Wader-Watching at the WTP

For Australia Day, my father and I decided to visit the Western Treatment Plant. Though we didn't get any lifers, we did still see a fair amount of birds in the short time that we were there.
We began the trip from Gate 5. As we drove down Paradise Road, several whistling kites, a distant swamp harrier and a black kite soared overhead. As usual, superb fairy-wrens, golden-headed cisticolas, magpie-larks, Australian magpies, common starlings, zebra finches, crested pigeons and house sparrows were abundant in the grassland. We came to a small hut, the roof of which was encrusted in the nests of fairy martins! Though most of the martins flew off as soon as we arrived, a few birds flew in and out of the nests while we took photos.

The fairy martin is an uncommon summer migrant to Victoria

We saw a wide variety of waterbirds in Lake Borrie and the surrounding ponds. Chestnut teal, hardhead, purple swamphen, Eurasian coots, hoary-headed grebes, Pacific black ducks and Australian shelduck were all present in large numbers. Small pools by the roadside held many Australian white ibis and a lone white-faced heron. Little ravens, Australian magpies, zebra finches and magpie-larks were perched on fences beside the road. A small flock of Cape Barren geese were grazing beside the road. We were prevented from getting good photos by large swarms of midges and mosquitoes, which covered the road. A lone crake of unknown species also dashed across the road at one point.

Cape Barren geese breed only on secluded islands in the Bass Strait

Our next stop was the bird hide at the mouth of the Little River. Here, we saw distant flocks of waders, Australian pied oystercatchers, common and whiskered terns, silvergulls, black swans , Australian pelicans, Australian shelduck and chestnut teals. Shrubs around the hide hid white-fronted chats, superb fairy-wrens, Willie wagtails, golden-headed cisticolas and white-browed scrubwrens. A lone swamp harrier was also seen soaring over the hide.

Whiskered terns are resident in Victoria, but common terns are summer migrants

The Western Treatment Plant is probably Victoria's best site for Australian shelduck

The superb fairy-wren belongs to a family endemic to Australasia

The white-browed scrubwren is Victoria's commonest scrubwren species

As we headed towards Beach Road, we stumbled across a large flock of waders. Many hundreds of red-necked stints and curlew sandpipers were feeding and resting extremely close to the shore, allowing for some nice photos.

The red-necked stint is Australia's smallest wader species

The flock was mostly made up of these curlew sandpipers

On arrival at Beach Road, we searched the rocks along the foreshore for any roosting waders. Not much of note was seen, with only a few pied cormorants, Australian pied oystercatchers, chestnut teal, silvergulls and Australian pelicans present. The bush around Beach Road held many Australasian pipits and a few tree martins. As we headed back along Point Wilson Road, we saw a huge flock of migrating Australian shelducks flying in the air. At least a thousand shelducks must have been present, with even more grazing behind a low ridge.

This was only a small section of the Australian shelduck flock!

All in all, for the cold, overcast weather and limited time we spent at the treatment plant, we saw a good deal of birds.

SUMMER BIRDING TRIP: Day 11/12: Nuwera Eliya

After visiting Zimbabwe and Botswana, we travelled to Sri Lanka to meet up with family. During this time, we were staying in a town about an hour's drive from Nuwera Eliya, where my father's parents live. A friend of ours informed us about a new place to see the rare, endemic Sri Lanka whistling thrush. Since we had dipped on the bird many, many times before, with at least 8 visits to various sites in Nuwera Eliya and Horton Plains where the bird 'regularly' appears, we decided we'd give the new spot a try. So we drove towards this site in the afternoon.
Along the way to the new site, we stopped over at another site we know for the bird. This site consists of an area of forest surrounding a small stream. A path through this forest starts just behind a row of stalls selling food, only about 5 minutes drive from central Nuwera Eliya. Here, we met a friendly biologist studying the thrush, who informed us that our strategy for seeing the thrush (walking down the path, scanning the forest around the stream, waiting, then walking back up) was outdated. He showed us an area of shrubs just beside the path. Apparently, the thrush regularly comes to these shrubs, so it can eat rice left by the owners of nearby stalls (who know the bird well). Just a few minutes after we arrived, a stunning male Sri Lankan whistling thrush hopped into the shrubs in front of us! We waited for a while, watching a female Indian blue robin, an endemic dull-blue flycatcher, some cinereous tits, several dusky palm squirrels and an Indian blackbird visit the shrubs. Then, after about half an hour, the whistles of the thrush sounded from the undergrowth, and the male hopped in front of us again! Since we needed to rush back to the town now, we couldn't stay any longer. Unfortunately, bad lighting had ruined many of the photos we'd taken. The biologist told us that the thrush would almost certainly return the following morning, at around 6-8 am. He said he'd wait for us there and let my father borrow a lens that would work better in the conditions.
The next morning, we arrived early. Perhaps too early. All the species we'd seen the previous afternoon were present, apart from the whistling thrush! Just as we were about to leave, the biologist told us the thrush would almost certainly arrive soon. As he predicted, within 5 minutes the Sri Lankan whistling thrush male was showing himself off. Though he told us that the female would probably follow after the male, we had to leave quickly. We drank some tea, then headed back, satisfied.

