NEW ZEALAND 1996: North Island (7-12 August)

Introduction.  This blog recounts a visit to New Zealand with Nick Preston in August 1996.  It is based on a report I wrote soon after with some additional and perhaps unreliable memories and is illustrated with digitised prints taken with a basic Pentax camera and low magnification zoom lens. Many of the birds seen were very confiding although that is not reflected in the few bird photos I managed to take.  

Nick arrived in New Zealand the day before me, having been in Queensland, Australia for the previous two weeks.  We used my sister Ruth and brother-in-law’s house, conveniently located in Titirangi, Auckland as a base and borrowed one of their cars for a nominal charge.  We covered much of New Zealand and thought it a brilliant country.  So much so that, ignoring birds, it is the only place I have visited where I’d probably prefer to live than in England.

Away from Auckland we usually camped or slept in the car.  Exceptions were on Tiritiri Matangi Island where basic accommodation was provided and Stewart Island where we stayed in an equally basic Backpacker’s.  Both were very moderately priced.  It was necessary to take supplies to Tiritiri Matangi Island, which Ruth had kindly ought for us, but elsewhere snack-type food was readily bought.  Most evenings a local fish and chip shop was visited and, almost without exception, these were excellent.

August, being mid-winter, is not an ideal time to visit.  With less daylight, likelihood of poor weather and birds not so vocal we allowed longer in New Zealand than perhaps one would have done in summer.  A few seabirds are more regular at this time of year but others move out of New Zealand waters.  Some of the endemic species are harder to find in winter and we failed to see Rock Wren, not helped by the sites we had for them being under snow.  Attempts to look for Great Spotted Kiwi near Punakaiki were also thwarted by the access road being flooded, although apart from this we were generally lucky with the weather, in particular by leaving the west coast of South Island ahead of blizzards which closed some of the roads we had used a few days earlier.

7 August 1996:  After 28 hours of flying (via Sydney) I arrived in Auckland early in the afternoon and was met at the airport by Nick who had borrowed my sister Ruth’s car.  We spent a couple of hours at nearby Mangere Treatment Works before going to my Ruth’s house in Titirangi.  The tide was rising while we were at Mangere and our visit culminated with a flock of 80 Wrybills roosting on a small island in one of the pools which gave good views from the road.  33 species were recorded, the other highlights being our first Paradise Shelduck, Australian Shoveller, South Island Pied Oystercatchers and Red-billed Gulls and 30 rather distant Royal Spoonbills.

leaving Sydney

8 August 1996:  After a quick breakfast, accompanied by the ubiquitous Grey Fantail, we packed the supplies bought for us by Ruth and drove to Gulf Harbour Marina, Whangaparaoa to get the excursion boat to Tiritiri Matangi Island.  Most of the 20 or so visitors were going across for a day trip but Ruth had booked us in for two nights.  The journey on a fast boat took approx. 30 minutes but the speed of the boat made birding difficult and only an Australian Gannet and a probable White-fronted Tern were seen.  Tiritiri is a truly magical place and we were overwhelmed with birdsong on our arrival.  We were met just above the jetty by 3 Takahes and had seen several Saddlebacks, Tuis and Bellbirds on the short walk to the accommodation.  This was very adequate ‘bird observatory’ standard with a communal kitchen.  We spent all day walking round the island which is about 2.5 kms long and 1 km wide with replanted natural forest in valleys on the southwestern side, an insight into what native New Zealand was like.  At dusk Little Blue Penguins appeared offshore (having seen 3 in burrows earlier) and after dark 3 Grey-faced Petrels were seen around their nesting area.  Sixteen Little Spotted Kiwis had been released on Tiri during the previous three years and we were very keen to see one.  After a simple meal we walked around until nearly 01:00 by which time we were both finding it very hard to stay awake – at one stage I laid down on a section of boardwalk and could have easily fallen asleep. We heard four, one of which was very close, although frustratingly not close enough for us to see it.  We recorded 40 species of which 15 were new for me.  Takahes were the most impressive (a total of 7 being seen and other highlights were New Zealand Dotterel, Red-crowned Parakeet, Whitehead, New Zealand Robin and Stitchbird.

