A Cheetah overlooks the endless Serengeti plains (Mark Van Beirs) NORTHERN TANZANIA 1 – 14 APRIL 2018 LEADER: MARK VAN BEIRS Birdquest’s Northern Tanzania tour is a glorious celebration of life on earth, as it offers participants the unique opportunity to admire at close range the most fantastic wildlife spectacle of Africa and probably of our planet. The incredible experience of standing in the middle of the astounding migration of tens of thousands of Common Wildebeests over the endless Serengeti plains is indescribable. We were so incredibly lucky to be able to observe the amazingly efficient hunt of a Lioness as she stalked, pounced, brought down and devoured a hapless Common Wildebeest in front of our vehicle in mid-afternoon. Cats were definitely a feature of our visit as we encountered multiple Lions, a terrific female Leopard with her boisterous cub walking about, several adorable, eye-ball to eye-ball Cheetahs and a splendid Caracal. The bird specialities of the area were all seen well, as next to the easily encountered endemics like Tanzania Red-billed Hornbill, Ashy Starling and Rufous-tailed Weaver we also had superb views of the rare Beesley’s Lark, the dainty Karamoja Apalis and the attractive Grey-crested Helmetshrike. The wonderful gatherings of different species of vultures at predator kills made a lasting impression and the other avian favourites of the tour included 1 BirdQuest Tour Report: Northern Tanzania www.birdquest-tours.com Secretarybird, Bateleur, Grey Crowned Crane, Temminck’s Courser, Lilac-breasted Roller, the lovely Purple Roller, Pygmy Falcon and Rosy-patched Bushshrike. Bird migration was in full swing. We noted a good variety of waders, exciting numbers of Lesser Kestrels, several Amur Falcons a million wingbeats away from their eastern Palearctic breeding grounds and an obvious fall of Red-backed and Lesser Grey Shrikes. A main feature of this tour is the splendid diversity of mammals. We had very close encounters with daunting, stately African Elephants, magnificent Giraffes, colossal African Buffalos, prehistoric-looking Black Rhinos, blundering Hippos and numerous species of elegant Gazelle and Antilopes. Southern Grosbeak Canary and Blue-naped Mousebird showed well at our first stop (tour participant Bengt Grandin) Passing through the delightfully quiet and relaxed Kilimanjaro airport went smoothly and it didn’t take long to pack our luggage in the well-equipped 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser that was going to be our transport for the next two weeks. Steve, our trusted driver had everything under control and soon we were driving east to a nice stretch of acacia thickets where we tasted our first picnic lunch. A cracking Somali Golden-breasted Bunting tried to interrupt our munching, as did a couple of Southern Grosbeak Canaries. We admired a perched European Honey Buzzard, several funny-looking White-bellied Go-away-birds and obtained scope views of singing Diederik and Red-chested Cuckoos. Three species of Mousebird performed for us: Speckled, White-headed and Blue-naped, so we managed to bag half of the members of this endemic African bird family in one go! Two Madagascar Bee-eaters had obviously just arrived and both Red-and- yellow and D’Arnaud’s Barbets sat up. We also found a singing Pink-breasted Lark, a well-behaved Red- fronted Warbler, a cracking Spotted Palm Thrush, a selection of sunbirds including Beautiful, Tsavo Purple- banded and Hunter’s, a cracking male of the localized Taveta Weaver and several splendidly displaying Straw-tailed Whydahs. Other goodies included Western Osprey (with a fish), Wahlberg’s Eagle, Eastern Chanting Goshawk, Namaqua Dove, Malachite Kingfisher, European Bee-eater, African Grey Hornbill, Nubian Woodpecker, Chinspot Batis, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Slate-coloured Boubou, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Red-billed Oxpecker, White-browed Scrub Robin, Pale and Spotted Flycatchers, Red-billed Quelea, Green-winged Pytilia, Cut-throat Finch, Pin-tailed and Long-tailed Paradise Whydahs, Yellow-spotted Petronia, African Pipit, Zanzibar Sombre Greenbul and Northern Brownbul. In late afternoon we continued to our hotel. On the journey Marabou Stork, Black-headed Heron, Long-crested Eagle, Yellow-billed Kite, Speckled Pigeon, Lesser Kestrel, Lesser Striped Swallow, Superb and Red-winged Starlings, Red-billed Buffalo Weaver and White-browed Sparrow-Weavers were seen. A big Easter celebration was going on at the hotel, but luckily for us this stopped in the early evening. 