Madagascar November 2012 – January 2013, Marojejy National Park

Due to flight schedules we had to visit the far-flung Marojejy National Park. This park was of special interest to me for rumours about genuine Dusky Tetraka´s seen here.  Unfortunately these rumours turned out to be false and we saw none of these mythical creatures. However, I still think this is The place to search for this phantom, due to the variety of the forests and the extremely high quality of them in this national park. The main draw of this national park is however the charismatic mega fauna that can almost solely be observed here: Silky Sifaka.

We had unfortunately only one night inside the park due to our flight from Sambava to Maroantsetra and a delayed taxi-brousse from Diego Suarez to Sambava (very, very rough road). To get to Marojejy you have to take the taxi-brousse from Sambave to Antalaha and ask to be dropped at the national park office. To get back to Sambava you can flag down a passing taxi-brousse or simply hitch a ride, which we found to be much more comfortable.At the office, which is amazingly well organized, you can arrange everything for your visit into the park. Staying overnight inside the park is highly recommended, especially at camp two. The cabines are awesome and the view is breathtaking. Unfortunately we stayed at camp one, for we lacked time, but we got a good look at camp two. Camp one is also very nice, but the views are not as nice as at camp two. To get to the national park you have to walk four km from the office.

Once inside the park we started seeing good species almost immediately and species noted on our way to camp one included Purple Heron (ssp. madagascariensis), Red-breasted Coua and Chabert´s  Vanga. At camp one we heard Madagascar Long-eared Owl and many Rainforest Scops Owls. We also observed Brown Mouse Lemurs. Reptiles included Uroplatus sikorae, Calumna nasutum, C. boettgeri and Furcifer pardelis.

Red-breasted Coua (Coua serriana) eating Brookesia spec.

Furcifer Pardelis

Uroplatus sikorae (picture taken by Matt Baillie)

The next day we walked to camp two and back to the office. This walk produced Blue and Red-breasted Couas, Alpine Swift (ssp. willisi), Long-billed Bernieria, White-headed and Madagascar Blue Vanga and Rand´s Warbler. We also saw two Helmet Vanga nests, but they had already fledged two or three days before and we did not manage to find them. The lemurs however stole the show: we saw Eastern Grey Bamboo Lemur, White-fronted Brown Lemur and after a long search we finally also connected with the “Spirit of the forest”: Silky Sifaka.

Silky Sifaka (Propithecus candidus) peering down through the canopy

White-fronted Brown Lemur (Eulemur albifrons) (Male)

I can highly recommend this national park to anyone, its pristine rainforests and mountains are more than spectacular, the wildlife is first class (due to the immense variety in altitude, virtually every rainforest bird species can be observed here) and maybe the best of all: the management of this park is absolutely the best of entire Madagascar. Concluding: this is an off the beaten track experience not to be missed, for both birder and non-birder!

The camp two view (picture taken by Matt Baillie)

Madagascar November 2012 - January 2013, Montagne d'Ambre National Park

After our visit to the Madagascar Pochard Lakes, we headed further north to see another seldom-seen species. From Antsohihy we took an overnight taxi-brousse to Diego Suarez. From Tana this town can also be reached by a very long and tiring taxi-brousse, but  most birders opt for the more expensive option: plane (about 180 euros for a one-way ticket). From Diego you can easily travel by taxi-brousse to Joffreville (one hour). This town is the gateway town to the national park. Every accomodation is inside this town and the national park office can be reached after a four km walk from the town.

Usually a day is enough to see the endangered and range-restricted Amber Mountain Rock Thrush. We however spend two for we had some spare time due to flight schedules. On the first day we enjoyed good views of two males and a female of the rock thrush. Other good birds observed included: Madagascar Crested Ibis, Sooty Falcon, Pitta-like Ground, Dark Newtonia and Rainforest Scops Owl. This national park is also very good for range-restricted lemurs like Crowned and Sanford´s Brown Lemur, of which we enjoyed good views. The real non-avian highlight however was the Brookesia minima found by our guide. Other good reptiles included an Elephant Chameleon and a Madagascar Ground Boa.