Tiritiri Matangi

Tiri was full of birds (and birdsong) with Takahes taking on the 'meet and greet' role

they were real heavyweights

Tiri quay

boardwalk through native woodland in the main valley on Tiri.  We heard Little Spotted Kiwis here but were unable to find them

9 August 1996:  Another enjoyable day on Tiri.  Again 40 species were recorded and again Little Spotted Kiwi was only heard, although by evening it was raining and we only heard one twice in nearly 2 hours.  New Zealand birding presents significant problems for the purist.  The inability of many native species to cope with predators (in particular possums) introduced by early European settlers has devastated many of their populations.  To ensure their survival the Department of Conservation reintroduces native species onto small, predator-fee, offshore islands.  Visitors are allowed on a few of them (Tiri being the most accessible) and as these are often the only places these species can be seen we had no qualms about counting them.  We had hoped to visit Kapiti Island which is also home to similar introductions to those on Tiri, although some have been established for longer.  This was not possible as no access to the island was allowed at the time of our visit as it was being blitzed with rat poison.  Fluttering Shearwater and Morepork were new birds for me, the later some compensation for drawing a blank again with Little Spotted Kiwi.  Other highlights included 45 Little Blue Penguins (brilliant), 38 Saddlebacks, 11 Stitchbirds, 13 Whiteheads and 3 Takahes.

the northern end of the island was more like moorland and so less interesting

10 August 1996:  After a quick last look around Tiri we paid our bill in the shop, being joined while doing so by a Takahe!  We returned to Gulf Marina on a boat which had been chartered to bring a walking club over.  The fast crossing produced poor views of 100 Fluttering Shearwaters.  We drove back to Titirangi stopping off at Pollen Island (in south Waitemata Harbour, west Auckland) where we saw a Fernbird with little trouble, other than plodging through mangroves to reach the site, and heard at least one other.  We had another very pleasant night in Titirangi preparing for the main part of the trip.  I recorded 35 species, the highlights being the Tiri specialities and Fernbird.

distant view of Auckland as we headed to Pollen Island

11 August 1996:  We left Auckland soon after dawn and drove for an hour or so south to Island Block Road just off route 1 near Meremere.  The extreme western part of the road was a site for Australian Bittern and walking along the southwestern bank of the river where it is crossed by the road we saw 3 with ease.  We then drove on to Miranda and saw a reasonable selection of waders, the best being 7 Double-banded Plovers, 4 New Zealand Dotterel and 140 Wrybills.  Other more notable birds included 3 Royal Spoonbills, a Cattle Egret, 2 introduced Eastern Rosellas and our first good look at White-fronted Terns.  With the tide falling we decided to cut short our visit at Miranda and drive to Rotorua in the hope of seeing New Zealand Little Grebe before dark, and thus save half a day on the itinerary.  The drive was fairly uninteresting and took 2-3 hours but we arrived with an hour of light left.  The point north of the Polynesian pools complex gave excellent views of 6 New Zealand Little Grebes, 1500 New Zealand Scaup and our first Black-billed Gulls (which we may have overlooked previously).  After an excellent fish and chips we drove to Pureora Forest Park.  We initially had difficulty finding Plains Road, our best Kokako site, but did so eventually.  It was clearly too cold to sleep in the car and we put the tent up in record time.  47 species were recorded, the New Zealand Dotterel being best.

12 August 1996:  We awoke at dawn and almost immediately heard a Kokako calling nearby.  We hurried into the forest and were soon rewarded with reasonable views of it coming in to investigate our tape recording.  The rest of the morning was spent walking along Plains Road and at the Observation tower.  Notable birds included 3 excellent Riflemen, 8 Tomtits, 4 Kakas (though in silhouete only) and 2 non-introduced Whiteheads.  We then drove to the Manganuiateao River northwest of Raetihi.  Stopping to scan from the road along a 5 km stretch of river beyond Orautoha we found 3 pairs of Blue Duck which were excellent.  This was after a false start when, at the first view of the river, I spotted two distant birds tucked up asleep under a river bank which looked ‘good’.  They turned out to be Mallard but our disappointment was short lived when a pair of Blue Duck suddenly appeared on the rocks below us - presumably having drifted downstream while we were intent on studying the Mallard!  We left this area late afternoon and on the drive back to Raetihi I saw a California Quail running across the road while Nick dozed in the passenger seat.  Just before dark we drove past the still smoking Mount Ruapehu, unfortunately with the top covered in cloud, and continued south towards Wellington, spending the night in the car near Plimmerton.  31 species were recorded with Rifleman and Blue Duck vying for ‘bird of the day’.

Pureora

views from the observation tower

Manganuiateao River 

prime Blue Duck habitat

Mount Ruapehu

PHILIPPINES Spring 1996 (Katanglad, Bohol & Quezon)

With shocking images of the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan fresh in my mind I thought it time to revisit a trip made to that country, if not the islands most affected, in happier times of 1996.  

