A mad month in Madagascar Oct/Nov 2012 (1 Viewer)

kittykat23uk said:

Did you actually enjoy your trip Ads???

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Of course B .....I just tend to take birding abroad seriously.....6.5yrs later and I still can't look at a photo of Black Grasswren without becoming angry!! :C

I won't ask..

Thanks

17th October:

We were up and out early, bags packed and into the beast. We met Lanto at the campsite and Gabs dropped us up to the Ampijoroa side again where our first (and only) African Darter of the trip flew over. Another brisk walk entailed but at least this time it was alot cooler....and no poxy bees! As we approached the nest site again Lanto called us over and pointed to an emergent tree full of orange blossom – and there was a female Schlegel’s Asity....what a stonker! She flew over towards us where she perched in a bare tree above the path. The male appeared below her but our viewing angle was such that his colourful wattles were only briefly visible and then he was gone almost as quick as he appeared. The female sat up for a bit more whilst she preened and then she too was gone. Result!! So, go see this species in the morning it seems!!!

Phew, big relief at getting the limited-range endemic but a bit gutted the male didn’t show particularly well. Picked up the same suite of species as yesterday but saw the Hook-billed Vanga on the nest in the split trunk of a tall tree before it flew off. A pair of White-breasted Mesites was seen briefly and as we wandered back past the lake a nice Allen’s Gallinule gave the best views yet and a couple of lurking crocs put the heron species that were near the shore on edge but the status quo remained. A couple of Sakalava Weavers were seen along the road and 6 Grey-headed Lovebirds flew over. The Mad Hoopoe was still pecking around in the same place as yesterday and the campsite Sickle-bills and Broad-bills were as good as ever.

We wandered straight out onto the trails beyond the restaurant and Lanto took us to a couple of owl roost sites. On the third one we scored with an excellent Torotoroka Scops-Owl sitting tight in the split trunk of a low tree – an awesome bird and the last of the target species!! Result! On the walk we also had another pair of White-breasted Mesites, better views of a pair of Van Dam’s Vangas, a male Rufous Vanga, several of both Red-capped and Crested Couas and a pair of Mad Buttonquails. Back at the restaurant we had a nice breakfast with Crested Drongos right next to us and we also saw the expected Coquerel’s Sifakas and the pair of Common Brown Lemurs were still in the same tree.

Then it was time to nip down to the lake for a final scan: the pair of Mad Fish-Eagles was out on the ground, dwarfing everything around them! Good numbers of the usual herons including one Humblot’s, with 12 Three-banded Plovers, single Kittlitz’s, a male Mad Jacana, c100 White-faced Whistlers, c60 Glossy Ibis and a cool pair of Comb Ducks – another one for the trip. Then the time to leave was upon us and we drove westwards towards Mahajanga, about 3hrs Gaby-time away. We came across a big ‘ol Oustalet’s Chameleon on the road which we moved to a safer location. Unfortunately didn’t see much on the journey apart from 2 Mad Grebes on the big lake not far from Ankarafantsika.

Upon reaching the city, Gabs dropped us for lunch in a little cafe while he went to sort out the ferry for the following morning. 3.5hrs later he returned......oh joy that was a fun afternoon! There’s no way to view the delta from any roads so we just wandered around the town, laughing at the creepy old French men sex tourists (shudder) and took the opportunity to use the internet where I finally found out about the French keyboard silliness. I also bought a much-needed pair of trainers (£10 for knock-off Adidas!) as the ones I’d brought with me just weren’t up to it and my feet were in actual pain as the soles were so thin it I could feel everything beneath my feet. The city is pretty busy (and has a lovely ice-cream shop) and the seafront has a similar atmosphere to holiday towns in Europe but is completely birdless, apart from the Mad Kes that swooped down and somehow found a mouse amongst the rocks and people! The multi-centennial baobab tree (approx 700yrs old apparently!!) at one end is actually truly impressive – it is so wide that it has actually become a roundabout – and is allegedly the biggest in Madagascar. When Gaby finally turned up we made our way to the brightly pink and slightly dodgy (another knocking shop!) 5/5 Hotel where I found out they sold cold Coke Zero....yes, a sugar-free drink!!! The rooms were fine and clean and later we ate in the seafront pizzeria which was ok and made a change from the usual – yep, it’s true: you can get bored of steak....

Us....and some really crap photos of top birds! This is where bridge cameras do come undone - mobile bird deep amongst branches....the manual focus is basically useless and the autofocus just isn't quick enough

18th October:

We were down at the docks by 0530 and true to his word, Gabs had gotten the ferry sorted. After a quick bite to eat we watched as the ferry loaded – typical manic African scene – and as we squeezed on board we were ushered upstairs into the wheelhouse with the captain (ironically we’d’ve had more room downstairs!). We set sail just after half 6 and an hour later, having seen precisely zero birds, we waded off the ferry onto the beach at Katsepy. Gabs drove the beast off and after a quick biscuit purchase we were on our way southwards.

