TANZANIA - EASTER ARC MOUNTAINS TOUR REPORT 2024

We left after breakfast and drove to Nyumba Ya Munga to bird the dry thorn scrub habitat. it took around 3 hours to reach the site, but this is Africa and roadside birding is brilliant! I don't particularly like drive-by birding but it was quite pleasant seeing Trumpeter & Silvery-cheeked Hornbills, African Palm Swifts, Northern and Long-tailed Fiscals, Hammerkop, Black-winged Kite, a Crowned Hornbill for Peter, and quite a few Superb Starlings. 

Our main roadside stop for a quick pee then turned into an excellent session as we had Rock Kestreland Gabar Goshawk perched up on trees across the road. Our first Grey Wren-Warbler then appeared, along with African Grey Flycatcher, a pair of Tawny-flanked Prinias and a Variable Sunbird. A confiding Spotted Palm-Thrush was stunning, and certainly overshadowed the Red-cheeked Cordon-bleus, non-breeding Vitelline Masked Weavers, and White-browed Sparrow-Weavers! Driving further we screeched to a halt for a Rufous-crowned (Purple) Roller and our first Northern Grey-headed Sparrow in a large tree right beside the road. It was around 10.30am by the time we reached Nyumba Ya Munga and turning off the tarmac road onto dirt road suddenly turned the heat up birdwise, despite the cool, overcast conditions. We were targeting Pringle's Puffback and Scaly Chatterer, so drove slowly with the roof up and side windows fully out as well. So we used the safari vehicle as a hide and turned up a feast of great birds, with a group of 7 Scaly Chatterers eventually coming in very close and hanging around for the most brilliant views and certainly the best ever view i've had of this species.

At our first stop we also had a pair of gorgeous Green-winged Pytilias, Pin-tailed Whydah, White-browed Scrub-Robin, a group of Blue-capped Cordon-bleus, a lifer Tsavo Sunbird for everyone, a pair of Red-billed Quelea, several Purple Grenadiers, Yellow-spotted Bush-Sparrow,  a few Fischer's Starlings, D'Arnaud's Barbet, White-bellied Canary and a Northern Crombec. The next stop overlooking some old corn fields was another fab stop, with African Grey Hornbill, Brubru, another D'Arnaud's Barbet, Red-and-yellow Barbet, Slate-coloured Boubou, Rosy-patched Bushshrike, African Bare-eyed Thrush, Black-necked Weaver, Chestnut Weaver, Reichenow's Seedeater, a pair of huge Southern Grosbeak-Canaries, Black-faced Waxbill, another Tsavo Sunbird and a superb pair of Somali Buntings. We also came across a pair of much-wanted White-headed Mousebirds that lingered beside our vehicle, a Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle flew overhead and a few Northern White-crowned Shrikes were seen in a field. We also walked along a side track after the ever elusive Pringle's Puffback - a bird that would continue to elude us. But we enjoyed fine views of many Southern Grosbeak-Canaries, another Grey Wren-Warbler, Klaas's Cuckoo, Namaqua Dove, Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove, singing Pink-breasted Lark, a confiding Slate-coloured Boubou, and at least 2 pairs of Pygmy Batis. Wow!

We eventually reached the lodge at Same at nearly 2pm, so we scoffed fish & chips or Chicken & chips quickly and had a little look around before leaving at 3.15pm. We had nice views of Wire-tailed Swallow, many Reichenow's Seedeaters, African Pied Wagtail, Hunter's Sunbird and surprisingly a group of Pale White-eyes. And then we were off on the hour long drive up into the South Pare Mountains for the endemic and very localised South Pare White-eye. We made one stop on the way up for a Striped Kingfisher and a pair of Trumpeter Hornbills but didn't hang around as time was ticking.... Well the South Pare White-eye duly obliged, despite the group of Southern Yellow White-eyes that caused a distraction to begin with, but the broad white eye-ring and grey bellies really stood out amongst the all yellow of the 'other' white-eye! If you get my meaning? The forest if really degraded and only remnant patches of what was once a magnificent forest remained and boy was it quiet up here. There wasn't one bird singing.... Until a Bar-throated Apalis began calling and this skulker only gave glimpses to a couple of us. A Hartlaub's Turaco showed a little better, as did African Dusky Flycatcher, African Stonechat and Baglafecht Weaver. A pair of White-necked Ravens flew over and just before we left, a pair of Usambara Double-collared Sunbirds appeared. Driving back down the mountain, an African Goshawk was perched beside the road and a Brown-hooded Kingfisher posed nicely on a bare branch to round off a really, really good first day's birding in Tanzania. We celebrated with quite a few bottles of the local brew... Kilimanjaro beer.... Cheers! 