Introduction.  The following reports on a short trip to selected sites in the Philippines in spring 1996 made by Nick Preston, Barry Stidolph, John & David Cooper and myself.  Nick, Barry and I were keen to visit the Philippines but as Nick and Barry were teachers a trip had to coincide with school holidays.  This effectively meant Easter and with only two weeks available a comprehensive trip was not possible - even two months might not have been long enough for that!  We got some very helpful information from Paul Noakes and put together a two-week itinerary targeting particular sites & species and were very pleased that John (who we’d been with to Madagacar the previous summer) and David were able to join us.  As it was mainly a forest destination and birds somewhat secretive I only took a small camera and print film.  The resulting prints were completely birdless but have been scanned for this blog.  Otherwise it is based on an old trip report and notebook entries.  Many thanks to Nick, Barry, John & David for making this a very enjoyable and largely successful trip.  On 30 March 1996 we left London Heathrow at 11:00 on a direct and very impressive Singapore Airlines flight to Singapore.

31 March 1996.  We arrived in Singapore at 07:45 and had just under two hours in transit before leaving on the 09:35 flight to Manila.  We arrived in Manila at 12:50 and got a large taxi to take us to the Townhouse, a cheap hostel off Roxas Boulevard recommended by the Lonely Planet Guide.  We dumped our bags and caught another taxi to the American Cemetery where the sheer number of graves was awesome.  Here in rather managed ‘parkland’ we saw our first Philippine endemic, Philippine Pigmy Woodpecker.  Also a very pale grey-looking Peregrine, two Barred Rails, a possible Japanese Snipe and 80 wintering Violet-backed Starlings.  Taxi back to the Townhouse as it was getting dark, an unforgetable meal and an early night.

1 April 1996.  We were up very early, chartered a passing Jeepney to take us to the domestic airport for the 05:00 flight to Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao, arriving there at 06:30.  Here we chartered a minibus to take us the c100 kms to Dalwanyan.  We found Mrs Maghanoy’s house more easily than I’d anticipated as our directions included reference to a hoarding and seemed rather vague.  After some understandable delay - we’d arrived unannounced - she arranged for Carlito to guide us and five motorbikes to take us part way up to the rest house on Mount Katanglad.  I got on the back of one motorbike with my rucksack and immediately overbalanced landing headfirst the other side before it was decided to tie my rucksack on the back of the bike.  Perhaps being the most awkward passenger my bike soon got left behind as th eoters raced off, but after about 7km they were unable to make it any further and we had to walk the last 3 kms.  It was all uphill and quite steep in places so quite hard work in the afternoon heat, although we passed through some nice forest patches.  We arrived at rest house mid afternoon and were very pleased to dump our bags which contained much of our food for next five days.  Fortunately we had someone to cook it for us!   We spent the rest of the day looking around the immediate vicinity and forest patches just above the rest house.    I saw 21 species of which nearly half were endemic while Giant Scops Owl was heard briefly in the night.  Highlights were Black & Cinnamon Fantail, Elegant Tit and Sulphur-billed Nuthatch. 

looking back on the track up to Katanglad

2 April 1996.  We slowly walked up to the Philippine Eagle lookout where three hours of observation produced distant views of two individuals.  One eagle visited the nest site which the viewpoint overlooked although the nest was hidden from view and at least 1 km range.  The eagle looked big but at that range I was distinctly unimpressed.  I was even less impressed to miss a Stripe-breasted Rhabdornis and spent the rest of day spent walking up to higher viewpoint and back.  Despite the Rhabdornis and an evening failure to see the newly discovered woodcock and another hearing of Giant Scops Owl it was a good day with nearly 40 species seen including a superb Philippine Falconet, 3 Cinnamon Ibons and a flock of 35 Chinese Goshawks presumably migrating north.

view from the eagle lookout at

view from the upper lookout

sunset from Katanglad

3 April 1996.  Carlito took Nick, Barry and me to look for Hombron's Kingfisher although soon only Barry and I remained with him, Nick being ill.  Amazingly Carlito's whistling (which had begun to get on my nerves) paid off when Barry located one flying in to check us out.  A pair then called in response and we got excellent views through the 'scope.  While calling the male(?) cocked its tail and pointed its bill to the sky, brilliant.  We then embarked on a fairly unproductive route march along little used forest trails culminating in climbing down a sheer slope into the valley and back up the other side coming out at the higher lookout.  I frustratingly heard Philippine Bullfinch but did not see it.  4 Apo Mynas from the lookout late afternoon and a superb Philippine Frogmouth in the forest opposite the rest house early evening.  This amazing bird has wispy feathers above its eyes and bill.  Another good day with 45 species seen including 2 Yellow-breasted Fruit Doves and a Mindanao Hornbill.

