Two weeks ago I returned from the Ornitholidays tour to Ghana, with a group of eight. The highlights were many and varied, with just a few chosen here. In Mole National Park, we witnessed an amazing migration of Grasshopper Buzzards following heavy overnight rain. Sixty or more soared above the lodge together at midday, and headed north, for breeding grounds in the Sahel region south of the Sahara. Many others, not yet ready to leave, were attracted by hatches of termites as the winged insects emerged from the ground.
The African Jacana is a common species in most of sub-Saharan Africa, seen here at a floating nest. Visible directly below the bill and green reeds is an egg, large and beautifully marked. (Click on the image to enlarge). Once the female has laid the third of four eggs, the male takes over, incubating the clutch and looking after the chicks on his own. Meanwhile the female looks for other mates. I was especially happy to see a glimpse of the brown eggs with black scribbles, widely regarded as among the finest of all birds' egg patterns.
Returning to the Mole Lodge one evening just after dark, we came across various nightjars. Half an hour earlier we had watched a female Standard-winged Nightjar at dusk. Now we found this Long-tailed Nightjar on the sandy track ahead, and a Plain Nightjar close by. Two days later we were to witness the extraordinary sight of male Standard-winged Nightjars displaying, appearing to have two small birds fluttering above and behind them as they tried to attract females.
Ghana is a bee-eater paradise: we saw 9 species of this charismatic family during our 13 days in the field. Most striking of all was perhaps the Black Bee-eater, mundanely named but extravagantly coloured. Of all the bizarre nesting places to choose, this bird had made a tunnel in a pile of soil dumped in a car-park. However, not any old car-park would do. This one was on the edge of undisturbed forest in the Kakum National Park. Most bee-eaters are birds of open country, but the Black is essentially a forest species. Like so many of Ghana's birds, forest is essential for their breeding and feeding success. As cash-crops such as cocoa and oil-palm are much in demand, the remaining forest comes under more and more pressure.
Broadbills are a little-known family of tropical forest-dwellers, with 11 species in Asia, and 4 in Africa. This Rufous-sided Broadbill is a sparrow-sized bird that we enjoyed watching as it made short display-flights, noisily vibrating its wings, before returning to the same perch and giving the photographers another chance. All broadbills construct large, domed, untidy hanging nests with a side entrance. This species lays 2 eggs incubated by the female, although the male stays around to help protect the nest from predators.
March is normally the last month of the dry season in Ghana, but this year the rains began early. In response, many birds were busy with courtship, singing and building nests. These Lesser Striped Swallows returned to the track ahead of us to collect mud for their nests, which they often place in the porch or veranda of a house, or in the roof of a culvert or bridge under the road. The male has a strange buzzy song in which he can produce two different notes at the same time.
The most sought-after bird on wildlife tours to Ghana is the Yellow-headed Picathartes, sometimes known as rockfowl. These strange creatures return to roost in their mud nests in caves and rock formations. They are hard to observe elsewhere, as they are shy and quiet forest-floor feeders, that disappear at the first sign of disturbance. They feed on a wide range of insects and small reptiles, and attend army ant swarms. Here they feed not on the ants themselves, but on insects disturbed by the ants.
Finally, we enjoyed watching a colony of Orange Weavers near the coast. This male was taking a break from its main activity of nest-building. Weavers are mostly seed-eaters, but this juicy caterpillar took its fancy. The colony was in bushes above water, and the males were involved in both adding to the nests, and displaying to passing females. Each male was hanging onto the side of the globular nest, quivering its wings and making nasal calls which are often described as swizzling.
Ghana is an extremely friendly country where we were always made to feel welcome. Many thanks to my fellow-travelers for permission to use the photos above.
On March 5th I arrived home after six weeks spent on the Akademik Ioffe, where I worked as staff ornithologist for three back-to-back voyages from Ushuaia (in Argentine Tierra del Fuego) to the Antarctic Peninsula. There she is, with one of the zodiacs that we use to ferry passengers from ship to shore. And what's my staff colleague doing to that Antarctic Fur Seal with that tripod? Well, he's just keeping it at a distance since they often make mock-attacks, but they're more bark than bite.
