We’re getting familiar with a few calls and are able to recognize some of the more common species, but we often have no idea who’s voice it is that we’re hearing. Tracking down a unfamiliar variety of raucous crackling and nasal whining on our morning walk at Tloma Mountain Lodge, Laura and I were happy to find an Arrow-marked Babbler. It’s fun to find and identify a new species for the trip on our own. We thought we did recognize another unique voice and after seeing several brown and white, rufous-winged bullets zip through the coffee plantation forest, we finally got good looks at a perched Tamborine Dove. Schalow’s Wheatear is a Rift Valley endemic. Black with a brown cap, white belly and rufous under tail coverts, one was perched on a rocky hillside as we descended the West Rift Escarpment.
Beesley’s Lark is one of the most endangered birds in the world. The entire population of about forty, exists in an arid shortgrass plain in the rain shadow of Mt. Meru. After sifting through several Rufous-naped, Short-tailed, Red-capped and Foxy Larks, we found our target. A single Beesley’s Lark is most likely the rarest bird that Laura and I have ever seen. Yellow-bellied Eremomela, Red-faced Crombec, Green-backed Camaroptera, Black-throated Barbet, Red-fronted Tinkerbird, Gray Wren-Warbler, White-bellied Canary and Yellow-spotted Petronia were some of the birds found in the dry thorn scrub adjacent to the Lark Plains.
We arrived at Arusha House with enough light to take a walk around the neighborhood before dark. It was pretty obvious that white people are not seen walking here very often. Everyone was super friendly. We enjoyed everyone waving and greeting us with the Swahili word for hello – “Jambo” One group of four boys riding donkeys, herding their goats and cattle, were
especially bold yelling “Take my photo!”, but we weren’t carrying our cameras. After stocking up on supplies for the second leg of the trip, we’re looking forward to heading to the mountain ranges East of here tomorrow.