Amber Mountain Rock Thrush (Male) (Monticola erythronotus)

Male Crowned Lemur (Eulemur coronatus)

Brookesia minima (picture made by Anna van der Kaaden)

The next day we went into the park again and visited some other sites inside park. We did not find any rock thrushes again, but enjoyed other goodies including Pitta-like Ground Roller, Madagascar Blue Vanga and Madagascar Starling. We also saw both Eulemur species again. We also enjoyed stunning views of a Uroplatus fimbriatus. In the evening we a night walk along the trail leading from the village to the national park office. During this walk we observed two rarely seen species: Ankarana Sportive Lemur and Northern Rufous Lemur. Chameleons observed included Furcifer oustelatii and Furcifer pardelis. Five Rainforest Scops Owls were also heard.

Female Sanford´s Brown Lemur (Eulemur sanfordi) 

Uroplatus fimbriatus

Montagne d´Ambre national park is a nice, well maintained park, but very far away from the standard birding circuit, however the endemic rock thrush makes the detour well worth it.

Madagascar November 2012 - January 2013 - Bemanevika Lakes

After 75 days of travel we finally reached the Red Island and we were ready to start our two month stay here with a bang. You might have heard that the Madagascar Pochard has been rediscovered in 2006. The place where this ultra rare species has been rediscovered is located 42 km north of Bealanana and is now open for birders and not just for Birdquest. Before we started our journey we contacted Sam of the Peregrine Fund (sam_theseing@yahoo.fr) to arrange our visit to the lakes where the ducks are found. This place can be reached in three different ways: by 4WD (almost everybody uses this way), by motorbike and on foot. Of course we opted for the latter and it turned out that we were the first Vazaha's ever to walk the entire 42 km.

We stocked up in Antananarivo for this mini expedition and our food included: 1 kg of rice, 0.5 kg of pasta, 2 packs of noodles, 1 bottle of Ketchup, 6 cans of tomatoes, 0.5 kg of mushrooms, 0.5 kg of sweet corn, 0.5 of mixed vegtables, 7 packages of biscuits, 1 vanilla cake, 3 baguettes, 1 cheese and 1 kg of carrots.  We filtered our own water with the UV filter we carry, but the camp at the lakes has filtered water as well.

After 24 hours of tiring taxi-brousses we finally reached Bealanana and there we got picked up by Eugene (0325018013) who was going to accompany us during the hike. The entire 42 km took us about 10 hours,even with the 30 kg of luggage and we added another 3 kg of beer to our luggage in Bemanevika, the last village before the lakes. During the walk we could add some good endemics already to our list including: Malagasy Harrier, Madagascar Partridge, Harlequin Quail, (Madagascar) Cuckoo Roller, Madagascar Fody and Madagscar Mannikin. In the camp we drank one of the most well earned beers of hour life and fell into a deep sleep, ready for the next day and what a day it would be!

White-throated Rail Juvenile (Dryolimnas cuvieri)

The next day we enjoyed our breakfast in the camp which is situated in Sambirano (transitional) forest and saw already lots of birds like White-throated Rail, Madagscar Cuckooshrike and some pure (!) Forest Fodies. After a short walk through the plains we reached another patch of forest which surrounded the Madagascar Pochard Lake. Here we saw Madagscar Flufftails, Spectacled Tetraka (take care not to identify the subspecies that occurs here as Dusky Tetraka, for it looks a lot like the drawing in Sinclair and Langrand, but that one is completely wrong), Pitta-like Ground Roller, Stripe-throated Jery and Nelicouri Weaver. Once we reached the lake we feasted our eyes on at least 30 Madagascar Little Grebes, dozens of Meller's Ducks, Singing Madagascar Swamp Warblers, a Madagascar Rail charging at us and in the end some Madagascar Pochards. What a shame they are so far away, we thought, and minutes later we were in a small kayak paddling towards the ducks. We enjoyed awesome views and we even found two Malagasy Pond Herons as a bonus!

Pitta-like Ground Roller (Atelornis pittoides)

Madagascar Little Grebe (Tachybaptus pelzenii)

Meller's Duck (Anas melleri)

A pair of the critically endangered Madagscar Pochard (Aythya innotata)

The next goal was a bit more difficult. We needed the help of Loukman (0331856009) to find the Madagascar Red Owl, that has been radio tagged. There used to be 7 owls radio tagged in this area, but six of them have a low battery and probably the one on this individual will run out soon, so better be quick to visit this site! One hour later we were standing in front of a 2 kj male Red Owl and we enjoyed incredible views with a Forest Rock Thrush as a bonus. Later we also enjoyed good views of Nuthatch Vangas in the same forest.

