We had dinner with a friend last week and she has a Maasai askari (guard) who sits in her yard all night to keep her safe. This is a fairly common practice with westerners and the better off-locals. Often our organisations insist on us having a guard (ours didn't and we don't).
Maasai men are often used as they are said to be very reliable and look fierce. Usually they have their large stick and you see the occasional askari with a rifle (not sure if it they are usually loaded or not).
Leen's guard is a lovely chap who opened the gate for us when we were leaving. He is armed with a bow and three arrows. Each arrow is tipped with a large metal point about 4 cm long. I wouldn't mess with him!
Monday 29th November, Bukoba
Monday, November 29, 2010
Report on my regular bird surveys
November is drawing to a close so I thought I'd write a blog about the regular surveys I've been doing for the Tanzanian Bird Atlas project (http://tanzaniabirdatlas.com/).
The main survey is the daily log for the 500m radius circle around the house. Currently I have seen 117 species in this small area with an average of 87 species in each of the four months so far and 30-35 per day. The frequency of new birds added is slowing down considerably but in November I added Abdim's Stork, Wahlberg's Eagle, Red-headed Lovebird, Klaas's Cuckoo, Lesser Honeyguide, Rock Martin, Grosbeak Weaver and Golden-backed Weaver. November has seen a rapid increase in the amount of breeding behaviour around the house with all the weavers, the Firefinches, the Mannikins etc all busy building nests. The Blue Flycatchers that built a nest and began incubating in late October were thwarted by a ravenous pair of Tropical Boubous. They have moved on to try again elsewhere.
I've already described the fish factory beach. I've surveyed this twice now with a good range of migratory waders and other species like African Openbill, Hamerkop, Black Crake, Osprey, Spur-winged Lapwing, African Jacana, African Snipe, Grey-hooded Gull, Little Bee-eater, Grey-backed Fiscal and Western Yellow Wagtail. I've logged 37 species here with about 30 species on each visit.
A few km south of Bukoba is the Rubare Forest which is mainly a pine plantation with small patches of original forest where the ground was too rocky to plant pines. I've surveyed this three times now for a total of 32 species. Not many here and only an average of 16 on each visit but there are species here that are not likely to venture far from forests and there are so few patches of forest left in this part of Kagera. The highlights have been Blue Malkoha (aka Western Yellowbill), Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Black Cuckooshrike, Yellow-whiskered Greenbul, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Collared, Olive-bellied and Western Olive Sunbirds and Black-necked Weaver. Every time I visit the forest I hear new calls but struggle to see the birds in the dense foliage.
The Ngono River survey has been the most productive to date. This was also described in an earlier blog post. I've surveyed here four times now for a total of 70 species and an average of 32 species per visit. It's a good spot for freshwater birds like Yellow-billed Ducks and Rufous-bellied Herons). This is also where we saw the Shoebill in October - one of Africa's truly special birds. The combination of open water, extensive reedbeds and rocky scrubland means a good range of species can be expected here. It also has the advantage of being largely devoid of people - unusual anywhere in Tanzania. Some of the other highlights here include: Squacco Heron, Osprey, Palm-nut Vulture, Black-chested Snake-Eagle, Eurasian and African Marsh Harriers, Long-toed Lapwing, Red-headed Lovebird, Malachite Kingfisher, Bearded Woodpecker, Black Roughwing, Dark-capped Yellow Warbler, Fan-tailed Widowbird, Black-bellied Seedcracker, African Firefinch, Fawn-breasted Waxbill and Pin-tailed Whydah (don't you just love some of the bird names?).
My newest survey site is at the Katoke Teacher Training College about an hour's drive south of Bukoba. This is a large residential college surrounded by eucalyptus plantations, hilly grassland and rocky scrub country with some remnant forest along the valleys. It is also a nice quiet area where I can work undisturbed. Friday last week was my first survey there and I saw 42 species in a couple of hours. Several others were unidentified due to time constraints and lack of a camera. I'll go back later this week for another survey earlier in the morning when birds are more active. Highlights from Friday's visit were Tambourine Dove, Lilac-breasted Roller, Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Spot-flanked and Double-toothed Barbets, Rufous-naped Lark, Sooty Chat, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Croaking Cisticola, Red-faced Crombec, Brown-crowned Tchagra and Copper Sunbird.
A few recent photos:
Monday 29th November, Bukoba
The main survey is the daily log for the 500m radius circle around the house. Currently I have seen 117 species in this small area with an average of 87 species in each of the four months so far and 30-35 per day. The frequency of new birds added is slowing down considerably but in November I added Abdim's Stork, Wahlberg's Eagle, Red-headed Lovebird, Klaas's Cuckoo, Lesser Honeyguide, Rock Martin, Grosbeak Weaver and Golden-backed Weaver. November has seen a rapid increase in the amount of breeding behaviour around the house with all the weavers, the Firefinches, the Mannikins etc all busy building nests. The Blue Flycatchers that built a nest and began incubating in late October were thwarted by a ravenous pair of Tropical Boubous. They have moved on to try again elsewhere.
I've already described the fish factory beach. I've surveyed this twice now with a good range of migratory waders and other species like African Openbill, Hamerkop, Black Crake, Osprey, Spur-winged Lapwing, African Jacana, African Snipe, Grey-hooded Gull, Little Bee-eater, Grey-backed Fiscal and Western Yellow Wagtail. I've logged 37 species here with about 30 species on each visit.
A few km south of Bukoba is the Rubare Forest which is mainly a pine plantation with small patches of original forest where the ground was too rocky to plant pines. I've surveyed this three times now for a total of 32 species. Not many here and only an average of 16 on each visit but there are species here that are not likely to venture far from forests and there are so few patches of forest left in this part of Kagera. The highlights have been Blue Malkoha (aka Western Yellowbill), Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Black Cuckooshrike, Yellow-whiskered Greenbul, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Collared, Olive-bellied and Western Olive Sunbirds and Black-necked Weaver. Every time I visit the forest I hear new calls but struggle to see the birds in the dense foliage.
