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Birdwatching In BIRDWATCHING IN Tanzania March 2006 ERIK MØLGAARD & STIG JENSEN DOF TRAVEL DANISH ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY BIRDLIFE DENMARK Introduction In March 2006, DOF Travel a department of the Copenhagen department of the Danish Ornithological Society (DOF) carried out our second tour to Tanzania. The tour was designed to give the participants a thorough coverage of the most well known sites in the Northern circuit. A tour to Tanzania isn’t only a birding tour but also one of the best safaris you can do in Africa. Our tour was impressive and we made up a bird list of 434 species. Marianne and Erik had on their extension day additional 7 species not seen on the DOF Travel tour. The total list of species in the report is 441. Numbers of mammals were enormous and we saw 45 different species. The weather during the tour was nice. Most days were sunny and we had only few showers. March seems to be a perfect time to visit Tanzania. All the breeding birds were in full breeding plumage and the big herd of Wildebeest had migrated to Nduto area, just outside the lodge. The participants were: Martin H. Nielsen, Susanne Hollev, John Andersen, Jutta Andersen, Kenneth Darborg with wife, John Hansen, Birgit Pedersen, Henrik Møller, Elisabeth Mygind, Ole Lemming, Stig Jensen (tour leader), Marianne and Erik Mølgaard (tour leader). The tour fee was DKK 33,000 (approx. EUR 4,400) including all transportation from Denmark, accom- modation, full board, and "official" tips, tour leaders as well as the usual DOF Travel services. Roy Safaris Limited (www.roysafaris.com) organised the whole trip and they did a very good job. We can recommend the company for birding tours. The two drivers Peter and Daniel were excellent and had superior eyes for both birds and game. We had also hired Mark Baker in two days to show us around Arusha and especially to the lark fields. For a successful safari you also need to choose the right places to stay. The following is some comments to the places we stayed during the tour. Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge: Very nice place with a little forest and lake with some good species. The lodge itself were very nice and with friendly staff. You can have breakfast from 05.30. We can really recommend this place. Tarangire Safari Lodge: The lodge is nicely located at the top of an escarpment with great view of the area below including the river. Nice tents and good food. E-Unoto Retreat Masai Lodge: Roy Safari recommended this lodge and it was a real goal. The best rooms at the trip, nice food, and friendly Masai staff. In the in the garden and the nearby cliff we had many good birds. Ngorongoro Safari Lodge: This world famous lodge is located at the crater rim. The view over the Ngorongoro crater from the terrace and the rooms is outstanding. At the same time the lodge is run down and neither the rooms nor the restaurant match this view or the high price. Ndutu Safari Lodge: Very nice place and excellent food. The lodge is located excellent for the Wildebeast migration. The lodge is situated outside Serengeti N.P. and you are not oblige to stay on the tracks. Seronera Wildllife Lodge: The same owner as in Ngorongoro. Here the food was much better. The view from the bar and the cliff was very nice and we saw many small mammals around the lodge. The rooms same standard as Ngorongoro. The report contains the following sections, 1. Summary of the Journey 2. List of Birds 3. List of Mammals and Reptiles 1 Before the DOF Travel excursion Marianne and Erik Mølgaard had an extra day at Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge. The observations for this week are included in this report. It should not be forgotten that the whole trip was characterised by good fellowship and the pleasure of being together. Again it is a pleasure to look back on a successful DOF Travel tour! We hope to see all of you again! Erik Mølgaard Stig Jensen Ekströms Väg 27g Vanløseallé 62, 1th 218 45 Bunkeflostrand 2720 Vanløse Sweden Denmark [email protected] [email protected] 2 Itinerary Tanzania 09.03.06 -06.25 Copenhagen Airport 08.00-10.35 Schiphol Airport Amsterdam 20.50-21.30 Kilimanjaro Airport 22.00- Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge 10.03.06 All day Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge 22.00 DOF Travel group arrived. 