river crossing on the Hombron's trek

lower forest at Katanglad

4 April 1996.  Nick was still ill, John and David were trying for the kingfisher so Barry and I decided to go further up the mountain to concentrate on the Bullfinch and Mountain Shrike.  I got distracted by a calling Bush Hen which I did not see despite rushing into the tall grass it was calling from (not strictly in my Fieldcraft manual) and when I caught up with Barry at upper lookout discovered he'd seen 3 Bullfinches!  Not best pleased I dipped on another before having excellent views of a pair above the highest lookout and then saw two more later in the day.  We continued walking up the mountain for another hour before finding a Mountain Shrike in an overgrown clearing, and then walked slowly back.  A look at dusk from below the rest house failed to produce either the hoped for Grass Owl or the woodcock and no owls were heard in the night although perhaps I slept too solidly after another hard day?  40 species recorded including 4 Mountain Racket-tails flying over the higher lookout, 2 Stripe-breasted Rhabdornis, 2 McGregor's Cuckoo-Shrike and an Apo Sunbird.  David saw Hombron's Kingfisher but John and Nick dipped.

upper lookout

me at the upper eagle lookout

5 April 1996.  Our last day at Katanglad so Barry and I went back to the eagle lookout where we saw one bird twice, both times much closer than before.  First it glided down the valley in front of us and later circled up over us.  My earlier disappointment with the species immediately evaporated!  We then spent rather a frustrating time trying to see Katanglad Parrotfinch and I only succeeded in getting very poor flight views.  Nick and John saw Hombron's Kingfisher allowing us all to rave about it.  We started walking down to Dalwanyan in the early afternoon hoping to look for Grass Owl lower down at dusk but after 3 kms a Department of Tourism jeepney stopped and offered us a lift back to Cagayan de Oro which seemed too good an offer to refuse.  We arriving in Cagayan after dark and found a hotel near the airport.  40 species seen, mostly repeats, but did include a Philippine Serpent Eagle and male Pied Harrier and c75 Eye-browed Thrushes and an Arctic Warbler on the lower slopes.

me, John & Barry at the lower eagle lookout - it was a lot hotter here than this image might suggest

the track leaving Katanglad

our Tourist Office jeepney lift

6 April 1996.  We were at Cagayan de Oro airport in good time for our 07.20 flight to Cebu where we had several hours to look for Black Shama before flying on to Bohol.  That was the plan, but we’d not taken account of the weather –very dull with thick low cloud.  We heard the plane come in, fly around a bit and depart.  Maybe it would try later but after waiting what seemed like hours, and with a forecast suggesting that an immediate improvement wasn’t likely, it was cancelled.  If that wasn’t bad enough the next flight wasn’t until Monday, two days away!  Now the Lonely Planet Guide came to the rescue, indicating that a ferry, the Cagayan Princess, normally sailed direct to Bohol at midday on Saturdays.  Enquiries suggested that it still did and we quickly got a taxi to the quay where it was quite a relief to see it tied up.  We left on time and it was a very boring six hour crossing to Jagna where we arrived just after dark.  Despite the relatively early hour (it had only just got dark) we were told there were no buses or taxis available.  This seemed unlikely given that we’d just got off a scheduled ferry.  Perhaps we’d not disembarked quickly enough but it seemed more like a ruse to get us to stay the night in an expensive dive.  At least we’d made it to Bohol and kept the trip on track.  I saw 18 Red-necked Phalaropes, two unidentified terns and 3 dolphins at sea but only one other species (Tree Sparrows in Cagayan de Oro).

the Cagayan Princess

at sea

7 April 1996.  We caught the first bus towards Tagbilaran at 04:30, changing at Loay where we got the 06:30 bus to Bilar.  We had a 30 minute delayed en route while a puncture was mended and at Bilar got 2 motor-cycle rickshaws to take us the 4 kms to Logarita Forest Station, arriving before 09:00.  We dumped our bags in the pleasant reserve guest house we were very pleased had room for us and someone who could provide food, although being rice based John and David were not overly impressed.  We headed for the Valley Trail and I was very tense at the possibility of seeing a new pitta.  We started well with the first bird seen being a Ruddy Kingfisher on the way to the trail and within less than half an hour on the trail we heard an Azure-breasted (or Steere’s) Pitta calling.  It immediately responded to tape playback and flew in to give stunning views sat on a branch about 10 feet above the ground for 5-10 minutes, first back then head on, before flying off.  Completely brilliant, it was my main target bird for the trip.  By mid-day we'd seen two more, one which I watched for 10 minutes, and walking the trail a second time produced a 4th!  The last standing stationary, perhaps until it realised it had been seen, and then bouncing up the hillside.  Other birds amongst the 20 species I saw were a Philippine Trogon, Rufous-tailed Jungle Flycatcher, Blue Fantail and our first Coletos.  Rather frustratingly we heard Philippine Scops Owl, Hawk Owl and Frogmouth in the clearing by the guest house at night, but despite going out after each one failed to see anything apart from a rather nice flying lemur.