We had a full day in Magamba Forest Reserve in the West Usambara Mountains, and boy were we looking forward to it. There’s a whole bunch of key species to target and if I’m being honest, everyone felt a little daunted at our chances of nailing them all. I mean, it took 10 attempts at seeing Spot-throat and it wasn’t until nearly 5pm that we finally succeeded, but you simply have to persevere with these birds. Anyway, our day started with a 5.30am breakfast followed by a 35 minute drive back up towards the Old Sawmill Trail, stopping along the way to bird a good section of forest and we were rewarded with a Black Sparrowhawk, African Goshawk, great views of African Tailorbird (although I much prefer the alternative name of Red-capped Forest Warbler), Yellow-streaked Greenbul, White-starred Robin, Olive Sunbird and several Usambara Double-collared Sunbirds.

Once we reached the trail a quick scan of the lake revealed a pair of African Black Ducks, but we didn’t stop too long to admire the not-so-delightful qualities of them! Once inside the forest we quickly picked up a pair of Usambara Akalats, belying their skulking reputation by showing rather well and higher up the conifers than everyone was expecting. The trail started to climb steadily and we continued with a Fulleborn’s Boubou for a couple of us, Black-headed Apalis, Forest (Dark-backed) Weaver, and a couple Black-fronted Bushshrikes in the canopy. Our first of 11 attempts at Spot-throatresulted in a bird calling back at us but never showing. So we tried a couple more times along the trail (well three more actually) before retracing our steps and seeing White-tailed Crested Flycatcher and Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler. Once out on the main track we spent a while scanning for Usambara Weaver and when Abdul heard one we managed great views of female perched in a tall conifer before being enticed to fly into the tree right next to us. This was a major target and one that can leave you hanging with no guarantees of catching a sighting. What a result!  The session before our picnic lunch turned up another Fulleborn’s Bushshrike, another Usambara Akalat, Eastern Mountain Greenbul, Stripe-faced Greenbul, several Red-faced Crimsonwings and best of all, a superb Usambara Thrush that flew in and perched over the track right in front of us.

Lunch at the picnic site was enlivened by a pair of White-necked Ravens waiting eagerly for any scraps. From here we drove back down the road, stopping to scope a Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater. The same spot also held several Southern Citrils, and yet more Usambara Double-collared Sunbirds. By now it was mid-afternoon and we drove to a different section of Magamba Forest that had several great trails leading into this superb forest.  A Tambourine Dovewas spotted on the main track as we pulled up at the first trail, and this led to another bunch of decent sightings beginning with an Olive Woodpecker, Shelley’s and Cabanis’s (Placid) Greenbuls, and better yet a diminutive Mountain Tiny Greenbul – a very difficult bird to find. We spent a while trying to get photos of a Forest (Short-tailed) Batis, which we duly did, saw another White-tailed Crested Flycatcher and another Forest (Dark-backed ) Weaver. Several more futile attempts were made at seeing a Spot-throat, and despite us hearing a few they never came in to playback. So we headed to another trail that led steeply downhill and on this, our 10th attempt at Spot-throat, we were treated to one fully out in the open next to and then on a large fallen tree for maybe 30 seconds before it disappeared. Wow, what simply stunning bird! Unfortunately, one of our group spectacularly failed to see it and we did make an 11thattempt at seeing one in a different location but nothing showed. And that was our day, oh apart from spotlighting a pair of African Wood Owls in the lodge gardens before dinner and then enjoying some Safari beers. What a great day!