11.03.06 -08.40 Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge 09.25-18.00 Arusha N.P. 18.30- Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge 12.03.06 -07.10 Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge 08.45-01.00 Lariboro Plains 14.05-14.50 Arusha 17.55- Tarangire N.P., Tarangire Safari Lodge 13.03.06 All day Tarangire N.P. 14.03.06 -14.50 Tarangire N.P. 16.05- E-Unoto Retreat Masai Lodge 15.03.06 -07.35 E-Unoto Retreat Masai Lodge 08.05-16.05 Lake Manyara N.P. 16.40- E-Unoto Retreat Masai Lodge 16.03.06 -09.40 E-Unoto Retreat Masai Lodge 11.50-15.30 Gibb’s Farm 16.15- Ngorongoro Conservation Area -17.50 Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge 17.03.06 All day Ngorongoro Conservation Area -07.20 Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge 08.00-14.50 Ngorongoro Crater 14.50-17.35 Crater rim 17.35- Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge 18.03.06 All day Ngorongoro Conservation Area -07.15 Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge 07.55-12.45 Ngorongoro Crater 12.55-14.05 Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge -18.00 Ndutu Safari Lodge 19.03.06 All day Ndutu Area, Ngorongoro Conservation Area 20.03.06 All day Ndutu Area, Ngorongoro Conservation Area 21.03.06 -09.00 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 09.00- Serengeti N.P. 09.30-13.15 Gol Mountains 15.50- Seronera Wildlife Lodge 3 22.03.06 All day Serengeti N.P. 23.03.06 -08.15 Serengeti N.P. 09.20-10.45 Masai Village and Olduvai Gorge 12.00-12.50 Transit Picnic site at the Crater Rim 18.05-20.00 Kia Hotel near Kilimanjaro Airport 20.05-21.45 Kilimanjaro Airport 24.03.06 07.15-10.30 Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam 11.55- Copenhagen Airport 4 List of birds Common Ostrich Struthio camelus 16 Tarangire N.P., 20 Ngorongoro Crater, 5 Nduto, 4 Serengeti N.P. Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis 6 Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge, 20 Arusha N.P. Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus 30 migrate Tarangire N.P. – E-Unoto Retreat Masai Lodge, 4 Lake Manyara N.P. Pink-backed Pelican Pelecanus rufescens 1 Arusha N.P., 50 Lake Manyara N.P. Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo 2 Lake Manyara N.P. Long-tailed Cormorant Phalacrocorax africanus 5 Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge, 25 Arusha N.P., 50 E-Unoto Retreat Masai Lodge, 6 Lake Manyara N.P. Grey Heron Ardea cinerea 11 single observations. Black-headed Heron Ardea melanocephala 33 birds were counted. Highest number recorded was 15 Ngorongoro Crater. Goliath Heron Ardea goliath 1 Tarangire N.P., 1 Serengeti N.P. Great Egret Ardea alba 1 Arusha N.P., 20 Lake Manyara N.P., 1 Nduto. Black Heron Egretta ardesiaca 40 Lake Manyara N.P. Intermediate Egret Egretta intermedia 1 Tarangire N.P., 2 Lake Manyara N.P. Little Egret Egretta garzetta 2 Tarangire N.P., 10 Lake Manyara N.P. Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides 2 Arusha N.P., 4 Tarangire N.P. – E-Unoto Retreat Masai Lodge, 5 Lake Manyara N.P. 3 Serengeti N.P. Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis Flocks seen here and there. Striated Heron Butorides striata 2 Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge, 5 Arusha N.P., 2 Serengeti N.P. Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax 1 Arusha N.P., 1 Nduto. Hamerkop Scopus umbretta 5 Arusha N.P., 2 Tarangire N.P., 2 E-Unoto Retreat Masai Lodge, 2 Lake Manyara N.P. Yellow-billed Stork Mycteria ibis 1 Arusha N.P., 1 Arusha – Tarangire N.P., 150 Lake Manyara N.P., 1 Ngorongoro Crater. 5 African Openbill Anastomus lamelligerus 9 Nduto. Abdim's Stork Ciconia abdimii 10 Arusha – Lariboro Plains, 200 Ngorongoro Crater. White Stork Ciconia ciconia 2 Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge, 1 Arusha N.P., 15 Arusha – Tarangire N.P., 1000 Ngorongoro Crater, 20 Serengeti N.P. Saddle-billed Stork Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis 4 Tarangire N.P., 2 Lake Manyara N.P. Marabou Stork Leptoptilos crumeniferus Common. Sacred Ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus 8 Arusha N.P., 40 Ngorongoro Crater, 2 Serengeti N.P. Hadada Ibis Bostrychia hagedash 2 Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge, 20 Arusha N.P., 1 Arusha – Tarangire N.P. Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus 15 Lake Manyara N.P., 2 Ngorongoro Crater. African Spoonbill Platalea alba 10 Lake Manyara N.P. Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus Seen in the huge flocks of Lesser Flamingo at Lake Manyara N.P., 20 Ngorongoro Crater, 20 Nduto. Lesser Flamingo Phoenicopterus minor Huge flocks seen at a long distance at Lake Manyara N.P., several thousands at Ngorongoro Crater, 150 Nduto. Fulvous Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna bicolor 15 Lake Manyara N.P. White-faced Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna viduata 30 Lake Manyara N.P. White-backed Duck Thalassornis leuconotus 2 Arusha N.P. Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiaca Common. Spur-winged Goose Plectropterus gambensis 3 Arusha N. P., 8 Tarangire N.P., 2 Lake Manyara N.P. Comb Duck Sarkidiornis melanotos 2 Tarangire N.P., 2 Lake Manyara N.P. African Black Duck Anas sparsa 4 Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge. Cape Teal Anas capensis 45 Ngorongoro Crater, 30 Nduto. 6 Yellow-billed Duck Anas undulata 10 Ngorongoro Crater. Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata 4 Ngorongoro Crater. Red-billed Duck Anas erythrorhyncha 10 Arusha N.P.
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