delay on the way to Bilar

John (in orangey-pink shirt) checking on the puncture repair

8 April 1966.  We were on the Valley Trail soon after dawn, walking it twice during the day but we saw no more pittas and frustratingly only heard Winchell's Kingfisher.  The first time we contined to the end of the trail and came out on the Swimming Pool Trail and we visited the Scout Camp Clearing in late afternoon.  Nick wandered off from there just before dusk and came running back shortly after, having found a Wattled Broadbill, another key species.  We rushed to the site but it had moved on.  My panicking was fortunately short lived as David refound it further down the track as the light was going.  Luckily I had my spotlight with me and we got excellent views of 2 pairs as they were preparing to roost.  Another day at Logarita and another brilliant bird seen.  27 species seen including 2 Philippine Trogons, 3 Samar Hornbills, 4 Black-faced Coucals, Black-chinned Fruit Dove and Samar Tailorbird.

9 April 1996.  We were back in the Scout Camp Clearing soon after dawn but could find no sign of the Broadbills.  We then split up with Barry, Nick and I walking the Valley Trail where an absolutely amazing Red-bellied Pitta was found by Barry.  It was a small, very confiding pitta that seemed very interested in playback and although it only called once, that was enough!   We watched it for about half an hour before being able to drag ourselves away to find John and David back at the rest house, returning almost immediately to watch it again for another half an hour or so.  It was bird of the trip for me and my 19^th species of pitta.  25 species seen including Black-chinned Fruit Dove, Blue-crowned Racket-tail (over the Scout Camp Clearing), Philippine Trogon, Ruddy Kingfisher and 2 Samar Hornbills.  Three days at Logarita, three stunning species seen!

The Pitta plate from our 'home-made' field guide.  Bound photographs of most plates from the handbook sized duPont's Phillipine Birds.  Red-bellied is centre, Azure-breasted (or Steere's) bottom left.  Whiskered (or Koch's), top left, involved a four day excursion/hike in Northern Luzon and would have to wait for another time 

10 April 1996.  We were up in early hours after calling Philippine Hawk Owl which gave good views in spotlight, a rare night success for us.  We gave the Valley Trail a break starting with Swimming Pool Trail where I saw a female Wattled Broadbill.  It was a good but brief view and disappeared before anyone else could get onto it.  We then walked out in nearby paddies looking at some Yellow Wagtails and 9 Pacific Golden Plovers and were amazed when two white birds flying round the forest edge turned out to be Philippine Cockatoos and not egrets (we nearly didn't bother looking at them)!  They then appeared to be prospecting nest hole sites.  Visits to the Scout Camp Clearing and Valley Trail were unproductive although John & David had seen Winchell's Kingfisher in flight on the latter.  27 species seen including and a Black-faced Coucal, a flushed Philippine Nightjar and a Wattled Bulbul.

 

Bohol frog, fortunately some of our night excursions saw more than this

11 April 1996.  On the Valley Trail at dawn for last time.  We watched the Red-bellied Pitta for another hour and I saw another Azure-breasted Pitta (our first since the first day) but again failed to get an acceptable view of Winchell's Kingfisher or possibly any view at all – mine being a shape flying through the canopy which seemed to tie in with where calls were heard.  The bird’s name was too close to wind-chill for winter weather-forecasts not to be a constant reminder of a painful dip.  I only saw six other species and we left Logarita for Bilar soon after 09:00 by jeep (with bags tied on roof).  After a short wait we caught a bus to Tagbilaran and then two motor-cycle rickshaws to the airport.  We flew to Manila at 14:50 arriving at 16:45.  There we chartered taxi to take us to Lucena, 3-4 hours south of Manila and the closest town to Quezon National Park (although still c20 km's short of it).  We stayed at the Fresh Air Hotel in north of town - better than the sort of fresh air hotel I was used too!

