7th November 2014

Our trip started with a Kenya Airways flight from Heathrow on 6th November, arriving in Nairobi early in the morning followed by a brief stopover and an onward flight to Kilimanjaro airport. Birding started in Nairobi with Superb Starling seen as we left the plane and Little Swift and African Pied Wagtails from the coffee bar.

                                Superb Starling

We arrived in Kilimanjaro, where lots of Superb Starlings were around the airport buildings, and after a brief Ebola and Yellow Fever check we were on our way to our first stop, the Arumeru River Lodge. On the approach we saw our first Hamerkop and as we entered the hotel grounds several Kirk's Dik-diks, a tiny species

                                      Kirk's Dik-dik
                                      

of antelope, watched us drive past. We were allocated rooms, had some lunch and the birders in the group went for a walk in the hotel grounds with Zul, our Naturetrek guide. This being my first visit to sub-Saharan Africa pretty much everything was going to be a highlight but the sight of 2 Marabou Storks circling low over the hotel would take a lot of beating – what an iconic African bird. The only Hadada Ibis of the trip was hunting in the same patch of  grassland as 3 Hamerkops and as we watched them 2 Crowned Hornbill

                                      Hadada Ibis

flew into a nearby tree. Unfamiliar birds were everywhere and without Zul’s help I’d have identified only a fraction of them (that was to continue throughout the trip!). Black-headed Oriole, Brown-breasted Barbet and Red-billed Firefinch were all added to a growing list and our first Augur Buzzard flew over as we returned to the hotel. As we enjoyed a drink at the bar Collared and Amethyst Sunbirds fed from flowers just a few yards away. Dinner and bed were the perfect end to a near-perfect first day in Africa.

8th November 2014

The birders amongst us were up early to wander around the hotel grounds and were rewarded with the likes of Paradise Flycatcher, Speckled Mousebird and Scarlet-chested Sunbird. After breakfast it

                                Speckled Mousebird

was onto the land cruisers for our first game drive to Arusha National Park. A brief stop at the gates whilst Zul and the drivers sorted out permits gave us a chance for a look around resulting in distant views of Long-crested Eagle and Pangani Longclaw. Back into the trucks and it wasn’t long before we were watching our first game with Giraffes, Zebra and Buffalo all close to the road. We stopped after a while and were led by one of the rangers into the forest for fantastic, close-up views of a troop of Colobus Monkeys, including some all-white infants. Nearby we saw our first Cinnamon-chested Bee-eaters.

                                Black and White Colobus Monkey

Lunch was spent at Lake Longil where we saw our first Hippos along with birds such as African Jacana, White-backed Duck and Black-headed Heron. Then it was on to the Momella Lakes and their huge population of both Lesser and Greater Flamingos – a stunning sight. At the gate as we left the park we had great views of Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike, White-fronted Bee-eaters and Blue Monkey  A short diversion on the way back to the hotel gave us a brief view of the very shy Red Duiker, our only sighting for the trip.

                                Lesser Flamingo

9th November 2014

After another early wander around the grounds it was time to leave the lovely Arumeru River Lodge and head towards our next destination – the Tarangire National Park. As usual we had a short delay at the entrance whilst permits were organised and Zul pointed out a concrete birdbath by the café. Sitting quietly here for a few minutes added some fantastic birds to the trip list: Cutthroat Finch, Red-cheeked and Blue-capped Cordonbleu, Straw-tailed Whydah as well as our first Tanzanian endemics Ashy Starling and Yellow-collared Lovebird.

                                Cut-throat Finches, Yellow-collared Lovebirds, Straw-tailed

                                Whydah and Grey-headed Sparrows

 It was a fairly short trip through the park to our hotel but we saw our first Elephants of the trip. The lodge itself was fantastic with views down into a valley where a variety animals came to drink. After lunch and a short rest we were out for another game drive.

                                      African Elephant

We quickly got used to the style of driving whilst on these drives. For most of the time it would be relaxed, slow and seemingly aimless as the drivers searched for anything of interest, stopping regularly for photo opportunities or when one of the guests pointed something out. Occasionally this would suddenly change and the speed would pick up, there would be more of a sense of purpose and a reluctance to stop. The driver had picked something up from the radio and was on a mission! Our first experience of this was at Tangarire when our driver Prosper suddenly put his foot down. One of the features of these missions was that the guests were never told what we were in search of – presumably to avoid the disappointment if we missed it. On this occasion we were in luck though and two Cheetahs, a mother and grown cub, showed at first distantly but finally came to within a few yards – our first big cats!

Additions to the bird list included Tawny Eagle, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse and the stunning Silverbird.

                                Silverbird

10th November 2014

Our accommodation in the Tarangire Safari Lodge consisted of very comfortable, permanent tents which held a degree of vulnerability. My sleep wasn’t helped by the distant roaring of lions or the much closer growling of baboons – I didn’t find out the identity of the latter until several days later. Unfortunately the most disturbing growling came from my own stomach and it soon became obvious that I wasn’t going to be able to join that morning’s game drive. Stocked with water, Immodium, binoculars and camera I sat outside the tent as the others disappeared and felt very sorry for myself. It turned out however that being stuck here wasn’t such bad news after all.