Up early of course and targeting some really tough, skulking species. We drove just over an hour to a tea plantation and pretty quickly found a Long-billed Forest Warbler which showed very well, even allowing us some decent record shots. But that only served to lull us into a false sense of security as we toiled for another 6 hours, making repeated attempts at finding a Sharpe’s Akalat. But first we added Long-crested Eagle, Black Cuckooshrike, Pale Batis, Violet-backed Starling and Mountain Wagtail to our growing trip list. At the forest warbler spot we also had prolonged views of White-browed Robin-Chat, as well as Moustached Tinkerbird, Uluguru Violet-backed Sunbird, Olive Sunbird, Green-headed Oriole and a White-tailed Crested Flycatcher. Sadly, Kretschmer’s Longbill didn’t play ball today! Moving on, we had a really long walk to get to the Sharpe’s Akalat spot as the forest road was blocked by a couple of fallen trees and as I’ve already stated we made numerous attempts at calling one in – maybe around 20 tries! Eventually, one appeared when we had all but given up on our walk back to the vehicle. I even managed to scope it perched on a fallen tree for some of the group, but this individual hung around for ages and we were treated to repeated views. Oh yes! A Grey Cuckooshrike was also new for the trip along this road, as was Lowland Tiny Greenbul, Square-tailed Drongoand Yellow-streaked Greenbul.

I think it was something like 2.30pm when we arrived back at the digs for lunch and we were out again at 3.30pm, to a new spot for Kretschmer’s Longbill. A Palm-nut Vulture and Long-crested Eagle soared over the lodge shortly after lunch and Abdul took us to his spot for Green Tinkerbird that gave mind-blowing views.  Again, we didn’t find the longbill, but did have a few African Green-Pigeons, a spectacular Fischer’s Turaco, Red-tailed Ant-Thrush, African Broadbill for myself & David, and several Black-bellied Starlings. This evening Aidan and I took a walk to look for the elusive eagle-owl without any luck, but we met up with Abdul & some local guys and were treated to six different species of chameleon. Amazing!

We left the lodge in the East Usambaras at 6.20am and drove all day to reach Tegtero village in the Uluguru Mountains. Our journey was broken up with a stop for breakfast in a local restaurant and then at around 10am we reached Wami Bridge, the famous site for Bohm’s Bee-eater. It was hot when we arrived but shortly after walking down to the river we had several Bohm’s Bee-eaters performing in front of us – and what a stunning bird it is! We also had a Three-banded Plover, Giant Kingfisher, a pair of Black-collared Barbets, Red-fronted Tinkerbird and Black-throated Wattle-eyein the same area. We then set off to Morogoro for a late lunch and a visit to the supermarket to top up our supplies for camping in the Uluguru Mountains. In the town we picked up Emmanuel our cook and set off on what turned out to be a very lengthy drive to Tegtero village. The road became increasingly bad as we started heading up into the mountains and by the time we reached the parking site it was 5pm and we were way behind schedule, so had to make a decision whether to camp here or hike up to our intended camping site. It was a unanimous agreement we should go for it and just get it done. Most of the village had come out to greet us it seemed and we were surrounded by the villagers all interested in what we were doing. Abdul arranged porters to take our bags, camping gear and kitchen stuff up and you may find it no surprise whatsoever that they literally ran up the mountain whilst we crawled, sweated and moaned about our lack of fitness!

But it was a tough, undulating walk for us, with the last stage particularly steep and by then we had to negotiate the trail in darkness. It was such a relief to finally reach the camp site set in magnificent forest, with a welcoming camp fire and most of the tents already set up. Emmanuel did a fine job preparing vegetable soup and spaghetti bolognese for us, which we washed down with a few cans of beer of course!

What a night that had been, with Fraser’s Eagle-Owl starting to call at 10:20pm but despite an hour’s attempt I couldn’t locate it in the dense forest. Following that, and between the excessively loud snoring there was some crazy animal calls all through the night. When we met for coffee at 6.30pm the forest was just waking up and we heard Uluguru Bushshrike again but didn’t see it. We had a short walk and tried calling in White-chested Alethe and Orange Ground-Robin but we only heard a distant robin and no sign of the alethe. So after breakfast we packed up camp and started the hike back down to the football pitch in Tegtero Village where we had parked the vehicle. It was a very steep descent until we reached the small stream, after which the trail became undulating and far more manageable. An African Yellow Warbler was seen on the way down and we more importantly had excellent views of a pair of Bertram’s Weavers before reaching the vehicle. A long drive back to Morogoro followed where we enjoyed lunch before driving around to the other side of the Uluguru Mountains to Bunduki village along a torturously rough road, but we had fun pitching out own tents beside the fast-flowing river.