Here we've just landed on Cuverville Island, about to explore the penguin colonies on a fine January day. This is mid-summer, with the temperature in the range of 0 to +3 degrees C. On the Peninsula where the best wildlife is, we're a huge distance from the South Pole, and typical weather conditions on the Antarctic Peninsula are benign. Our passengers are taking a holiday, not a Ranulf Fiennes-type frost-biting toe-blackening endurance test!
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Of course it's the wildlife that draws me back to the Great White Continent again and again - the last of these three voyages was my 13th. We start with two days crossing the Drake Passage, a notoriously rough stretch of water that separates the South American mainland from the Peninsula. Rewards include sightings of the Wandering Albatross, here an old male with a 3.5 metre wingspan. Unfortunately all albatrosses are declining as they are often by-catch in the long-line fishing industry, but there is hope for the future as more ships adopt fast-sinking baited hooks. That way there's less chance for these wonderful seabirds to get ensnared on the hooks and drowned.
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Penguins are the main wildlife attraction on the Peninsula itself. On our first voyage, well grown Adelie Penguin chicks were discovering that life is tough. Here the chick (centre) is wandering through the colony hungry, looking for a parent to regurgitate krill for it. (Krill is a shrimp-like creature which most of the Antarctic wildlife feeds on). It's a mixed colony of Adelies (adult on left) and Gentoos (adult on right). But any penguin wandering through other breeding territories can expect a few pecks.
Chinstrap Penguins also nest in large colonies on the Peninsula. Through my telescope I spy a stranger in their midst: the one with the orange eyebrows is a lone Macaroni Penguin which has spent the last few seasons in one particular Chinstrap colony. Macaronis nest hundreds of miles away to the north in places like South Georgia, but this individual seems to have made itself at home here.
As we made our way along the Gerlache Strait, we watched this 30-tonne Humpback Whale repeatedly lifting its huge weight out of the water in an amazing display of breaching. Humpback numbers have recovered well from the horrors of the whaling days which lasted from the 1900s to the 1960s in these waters. One morning when I was watching from the bridge I counted 25 Humpbacks before breakfast. They migrate south to feed up on the vast krill stocks in the southern summer, and return to tropical waters - off South Africa, Australia and the South Pacific - to give birth. During their tropical months they fast for months, which gives an indication of how rich a diet krill must be.
One of my three voyages was a longer one, taking in a few days in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. South Georgia is a particular favourite of everyone who has ever been lucky enough to visit, as its wildlife riches are legendary. There are vast colonies of penguins, fur seals, and good breeding populations of elephant seals, albatross, petrels, and many other seabirds. One special highlight was watching a King Penguin egg in the process of hatching. Instead of making a nest of stones and laying eggs on the ground (as the Gentoos, Chinstraps and Adelies do), the Kings keep their single egg balanced on their feet. Usually they nest in vast colonies surrounded by non-breeders, so it's difficult to witness an event like this - but we found a very small colony in a remote location where we had a more intimate encounter. South Georgia's wildlife is about to get even richer - if the ongoing rat eradication programme is successful. Rats, introduced inadvertently by the whalers, are responsible for killing vast numbers of seabird chicks.
Finally, here's an Elephant Seal pup. Elephant Seals are remarkable creatures, the males growing to a weight of up to 4 tonnes. They can hold their breath underwater for 100 minutes and dive to a depth of 2 km. The huge alpha males are in their prime from 8-12 years old, when they fight each other for control of a harem of females far smaller than they are. Many thanks to fellow-passengers Jenny Varley, David Sinclair and Natasja von Gestel for permission to use three of the above images.
In 2004, the Welsh Assembly produced Technical Advice Note no. 8 (TAN 8) on the subject of the recommended siting of windfarms in the Mid Wales uplands. More recently, huge subsidies have been made available for wind development, as the British government seeks 'green' energy sources. The result has been an outburst of applications for windfarms all over the Mid Wales hills. Instead of rural wilderness, the remote hilltops around Newtown, Llandrindod Wells, Tregaron and Machynlleth are threatened with an industrial landscape. If the windfarm permissions are granted, the National Grid will build a new line of 45-metre-high pylons from a hub at Cefn Coch near Newtown, through the outstanding beauty of the Meifod Valley, to join the existing 400 kV transmission line near Oswestry.
