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Malawi & Zimbabwe

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Malawi & Zimbabwe We enjoyed exceptionally good views of the enormous Pel’s Fishing Owl in Liwonde National Park during our exciting travels through Malawi. (Nik Borrow) MALAWI & ZIMBABWE 23 NOVEMBER – 12 DECEMBER 2013 LEADER: NIK BORROW During this tour of two countries we visited extensive miombo woodlands, mopane forests, montane copses, rolling open moorlands, dense thickets and riverine marshes. We stayed in some extremely comfortable and well-appointed locations enjoying some excellent food and excellent birding. An incredible male Pennant- winged Nightjar was voted the top bird of the tour and in Zimbabwe the charming Swynnerton’s Robin claimed our hearts whilst high on the Nyika Plateau a male Scarlet-tufted Sunbird claimed third place. The enormous marmalade coloured Pel’s Fishing Owl posed for us nicely in the crown of a spreading fig tree. The unique Babbling Starling took some tracking down but we ended up with wonderful views of adults visiting their nesting tree. The Racket-tailed Roller completed a family for some and was typically elusive for a worryingly long period of time until a pair surrendered themselves at Vwaza Marsh. Southern Carmine 1 BirdQuest Tour Report: Malawi & Zimbabwe 2013 www.birdquest-tours.com Bee-eaters also completed a family tick for some of our group. Unbelievably close views of Sousa’s Shrikes in the rapidly shrinking Dzalanyama Forest Reserve were a real treat as were the eyeball-to-eyeball looks at White-backed Night Herons in Liwonde National Park and a Buff-spotted Flufftail on Mount Thyolo. We scored well with the strange Boulder Chat, the exquisite White-winged Apalis and near-endemic Thyolo Alethe in Malawi whilst in Zimbabwe both local specialties Roberts’s Warbler and Chirinda Apalis showed well. Other avian treasures included Red-winged and Swainson’s Francolins, Dickinson’s Kestrel, Lilian’s Lovebird, Grey-headed Parrot, Livingstone’s and Schalow’s Turacos, Burchell’s Coucal, Usambara (split from either Rwenzori or Montane) Nightjar, Scarce Swift, Böhm’s Bee-eater, Pale-billed Hornbill, Whyte’s Barbet, Moustached Tinkerbird, Miombo Pied and Brown-breasted Barbets, Pallid Honeyguide, Bennett’s, Speckle-throated and Stierling’s Woodpeckers, Malawi and Cape Batises, Olive Bushshrike, Fülleborn’s Boubou, Green-headed Oriole, Rufous-bellied and Miombo Tits, Black-browed, Stripe-cheeked, Olive- headed and Sharpe’s Greenbuls, Blue and Pearl-breasted Swallows, Livingstone’s Flycatcher, Black-lored, Churring and Wailing Cisticolas, Yellow-throated, Chapin’s and Brown-headed Apalises, Green-backed Camaroptera, Stierling’s Wren-warbler, Brown Parisoma, Miombo Blue-eared and Meves’s Starlings, Orange Ground Thrush, White-chested Alethe, Sharpe’s and East Coast Akalats, Olive-flanked Ground Robin, Miombo Scrub Robin, Arnot’s Chat, Miombo Rock Thrush, Böhm’s Flycatcher, Anchieta’s and Shelley’s Sunbirds, Miombo, Ludwig’s and Forest Double-collared Sunbirds, Chestnut-backed Sparrow-weaver, Bertram’s and Southern Brown-throated Weavers, Montane Widowbird, Orange-winged Pytilia, Red-faced Crimsonwing, Lesser Seedcracker, Red-throated Twinspot, Locust Finch, Wood and Striped Pipits, Southern Citril, Reichard’s, Black-eared, and Yellow-browed Seedeaters and Cape Canary. Amongst a good crop of mammals we will remember the splendid observations of Roan and Sable Antelopes. A lengthy flight via Nairobi was followed by refreshingly smooth immigration and customs at Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi. Our very professional outfitters warmly welcomed us and before we knew what was happening we were promptly dragged across a small dambo where we successfully encountered a pair of Locust Finches thus starting the tour with a bang. A flock of Orange-breasted Waxbills flew around us and both Yellow-throated and Rosy-throated Longclaws were flushed. A Grey-rumped Swallow was seen briefly and there were out-of-plumage Southern Red Bishops and Yellow-mantled Widowbirds around as well as Western Cattle Egret, Black-headed Heron, Shikra, Lilac-breasted Roller, European Bee-eater, Pied Crow, and Wire-tailed Swallows, Croaking and Short-winged Cisticolas, African Stonechat, African Pied Wagtail and Plain-backed Pipit. We kicked off a good tour for raptors generally with views of Little Sparrowhawk (left) in Lilongwe Nature Sanctuary and Ovambo Sparrowhawk (right) in Dzalanyama Forest Reserve. (Nik Borrow) We then checked into our country lodge that was apparently also rumoured to be a favourite haunt of Madonna and after a late lunch visited the vine-smothered woods of a small local nature reserve where 2 BirdQuest Tour Report: Malawi & Zimbabwe 2013 www.birdquest-tours.com impressive Schalow’s Turacos uttered their guttural cries from the tops of lightly leafed