After a fine buffet breakfast at one of those typical safari lodges we birded the miombo habitat at the edge of Mikumi National Park. Bur first of all we had a date with a pair of Peter’s Twinspots that inhabit the gardens and these deliciously superb little gems didn’t disappoint. We also found a Collared Palm-Thrush, as well as Grey-olive Greenbul, Spotted Mourning-Thrush, Eastern Black-headed Batis and a few others before driving around 20 minutes and began birding. At first the forest seemed a little quiet, apart from a calling immature Eastern Chanting-Goshawk from a nearby tree. Then we hit a run of new birds starting with a Yellow-throated Bush-Sparrow calling away from the top a tree, followed by the first of several superb-looking Arnot’s Chats. Abdul then spotted a Stierling’s Wren-Warbler feeding close to the forest floor, with a Piping Cisticola (Neddicky) nearby. Peter picked up a Black-hooded Oriole, and we scoped a Miombo Starling (just a Lesser Blue-eared Starling if you follow Clements!). Our first Cinnamon-chested Tit (or just a Rufous-bellied Tit if you follow Clements) then appeared, and some delightful Green-capped Eremomelas were picked up feeding at the top of a tree right in front of us. As we were watching them, Abdul saw a Yellow-bellied Hyliota next to the eremomelas, but only a few in the group were lucky enough to get on it. Suddenly a Speckle-throated (Reichenow’s) Woodpecker began calling and it eventually showed pretty well. New birds kept appearing and we were on a roll….. Next up was a flock of Pale-billed Hornbills flying over the road and a couple of them lingered at the top of a close tree and showed incredibly well, allowing great views in the scope and time for plenty of photos to be taken.

The next stop a few kilometres further along the road was notable for flyover White-backed Vulture and Bataleur, or should I say the awesome views of a displaying pair of Racket-tailed Rollers we watched for ages. At one stage they alighted on the top of a near tree, unfortunately right into the sun but nevertheless still looking awesome in the Swarovski scope. A pair of Speckle-throated Woodpeckers showed at the same spot and allowed much better views than the previous sighting, with some reasonable photos being taken of this localised miombo specialist. A flock of White-crested Helmetshrikes had a Common Scimitarbill following them and once they’d crossed the road a fantastic White-breasted Cuckooshrike was picked up in the flock as well. Wow! We also had better views of Cinnamon-chested Tit, had a Red-faced Crombec, Little Bee-eater, another Arnot’s Chat, Amethyst and Scarlet-chested Sunbirds, Golden-breasted Bunting and eventually found the localised Hofmann’s Sunbird too.

The third stop produced better Hofmann’s Sunbird views in the scope, as well as Pale Batis and a non-breeding Southern Red-headed Weaver – look at the yellow primaries… And our last stop before lunch gave us a delightful Livingstone’s Flycatcher feeding quietly in a nearby tree, followed by Crowned Eagle, Cardinal Woodpecker, as well as a distinctive female Purple-throated Cuckooshrike. After our picnic lunch we drove about an hour and a half to the wonderful Hondo Hondo Tented Camp, located at the base of the foothills of the Udzungwa Mountains.

We had the luxury of an hour off after lunch before checking out the nearby ricefields where large flocks of Bronze Mannikins were accompanied by several Black-and-white Mannikins and some huge Magpie Mannikins. A few Brown-hooded Kingfishers were seen, along with Little Bee-eaters, Blue-spotted Wood-Dove, and an Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle flew over. We then drove a short distance and checked more ricefields where we found at least four Lesser Seedcrackers being rather surreptitious in the long grass. There was also Blue Waxbill, Grosbeak Weaver, and Yellow-fronted Canary. Then we drove to a different forested area and along the way found a few delightful Orange-breasted (Zebra) Waxbills. Driving further we saw flocks of African Openbills and a few herons and egrets, Brown-headed Parrot and some Crimson-rumped Waxbills. Our destination was a patch of forest where, after a bit if a wait, after sunset we located a pair of totally awesome Pel’s Fishing Owls perched right at the top of a tall tree beside the railway track we’d been walking along! It’s a pretty special bird and they weren’t bothered by us at all and I can tell you, the scope views were awesome!

