São Tomé and Príncipe; Day 4 - Bella Vista & Praia de Evora

   Having found all the endemic target birds the previous day, we had a full day on Principe with nothing to specifically target. However, there were still a couple of new birds and a couple of trip ticks we had not seen, so we concentrated on trying to find those. We did not wake up super early, but after a 07:00 breakfast, we set off out at 08:00. 

  We did not have a car so walked to the village of Bella Vista, the road to which passes through some cultivated habitat and some nice forest. We managed to find most of our targets along this walk, with the Olive Sunbird and Little Heron both being new for the trip. We tried hard to find the rare Chestnut-breasted Nigrita but did not succeed in this endveour. 

  We also spent a bit of time looking at the mud off the city where we had found many interesting waders the previous day. Today all of yesterdays goodies were still lingering, as well as another new Curlew Sandpiper and a Little Stint, which was another good species for the island. There was a spectacular show when up to three Black Kites tried to hunt down one of the Curlew Sandpipers, but in the end the bird managed to get away. Additionally we found a male House Sparrow, which is yet another rare bird for the island, and had presumably just jumped off a ship. 

  After lunch we walked in the opposite direction away from town, down to the nearby Praia de Evora beach. Along the way we failed to find any new birds in any capacity, but enjoyed nice views of Blue-banded Kingfisher displaying. However, we had our first natural mammal for the island with Straw-coloured Fruit Bat, with several of this large species flying around at dusk.

  Thus our final full day on the island of Principe came to an end. In the morning we will depart back to Sao Tome for the rest of the trip. 

São Tomé and Príncipe; Day 3 - PN Obo do Principe & Bombon Resort

   Today was a very important day, as for the first time we were trying for a species that, should we fail to find, we would be leaving on the island. There would be no second chances. To see the Principe Thrush, we needed to set off by boat from the main town, go anticlockwise halfway around the island, a distance of nearly 30 kilometres, and then explore the forest there. Once again we had our guide, Ayres, with us, to help show us the locations to best check for the target species. 

  It was quite the journey. The boat was small and the sea on the western side of the island was choppy. We got very wet thanks to ample spray coming off the waves, and there were a couple of occasions where the boat took on water, but it was never dangerous and after two hours we reached the beach from where we would access the forest.

  And fortunately it did not take long for us to complete our birding here. Despite the constant drizzle, we quickly found two Principe White-eyes in a tree on the beach, before two more just after our hike started. The first location we checked for the thrush came up blank, but not long after starting our ascent to our next spot we spotted one in the vegetation, and had fabulous views of the bird before it took off. Since we were wet and had no more birds we needed to find here, we set off back!

  In addition to our two main targets, there were a few other bits we saw here. The Principe race of both Blue-banded Kingfisher and Malachite Kingfisher were nice to see, and we also enjoyed a few Brown Boobies and another wader with a Turnstone that flew past. Deep in the forest we saw our first Mona Monkeys, which are not native here, but they did not linger for us. Once we returned to the town, there was a Curlew Sandpiper and a Greenshank on the mud there to greet us. 

  After lunch, we searched the north end of the island, on the road to the Bombon resort. This forest was more disturbed but was still pleasant birding. We saw the Principe race of Velvet-mantled Drongo and I had a new species with Splendid Starling, which we finally managed to separate from the endemic Principe Starling. Otherwise it was a similar selection of birds with the addition of more Mona Monkeys. Once we got back to the hotel at the end of the afternoon there was another new wader for us in front of the town in the form of a Grey Plover. 

  It was an exhausting day, but extremely rewarding and with all the endemics wrapped up for Principe, we can spend the following day doing more relaxed birding around the town, to see what we can find. This was also our last day with Ayres, leaving us to explore along tomorrow.  

São Tomé and Príncipe; Day 2 - Fernão Dias & Pico Príncipe lower slopes

   For our first full day, we decided to spend the morning birding the lowland grasslands at the north end of the island near the town of Fernão Dias. Here there were a few targets we wanted to get out of the way so we could concentrate on more specialist species when we returned to the island in a few days.

