2008 Tour Narrative
In Brief: This was the first WINGS tour to eastern Tanzania, with the primary objective of finding as many of the Eastern Arc endemics as possible. And in fact we found fifteen bird species restricted to this unique region, plus another nine Tanzanian endemics. We also found four Eastern Arc endemic mammals, two lizards, three frogs, and more than ten butterflies. To give some idea of how different the region is from neighboring Kenya, we recorded more than 50 species not reliably found in that country.
The friendliness of the local people made this a most enjoyable experience. Access to good forest was not always easy, and for Ulugurus we had quite a climb, as the forest that remains is on steep slopes. But in the East and West Usambaras and Udzungwas the roads took us right to the forests. It wasn’t hot anywhere, not even in coastal Dar-es-Salaam; unseasonal wet or cloudy weather even made some locations feel cold. Nothing prepared us for the chill of the rim of Ngorongoro Crater and the thick mist that persisted into the morning at high altitudes!
In Detail: The tour began with the arrival of the participants in Dar-es-Salaam. Much attention was paid to the taxonomically controversial Dimorphic Egrets; we made some interesting observations and took video and still images. Ten Crab Plovers passed by offshore, but there were no good tidal movements while we were there, and so no mudflats. Brown-breasted Barbets were among the more interesting residents, and we found the first of the arriving Mangrove Kingfishers escaping the southern winter on a wire right outside of the Tanzanian Army Barracks. Coral Rag Skinks were very numerous on the coral wall, and we were delighted to find Yellow-headed Dwarf Gecko a real stunner.
Leaving Dar for Mikumi National Park, we were entertained along the road by numerous dazzling Zanzibar Red and Black-winged Red Bishops. In Mikumi we found Dickinson’s Kestrel, Purple-crested Turaco, Piping Cisticola, and Southern Blue-eared Starling before leaving for our hotel.
The next morning we birded in a corner of the park with a good stand of miombo woodland. We flushed Spotted Eagle-Owls and a Square-tailed Nightjar from the road, and on arrival had a good selection of new local specialties: Brown-necked Parrot, Racquet-tailed Roller, Arnott’s Chat, Stierling’s Barred Warbler, Rufous-bellied Tit, and Orange-winged Pytilia, to name a few. After breakfast we left for Udzungwa Lodge on the Ifakara Road.
The following morning after breakfast we departed for Ifakara and the remarkable three endemics in the reedbeds of the Kilombero floodplain. On stopping the vehicle we immediately found all three, White-tailed and Kilombero Cisticoas and Kilombero Weaver. Along the edge of the road we were most fortunate to find Coppery-tailed Coucals at the northern edge of their range (as was White-crowned Plover), and a confiding pair of Anchieta’s Tchagras. Other birds of interest included Madagascar Pond Heron, Open-billed Storks, Red-headed Queleas, and Zebra Waxbills showing much interest in the Kilombero Weaver nests. We had lunch locally, then left for Udzungwa National Park, where the evening was spent in the forest with a few hard-to-see species such as Livingstone’s Turaco, Kretchmer’s Longbill, and Livingstone’s Flycatcher.
Next morning after an early breakfast we returned to the park, locating Southern Banded Snake-Eagle, Golden-tailed Woodpecker, the stunning endemic Iringa Red Colobus, a single endemic Sanje Mangabey, and a Harvey’s Red Duiker. After lunch it was time to return to Morogoro, where we took a dirt road up into the Ulugurus, arriving at the Research Station just as darkness fell. A gecko found on the ground displayed strangely splayed feet. After some post-tour consultation, it seems likely to be a member of the genus Urocotyledon—and almost certainly a new species!
We left early next morning to drive to the Tegetero Mission. On the way we found the rare Magpie Mannikin, a party of the very local Kenrick’s Starling, and a forest guard whose only words in English were Uluguru Bush Shrike! We climbed the road up to the forest, and before entering we found the endemic Uluguru gem, Loveridge’s Sunbird; also there were a party of Bertram’s Weavers and shy Red-faced Crimsonwings. The forest it was very quiet, the clouds thick and the interior dark. A couple of endemic Uluguru Mountain Greenbuls were little more than silhouettes, Chapin’s Apalis gave little bursts of song but were unresponsive, and the target Uluguru Bush-shrike taunted us by calling from the other side of a steep ravine!
We continued on for a night in Morogoro. In the morning three species of corvids graced the garden. A look at a patch of dry forest near Chalinze gave us a number of new species, among them amusing Retz’s and White Helmet-shrikes, the tiny Pale Batis, and the attractive Black-collared Barbet. We stopped for lunch in Segera before commencing the ascent to Amani in the Eastern Usambaras. In the afternoon we found a very obliging Half-collared Kingfisher next to a bridge, and located Fischer’s Turaco and a responsive pair of Kretschmer’s Longbills, but the gray cloud kept most species quiet.
The next morning in the garden, in between rainshowers, we were entertained by several Usambara Drongos, still awaiting formal description but a fine example of how even the most obvious can go unnoticed. Uluguru Violet-backed Sunbirds posed briefly on a sapling, and Green-headed Oriole was much more friendly, perching openly on a vine. In the afternoon we went out and found the as-good-as-endemic Long-billed Apalis, hyperactive Southern Rush Warbler, and Shelley’s and Stripe-cheeked Greenbuls.
