Outside the airport there were lots of birds. A flock of Little Swifts was flying over but also many lifers were seen. 3 species of “turtle doves”, Mourning Collared, Ring-necked and later also Red-eyed Doves were seen. Amazingly colorful Superb Starlings and Pied Crows were walking between the people, Tricolored Bulbuls were calling and on the sky we saw Lesser Striated Swallows, White-rumped, Nyanza, Horus and Mottled Swifts. On the bushes we saw sunbirds which Scarlet-chested and Collared Sunbird were identified. Further along the road there was a dead tree where a Stripe Kingfisher and a black morph Ovambo Sparrowhawk visited. Also a Black-headed Heron was seen flying by, African Pied Wagtails were perched on the roof over us and some Red-winged Starlings were also seen. I really didn’t know which way to look.

After quite a long waiting our Tanzanian Birding and Beyond Safaris guide Anthony Raphael and drivers Edson and Geitan arrived and timing was good as only soon after that the last few of our group got out from the airport. Fever had been tested from some but luckily we all were feeling well and ready to go. Soon we packed our luggage to 2 big safari-cars and were ready to hit the road.

We soon stopped along the road to do some birding and Tawny-flanked Prinias, Blue-naped Mousebirds, a Black-chested Snake Eagle and a Variable Sunbird were seen. And once we were driving again we saw Red-billed Buffalo Weavers, a Fork-tailed Drongo and Long-tailed Fiscals.

We drove about a half of an hour towards Mt Meru and then stopped to walk in a small forest track and it was difficult as there were quite a few birds and I had no idea what most of them were… African Palm Swifts were flying on the sky, an African Emerald Cuckoo was found on the top of a tree, a couple of Hadada Ibises were on one roof and a Rüppell’s Robin-Chat, White-eared Barbets and African Grey Flycatchers were also found. Tropical Boubous were calling with funny voices, also Tambourine and Emerald-spotted Wood Doves were not only heard but also seen. On the top of one tree there was a perched Palm-nut Vulture and a back-color of a Grey-backed Camaroptera was seen after some trying. Anthony found several White-starred Robins that were actively singing but impossible to see in the dense vegetation. A White-browed Robin-Chat was seen and identified once the tail was seen well and also Kenrick’s Starlings and an Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon were seen.

Finally we continued to Ngare Sero Lodge grounds where new birds were found all the time. A Green Malkoha was calling all the time and also seen pretty well and also a Golden-tailed Woodpecker was seen before we walked down to a pool where we saw Reed Cormorants, Thick-billed and Taveta Weavers, some African Jacanas, a Black Crake, Bronze and Red-backed Mannikins, Black-throated Wattle-eyes, a Black-backed Puffback, a stunning African Fish Eagle and an amazing Giant Kingfisher. Some familiar birds were also seen like Little Grebes, Moorhen and a Great Egret.

Anthony was all the time pointing new birds with a pointer and we were all the time asking what were the calls too – and they were always new species. Northern Crombec, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Lesser Honeyguide, Green-backed Honeyeater, Grey-olive Greenbul, Black Cuckooshrike and on a short walk also a funny Hamerkop and a couple of African Black Ducks were seen. Some calls heard were a Long-crested Eagle, a Red-chested and a Klaas’s Cuckoo, a Little Rush Warbler and an Augur Buzzard.

After some walking we climbed a bit higher along the pool to have lunch. It was difficult to eat as there were too many birds to see and to photograph everywhere around us. There were also a several Guerezas climbing on the tree on the opposite side of the pool which were nice to follow.

After the lunch we walked around the area more. Some of us were resting a little after a very long traveling and some were concentrating to take pictures. But with Mika we headed to walk along a small path inside the forest. In the beginning it was quiet as the day was already warming up but then we found a couple of Red-throated Twinspots, African Firefinches and a Little Greenbul. Soon we met Hannu and “Henkka” and continued along a stream towards the pool and found a Spectacled Weaver and a couple of Mountain Wagtails and so on. Also some Blue Monkeys and Ochre Bush Squirrels were seen.

Once we were back on the lodge we found some Brown-breasted Babblers and a Cardinal Woodpecker close to the parking place. Also an African Grey Hornbill and a Silvery-cheeked Hornbill visited the treetops. Soon we were ready to move on and after about 100 meters driving we had to stop again as there were Yellow-fronted Canaries and some African Firefinches on a small meadow.

It was already getting dark when we arrived to Arusha and parked to a garden of Korona Villa (I didn’t really like the name of the hotel but it was nice!). We were warmly welcomed and after we had carried our luggage to our rooms, we had dinner ready. After the dinner we kept a log which was long even though we had only done the Introduction to birding (days birding was in our tour-program with that name).

On the 8th of February we had quite late breakfast and soon most of us were out and waiting for our cars to arrive. There were quite a few birds and we saw Speckled Mousebirds, a couple of White-necked Ravens and a couple of pure-lookin Fischer’s Lovebirds but most of these birds looked like hybrids. In Arusha most birds are hybrids between Fischer’s and Yellow-collared. At 7:30 a.m. our cars were finally there and we left towards Arusha National Park. Anthony was every second day in different car and this time we were on so called car one with Normaja and Kapanen couples.

We stopped a couple of times on the way and the first stop was great as we saw a couple of Grey-crowned Cranes and there were also an African Sacred Ibis and a Three-banded Plover on the rice-field. After we had seen some Northern Fiscals and a couple of African Stonechats, we arrived to the gate of the National Park. Our drivers had to go to do some paper-work, so we were free to walk in the area a little bit. We found a funny-looking Chinstrap Batis, a Cape Robin-Chat, Bronzy Sunbirds, a Yellow-breasted and a Black-headed Apalis but soon we were in a car again and driving to the park. It was not allowed to get out from the car in the parks because of there were wild animals like Lions and Leopards. So we could get out only in some places like picnic-places.

After we had seen a couple of Scaly Spurfowls and Little Bee-eaters we came to an open area where we saw the first mammals – Cape Buffaloes and Plains Zebras with some Common Warthogs. Also the first Red-billed Oxpecker was seen on a back of a buffalo. There was also a stunning Saddle-billed Stork close to the road and also a Northern Fiscal and some White-winged Widowbirds and Red-billed Queleas.

Slowly we got higher and higher to the mountain forest and then stopped next to a huge tree that the road went actually through the trunk.

Next to this tree we got out and there were lots of birds in the tree and everywhere around us. Anthony started to play tape for some target birds and the first target was found quite soon. First we heard some harsh calls but the saw a colorful bird on the top of the tree – Hartlaub’s Turaco! We saw it only behind branches and in flight but some other birds were easier to see like African Dusky Flycatchers, a couple of Brown Woodland Warblers, Mountain and Strip-faced Greenbuls, a Grey-headed Nigrita, Broad-ringed White-eyes and then the tape worked again as another colorful bird arrived to the top of the tree – a Bar-tailed Trogon! It was also hiding well but after some trying we managed to get some kind of pictures.

Once we continued we started to see more mammals; Masai Giraffes, Cavendish’s Dik-diks, a Harvey’s Duiker, Guerezas, Cape Bushbucks, Ellipsen Waterbucks and then also a stunning Serval! More Cape Bufalloes and Zebras were also seen and of course we took lots of pictures both animals and birds. Some birds we saw were Helmeted Guineafowls, African Yellow Warblers, Red-capped Larks and Little Bee-eaters.

Then we arrived to Momella Lakes and stopped to a picnic-place close to the first lake. We had lunch there on a perfect spot to see birds and also mammals. While eating we saw Baglafecht Weavers and a White-fronted Bee-eater was catching insects from the closest bushes and trees and from the lake we found a Southern Pochard, a couple of Red-billed Teals, some White-breasted Cormorants and from the shore a couple of Blacksmith Plovers. There were also 3 Common Hippopotamuses on the lake but quite far! And in a short bush-visit we found a small flock of Crimson-rumped Waxbills.

Soon we were in a car again and we had opened the roof so we could either sit down and watch through the windows or stand on the bench and look much better to all directions as I was doing most of the time. On the next lake we found lots of Lesser and Greater Flamingoes, Cape Teals, Black Saw-wings, a few Banded Martins and a lonely male Maccoa Duck. Finally I also saw a White-browed Coucal which I had already missed a couple of times and also a Moustached Grass Warbler, a Spot-flanked Barbet, a Diederik Cuckoo, African Black Swifts, a Moustached Tinkerbird and a Yellow Bishop were seen. Also Zebras, Giraffes, Buffaloes and Warthogs were seen and photographed and lots of Olive Baboons and some Blue Monkeys too. But not all birds were so exotic, we also saw Black-winged Stilts, Little Grebes (amazing numbers), Ruffs, Wood Sandpipers, a Green Sandpiper, a Common Sandpiper and so on.

Suddenly our car stopped and our driver had seen something flying in the forest. We drove back a bit and Anthony started to play tape again. Then the group on the second car saw a Narina Trogon flying inside the thick vegetation. I saw to tree-tops only through a tiny hole between all branches and leaves but I was lucky, the trogon was perched right on that spot! It was impossible to see from any other place from our car, so we all had to come to stand on my seat in turns. And after all we all managed to see it and get some pictures too.

We continued to savanna and there the next species was a Pangani Longclaw. The first of many cisticolas was identified (I have no idea how many we had already left unidentified) and it was a Singing Cisticola. We also saw a small flock of African Green Pigeons and the second cisticola got a name Trilling Cisticola. Also a colorful Black-fronted Bushshrike was seen briefly and other species we saw were a Black-headed Oriole, an Eastern Grey Woodpecker, a Southern Citril and a Pin-tailed Whydah.

Finally we were in the end of the tour and at the gate again. There we walked again a little while paper-work was done. Then we continued to Arusha and Korona Villa where we had a dinner again. Then we still had a long log before we could go to sleep far too late.

On the 9th of February we had breakfast again at 6:30 a.m. and we had managed to order the cars to arrive a little bit earlier and we were now free to leave earlier as there was no late-opening gates on the way. On the garden we saw familiar birds but also a Village Indigobird was perched on a wire. Soon we were on the road and driving towards Serengeti. Luckily we could stop the car if it was needed once we had driven through an area that was told to be a military-area. So we started to see birds and saw Fischer’s Sparrow-Larks, a Brown Snake Eagle, Yellow-billed Kites, a Lanner, White-faced Whistling Ducks, Crowned Lapwings, Lesser Masked, Rufous-tailed, Speckle-fronted and White-headed Buffalo Weavers, Kenya Sparrows and when we stopped to fill the tank of our car, we saw a couple of Yellow-collared Lovebirds. Also big flocks of Abdim’s Storks were seen on savanna and on the sky and then first White-bellied Go-away-birds.

Finally we stopped for a short 30 minutes walk to an acacia forest but there were so many birds that we stayed there at least an hour. A Grey Wren-Warbler, Taita Fiscals, Red-cheeked and Blue-capped Cordon-bleus, a Purple Roller, a Southern Black Flycatcher, a Black-throated Barbet, Red-fronted Prinias, a Rosy-patched Bushshrike, Brimstone Canaries, a Spotted Palm Thrush, a White-browed Scrub-Robin, a Hildebrandt’s Starling, Yellow-crowned and Brimstone Canaries, Northern White-crowned Shrikes, Red-faced and Rattling Cisticolas, White-eyed Slaty Flycatchers, Beautiful and Eastern Violet-backed Sunbirds and an Abyssinian Scimitarbill were seen. We could have easily stayed in this place for whole day as there were so many birds to see and photograph but we still had many things to do and a long drive.

We continued driving and on the way we saw an Eastern Chanting Goshawk, a few Abyssinian Wheatears and a Cinnamon-breasted Bee-eater. We also saw the first masai-villages where mud hut looking buildings were surrounded by a thick fence made of big branches. We also saw a funny-looking Flap-necked Chameleon crossing the road.

Then we turned to Ngorongoro gates where were lots of Olive Baboons and also some Reichenow’s Seedeaters, a Red-fronted Tinkerbird and a couple of Brown-headed Apalis were seen. Then we continued higher to a view-watching place where an amazing view opened to Ngorongoro crater! There we ate picnic-lunch (which was again really good by the way) but it was once again difficult to concentrate eating as there was so much to see!

Some of us had put up telescopes and were watching to the crater where were lots of animals. And soon the first Black Rhinoceroses were found! I also saw an African Elephant with my binoculars but Rhinos were so much more rare that I really needed to go to see it with a scope. After all we found 4 Rhinos but of course they were very far on the bottom of the crater. But there were too many birds again so I had to start looking at them too! Again they were all new species.

We saw some Mblulu White-eyes, an Abyssinian Thrush, a Red-fronted Barbet, a Streaked Seedeater and an amazing Golden-winged Sunbird. There was really no time to visit toiled – I did that and missed a couple of lifers. It was a bit frustrating as I had no idea which birds were going to be difficult to see later as all birds were different in every place…

Once we were back through the gate, we continued towards Serengeti. On the way we saw first huge Kori Bustards, Greater Kestrels, Red-capped Larks, African Pipits, some Cape Rooks, Spotted Thick-knees and then we started to see amazing numbers of mammals! White-bearded Wildebeest and Plains Zebras were in huge numbers but also Cape Buffaloes and Thomson’s Gazelles were a lot. There were animals both sides of the road as far as we could see! We also saw some Common Elands, Serengeti Topis, Grant’s Gazelles, African Golden Wolves and Spotted Hyenas. The big migration was going on! There would have been so much to see and photograph but unfortunately we were in a hurry as we had to be at Serengeti gate at 5 p.m.

We drove quite a long time along very poor road very fast and we could make stops only if it was really necessary – so all the possible lifers were checked and a couple of better pictures taken. But we were really driving so fast that we were worried if we soon have only broken cameras.

So finally we got the first pictures of a Greater Kestrel, a Black-bellied Bustard, a Yellow-throated Longclaw, a Capped Wheatear and finally also Common Ostriches. And just before the gate we made a stop to photograph a Secretarybird that was swallowing a snake close to the road and there was also a lonely Lion resting behind some vegetation a bit further! Amazing!

Finally we were at the gate to Serengeti National Park and again drivers had some paper-works to do. So we were able to straighten our legs and walk a little. A Brubru, a Red-faced Crombec, Buff-bellied Warblers and a Banded Parisoma were found. There was also a familiar, but more difficult to identify, bird on one tree but after all it was quite easy to identify as an Icterine Warbler. Then we again got into our cars and started driving towards our lodge.

Luckily we were not in so bad hurry anymore so we could make some more stops. Anthony took his phone and tape-lured a flock of Black-lored Babblers visible. Also a couple of Coqui Francolines were seen briefly before the sun started to set. The road was still very bad and soon we were driving very fast again. It was already getting dark when we saw some vultures which were identified as White-headed and a Lapped-faced Vulture and later we saw some more unidentified vultures on the dead trees. Also a couple of flocks of Wattled Starlings, a White-bellied Bustard and some Marabou Storks were seen. It was already dark when we stopped briefly along a pool where were Hippoes swimming and also a couple of them next to the pool.

Then it started to rain very hard! Finally we parked to Thorn Tree Camp parking place where the crew was welcoming us with umbrellas. We walked under umbrellas to the reseption and our luggage were carried there too. And soon we were enjoying a good dinner and after that we still had a log to do.

When the log was done we had to ask an employer to walk with us to our tent as it wasn’t aloud to walk there by yourself – we were in the middle of Serengeti and there were many animals living next to us!

On the 10th of February it had been very heavy rain at night, but luckily weather was nice in the morning. When the sun was rising, we walked to have breakfast and got several Grey-capped Social Weavers to join us even inside the tent. After the breakfast we climbed to our cars and started driving inside Serengeti.

It was now rainy season and very green everywhere, but the rains had started very late so all migrating animals were late on their usual schedule and still on the way to Serengeti. That’s why we had seen so many mammals on the previous evening – they were close but not yet inside the park. So we didn’t see a single Gnu and only a few Zebras inside the park.

Some birds we saw early in the morning were Nubian Woodpecker, Dark-chanting Goshawk, Village Weaver, funny-sounding Flappet Lark, Bearded Woodpecker, Silverbird, Foxy Lark, Grey-backed Fiscal, White-tailed Lark, Black-faced Waxbill, Meyer’s Parrot, Slate-colored Boubou, Bateleur, Purple Grenadier, Pin- and Straw-tailed Whydah, Yellow-bellied Eremomela, Croaking Cisticola, Gabar Goshawk, Grey-headed Silverbill, African Hoopoe, Tanzanian Red-billed Hornbill, Magpie Shrike, Rüppell’s Starling, Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Vitelline Masked Weaver and Usambiro Barbet. We also got nice pictures of Black- and White-bellied Bustards, a Woolly-necked Stork and so on. We also saw some mammals like Impalas, Serengeti Topis, Common Dwarf Mongooses, Cavendish’s Dik-diks, Cape Buffaloes with some Yellow-billed Oxpeckers on their backs and also some Leopard Tortoises and a flap-necked Chameleon were seen. We also got familiar with tsetse-flies, but luckily there weren’t many of them or other insects either.