 

loading our jeep at Logarita - all five of us plus luggage and driver were fitted in

Nick supervising the loading of a motorcycle rickshaw at Tagbilaran

David leaving Tagbilaran

our flight back to Manila

approacing Manila

12 April 1996.  In the dark we flagged down an early jeepney into the centre of Lucena where we quickly chartered another to take us to Quezon National Park.  The road there was very poor and we didn't arrive until 07:30.  We walked the Summit Trail hearing a distant Red-bellied Pitta and two frustratingly close but unresponsive White-browed Shamas but saw little.  We then walked down the road to the park entrance at Malicboy where the 'resident' Indigo-banded Kingfisher was a delight and then got another jeepney back to the Summit Trail again.  Frustratingly we heard the 2 White-browed Shamas on the Summit Trail again but still could not see them despite much effort.  We walked back down to the entrance again seeing a family party of 3 Rufous Hornbills from viewpoint in the rain while 4 needletails that shot over went unidentified.  We caught a bus back to Lucena and motor-cycle rickshaws to the Fresh Air Hotel.  There we arranged an early jeepney to get us to Summit Trail for first light next morning but were all wishing we’d stayed closer to Quezon, even if the nearer town didn’t seem to have much going for it.  I’d seen 27 species including 2 Stripe-headed Rhabdornis, 4 Luzon Hornbills and single Guaiabero, Rough-crested Malkoha, Sooty Woodpecker and Pigmy Flowerpecker.

13 April 1996.  Our booked jeepney took us to Quezon at 04:00, arriving at the start of the Summit Trail just as it was getting light.  We walked part of the Summit Trail, seeing 2 Spotted Wood Kingfishers and Rufous Coucal near the start.  Most of us only heared the 2 Shamas again although Nick saw one and a Luzon Bleeding-Heart off trail that all too soon melted away.  We walked down the road to the viewpoint again and the Rufous Hornbills were still in area and giving much better views.  We retraced our steps back, walked a bit more of the Summit Trail and then back to the entrance at Malicboy.  After another look at Indigo-banded Kingfisher our jeepney then took us to Pagbiliao Fish Ponds for an hour or so mid afternoon.  A good selection of waders in nice plumage included 8 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers.  We returned to Lucena for our bags and then got the 18:00 bus to Manila arriving about 22:00.  A taxi to the Townhouse ended another long day.  25 species seen at Quezon including 20+ Chinese Goshawks, 3 excellent Stripe-headed Rhabdornis and Naked-faced Spiderhunter.  40 species at Pagbiliao including Yellow Bittern, Banded Rail and White-bellied Sea Eagle.

14 April 1996.  We got a taxi to Manila Airport soon after first light.  We departed from Manila at 08:30 arriving in Singapore at 11:30, leaving there at 12:30 and arriving at Heathrow at 18:50.  We had no real hassles at all, other than our cancelled flight, and found the Philippines a very friendly, inexpensive, country (the trip cost me about £850 all in).  The trip was very successful in large part due to my excellent birding companions David and John Cooper, Nick Preston and Barry Stidolph (many thanks to them all) although we found it hard work due to low bird densities and a general lack of time.  I saw about 165 species in total of which 70+ were new.  For me the best birds were Red-bellied & Azure-breasted Pittas, Wattled Broadbill, Philippine Frogmouth, Philippine Eagle, Spotted Wood & Hombron's Kingfishers, Rufous Hornbill, Philippine Bullfinch and Stripe-headed Rhabdornis.

[blogged November 2013]

MADAGASCAR August 1995 (part 3)

This is the final part of my blogged account of a trip to Madagascar with John Cooper, Nick Preston, Barry Stidolph and occasionally Terry (our driver).  This instalment even has some identifiable bird photos!

22 August.  The road to Mora Mora, 20 kms to NW, was too sandy for our fully loaded Renault 20 but we eventually persuaded Terry to take us two at a time and we all arrived without mishap and only a few hairy moments by late morning.  We wouldn’t need Terry for a couple of days so he returned to Toliara with instructions to return for us on 24^th.  We checked into the Mora Mora Hotel but unfortunately their enquiries established that top guides Mosa and Masindraka were absent, apparently at a circumcision celebration in another village.  We wandered around the immediate vicinity of Mora Mora, seeing a tame Ring-tailed Lemur, and found another guide who took us into the dry spiny forest when the temperature started to drop mid afternoon.  We had no success finding Long-tailed Ground Roller but our guide did succeed in ‘treeing’ two male Sub-desert Mesites which gave excellent views, placing far too much faith in their camouflage.  We also had a superb Running Coua running.  The areas of spiny forest nearest the road were becoming badly hacked and it was easy to believe that it was the most threatened habitat in Madagascar. I saw  26 species, the other highlight being a pair of Banded Kestrels by the entrance to the forest almost opposite our hotel.  Disappointingly we didn’t seen them again during our stay at Moro Mora.  Also Red-capped and Crested Couas, 2 Madagascar Buttonquail, 2 Madagascar Bush Warblers and 2 Sickle-billed Vangas.

