

Although this one seems to be watching us.

Wildebeest

We soon find ourselves in the midst of the hoofed melee, surrounded by wildebeest on all sides.

There are a few zebra amongst them too, but nowhere near the numbers we saw just a little bit further north in Serengeti.

At this time of the year, the plains of Ndutu are descended on by what is known as the 'Great Migration', and the animals are here to give birth to their babies before continuing on their never-ending quest for greener pastures. It is in the hope of seeing the young animals or even babies being born that we have chosen to come here now; we are therefore a little disappointed to see that there do not appear to be any little ones around, at least not in this herd.

We finally see this one single youngster in amongst all the adults.

He's full of life as he explores his new world.

At just a couple of days old, he doesn't know what to make of this egret.

“I think I'll go back to mum.”

Mum, meanwhile, has a non-fare-paying passenger in the form of a wattled starling.

The fare-dodger is soon evicted, however.

Cheetah

In he distance we see a few cars gathered and go off to investigate.

Initially we can't see what they are all looking at, but then we spot a little head in the long grass.

There is a mum and two young cubs, somewhere in the region of 5-7 months old, and they have a kill that they are feeding on. Their dinner, however, it completely overrun with flies!

Mum tries to move the carcass, but it proves too heavy for her.

Having had enough to eat, they all join together and roll in the grass in an attempt to rid themselves of those pesky flies.

It's getting late and we need to be at the lodge before dark; and as we don't know what we might see on the way to delay us, Malisa wants to get going.

Great White Egrets and Abdim Storks

We are not the only ones heading for home – a great number of egrets and storks fly low on the way to their roosting sites for the night.

Road Block

More and more ungulates are joining the migration this point, with the road being blocked in several places by wildebeest and zebra.

Uh uh. It looks like there may be a road block of a different kind here; I hope we can manage to get through the puddles.

The cars in front of us have made it, so we should be OK. It probably looks worse than it actually is.

We're through!

Great White Egrets
As we cross the narrow strip of land between Lake Masek and Lake Ndutu, we see hundreds and hundreds of egrets fly low over the water as they are coming home to roost. The light is gorgeous with the setting sun giving the whole scene a warm, yellow glow.

It's a spectacular sight, and we stay as long as we can before having to make the journey to the lodge for the night.

Ndutu Lodge

This is the third time we have stayed here at Ndutu Lodge, and as yet we've never arrived early enough to be able to have the time to sit around the camp fire before dinner.

Today is no different. By the time we have a shower and change, we are the last to arrive in the restaurant. The food here has always been excellent, but as they are under new management, we are a little concerned that this may have changed. We needn't have worried, it every bit as good as it always was.

Another good thing about Ndutu Lodge which hasn't changed, is that they serve Savanna Cider.

Mini tomato tart

Chicken curry with coconut and banana, mango chutney, rice and poppadum; with vegetables on the side

Chocolate mousse

Thank you so much to Calabash Adventures for arranging this trip.

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.

Tumbili Picnic Site

This site is part of a public camp ground, and quite large and well organised, with lots of tables and a clean, modern toilet. Oh how things have changed since our very first camping safari in The Serengeti 2007!

Von der Decken's Hornbill

I get side tracked by a hornbill flitting in amongst the trees and the parked cars at the picnic site.

They are funny looking things when they are taking a dust bath!

A Rueppell's Long Tailed Glossy Starling has found a large piece of bread left behind by picnickers.

Cheetah

A cheetah mum and her sub-adult cub survey the countryside from the top of a rock. The mum has a nasty gash on her chest, most likely caused by an antelope horn, and is looking very hungry.

They've spotted some Hartebeest in the distance and are obviously considering their options for lunch.

It looks like she might be going for it.

Nope, just having a stretch.

Oh yes, she is, she was obviously just limbering up.

The cub follows.

For a while they stroll through the long grass together.

Mum moves on and somehow the cub gets left behind. Lost and confused, he starts to call out to his mum.

Mum climbs atop another rock and they are soon reunited.