After quite a lot of driving and birding, we arrived to a high area where were a couple of meters long spiky trees here and there. This was area for rare Karamoja Apalis. So we started to stop every couple of hundreds of meters and played tapes in both cars. Anthony told that this species was difficult to see as, if it comes, it comes quiet, stays in a tree for a short time and then disappears. We had once again continued after a long try when we our friends on the other car called us that they had found one bird. We managed to get back (frustratingly slowly) but luckily the bird was still there and we got this rare endemic to our list! In same time there was a herd of Elephants walking on the savanna behind the spiky trees so it was very nice moment!

We kept on getting further and soon found a Pygmy Falcon on a tree next to the road. Then Anthony started playing the tape again but now from a moving car. But it seemed that all birds had disappeared, but then a flock of birds flew over us and they were exactly what we had been searching for – Grey-crested Helmetshrikes! Shrikes were flying around and only shortly stopped to some distant bushes but after all we managed to get some pictures. These birds were really funny-looking.

After a short drive we stopped to a plateau where we could see were big trees further on the mountain side. Soon we saw a Woodland Kingfisher and then the next bird was a nice surprise – a beautiful Black-headed Gonolek! Almost same time the tape lured an amazing-looking Schalow’s Turaco to the trees further and after some time we could see it in flight but then it also perched quite openly but unfortunately quite far. Von der Decken’s Hornbill landed very close to us and soon the tape worked again as a couple of huge Eastern Plantain-eaters were seen in flight on the top of very distant trees. This had been one of the most memorable stops ever – we had seen several amazing birds in very short time!

We drove quite fast back to our camp and after the lunch we had some time to photograph common birds in the camp. I got pictures of Superb and Rüppell’s Starlings and Swahili Sparrows, also a Red-throated Tit was found from the parking place.

In the afternoon we drove in the park again and saw Desert and Lyne’s Cisticolas, a Long-crested Eagle, Fischer’s Lovebirds, Grey-breasted Spurfowls and Arrow-marked Babblers.The best observation was a Cheetah that we saw with help of a car that stopped to tell us about it. The cat had disappeared to the vegetation for some time ago but luckily we found it quite soon. And after some waiting it got up and gave us better views! We were very happy!

Once we were driving again I finally saw a Pearl-spotted Owlet that I had missed earlier and also the first Wahlberg’s Eagle, an African Hawk-Eagle and a couple of Yellow-throated Bush Sparrows were seen. In the evening we had really good light for photographing and as we were in no hurry, we got very good opportunities to get pictures. Edson was stopping every time we asked and he was actually the most talkative of the locals and told us many interesting stories during the trip.

We were back in the camp before the sunset and then we had dinner and log again. I got into our tent again so that a local was escorting me. Mika stayed up much later once again.

On the 11th of February an Elephant had been walking through the camp and very close to some of our tents. It had also left a huge pile of shit in the middle of the path. After the breakfast we headed to the park and our goal was to see some more birds but also the missing mammal of the big five list – a Leopard. All cars in the park had radiophones and all big cats and so on were told to other groups, so we could still concentrate on birds and keep our radio on and then go twitching.

We were driving a bit more moist areas and headed towards North first. We saw Meyer’s Parrots, a Lesser Kestrel, a couple of Dark Chanting Goshawks, Usambiro Barbets, a Pied Wheatear, a Black Crake, Woodland Kingfishers and so on. It seemed that lifers were getting more difficult to get. We also saw Common Hippoes, Black-backed Jackals. Dik-diks and so on.

Finally we found a few Three-banded Coursers and then some Yellow-billed Storks, a couple of Chestnut-banded Plovers, a Black-winged Red Bishop and also a couple of Crocodiles. We also saw lots of Hippos and a couple of them were fighting a long time. It was fun to see a Common Sandpiper walking on the backs of Hippo together with a Red-billed Oxpecker.

When we were driving again we saw some flocks of Yellow-throated Sandgrouses in flight and then found a couple of Black-faced Sandgrouses along the road. Then Edson found a stunning Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl that was perched on a tree. Other observations were a Bohor Reedbuck that was laying down next to the road and a huge Python that crossed the road.

After one more cisticola, Pectoral-patch Cisticola, we found an African Harrier-Hawk working on one tree. It was robbing some nest and we could get really good pictures of it. I was happy to see another species that I had missed earlier. Then we still saw a Hooded and a White-backed Vulture on the sky before next to a small airfield we found a small pack of Lions laying on the shadows of trees. One bigger Lion came closer but behind some vegetation to eat a carcass of a Cape Buffalo. We also saw several Kongonis and on a small pool we saw a Common Snipe, a Wood Sandpiper, a Kittlitz’s and a Three-banded Plover.

We walked a little bit on the picnic-place next to the airfield and again got some pictures of common birds like tame Hildebrandt’s and Rüppell’s Starlings, Slate-colored Boubous, a Red-throated Tit, Grey-headed Silverbills, a Spotted Palm Thrush and also cute Common Dwarf Mongooses and Eastern Tree Hyraxes.

Once we were moving again we saw the same Lions again and now one female was drinking by the pool! So we finally got good pictures of this massive cat! Next we continued towards south quite fast but we still saw a flock of Collared Pratincoles, Black-bellied Bustards and finally a few Two-banded Coursers with one chick too.

Once again when we were driving fast there started to be amazing numbers of mammals! We saw thousands and thousands of White-bearded Wildebeest and Plains Zebras but also Spotted Hyenas, Secretarybirds and Tawny Eagles very well. I could have watched there masses of animals for a long time but we were in a hurry.

The next stop was made in Serengeti Media Center where we walked a little bit again. It was a nice place but in the middle of hot day there weren’t much birds. But we got pictures of different kind of lizards – Common Agama was the most colorful and thus easy to identify. And soon we were driving again and more Hyenas and also an elegant Serval was seen. It was already getting late when we started to get close to Ndutu and there we saw quite a few vultures on the top of trees.

Finally we were in Ndutu Safari Lodge where we went to eat immediately. After a few minutes a Common Genet joined us and stared at us from the ceiling where it was perched. Then after the dinner our log got an awful twist as one of us had made a covid test and got a positive result! We first discussed what we could do but then together with Anthony we all agreed that we couldn’t do anything more than keep distance to all other people. We were in the middle of Serengeti and we had already been together for days, so we all probably had the virus already. And after all we were all the time just together, so we could only hope that nobody gets more sick. And after all it seemed that locals where happy if there just was ginger-tea on every meal.

But anyway I had difficulties to get asleep and of course in early morning I started to feel some itching on my throat…

On the 12th of February we woke up and had breakfast same at time again and then we had to split into two groups. In our original program we were going to visit both Ngorongoro crater and slopes in the same day but we were just too slowly and making many stops all the time so Anthony had realized that it was impossible to do all this in one day. So one group was going to the crater and another one to the slopes. In crater there would be more mammals to see and of course also some birds in the crater lake too, but on the slopes there would be more mountain-birds which usually are very local and difficult. So after all I decided to go birding. I had already seen the endangered Black Rhino and this was maybe the best opportunity ever to get some lifers from the slopes. I think I will be visiting the crater one day with Hanna anyway.

So after all there were me, Mika, Henkka, Hannu and Matti with Anthony and Geitan going to the slopes. But both groups had to drive first a long way to get to Ngorongoro. First we started on the shore of Lake Ndutu where we saw Rüppell’s and other vultures, a perched Bateleur, a Thick-billed Seedeater and an African Cuckoo.

On the same straight road that we had been driven in the last evening we saw more vultures, Hyenas, Jackals and amazing numbers of Gnus again and Common Elands, Kongonis, different kind of Gazelles, a couple of Black-winged Lapwings, a flock of Caspian Plovers, a Temminck’s Courser and so on.

Slowly we got closer to Ngorongoro mountain and then started to climb higher. After quite a lot of driving we finally found the first Anteater Chats and then stopped to a place with nice view to the crater where we easily found Lyne’s Cisticolas and some Dusky Turtle Doves.

Soon we continued, saw a couple of Hildebrandt’s Spurfowls and then stopped to twitch Hunter’s Cisticolas.

Next stop was made on the same view watching place where we saw Mbulu White-eyes, but soon kept on driving higher. After some driving we found some Moorland Chats but the road was very curvy and narrow so we couldn’t stop in most of the places.

Finally we got to the plateau where were lots of masai huts – it was like a city! Anthony told us again not to take pictures of people or buildings so we just tried to find birds. After some searching we found a couple of Red-collared Widowbirds and then finally a single Jackson’s Widowbird too. These birds were quite far but some pictures were got and secretly we could get some huts to the background.

While we were driving again masai-children were waving to us. They were shepherding goats and I think youngest were maybe 4 years old. Soon we had to turn back and after we had seen a Speke’s Weaver and an Eastern Double-collared Sunbird, the next bird was a huge Martial Eagle that was soaring on the sky.

Then we stopped to a hillside where on dense vegetation we saw some Bar-throated and Brown-headed Apalis, an African Hill Babbler and a Tacazze Sunbird.

Once we were on the view watching place again, we met our second half of the group and saw now 7 distant Black Rhinos but there was no time to discuss as we were in a hurry to get out from the National Park. We had paid to stay in the park for 2 days and the time was getting full.

Then we had a long drive to Karatu where we parked to really comfortable Villa Lodge. Our cottages were really nice and in the evening we had some time to watch birds from our terrace. The bst bird we saw was a Black Sparrowhawk. In the evening everyone was very tired and it seemed that some of us clearly had covid. Anyway we still tried to listen to nightjars on the garden but without luck.

Some were too tired and maybe sick to join the log which was long as we had two groups observations that were very different. There would have been some lifer on the crater too but I think I had made the right choice.

On the 13th of February we were in the same groups again but a couple of us had to stay in the lodge as they felt themselves sick. We drove to Lake Manyara National Park and we knew that the lake had been flooding so there weren’t many shorebirds around and also several roads were not driveable.

So once we were through the gate, we concentrated to forest-birds. It started very well as we soon found a couple of Southern Ground Hornbills that were perched on a dead tree quite far. But soon we got closer views of a Hamerkop, Silvery-cheekd Hornbills, White-headed Barbet couple, a Yellow-bellied Greenbul and a Crowned Hornbill. Then we saw an African Pygmy Kingfisher flying across the road and then we found a perched Crowned Eagle. And soon we found 4 Broad-billed Rollers which was again a bird that I had missed earlier. Then we got an unexpected tick when Anthony showed us a Collared Palm Thrush and then we still found a colorful Orange-breasted Bushshrike – we were really having a good time again!

It went well later too as with the tape we found Rufous Chatterers and on one tree we found a Gabar Goshawk eating a prey. Also a Fan-tailed Widowbird was seen and then we saw the first close by Elephants.

We did a short walking stop in one picnic-place and just before the stop we saw a Red-and-yellow Barbet which was luckily seen briefly on the picnic-area too. We also saw a couple of Yellow-spotted Bush Sparrows, a couple of African Hawk-Eagles were soaring on the sky but on the lake, that was quite far, we saw no birds at all. And soon we were driving again.

With help of the tape we found our next target which was a Purple-crested Turaco. It was quite far but was showing pretty well after all. It was one more amazing turaco to our list!

We were already driving quite fast back when Anthony found a flock of Crested Guineafowls feeding on the shadows under some vegetation. It was one more dream-bird that I had hoped to see.

Pretty soon we were back at the lodge where we ate well. In the afternoon only 5 of us were participating the trip. Some felt sick and tired and the garden was also a great place to try to see some soaring raptors.

We drove a short distance along the road and then stopped a couple of times just along the road in acacias and plantations. But once again all birds were new. We saw Black-crowned Tchagras, Holub’s Golden and Golden-backed Weavers, Southern Red and Black Bishops, a Bare-eyed Thrush, a D’Arnaud’s Barbet, African Paradise Flycatchers, Pale White-eyes, a couple of Violet-backed Starlings and so on. I finally got pictures of an Augur Buzzard and saw one familiar trip-tick – a Common Whitethroat. Other common Finnish summer-birds that we had seen had been numerous Barn Swallows, House Martins, Common Swifts, Northern Wheatears, a couple of Whinchats, Red-backed Shrikes, Blackcaps, Willow Warblers and Spotted Flycatchers, a couple of Yellow Wagtails and a single Osprey. I had really thought that we could see more Finnish migrants.

In the evening we had dinner (even though I wasn’t hungry at all) and then log again.

On the 14th of February after breakfast we were on the way to Ngorongoro highlands again but different side of the mountain. The first stop was made to twitch a Red-faced Cisticola which was found already while we were still moving. On the same place we saw Yellow-bellied Waxbills, a Green-headed Sunbird and a Grey-capped Warbler.

It had been raining at night so ground, especially the road was very muddy. Soon our boots had thick mud-layers, so it was quite slippery to walk. We continued a little bit higher to Elephant Cave trail where we met our local guide Emmanuel and an armed guide who were going to join us. They had already checked that Elephants and Cape Buffaloes had moved higher and weren’t on the track.

Soon we were walking along a curvy and slippery path in a mountain forest. Emmanuel knew the calls very well too so soon we started to find new birds. We found a couple of White-tailed Blue Flycatchers, a singing Red-capped Robin Chat, with Mika we saw briefly a Lemon Dove in flight and soon we heard a couple of Schalow’s Turacos which we also manged to see briefly again. Also Mbulu White-eyes and a Common Cuckoo were seen.

After a quite long walk we found a couple of Purple-throated Cuckooshrikes and immediately after them also an Orange-breasted Bushshrike. Also some Abyssinian Crimsonwings, an Amethyst Sunbird and a couple of African Paradise Flycatchers were seen. And when we were on the furthermost point just about to turn back, we found a Sharpe’s Starling that was visiting a nest-hole.

We still decided to get down to a small river but then climbed back up along a different, less slippery, path and started walking back. Birds were quiet as morning was over. So we were pretty soon back in the parking place. The best bird we saw on the way back was a Grey Cuckooshrike.

We still had lunch in the lodge and then we packed our cars and started a longer drive to Tarangire. And again we soon found out that birds had changed completely!

Tarangire

The first lifer was a Red-necked Francolin but also several Yellow-collared Lovebirds were seen here and Mika got his World-tick number 5000! At the gate we walked a little and saw White-browed Sparrow-Weavers, Northern Red-billed Hornbills and Ashy Starlings. And when we were driving again we soon saw the first Yellow-necked Spurfowls.

We also saw some mammals and got pictures of Common Warthogs, Common Dwarf Mongooses, Elephants and Ostriches – oh the last one is claimed to be a bird… In nice evening light it was good to get pictures of spurfowls, hornbills, Northern White-crowned Shrikes, a Pygmy Falcon, a Fork-tailed Drongo and a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater.

Our accommodation was an amazing Safari Lodge which had a terrace with a view to river and savanna. In the evening we celebrated Mika’s 5000th tick with champagne and enjoyed the view and some birds. A Greenshank was heard as a trip-tick and we also saw Mottled Spinetails and when it was almost dark some of us saw a Freckled Nightjar flying over very close. And while we were having a log, an African Scops Owl started to call nearby.

On the 15th of February after a night in a tent we walked to have breakfast when the sun was rising. Then we got pictures of an African Scops Owl that was sleeping in the closest tree next to the terrace. I managed to find a Black-throated Weaver and get some pictures of White-headed, Red-billed Buffalo and Rufous-tailed Weavers before we left by cars to the park again.

We photographed a nice couple of Wahlberg’s Eagles, Giraffes, Banded Mongooses, Crested Francolins and so on before we found the first lifer which was a flock of funny Green Wood Hoopoes. Then we found some Red-necked Spurfowls, White-bellied Bustards, and so on before the next lifer which was a fruit-eating Red-bellied Parrot.

We got good pictures of Magpie Shrikes, Lilac-breasted Rollers, White-bellied Go-away-birds and a Nubian Woodpecker and then suddenly we found a perched Greater Honeyguide. Then a Knob-billed Duck that was perched on a tree-top. In a shore of a pool nearby we saw a couple of Black-faced Sandgrouses and then the male Knob-billed duck landed to the pool to chase females. There were also White-faced Whistling Ducks, Egyptian Geese and then after some more driving there was another duck on the tree-top – a Spur-winged Goose. And finally I managed to see a Mosque Swallow so well that I could take a lifer.

A short stop in a picnic-place produced pictures of Superb Starlings and from the view watching place we saw a couple of Water Thick-knees along the river. And when we were on the move again, we found a perched Martial Eagle and in the same time there was a big Monitor going to swim to a pool.

Of course we had to take pictures of huge baobab trees too and check every single branch if there was a Leopard. But only mammals we got good pictures were Zebras and Elephants which were now seen quite a lot. The next bird-lifer was a Senegal Lapwing and soon we found another Verreaux’s Eagle Owl which was calling on a branch a little bit too far. There was also a female on the same tree but hiding behind all branches.