Loukman carrying the gear to locate the Madagascar Red Owl (Tyto soumagnei)

2 kj male Madagascar Red Owl (Tyto soumagnei)

For the third target we headed to the third crater, which is not a lake but a swamp and it is definitely one of the best in entire Madagascar. Here we saw Malagasy Harrier, Madagascar Snipe and Grey Emutail, but unfortunately not our main target: Slender-billed Flufftail. Luckily we had another day. During the night we dried our equipment near the campfire while we listened to the Rainforest Scops Owls and Madagscar Long-eared Owls. The latter didn't want to show themselves unfortunately.

The next morning we return to the swamp en tried to find Slender-billed Flufftails at three different spots and in the end, after three hours searching I flushed a female and shortly after that we also heard a male calling! Ow yeah, another seldom seen species ticked and we even saw a Madagascar Crested Ibis and two Madagascar Rails as a bonus! If you are going to try for this species, please do this with extreme care, for many rare species breed in this swamp and the only other site for this species has a 6 meter wide path running through the marsh, caused by all the birding crews searching for the Flufftail... Also be careful with the snakes (which are here plentyful) and the razor sharp sedges here. After this triumph we returned happily to the camp and enjoyed another well earned beer.

Pair of Malagasy Harriers (Circus macrosceles)

In the afternoon I went out with Loukman and Eugene to search for Velvet Asity, Common Sunbird Asity, Blue Coua, Red-fronted Coua and Red-headed Ground Roller, but we saw none of these. We saw only one single bird, but what a bird it was: Madagascar Serpent Eagle! This species used to be equally easy as the Red Owl, but the radiotags on the two Serpent Eagles here also have a low battery, making this bird the second hardest bird in Madagscar (after the mythical Dusky Tetraka). How unbelievably lucky we were to find one sitting in a tree next to the track! We enjoyed brilliant views of this cracker for at least an hour, thanks to Eugenes amazing ability to find the bird again as soon as it changed its perch. After this succes I exchanged hugs with both of my guides, for they both have been searching for this bird for 84 days straight without success and today they succeeded. Probably I am they only birder in the world who has seen Slender-billed Flufftail and Madagascar Serpent Eagle in the same day. Another extremely satisfying day ended with a beer and only smiling faces. What a day!

Madagascar Serpent Eagle (Eutriorchis astur) (female) 

The next day we headed back, partly on foot, partly on motorbike. We were sad to leave this magical place behind us, but one day we will return, even though we have ticked off almost everything at this site. I can highly recommend this site to everyone, it is probably our number one birding site until now.

The Madagascar Pochard Lake (picture made by Anna van der Kaaden)

For a more elaborate Dutch version of this post, have a look at: http://dutchbirding.nl/news.php?id=781

Comoros November 2012 - Mozambique Channel

Most birders fly between the different islands of the Comoros, but the seas between the islands can be very interesting to explore from the boats going from island to island. However arranging one can be a real hassle. We thought we had arranged a boat from Moroni, Grande Comoro, to go to Fomboni, Moheli, but when we arrived the next day it wasn't departing... After some hours we found out there was a small boat going every day several times from Hoani, Grande Comoro, to Chindini, Moheli. When we arrived at Hoani by taxi-brousse we soon got tickets and an hour later we were in the front (bad idea, your ass will be sour for days) fo the boat. On these small boats it is important to waterproof all your luggage or to put at least a plastic bag around your backpack. The boat ride took approximately 1.5 hours, but this is dependent on the tides.

During the crossing we noted some interesting seabirds including Bridled Tern, Brown Noddy, Bulwer's Petrel (Don't be tempted to identify these petrels as Jouanin's, just because the Bulwer's is not mentioned in Sinclair and Langrand. The flight action of the the Bulweria's in the Comoro's is very fast and "batlike" suggesting Bulwer's and these birds are also rather small.) and Greater Frigatebird. We also noted several Flying Fishes, some of them extremely brightly colored, but surprisingly no Dolphins.

On Moheli we tried to get a boat to Anjouan, but the departure date got postponed again and again, which in the end made it impossible for us to visit this island. On our return trip to Grande Comoro we took the same small boat from Chindini to Hoani. During the trip we noted just one Bulwer's Petrel, some Brown Noddies and two Sooty Terns. This crossing proved to be something of an adventure, for the motor of our boat stopped working in the middle of the sea, luckily it started working again after half an hour of drifting. However due to this delay the tides were not ideal and we had to walk the last couple of hundred meters on dead coral.