But there's nothing green about windfarms. The turbines are built abroad and (being so massive) cause traffic chaos as they are transported round the country on the backs of special lorries. They hum loudly and are implicated in the deaths of roosting and migrating birds. Windfarms are also notoriously unreliable, operating at only 20% efficiency. When there's no wind, they produce no energy; yet when there's a gale blowing, they have to be shut down! Surely solar panels, built locally and installed by local businesses, are a better way forward. For more information, contact Montgomeryshire Against Pylons, at
www.montgomeryshireagainstpylons.org
I would like to thank local naturalist and broadcaster Iolo Williams for clarifying my thoughts on this issue.
Here's my last post on the Ornitholidays tour to The Gambia in November. The last two posts have focused on the birds - now it's the turn of the equally colourful places and the folk that live there. (As usual, click on each photo for a larger image). The big change I noticed from previous visits is that it's no longer a place where you get hassled as soon as you set foot outside the hotel. In past years, everyone wanted to be your guide, to show you the birds or the shops or their taxi.
South of the main hotel area, there are magnificent sandy beaches and many small fishing villages, such as here at Sanyang. The fish are caught by nets from these small boats, and landed on the beaches - a great example of a low-impact sustainable fishery. There is always a lurking fear that just over the horizon, predatory trawlers from Spain and other EU countries are hoovering up the fish-stocks that should be harvested by these developing African nations.
Our Gambia tours have always made a point of visiting a school, where we talk to the staff and children, and offer them pens, exercise books and other stationery. Here they are watching their teacher closely as he leads them in a 'Jolly Phonics' rhyme that helps them learn their letters. This school has 500 children, in 14 classes. Since they have only 7 classrooms, there is a morning and an afternoon shift. The two villages that make up the catchment area speak different languages - Mandinka and Fulla - but in school, English is the medium. Many of them walk several miles in each direction to reach school. The children were brilliantly behaved! After they had sang us a song, we attempted to reciprocate: with a chaotic version of Old MacDonald had a Farm, which brought a smile to many young faces.
And what of Gambian politics? Well, nominally Africa's smallest country is a democracy, since it goes through the motion of elections. But only one candidate is allowed to appear on these huge billboards that line the main roads: President Jammeh, who came to power in a bloodless military coup in 1994 and has no plans to let go any time soon. The 2011 posters are still up everywhere, and no doubt will be until the run-up to the next elections. At least the country is stable and peaceful; and infrastructure such as good roads and street-lights has improved greatly in the last ten years. The one area that didn't vote for Jammeh also happens to be the one without a good tarmac main road!
Finally, back to the wildlife. These Square-marked Toads were a feature of the two up-river camps where we stayed, especially below the electric lights where insects gathered. The nights were a breath of fresh air after the daytime tropical heat: December and January are the coolest months in The Gambia.
Here are a few more images from The Gambia: starting with the world's largest heron, the Goliath, in the act of taking off, and showing off its 2.2 metre wingspan. That's over 7 ft., an almost sky-darkening sight! We were slowly moving through the Tendaba mangroves in a pirogue (a large canoe hued out of a single tree-trunk) when we came across the heron, resting in a tree-top as it was high tide. The Goliath Heron is well distributed throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. It nests during the rains, usually 3 metres or less up in a tree or bush, on a platform of sticks and reeds. Three eggs are laid, which hatch after 27 days.
On the same boat-trip, we saw this Hamerkop with nesting material. Hamerkops are aberrant storks, in a family of their own. They build huge domed nests with a circular entrance, usually 1.5 metres across and almost as tall. In most parts of Africa, the Hamerkop is regarded with great respect and rarely suffers any persecution. There are many local myths about the disasters that can follow from harming a Hamerkop. The name is Afrikaans for 'hammer-head.'
Jacanas are a fascinating family of birds, found in all continents except Europe and Antarctica. In 7 of the world's 8 species, the male is the sole carer of nest, eggs and young, (the exception being the uncommon Lesser Jacana of Africa). They all build floating nests, typically on water-lilies, on which the female lays four large and shiny eggs. The male starts incubating when the clutch is complete, so that the chicks hatch (fully feathered and ready to walk and feed) at the same time. Now his role becomes one of protecting the young by seeing off predators, and leading the brood to suitable feeding grounds. Meanwhile the female, unencumbered by family responsibilities, is free to seek a new mate: a strategy known as polyandry. This African Jacana looks more shaggy and unkempt than usual: it has probably just dried off after a bath, and is about to undergo a long preening session.