The next new bird was a Buff-crested Bustard which came too close to fit to the pictures. We also saw a dark morph Gabar Goshawk. Also both Great Spotted and Levaillant’s Cuckoo were seen briefly.

We drove back to the lodge to have lunch and then had some time to photograph tame birds in the lodge-area. A beautiful Red-headed Weaver was building its nest next to the swimming pool. It was amazing red bird! I also got pictures of Superb Starlings, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleus, Yellow-collared Lovebirds, an African Hawk-Eagle that was soaring close to the view-watching place, a Beautiful Sunbird, Von der Decken’s Hornbills, buffalo weavers, Ashy Starlings, Slate-colored Boubous, Yellow-breasted Apalises and also Unstriped Ground Squirrels.

It seemed that we had seen so many birds already that new lifers were not so easy anymore. So in the afternoon we had more time to photograph and it was good to get nice pictures of Secretarybird. We also saw Two-banded Coursers, Senegal Lapwings and several gazelles and so on before we found the first targeted lifer – a flock of Northern Pied Babblers and almost right away after them we found a couple of Pale Flycatchers. We also got pictures of a Red-billed Oxpecker cleaning Impalas ears and also African Grey Hornbill showed very well.

We also got pictures of a Yellow-billed Stork, Yellow-necked Spurfowls, Black-faced Sandgrouses and Blue-capped Cordon-bleus. In the evening we were in the lodge early enough to get more pictures of birds there. And then it was time to eat and have the log again.

On the 16th of February we were out a little bit earlier as we wanted to get to bustard-areas as early as possible. It had been raining at night so roads were very muddy and soon it was clear that we couldn’t drive any further than on the previous day. But already on the way we could see that bustards were very active as we saw several White-bellied Bustards flying around.

Soon we found the first Buff-crested Bustard too and also a Black-bellied Bustard that we first hoped to be a Hartlaub’s Bustard but no. But then in the same place we saw a distant bustard in flight and it was much paler – it was a Hartlaub’s Bustard! We also saw a Pallid Harrier, a Knob-billed Goose, Yellow-necked Spurfowls, a Pangani Longclaw and other familiar birds and mammals. We got really good pictures of Hyenas as a couple of them were cooling in a small water-pool.

Red-and-yellow Barbet couple was mating, Yellow-billed Oxpeckers were climbing on Giraffes neck, Cavendish’s Dik-dik was waving its nose while watching at us, Red-bellied Parrot was eating fruits, Jacobine Cuckoo flew over us, a turtle was running over the road and Banded Mongooses were wrestling on the track. So it was just a basic morning in savanna…

It was also nice to get better pictures of a D’arnaud’s Barbet, a Meyer’s Parrot and a flying Bateleur. Then on one dead tree we saw a couple of Southern Ground Hornbills which was also nice to get photographed. Also Ostriches were showing well and we also saw a Striped Kingfisher, Mottled Spinetails and briefly a couple of Hildebrandt’s Spurfowls.

On the 17th of February we woke up a little bit earlier and after breakfast we were soon driving north from Arusha. It was surprisingly long drive but on the way we saw a Lizard Buzzard on the wire and several flocks of White-fronted Bee-eaters.

Finally we reached the lark-plains about at 9 a.m. and Anthony called to a masai who was working with endangered and endemic Beesley’s Lark. Soon we saw this man standing in the middle of the plains and started driving slowly towards him. He had been searching for these larks from 7 a.m. and had just found the birds! And once we got out, we soon saw 2 Beesley’s Larks! And in short walk on the area, we saw altogether 5 of these birds that is known only in this area in the whole World! On last count a couple of years ago only 23 birds had been found! This plateau has almost every year so hard winds that the whole vegetation flies with the wind and destroys many nests of birds.

We managed to get pretty good pictures of Beesley’s Larks and after that we found also Fischer’s Sparrow-Larks, Red-capped Larks and Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouses and then on another stop we found a couple of Athi Short-toed Larks and a single Short-tailed Lark. Also Northern and Isabelline Wheatears were seen and a couple of Temminck’s Coursers.

Then we continued to acacia area where we found a couple of Pygmy Batises, a Grey Wren Warbler, a Red-and-yellow Barbet and a small flock of White-headed Mousebirds. In this area we also met the first angry local people who probably wanted to get some money from us. They said that we were on their land, but for sure we weren’t. And once we were driving again we found a Kori Bustard that decided to fly very close to us and it was nice to see and photograph this heaviest flying bird of the World in flight.

Soon we found a female Common Rock Thrush and then the last stop was made in another acacia area where we found some Tiny Cisticolas and Foxy Larks, a Straw-tailed Whydah, a Northern Crombec, a couple of very active Scarlet-chested Sunbirds and then the last lifer of the trip was a Southern Grosbeak-Canary which I couldn’t photograph as my battery died. It was the first time I didn’t have extra-battery with me.

On the way back we still stopped to tick one more cisticola but luckily we stayed critical and identified the bird as a Winding Cisticola instead of something else.

Finally we were back in Korona Villa where we had excellent pizza and them it was time to say thank you to Anthony as he was leaving. We had collected tips to him and also to drivers and gave them after we all had eaten. Then we did all the packing and still had almost whole log before we had to leave to Arusha airport with our drivers.

Luckily there were no covid-tests at the airport as we really didn’t want to stay in Tanzania in quarantine. A couple of week old PCR-test papers were only asked.

Our first flight was to Dar Er Salaam where were no tests either. We had some time to do some shopping even though we had to check-in our luggage again. Then the next long flight was to Qatar Doha. I managed to sleep for some time and then in Doha we had again some hours to wait. Last flight was long and I slept almost whole time. Then we landed to snowy Helsinki-Vantaa airport.

While we were waiting for our luggage also Peking flights luggage were on the same belt. There were Finnish women icehockey team and also some skiers, for example Iivo Niskanen so there were many Olympic medals hanging on the necks. We tried to stay as far as possible from these sport-heroes as we probably still had covid.

Finally it was time to say thanks and goodbyes to our group. My father was picking me up but as I thought that I might have covid too, I just gave him the souvenirs and took my car and started driving towards Parikkala. My father had to take a train back to Kirkkonummi. I was at home pretty early and as it was Saturday I had good time to relax.

But during the weekend I felt myself sick and it wasn’t a surprise that homemade covid-test gave positive results. And on Monday I got positive also from real test. So I still stayed away from work for 4 days.

Our trip had been amazing! Our group had seen 474 species of birds. I had missed 6 species that had been seen only from other car or then by one or two people and then I had of course missed some species that had been seen only in Ngorongoro crater. So I had seen 459 species which 356 had been lifers! There are amazing numbers of birds in Africa! We had seen amazing mammals and taken too many pictures on the trip too! I think this was not my last trip to Africa! Thanks to our Tanzania Birding and Beyond Safaris company and our guide Anthony, drivers and other helpers and of course to our group, especially to Jyrki.

For the full Trip Report, see Northern Tanzania 7th to 17th of February 2022, by Mr Janne Aalto (Sweden).

After a 7am breakfast we were met by Vincent – one of the regular Tanzania Birding driver/guides for a morning doing some local birding nearby for a suite of dry country birds that we’d be unlikely to find elsewhere on the tour. There is presumably something different about the habitat out along the Tanzanite Road past Mererani and on to Shambari that provides the right conditions. It was a dry, sunny and hot day (hopefully all over Northern Tanzania to dry the roads out!) and it turned into a very pleasant first morning’s birding. We found a few of the special birds such as Pink-breasted Lark, Rosy-patched Bush-shrike, Red-fronted Prinia, Southern Grosbeak-Canary, and Black-throated Barbet – the barbet being a first for the tour. The Grey Wren-Warblers were calling and we called back, but they wouldn’t show. There were plenty of other more widespread birds to keep our interest for a session of a little over three hours before it got too hot and lunch beckoned. I managed to find the same track I’d had success on in November 2018 and apart from the “specials” we came across plenty of Blue-naped Mousebirds, Green-winged Pytilias, Pin-tailed Whydah and its host Red-billed Firefinch, Cinnamon-breasted Bunting, Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird, Southern Red Bishop, European Bee-eaters, Plain Martins, migrant Sedge Warblers and more. Some of the above were found along the flooded Shambari area where a lot of disturbance from locals living on the water’s edge meant no water-birds.

After a lunch at KIA Lodge, we took a bit of time off in the heat of the day and reconvened at 4pm for some time birding the grounds of our lodge and familiarizing ourselves with some of the common species. The expected “default” sunbirds were present – Variable was common and Collared less so, with a couple of Scarlet-chested too. Mixed groups of Blue-naped and Speckled Mousebirds popped up regularly. After a bit of searching I managed to locate the Spotted Eagle-Owl in exactly the same tree as it was 15 months ago. It flew, but was relocated and gave some lovely full-frame scope views – definitely the bird of the afternoon! Wandering up the drive to the gate produced a fine little group of Violet-backed Starlings. We called it a day at about 6.15pm, and met for bird list and supper at 7.15pm and packed ready for the flight to Mwanza and Lake Victoria tomorrow morning.

After breakfast we transferred back to Kilimanjaro Airport at 8.15am to fly to the west of Tanzania and land by the shores of Lake Victoria at Mwanza. The flight was on time at 10.20am and arrived into Mwanza at about 11.30am, where our driver/guide Roger was waiting for us. Roger sped us on the 2.5 hour journey to Speke’s Bay Lodge, situated right on the shores of the lake, arriving at about 2.15pm. A quick check-in and lunch and we were ready to spend the rest of the afternoon birding in the extensive and easily

watched grounds on the edge of the immense Lake Victoria. By late afternoon the thunder rumbled and storm clouds gathered, but didn’t impinge on our birding too much at all – the rain being very sporadic and light. We had a very productive session where a good number of the special birds not found elsewhere on our tour were notched up The water levels of the lake were very high and we were once again suffering from the odd “too much water for water-birds” syndrome. However, other species were on good form. All of the hoped-for weavers were very much in full swing, building nests and showing well; Northern Brown-throated, Yellow-backed and Slender-billed along with the more widespread Village Weavers – all giving Bill doing his E-birding problems with ever-changing names.

The emergent vegetation of papyrus, reed and sedge held both species of Cormorants, many Pied Kingfishers, a few Striated Herons, Malachite Kingfisher and passing Hadada and Sacred Ibis plus first Hamerkops. I was pleased to call out the scarce Blue-headed Coucal having only seen it here on a handful of occasions before. Inland, the open park-like grassy acacia savanna produced plenty of interest. Swamp Flycatcher, scoped Red-chested Sunbird, Black-headed Gonoleks in their bright scarlet and black very evident doing their duetting songs, Green-winged Pytilias, Blue-capped Cordonbleus and Bronze Mannikins, Grey-headed Kingfisher and some Yellow-winged Bats when the barman and general Mr. Fixit of the lodge took us out to show us four lovely Three-banded (Heuglin’s) Coursers.

The rain clouds persisted after dark, but by the time we’d finished a very good evening meal the rain had ceased.

A 6.30am breakfast this morning allowed us a good 4-5 hours birding in the extensive grounds of Speke Bay Lodge before a midday lunch. The weather was OK – dry but not too hot – remaining so for much of the day. This is always a potentially exciting area where new and unexpected species may pop up and this morning produced my first ever Zebra Waxbill on this tour. Apart from that we managed to find a good selection of the special birds to be found here along the shores of the largest expanse of water in Africa. As expected, there were sadly few water-birds as the water levels were too high. However we were all amazed at the density of Pied Kingfishers over the water and in the emergent vegetation; well in excess of 50, possibly 100 birds. Weavers were even more abundant. All the usual species including Golden-backed (Jackson’s) were dashing to and fro, feeding and nest-building. Just before taking a mid-morning break for coffee back at the lodge, we managed to find a lovely Square-tailed Nightjar in one of the usual shady spots and gain some marvelous close looks. With all the nesting weavers it was no surprise to find both Klaas and Dideric Cuckoos present waiting their chance to lay their eggs. Red-chested Cuckoos had already successfully bred as we found a fledged

juvenile close to the lodge. The Usambiro type of D’Arnaud’s Barbet was a big hit as it sat with a large yellow berry in its bill. Palearctic migrants that need to start heading north were Eurasian Reed, Willow and Eastern Olivaceous Warblers.

After lunch we had to leave this idyllic spot and set off the short distance to the entrance gate of the Serengeti National Park. The journey of 70 miles or so was all the way through the Western Corridor of the Park – a glorious area of open grassland acacia savanna full of game. We had to speed along to reach our tented camp, albeit much later than intended at 7pm due to finding so much good birding along the way. We first checked the Whistling Thorn Acacia – a special habitat for the highly localised Karamoja Apalis. It took a lot of trying along the way, but eventually we struck lucky and gained some great looks at a couple of birds. The other target was to check out the riverine forest fringe of the Grumeti River to look for Eastern Plantain-eater, which we found and saw well after trying our third spot on the route. In between were many other good birds that we made short stops for – and others that Roger and I knew to be commonplace that we had to drive by. In this way we saw a trio of lovely Black Coucals, first Ruppell’s Starlings, bright Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, Bare-faced Go-Awaybirds, Double-banded Coursers, a pair of White-bellied Bustards, several Pin-tailed and single Steel-blue Whydahs plus a lone Village Indigobird. Flappet Larks performed their buzzing wing-clapping flight displays. Raptors included first Long-crested Eagle, Bateleur and Dark Chanting Goshawk. I was especially pleased to find the recently split Tanzanian Red-billed Hornbill – as usual, thanks to our driver Roger’s eagle-eyes.

Then there was all the big game! The apparently resident population of Wildebeest was seen along with masses of Common Zebra and Impala. Smaller numbers of Giraffe were driven by on the understanding that we’d have plenty of time tomorrow and in future days to spend time watching these and the distant Cape Buffalo on the tall grass plains where birds such as Secretarybird, bustards and small groups of African Elephants were passed by.

After arriving at Kati-Kati Tented Camp there was just enough time to get the luggage to our tents, eat supper, do the bird list and fall into bed.

The Serengeti is a vast preserve. At 5,675 square miles, it is larger than the entire state of Connecticut (or 4 times the size of Kent if you are from UK!). With a further 3,200 sq. miles protected in the surrounding Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the total is as large as Vermont or New Hampshire (or larger than Wales!). While other areas may hold the bulk of the famous Wildebeest herds at this time of year, there are many other important habitats with different and special birds and wildlife to be found. Most importantly, this is the best area for finding Leopards.

We set out, sadly minus Bill who was under the weather, at about 8am. We decided that, as it was a long mucky drive to the camp it would be better to take a picnic with us and stay out for as long a day as we wanted. This worked out well, as much of the day was lovely and sunny but huge thunderclouds gathered in mid-afternoon. So, just as we might be setting out for an afternoon game drive it poured with rain and we were nearly back at the Tented Camp.

We concentrated on areas in the centre of the Serengeti known as Seronera, leaving it much up to driver Roger to work out best routes. We had plenty of time to stop for birds and quickly began compiling quite a list. We passed clusters of kopjes (pronounced “copies”) – large isolated, weather-smoothed and rounded lumps of granite, some the size of large houses, interrupting the vast flatness of the plains. We had super views of perched Croaking and Zitting Cisticolas side-by-side in the grassy expanses where small groups of African Elephants grazed. Bushes held Magpie Shrikes, a lone Egyptian Goose sat atop a huge and high rock in one of the kopjes. Oodles of Flappet Larks performed their curious wing-clapping displays, plus a variety of weavers – White-headed Buffalos and Rufous-tailed in particular.

Early on we missed a first possible Leopard that had just come down from a tree. We motored on enjoying watching the birds and stopped by one of the Hippo pools with masses of these gargantuan beasts wallowing, some with Common Sandpiper or Black Crake using their backs as stepping stones. On the shores were shorebirds/waders such a Wood and Marsh Sandpipers, Three-banded Plovers and so on. Engrossed in these we were oblivious of a Lioness sauntering down the road towards us until another landcruiser called across to us. Very embarrassing! The Lion put on a good show, wandering over to another female previously hidden in the grass, where they greeted one another, then both wandered back to a small stream, drank and eventually walked into tall grass – lost forever.

We arrived at the Seronera Visitor Centre by midday and took the chance for a walk around the interesting Kopjes there with the Wildebeest migration timeline explained. This took us to lunch time where we ate in close company of the Rock Hyraxes, Grey-capped Social Weavers, Kenya Rufous Sparrows, D’Arnaud’s Barbets and Speckle-fronted Weavers all looking for scraps and crumbs from our picnic.