Unfortunately it was not possible to take any pictures on the two crossings we took, but I think the bigger boats plying these routes should have less spray. The seas here are really interesting and should be explored more, just like every bit of the Comoros. I can highly recommend this country, for it is an amazing, but seldom visited area, even by birders standards. It provides High quality birding sites and a respectable list of endemics. We saw 57 birds species and 1 mammal species during our two week visit of which 21 species are endemic, but future DNA research is most likely to prove many endemic subspecies to be genuine endemic species. Besides most of them are endangered and rare and none of them are actually protected. This may change when more people show interest in the biodiversity of the Comoros. So all I can say is book your ticket now! (Air Madagascar or Precision Air)

Comoros November 2012 - Mohéli, Oeunefou

Due to problems with the local boats, we did not managed to get to Anjouan, so we missed the four (three if you don´t count the Thrush, which you should) local endemics. Therefore we had some spare time and ventured from Miringoni to Nioumachoua, which was rather difficult as there are no taxi-brousses on this stretch of road. There we found, to our surprise, very good accomodation in the form of the Laka Lodge and so we had our first shower in two weeks... From here you can organise all sorts of tours, including hikes and whale watching. We however, as we were short on money and it was not in the season for the whales, organised a boat form a local fisherman for 15.000 CMF to visit Oeunefou.

Oeunefou is one of the small uninhabited islands offshore, that are part of the only national park of the country. This site is not a part of the standard circuit (if such a thing exists in the Comoros), but we thought it might be encompromise a breeding colony of Persian Shearwaters and we were eager to make some better sound recordings than on Chalet St. Antoine.

We just camped on the beach, which almost ended in disaster, for the high tide is very high here during the night.  We had a very lovely time on this small island though, for the snorkeling is very good.  Besides we also saw some good birds including: Malagasy Harrier, Sooty Falcon and Lesser Frigatebird. At night we also heard some Persian Shearwaters calling, but these were only two very brief calls. The highlight however at night is the biofluorescence, which gives you the feeling of swimming with the stars.

Our tent on Oeunefou

Concluding, Oeunefou is not a place you go for the birds primairely, but it was a cool place to kill our spare time. However take enough food and water, when camping out, for our boatman was 3.5 hours late... I also want to make a small note here: Oeunefou seems like the perfect place to play Robinson Crusoe and many people do so. However it is the only single "protected" area in the entire country and that should be respected, even when the locals don´t, so fuck off with your home made fishing rod or spear and enjoy the Barracuda´s alive while snorkeling!

Sunset on Oeunefou

Comoros November 2012 - Mohéli, Chalet St. Antoine

Chalet St. Antoine is The place on Mohéli to see all the endemics of the island. However, access to this site is very difficult. I have no idea what the best strategy should be. We simply arrived in Miringoni, where the trail starts, by hitching a ride from Hoani and ended up sleeping in the drivers house (Although there are bungalows in the village, he insisted on inviting us to his house. Awsome experience!) In Miringoni we organised  a guide, called Abacar, who speaks very decent French, but no English. You really need a guide, for otherwise you just won´t find the trail. At the top, at Chalet St. Antoine (800 m.a.s.l.) is no accomodation, nor food, so you have to camp out. We found that buying food in Miringoni is very difficult and therefore I advice to stock up somewhere else. We walked the entire very, very steep trail in three hours, arriving at 8:00 at the top with a load of spare time.

Birds seen on the trail and around the chalet included the endemic Comoro Green Pigeon (just two and I think if IUCN acceps this form to be a full species it will be rated as endangered, at least), Mohéli Thrush (Very different from Grande Comoro Thrush. We saw a few, mostly around the camp), Moheli Bulbul, Long-billed Green Sunbird  (ssp. voeltzkowi), Madagascar White-eye (ssp. comoriensis), Malagasy Harrier (a pair preformed stunningly at the chalet), Madagascar Paradise Flycatcher (ssp. voeltzkowiana), Cuckoo Roller (apparently it is unknown which subspecies is represented on this island or even which species!) Benson´s Brush Warbler (just one noted), Comoro Blue Vanga (two males seen) and Comoro Cuckoo Shrike (just one female observed of the scarce moheliensis subspecies)

Long-billed Green Sunbird (Nectarinia notata voeltzkowi)

Mohéli Thrush (Turdus (bewsheri) moheliensis)

Malagsy Harrier (Circus macrosceles), male 

Male Cuckoo Roller, whatever (sub)species it may be, in display flight

Female Comoro Cuckooshrike (Coracina cucullata moheliensis)

After a very long wait (10 hours) it was finely getting dark and very soon four or five Mohéli Scops Owls started calling and after having the (rather weird tyto-like) call recorded, we could lure on into view and enjoyed rather brief, but good sights of the bird. Surprisingly we also heard some Persian Shearwaters calling and it turns out to be a known breeding site of the temptator subspecies.