2 BirdQuest Tour Report: Northern Tanzania www.birdquest-tours.com The localized Taveta Golden Weaver and the attractive Rosy-patched Bushshrike gave terrific views (Mark Van Beirs) While driving to our birding area in the very early morning, we picked up two Spotted Eagle Owls nicely perched up. Dawn found us again in acacia thicket country where we waited for the birds to wake up. A very friendly Pygmy Batis showed at very close range and a singing Grey Wren-Warbler was scoped. It took a while to get to grips with the furtive Scaly Chatterer, and eventually we obtained pretty good views. We also noted Little Bee-eater, Northern Red-billed and Von der Decken’s Hornbills, Slate-coloured Boubou, a male Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird, Swahili Sparrow and Reichenow’s Seedeater. Several Unstriped Ground Squirrels and smart Red-headed Rock Agamas were also about. In mid-morning we explored the cattailed- lined banks of a meandering stream and the nearby acacia woodland. An active colony of attractive Taveta Weavers caught our attention, as these glorious birds are extremely localized. Hamerkop, Three-banded Plover, Common Sandpiper, White-browed Coucal, Grey-headed and Pied Kingfishers, Wire-tailed Swallow, Northern and Red-faced Crombecs, Lesser Swamp Warbler, heard only Great Reed and Sedge Warblers, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Yellow-bellied Eremomela, Lesser Masked and Village Weavers and Southern Red Bishop were also observed. A small African Crocodile was swimming in the river and on the drive to the nearby reservoir we located a cracking Rosy-patched Bushshrike that was singing its heart out. We enjoyed our packed lunch on the open shore where quite a variety of waterbirds were present. A roosting flock held more than 100 African Skimmers, Grey-headed Gull and Gull-billed, Whiskered and White-winged Terns. Many of the terns were already in stunning breeding plumage. White-faced and Fulvous Whistling Ducks, Egyptian Goose, Yellow-billed Stork, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Pink-backed Pelican, Reed and White- breasted Cormorants, African Fish Eagle, Water Thick-knee, Blacksmith and Spur-winged Lapwings, Fisher’s Sparrow-Lark and Blue-headed Yellow Wagtail were also added to the list. On the longish drive to Arusha White Stork, Black-chested Snake Eagle and a Lilac-breasted Roller were noted. After checking in into our magnificent hotel, we explored the lush gardens. A fruiting tree held several White-eared Barbets and no fewer than six striking Brown-breasted Barbets together with a cracking African Olive Pigeon, some Violet-backed Starlings and lots of Dark-capped Bulbuls. An uncommon, modestly-clad Grey-olive Greenbul was identified in a patch of bushy woodland and overhead we noticed Black Saw-wing and African Palm, Alpine and White-rumped Swifts. White-backed Vulture, Red-eyed Dove, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Silvery- cheeked Hornbill, Cardinal Woodpecker, a male African Paradise Flycatcher, White-eyed Slaty and African Dusky Flycatchers, Rüppell’s Robin-Chat, Collared and Bronzy Sunbirds, Baglafecht and Red-headed Weavers and Red-billed Firefinch added to the enjoyment. Several Blue (or Sykes’s) and Vervet Monkeys were playing in the imposing trees. After a very tasty and copious dinner we tried a bit of nightbirding, which only gave us a couple of furtive Small-eared Galagos. 3 BirdQuest Tour Report: Northern Tanzania www.birdquest-tours.com The gardens of our hotel near Arusha held Brown-breasted Barbet and Olive Pigeon (tour participant Bengt Grandin) We gave the nightbirds another try before dawn, but a heavy shower sabotaged our efforts. We then made our way to the famous Lariboro plains, where we soon connected with a nice variety of larks. Best of all were the rare and unusual-looking Beesley’s Larks that showed particularly well as they foraged just a few metres away in the short grass vegetation. While strolling about we also found Red-capped, Athi Short-toed and Foxy Larks and Fisher’s Sparrow-Larks. Good numbers of smart Lesser Kestrels festooned the few acacia bushes and an elegant male Montagu’s Harrier flew past. Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse were particularly common and we also noted Crowned Lapwing, Common Swift, Zitting Cisticola, lots of Capped Wheatears and Plain-backed Pipit on our enjoyable walk over the steppe. A bout of birding in taller acacia scrub gave us Red-backed and Isabelline Shrikes, Long-tailed and Taita Fiscals, Yellow-bellied Eremomela at its well- hidden nest, a party of vociferous Banded Parisomas, Beautiful Sunbird, Kenya Sparrow and White-bellied Canary. We also observed our first typical savanna mammals like Plains Zebra, Common Wildebeest (of the eastern population albojubatus) and Thomson’s Gazelle (of the eastern nominate race). The snow-covered summit of Mount Kilimanjaro peeped briefly above the clouds. In late morning we drove southwest towards Tarangire National Park, picking up Augur Buzzard and a very smart pale Tawny Eagle on the way. At our lunch stop in a patch of acacia bushes we added Abyssinian Scimitarbill, Red-fronted Tinkerbird, Brubru, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Abyssinian White-eye, Scarlet-chested Sunbird and Golden-breasted Bunting to the tally. Our first exploration of the magnificent baobab and acacia studded plains of scenic Tarangire produced an excellent selection of marvels. At our lodge we could admire a cute African Scops Owl on its day roost. A fine African Hawk-Eagle was discovered perched high up in an imposing baobab and a party of lovely Double-banded Coursers showed very well.