Amazing Baobabs in the spiny forest



 

just the sort of track I was hoping a ground roller would walk across, one never did

Baobab and spiny shrubs

 



 



more spiny stuff

Banded Kestrel

23 August.  Early in the morning we returned to the spiny forest with our guide but again failed to find Long-tailed Ground Roller.  Before it got too hot we did see our first Lafresnaye’s Vanga, Archbold’s Newtonia (2) and Stripe-throated Jery (3) and 2 roosting Madagascar Nightjars were also good.  We visited the saltpans to the south of Mora Mora where, under a scorching sun, we saw a pair of Madagascar Plovers (as well as the commoner Kittlitz’s and White-fronted) and 2 Thamnorinis Warblers.  We returned to the hotel to find that Mosa had returned and soon headed back into the spiny forest with him and our original guide.  Mosa quickly located some tracks crossing the path and told us to wait while he headed off to follow them.  He soon called us over and pointed out a Long-tailed Ground Roller half hidden under a bush.  A brilliant bird and Mosa made it seem so easy finding it!  After two earlier failures we knew otherwise! At dusk a Running Coua was seen flying up into a tree to roost.  A good end to what turned out to be an excellent day, but being Madagascar the species count was very low – an above average 37 for me today.  We also saw two Ring-tailed Lemurs, not quite in the forest but they appeared less tame than yesterday’s.

early morning in the spiny forest

Barry in the spiny forest

me and two amazing trees

 

more photographically irresistible Baobabs 

Lesser Vasa Parrot

Madagascar Turtle Dove

Crested Coua

24 August.  Another early morning sortie into the spiny forest, this time with Mosa and Masindraka,  who soon located a pair of Long-tailed Ground Rollers and later ‘treed’ a pair of Sub-desert Mesites that were also very approachable and saw the same or another male Lafresnaye’s Vanga.  Excellent.  Back at Mora Mora Terry had arrived and he returned us two at a time to Toliara.  Here we stocked up with some provisions including several tins of what we thought was fruit but turned out to be jam!  What a disappointment when we found out.  We also attempted to bring forward our return flight to Antananarivo although were not able to do so.  Terry drove us the 15 km to La Mangrove – a much better dirt road on which we encountered no problems – before he returned to Toliara.  La Mangrove was a good chalet style hotel with excellent food.  We spent the afternoon walking the dusty road south of La Mangrove through an area of coastal rag (scrub) getting excellent views of 2 Madagascar Green Pigeons and 6 Grey-headed Lovebirds.

Barry, Nick and John waiting for Mosa to tell us he'd tracked down another ground-roller



 

he had, and we had even better views



treed Sub-desert Mesite

better from the front!

quite a strange bird

 

and another stunning species

goat eaten scrub on the retreating edge of the forest

25 August.  The wind was unfortunately too strong to allow a visit to the small islet of Nosy Ve and/or Anakao, a village further along the coast, so we spent all morning in searing heat and no shade walking towards St. Augustine and back, not knowing a new Vanga had very recently been discovered on a nearby hillside!  We thought we had asked Terry to drop by at lunchtime in case we needed him but we must have got our wires crossed as he never showed up.  As a result we spent the afternoon around La Mangrove.  I saw 25 species including 2 very smart Verreaux's Couas and 3 Humblot's Herons on what was basically a ‘waiting’ day.

coastal rag along the St Augustine road

26 August.  The wind was still too strong to visit Nosy Ve.  Terry turned up rather sheepishly and we decided it would not be worth driving back to Antananarivo as it would take 2 days.  We therefore sent Terry back early, giving him money for the petrol to get him there.  We spent the day around La Mangrove (on mudflats, walking the road and generally loafing around – it was too hot to do much else).  I saw 24 species, my highlight being nice views of some charming Grey-headed Lovebirds and a Humblot’s Heron while a Madagascar Scops Owl did not call for long enough to enable us to track it down.