  The grasses had been recently burned, but we found several of the islands introduced finch species with Golden-backed Bishop and Black-winged Red Bishop. However, they were not in breeding plumage so identifying them was a nightmare and we could not draw accurate conclusions for most of the birds we saw. The main target of the morning was Harlequin Quail, but after not hearing any we started to worry a bit. Fortunately, we accidentally flushed an individual from an area of burnt scrub adjacent to the road, which we managed to tape back for phenomenal views.

  Also during the morning we birded along the beach. Here we found the endemic subspecies of Malachite Kingfisher, although it did not pose well. We wanted to find some migrant waders, and on that front we absolutely succeeded. First we found a few Whimbrel and Common Sandpipers, both expected but nice. Then we had a flock of eight Greenshanks and 10 Sanderling roosting together, both rare for the island. But not as rare as the two Curlew Sandpipers and two Little Stints we found on a dirty pond next to a village! Our wader mission was a phenomenal success!

  It was now late morning and warm. After an ice cream we did a bit more birding near the airport, where we added the introduced White-shouldered Widowbird to our trip list, before returning the car and taking a short flight to the other island of Principe. Once there we were collected by our hotel before having lunch. From the hotel restaurant we had our first Principe endemic with the Principe Weaver, whilst we also enjoyed African Green Pigeon and African Grey Parrot feeding on a fruiting tree.

  At 15:30 we met with out guide for two days, Ayers, and we set off to try track down the Principe Scops Owl! We had no idea what was to come! We started with some nice birding adding Principe Sunbird, Principe Starling, Principe Spierops and the very attractive Dorhns Thrush-Babbler, a type of Sylvia warbler. However, we kept walking deeper and deeper into the forest, and we soon realized that this was what was going to be necessary to find the owl.

  After almost five kilometres we finally stopped. By now it was 18:00, but already dark. No sooner had we started the tape than the owl stopped by, extremely close. Sadly it was very cautious of the light, so it took some time for us to get prolonged views of the bird. A pair was around us the whole time, and eventually we got amazing photos to go with our views. We then returned back five kilometres to the car, where we finally arrived at 20:00, absolutely exhausted. We had a bite to eat then crashed into bed, very satisfied with another fabulous day! 

São Tomé and Príncipe; Day 1 - Arrival & Bom Successo

   My next personal trip was another with my friend Max Baumgarten from Germany, and was a short 12 day trip to the Atlantic Ocean islands of Sao Tome and Principe, just off the west African coast in the Gulf of Guinea. Although there are no spectacular species here, there are several endemics and a short trip is all that is required to clean up on the island specialties.

  We arrived from our overnight TAPortugal flight from Lisbon at 05:20, although we then had a setback as the hire car we arranged for 06:10 we did not get until 07:10 thanks to the driver sleeping in. Once we collected the car, and dropped the driver off back in the city, we drove an hour up the mountain to the village of Bom Successo, from where we could walk into the forest to start working our way through the island endemics.

  The road was not too bad surprisingly, and we managed to start our birding at around 08:30. After we paid the small donation to be allowed access we got started. We very quickly started picking up endemic species as we walked through cultivated habitat, with Sao Tome Paradise-Flycatcher, Sao Tome Spinetail, Black-capped Spierops and Sao Tome Prinia all falling very quickly. We also picked up our first potentially tricky species, with Sao Tome White-Eye, which showed nicely.

  As we approached the forest we added Sao Tome Weaver, Sao Tome Oriole and Principe Seedeater to our ever growing list. The birding was very lively and very enjoyable. Once we entered the forest it did start to slow down somewhat, but we had what will be a strong contender for bird of the trip with a fantastic showing from Sao Tome Scops Owl in the middle of the morning.

  The first stage of the trail was absolutely brutal, with steep climbs and descents with extremely slippery mud underfoot. Both of us were felled multiple times by the conditions. Fortunately the second half was much better and we were able to complete it without too many more issues. We finally returned to the car at around 15:00 and then headed to the hotel to finally relax after our long day. 

Wilgottheim

     This weekend I found myself back in Lauras parents village of Wilgottheim, about half an hours drive from the city of Strasbourg on the French-German border. Situated between the two ranges of the Vosges mountains, nearby VizMig watchpoints have produced some genuinely incredible counts of migrating birds, but I have never had the chance to be in the area during the autumn… until now!