Mainly a travelling day as we had 300kms+ to get to our next hotel. Well, saying that…. As we drove along the main road that passes through a section of Mikumi National Park we stopped a few times to look at herds of Impala, Masai Giraffe, Plains Zebra, some Water Buffalo with attendant Yellow-billed Oxpeckers, and best of all, an immature Martial Eagle perched in classic pose on top of an acacia. We called in to the entrance gate to the National Park, where we saw a Tawny Eagle, Lappet-faced & White-backed Vultures, Yellow-throated Bush Sparrow and a few other previously seen species. On a whim I asked if we could do a game drive and maybe see a few birds……? After half an hour of negotiating we were in and setting off into the National Park, with Southern Ground Hornbill high on a few of the group’s wish list. The park itself must have been hit by a major fire as every mile we travelled the grassland was burnt to a crisp and there was very little bird life or even animals at all. Still, the open ground looked perfect for our quarry. We did see a Yellow-throated Longclaw, a couple African Elephants, more Giraffes, Nile Crocodile and Wildebeest. At a pool we saw 5 Water Thick-knees, a pair of Blacksmith’s Plovers and a Collared Pratincole flew around us for a few minutes. We searched and searched the burnt savanna, with only Long-tailed Fiscals being anything like numerous, along with some African Green Pigeons, Greater Blue-eared Starlings, Wattled Starlings and Capped Wheatears. Eventually, on our way back towards the entrance we did find 5 Southern Ground-Hornbills walking sedately off to our left, much to everyone’s relief.

Shortly after we received word of Lions on a kill so sped off and tried to locate a group of jeeps surrounding the kill. Along the way we saw 2 adult and 3 large immature Saddle-billed Storks, as well as a Marabou Stork. However, we passed many jeeps along the way but if it wasn’t for some Hooded Vultures circling we wouldn’t have found the right place, which was thankfully devoid of jeeps with goggling tourists and we came upon the Lions and had the place to ourselves. More accurately we discovered 3 Lionesses snoozing in the shade of a couple of acacias, next to their kill – with 8 small cubs in attendance. Wow! The cubs were sleepy but we watched some of them climbing over the adults, trying to find a comfy position to sleep. One cub looked rather uncomfortable trying to rest its head on the horn of the recently deceased Wildebeest. Driving back to the entrance gate we passed a lagoon with a few not-so-hungry Hippo’s(no Malteser references please!), and at least 3 African Jacanas. There was also a few Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Larks and a brief Fischer’s Sparrow-Lark.  Leaving here we had several hours more driving to reach a small guesthouse not too far away from our next birding site, up in the Ukaguru Mountains.

We left Morogoro at 5.30am and set out on the 4+ hour drive to Dar Es Salaam, where Aidan was due to fly back to Ireland at 3.30pm and the rest of us had a 2.30pm flight to Pemba Island. Just over halfway we stopped to look for Ruvu Weaver, but our search was halted as someone told us it was a military area and we had to cease immediately. We did see Coastal Cisticola, Marsh Tchagra, Common Waxbill and a single Fulvous Whistling-Duck in a flock of White-faced Whistling-Ducks flying over. Anyway, despite several police checkpoints, a car crash (not us!) and few other hold-ups we still reached the airport by 11;30am. After saying our goodbyes we spent a few hours in the private lounge before boarding our 14 seater aircraft for the 80 minute flight to Pemba that included a touchdown in Zanzibar. Upon arrival we met up with local guide Eddie and set off towards Gecko Lodge in far north Pemba. We birded our way there, seeing Pemba White-eye, Pemba Green-Pigeon and Pemba Sunbird at our first stop! A Dickinson’s Kestrel perched on a telegraph post then caused us to screech to a halt a bit later on the drive. It was a little distant and didn’t linger very long but still a cracking looking bird! We eventually reached Ngezi Forest Reserve just after sunset where a Pemba Scops-Owl was easily tracked down for superb views, meaning we’d nailed all four endemics in just over two hours on the island! Feeling quite smug, we celebrated at the lodge with numerous Safari beers and a fine meal, which was interrupted by a Garnett’s Greater Galago next to the restaurant.