Due to the pressure on our cars fuel situation, we decided to descend a day earlier from the Nykia National Park than we had originally planned. We planned to use this descent to visit the patches of forest that dot the uplands, especially around the Zambian border and even within Zambia itself. In particular, we were hoping to arrange access to Mulanjere forest in Zambia, but were unsure about how to arrange access with a ranger, due to the bureaucratic issues involving crossing the border. Fortunately were given clear instructions from the Malawi rangers about where to collect a guard, at the Zambian guesthouse, and when we arrived there early in the morning, the ranger came and immediately offered to take us. Good job!
On the way we stopped off at just one forest where we could
hear a few birds calling, but we struggled to see anything in the gloom. There
was a new bird with Chapins Apalis for us, including a juvenile that appeared
to have jumped the nest too early. A Bar-tailed Trogon was also nice to see,
for our trip list. On the main road we also encounter the same dozy Spotted
Eagle Owl, sat in almost the same area of the road, and had a nice Rufous-breasted
Sparrowhawk perch in front of us.
The road to Mulnajere forest was an absolute joke, so
overgrown, our car became incredibly scratched and at one point myself and the
ranger had to leave the vehicle in order to ensure it didn’t go tumbling down
the hillside. Once we eventually made it to the forest however we did have some
nice birding. Our key target here was the Sharpes Akalat, which is a small
robin-like bird. After much searching we did finally hear a bird, and then I
managed to get good but brief views before it left not to be seen by anyone
else. Fortunately, to compensate for this we did manage all our other targets
here; White-breasted Alethe, Olive-flanked Ground-Robin and Moustached
Tinkerbird, so it worked out nicely in the end. Also along the drive through
the vegetation that was apparently a road, we had good views of Fan-tailed Grassbird.
Having wrapped up our time in Nyika nicely, only missing a
couple of very difficult species and almost no mammals (that we could have
really seen) we left the site. The drive down took us until mid-afternoon before we headed to another nearby site that we wanted to check
before driving to fill the car. We had a fantastic encounter with a Chameleon in
the middle of the road, almost as soon as we left the park, which we
photographed before moving to a more secure location.
Our final stop of the day was the Vwaza National Park
northern gate, where it is possible to find a range-restricted starling. We
were not sure how to approach this, but the ranger explained that we would be
fine to walk through the scrub, and that the animals don’t venture into this
part of the park. Fantastic! So that’s what we did. We did not find the starling
but had nice views of Meyers Parrot and our first Lesser Honeyguides of the
trip, so it was absolutely not a complete loss.
We ended the day driving back to the town of Rhumpi to get some fuel. The drive was uneventful, except for a Barn Owl that crossed the road at one point. And then, once we found some accommodation within the town, we could hear another Barn Owl calling nearby.
Nyika National Park: Hildebrandt's Spurfowl, Tambourine Dove, Schalow's Turaco, Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk, Spotted Eagle-Owl, Speckled Mousebird, Bar-tailed Trogon, Moustached Tinkerbird, Eurasian Hobby, Black Cuckooshrike, Cape Batis, Fork-tailed Drongo, White-tailed Crested Flycatcher, Bar-throated Apalis, Chapin's Apalis, Churring Cisticola, Croaking Cisticola, Fan-tailed Grassbird, Blue Swallow, Black-browed Greenbul, Sharpe's Greenbul, Dark-capped Bulbul, Southern Yellow White-eye, Kurrichane Thrush, White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Olive-flanked Ground Robin, White-starred Robin, White-chested Alethe, Sharpe's Akalat, African Stonechat, Malachite Sunbird, Red-collared Widowbird, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, African Pipit, Yellow-browed Seedeater,
Vwaza Marsh Reserve: Ring-necked Dove, Red-chested Cuckoo, Green Wood Hoopoe, Lesser Honeyguide, Eurasian Hobby, Black Cuckooshrike, Black-backed Puffback, Fork-tailed Drongo, Black Saw-wing, Kurrichane Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, Collared Flycatcher, Blue Waxbill,
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