He gets left behind again when mum continues her quest for food, ”You need to keep up son.”

The cheetah still has her eye on those hartebeest, but cannot work out how to get to them – there are some 70 or so tourist vehicles between her and them. I know the wildlife is protected as a result of safari tourists coming here, with locals encouraged to conserve the animals rather than hunt them but it still feels all wrong, as if we are interfering with nature.

Where mother goes, son follows.

She's off again.

And so is the youngster.

We can hear mum calling him, and suddenly he breaks into a run, bouncing up and down in the long grass as he goes.

Constantly on the move, here and there, back and forth. At one stage we find the cub trying to hide in the long grass right by the car.

This rock looks like a good place to get a view over the plains.

And the cub follows.

Junior has spotted something. Is it suitable for lunch?

Not at all – the cheetahs may be brave hunters, but a large baboon spooks them and they disappear into the long grass.

Olive baboons

The cheetahs are not the only ones feeling concerned as the baboons walk between the vehicles and even jump on top of one of the cars looking for food.

The can be quite aggressive and cause a lot of damage should they attack.

Time to move on.

Three Banded Plover

Pin Tailed Whydah

Lilac Breasted Roller

Silverbird

Striated Heron

Road Repairs

I know this is the main road through Serengeti, which is used not only by safari vehicles, but also by heavy goods trucks; but here the surface was pretty good in the first place! Wouldn't it be so much more sensible to try and sort out some of the smaller, muddier tracks we've been along, where in some places the road is not even passable?

Steel Blue Whydah

Leopard

Would you believe we see another leopard in a tree?

There are quite a few vehicles here already, but one by one they drive off as the cat just relaxes on a branch, licking herpaws and generally not doing a lot. When she starts to yawn, we know she will soon make a move, and after about half an hour, we are the only people left watching when she slowly makes her way across the tree branches. As always, patience sure pays off!

Within five minutes, she has made her way down from the tree – unfortunately hidden by the vegetation so no photos.

White Rumped Helmetshrike

Giraffe

I mentioned to Malisa earlier how surprised I was at the lack of 'plains game' such as giraffe, zebra and antelopes. With that, we come across a giraffe.

Malisa estimates that this youngster is less than three months old

All this excitement has made us hungry, and we call into the Visitor's Centre Picnic Area for lunch.

Thank you Calabash Adventures for another amazing safari.

Despite the long journey, I was way too wired to sleep last night: I only managed one hour and 20 minutes in total and am really hanging this morning. Malisa didn't get much sleep either apparently, as sharing out the presents we brought for his family created a Christmas Day atmosphere.

It is still raining when we leave the hotel this morning, and I am amused to see a number of motorcycles with large umbrella attachments. This is not something I have seen before, but my attempt at photographing them through a wet windscreen is rather unsuccessful.

Arusha National Park

Another change of plan this morning – as a result of recent heavy rains, large parts of Lake Manyara National Park is under water. The lake itself has swelled so much that some lodges – including Maramboi, which we have stayed at three times previously – are closed due to flooding. Tillya therefore suggested we go to Arusha National Park instead. Another reason for doing so is that the flamingos are largely still there, rather than having migrated to Lake Natron, where we were hoping to see them tomorrow.

It is still raining as we enter the park, but that does not deter the animals, of course.

Common Waterbuck

Cape Buffalo at an area known as Little Serengeti

A somewhat damp Olive Baboon

One of the rarer species, which is not found in the other larger northern parks, is the Black and White Colobus Monkey

Giraffe

I can't believe how small the Dik Dik looks next to the giraffe.

The tiniest little Olive Baboon baby - probably no more than two hours old, still struggling to walk

Warthogs

A sounder of warthogs are startled by our approach, and make a run for it.

Others join in, not realising why they are running. Warthogs are known for their stupidity and the way they blindly follow their leaders. These two, however, appear to be unsure about which way to run initially.

They soon realise the errors of their ways

They reach the road and cross right behind us, much to our delight.