We made it about an hour before we spotted some guys washing their 4x4 by a river crossing so we pulled up for some roadside mechanics as Gabs didn’t have the right-sized spanner. After four of them wriggled around for a while the problem was fixed and we were off again after seeing the Birdquest convoy – with Pete standing tall in the front jeep! – go speeding north back towards the river in a cloud of dust. A couple of Common Jerys of the race decaryi looked quite different from the ones we’d seen so far but otherwise the birdlife was kinda minimal with a Helmeted Guineafowl being the only new addition to the trip list.

As we sped down the dusty roads we saw a large snake crossing the road and yelled for Gabs to stop but unfortunately he said we’d go round it....which would’ve been ok if we’d gone behind it and not the way it was travelling....we jumped out thinking we’d missed it but after Chris picked it up we saw blood coming from its head....poor thing. On the return journey it was still there....I do so hate the needless killing of animals :-C We drove for nearly five hours until we reached the next little village that involved another ferry crossing: this one was of the hand-pulled variety and we had to wait a good hour and a half for it to bring the zebu carts over and back again. The zebu themselves swim across whilst the strength of the young guy pulling the ferry was impressive!

Onwards again we had a minor mishap when the ‘road’ was impassable to us because of a low-angled tree meant we couldn’t drive under it. So out we jumped and through the bushes Gabster went....different! At a little after 1pm we eventually reached the community on the shore of Lake Kinkony and after faffing around looking for the guide we eventually were standing in front of the most unseaworthy-looking boat I’ve ever seen! Lots of broken sticks were thrown into the bottom and they kinda hid the water in it then it was time to climb in. The boat sank alarmingly low in the water with Kev and Bola of course grabbing the only little bench available. Chris, myself, the guide and three boatmen sat on the uncomfortable floor. Thankfully the boat became alot more stable as we picked up a bit of speed and soon we were seeing waterbirds everywhere although photographing wasn’t the easiest thing to do: plenty of White-faced Whistlers, a lovely pair of Comb Ducks, 6 African Pygmy-Geese, Black-winged Stilts, Mad Jacanas, several Whiskered Terns, Black Egrets, Squacco Herons, Mad Grebe, Long-tailed Cormorants, Purple and Grey Herons, Glossy Ibis and two grey-morph Dimorphic Egrets at their nest. Bola also saw a swamphen...suppressor!

We were rowed to a quieter corner of the lake and pulled in next to the reeds. We could hear ‘rail sounds’ emanating from within this area and then the guide up front pointed excitedly. Sitting on the deck behind Bola and Kev meant I had little chance of seeing what the guide could and Chris was behind the two guys behind me so he had no chance! Bola and Kev could obviously see something which left Chris and me becoming, shall we say, a little tense! I knelt up (which was amazingly uncomfortable), Chris stood up – much to the consternation of the boatmen! – and then I saw a dark rail-shaped silhouette dart across. Ok, that’s a start. We moved the boat slightly more side-on and then we all saw two cute little black chicks scramble over the reeds towards the parent bird. Scanning the front of the reeds and suddenly there it was, no less than 10ft away, a stunning adult Sakalava Rail!! Amazing, what a fab bird! It came right out and fed on the submerged reeds before doing an about-face and running quickly back into the reeds to join its young. Wow!!

Now very much elated we watched the pair of Mad Swamp-Warblers that were hopping around in front of us and then leisurely made our way back to shore seeing a couple of Striated Herons and a White-throated Rail on the way back. A Mad Gymnogene 3 Yellow-billed Kites and a pair of Mad Bee-eaters were overhead and once back ashore we retraced our steps back towards the little town of Makary we’d passed through earlier and pulled into the hotel for the night. Luckily it was my turn for a single room as the other 3 had to share one big room – ha ha!! After a pleasant dinner and some nice cold beers, we heard a Torotoroka Scops-Owl calling from just outside and after a while managed to get it in the torch beams (well done Chris!). We had a couple of the usual White-bellied Freetails come up on the detector and we also saw a large-eared, biggish bat here that I can only think was a Commerson’s Leaf-nosed Bat (having seen quite a few other Hipposideros bats it looked the most likely candidate). So, another long day that involved little actual birding was over, but we had all seen a very good bird indeed.

If anyone's got an id for the unfortunate snake I'd be most appreciative:

And some birds of course

And this is how many bananas 30p will get you in Madagascar.....!!

birdboybowley said:

If anyone's got an id for the unfortunate snake I'd be most appreciative:

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Hi Ads,

Is it the Hog-nosed Snake, Leioheterodon modestus?

Cheers,