Perhaps the most sought-after species for birders visiting The Gambia is the Egyptian Plover. This exquisite wader, which breeds in Senegal
and spends the dry season here, is a must for anyone with a camera. The Greek
historian Herodotus first described their habits in the 5th century
B.C.: he wrote that on the banks of the Nile one type of bird would enter the open
mouths of the crocodiles and pick out flesh from between their teeth. Hence the name: but now their breeding range is from Senegal to Sudan. It only became extinct in Egypt in the first part of the 20th century.
We saw Collared Pratincole on only one day, and in one place: but at the Kaur Wetlands we came across a flock of over a thousand. Pratincoles are an interesting group of waders, most closely related to coursers - a strange fact in itself, as pratincoles are mostly aerial, and coursers terrestrial. The word comes from the Latin pratum, a meadow, and cola, inhabitant. Pratincoles are elegant aerial feeders, hawking for insects like a small tern or an overgrown swallow. They nest in colonies on the ground. It is unknown whether the Gambian non-breeding flocks nest in Europe or Africa, but there are wet-season colonies in Northern Senegal.
The Senegal Thick-knee is a very common wader in The Gambia, both along the coast and inland. At Kaur we found flocks of them with the pratincoles. They are in the same genus as the Stone Curlew which nests in southern Britain in small numbers. The large eye gives a clue to its habits: it is nocturnal and crespuscular (active at dawn and dusk). The world has nine species of thick-knees, ranging from Mexico in the west to Australia in the east. In South Africa they suffer from a bad press: not only thick-knee but 'thick head' too - there they are known by the Afrikaans name dikkop.
Along the Gambian coast we found impressive flocks of gulls and terns. The fishermen use small boats to unload their catches onto the beaches - a truly sustainable artisan fishery. The beaches and lagoons near these fishing villages attract gulls, terns, and reef herons, all year round. The photo shows a Caspian Tern in its non-breeding plumage: when nesting, the forehead, crown and nape are all black. Some flocks numbered hundreds, with lesser numbers of Royal Terns, Grey-headed Gulls, and a few Kelp Gulls which have recently spread up the coast from the south.
Many thanks again to Roger and Yvonne for the photos: in my next post, I will put up my own Gambian shots - people and landscapes for a change, rather than wildlife!
The Gambia is Africa's smallest country, a thin strip of land entirely surrounded by Senegal. In November I led an Ornitholidays group of ten keen birders there. We had a week on the coast, then a week inland. On one of our journeys, these three Black Crowned Cranes flew over us. November is just after the rainy season has finished, so the countryside is still green - and most species are still in breeding plumage.
Three families of brightly coloured birds seem to be everywhere: kingfishers, bee-eaters and rollers. Here is a Blue-breasted Kingfisher, a blackbird-sized bird which can often be found in woodland away from water. Many African kingfishers have a diet of reptiles and insects rather than fish. While most of the Gambian kingfishers are widely distributed throughout Africa, this one is confined to West Africa. We saw eight kingfisher species, from the tiny Pygmy to the great Giant. (Of the world's kingfishers, the Giant is the largest, though the Laughing Kookaburra of Australia is marginally heavier).
Of the seven bee-eater species we came across, the most spectacular was this Northern Carmine Bee-eater. To see this in The Gambia, you have to travel a long way inland, along the Gambia River. We came across a few of them close to the town of Janjangbureh, which is still often referred to by its old colonial name Georgetown. This individual was very faithful to this dead-tree perch, allowing the photographers many opportunities. In the background to the right of the bee-eater, is an out-of-focus Grey-headed Sparrow.
Of the four roller species which are common in The Gambia, the one that drew the loudest gasps when first spotted was the Abyssinian Roller. These elegant birds have a chestnut-coloured back to complement the pale blue body and purple shoulders. In fact its plumage is remarkably similar to the European Roller, with the addition of the tail streamers. Rollers feed mostly on large insects such as beetles and grasshoppers, and are usually to be found in open scrubby country: a habitat that is being increasingly turned into farmland. Hence most roller species are declining. The name comes from the rolling display flight performed by many species. Rollers are among the world's worst songsters, uttering harsh cackling, grating, growling and screeching notes!
Widespread in wetlands and gardens, the Yellow-crowned Gonolek is a species of bush-shrike. Much more often heard than seen, it does emerge from thick cover sometimes (as here, in the garden of our coastal hotel). The African bush-shrikes are a diverse and usually brightly coloured family, that includes the Brubru and the boubous, and the South African Bokmakierie (which are all named after their calls).