After lunch driver Roger whisked back down the road close to the airstrip where the grapevine told him there was a Leopard to be seen. In fact, on arrival there were two to be seen – a first for me in all my 36 visits. We reckoned it was a male and female courting and staying together for the few days they mate before going off to live their solitary lives again. It was a splendid sight to see these two gorgeous animals close together on what looked like very uncomfortable branches up a quite small tree – their legs and tails

dangling below them. Finishing up here we did a further gentle circuit of the side tracks up and down the little waterways and lines of Yellowbark Acacias. Another phenomenal gathering of Hippopotami was watched for a good while. At least 75 were crammed together in a foetid river, their antics of splashing, giving their huge yawning warning signs, guffawing and rubbing along together was fascinating. We also wanted to find Nile Crocodiles this afternoon as it was our best/only chance and I’d seen several whoppers in the area with the other group last week. We did well again, finding 9 in total including 2 at least of gargantuan proportions. With them by their muddy pools were first delicate Wire-tailed Swallows and Spur-winged Plovers.

We’d planned to return to the Kati-Kati Tented Camp by about 5pm, but thunderclouds gathered and threatened imminent rain, so we started making tracks for home a little earlier. With time to stop for birds we had several last good short sessions attracting birds in with owl call. Chinspot Batis, Brubru, Beautiful Sunbird, Purple Grenadiers, Red-faced Crombecs and more all obliged, close to where bright little specialised brood parasites – Steel Blue Whydah and Village Indigobird hung out looking for unsuspecting victims. We passed a close Secretarybird, several hunting Montagu’s Harriers, a lovely lone Eurasian (African) Hoopoe, a fine pair of Rufous-crowned Rollers (much scarcer than the other species of rollers here), our first woodpeckers of the trip – Nubian and Mountain Grey and kicked up small groups of roadside Fischer’s Sparrowlarks. Further very close roadside Giraffes were watched eating acacia leaves, twigs and the pin-sharp thorns while being carefully “groomed” by attendant Red-billed Oxpeckers.

We set off at 7.45am eastwards towards Naabi Gate where the National Park ends and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) begins. It had rained heavily for a short while overnight, but was pleasantly bright, dry and sunny today. We had all morning for the journey so had plenty of time to wander and stop wherever we wished. I left driver Roger to decide the route and he took us via some tracks to the south of the main exit road all of which produced a really memorable and exciting morning. First off we encountered a herd of 40 or more African Elephants and watched as they slowly munched their deliberate way through the grassy savanna. There were large bulls on the periphery and plenty of mothers with all ages of calves, some looking almost newborn. The plains they wandered held the usual abundance of cisticolas (including Desert Cisticola) plus occasional Greater Kestrels, single Grey Kestrel, Montagu’s and first Pallid Harriers, plus pairs of Black-faced Sandgrouse and Coqui Francolins on the track. It was interesting to find a juvenile Great Spotted Cuckoo along the way as most are considered migrants rather than breeding here. Little Sparrowhawk was an unusual find and a Striped Kingfisher on a small isolated dead tree in the middle of nowhere allowed very close scrutiny. Roger’s incredible driving skills across this tricky terrain where a fuel lorry was passed – stuck in the mud since yesterday – was equaled by his

ability to pick out birds as we drove along. Especially impressive was his spotting of a distant Whinchat as he negotiated the ruts and mud.

By late morning we had reconnected with the main exit road after a long drive over tracks that varied from smooth, dry and dusty to slick, slippery and sliding in deep water and muddy ruts. Birds of interest included a pair of Cape Crows – probably the only ones we’ll see on the tour – plus a Black-headed Heron swallowing a dead rat in an almost identical observation to one made with the previous tour! There was very little game out there apart from the Elephants, so it was a delightful surprise to reach the main road and find a super group of 5 large, fat and contented Lionesses all sat on top of a classic isolated kopje. I’d never seen such a “picture book” scene. We watched these for a while, pondering what they might be doing and whether they were part of a larger pride. Then, turning to look in the opposite there were another three similarly posed on another kopje several hundred yards away. We continued on our way and as we neared Naabi, as the plains became more obviously “short grass” there was a sudden and dramatic presence of game animals. A virtual wall of black and white stripes presented itself as we came upon an immense, dense gathering of Common Zebras. No attempt was made to count them, but there were many thousands stretching over a huge distance. Beyond them we could discern a dark blur of Wildebeest in an arc of 120 degrees or more – again uncountable thousands disappearing over the vast, flat horizon. As icing on the cake, here too was another lone Lioness looking very intently at the Zebra, hunkered down and ready to try her luck at a chase. The Zebra however, detected her and kept a safe distance and a watchful eye. But even the keen eyes of Zebra could not have seen our final Lion of the day – a large male tucked right under a tiny bush, so well hidden you could have stumble on him without noticing until it was too late.

We arrived at Naabi Hill by 1pm, checked out of the National Park, had our picnic and took a walk on the circular trail up the little hill. There weren’t many birds except for a lovely loose gathering of Lesser Kestrels. But it allowed us to get a full panoramic view across huge extents of the Serengeti to see where we’d come from, where we were going next and how far the Wildebeest had spread.

Tracks were dry enough to be able to take the most direct route, turning south to Ndutu Lodge across further flat, short grass plains, scattered with just a few Grant’s and Thompson’s Gazelles accompanied by many White Storks. But there were a lot of LBJs – Pectoral-patch Cisticolas and Foxy Lark in particular. A more exciting find was a calling male Hartlaub’s Bustard – the first one I’d seen in Tanzania for a good few years. Nearing the Lodge and passing by the southern edge of a very full Lake Ndutu we became aware of vultures: lots of them. We eventually drove around the bottom of the lake and discovered the reason. Several Wildebeest (possibly as many as 20-25) had stupidly tried to cross the lake, got stuck and died. It seemed that every White-backed Vulture and Ruppell’s Griffon in East Africa had gathered here: 275 – 300 at least. This was a very

heartening sight after all the horrible declines in vulture numbers happening in Africa due to illegal poisoning.

Once arrived at Ndutu Lodge we checked in to our rooms, had afternoon tea and took a leisurely walk around the grounds. Playing Pearl-spotted Owlet brought in a few birds mobbing the perceived threat – including the Owlet itself. We also found another couple of adult Great Spotted Cuckoos looking interested in the large nests of Red-billed Buffalo and Rufous-tailed Weavers.

During supper the Common (Small-spotted Genet) put in a very brief and early appearance before we all took to our beds.

It was dry overnight and, although cloudy to start with, dry all day, making the driving tracks much more negotiable than last week. We set off at about 7.30am after breakfast, returning for lunch by 12.30pm on what turned out to be a very productive excursion just pottering around Lake Masek to start with, then Lake Ndutu later. We had no set agenda, thus had many good stops for birds as we motored the tracks around the edge of Masek and in the surrounding acacia forest. Our first little side trip was back to the edge of Lake Ndutu where we’d seen all the vultures as we arrived yesterday afternoon. The vultures were still there and we had a chance for another accurate count and further good looks. We reckoned at least 300 were present, with 200 or so being Ruppell’s Griffons. They were continuing their gruesome feast of Wildebeest that had foolishly wandered into the lake and got stuck and/or drowned – an annual occurrence by all accounts. Birding was good, especially with driver Roger spotting for us. Both Black and Southern Red Bishops were noted, along with other bright species such as Cardinal Quelea and Cardinal Woodpecker. While pootling about birding we were made aware of a nearby Lion so went and had a look at that. She was walking up the track, totally un-phased by the attention of several Landcruisers following along behind her! Eventually she wandered off and was relocated reclining on a very comfy looking branch in a large acacia. Tree-climbing Lions are quite scarce, so this was a particularly interesting sighting.

The edge of Lake Masek produced some good wetland birding with lots of bright, pink-flushed Yellow-billed Storks, a couple of African Spoonbills and Great White Pelicans along with Gull-billed and Whiskered Terns, Pied Avocets, Black-winged Stilts, Cape Teal, Ruffs, a single Red-knobbed Coot and two Squacco Herons among the usual herons and egrets. Further vulture sightings here added Hooded Vulture to our list.

While enjoying all this, Roger got word on the radio that Cheetahs had been located and suggested we head off to try for them. Needless to say, once we’d established that they were not many miles away, we all agreed to “give it a whirl”. Roger swiftly relocated us

to the edge of a very full Lake Ndutu, and within 20 minutes we were watching our first of these beautiful cats. They were a trio of males – presumed brothers, all looking very relaxed under a partially shaded, but quite small bush giving us all clear views from quite close range. There was only a handful of other vehicles there so they were not hassled in any way. But after a while they did all stand up and wander over about 30 yards to a patch of tall grass and flowers and disappeared inside – presumably it was cooler in there? Had they gone there to start with, nobody would have had a clue that they were present – such is serendipity!

On our return from the Cheetahs we had a bit of time to check over the water’s edge and muddy margins of the lake to good effect. Decent looks at Kittlitz’s and Chestnut-banded Plovers side-by-side were a main attraction with a supporting cast including many Ruff, a small group of Curlew Sandpipers and other odds and ends. Back to the Lodge for lunch, it was very pleasant to have a break, and a good sit down meal.

Afternoon tea at 3.30pm and out for a game drive soon after. We decided to retrace our steps and do some birding around the open woodland at Lake Masek again for a couple of hours. What started out as a hot sunny afternoon turned into thick, dark blue, all-round storm clouds and threatening rain by the time we returned to the lodge at 6pm. However, there were some good birds found by stopping and watching places where birds were coming down to drink and bathe, and by playing owlet calls – or just by quick observation usually from driver Roger – the Three-banded Courser and Eurasian Golden Oriole being a case in point. Blue-capped Cordonbleus, another Cardinal Quelea, Green-winged Pytilia, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Banded Parisoma, Red-backed Scrub-Robin and Straw-tailed Whydah were all seen quite well. Hamerkops played in puddles in the track, while we watched the masses of vultures from this morning circling high and dispersing. Bateleurs, Dark Chanting Goshawk and Augur Buzzard posed nicely. We also enjoyed watching a small group of African Elephants passing close by.

We had another good morning game drive heading out to the large swamp. It had remained dry – at least here – overnight and was cool, dry with a light cloud cover this morning, making travel pleasant. Prior to our departure Bill and I heard the deep, sonorously gruff hoot of Verreaux’s Eagle-owl by the cabins. While trying to work out which large acacia it was in, the bird obligingly flew out, landing in other large trees at the far end of the site where we couldn’t relocate it even though it was still calling. There weren’t huge numbers of game animals about and other vehicles confirmed that the nearby short-grass plains where large Wildebeest gatherings can occur, were fairly empty. This saved us the bother of looking and we concentrated our time elsewhere.

Game animals were generally few and far between. A lone bull Eland was new for us. But the birding was again quite productive. Numerous cuckoo species were seen. We were fascinated to see that quite small chicks of Grey-breasted Francolins can fly. Firsts were Abyssinian Scimitarbills and a group of White-winged Widowbirds, including 2 displaying males. A Foxy Lark (split from Fawn-coloured) gave brilliant views singing close by atop an acacia bush. Owlet calls brought in a variety of “small stuff”, much of it seen on previous days. A pair of bizarre Southern Ground Hornbills were a bit more flashy and provided entertainment as we tried to identify what each had caught and were walking along with in their bills. We decided one had a skink and the other a fledgling bird. The swamp area was tricky to drive around. Driver Roger did a magnificent job overall throughout the morning getting us around the wetter, muddier, slippery bits to the best spots. A group of 11 Collared Pratincoles on the wide sandy flats around the swamp was a good find along with the usual range of waders.

Most interest for the morning’s drive centred round a trio of great mammal sightings. We relocated yesterday’s three male Cheetahs, this time with fewer vehicles, closer looks and right out in the open. Next up was a splendid male Lion with grand bushy mane, again lazing right out in the open just feet from our vehicle – totally unconcerned and eyes closed in rest for much of the time. Finally, as requested, Roger got us back to last week’s location for Bat-eared Foxes and, sure enough, there they were again – a lovely playful group of six of these little gems.

Back at 12.30pm in time for lunch and a break until 3.30pm, we were out again by 4pm. Roger took us along the edge of Lake Ndutu for the afternoon. On leaving the lodge we got some great looks at a pair of Von Der Decken’s Hornbills and an Abyssinian Scimitarbill, while a little further down the track were a perched juvenile Martial Eagle and fleeting African Golden Oriole. Firstly we checked on the vultures still gathered feeding on the Wildebeest carcasses. The numbers had, if anything, increased. A rough count produced c.100 White-backed and 300 Ruppell’s Griffon Vultures along with at least 100 Marabou Storks. It was a phenomenal gathering and a gruesomely fascinating sight as we managed to get quite close to some of the feeding groups. Further along the edge of the lake and in the adjacent scrub we found a few extra birds of interest including Chestnut Sparrows, displaying Southern Red Bishops, Great White Pelicans, Greater Flamingos and reasonable looks at passing Whiskered and White-winged Terns – some in breeding plumage.

Back at the Lodge by 6pm it was good to find my colleague Anthony Raphael just arrived with a group, giving us a chance to catch up with each other during the evening. Luckily tonight, just after supper and just before everyone had gone towards their beds, the Common Genet showed up and put on a show for us – an enchanting little animal that we all wanted to take home as a pet!

Bill and Marsha were treated to a view of a comfortably distant Lioness outside their cabin as they went to breakfast this morning. We left Ndutu Lodge at about 7.45am on our journey east towards the famous Ngorongoro Crater finding 3 dapper Three-banded Coursers and a couple of Rufous Chatterers almost as soon as we’d set out. This visit has produced some weird weather and it was strange to be driving across the short grass plains in fog today. However it eventually cleared and we were treated to a productive drive for many miles across open short grass plains, in places full of Common Zebra, Thomson’s and Grant’s Gazelles. As we drove, we were able to appreciate the huge scale of this remarkable, intact ecosystem that we’ve been travelling through west to east for several days now. The plains produced a few good and new birds for us, though Roger’s first Ostriches were several miles away on the horizon and try as we may, it was difficult to get folks onto the tiny, aerial, buzzing, yet quite common Pectoral-patch Cisticolas. Closer at hand were plenty of Capped and a lone Isabelline Wheatear. Red-capped Larks appeared on cue. With Driver Roger’s phenomenal spotting we had good looks at both Chestnut-bellied and Yellow-throated Sandgrouse by the roadside. He also found us a couple of the rather localised Taita Fiscal Shrikes, but we all managed to spot the huge bulk of our first Kori Bustard.

We paused for photos as we joined the “main road” to and from the Serengeti, with its new arch and sign, then pressed on along the horribly corrugated route towards the archaeological site of Olduvai Gorge. As I’d hoped, we arrived early (by 10.30am) and had the place more or less to ourselves. We did an hour’s bird walk in increasingly hot and sunny conditions, then spent an hour walking through the exhibits at the state of the art museum/interpretive centre before having our picnic lunch overlooking the layered rocks of the Gorge. Thus we paid homage to our ancestors and learnt a little about early hominids starting 3.5 million years ago. A young woman filled us in on the basics of Leakey’s exploration and the development of the site as we ate lunch. The birding at Olduvai can be productive, but was fairly quiet today. Best finds were from Marsha with an African Paradise Flycatcher and Red-fronted Barbet along with Banded Parisoma.

By a little after 1pm we were on our way again, driving steadily uphill into the Crater Highlands with scattered Maasai flocks of goats, sheep and a few cattle and donkeys tended mostly by small children. But even up here there was still an abundance of wild game animals with groups of Wildebeest, Zebra, Giraffes and gazelles happily sharing the habitat with the domestic livestock. At the Crater Descent Road by 1.45pm, we had plenty of time to slowly work our way down into the Crater and around the tracks to the far side where our Lodge was placed. From the top of the Descent Road and working our way slowly down, we saw pretty much all of the target birds I’d hoped for. Hildebrandt’s Francolins showed briefly. Dusky Turtle-doves, Streaky Seedeaters and

Southern Citrils were commonplace and Northern Fiscals regularly seen. A small group of Waller’s Starlings and single Long-billed Pipit were unexpected bonuses. The recently split Abyssinian Wheatear showed well at the start of the descent. Yellow Bishops and Northern Anteater-Chats were abundant and obvious. The brilliant yellow and black of the Bishops and the noisy posturing antics of the Chats particularly memorable. But Boy! What a stunning look at the Wailing Cisticola. Hard to call out at first we got lucky a long way down the road with glorious views of this special little bird. Once on the Crater floor we took a track through the centre of the crater floor passing the massively enlarged Magadi soda lake with only a few Greater Flamingos remaining plus a good selection of ducks, ibises and shorebirds plus a first spectacular Grey Crowned Crane and 3 Black-winged Lapwings. Driver Roger spotted a superb Rosy-throated Longclaw for us right by the side of the track. The resident masses of Wildebeest, gazelles and zebras were, as always, very confiding and offering the best photo opportunities of the trip. Our first Hyenas of the tour were less photogenic as they slouched and lounged in the open. The tracks down in the crater had, if anything, deteriorated since last week, presumably because of continued rain. We got wind of a Black Rhino and went briefly in that direction, finding that the road was closed, but the Rhino distantly in view. We hope for a closer one tomorrow, but at least we’ve glimpsed this mythical, rare beast. Everything seemed perfectly timed, as we’d just finished up with the Rhino, turned around to head up the rim to the Sopa Lodge when the ever-increasing and nearing black thunder clouds turned into a fairly torrential downpour. We battened down the hatches and Roger did yet another magnificent job of driving us safely through some truly nasty, slippery, muddy tracks to the exit gate.