                               Vervet Monkey

There was a steady stream of elephants, warthogs and antelope through the valley below, Vervet monkeys and Impala in the camp itself and dozens of birds in the surrounding trees. In just a couple of hours I had recorded Grey Kestrel, Bateleur, Yellow and Red-necked Francolin, Lilac-breasted Roller, Red-billed and Von der Decken’s Hornbill, Brubru and 3 species of woodpecker.

                                Lilac-breasted Roller

The Immodium did the trick and I felt well enough to go on the afternoon game drive. The others had seen their first lion that morning and I was keen to catch up with them. We quickly did that with a female sleeping in a concrete underpass below the main track – not really the circumstances I had imagined seeing my first wild lion! A bigger surprise was coming across a pair of the normally nocturnal Bat-eared Fox lazing outside their burrow; they didn’t seem too disturbed by our presence and allowed prolonged, if distant, views.

                                Bat-eared Fox

Dark Chanting Goshawk was another good find with a pair by the side of the road and the first bustard of the trip, a White-bellied, quickly walked off as we pulled up. Our first Red and Yellow Barbet digging and feeding from a termite mound showed well as we returned to the lodge.

11th November 2014

An early morning walk in the grounds of the lodge proved well worthwhile with a pair of African Hawk Eagles flying low over us, a pair of Red-faced Crombec feeding young and a brief sighting of a Spotted Morning-thrush amongst the birding highlights. A single Eland in the valley below was the first of the trip. After breakfast we climbed on board the vans and headed towards our next stop – Lake Manyara. We stopped briefly again at the exit to Tarangire NP and along with a final look at the Ashy Starlings which are only found in this small area of Tanzania we came across a very confiding Pearl-spotted Owlet which allowed some close-up photography before finally having enough and flying off.

                                Pearl-spotted Owlet

We arrived at the Serena Lodge in time for lunch, had a brief siesta and then it was back in the trucks for a trip into the national park itself. The Hippo Pool was the prime destination with a viewing platform allowing fantastic views across the pool. Hippos were the main mammalian interest but hundreds of birds kept me busy for the hour or so of our stay. A few Long-toed were found amongst the crowd of Blacksmith’s Plovers and several of my favourite birds, Collared Pratincoles, flew low over the pools like giant House Martins. White-faced Whistling Ducks, Hottentot Teal and Red-billed Ducks were all present in numbers and the only Black Heron of the trip flew over the pools only to land out of sight. A heavy shower of rain sent everyone to shelter in their vans and all but ours drove off. We stayed on to be rewarded with Palm-nut Vulture, Goliath Heron, Greater Painted Snipe and much more. I could have stayed for hours but the mammal watchers were keen to move on!

                                Palm-nut Vulture

                                Goliath Heron

                                Greater Painted Snipe

Little else was seen until our evening meal when a Small-eared Greater Galago (a bushbaby) put in a brief appearance in a tree by the restaurant

12th November 2014

The following morning it was a long drive to the Serengeti, stopping off along the way to visit Oldupai Gorge, the ‘Cradle of Mankind’ (and not Olduvai Gorge as several people were at pains to point out). Wherever we went during the trip if there was water there were birds. It was very difficult to concentrate on the lecture about the finds at Oldupai when Red and Yellow Barbet, Kenya Rufous Sparrow and Vitelline Masked-weaver were flying to and from a dripping tap.

                                Red and Yellow Barbet

We entered Serengeti NP via the Naabi Hill gate and were able to wander around during the usual delay whilst permits were organised. Namaqua Dove, D’Arnaud’s Barbet and Yellow-fronted Canary were all added to the list here.

                                D'Arnaud's Barbet

We were running a bit late and heading straight for our lodge for lunch when it became clear that Prosper, our driver, was on a mission. He finally stopped, pointed at a tree several hundred yards away and said ‘Leopard’! With binoculars it was just about visible, with Zul’s scope we could identify it – how on earth Prosper could spot it with no optics I really don’t know.

                                Leopard

13th November 2014

Fabulously close views of two Cheetah were a great start to what was perhaps our best ‘mammal day’ of the entire trip. As we left the cats a mission started with Prosper speeding along the tracks and showing no interest in stopping for anything. We soon discovered why – a pack of 13 African Wild Dogs had been reported. Extremely rare and seldom seen in the Serengeti (Zul hadn’t seen any here for 20 years) we got excellent views as the pack, looking slightly unsettled, rested under a line of trees.

                                African Wild Dog

 Two of the dogs wore radio collars and one of the females was hugely pregnant. We watched them for about an hour by which time they were beginning to move off. Indeed, the dogs could not be found the following day. Everything else was bound to be an anti-climax but we had great views of a Cheetah on a kill and several Lions. We had lunch at the Serengeti Visitor Centre surrounded by both Rock and Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax. As usual water attracted birds: Black-necked Weaver, Chestnut Sparrow, Grey-headed Social-weaver and Black-faced Waxbill all added here.

                                Rock Hyrax

On the way back to the lodge a stop by a small Hippo pool produced Striated Heron and numerous waders very familiar to a birder from Northern Europe: Ruff, Little Stint, Avocet and various Sandpipers.

                                Striated Heron