Darwendale Dam; Hideaway Lodge

On October 10 I set out to atlas two squares around Darwendale Dam which, before I got there, lacked any coverage in the second atlas project.

The farm land between the tar road and Hideaway Lodge was very dry, with only a few fields in use near the lake. Nevertheless, there were plenty of birds to see.

Red-capped Lark, Capped Wheatear, White-winged Widowbird, Pearl-breasted Swallow, Namaqua Dove, Red-faced Mousebird, Pale Flycatcher, Long-billed Crombec, Crowned Lapwing, Red-breasted Swallow, Kittlitz's Plover, Thick-billed Weaver (not recorded near here in SABAP1, showing a definite range extension) and Eastern Saw-wing (another out-of-range record) were the highlights of the drive.

Kittlitz's Plover

Pale Flycatcher

Red-capped Lark

Hideaway Lodge and the lake's edge itself did not disappoint. In the lodge grounds: Pied Kingfisher nesting, Lesser Masked-weaver and African Pipit.
A walk along the shoreline produced Grey-headed Gull, African Openbill, Hottentot Teal, Glossy Ibis, Ruff, African Purple Swamphen, Goliath Heron, African Green-pigeon, Levaillant's Cisticola, Collared Pratincole and (best of all) African Pygmy-goose, to name a few species.

Darwendale Dam shoreline

African Pipit

African Pygmy-goose!

Collared Pratincole

Now, bring me that horizon...

Pied Kingfisher male

Red-billed Quelea

Three-banded Plover, with a ring. Unfortunately I couldn't get the entire number

More Borrowdale Brooke Atlassing, October 2013

I did another two atlas cards for the Borrowdale Brooke/Greystone Park square in early October, and recorded 118 and 120 species per five-day period.
As per usual, there was often something interesting to be seen!

The reason for Greystone Park's 'special' birds; Tambourine Dove, Red-throated Twinspot, Black-throated Wattle-eye. These birds inhabit dense riverine forest, such as the one in Greystone Park. In Harare, there are only a few small patches of this habitat left.

Best birds recorded: African Black Duck, African Cuckoo-hawk, Tambourine Dove, African Green-pigeon, Red-faced Mousebird, African Wood-owl, African Cuckoo, White-breasted Cuckooshrike, Black Cuckooshrike, Miombo Tit, Yellow-breasted Apalis (very unusual, but recently recorded at the same place by me), Ashy Flycatcher (Greystone Park - I don't know of any other records from here of this species), nesting Black-throated Wattle-eye, Miombo Blue-eared Starling, Copper Sunbird and Red-throated Twinspot.

African Black Duck, Borrowdale Brooke

Black-throated Wattle-eye sitting on eggs in Greystone Park.

Greystone park has large areas of thicket and bush with thick understory, perfect for waxbills and other small finches

Blue Waxbill

Green-winged Pytilia male, Greystone Park. Common at GP, but this doesn't mean they are easy to photograph

Lizard Buzzard, Borrowdale Brooke

Male Red-throated Twinspot, Greystone Park

...And the female

Male White-bellied Sunbird mid-song at Greysone Park

Ashy Flycatcher at Greystone Park

Not many notable finds in the 'other animals' department aside, from this large cricket.

Butterfly, species unknown. It's one of the 'blues', a very difficult group to get to grips with.

In other news: We caught and ringed a Kurrichane Thrush at Mukuvisi with a huge parasite load. 27 ticks were removed from the bird, the majority of which were around or even inside the ear cavities.

You can see a few of the engorged ticks protruding from the ear. Nasty!

Atlassing and Ringing around Harare, Sept 2013

So, after a long gap between posts whilst I have been on holiday (plus some time spent feeling unmotivated), I've finally got around continuing the posts about my trip to Zimbabwe in late 2013.
Enjoy!...


Ewanrigg Botanical Gardens Ringing, 15 September:
A quiet day, where we didn't catch much worth reporting - weavers, Speckled Mousebirds, waxbills... The best catch of the day was a lovely White-browed Scrub-robin.