We arrived at the lodge by about 5.45pm. The lodge itself perched on the rim of the immense caldera of Ngorongoro afforded us fine views at dusk after the storms had cleared again. The space, size and comforts of the lodge seemed much appreciated as was the good supper.

We had a 7am breakfast and departed Kati-Kati Tented Camp with all our bags packed at about 8am. We had a couple of hours of game-drive before needing to be at the airstrip to check in for our 11am flight back to the domestic airport in Arusha. The hope was, of course, that some Lions might do the decent thing and give us a last minute show – but they didn’t. Roger of course was trying his best and drove us around every likely spot within striking distance, but again, nobody was having any luck. We did see some very good action from numerous Hippos including one large individual walking out in full view and many others in a tight gathering immersed in their foetid pool. The usual birds showed – bustards, harriers, eagles and cisticolas and we (aka Roger) also did the good deed for the day in pulling out of the mud a deeply embedded landcruiser. Before we knew it, time was up and we were at the Seronera airstrip awaiting our flight. The flight was a good one in that it was on time, in a larger than usual twin-engine plane with plenty of space for my overweight bags and it went directly to Arusha without pick-ups along the way.

At Arusha we were met by a driver and Anthony Raphael’s charming 15 year-old daughter Stella who transferred us to “Cultural Heritage” for a good final lunch. With Margaret and Lynda’s flight out at 6.10pm there wasn’t a huge amount of time to do “Cultural Heritage” much justice with its masses of little boutiques offering all sorts of things to buy: everything from small inexpensive items to grand works of art and carvings. The fine gallery of art works and Africana cultural and tribal exhibits was given a quick look. There is some exquisite stuff there that was worthy of a much longer time to appreciate. We left at 2.30pm to transfer back directly to the International Airport for Margaret and Lynda, arriving at about 3.40pm. After saying our goodbyes to them we returned to the KIA Lodge, where Celia and Stuart had a day room to allow for a rest, wash, change and re-pack for their return journey home on KLM this evening. I remained in Tanzania at Kia Lodge to meet the next group coming in on the KLM flight that Celia and Stuart flew out on.

The pre-breakfast birding was curtailed somewhat by the presence of a very large Elephant on the lawn by the cabins, demolishing and eating small bushes. We thought of just pushing past, but decided against the idea. Main bird of interest was a group of 3 Red-fronted Parrots zipping by at speed. After breakfast we packed up and started the drive around the rim of the Crater heading out of the NCA and on to the smooth paved road for the first time in many days. We tried a bit of birding along the way, halting at likely spots and trying various calls. We saw a few things of interest but no really good close, long views despite quite pleasant sunny weather. The rains had produced a lush wall of greenery that birds very adeptly disappeared into, but we saw a few recently split Mbulu White-eyes. We made a final brief stop at the viewpoint overlooking Ngorongoro and that was the end of that section of our tour. Before we knew it we were in the town of Karatu and turning up the road to Gibb’s Farm for lunch. We arrived early enough for an hour’s stroll around the very lush flower gardens seeking out a few new species. Again, seeing anything really well eluded us, but there were Ruppell’s Robin-chats, Bronze & Amethyst Sunbirds to keep us busy.

After one of the best lunches in Tanzania we had to drag ourselves away from the idyllic and beautiful laid out ornamental gardens and coffee plantations at Gibb’s and set off for an afternoon hike. Roger was able to drive us right up to the gate where a young lady called Delma – a ranger wielding blue varnished nails and an AK47 accompanied us on our walk along with the local bird guide. Of course, with the excessive rains came a muddy trail and halfway through our walk of about 1.7 miles each way to the Elephant Caves, there was further heavy thunder and threat of more downpours. Luckily the storm skirted us and we managed to complete the hike, but again birding was difficult. Birds were seen, but not as many species as I’d expect and few seen very well. Cinnamon-chested Bee-Eaters were seen better than most, and other birds of interest included Spectacled Weavers, Brown-headed Apalis, Black Cuckooshrike, Grey-headed Nigrita, Eastern Mountain Greenbul, Black-throated Wattle-eye, Gray-capped Warbler, Black-crowned Tchagra, African Hill Babbler, Yellow-bellied Waxbills and some glimpses of the very special White-tailed Blue Flycatcher. Overhead were a pair of Mountain Buzzards and later a kettle of 16 migrating Steppe Buzzards. At the far end of our trek at the elephant cave – actually a large bare earthy slope where elephants eat mineral clays at night – we saw a new mammal in the form of a lone Bushbuck.

After our walk finished at about 5pm we transferred the very short distance to Tloma Lodge – another lovely site full of flower gardens – for our overnight stay. We got to our rooms and washed up before reconvening by the swimming pool at dusk to try for

Abyssinian Nightjar. The bird called back but wouldn’t come in, so we went to meet it. After a short bit of playback it swooped in narrowly missing Roger’s head and giving some brief but clear views in the process.

There was no need to set out particularly early from Tloma Lodge this morning as the entrance to Lake Manyara National Park was only a short drive. Thus we gathered at dawn and did a bit of birding, wandering through the gardens of coffee, vegetables and flowers to see what might be about. It was overcast and surprisingly quiet but a group of Arrow-marked Babblers showed really well. We packed up and set off at about 8.45am for the very short drive westwards, down the steep escarpment of the Rift Valley to Lake Manyara National Park where we had the option to spend as much of the remainder of the day as we chose.

Lake Manyara is a small National Park centered round a soda lake directly below some stunning Rift Valley cliffs. The drive down the Rift is always impressive, even though we’d had mist and fog earlier on the drive. Once at the entrance Roger did the paperwork while we admired the pelicans in fine breeding dress. Lake Manyara is usually a magnet for water-birds, but with excessive rains the like of which have not been experienced for 35 years, the lake is absolutely huge at the moment. This has made access to the shoreline impossible and diluted the salinity, meaning zero flamingos: all very disappointing. However, as soon as we’d started our drive into the Park we passed through miles of very impressive, tall forest fed by streams rising through the base of the Rift Valley cliffs above. This cool, shady habitat is home to massive Silvery-cheeked Hornbills and we came across half a dozen or more as soon as we got going. They gave brilliant eye-level views as we pondered how huge the tree holes have to be to accommodate these when nesting. All through this forest we tried playback for Narina Trogon and Purple-crested Turaco, but had no luck. Once out of the forest and into more open, shorter acacia with palm groves we did have better luck calling out the localised Collared Palm-Thrush in the only locale I know for it on the tour. Manyara is “Baboon-central” and there were masses of these fascinating monkeys giving many close encounters – large groups in all sorts of activities, including today splashing about in the vastly extended lake edge where dry acacia savanna used to be.

We made a couple of turns down what used to be a brilliant loop road to the wetlands, but within yards they were disappearing into deep water. Best sightings by far were a couple of distant Verreaux’s Eagles and a lovely flock of 17 Crested Guineafowl with young crossing the forest road in front of us. I only see either species once in a blue moon and was especially pleased to encounter so many Guineafowl at once and gain such lovely looks. With the lush green cover and the lake several times its normal size

the classic big game animals that might be expected were in very short supply. Best find oddly enough was a decent-sized Leopard Tortoise on the side of the road.

Despite being personally a bit disappointed in not seeing as much as I’d expect or hope for, we managed a few other nice sightings of birds in addition to those specials mentioned above. We did well for hornbills with 5 species recorded including lots of Crowned. Broad-billed Roller was a good find as you never know where one might pitch up. Other raptors included African Harrier-hawk And Long-crested Eagle. African Spoonbill was watched in very animated feeding in the lake shallows. Several first decent looks were had of Emerald-spotted Wood-Doves flushing up from the road in front of us. We enjoyed extremely close views on our picnic table of flamboyant Red-and-Yellow Barbets and more sombre, but scarcer Yellow-bellied Greenbuls. There was an all-too brief sighting of a first White-headed Barbet high in a dead tree. A flock of 40 or so Red-billed Queleas darted past, pausing just long enough for some acceptable looks at the bright males.

We exited the National Park fairly early as our route options around it were limited. I tried that horrible raucous turaco call too many times at various places where we’ve seen it before, but again no luck. Driving back up the Rift Valley on that smooth paved road we stopped to admire the view and gave in to buying some trinkets from the locals. Arriving at the very well-positioned and well-appointed Lake Manyara Serena Lodge by about 4.10pm we actually “relaxed” for a short while with tea by the pool overlooking Lake Manyara below us. The grounds can be very productive for birds, but a walk around didn’t produce much at all other than Black-backed Puffback. The day had warmed up considerably and was humid too, resulting in the typical build-up of cloud and heavy downpours just prior to going for supper at 7pm.

After further periods of rain last night it was a damp and overcast morning. We had a 6.30am breakfast and then spent an hour and a half wandering the extensive grounds of the Serena lodge not finding a great many birds. A couple of falcons nipped right past on the cliff edge of the Rift Valley and one looked to be a Peregrine, the other smaller and unidentified as views were brief. We could see down into Manyara National Park with the Baboons stirring and the storks and pelicans on the tree-tops, plus a passing White-necked Raven, but couldn’t find much close at hand other than 1-2 Yellow-bellied Greenbuls, Klaas’s Cuckoo, an Amethyst Sunbird and 2-3 Yellow-breasted Apalises towards the end of our stroll.

We packed our cases into the Landcruiser by 9.30am and headed east again, winding back down the steep Rift Valley escarpment through a badly flooded town below and then along excellent paved roads to Tarangire just an hour and a half away. We had a

short stretch of legs at the Entrance Gate and found Mottled Spinetails and our first common but endemic species – Yellow-collared Lovebirds and Ashy Starlings. Then, with roof up we did a brief game drive to our lunch stop at Tarangire Safari Lodge just a few miles inside the National Park. We found an incredibly close Nubian Woodpecker on arrival and shortly afterwards one of the local staff showed us the staked-out African Scops-owl, still roosting between tents 5-6 and allowing absurdly close looks. Soon after that he found us a lovely little roost of Epauletted Fruit Bats. Then it was time for lunch, conveniently timed when a thunderous downpour ensued. We got out for a short walk to the viewpoint after lunch and after the rain had stopped to see the Tarangire River below in an extraordinary state of flood. Never have I seen it so full and torrential – a proper white-water rafting experience rather than a lazy meandering trickle. A pair of Saddle-billed Storks stood out prominently on the river’s flood plain below where a group of 20 or more Banded Mongooses cavorted back and forth.

After a quick bit of shopping in the very nice gift shop we loaded up and set off for the Sopa Lodge deeper into Tarangire, doing a 3 hour game drive as we went along. The habitats here reflect a drier region subject to seasonal rains and drought – though it was difficult to believe it looking at the area today with everything so lush and the river so full. The Tarangire River is palm-dotted along its edges, while the thorn-bush is studded with giant Baobab trees. These are useful stores of moisture for the large Elephant herds in drier times, their massive trunks scarred through generations of gouging by the Elephant’s tusks. The Elephants seem quite dispersed at the moment, though we did get lucky with one lovely close encounter with a herd of about 40, slowly munching their way across the bush, most with small calves by their sides and passing just feet from us.

Tarangire is also exciting birding territory and we did well on our drive in this afternoon, adding quite a few new species. Best of all in terms of rarity was an African Crake – close relative of the Eurasian Corncrake. I’d never seen one on this tour before and there it was splashing in the puddles at the side of the track, preening and allowing a long close look. We did well for Francolins, adding Red-necked and Yellow-necked. We finally caught up with the usually more common Northern Red-billed Hornbill and Roger caught up with decent views of the abundant Red-billed Buffalo Weaver and, at last, a decent close look at a group of Ostriches. Both species of Go-Awaybirds popped into view at times along with numerous cuckoos. A fine group of 6 Southern Ground Hornbills showed up, White-winged Widowbirds were dotted along the way, plus several kingfisher species and 3 lovely Red-bellied Parrots – thanks as is so often the case, to driver Roger’s incredible eyes.

Once at the Sopa Lodge we checked into our rooms and had a short break before a quick wander from 5-6pm in the grounds. Meyer’s Parrot was seen, completing all possible parrot species for the trip. Red-winged Starlings gave us our first close views around the lodge buildings. At dusk by the swimming pool I chanced upon a Large

Spotted Genet up in one of the nearby trees and we all had good looks at it in the torchlight this being a first record ever for this tour. I also managed to call in the usual Freckled Nightjar – first overhead by the pool and afterwards as it sat on the lodge roof.

However, the concern that had been building up over the Coronavirus outbreak along with all the confusion, contradictory information, scaremongering and panic finally caught up with us when Anthony Raphael called to say that our KLM evening flight on 23rd March is apparently cancelled. We discussed at length and resolved to try and get in touch with KLM tomorrow to rebook – possibly having to cut the tour short.

After an early breakfast we did a little early morning birding in the grounds of the lodge. I was pleased to find several Blue-eared Glossy Starlings present, the first being one stealing food from the breakfast table! There was also a family of very dapper Mocking Cliff Chats on the cabin rooftops and a first Mariqua Sunbird. We delayed our morning game drive in order to try and find out more about KLM flights as all information coming in is conflicting. At one point Anthony at Tanzania Birding and Beyond Safaris in Arusha had been told of flight cancellations, but still nothing on the KLM website or emails to us. I tried various phone numbers for KLM in Dar, none of which worked or connected. I then spoke to KLM in Arusha who had not heard of any cancellations and finally Anthony called to say that in fact there is supposed to be a flight on 23rd and only 1-2 flights cancelled on earlier dates. Even this last seems at odds with reality as Bill went online to see that there is indeed a flight from Schipol to KIA today – one of those supposedly cancelled! Anyway, we felt slightly more sanguine – or was it brow-beaten – and decided to forget all that stress and hassle for a while and go on our game drive.

Roger managed to get us right around the circuit to Silale Swamp, navigating some deep wet and muddy tracts of the route with his usual skill and care. As yesterday, there was not a great deal of big game to be seen; Lion footprints, a few Elephants and Giraffes and a lone Bohor Reedbuck. But the birding was very good with quite a few additions to the list. Northern Pied Babblers were seen on several occasions – our last babbler required. Both Common Scimitarbill and Green Woodhoopoe showed up well – again completing just about all that can be expected of that family. Black-faced Sandgrouse were dotted all the way along the sandy track we drove. Other star birds included lovely Golden-breasted Bunting and a very close (and not too often recorded) Buff-crested Bustard. Eagles were definitely a strong and exciting feature of the morning, with no less than 6 species all seen well: Tawny, a pair of fly-by Wahlberg’s, gorgeous adult African Hawk-Eagle, iconic African Fish Eagle, a monstrous great Martial Eagle sat in a tree at almost arms-length and finally a first Brown Snake Eagle. The big mystery is why there were virtually no water-birds present at a time of abundant water? Too much wetland available – “spoilt for choice” – seems

Jacanas were seen in split-second views by some of us, a couple of Comb Duck flew over and a very nonchalant Spur-winged Goose lounged on a large tree branch over the swamp: that was the sum total of water-birds!

We were back for a latish lunch at 1.15pm and took a break thereafter until 4pm. We set out again for a gentle meander and spent a good bit of time watching the Elephant herds by the side of the track. There was also time to get those definitive Baobab photos and admire arms-length Ostriches again. A few interesting birds were seen: further Mottled Spinetails around some baobabs, but the best being a nesting group of Golden-backed (Jackson’s) Weavers and at the same spot of flooded river plain a Dwarf Bittern. I’ve only seen this species a couple of times before and we had particularly good looks at this individual. First there was a rainbow. Then some magnificent dark blue skies giving a stunning deep and intense colour backdrop to the Lilac-breasted Rollers on top of the trees. Then there was thunder and finally an absolute deluge as we returned to the lodge by 6pm. The tracks became streams of fast-flowing muddy water and the rain poured off the rooves in unbelievable torrents.

