Minziro Forest for some serious birding

Photo by Jenny

I've been to Minziro three times with company - all lovely women (Jenny, Terri, Leen and Stephanie) genuinely interested in the fauna and flora to be found there, be it the many stunning butterflies, the spectacular Great Blue Turacos, the huge trees or the Angola Pied Colobus monkeys which are found nowhere else in Tanzania.

Red-tailed Monkey (photo by Jenny)

Angola Pied Colobus (photo by Jenny)

As pleasant as this company has been and even though I've seen new birds on each trip I felt I was hampered by the extra (noisy) people and would see more if I could sit quietly in the forest on my own.  So - last Thursday I went back on my own and saw fewer birds than on any of the previous trips...

Moustached Grass Warbler

Olive-bellied Sunbird

The day was sunny and warm and the forest was dead quiet.  The few birds calling did not come close and never showed themselves.  This was the case for several hours and at several different locations.  Eventually I had a break for a coffee and mandazi (local doughnut).  After lunch, in the warmest part of the day I finally started getting on to a few birds and was able to add three of the forest skulkers: Yellow Longbill, Jameson's Wattle-eye and Pale-breasted Illadopsis.  Each of these is found in Ugandan forests and just sneaks across the border into Minziro Forest.

Orchid 1

Orchid 2

So now after four trips I've seen 65 species in the forest and in the adjacent grasslands.  I'll be back as often as possible - hopefully with companions for many visits if they will forgive me for calling them bird scarers.

Fan-tailed Widowbird

Bukoba
3 Feb 2011