The Indian blue robin is an uncommon migrant to Sri Lanka

The cinereous tit was recently split from the great tit

Indian blackbirds sometimes fight with whistling-thrushes, as they compete for food

The Sri Lankan whistling thrush is so named for its call, a two-note whistle

The dusky palm squirrel is found only in Sri Lanka's rainforest and montane forests

SUMMER BIRDING TRIP: Day Seven: Moremi Game Reserve

On the morning of our last day in Africa, we took a boat trip into the lagoon near the lodge. As previously, we were lead by Letz. Once more, his excellent guiding lead us to see all of our target species in the lagoon. Just before boarding the boat, I spotted a secretive black crake strolling across the lawn. Though it vanished into the reeds when I approached, I managed to get one distant photo of it.

The black crake is usually seen hiding in reeds, so I was lucky to spot one in the open

Along with many hippo and young Nile crocodiles, a wide variety of birds were present. The thick reedbeds of the lagoon held little bitterns, blue-cheeked bee-eaters, black crakes, fan-tailed widowbirds, Luapula cisticolas and chirping cisticolas. Pied kingfishers fished the water from overhanging plants. Several goliath herons, along with one rufous-bellied heron, flew overhead while we travelled through the lagoon's many channels. Areas of floating vegetation held both African and lesser jacanas. Three African elephants, as well as several red lechwe, were seen on the banks of the lagoon. Finally, African pygmy-geese were resting in some of the more secluded channels of the lagoon.

Hippo frequent shallow areas, where they can walk on the lakebed

The Okavango Delta is one of the best places in Africa to see little bitterns

The many young Nile crocodiles we saw seemed unafraid of our boat

The blue-cheeked bee-eater is a summer migrant to southern Africa

This male African pygmy-goose can be told from the female by its green markings

The female fan-tailed widowbird is much drabber than this male

The lesser jacanas we saw on the lagoon were very approachable

We returned at around 9.30 am and immediately had to pack our bags for the drive to the airstrip. We said our goodbyes, then headed onward. On the drive, we saw many impalas and one new species of antelope, a common reedbuck. Along the road were our last two lifers in Botswana: an African hoopoe darting in front of our jeep and a Southern yellow-billed hornbill that allowed me to get a few photos. As we waited for the light aircraft to arrive, a white-backed vulture and distant bateleur were seen soaring high above the woodland. 

Apparently, the Southern yellow-billed hornbill is one of Botswana's commonest birds

The common reedbuck is rarely found away from water

This trip was easily the best trip I've ever done, with close views of rare and beautiful birds and mammals. It was certainly a great start to the new year.

SUMMER BIRDING TRIP: Day Six: Moremi Game Reserve

We woke up early, as always, for what would be the highlight of our trip - a morning game drive in Moremi Game Lodge. The first sighting was a beautiful pin-tailed whydah flying across an area of grassland, then stopping to perch on a nearby tree. Two African elephants crossed the road, eyeing our jeep warily before trumpeting and moving on. Suddenly, we ran straight into a pack of stunning African wild dogs. We followed them as they moved through the woodland, and soon they were chasing down a herd of impala. 

The male pin-tailed whydah uses his long tail to attract a mate

African elephants often pull down trees in order to feed from them

A lone impala watched them from the distance, as white-headed, white-backed and hooded vultures, along with tawny eagles and yellow-billed kites, circled overhead. One of the wild dogs soon spotted it and gave chase. We were treated to the spectacle of the African wild dogs manoeuvring themselves, driving the baby impala towards other members of the pack who were patiently waiting. As the wild dogs took down the impala, Letz's keen eyes revealed the lion pair from yesterday resting beneath a nearby tree. He drove over to them, predicting that they would see the circling vultures, come to investigate the kill and drive the wild dogs away from it, stealing the impala for their own. Letz was proved right as the pair, lead by the female, slowly strolled through the woodland and towards the kill. Upon seeing them, the wild dogs barked ferociously and jumped in the air, but for all this noise they knew that they couldn't take down the pair and slowly retreated. The male lion voraciously devoured most of the corpse, leaving the female hungry once again. Finally, the vultures, tawny eagles and yellow-billed kites swooped down on what was left and gorged themselves. Later on, we saw the African wild dog pack resting under a tree and rolling in mud after the hunt, a young wild dog still holding the jaw of the impala the pack had killed earlier. It was amazing, unlike anything I've ever seen before.