Just as we’d sort of decided to go to the end of our tour, we got together for breakfast at 7am and the uncertainty and stress levels about coronavirus rose again with a couple of received emails. Bill had one saying all US citizens should get back home “Now” not later. No specific details of whether borders might close or flights be banned, but enough to produce additional anxiety not knowing what was actually going on or imminently going to happen. I simultaneously received an email from KLM saying my flight to Glasgow from Amsterdam was cancelled and they couldn’t reschedule for me. The wording was ominous: “The local authorities of your destination have initiated entry restrictions, due to the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19). At this moment, we are unable to rebook you, because it’s still unclear when these restrictions will be lifted”. But again, no factual explanations were forthcoming. Was Glasgow airport closing in a day or two? or was KLM to stop flying there? The wording strongly suggested that either Scotland was closing its borders or Glasgow Airport was shutting down, otherwise KLM would surely be able to re-book me on a later flight. We’d no idea, but it was enough to make us all extremely worried and me wonder how I would get back to UK and Islay from Amsterdam. We also heard from Anthony that half his group from USA had urgently rescheduled to go home early and had rebooked on Turkish Airlines. With an 8am departure from the lodge there was no time to start trying to re-arrange schedules and flights, but we resolved to do so as soon as we got to Cultural Heritage in Arusha at lunchtime.

It was sadly a rather subdued drive as we made our exit from Tarangire by 10.30am. Most noteworthy was the one turn off the main road that Roger decided to make where we found a landcruiser deeply stuck in a large muddy pool that used to be the track.

With there now being virtually no tourist vehicles left in the Park due to the coronavirus scare it was great serendipity that we made the turn and were able to pull him clear.

We had all reluctantly agreed that with all the uncertainty and over-reaction to the virus scare it was becoming increasingly difficult to enjoy the trip and we just all wanted to cut our losses and get home. Thus our arrival at Cultural Heritage by about midday was not the relaxed lunch and a look around the shops and art gallery that it should have been. It turned into a panicked and frustrating attempt by us all to start the awfully stressful business of trying to reschedule and get home early – all made much worse by the poor and intermittent internet connection. Bill and Denise could only get occasional connection getting them so far through the process and then cutting out. I was “lucky” – or was I? I managed to stay online long enough to be presented with two alternatives. The first was a departure via Nairobi tomorrow at a cost of over £1,000, or the more or less same thing later today for free. With internet coming and going and prices changing on a whim each time you got online, I had to grab at the free departure today, assuming that the others would be able eventually follow with something similar. Not so! I had changed my booking and was now committed as the original booking departing on 23rd was null and void. I needed to get to the airport for a 6.30pm flight and the others needed to get to the airport to see if they could reschedule there as they couldn’t get any further with rescheduling online at Cultural Heritage. It was all a horrible mess! Roger drove us to the airport, dropping me at KIA Lodge on the way, to pick up my left bag, repack and transfer to the airport where he’d taken the others in hope that they could fix up a new flight either today or tomorrow. I arrived and went in for what I thought would be a quick check-in after which I could get out and meet the others to find out what was developing. Unfortunately, despite a “confirmed” rescheduled flight they were very unsure at check-in and kept me on hold not knowing what was going on, for way over an hour before giving me the green light to travel. By this time Bill, Marsha, Denise and Roger were gone and I’d not even had time to say goodbye – and had no idea what their plight or plans were. Unbeknown to me they had gone to our scheduled accommodation at Ngare Sero Lodge for the night.

I eventually flew after long delays, to Nairobi, connecting after 4-5 hours with an overnight KLM flight to Amsterdam. Talking to the onboard staff, they all confirmed total confusion and things changing every minute. All very disconcerting.

I arrived into Amsterdam at 6.30am where the confusion and incompetence continued. I had been given a 15 hour stop-over despite there being a 9.30am flight to Glasgow that could get me home today (assuming ferries and buses were still running). I specifically asked for my luggage to be checked through only to Amsterdam so that I might have a chance of changing to the 9.30am flight from the 9.30pm flight. I had a luggage tag saying this was the case, but the KLM agent’s computer said my luggage was tagged all the way through to Glasgow on the evening

flight. Despite the fact that they were going to charge me €145 to change the flight, I could no longer do it.

Stuck in the airport for 15 hours was fun! I tried getting messages to the group to find out what was going on at their end. Eventually messages to Anthony confirmed that they had abandoned all hope of getting out early and were back to being committed to staying the course and flying home on the still apparently confirmed evening KLM flight on the 23rd that we’d all booked in the first place.

They continued with the scheduled day in Arusha National Park. Driver roger took them on the “usual” route, first up the slopes of Mt. Meru (14,979 ft.) with thick forests of Mahogany, Fig, Cedar, and Wild Mango. Stopping at the famous Fig Tree Arch they tried for the special forest birds of this rich habitat. Hartlaub’s Turaco and the recently split Kilimanjaro White-eye were added along with a couple of new mammal species – Black-and-White Colobus Monkeys and Bush Duiker. After the forests in the morning, the circuit around the soda lake within the National Park was made. As Anthony had warned, this too was over-full with freshwater, producing a stark lack of the common and expected water-birds. However, from the notes provided, it seems they did manage to find birds of interest on the open grasslands – Lesser Swamp Warbler, Singing & Trilling Cisticolas, Steppe Eagle, African Black-headed Oriole, included.

The grounds of Ngare Sero lodge provided further interest at some point in the time spent there. The lovely little lake held the hoped-for Giant Kingfisher, African Black Duck, Mountain Wagtail, African and Taveta Golden Weavers and Grosbeak Weaver.

Meanwhile, I made it back to Glasgow late in the evening, took a taxi and stayed overnight with Roger Broad.

While I was kindly driven by Roger Broad to the ferry to Islay, arriving home in late afternoon, Roger, Denise, Bill & Marsha were setting out from Arusha this morning to Ndarakwai. They had decided not to bother with the hunt for Beesley’s Lark on the “Lark Plains”, but instead, going directly to Ndarakwai, further east towards Mt. Kilimanjaro. The fairly remote and secluded Ndarakwai Tented Lodge, on private land bordering close to Amboseli National Park in Kenya is the only place where it is possible to take a night drive on the tour. Happily, they hit the jackpot on their night-drive this evening with apparently good, close and long views of Aardvark – a species I’ve only seen 3 times

(two of them here at Ndarakwai). The unique and bizarre Spring Hares were also a big hit.

Further birds of interest while at Ndarakwai on a game drive this morning included first Spot-flanked and Brown-breasted Barbets, Ashy Flycatcher, Long-tailed Fiscal, Lesser Honeyguide, Yellow-mantled widowbird, Crimson-rumped Waxbill, Cutthroat, Black-and-White Mannikin and migrant Tree Pipit as well as further Bat-eared Foxes and a good selection of eagles.

After lunch the journey was made back to Kilimanjaro International Airport to see if the scheduled flights homeward on KLM were actually operating. They were! Apparently it was a bit of a scrum as many other people desperate to get home were trying to book onto the flight and it was of course packed to full capacity.

The onward connections to UK and USA went more or less according to plan, though with various uncertainties, small glitches and delays in some of them.

This will go down as one of the more memorable tours I’ve ever done to Tanzania, but not necessarily for all the good reasons! The country was beset by several months of exceptionally wet weather – reportedly raining on and off since October/November last year and the longest, wettest period on record for the past 35 years. This made for some very obvious differences in terms of what we saw and where we could go.

Breeding birds were generally very good – many species in full breeding plumage. Most baffling was the lack of water-birds – everywhere being waterlogged and lakes several times normal size meant, counter-intuitively, fewer wetland species – especially those specializing on saline, soda lakes which were now too “freshwater” for their own good. However a final tally of 408 bird species was, in reality, on par with many previous tours. There were some utterly baffling absences of species that I would have called virtually “guaranteed”, but then several seldom seen species filling these gaps and three species completely new to the list (Zebra Waxbill, Black-throated Barbet and African Crake) which is pretty good going after over 30 previous visits.

The exceptional rains had also created a rapid growth in lush vegetation so that some game animals became less obvious as they disappeared into tall grass. But all the major game animals such as Lions, Leopard, Cheetah, Rhino etc were seen – and some very well and doing all sorts of interesting things. Neither driver roger nor I had ever seen 2 Leopards or 2 Servals together (and Servals are only seen once in 5-6 tours at most). The sighting of Aardvark is always a very special event.

So from a wildlife aspect, it all worked out + / – OK. But it was the looming pandemic of the Coronavirus that really took the shine off everything. The news bulletins and emails with mixed messages, misinformation, scare-mongering, chaos and panic made for some very worrying and unsettling times towards the last week of the tour. This resulting in taking our focus at times off what should have been a brilliant time in a spectacular place as we tried to work out what was actually going on and what we should be doing about it. Ultimately it caused the last 3 days to disintegrate into a very regrettable mess with all of us trying to get home early and only myself managing to do it. Most galling is that, with hindsight, it was clear that staying on to the end was a perfectly workable option for us all. With proper, accurate facts and information available at the time we need not have worried and most importantly, I would have stayed knowing that not all flights to Glasgow had been cancelled and that it was possible for me to get home.

Margaret & Lynda arrived into Kilimanjaro via Addis, Ethiopia by about 12.15pm. They were transferred the short distance to the KIA Lodge and relaxed for the remainder of the day. Meanwhile Peter, Celia and Stuart returned to Schipol to fly on KLM at 10.15am direct to Kilimanjaro, arriving at 8.35pm. After the usual inconsistent immigration nonsense we got to KIA Lodge about an hour later and met up with Margaret and Lynda before getting to our beds.

After a 7am breakfast we were ready to head off with Roger, our safari driver, towards Tarangire National Park. Firstly we drove around the outskirts of Arusha along a brand new bypass road to drop off a whole big bag of goodies brought over from the UK for Anthony and his family. Then it was onward to Tarangire passing far too many police speed checks along the way. Arriving at the entrance gate it was interesting to find they had done yet another remake with new entrance buildings since my last visit 15 months ago – to my mind a waste of money that would be better spent on real conservation projects. Anyway, we were now “in the territory” with roof up and watching for game as we went the short distance to lunch at the Safari Lodge. First Impala, Waterbuck, Giraffe, Elephants and Ostriches were all met with much acclaim. After a good lunch we did a little walk in the grounds to where the staff had staked out an African Scops-Owl for me and to look at where Margaret had stayed on her previous visit. Then we continued on with a game drive taking us further into the National Park

and to our overnight accommodation at the Sopa Lodge. On the way we saw plenty more game and began a list of some of the more obvious and bright birds that “non-birders” would still enjoy looking at: Red-throated, Yellow-throated and Crested Francolins, Lilac-breasted Rollers, Von-der-Decken’s, Northern Red-billed and African Grey Hornbills, Bare-faced Go-away birds, Yellow-collared Lovebirds, Yellow-billed Storks and a closely admired young Martial Eagle.

Close to the lodge, as we were about to call it a day around 5pm, the heavens opened and a deluge of seasonal rain came down – perfect timing! We were quickly checked in to our rooms, had late afternoon tea and coffee and a bit of down-time before meeting again at 7pm. A good evening meal was enhanced with service from an ever-smiling Lilian, still hard at work despite a difficult life.

We had a 7am breakfast and afterwards went straight out for the morning, arriving back to the lodge by midday. Despite yesterday afternoon’s rain the track was passable and we managed to complete the loop round to Silale Swamp. The vegetation is quite lush and tall with all the recent rain, so finding game animals was tricky and we came across just one lone bull Elephant having a wonderful scratch against a tree after a mud bath – but this right at the end of the morning and close back to the lodge. However, the vast expanses of acacia thorn-bush studded with giant Baobab trees produced a few moments of interest. A couple of Giraffes were ever-popular as were several groups of delicate Impala and even more fragile-looking Dik-Diks. A lone Bohor Reedbuck at the swamp edge was the first of the trip along with a few Warthogs. It was fun to watch a large group of 15 or more Banded Mongooses (not mongeese!) going about their daily business at very close range.

Of course there were plenty of birds throughout and some of those that inspired closer scrutiny included a quartet of Hamerkops at their vast domed nest in a baobab above a stream, which also held a couple of nests of Red-headed Weaver (plus the birds). Other “non-birdwatcher’s birds” were a magnificent pair of Saddle-billed Storks, perched up African Fish Eagle, bright Wattled Starling in full breeding plumage complete with dangly black wattles against a yellow face, and a few Ostriches. Various coucals, cuckoos, hornbills, swallows, shrikes and masses of doves, weavers and francolins were pretty-much ever-present as were the resounding songs of Winding and Rattling Cisticolas! Silale Swamp itself was a bit disappointing, with virtually no water-birds, but lots of water:-clearly they are spoilt for choice as to where to go. However a very impressive Goliath Heron was a bonus sat atop a large dead tree. In the “Other stuff” category was a medium-sized Leopard Tortoise plodding along the side of the track.

Back by midday, we had time for a quick wash and pack of bags before a pleasant lunch al fresco by the pool. The weather had been kind to us this morning, with no rain and quite cool for a while, but it was bright and sunny now and heating up nicely. We departed Sopa Lodge by about 1.15pm and set off at a decent pace towards the exit gate, stopping only occasionally: for a spiffy Red and Yellow Barbet, when passing more Elephants and a tree full of White-backed and Lappet-faced Vultures close to where some Lions were reported hiding in the thick grass; clearly they had made a kill and the vultures were waiting to descend when they’d had their fill.

Once back on the paved road we set off westwards to Ngorongoro with just a few brief stops. First was for the Pink-backed Pelicans in the roadside Yellow-billed Stork colony by the entrance to Lake Manyara National Park. Next stop was halfway up the impressively steep slope of the Rift Valley to look down on the big expanse of Lake Manyara below – very full of water and the flamingos not evident. There were fuel stops, registering as we entered the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) and then off tarmac again as we ascended to the Crater rim. Arrival at Serena Lodge was a bit later than hoped for at about 6pm – good to get out of the bone-rattling of the last stretch of road and be able to peer directly down into the Ngorongoro Crater below us.

The Serena Lodge was a new one to me, but is ideally placed for what we want to do and (apart from giving us rooms miles away from the restaurant) seems very comfortable and put on a great Acrobat show before a good supper.

After breakfast we set off at about 7.30am to spend much of the day in the Ngorongoro Crater, which, first thing in the morning was swathed in a cover of white misty cloud below us. The steep one-way descent road took us down past a lovely immature, pale blond Tawny Eagle and a migrant Rock Thrush to the vast crater floor where a resident population of Wildebeest, Cape Buffalo, Thomson’s and Grant’s Gazelles, Common Zebra, and Eland awaited us. With the excessive rains that have occurred of late, there were some tracks that were impassable, but we managed to get around much of the usual circuit and see plenty of what we’d anticipated and hoped for. The game herds were largely concentrated in the short grass area directly after our descent and this was where some of the high concentration of predators – especially Lions and Hyenas – were gathered. It wasn’t too long before we came across a trio of young male Lions lounging about oblivious of our attentions at the side of the road. Typically they were not doing very much other than at one point getting up for a pee and slumping down right below one of the gathered vehicles that gave some

temporary shade from the mid-morning sun. We assumed they were well fed as a little further along there was a more active scene of Spotted Hyenas and larger numbers of Golden and Black-backed Jackals squabbling over the dismembered, skeletal remains of a Wildebeest. One Hyena had possession of the pelvis and some vertebrae while another paraded around with the head and neck vertebrae. Other Hyenas unsuccessfully tried to join in the bone-crunching, while the jackals were more cheeky and successful at darting in and grabbing smaller scattered titbits. All around, the large gatherings of Wildebeest, Zebra and gazelles – all with young – carried on grazing and getting on with life as normal; presumably happy knowing it hadn’t been their turn to be Lion supper last night.

Interspersed with this activity were many good bird sightings – some appealing only to me, such as the noisy Pectoral-patch Cisticolas buzzing all around us and the many Northern Anteater Chats, Fan-tailed Widowbirds and Rufous-naped Larks. But there was plenty else of more general and spectacular appeal; Grey Crowned Cranes with chicks, Pied Avocets, Black-bellied Bustard and Rosy-throated Longclaw.

Our main goal today was our only chance on the tour to see Black Rhinoceros that survive here (possibly as few as 20 or so). Much of the Crater is open, short-grass savannah and Black Rhino are mainly browsers on bushes, so it always surprises me that they come out into this open area at all. But they do and can usually be fairly easily spotted, even if at great distance, as they look like huge dark boulders in a sea of green. We got word from other vehicles that one was not too far off, so Roger did a sterling job of working his way around the slick, bumpy, muddy tracks to get us as close as legally and safely possible. Thus we found a splendid chunk of a Rhino with very long, spikey horns, a fair distance away, but clearly a splendid “graviportal” beast that looked a lot closer through the telescope.

Bird-watching continued to be interesting with sightings of huge Kori Bustards, 2-3 weird Secretarybirds and many Abdim’s Storks along the way as Roger set out to take us down to the edge of the soda lake, now a massive, much more freshwater feature requiring some careful driving to reach. Further Spotted Hyenas and a rumour of another Rhino diverted us towards one of few picnic sites in the Crater where we ended up at about 11.45am. After a leg-stretch and a chance to use the WCs we decided we may as well stay and have an early lunch before the crowds arrived (although the Crater was pleasantly quiet today). As the weather prevented us from reaching the Hippo pools it was good to find 20 or so in the freshwater lake at the picnic site. Here too we shared our lunch with some very precocious Rufous-tailed and Speke’s Weavers, Superb Starlings, Helmeted Guineafowl and a few Black Kites overhead – all looking for the proverbial free lunch. The weavers got quite lucky!

