What a start to the day we had! Up at the ungodly hour of 04.00 and out onto the rainforest track in the dark. A little while later our guide emerged from the undergrowth, beckoned us and we began a hurried crash through the trees and over/through a stream to eventually arrived panting at 2 Nkulengu Rails sat on branch - wow! The hurry (including Jus landing on me in mid-stream!) was because the birds were about to leave their roost after which we'd have stood no chance. Somehow in the scramble Foster dropped his speaker in the stream as well but luckily it survived!
Breakfast certainly tasted better after that and pretty soon we were off back into the forest for the morning session. As we were leaving the lodge 3 Sabine's Spinetails cruised overhead, an African Pygmy Kingfisher posed on wires and a Cassin's Honeyguide showed briefly in trees by the restaurant.
The birds seen on the morning and afternoon sessions included Yellow-casqued Hornbill (our final hornbill), Yellow-billed Turaco, Blue-headed Wood Dove, a mega Long-tailed Hawk that flopped across the track at low level, West Africn Wattle-eye, Yellow-throated Cuckoo again, Yellow-spotted Barbet, Icterine Greenbul, a couple of gorgeous Forest Robins, Finsch's Flycatcher-thrush, Grey-throated Tit-flycatcher, Ussher's Flycatcher, Yellow-spotted Barbet, Speckled Tinkerbird, Sabine's Puffback and Shining Drongo. A real surprise at the 2nd pond as we waited for dusk were 2 Dwarf Bitterns one of which posed for ages in the fading light.
Back at the lodge 2 Black Bee-eaters showed amazingly well (and gave me probably the best photos of the trip) and a Green Hylia gave itself up.
Owls once again eluded us that night with just a Brown Wood Owl heard.
No comments:
Post a Comment