Obediently, this African wild dog stood to block the approaching impala

Male lions always eat first at a kill, with cubs eating second, and females last

Further south in the Kalahari, lions have even darker, blacker manes

The tawny eagle occurs in both a dark form (shown here) and a pale form

The white-headed vulture is quite rare, considered Critically Endangered

Slowly, the lioness strode towards the kill, her partner following behind

Angrily, this pair of African wild dogs barked at the approaching lioness

Though he was the last to arrive, the male lion happily gorged himself on the kill

As soon as the lions left, this white-backed vulture hopped onto the kill

This young African wild dog was given the impala's jawbone by the alpha

After the hunt, the African wild dogs rested in the shade of this tree

Due to the marks on its coat, the African wild dog is also called the painted wolf

We watched the pack rest, then moved on to a site where the leopard from yesterday was resting. She was still there, relaxing under the cover of some shrubs. Afterwards, we drove on to Dead Tree Island, an area of the reserve with poor soil covered in dead trees. We immediately met a group of female Southern giraffe, one of which had a few red-billed oxpeckers perching on her. Along the way to Dead Tree Island, we stopped to see a tree where Verreaux's eagle-owls were roosting. While looking at the eagle-owls, we turned around to see a spotted hyena watching our jeep! It looked at us for a few seconds, before continuing on. Letz told us that hyenas often follow wild dog packs, trying to scavenge from any kills that the wild dogs make.

Leopards are one of the most widespread big cats, found in much of Asia and Africa

Of the 4 giraffe species, only the Southern giraffe occurs in Botswana

The largest of the giraffes was chewing a sausage fruit

Witches in parts of Tanzania are believed to use spotted hyenas as mounts

The Verreaux's eagle-owl is Botswana's largest species of owl

We then travelled to an area of wetlands in search of one of my last target species, the saddle-billed stork. Along with several Southern carmine bee-eaters, many egrets, grey herons and a shy rufous-bellied heron hiding in some shrubs, we got great views of a pair of beautiful saddle-billed storks, just as pretty as I'd imagined them. On the way back, we saw a large male leopard watching us. It was quite shy, vanishing into the nearby grassland as soon as it saw us approach. After several minutes of searching the grass, we returned back to the lodge for lunch, with birds such as arrow-marked babblers and broad-billed rollers abundant. But one last surprise waited - as we drove through an area of thick trees, Letz spotted a massive Pel's fishing-owl roosting in the foliage! How he managed to spot the bird is beyond me, but thankfully he did, and we spent some time trying to photograph it.

The saddle-billed stork is a rare bird, with a stronghold in the Okavango delta

This Southern carmine bee-eater looks absolutely stunning

The Pel's fishing-owl stared at us initially, before realising we weren't a threat

This shot of the Pel's fishing owl was taken by Letz with my camera

At brunch, we saw some bushbuck, more Holub's golden weavers, a woodland kingfisher and a Hartlaub's babbler.

The Hartlaub's babbler is Botswana's only babbler with a white rump

Later in the afternoon, we had planned to do a boat trip but rain lead to us doing another game drive. As the rain was quite heavy during the drive, it was not as productive as it could have been. However, we did get great views of the lion pair resting out in the open (so as to avoid water dripping down from the trees of the woodland), along with looks at African elephants, greater kudu, red lechwe, impala and plains zebra doing the same. A large group of Cape buffalo was also seen. Bird-wise, the best birds were visible around a small lake where we spotted a Nile crocodile. Here long-toed lapwings, African sacred ibis, various egrets, grey herons and some distant African skimmers were all seen. Later on, near the end of the drive, we got looks at some more waterbirds. A small puddle in a dried-up lake was being sifted through by a flock of spur-winged geese and white-faced whistling-ducks. Despite the rain the drive was still quite successful and we returned satisfied.

Though occasionally hunted by lions, an adult Cape buffalo takes 5 lions to kill

The long-toed lapwing is another waterbird with a stronghold in the Okavango

Though commonest in Africa, a small remnant population of lions exists in India

The top red-billed oxpecker on this male greater kudu is still in its juvenile plumage