After our picnic lunch we set off again with the intention of circling the soda lake to run back through the Lerai Yellowbark Acacia forest to the Ascent Road – apparently the only way to get out of the Crater at present, with the other track options too muddy. But we noticed a gathering of safari vehicles precisely along the route we’d decided was too dodgy to try for risk of getting bogged down. So we carefully worked our way along towards them and came to a sensible stop where the track turned into a quagmire and various other vehicles were stuck. But from this point we scanned and found what the attraction had been: more Rhinos. By now the weather had turned cloudier and threatened rain. This made viewing better with none of the heat haze and shimmer associated with the morning’s Rhino sighting. Two animals side by side were closer and clearer. A bit more scanning took both myself and Roger by surprise, as here was a total of 9 Black Rhinoceros out on the grassy plains in ones and twos scattered over half a mile perhaps. An absolutely remarkable sight that neither Roger nor I had witnessed before.

We left the over-enthusiastic drivers up to their axles in mud to sort themselves out (though Roger had provided assistant to one previously). Turning around we did the long circumnavigation of the lake to exit the National Park by about 4pm. Along the way were further great finds. A few water-birds showed up including some very colourful bright pink Greater and Lesser Flamingos plus a few waders and ducks such as Blacksmith Plovers and Cape Teal. We were back in the thick of the large game herds again here and with them were the inevitable predators. Spotted Hyenas were everywhere – wandering along the road in front of us, lounging about and interacting with one another. A total of over 25 were noted during the day and at least 17 in one spot on our exit journey with one obvious Alpha Female with two almost cute cubs.

The Lerai forest provided a few last birds, with perched up Lappet-faced and Ruppell’s Griffon Vultures, before setting up the steep Ascent Road, climbing 2,000′ or so on a newly paved road to the crater rim. Arriving back by about 4.30pm gave everyone a chance to relax, take afternoon tea and coffee and sit on their verandas and view the wonderful Ngorongoro Crater below.

We left the Ngorongoro Crater this morning at 8am on our continuing journey west towards the Ndutu area of the eastern Serengeti. There was heavy mist and light drizzle as we left that I hoped might just be the cloud at 7,000′ on the Crater rim. Unfortunately, as we descended the cloud persisted above us and produced intermittent rain all morning. We passed damp-looking Maasai villages and herds of cattle, goats and sheep, increasingly mixed in with Wildebeest,

Zebra and antelopes as we neared the short grass plains. A few short stops were made as we passed these herds and smaller gatherings of roadside Giraffes before we arrived at the archaeological site of Olduvai Gorge by mid-morning.

It was pleasantly dry while at Olduvai and it was good to be there early and virtually the only visitors. We took our time, with a visit to the very recently rebuilt museum and interpretive area telling us all about the archaeology that has gone on here and the life histories of the various species of early hominids whose remains, fossils and artefacts were discovered here. I managed to get in a quick bit of birding in a much greener and lush setting than I usually find at Olduvai. Plenty of the “usual suspects” were present and correct: Green-backed Camaroptera, Chinspot Batis, Banded Parisoma, Beautiful, Scarlet-chested and Variable Sunbirds, White-browed Scrub-robin, Vitelline Masked Weaver, African Grey Flycatcher, Little Bee-eater, White-naped Raven and more. We finished our time here with a well-presented lecture from one of the staff as we overlooked the layered rocks of the gorge and pondered on the life and times of our ancestors, the early hominids.

We continued on westwards through the NCA by about 11am, driving for many miles across open short grass plains, now sadly in a light drizzle that forced us to keep the roof down, so much less serious game-viewing was possible along our way. However, the herds of migratory Wildebeest, Thomson’s and Grant’s Gazelles and Common Zebra were very impressive. The Wildebeest weren’t in dense herds, but liberally scattered across an almost 360 degree view over the totally flat plains all the way to the horizon – clearly uncountable thousands. We found a few birds of interest on our way, with several very close Tawny Eagles and a couple of Eastern Chanting Goshawks notable. In amongst the many Abdim’s Storks (some of them spiralling high up into the sky on thermals, presumably on migration) were a handful of White Storks. We’d intended/anticipated spending longer out here, with a break for our picnic and arrival in mid-afternoon to Ndutu. But “rain stopped play” and we decided to head straight on to Ndutu Lodge, arriving a little after 1pm where we ate our picnic lunch in the open-air lounge area.

After that we checked in and took a break until 3.30pm by which time the rain had stopped. Margaret wasn’t feeling 100% so took the afternoon off, which was a shame as it turned out to be a very good one. Roger took us off along the rutted, muddy tracks through the open, scrubby acacia forest towards nearby Lake Masek. This was where a Leopard had been seen in the morning and where we found a small group of landcruisers assembled by a half-eaten young Zebra. The Leopard had apparently made the kill but the kill was too heavy to haul up a tree for safe-keeping. Everyone was expecting it to return to its food at some time, so were waiting – some more patiently than others. We got lucky, arriving

shortly before it was relocated climbing up into a nearby tree, then a little later climbing back down again. After this grand result we decided to go exploring and continued to Lake Masek for a while. Here were a few water-birds such as a lone Great White Pelican, masses of Gull-billed and White-winged Terns, a few waders including Kittlitz’s and Three-banded Plovers plus a gathering of Hippos. On our return we watched the bizarre spectacle of a Black-headed Heron catching, then swallowing a decent sized Grass Rat – yuch! Roger called in back at the Leopard spot and found a few landcruisers of keen photographers still waiting for the Leopard to come and retrieve its half a Zebra. Again, we got very lucky, as after a bit of a wait, when we very nearly called it a day, the Leopard was found up another tree and we stayed on. We ended up with some wonderful views of the Leopard slowly exiting the tree when it saw a Hyena trying to take off with its supper. In between such a splendid centre-piece to the afternoon we incidentally came across some good birds too. Grey-breasted Francolin, Eurasian Hoopoe, Southern Red Bishops and Fischer’s Lovebirds were all big enough and/or bright enough to make an impression.

We returned quite late – close to 7pm – with a brief break before supper. Towards the end of our evening meal the endearing Large-spotted Genets came into the lodge via their personal walkway to have their feed and be photographed by the guests.

A welcome change in the weather today with sunshine beginning to dry the tracks a little. However we were still sliding and slithering along slippery, slick tracks across the short grass plains with Roger doing some excellent navigation and driving and managing not to get us stuck in the mud. With the excessive rains over the past months (more or less continuous since October and the heaviest for 35 years) the vegetation in the Ndutu area is exceptionally high, making finding the quite abundant Lions and the not so abundant Cheetahs very difficult. Neither were seen this morning despite Roger’s bet efforts. However we had some interesting sightings as we carefully made our way around the edge of a very full Lake Ndutu and out to the big swamp. Giraffes were good value, with several groups out in the open and drinking. While watching these in the low sandy basins Celia and Lynda spotted Bat-eared Foxes sunning themselves. These are delightful little creatures and best found right here. 6 or more were seen well before they wandered off into the thick herbage. Perhaps the main and most memorable interest of the morning was the sheer number of Wildebeest seen, accompanied by large numbers of Zebra. For much of the morning we managed to be out on the seemingly never-ending flat grass plains all by ourselves. This is always a lovely feeling, made so much better when you find yourself in wall-to-wall Wildebeest as far as the eye can see. We gently motored

into their midst and stopped to watch their antics and listen to the somewhat unmusical grunting that these huge herds make – so redolent of the Serengeti. The Ndutu area of the southern Serengeti ecosystem is potentially the prime area to watch the spectacle of the migration and calving of Wildebeest. They are now at the end of their 500-mile circular migration as they follow the rains and the resultant regeneration of green grasses all the way north to the Mara area of Kenya by August, then back again to rest in the ensuing long rains on the short-grass plains of the south-east of Serengeti. Here they calve and rear their young to a stage when they can again move on north and west by May or June.

The open grassland and scant acacia scrub plus the saline hollows of the lake edge held a few brightly coloured and obvious birds that caught our attention. A trio of male White-bellied Bustards calling loudly to each other were noted on the way out. Lilac-breasted Rollers popped up, a group of Hooded Vultures sat together in a treetop and several plum-ugly Marabou Storks were nevertheless centre of attention and photographic efforts for a while. Crowned and Blacksmith Plovers were common and there was a good look again at the endemic Gray-breasted Spurfowl. Roger’s ever-keen eyes managed to find us a pair of the secretive and scarce Three-banded (Heuglin’s) Courser.

After lunch back at the lodge we took some time off until 3.30pm when we set out with thunder and dark clouds in the distance. Happily that is where they stayed and it was a dry afternoon. Our main goal this afternoon was to try and find Cheetahs. They had been seen this morning and we headed off in that direction, skirting around Lake Masek and far out onto the short grass plains beyond the open acacia scrub. We’d not gone far when a passing Landcruiser gave us information about a nearby Leopard in a roadside tree, so we made a brief detour to see if we’d get lucky. We did indeed! This was a different animal to that seen yesterday and was much less skittish. In fact it was in both senses of the phrase very “laid back” as it rested on a wide and low branch in an acacia in absolute full view. A large belly suggested a recent good meal that needed sleeping off. We were thrilled with such a good and clear sighting – even more so as we were the only vehicle there until the last couple of minutes of watching it from all angles for 15 minutes or so. This exquisite feline barely bothered to open its eyes to look at us in the first five minutes. Thereafter it woke, and finally yawned, stretched, got up and wandered down the tree to disappear into the typically tall vegetation.

After this, we resumed our quest for Cheetahs, passing a couple of slightly unexpected Elephants on the way – one with a single tusk, the other with none at all. We passed several vehicles coming the other way that had seen the Cheetahs and gave Roger ideas of where to look. Roger did a fantastic job of negotiating miles of very slippery, muddy terrain out onto

featureless open plains where the search began. We knew they were here somewhere in this, the best and most reliable place to find these elegant and unique cats. We linked up with another vehicle looking for them and went round in searching circles over a large area full of the tell-tale tyre-track signs of gathered vehicles who had previously been watching here. We met another vehicle that gave us even more specific information using a dead tree with perched Lappet-faced Vultures in it as a reference point. We continued circling and searching but to no avail. It was hugely frustrating in a way, but testament to the vastness of the area and the ability of the wildlife to wander off, do its own thing and disappear without trace at a moment’s notice. Time ran out and we high-tailed it back the way we’d come, arriving at the lodge by about 6.45pm. A shame about the Cheetahs, but what a phenomenal Leopard!

A lot of rain overnight precluded any possibility of returning to the area where we’d tried to find the Cheetahs yesterday afternoon. However, Roger had other more workable alternatives and ideas to try out. Thus, after breakfast we departed with all our gear to the area where we’d briefly seen Leopard on our first day here – this being still accessible. It was still lightly raining and we travelled with the roof down. After a bit of driving along various mucky tracks that dead-ended and asking other drivers we located the purpose of our venture; a pair of Lions. Usually when you find adult male and female Lions on their own it means they have separated from the pride to mate. This morning was no exception with the female inviting copulation far more often than my erudite book on animal behaviour suggested. Despite being surrounded by numerous landcruisers they seemed not to worry about the lack of privacy and the voyeurism and “got down to it” every five to ten minutes or so. The female would wander across to the splendid male with his large mane, circle him and lie down. He immediately went into action, with the average mating being slightly less than the researched 21 second average! The coupling finished with a flurry of moaning, mewing, growling and snarling after which she wandered a few yards away and rolled on her back before settling down for another 5-10 minute break. It was a great sighting and always a bonus to see Lions actually doing something other than lazing and sleeping. We were happy that by the time we left in mid-morning it had stopped raining and we continued on our journey with roof up and fingers crossed.

It was not possible to take the direct route from Ndutu to Naabi Gate where we enter the Serengeti National Park. Instead we had to drive two sides of the triangle back across the newly made dirt road to the official entry arch of the Park and back along the main road westwards. This was OK as we had all day and it was a good and productive game drive just seeing what we might see. Serendipity kicked in as not far along into the short grass plains we saw a gathering of landcruisers and got into position just off road to admire our first Cheetah. This was a lone animal (sex never determined) that was quite content to sit low in the long grass and stay there. Once in a while it would raise its head or sit up to show us a little more of its magnificent form, but otherwise it stayed put. With the imminent appearance of a Park Ranger we returned to the track and continued on our way. We were passing masses of Wildebeest, antelopes and Zebra and began coming across Spotted Hyenas. By the time we’d reached Naabi Gate for our picnic at 1pm we’d encountered lone beasts and groups totalling 19 animals, all lazing in close view, often near to our vehicle in nice cool, wet, muddy spots. Birds on our way were quite good: Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Pallid and Montagu’s Harriers, Fischer’s Sparrow-larks and Lesser, Greater and Grey Kestrels perched on the very sparse and isolated bushes in the vastness of the flat, grassy plains.

After our picnic break at Naabi we continued the drive westwards across further huge areas of flat, lush grass with surprisingly little game on it other than the occasional Zebra and Coke’s Hartebeest – evidence of the poorer nutritional value rather than lack of game. We were certainly able to appreciate the huge scale of this ecosystem that we had been travelling through for several days and had now covered a further c. 50 miles of — all the more remarkable for being preserved almost fully intact. Closer to the central Seronera area we turned off the main road where an overflow of water from one of the marshy areas was causing the largest flood of fast-flowing water I’d ever seen here in all my previous 34 visits. Roger took us out on alternative tracks that became more and more of a 4×4 experience as we careered along through grassy, slippery and wet trails at high speed to avoid being bogged down. Another landcruiser followed close behind us and we both arrived after a long session of this cross-country wrangling at the Kati-Kati Tented Camp by about 4.30pm. It was quite an adventure with some of us getting mud=spattered through windows left open as we sped through the more mucky stretches. The camp is a semi-permanent tented camp with just 12 tents set up on a rise on the acacia-studded slopes and looking down over the plains below in the very heart of the Serengeti National Park and ecosystem. It was a warm welcome and we all settled in to our spacious tents and later gravitated towards the camp fire after some of us braved our first camp-style showers brought to our simple en suite shower and toilet facilities.

The Serengeti is a vast preserve of 5,675 square miles, with a further 3,200 sq. miles protected in the surrounding Ngorongoro Conservation Area – the whole ecosystem is the size of Belgium! The Seronera River area with its braided small meandering streams has associated riverine or gallery forest of Yellowbark Acacias (“fever” trees). Here is often the best area for finding Leopards and Lions. Thus we set off in dry, sunny conditions for a full day out with picnic lunch in the specific hope of finding Lions with more Elephants as a bonus. However, with the excessive rains the streams were still torrents in places and a number of the tracks impassable in some areas; plus the grass has grown high: not quite as “high as an elephant’s eye”, but enough to make Lions hopelessly difficult to find. Roger drove us around large areas of the Central Serengeti and checked in with umpteen other drivers, but they too had been unable to locate Lions.

However it was not all lost time. Soon after winding our way down the muddy tracks to the main Seronera area we found a bunch of landcruisers gathered together watching a tree complete with Leopard. We rolled up and saw our “three days in a row Leopard” for a while before it climbed down and wandered away. The rest of the morning was spent meandering the tracks and gaining our best looks by far of wallowing Hippos, with quite a decent group completely out of the water on the muddy banks of the river allowing us full view of their portly stature. It was our aim to find our first Nile Crocodiles in the same areas and we came across several quite large and active individuals; one a good 4.5 metres long. Another new animal for us today were small numbers of Topi along with a few better looks at Coke’s Hartebeest.

We pitched up at the Seronera Visitor Centre by about 11.30am and took time to stretch our legs and do the informative loop walk around the kopjes where 1-2 bright pink and purple Agamid Lizards hung out. After the walk we were ready for an early lunch, so had our picnic here before too many other tourists came by with the same idea. I had been wondering where all the Rock Hyraxes had gone as we did the interpretive walk and now we found all of them lounging, not on their natural habitat of the kopjes, but on the concrete picnic tables with sunshades keeping them cool.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent driving about hoping to find Lions and Elephants to no avail. Nobody out there in a landcruiser today was having any luck with that. We returned to the area where the Leopard had ben this morning and found it again, up a much more “viewer-friendly” tree and admired it through the scope. Then it was time to head slowly back to the tented camp passing several very fine Montagu’s and Pallid Harriers quartering the grassy plains for food. Quite close to home our landcruiser got stuck in the mud. Roger quickly called on the radio to a nearby vehicle that came and pulled us free within a few

minutes – all very efficient and a good tale to tell and embellish when we get home.

On our return there were cups of tea, showers and a bit of packing before a good supper and early to bed on our last night in Tanzania.

