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.
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