This was largely a day to be spent in transit, starting in the capital city of Lilongwe and heading north to the city of Mzuzu. This would talk most of the day, but we had a few bits on the way that we would make the most of. The only stop before Mzuzu was a large reservoir next to the main highway that had a few good birds on it. Fortunately we found these very easily, quickly catching both Southern Pochard and Lesser Jacana. There was also an excellent bonus species with Lesser Moorhen, a widespread but really low-density and uncommon waterbird, and more Allens Gallinules. Not bad for a half-hour roadside stop.
We arrived in Mzuzu around lunchtime and after a bite to eat
we drove an additional hour to a patch of remnant wet forest where we had one
species we needed to find, the East Coast Akalat. We were not sure where best
to look, and this robin-like bird proved tricky, especially once the heavens
opened and did not stop. By later afternoon it looked like we would miss it,
but then we found one individual that showed all too briefly. Thinking that
would be it, we headed back to the car, but by chance had another individual
there, which showed much better. Frustratingly, due to the heavy rain, we left
our optics in the car so didn’t get any photos.
Chitete/Kabvunguti Dam: White-faced Whistling Duck, Southern Pochard, Ring-necked Dove, Burchell's Coucal, Lesser Moorhen, Red-knobbed Coot, Allen's Gallinule, Lesser Jacana, African Jacana, African Openbill, African Darter, Black-headed Heron, Western Cattle Egret, Pied Kingfisher, Pied Crow, Zitting Cisticola, Wire-tailed Swallow, Black-winged Red Bishop,
Nhkata Bay: African Pygmy Kingfisher, East Coast Akalat,
No comments:
Post a Comment