Margaret & Lynda, Stuart & Celia all got back as scheduled to their respective UK abodes later today after transfers in Addis for Margaret & Lynda and in Amsterdam for Celia & Stuart.

We chose a Qatar airline departing the Narita International Airport at 22:00 on Dec 7th which arrived at Doha at 4:10 on Dec 8th after 11:30 hour flight. We spent nearly 4 hours at the Doha International Airport until next flight to Tanzania. We were expecting to see Mt. Kilimanjaro from the window before landing. Because we reserved left-side window seats, we could see a huge mountain just before landing, as expected. We took many photos, but a gentleman sitting in front of me told that that’s not Kilimanjaro but Mount Meru. Mt. Kilimanjaro was covered with thick clouds and could not be seen, unfortunately. We eventually arrived at the Kilimanjaro International Airport at 14:40 with approximately an hour delay. 

A driver from the company was waiting for us and he drove us to the lodge. On the way to the lodge, the driver told me that the guide was on the phone and he wanted me to talk over the phone. We were expected to see the guide, Anthony, at the lodge, but he told me that he could not show up. We had to kill a time after checking in the lodge without guide. The lodge in Arusha was Ngare Sero Lodge that have huge private land with river running through forest. While wandering around, we met one of the lodge staff and he told us there was a big eagle. We asked him right away to take us there. There it was. A beautiful African Fish Eagle was perching on the dead tree sticking out of the river. We were so excited that we took uncountable pictures of him without knowing that we were going to see many of them at the different places. In that evening we saw 10 species, all of which were lifers for us.

During enjoying superb dinner at the restaurant, it started rain, and it was still raining when we got back to our room. The room was just great. We could fall asleep without feeling any jet lag that night.

This morning after our Breakfast, we met Anthony and Geitan at the lodge and our safari tour began. On the way to the Arusha National Park we saw several songbirds including endemic Taveta Weaver. Our top priority bird today is Turaco. Unfortunately, however, we were surrounded by deep fog when we got to the point where they were expected to be seen, because of rather high altitude. Anthony found a flock of Hartlaub’s Turaco, but because they were moving quickly around forest canopy, it was hard for us to look at them. The fog made the matter worse. They just looked like dark grey moving objects. We took many photos, but none of them could tell us how they truly look. We were shocked and disappointed. But every cloud has a silver lining. The second time we encountered a flock of Hartlaub’s Turaco, abruptly the fog was cleared away. Now we could not only see them but capture some photos of them. We realized we were not that unfortunate, because we were trapped by the fog again only 5 or 10 minutes later. 

Now that we accomplished our first and big mission that day, we were able to relax and enjoy mammals such as Giraffe, Buffalo, Zebra, Warthog, Bushbuck, Waterbuck, Blue monkey, Olive baboon, and Black and white colobus. 

After enjoying our box lunch at the edge of a lake, we returned to the lodge and enjoyed afternoon birding inside the lodge property. In addition to the species we saw on day 1, we could see Giant Kingfisher, Black Crake, Brown-hooded Kingfisher and others. Anthony told us that African Black Duck could be only seen at this place.  

We (Geitan, actually) had to drive to Serengeti, more than 350 km away, this day. It would take over 7 hours, but we could stop for a short while if there were something we could not miss. When we made a brief stop at a shopping mall outskirt of Arusha city, we found a beautiful Lilac-breasted Roller sitting on a tree. But the distance between he and we did not allow me to take a good shot. While I was wasting precious time to try to take nice photos of the Lilac-breasted  Roller. Anthony came closer to me and told that something quite interesting was sitting in the yard next to the mall. At first, I couldn’t tell what it was, but a couple of minute later I found a gigantic bird in the yard. “Wow, Shoebill!”, I was about to scream. That was my first time to see real Shoebill. I knew that this particular bird always remains still when he is waiting for his prey; however, this guy moved a lot contrary to my expectation. Anthony told me that he was in captivity there so that we decided not to include him in our check list.

Because of heavy thunder shower, we were forced to take our box lunch inside the safari car. Having lunch while listening to falling rain in a safari car was a kind of exciting experience for us. We got over the Great Rift valley and entered the huge savanna area around 16:30. Our drive continued and on the way to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area we encountered many African fauna like Kori Bustard, Thompson’s gazelle, Common Wildebeest, Common Eland, Crowned Lapwing and so on. 

Although we wanted to pull over several times to observe them in more detail, Anthony and Geitan looked like they did not care. They told us it would take more than 2 hours to get our destination of the day, meaning that we would be able to have a glass of cold beer around 18:30. That’s not too bad, I thought. Our safari car, however, stopped abruptly. It was quite unbelievable that there was a traffic jam. Traffic jam in Serengeti? At first, I thought there were some sort of big games like Lions or Cheetahs. No, the traffic jam was due to a flood. The road ahead of us was completely blocked by a torrent river instantly formed after the thunder shower. “How long we have to wait here?” I asked to Geitan. He replied, “Nobody knows, we just wait until the water level lowers and the road is re-open.” We waited almost an hour without doing anything, but finally cars started to move.

I was very much relieved because I knew that I would not miss a glass of cold beer that night. We arrived at the Kubu Kubu tented Lodge around 19:00. In this lodge all drinks including alcoholic beverages are free and the dinner was superb. Even though our cabin was right next to the restaurant, we were instructed not to go out in the dark without escort by Maasai worriers. The cabin was very well designed and surprisingly the shower room was outdoor. We took shower under moon light. It was a little chilly, though. We went bed and around mid-night we heard lions were roaring.

We woke up around 5:30 in the morning and found the rising sun was illuminating the Serengeti savanna. After enjoying very yummy breakfast, our hunting with cameras and binoculars but armories started again. On the way to the savanna, Anthony asked us what bird species we wanted to see the most. That was a kind of tough question for us because we need to look carefully into our field guidebook to name it. But Yasuko, bravely enough, said that Lilac-breasted Rollers were her primary target. I thought Anthony grinned. We later understood why he grinned at that time. There were so many of them. They were literally everywhere.

We met many bird species around the visitor center like Dark Chanting Goshawk, Chinspot Batis, Red-fronted Barbet and Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu. In the afternoon there came a great news that a big cat was found. We hurried to the place without caring about any other living creatures. There it was. A leopard was on the tree feasting on an unfortunate warthog.

Our dinner was prepared by a lady chef, Veronica. Everything was fine with red wine imported from South Africa. Anthony asked me to give my name to Veronica. He was grinning at that time, too. When I told her my first name, she exploded with laughter. Anthony explained with grinning that my first name, Akio, sounded like the name of a tribe living around Mt. Meru. After that moment, it appeared that I became the most famous Japanese guest in this lodge. Everybody who saw me begun to say “Hi Akio” with smiling. Akio is a name from a tribe on the slopes of Mt Meru in Northern Tanzania- a surprise !!!

We departed the Kubu Kube tented Lodge around 8:00 am and headed to Ndutu Safari Lodge. We dropped by the Serengeti Visitor Center to have our lunch. Around the picnic area, there were two different species of hyrax which we could not distinguish very well. We spent about one and half hours there looking for birds and animals until it started to rain. It rained cats and dogs, but it ceased soon. Tanzanian Red-billed Hornbill, Flappet Lark, Marabou Stalk, Rappet-faced Vulture, Ruppell’s Vulture, Silverbird, Superb Starling, Usambiro Barbet, Bar-faced Go-away-bird, Pigmy Falcon, Blue-napped Mousebird, Abyssinian Schimitarbill, Kori Bustard, Black-bellied Bustard, Secretarybird, Greater Kestrel, and Black-chested Snake Eagle. We met many birds that day including one of our target birds, Secretarybird, on the way to Ndutu.

Because Ndutu Safari Lodge is also in the middle of the wildlife territory, we were required to be escorted by a guard man who was bringing a robust flush light with him. While having superb cuisines with beer and wine both named Serengeti, we confirmed the birds we encountered that day. Then a night visitor appeared. A genet was having his meal on a ceiling log. 

Our exploration around Ndutu area started at 7:30 in the morning. Because this area is the only place where we can drive off Road, we decided to enjoy off-road adventure. However, the surface was so muddy due to recent heavy rain fall that we could not pull over, because the car would be stuck and not be able to escape once it stopped moving. We might have missed some important species during that move. We were relieved when we found ourselves out of the muddy area and our search for Cheetahs begun.

All of a sudden, we felt a big shock. Although Geitan did his job very well in terms of getting out of the wet muddy swamp, we were trapped by a hidden pitfall on the ground covered with grasses. Right side rear tire fell into the hole. Anthony and Geitan asked us if we were OK. Yasuko and I were all right, but we wondered if we could get out. We might need a tow away rescue. I was worried if there were no rescue coming to help us. Would we become special dinner for big cats tonight? But both guys looked like they kept calm. Geitan started to talk to somebody over the radio transmitter. I did not exactly how long we waited, but 5 or 10 minutes later there came another safari car. The driver of the car joined our team and they connected both cars with a steel wire. But when I glanced at the wire, I saw it heavily rusted. The driver of the rescue car started the engine and the engine roared. The first trial, however, failed because the rusted wire was broken away. I was very much concerned, what if we could not get out of here. Do we have to be starved this night? Do we have to be awakened all night here to watch out for predators?

The second trial begun with the wire tighten by their hands. The engine roared again. After a couple of minutes pulling, our car moved and eventually was pulled out from the big hole, thanks to the rescue driver. The solidarity is always important to accomplish some tough jobs. 

We resumed our search for Cheetahs and eventually we could find people watching at something. 

A Cheetah family was there, mother and two cubs. They move, then we follow them, they move we follow. We got hundreds of photos of them. That was real fun.

In the afternoon, we then encountered a flock of young lions. A female lion tried to vamp males but in vain. Males were yawning and appeared not interested in young attractive females, probably because they were exhausted after all night long walking through their territories.

We had another night visitor at the restaurant while having dinner. Can you guess what it was? Dreadfully enough, I found a scorpion on the floor of the restaurant. That was my first time to see such a dreadful creature in my life. Luckily, no harm, though.

Today we depart the Ndutu region and the beautiful Ndutu Safari Lodge. Heading to the Ngorongoro Crater and a request for a cultural Tour on the way, to visit the people, this was the local Maasai Tribesman village…

It was not serious at all, but something was wrong with my bowl movement on this day. I was worried I would need to go to the toilet during our driving. Anthony and Geitan told me that they would try to stop at the places where the “toilet” was available. On the way to Ngorongoro Crater, we made a short visit to a Maasai village where a son of the chief conducted guided tour in the village. He showed us their hat including inside and explained how they used such a small hat in highly organized manner. He also took us to a village kindergarten, and we had a chance to see small kids were studying. About an hour later the tour ended. Suddenly I realized that I was at the brink of emergency. I urgently needed to go to the toilet. I found a tiny stone building which looked like a toilet. Anthony and Geitan, however, did not recommend to use it. But I could not hold it and there was no other option. I got a permission from the son of the chief to use it. The big problem had been solved right away. 

On the Crater Floor, we spent afternoon doing birding at the Ngorongoro crater. We met all the members of the “Big Five” here. Three Black Rhinoceroses were seen in the heat haze, and Elephants were beautiful in green floor of the crater.

We met one of our target birds, Grey Crowned Crane. Three species of teals, Hottentot, Cape and Red-billed were in the same field of view. We also witnessed a small but funny battle between Pink-backed Pelican and African Fish Eagle. Weather was so clear that we could observe beautiful landscape of Ngorongoro crater from a lookout.

We arrived at the upgraded Kitela Lodge instead of the Marera Valley Lodge, because the latter was under renovation toward Christmas season. The Kitela lodge is owned by the same guy who operates the Kubu Kubu tented Lodge. The lodge was just gorgeous for us. Around 18: 45 Anthony found a Montane Nightjar flying over the swimming pool. I grabbed my camera and rushed to the pool side, but it was impossible for me to take photo, since it was already too dark. Because drinks were all free of charge again, we consumed too much alcohol. It was a kind of surprise to find hot water bottles were prepared in our bed. It was truly kind and warm courtesy, but a bit too warm for us.

A lot had been said and read about the Lake Manyara Jungles with its Tree climbing Lions and the fantastic water birds of Lake Manyara National Park.

We were expecting to see fantastic large Flamingo gathering in the Lake Manyara, but unfortunately, we were disappointed to know the fact that recent floods significantly increased the influx of water into the lake leading to the quite change in the habitat for flamingos. However, we were satisfied with the presence of the tree-climbing lions and impressive Southern Ground Hornbill and other species of birds. Emerald-spotted Wood-dove was far prettier as compared to the picture in the field guide. 

The Afternoon birding was at the garden of the Kitela Lodge where we met our Tacazze Sunbird, Red-chested Cuckoo, African Paradise Flycatcher, Red-billed Firefinch, Black-headed Oriole, and Arrow-marked Babbler. Before dinner we saw White-browed Robin-Chat and Cardinal Woodpecker at the Kitela Lodge. 

At the dinner Yasuko and I enjoyed chats with Anthony thanks to yummy dishes and free red wine. hahahahhah

This morning, we checked out of the Kitela Lodge and left the Ngorongoro Highlands area.

My bowl problem was not over yet and I needed frequent visits to the toilets during our birding and driving to the next accommodation. Even under such condition, birding is of our primary importance. We therefore visited several spots around the Lake Manyara. Movement of Black Heron (umbrella bird) was so funny. A Malachite Kingfisher was holding a pose on a tree branch in a scrub quite close to us. We saw Saddle-billed Stork, too. 

Then we had a relatively long lunch time at the picnic area just in case I had to use the toilet. We were lucky to find a flock of small birds making noisy sounds. Amid of those birds, there was a Pearl-spotted Owlet. Small birds were trying to get rid of the owlet. This reminded me of Vietnamese bird guide who was always mimicking an Owlet voice using a kind of whistle when birds were became scarce. I now know the reason why he made such a mysterious sound. We also encountered Red and Yellow Barbet, very famous species because they are iconic birds being put on a cover of famous book entitled “Birds of East Africa”. 

At the entrance of Tarangire National Park, a park staff sprayed insecticide over the entire body of our safari car for prevention of Tsetse flies. We saw Green Wood Hoopoe while we were waiting for our vehicle ready. Around 16:30 we arrived at the Tarangire Safari Lodge safely. This one is totally different from those tent lodges we stayed before. This is the real one. We were advised not to bring anything edible inside the tent, otherwise we would be attacked by big games while we were sleeping. 

Although buffet dinner was great, I could not enjoy because I had not good appetite because of my bowl condition. Regretfully I missed many cousins on that night. Yasuko tried to take photos of the galaxy spreading over the Tarangire plain because the sky was so clear without moon light.

Our excitements continued. But Anthony was also excited on that day because we encountered a couple of Three-banded Courser. According to him, he could see them approximately once in 10 visits in Tarangire National Park. We also enjoyed seeing that a pair of Von der Decken’s Hornbill was taking sand bath together. A flock of Elephants accompanied by babies was found bathing in a pond. A pair of Secretarybird was nesting on an acacia tree. White-bellied Go-away-bird and Von der Decken’s Hornbill appeared to be residents in this lodge. Differentiation between Northern and Tanzanian Red-billed Hornbills was quite challenging. We were completely confused until we got back to Japan and found the description in the report written by Anthony. 

Whereas the end of our tour was approaching, surprisingly, new species such as Red-headed Quelea, Red-bellied Parrot, Woodland Kingfisher, and White-bellied Bustard, still continued to appear. 

Our accommodation was at this beautiful Trangire Safari Tented Lodge. Thanks to Tina at the Tanzania Birding and beyond office to select this as a way to end the tour… the views and scenery not easy to put in just one sentence, should it be, awesome, breathtaking, eye catching, lovely, overwhelming, inspiring, memorable or what would you think……..?  

We were supposed to arrive at the Kilimanjaro International Airport around 13:00 suggesting that we still had a couple of hours to do birding inside the national park while driving toward the entrance. Just before departure, Anthony found a bunch of Peter’s Dwarf Epauletted Fruit Bat hanging from a tree branch. He also pointed a new bird perching on another tree branch, African Scops Owl. On the way to the airport we still found new species like Foxy Lark, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, and Red-necked Spurfowl.

This gives the impression,” Birding in Tanzania is Endless” This should answer the question: WHY TANZANIA?

In Arusha, Anthony our guide dropped off the car and Geitan took us to the airport. Then it was time to say goodbye to Geitan and Goodbye to Tanzania!

Our Tally went as follows:

304 Bird Species seen on the Trip

264 Bird Species Lifers for Yasuko

231 Bird Species Lifers for me (Akio)

262 Bird Species Photographed

46 Mammals seen

BIG THANK YOU to TANZANIA BIRDING & BEYOND SAFARIS, All the Crew Anthony our Top Bird Guide and Geitan our Excellent and Safe Safari Driver for a “NZURI SANA” SAFARI