  Thus I spent the weekend getting up early and exploring the hill behind the village, checking the trees and bushes there for grounded migrants and hoping for good numbers of birds flying over. Overhead it turned out was fairly quiet, with very little of note in terms of numbers besides double-figure counts of both Tree Pipit and Yellow Wagtail, although there were also many grounded birds confusing the overall total. I couldn’t wait around too long, but in the two hours I explored the area during the mornings it was pretty clear that no significant movement of birds was taking place.

  In the bushes it was excellent, with regularly Pied Flycatchers, Common Redstarts and Spotted Flycatchers, bulked out by the usual good counts of Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs, with the occasional Willow Warbler also thrown in. There was also a single Whinchat and Wheatear, two species I had not yet found in my explorations around Paris.

  In addition to the migrant birds, it was also a surprise to find both Middle Spotted and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers here. While there are larger trees, it is hardly a wooded environment and I did not expect to find these birds here. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker especially showed very nicely! 

-Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

-Tree Pipit & Common Chiffchaff

-Spotted Flycatcher

-Common Redstart

-Pied Flycatcher

Lac de Créteil

   In the last week I returned to the Lac de Créteil to see what else had been arriving during the lively Autumn period. Overall, there has not yet been a dramatic change in the overall composition of interesting birds, but there continues to be an interesting trickle of migrants passing through that continue to make the site interesting and enjoyable to visit. 

  The lake itself saw a rather unexpected and pleasant surprise with a flock of no less than 13 Common Sandpipers flying around when I visited on Monday. Not long after however, the flock seems to have dispersed, as I did not record them again. The only other bird of note interacting with the lake was another, or the same, 1st year Mediterranean Gull that flew over distantly on the Wednesday.

  In the bushes there continues to be Pied Flycatchers, with five the highest count on the Wednesday. As per my previous visits, some of these have been quite showy. The same can not be said for the one Spotted Flycatcher I’ve seen in this period, which remained high in the canopy and out of sight. Additionally, there has been Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs and abundant Blackcaps to enjoy. A juvenile Hobby flying over the lake was also a nice bonus. 

  There was also an additional bird for my patch list, but unfortunately not one of any notable origin, when I found two Alexandrine Parakeets perched up. These larger versions of the very abundant Ring-necked Parakeet will soon also be dominating European cities, I am sure. 

-Common Sandpiper

-Pied Flycatcher

-Alexandrine Parakeet

-Migrant Hawker

Lac de Créteil

   I returned to the Creteil Lake today eager to continue searching for migrant birds. Today was far more productive than my last visit, and I had a great morning. In total, I managed five Pied Flycatchers, a Spotted Flycatcher, a Common Redstart, a Garden Warbler, eight Blackcaps and two Reed Warblers. It was quite the haul of birds, and I was very pleased with that outcome.

  Towards the end of the morning the weather turned a little gloomy, and there was a short rain shower. I wondered if there might be a chance this could drop something in, as occurs on reservoirs in the UK, but did not hold out too much hope. However, soon after it cleared I picked up a juvenile Mediterranean Gull flying low over the lake and then overhead, followed shortly by a flock of four Ruff that made off northwest without slowing down.

  Additionally it was nice to see the Little Bittern twice during my walk round, after only hearing it last time. It was a fantastic morning, and I am very much looking forward to coming back later in the week. 

-Pied Flycatcher

-Spotted Flycatcher

-Common Redstart

-Reed Warbler

-Mediterranean Gull

-Ruff

-Little Bittern

Lac de Créteil

   Finally recovered from any post-Ecuador jet-lag I headed out to the Lac de Créteil in the hopes of finding some migrant birds. I arrived just after sunrise and spent the best part of two hours exploring the lake and adjacent bushes. The weather was gloomy but only a few spots of drizzle fell whilst I was present. 

  The highlight of the morning were two Pied Flycatchers feeding on the egde of the lake. I flushed a Little Bittern, which vocalised in response but sadly descended deeper into the reeds and never came out again. Two Yellow Wagtails flew over and two Common Sandpipers flew across the lake, but otherwise it was a little quieter than I expected. Still, two Pied Flycatchers is something to build on, and I look forward to continuing to bird the site throughout the autumn. 

-Pied Flycatcher

Borneo; Day 21 - Kilas Peat Swamp & Departure

   After three weeks our Borneo trip final reached its end today. Our flight was not until the evening, so we had the morning to explore. Laura opted to stay in bed, so I drove the 90 minutes south to the Kilas Peat Swamp Forest, which is known destination for a few specialized species, but which had become much harder within the last year. 

