Today would be our last day in the park, but sadly it did not start well. There was some heavy overnight rain, and that persisted into our early morning game drive, greatly limiting the activity of the mammals and ending any hope of finding birds. Fortunately after a couple of hours it cleared up and things began to become more lively. We had the same groups of mammals as the previous day, including the same bull elephant and a very nice herd of Sable Antelope crossed the road in front of us. There was also a heard of the usually nocturnal Bushpig that charged across the road in front of us.
Birding was limited but also good, and we saw both of the park's large parrot species; Brown-headed and Brown-necked Parrots. Perhaps the standout of the morning however was a Guineafowl fight on the road in front of us, with two males aggressively leaping over one another, before one finally cracked and started to beak the other aggressively.
In the afternoon we set out to look for our last few target species but failed to find it, and general activity was limited to the same species as the last few days. We did pick up our most magnificent Greater Kudu yet, although still without the spectacular full headgear we had hoped to see on this species. On the bird front there were a few goodies as well, including my first Martial Eagle perched up in the canopy. Although just a juvenile, it was still an impressive bird to finally lay eyes on.
However, the slower afternoon gave was to an incredible evening. As we watched the sunset, we heard the impala barking and suspecting a predator was close, we started scanning, only to pick out a distant Serval. After watching from a distance we approached in the car, and although it was already almost dark, we were able to watch the animal extremely close using the road light of the search torch, using red light to avoid disturbance. Not bad for the first cat of the trip.
We then embarked on a night quest to try to find the rare and low-density Bronze-winged Courser. Although it was little more than a fools hope, we actually managed to find a pair incredibly quickly, with the birds showing nicely close to the car before flying off into the night. An exceptional bonus for our birding at this location, and one of the most difficult species we could have hoped for on this trip.
Buoyed by our early success, we arrange to stay out in the night a little longer, and consequently had a phenomenal hour looking at the nightlife of the forest. In total, we had multiple encounters with Genets, had exceptional and extended views of an African Civet and had no less than three species of Mongoose; White-tailed, Marsh and the incredibly rare Mellers Mongoose, the latter being a species we were really hopeful to find here. In addition, we had another African Barred Owlet and multiple Square-tailed Nightjar! What a brilliant final night to our time here in Liwonde.
Liwonde National Park: Spur-winged Goose, Helmeted Guineafowl, Red-necked Spurfowl, Red-eyed Dove, Ring-necked Dove, Emerald-spotted Wood Dove, Purple-crested Turaco, Grey Go-away-bird, Burchell's Coucal, African Emerald Cuckoo, Red-chested Cuckoo, African Cuckoo, Square-tailed Nightjar, Common Swift, African Palm Swift, Water Thick-knee, African Wattled Lapwing, African Jacana, Common Sandpiper, Bronze-winged Courser, Grey-headed Gull, African Openbill, Black Stork, Saddle-billed Stork, White-breasted Cormorant, Hamerkop, Grey Heron, Goliath Heron, Great Egret, Western Cattle Egret, Hadada Ibis, Osprey, African Harrier-Hawk, Palm-nut Vulture, White-backed Vulture, Bateleur, Martial Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle, African Hawk-Eagle, African Fish Eagle, African Barred Owlet, African Hoopoe, Green Wood Hoopoe, Common Scimitarbill, Crowned Hornbill, African Grey Hornbill, Southern Red-billed Hornbill, Trumpeter Hornbill, Malachite Kingfisher, African Pygmy Kingfisher, Woodland Kingfisher, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, Little Bee-eater, Böhm's Bee-eater, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, European Bee-eater, Lilac-breasted Roller, Broad-billed Roller, Cardinal Woodpecker, Speckle-throated Woodpecker, Lilian's Lovebird, Brown-necked Parrot, Brown-headed Parrot, Eurasian Golden Oriole, African Golden Oriole, Black-headed Oriole, White-crested Helmetshrike, Black-backed Puffback, Common Square-tailed Drongo, Fork-tailed Drongo, Red-backed Shrike, Southern Black Tit, Green-backed Camaroptera, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Wire-tailed Swallow, Yellow-bellied Greenbul, Dark-capped Bulbul, Willow Warbler, Red-billed Oxpecker, Violet-backed Starling, Meves's Starling, Kurrichane Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, Collared Palm Thrush, Arnot's Chat, White-browed Sparrow-Weaver, Southern Brown-throated Weaver, Blue Waxbill, Southern Grey-headed Sparrow, African Pied Wagtail, African Pipit, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Yellow-fronted Canary,
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