TRANSFER DAY SENEGAMBIA TO TENDABA CAMP WITH STOPS AT
PIRANG FOREST, FARA BANTA BUSH TRACK AND SEVERAL IMPROMPTU STOPS ALONG THE ROAD
TO TENDABA
STAR BIRD - WHITE-SPOTTED FLUFFTAIL
We were all
packed and ready to go by 8am, the bus was loaded up with our luggage and we
set off travelling through the Serrakunda district heading eastward towards the
interior of this tiny country. After 45 minutes we arrived at our first
destination, Pirang Forest Bird Reserve.
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| abysinian roller |
 |
| lizard buzzard |
Under the
guidance of a couple of local ‘keepers of the forest’ we snaked our way through
the pathways of this dense forestry. Bird calls and songs rang out from all
directions and it wasn’t long before we watching our first new species of the
trip. The tiny, tail-less Green Crombec sang
from the canopy and proved very hard to see, most of us got brief glimpses of
it but others did not, however, much later we found a second bird which was a
little more obliging.
Over the next
hour or so we searched and found a series of nice species but without doubt the
highlight was the White-spotted
Fluff-tail stakeout. What an exciting little beauty this species really is,
we sat on a purpose built bench and waited whilst one of the guides whistled
this bird towards us. Then after about 20 minutes it suddenly appeared, wow,
superb, what a stunning sighting, it looks like a cross between a tiny chicken
and a rail, but with a fantastic colourful plumage.
 | ||||||
| a record shot of the elusive and secretive White-spotted Flufftail (taken by Lanny Mc | Dowell) |
We were on a
high after the experience and went on to find Grey-headed Bristlebill, Green Crombec, Black-faced Firefinch (heard
only), Ahanta Francolin (seen by
Modou our guide but flushed a Monitor Lizard), Lizard Buzzard, Blue-bellied Roller, Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat and
many more species.
Our second
stop of the morning was at the bush track near Fara banta. This track runs for
several kilometers through open woodland, some small sections of agricultural
land and forest. We went there specifically to see a Northern Greyish Owl. This large eagle owl sat nicely for us, it
looks more brown than grey and has white spots which accounts for its former
name Spotted Eagle Owl.
 |
| BLUE-BELLIED ROLLER - it looks great from the front and the back |
Whilst we
there we also added Lesser Honey Guide to
our list, this bird sat in the canopy and called constantly but it took us
quite a while to find it.
It was now
approaching 2pm so headed back to the main road and set off in earnest for
Tendaba Camp. We made several unscheduled stops to look at perched raptors,
roller, shrikes and vultures, this slowed our progress down. Some of the
species seen included: Dark Chanting
Goshawk, Abysinian Roller, Rufous Headed Roller, Striped Kingfisher, Veillot’s
Barbet, Ruppell’s & White-backed Vulture, Wahlberg’s Eagle, Pink Backed
Pelican and we saw close to 30 Blue-bellied
Rollers on the road-side telephone wires.
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| A Wahlberg's Eagle |
 |
| two shots of the strange looking White helmet Shrike |
We arrived at
Tendaba at 5pm and spent the rest of the afternoon settling into to our rooms
and getting ready for dinner. We saw a Pink-backed
Pelican on the river before it got dark. Dinner was lovely, we sat in the
open air restaurant which is set right beside the river, it was too overcast to
appreciate a sunset but we could see a bit of it.
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