  Setting off at 05:30, I made good time and arrived at the site at 06:40. The gate was open and staff were around, so I paid my entry and then started exploring. The boardwalk was in a sorry state, with many sections broken by falling trunks and many loose panels throughout. It was a bit of a minefield, but I still enjoyed the forest and the birding here, even though I ultimately missed the main target species.

  I got four new species in the three hours that I birded here, with Red-billed Malkoha, Chestnut-bellied Malkoha, Rufous-tailed Tailorbird and Thick-billed Green Pigeon. Sadly, none of them posed for pictures and I didn’t get anything of the two non-Malkoha species. Bornean Black-capped Babbler was nice to see again, and there were nice views of several other species I had become familiar with over the preceding three day. Additionally, it was nice to see Proboscis Monkeys again, although they were distant and there was very limited visibility through the trees.

  At 10:00 I set off back to the hotel to prepare for checkout and our flight home. Once again I made good time and was back with time to pack and shower. We left the hotel at midday, and headed for lunch, then souvenir shopping and then to the airport. A little early for sure, but with few other options, it was nice to be free of the responsibility of the car and allowed us an afternoon break before we flew. Thus draws to a close our trip to Sabah in Malaysian Borneo. 

-Kilas Peat Swamp

-Ashy Tailorbird

-Red-billed Malkoha

-Chestnut-bellied Malkoha

-Blue-throated Bee-eater

-Proboscis Monkey

Borneo; Day 20 - Crocker Range

   From our base in Kota Kinabalu, we were able to strike at several sites with species we had missed out on during the regular part of our trip. For the first of our mornings here, we decided to return to the Crocker Range, where we hoped to catch up with some of the birds we missed out on at Mount Kinabalu and Trus Madi. It was a 90 minutes drive from our hotel, so we set off at 06:00 and arrived to start birding at 07:30. 

  We started our birding on the Gunung Alab Substation Road, where we had birded before. However, we did not travel as far as on our previous visit. We birded here for an hour, but for the most part could only find familiar species. A pair of Mountain Blackeye was nice, as was a smart male Temminck’s Sunbird. But the highlight came as we walked back to the car, when we picked out an immature male Pygmy Flycatcher as part of a mixed-species flock. I certainly did not expect the birds constant wing flicks, which were very quirky. It was not a species we had anticipated finding here, so was a good one to get back for the trip! 

  At 08:30 we set off slightly further down the mountain to the Rafflesia Information Centre, where we hoped to find some more birds, as well as see one of the Rafflesia flowers. What we did not realise was that a guide was mandatory, and we could not explore the forest here by ourselves. Still, we wanted to see the flower so paid our entry, drove down to another area of the site, met our guide and then hiked to see the flower. Although it was only 600 metres from the car park, it was an incredibly steep descent down concrete stairs. At the bottom was waiting for us a 6-day-old Rafflesia pricei, not the enormous flower but one of its smaller relatives. 

  We did not see many birds on the trail down to the flower, although Spotted Fantail was an unexpected new species for me. However, without a guide we could explore the open area around the car park so we spent about an hour doing this. Indeed this was very productive. No sooner had we returned to the car than two Mountain Barbet responded to our playback, offering excellent views. Then we continued birding and found a brief pair of the Pygmy Heleia (or White-eye), before finally catching up with the Bornean Barbet, which did not show as well but was still very much appreciated. Sadly the gloomy conditions did not help our chances for Mountain Serpent Eagle, and Whiteheads Spiderhunter was always a long shot, but to get back three species was a great reward for the morning. 

  At 11:00, with the clouds already gathering, we headed back down into the city and our hotel, arriving at 12:30. The rest of the afternoon was a complete washout, although we had a short look at the beach adjacent to our resort during a short break in the weather. There were no waders but a couple of Little Terns flew past, which was quite unexpected. We ended the day drinking cocktails, watching the geckos whilst the rain fell down outside. 

-Rafflesia pricei

-Pygmy Flycatcher

-Sunda Bush Warbler

-Temminck's Sunbird

-Bornean Barbet

-Pygmy White-eye

-Mountain Barbet

-Spotted Fantail

-Bornean Leafbird