The Ngono River survey has been the most productive to date. This was also described in an earlier blog post. I've surveyed here four times now for a total of 70 species and an average of 32 species per visit. It's a good spot for freshwater birds like Yellow-billed Ducks and Rufous-bellied Herons). This is also where we saw the Shoebill in October - one of Africa's truly special birds. The combination of open water, extensive reedbeds and rocky scrubland means a good range of species can be expected here. It also has the advantage of being largely devoid of people - unusual anywhere in Tanzania. Some of the other highlights here include: Squacco Heron, Osprey, Palm-nut Vulture, Black-chested Snake-Eagle, Eurasian and African Marsh Harriers, Long-toed Lapwing, Red-headed Lovebird, Malachite Kingfisher, Bearded Woodpecker, Black Roughwing, Dark-capped Yellow Warbler, Fan-tailed Widowbird, Black-bellied Seedcracker, African Firefinch, Fawn-breasted Waxbill and Pin-tailed Whydah (don't you just love some of the bird names?).
My newest survey site is at the Katoke Teacher Training College about an hour's drive south of Bukoba. This is a large residential college surrounded by eucalyptus plantations, hilly grassland and rocky scrub country with some remnant forest along the valleys. It is also a nice quiet area where I can work undisturbed. Friday last week was my first survey there and I saw 42 species in a couple of hours. Several others were unidentified due to time constraints and lack of a camera. I'll go back later this week for another survey earlier in the morning when birds are more active. Highlights from Friday's visit were Tambourine Dove, Lilac-breasted Roller, Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Spot-flanked and Double-toothed Barbets, Rufous-naped Lark, Sooty Chat, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Croaking Cisticola, Red-faced Crombec, Brown-crowned Tchagra and Copper Sunbird.
A few recent photos:
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| Pink-backed Pelicans with a Marabou Stork, Bukoba |
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| White-headed Saw-wing, Bukoba |
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| Black-backed Puffback, Bukoba |
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| Black-chested Snake-Eagle, Ngono River, Kagera |
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| Pin-tailed Whydah and Yellow-throated Longclaw, Ngono River, Kagera |
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| Black-headed Oriole, Bukoba |
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| Northern Brown-throated Weaver, Bukoba |
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| Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Bukoba (photo by Jenny Clark) |
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| Double-toothed Barbet, Bukoba |
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| Survey site adjacent to Katoke Teacher Training College |
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| Little Egret, Bukoba |
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| Bronze Mannikin, Bukoba |
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| Abdim's Stork, small sample of the 300 over our house recently, Bukoba |
Monday 29th November, Bukoba
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Birding the Lake Victoria shore
North of the airstrip there is a 1 km stretch of quiet beach and swampy grassland with few people and lots more birds. Jenny and I have walked this a couple of times now for Tanzanian Atlas surveys.
The two visits have yielded 37 species. Some of the more interesting are: Egyptian Goose, Yellow-billed Duck, Hamerkop, Black Crake, Western Osprey, Spur-winged Lapwing, Common Ringed Plover, African Jacana, African Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Grey-hooded Gull, Little Bee-eater, Grey-backed Fiscal, Lesser Striped Swallow, Spotted Flycatcher and Western Yellow Wagtail.
A few photos:
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| African Jacana, Speke Bay, Lake Victoria |
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| Common Ringed Plover, Bukoba, Lake Victoria |
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| Egyptian Goose, Speke Bay, Lake Victoria |
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| Grey-backed Fiscal, Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda |
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| Grey-hooded Gull, Bukoba, Lake Victoria |
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| Lesser Striped Swallow, Bukoba, Lake Victoria |
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| Western Yellow Wagtail (ssp. lutea), Bukoba, Lake Victoria |
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| Yellow-billed Duck, Bukoba, Lake Victoria |
Saturday 13 November, Bukoba
Monday, November 1, 2010
Shoebill!
I can come home now - I've seen my Shoebill! For those not familiar with this bird it looks like this:
My bird was not quite so co-operative so I only managed distant flight shots:
Thanks to friend Terri (a non-birder) who spotted it first and thought "Will I tell Steve about the Fish Eagle heading this way?"
The Shoebill is probably the species on top of birders' wish list when they are planning an East Africa trip. I didn't expect to see one because I wasn't planning on going to their regular haunts in Uganda.
"My" bird was near the bridge over the Ngono River about 30 mins drive south-west of Bukoba. This is one of my regular survey locations and is turning up some other great birds: Western Marsh Harrier, Long-toed Lapwing, Red-headed Lovebird, Common Swift and Pin-tailed Whydah were new species added on yesterday's survey.
This is what a tiny section of this river and the associated swamp looks like:
Cheers
Steve
Bukoba, 1st November 2010
My bird was not quite so co-operative so I only managed distant flight shots:
Thanks to friend Terri (a non-birder) who spotted it first and thought "Will I tell Steve about the Fish Eagle heading this way?"
The Shoebill is probably the species on top of birders' wish list when they are planning an East Africa trip. I didn't expect to see one because I wasn't planning on going to their regular haunts in Uganda.
"My" bird was near the bridge over the Ngono River about 30 mins drive south-west of Bukoba. This is one of my regular survey locations and is turning up some other great birds: Western Marsh Harrier, Long-toed Lapwing, Red-headed Lovebird, Common Swift and Pin-tailed Whydah were new species added on yesterday's survey.
This is what a tiny section of this river and the associated swamp looks like:
Cheers
Steve
Bukoba, 1st November 2010
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