The weather on the following day was dry but still overcast; we were rewarded, though, with the endemic Banded Green and near-endemic Amani Sunbirds, bouncy Sharpe’s Akalat, and shy Usambara (Pale-breasted) Iladopsis.
The morning of our departure was superbly bright and sunny. Many birds were in the garden, including a male Banded Green Sunbird. Just as we were about to leave, our driver found another local endemic, this time a very beautiful Eastern Arc Golden Reed Frog, whose name belies its true multi-hued attire. As we descended the road to the lowlands, a few birds were seen: Ayre’s Hawk Eagles circled with the much larger Crowned Eagles, Green Tinkerbirds finally posed in the open—but the real attention-grabbers were the abundant butterflies. Among them we found the stunning endemic Amani Diadem (Hypolimnas antevorta) and the very attractive Mottled Green (Euryphura achlys). Departing East Usambaras, we retraced our steps as far as Segera, then headed north to Mombo. Climbing the road up into the West Usambaras we could see how much drier it was. It was getting dark as we arrived, but just in time for an Usambara Nightjar to be calling from the top of a dead tree in the garden.
After a good rest preceded by a superb meal, we were ready for our early start in the morning. The first bird of interest were the endemic Usambara Double-collared Sunbirds feeding in a bottlebrush in the garden. Then we left for our full day on the Magamba road. The interior of the forest was dark, and nothing apart from Spot-throats wanted to sing, but with patience we located Olive Woodpecker, Usambara Mountain and Yellow-streaked Greenbuls, African Tailorbird, Fulleborn’s Sooty Boubou, and Usambara Weaver. Additionally we had Black-fronted Bush-shrike, Yellow-throated Woodland and Evergreen Forest Warblers, and delightful White-tailed Crested Flycatchers.
The following morning was bright and sunny. Butterflies were much in evidence, among them two species first described from this very road: a dull-brown Bicyclus danckelmani and the more attractive Magamba Gliders Cymothoe magambae.
The next morning on our way down from the highlands we found a very obliging Striped Pipit, agitated Gray-olive Greenbuls, and bouncy Mocking Cliff Chats. Stopping at an area of thornscrub south of Same, we found a number of dry-country species, among them Black-throated Barbet, Pink-breasted Lark, Red-fronted Warbler, and Mouse-coloured Penduline-Tit; the best sighting was of three White-headed Mousebirds, which barely penetrate Tanzania. Mount Kilimanjaro cleared magically as we passed Moshi on our way to Mountain Village at Duluti Crater Lake, where we spent the night.
In the morning we walked down to the lakeside and found a few waterbirds in the reeds, including a noisy pair of Giant Kingfishers. A Trilling Cisticola tormented us with its persistent hidden song. Heading away from the city, we stopped in a patch of acacia scrub for Pygmy Falcon and Von der Decken’s Hornbill, and a little detour gave us three Tanzanian endemics: Yellow-collared Lovebird, Ashy Starling, and Rufous-tailed Weaver. Also there were bouncing Gray-headed Silverbills on the track, a young Black Cuckoo mysteriously all barred below, and slender Magpie Shrikes.
Our journey continued across the Rift Valley to Ngorongoro Crater. We located an active pair of Brown-headed Apalis, then climbed the crater road to ooh and aah at the view into the abyss. We continued across the dry dusty plains to Ndutu, where four Genets entertained us over dinner.
Next morning was a true African dawn, fiery and full of beautiful pastels. The birds arrived for their morning toilette in their own bird bath, and at one time there must have been over 100 endemic Fischer’s Lovebirds crowding the water. A pair of endemic Gray-breasted Spurfowls arrived earlier than anything else. We had a birding expedition down to Lake Largarja, where both species of flamingo were present along with the soda-loving Chestnut-banded Plover (smaller than a peep!), and in the surrounding areas we found Two-banded Courser, Buffy Pipit, and Eastern Chanting Goshawks farther west than they “should” be.
We then retraced our steps all the way back to Ngorongoro, this time descending into the crater for the afternoon. On the way down we saw dazzling Malachite Sunbirds and located a pair of extremely rare Lyne’s Cisticolas. The crater is better known for its mammals than birds, and we located stocky Lions, sleek Serval, and sneaky Golden Jackals, plus ponderous Black Rhinoceros, various antelopes, buffalo, and a pond full of Hippopotamuses. There were also Elephants and Olive Baboons. In the bird line we found a number of species new for the tour: Cape Wigeon, Pied Avocet, White Stork, Schalow’s Wheatear, and Gray-rumped Swallow were just a few. Back on the rim we were entertained by arresting Golden-winged and Eastern Double-collared Sunbirds before finally reaching Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge.
Our last day found the mist so thick that nothing could be seen and temperatures so cold that our focusing finger was numb! We found a bush by the road where our first Gray-capped Warblers and White-eyed Slaty Flycatchers moved slowly inside, where the mist did not penetrate. The weather cleared shortly before we exited through the gate. Going back the way we came, we paused for Gray Herons, Pink-backed Pelicans, and the more numerous Yellow-billed Storks on the way. Bypassing Arusha, we headed out on the Namanga road to the Lark Plains, where we found two obliging endemic Beesley’s Larks and watched them at length. This is one the world’s rarest birds, with only two pairs known for certain.
- Brian Finch
Updated: September 2008