trees. The rains had not really started but the first flush of greenery was apparent keeping a colony full of Village Weavers busy at their nests along the river. Terrestrial Brownbuls skulked in the undergrowth as Hildebrandt’s Francolins scuttled away and a furtive male African Broadbill was found. A super Little Sparrowhawk posed for us, both Lesser and Scaly-throated Honeyguides were seen and we also obtained views of both Golden-tailed and Cardinal Woodpeckers. We marvelled at some impressively long-tailed African Paradise Flycatchers and splashes of colour were provided by Brown-hooded and Malachite Kingfishers, Orange-breasted Bushshrike, Black-headed Oriole, White-browed Robin-chat, Collared, Olive and Scarlet-chested Sunbirds, Spectacled Weaver, Blue Waxbill and pretty Red-throated Twinspots. Other species encountered included Helmeted Guineafowl, Black-crowned Night Heron, Striated Heron, Reed Cormorant, Yellow-billed Kite, Green and Common Sandpipers, Red-eyed and Tambourine Doves, African Palm Swift, Speckled Mousebird, Pied Kingfisher, Black-throated Wattle-eye, Black-backed Puffback, Tropical Boubou, Fork-tailed Drongo, Dark- capped Bulbul, Yellow-bellied Greenbul, Icterine Warbler, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Garden Warbler, Violet-backed Starling, Kurrichane Thrush, Ashy Flycatcher and Mountain Wagtail. The day ended triumphantly with great scope views of a super White-backed Night Heron. The days begin early in Malawi for it was already light by five in the morning and we left our very comfortable lodge at an unsociable four o’clock in order to reach the attractive open woodlands of the famous Dzalanyama Forest Reserve by daybreak! However this timing set the pace of the tour and gradually we acclimatised to these early starts in order not to miss the most fruitful parts of the day. The vegetation in this reserve is dominated by miombo, a Swahili word for the genus of tree named Brachystegia. This distinctive habitat is only found in the southern central part of Africa and is home to a very distinctive avifauna. Recent rains had forced the dry branches into leaf and the striking fresh green leaves were also interspersed with those of rich red and orange reminiscent of temperate autumn colours. Thus walking through the woods was a very pleasant experience as we hunted out the miombo specialties during the next two days. The pleasure was only offset by the fact that the forest is currently being cut down both legally and illegally and large areas had been totally cleared since our previous visit three years ago. Striped Pipit (left) and Sousa’s Shrike (right) were two of the very desirable species successfully seen well in Dzalanyama Forest Reserve. (Nik Borrow) Soon after entering the forest we were fortunate to find a super Ovambo Sparrowhawk feeding on the ground and we watched this most desirable raptor for some time. Eastern Saw-wings showed off their white underwing coverts as they zipped to and fro and several Pearl-breasted Swallows were found. Stierling’s Wren-warblers uttered their endless mechanical tlip-tlip-tlip calls and some very good bird parties were encountered which typically would involve White-breasted and Black Cuckooshrikes, Green-capped Eremomela, Red-capped Crombec, Yellow-bellied and Southern Hyliotas, Spotted Creeper, Rufous-bellied 3 BirdQuest Tour Report: Malawi & Zimbabwe 2013 www.birdquest-tours.com Tit, Violet-backed Starling, Yellow-throated Petronia and Black-eared Seedeaters but also on more than one occasion, one of the main targets of the visit, the restricted range and uncommon Stierling’s Woodpecker and it was with some relief that this target fell so easily. Groups of White-crested and Retz’s Helmetshrikes were watched and a few sunbirds were seen but numbers of individuals were very low perhaps due to the general lack of flowers. Although we saw Amethyst, Western Violet-backed and Miombo Double-collared Sunbirds well we struggled with the normally reliable Anchieta’s Sunbird with only one person lucky to get a view. A short climb on the lower slopes one of the forested kopjes produced the hoped for and somewhat strange Boulder Chat and we enjoyed prolonged views of this unique bird. Striped Pipits proved to be no problem, several Sousa’s Shrikes, handsome Miombo Scrub Robins and Miombo Rock Thrushes were seen well and other miombo specialists included Pale-billed Hornbill, Neddicky, Miombo Tit, Reichard’s Seedeater and Wood Pipit. At a dambo within the forest a secretive Red-chested Flufftail refused to be lured from its hiding place but as compensation we all had scope views of a wonderful Lesser Seedcracker. Nearby a perched Crowned Eagle posed for ‘walk-away’ views and other raptors included African Harrier Hawk, Palm- nut Vulture, Black-chested and Western Banded Snake Eagles, Wahlberg’s
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