The Piapiac is in the crow family, and often known as 'black magpie' by the locals. This photo illustrates adult and young - surprisingly it is the juvenile with the red bill. This is a bird of open country, which can often be seen in gardens, peanut fields or around livestock. This is yet another bird name supposedly derived from its voice. During the trip, I concentrated mostly on binoculars and telescope, leaving the photography to others in the group. Many thanks to Roger Christopher, John Sykes and Roger Ackroyd for the above images. This brief look at some of The Gambia's more eye-catching birds doesn't begin to do justice to the biodiversity of the place: in my next post I'll cover a few of The Gambia's wetland species.
This is rather a late post, as the Ornitholidays tour to Bulgaria was a week in September. It's one of our one-centre tours, where we stay for a week in the same hotel in Pomorie. Here we overlook the Black Sea in one direction, and a system of salt-works, great for migrating waders, in the other. Almost all week this Broad-billed Sandpiper (along with a few others) was easy to find within a ten minute walk of the hotel. These breed in the Arctic and winter mostly in south-east Asia. The bold white supercilium and bill downcurved at the tip are useful features.
September is a great month to visit the Black Sea to watch migration. Waders, raptors, storks and pelicans can be seen in great numbers. These White Pelicans, seen soaring over the city of Bourgas, breed mostly in the Danube Delta (a little way north in Romania), and winter in East Africa. In the autumn they put on weight by feeding in dense flocks on the abundant fish in Lake Vaya, a magnet for waterbirds on the edge of Bourgas. We missed the main peak of the stork and eagle migration, but lucky observers can see hundreds of Lesser Spotted Eagles and White Storks migrating south in one day.
Eastern Bulgaria also has some fine oakwoods where species like Goshawk, Woodlark and Hawfinch nest. In autumn Red-breasted Flycatchers and Woodchat Shrikes pass through. The Middle Spotted Woodpecker is a common resident too - similar to our familiar Great Spotted, but with smaller bill, red crown and higher-pitched voice.
Logistically, this is a simple and easy tour: Bourgas Airport is reached non-stop from Gatwick or Manchester; and the daily programme is relaxed, with no long journeys. We had time to enjoy fritillaries and other butterflies, and this well-camouflaged praying mantis. Thanks to fellow-traveller Brian Garner for two of the above photos. Next post I'll report on my latest Ornitholidays destination, The Gambia.
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Of course it's the wildlife that draws me back to the Great White Continent again and again - the last of these three voyages was my 13th. We start with two days crossing the Drake Passage, a notoriously rough stretch of water that separates the South American mainland from the Peninsula. Rewards include sightings of the Wandering Albatross, here an old male with a 3.5 metre wingspan. Unfortunately all albatrosses are declining as they are often by-catch in the long-line fishing industry, but there is hope for the future as more ships adopt fast-sinking baited hooks. That way there's less chance for these wonderful seabirds to get ensnared on the hooks and drowned. .JPG)
One of my three voyages was a longer one, taking in a few days in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. South Georgia is a particular favourite of everyone who has ever been lucky enough to visit, as its wildlife riches are legendary. There are vast colonies of penguins, fur seals, and good breeding populations of elephant seals, albatross, petrels, and many other seabirds. One special highlight was watching a King Penguin egg in the process of hatching. Instead of making a nest of stones and laying eggs on the ground (as the Gentoos, Chinstraps and Adelies do), the Kings keep their single egg balanced on their feet. Usually they nest in vast colonies surrounded by non-breeders, so it's difficult to witness an event like this - but we found a very small colony in a remote location where we had a more intimate encounter. South Georgia's wildlife is about to get even richer - if the ongoing rat eradication programme is successful. Rats, introduced inadvertently by the whalers, are responsible for killing vast numbers of seabird chicks.
But there's nothing green about windfarms. The turbines are built abroad and (being so massive) cause traffic chaos as they are transported round the country on the backs of special lorries. They hum loudly and are implicated in the deaths of roosting and migrating birds. Windfarms are also notoriously unreliable, operating at only 20% efficiency. When there's no wind, they produce no energy; yet when there's a gale blowing, they have to be shut down! Surely solar panels, built locally and installed by local businesses, are a better way forward. For more information, contact Montgomeryshire Against Pylons, at 
