Due to the logistical challenges we had discovered the previous day, in all likelihood this would be our only day around the summit of Nykia National Park, in the area of Chelinda. Fortunately we had managed to clean up on a lot of the easier species on our drive up, leaving us with just a few more difficult species to chase after.
Sadly the weather early morning was foggy and rainy, far
from ideal conditions. As such we opted to instead bird first around the camp.
Here we picked up some nice species, Rufous-faced Crimsonwing was a new species
for me, and we had good views of Montane Blue Swallow. The highlight however
was a group of three Hyrax sat in a small dead tree in the middle of the marsh,
not the place I expected to find these animals.
The first of these was the Scarlet-tufted Sunbird, which
requires high-altitude flowering plants that are very local within the park.
The guys at the lodge were quite knowledgeable about the nearby birds, and they
suggested a rocky outcrop we could try. Sadly though, when we arrived we found
the flowers all gone, except for just three, leaving us less than optimistic
that we would find the bird. After an hour of searching we began to explore our
other options, and decided to walk the three kilometres down the hill to check
out the state of the road at a nearby bridge, that could maybe take us to another
area of habitat. After we descended no more than a couple of hundred metres, we
started to find small flowering bushes that we did not expect, and with them,
our sunbird. After a small confusion episode with a similar but much more
common Malachite Sunbird, we managed to find two males and a female
Scarlet-chested Sunbird, making the whole endeavour worthwhile.
On our drive to and from this site we also added a few bits,
including the very nice Denhams Bustard, of which we found five individuals, a
White-backed Vulture and a fantastic Roan Antelope that was sat peacefully by
the side of the road. We also encountered a few more European migrants, with
another Blackcap, and good numbers of Quail calling on the roadside.
In the afternoon we spent some time in wet areas searching,
ultimately in vain, for flufftails, a type of very elusive rallid. Still, there
were other bits to keep us happy including Pallid Harrier and Black-winged Kite
flybys. We stayed until dark but only heard a distant Red-chested Flufftail.
Fortunately on the drive back we picked up Montane Nightjar as one flew over
the road. With tape it came back but never landed where we could see it,
instead preferring to sit out of sight where it began to sing. We then spent
the next ten minutes searching for frogs along the edge of the small dam, where
we found two species showing very nicely.
Nykia National Park: Yellow-billed Duck, Red-winged Francolin, Common Quail, Denham's Bustard, Black-winged Kite, White-backed Vulture, Pallid Harrier, Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Giant Kingfisher, Eurasian Hobby, Malawi Batis, Northern Fiscal, White-necked Raven, White-tailed Crested Flycatcher, Rufous-naped Lark, Bar-throated Apalis, Black-lored Cisticola, Churring Cisticola, Wing-snapping Cisticola, Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, Blue Swallow, Willow Warbler, Eurasian Blackcap, Southern Yellow White-eye, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Cape Robin-Chat, African Stonechat, Malachite Sunbird, Scarlet-tufted Sunbird, Baglafecht Weaver, Montane Widowbird, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, Red-faced Crimsonwing, Common Waxbill, African Pipit, Southern Citril, Yellow-browed Seedeater, Yellow-crowned Canary,