They might be ugly creatures, but they have such elegant legs!

A little one gets left behind and makes a mad dash for it.

This surely has to be one of the highlights of today: a warthog mother in her den with a two-week old baby suckling.

Hadada Ibis

I find it interesting how certain birds and animals are more prevalent at certain times of year - we've only had a couple of brief sightings of this bird on our previous six safaris in Tanzania, whereas here there are a number of them!

Augur Buzzard

Trying to balance on a thorny bush, he has a bit of a flap on.

They are seriously impressive birds when they spread their wings.

It is interesting how different cameras and lenses render colours differently. The previous images were taken with a Canon 1DXII with a Canon 100-400mm and a 1.4 extender; whereas the one below was a Canon 7DII with a Canon 600mm f/4. Both shot with a Cloudy White Balance, yet the green colour is very different.

A six-week old baby giraffe - look at those ears!

We stop for ages in this one place, as it seems to be all happening around us: birds aplenty, mongooses, giraffes, buffalo, warthogs.

I always find it amazing how giraffes can eat around the thorns on the acacia trees

Ashy Starling on a giraffe

Banded Mongoose

The Cape Buffalo attracts the flies and the flies attract the Red Billed Oxpecker

Common Fiscal Shrike

Masked Weaver

Hammerkop

Red Billed Oxpeckers

Common Waterbuck

While photographing the backside of this antelope to demonstrate the difference between a Common Waterbuck (with the toilet seat shaped white marking on its rear), and the Defassa Waterbuck with its more solid markings (see inset), we notice that he is struggling to walk.

On closer inspection, it seems he has a nasty flesh wound on his upper thigh, probably caused by a hyena. It is causing him a great deal of distress, and he appears very weak and painfully thin. Not long for this world I fear.

We move on to “see what else nature has to offer us”.

Hippo in Big Momella Lake

Pale Flycatcher

African Scops Owl

Without warning, Malisa grinds the car to an abrupt halt and reverses back. What has he seen? There, skilfully camouflaged in a tree, is an owl. An African Scops Owl – one of the handful of birds / animals on my wish list this year. Good job Malisa!

He is well hidden, but we leave the vehicle and explore on foot to try and get a good viewpoint. Thankfully there are no big cats here in Arusha National Park, so it is reasonably safe to do so.

He changes position, we follow.

Owls looks seriously weird when they blink!

Eventually he flies off to another tree, and we move on.

Common Sandpiper

Juvenile Augur Buzzard

He is such a noisy bugger, squawking loudly

African Pied Wagtail

Big Momella Lake

As I said at the beginning of this blog entry, today's visit to Arusha National park is totally unscheduled, with a plan to see the flamingos. And see them we do!

Lesser Flamingos are much smaller but brighter in colour than the Greater Flamingos.

And thus ends the first morning in the bush. Thank you once again to Calabash Adventures for arranging our latest safari.

The plan this morning is to take the path from the Observation Deck, through the mangroves, onto the main road and down to the bridge.

Village Weaver

Hooded Vulture

Long Tailed Glossy Starling

The trail meanders along the edge of the creek and heads for the road, but ends in a builders yard, obviously private property. There is a gate, but it is locked, so there is no way for us to join the road here, so we end up having to walk all the way back to the observation deck and through the hotel again.

In the hotel grounds we spot some Green Vervet Monkeys, including a very young baby clinging to his mum.

Out on the road we are amused to see a sign for Tesco Mini Market – in reality a small shack selling bottled water, ice cream and a few essentials.

Having spend the last four days almost exclusively in the company of birds, Kotu is proving a bit of a culture shock. Outdoor cafés are full of fat, middle aged cougars with tattoos, piercings, bleach blonde hair and the obligatory toyboy Gambian hanging on their arms. We hurry past to reach the bridge over Kotu Creek, a well known bird watching spot.

