Again I was up bright and early, standing by the camp fence watching the sky gradually lighten, to the backdrop of bird song and roaring Lions – Magical, almost as great as that first morning in Kueng Kang in Thailand, with the singing Gibbon’s.
The group met at 5am for coffee and rusks before heading out for
the morning drive. Initially heading north after leaving the camp we
soon picked up a Lesser Grey Shrike, before slightly more exiting fare
with a Wildcat moving through the bush. We then
turned round and were soon watching a pair of Lion lounging in the long
grass before moving off. These were followed by another two males.
Although within a couple of hundred meters of the camp gate, there were
few vehicles so we were able to watch for a short
while before continuing on our way south, turning onto the road that
leads towards the Singita Sweni lodge, before turning onto one of the
dirt tracks.
New birds were hard to find but we enjoyed great views of many of
those species we glimpsed yesterday, along with great views of Elephant,
Giraffe, Zebra, etc. Travelling along side an almost dried our river –
just a few polls left here and there, we
eventually managed to track down a Red-chested Cuckoo, to get good, if
somewhat distant, brief views of a species that had been giving us the
run around from day 2. A tangle of riverside vegetation produced a brief
view of an African Pygmy Kingfisher – one
of my most wanted for the trip, after missing the species on all three
previous trips to the Gambia. I think I was the only person on our
vehicle to get onto this kingfisher before it flew. About 10 metres
further on and just about visible through the brush,
a Saddle-billed Stork could just about be made out as it foraged in one
of the pools. Another target species, but not great views.
Moving on we soon spied a Kori Bustard strutting through the a more
open area. These are the World’s heaviest flying birds and in the flesh
they are an impressive animal. As there was little danger of this
species doing a quick flit, we enjoyed its presence
for some time. A little further on and a gap in the riverside
vegetation allowed us to overlook so pools from which some Wildebeest
were drinking. The pools also produced 3 Great Painted Snipe out in the
open, and clear views of a Saddle-billed Stork – much
more enjoyable than the first individual. Scanning round the pools
produced 2 Water Thick-knees.
We gradually made our way back to Satara Camp were we had a very
late breakfast before a couple of hours down time before heading back
out. Of course, the down time didn’t mean the birding had to stop. Some
of the group picked up a Ashy Tit-flycatcher
near our accommodation, which was fairly quickly relocated before I took
off on an exploration of the camp. As expected for the midday lull,
bird activity was quiet but I did manage to find an Acacia Pied Barbet.
After we all got back together we started with everyone else
picking up the Barbet before we headed out, heading North again. This
time we connected with a pair of huge Verreaux’s Eagle Owls. Even these
large and impressive birds failed to grab the attention
of those on the Ferrari Safari’s who stopped to see what we were looking
at. Further on we turned off onto a dirt track through an area of
recently burned bush. These are controlled burnings that replicate
natural wildfires, encourage new growth of grasses
and, despite no recent rains, fresh, green grass was beginning to
sprout. These burnt areas also allow for better viewing, particularly of
the more ground hugging species. Lots of Swainson’s, Natal and Crested
Francolins, with Blacksmith and Black-crowned Lapwings
were seen scratching in the burnt earth, before we hit the jackpot with 3
Caspian Plovers. A Temminck’s Courser was found, but it was distant
and foraging the along the edge of the burnt are so would disappear into
the unburnt grasses for periods. Some help
from Mr Gaze would have been appreciated at this time. A pair of
Double-banded Sandgrouse were also located, along with the only Ostrich
seen in the park – we could at least ensure that there was no cloud over
the species appearance on our life lists.
We returned to camp early as we had all signed up for a night
drive, so need to eat early before the 7 pm depart. Night drive offer
the chance to catch up with some of the nocturnal species, but it is
only the camp vehicles that are allowed to undertake
these drives, you are very much in the hands of the driver/guide and the
whims of the other guests. As such, for birding purposes they are very
much a case of hit or miss.
We ensured we were ready early and Adrian and I took control of the
front spot lights, giving us a greater chance of picking up any
nocturnal birds we came across. Before the bus had filled, I was out
inspecting a representative of a group of animals I
hadn’t even heard of – a Salidgo – It’s an arachnid but not a spider nor
a scorpion. It was quite large and looks like a cross between a spider
and a scorpion – it lacked the latter’s tail and large front claws, but
the main body resembled a scorpion rather
than a spider. A cool beast.
With the truck full, nocturnal mammals were the priority over
birds. Most of the animals appeared on the other side of the bus to that
I was on – a Scrub Hare, Cape Porcupine and Common Civet were all noted
before I produced the second Civet. It was back
to the other side as Adrian found a Small-spotted Genet that posed
nicely on a sloping branch, before a Black Mamba was located sleeping
about 3 metres up in an Acacia – about head height for those standing in
the back of the truck. Given the general lack
of interest in non cats shown during daylight hours, it was quite
surprising the amount of interest shown in the nocturnal sightings. Even
the Scrub Hare drew everyone’s attention. Perhaps it was something to
do with it being dark except for the animal in question
being, literally, in the spot light. Maybe its because in being
nocturnal, these are rarely seen animals, after all, the Zebra, Impala,
Giraffe and Elephant, etc. are so numerous as to be part of the
furniture in the park.
One bird made it onto the nocturnal list, a close Verrauxes Eagle
Owl. I did manage to find several Bushbaby’s, but all distant and all
that could be seen was the red eye shine as they turned their heads. The
red eye shine suggests they were Lesser Bushbaby’s
but as it was just eye shine, they didn’t make it onto my list. These
were followed by a Large-spotted Genet disappearing through the grass,
with it’s black-tipped tail giving away it’s identity.
We were almost back in camp when I picked up the stars of the night
safari, the pair of Lion we had seen earlier that day were now getting
amorous some 20 meters from the camp gate. Cats, at night. This ensured
all disembarked from the truck happy. We
were met by Toby, who proceeded to show us one of the camps resident
Greater Bushbabys, before we retired for the night.
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