La Mangrove

at low tide

27 August.  The wind had finally dropped to allow a boat trip to Nosy Ve although the crossing was a bit rough.  We spent a couple of hours on the island getting amazing views of breeding Red-tailed Tropicbirds and four downy young (20+ in total).  Fortunately they are protected by taboo otherwise I’m sure they would have been eaten, they were so tame.  Also on the island were a White-fronted Sandplover, 20 Crested and 6 Lesser Crested Terns and a bit surprisingly 3 Common Jerys.  We returned via Anakao where an hour was spent in scrub immediately behind the beach.  Here a bit against the clock we found six males and a female Littoral Rock Thrush as well as a pair of Madagascar Buttonquail and a Madagascar Brush Warbler.  The day’s other highlight, out of just 20 species seen was a Madagascar Scops Owl spotlighted outside La Mangrove.

Nosy Ve

Red-tailed Tropicbird, the tail was really thin and hardly visible on this image

spot the tail ...

 

proud parent

the wire-like tail is visiblw in this image, held almost vertical

28 August.  All day was spent around La Mangrove - walking the road, on the mudflats and generally loafing around.  Very much a dud day that would have been better spent returning to Antananarivo (to give longer at Perinet) but that was not possible due to flight non-availability.  I saw 27 species but little of note with 5 Verreaux’s and 2 Red-capped Couas, a female Madagascar Buttonquail and superb views of Madagascar Magpie Robins the highlight.

29 August.  A final morning around La Mangrove where we had good views of the surprisingly nice Madagascar Green Pigeon (3) before getting a truck to Toliara airport.  We were early and the flight delayed somewhat so we walked to the airport pools where we saw 7 Kittlitz’s Plovers, Marsh and 3 Curlew Sandpipers and 2 Madagascar Bee-eaters.  We caught the late late afternoon flight back to Antananarivo arriving as it was getting dark.  We were met at the airport by Aventour and were taken to their office in town where we had a prolonged argument about their final payment before getting a reasonable reduction on the bill.   We had dismissed Terry early in Toliara when it became obvious there was no benefit in keeping him on (it would have been a smart move to have done this when we first arrived there and chartered taxis as we needed them) and he’d not showed up one day although wires might have been crossed.  His concept of time was quite different from ours although he was often on time, was certainly a good safe driver (very important on Madagascan roads) and we had no major hassles.  Had we the time to use public transport we could have done the trip for very much cheaper, although seeing some of the overcrowded buses it would have been with very little comfort!  We spent the first of two nights at the Hotel Oriental.

me checking the bill at La Mangrove (photo by John Cooper)

30 August.  We left Antananarivo soon after 05:00 heading for Perinet for the day.  We arrived at about 08:00 and soon found Patrice who fortunately had no clients and agreed to take us around for the day, one of the few advantages of being in Madagascar a month before the most other groups go.  The disadvantage was our guides telling us that if we had come a month later everything we were struggling to find would be calling and much easier to see.  We had another enjoyable day with Red-breasted (a last new bird) and 2 Blue Couas, Cuckoo Roller, 2 female Velvet Asities, 4 Nuthatch Vangas and a better view of a Madagascar Starling (and 2 in flight).  Despite excellent views our identification of two perched accipiters as Madagascar Sparrowhawks were, on subsequent information, probably Frances’s – not my favourite genus!  We left for Antananarivo late afternoon and stopped briefly at the marshes near Moramanga where we’d heard Madagascar Rail but drew a complete blank.  I saw 48 species during the day, the second highest on the trip.  Definitely a case of quality over quantity.  It made writing up notes easier too, or would if fewer species were prefixed Madagascar.  A final meal at the Hotel Oriental where my chosing steak was a mistake.  Two days later, and fortunately back home, I was suffering from a severe case of the runs.  Enough to restrict me to a vegetarian or fish diet whenever possible.

31 August.  I went out early and gave my remaining food, including a couple of tins of jam (how useful would that be?) and some old clothes to one of the young families living on the streets of Antananarivo.  A pretty empty gesture I know.  John, Nick and I then said goodbye to Barry and we got a taxi to Ivato airport seeing a Madagascar Kestrel on the way.  We stopped again at Mahe (5+ White-tailed Tropicbirds) and arrived in Moscow the following morning (a few Hooded Crows).  Despite some concerns Aeroflot had been fine and they got us back to Heathrow on time.  It had been a very enjoyable trip, made more so by having such excellent travelling companions.  The quality of the birds seen was almost unprecedented and we all commented that we'd never been anywhere before where such a high proportion of the species seen were absolute stunners.  For someone not usually too excited by mammals, the lemurs were brilliant too.

[blogged January 2014]