White-browed Scrub-robin

We therefore decided to pack up and do a bit of birding around the gardens. A huge fig tree was fruiting, attracting dozens of Dark-capped Bulbul, Purple-crested Turaco and African Green-pigeon, plus a few Whyte's Barbet. Sunbirds were around but hard to pin down as the aloes were not in bloom.
Near the front gate a Southern White-faced Owl had a nest in the hollow of a dead branch only two meters off the ground! (Photos in upcoming post...)

African Green-pigeon

African Grey Hornbill

Female Copper Sunbird, a species sought-after by visiting birders, as it doesn't occur in South Africa.

Even at the driest, hottest time of year, the gardens are a haven of greenery.

A quick inspection of the underside of loose rocks in the aloe gardens produced a couple of small scorpions.

Uroplectes flavoviridis

Borrowdale Brooke and Greystone Park atlassing, 09-27 September:

I spent much of my free time atlassing the pentad square where I was staying. This square included Greystone Park, Borrowdale Brooke and my parents' houses, so it was very convenient for me!

I completed three cards (each covering 5 days) between these dates, with 85-110 species noted for each card.

Some of the more interesting sightings were;

African Black Duck, Little Egret, Marabou Stork, Ovambo Sparrowhawk, African Cuckoo-hawk, Wood Sandpiper, African Cuckoo, White-breasted Cuckooshrike, Miombo Tit, Southern Hyliota, Yellow-breasted Apalis (at Greystone Park, where it has not been seen before, to my knowledge), nesting Fork-tailed Drongo, Magpie Shrike (resident in BB, but always nice to see), Black-crowned Tchagra, Copper Sunbird Red-throated Twinspot and Black-throated Canary (first one I've personally seen in BB).

Blue Waxbill in Borrowdale Brooke

Black-throated Canary singing in Borrowdale Brooke

Black-shouldered Kite, Borrowdale Brooke

Fork-tailed Drongo on recently constructed nest, Greysone Park

Yellow-breasted Apalis at Greysone Park

Southern Masked-weaver male, Borrowdale Brooke

Purple-crested Turaco (finally got one in flight!), Greystone Park

African Paradise-flycatcher male, Greystone Park

One of my favourites - African Stonechat female at Borrowdale Brooke.

I have very few nice Pied Crow pictures, despite them being common as dirt in Harare. This one's perched on someone's satellite dish in Borrowdale Brooke

Common Waxbill, Greystone Park

Kurrichane Thrush (with a rather dirty ring on its leg) collecting food for its chicks at Greystone Park

Recently fledged Laughing Dove, Borrowdale Brooke

Immature Ovambo Sparrowhawk, Borrowdale Brooke

I'm always keeping my eye out for other interesting critters whilst birding, and I do find a few occasionally.

Angoni Vlei Rat, rescued from a cat in Borrowdale Brooke. The rat seemed to be uninjured.

Southern (Blue-headed) Tree Agama in Helensvale

Ringing on the 7th to the 11th September

A week's ringing activities started with a trip to Afdis on the morning on the 7th of September, where we caught about 25 birds. There were very few waders around - we only caught one Three-banded Plover and a Blacksmith Lapwing.

Three-banded Plover

We did, however, catch a few other birds. Warblers and Weavers, including three Thick-billed Weavers, Black-collared Barbet, White-browed Robin-chat and a pair of Yellow-throated Longclaw were the highlights.

Yellow-throated Longclaw

If you're wondering why they are called Longclaws...

Black-collared Barbet having a good chew on my finger.

Ringing at Haka Park on the 10th was less successful, as it usually is with Miombo woodland. I did manage to catch two new species for myself - Black-crowned Tchagra and Yellow-throated Petronia.

Black-crowned Tchagra

Yellow-throated Petronia. Even in the hand, the yellow is difficult to see.

Smith's Bush Squirrel at Haka Park

Finally, we managed to catch two Fiery-necked Nightjars on the night of the 11th, in Haka Park. Both were males and one was a recapture, originally ringed a little over a year ago in the same place.

Male Fiery-necked Nightjar

Back in Action

I'm back in Zimbabwe (on holiday) for a couple of months, so watch this space for new posts, coming soon.

White-crested Helmet-shrike at Haka Park