Pink Backed Pelican

The place is teeming with the gorgeous little Long Tailed Cormorants:

Pink Backed Pelicans, African Spoonbills, Long Tailed Cormorant and Great Egret

Grey Heron, Sacred Ibis and Marsh Sandpiper

African Spoonbills

Common Redshank

Pink Backed Pelican

Sacred Ibis and Grey Headed Heron

Senegal Thick Knee

We are approached by a couple of guides offering their services, but we are pleased to find they are much more likely to take “no” for an answer than the people we encountered during our visit to The Gambia 23 years ago.

Lunch

Back in the hotel, I request my food “extra spicy. Gambian spicy, not tourist spicy”. It still only arrives as a 2-3 on Grete's scale of 10.

Cheese and chilli omelette

Burger and chips

Refreshing fruit juice - youki?

After having asked for our food “extra spicy” at lunch, we are amused when we return to the room to find this large pack of toilet rolls sitting on our patio table. Are they trying to tell us something?

We are chilling in the room with a drink and some snacks when we overhear someone outside mentioning the name “Mandina Lodges”. Our ears prick up, as we are waiting to hear about what time our transfer to Mandina will be tomorrow. Yesterday we waited for 45 minutes for the rep to turn up (at the advertised time), but he didn't show. This afternoon, however, he is here, although he's knocking on our neighbour's door instead by mistake, so we go out and ask if he is looking for us. At least we now know that we are leaving here at 10:30 in the morning.

Dinner

Chicken Saté

Seafood mornay with crepe

We spend the rest of the evening chilling on our private patio with a few drinks.

I slept surprisingly well last night, despite the upset tummy yesterday afternoon and several rather unpleasant dreams overnight.

We are meeting Abdoulie first thing, who will be our birding guide for the morning. He is early, and so are we.

Brikama

Heading for Marrakissa, we drive through Brikama, which is the second largest town in The Gambia, and absolute pandemonium. I try some of my usual drive-by shooting (photographically speaking) as we are stuck in the traffic jam. The following images are photographed through the window glass of the car, so apologies for the somewhat inferior quality.

Waiting for the school bus

Bread delivery

Coffee on the go

Hitching a ride

Heading for the Laundry

Donkey Cart

Likky Bom

The sign on the rear bumper of a bright yellow car puzzles me greatly and I ask Abdoulie what it means. He is as bemused as we are, and to our surprise pulls over the driver to ask him. “It's my nickname” says the mystified kid in charge of the adorned car “nothing more than that”. I do wonder if he realises what sort of connotations the sign has, albeit with a slightly different spelling.

Marakissa

First we stop on a bridge to check out the birdlife along the wetlands area.

Senegal Coucal

Wire Tailed Swallow

Great Egret

Double Spurred Francolin

Cashew fruit with the nut hanging down below

Red Eyed Doves

Squacco Heron

Western Plantain Eater

Purple Glossy Starling

Senegal Parrot

Red Billed Firefinch

Yellow Fronted Tinkerbird, doing its best to hide

Common Bulbul nest building

Yellow Throated Leaflove

Piapiac

Lizard Buzzard

Ants

Abdoulie warns us to be careful when stepping over the marching ants. Too late, David has already been invaded. Lots of jumping, shouting and a few choice words later, he drops his trousers in the middle of the field to get rid of the ants. Thankfully I am too busy laughing to photograph it.

White Faced Whistling Ducks

African Jacana

Fine Spotted Woodpecker

Woodland Kingfisher

African Golden Oriole

White Billed Buffalo Weavers

Long Tailed Glossy Starling

Blue Bellied Roller

Black Faced Quail Finch

We see a number of these little birds fly out of bushes without warning, but trying to photograph them proves extremely difficult.

Eventually Abdoulie takes my camera and goes off stalking them.

After a lot of time and effort, he manages to creep up on one of the quail finches on the ground to grab a quick shot. Good man – I have to say I admire his patience.

Yellow Throated Leaflove

Grey Heron

Village Weaver

Pin Tailed Whydah

What an amazing place this is turning out to be. I shall leave you here now and continue in another blog entry. Ciao.

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.