We also recorded Common Tenrecs here and had to restrain Abacar from eating them! Retrospectively I think eating introduced species is not such a bad thing and it is a shame that House Crows apparently don´t taste as good as Tenrecs... We also tried to find the endemic Livingstone´s Fruit Bat, but unfortunately we did not manage to find this extremely impressive species. I can highly recommend this site as well, but prepare yourself well and I think leaving Miringoni in the afternoon will do just fine. Abacar is a decent guide, but a bit shy. Besides the birds, the view at the top is also very beautiful, for you can see the entire marine park, including the uninhabited islands (see next post).

Comoros November 2012 - Grande Comoro, Mount Karthala

The most important site of Grande Comoro is the spectacular vulcano that dominates the island: Mount Karthala. It is actually the worlds largest vulcanic crater and the views are nothing but breathtaking. I would even go so far to call them awesome, a word most people rape in daily life. I can therefore highly recommend this site, also for the less bird-inclined. For the birders: every endemic, except the Drongo, can be seen on the slopes of the mountain.

The crater of Mount Karthala (picture made by Anna van der Kaaden)

 The access of this site is not very easy and a guide is recommended. We used "Chauffeur" (Said, 002693365387) which we can highly recommend. He is a bit pricey (we paid 85.000 CMF), but entire Comoros is a bit pricy for Africa, also he knows the mountains, the forest and most of the birds, most importantly the Scops Owl, fairly well. The walk up the crater is long, for the trail starts at Mvouni (300 m.a.s.l.) and goes all the way up to the crater (2200 m.a.s.l.), but is not particularly steep or hard. It is possible to do the walk within one day. It is even possible to visit  the crater and return to Mvouni on the same day, but that would mean to rush a stunning hike and more importantly, the chances to see the Karthala  Scops Owl drop to zero.

We left Moroni around 5:00 and made it all the way up to the top and returned to 1600 m.a.s.l. to sleep in a hut. The next day we made our way down in just 2.5 or 3 hours. The birding is very good all endemics with all endemics seen, except the Drongo; Comoro Blue Pigeon (just a single one), Comoro (Olive) Pigeon (large numbers at higher altitude, above the forest), Comoro Bulbul (numerous at higher elevation where Madagascar Bulbul does not occur), Grande Comoro Thrush (four noted in good quality forest), Humblot´s Flycatcher (small numbers in good quality forest), Comoro Brush Warlber (fairly common in high altitude scrub), Kirk´s White-eye (very common up to 1600 m.a.sl.), Karthala White-eye (surprisingly scarce and very  unlike the drawing in the book, small numbers noted at high altitude. Also one or two in a Kirk´s flock around the camp), Comoro Green Sunbird (quite scarce at lower and medium altitude), Comoro Cuckooshrike (just two males noted in good quality forest), Comoro Fody (quite common at medium altitude with some juveniles hanging around the camp). Non-endemics included: Madagascar Harrier, Eleonora´s Falcon, Common Quail (ssp. africana), Madagascar Spine-tailed Swift (ssp. mariae), (Comoro) Cuckoo Roller (of the ssp. gracilis which has a different vocalisation than the (sub)species on Madagascar), Madagascar Paradise Flycatcher (ssp. comoriensis) and both Vasa Parrot species. For the Karthala Scops Owl, we went back down to 1300 m.a.s.l. and tried with tape at a spot Chauffeur pointed out. A bird aswered quickly, but seeing it the bird took some time. In the end we went straight into the forest and the bird came and set in a tree just above us and called back. Lovely!

Grande Comoro Scops Owl (Otus paulani)

Comoro Cuckooshrike (Coracina cucullata cucullata)

Comoro Bulbul (Hypsipetes parvirostris)

Grand Comoro Brush Warbler (Nesillas brevicaudata)

Humblot´s Flycatcher (Humblotia flavirostris)

Comoro Pigeons (Columba pollenii)

Comoro Pigeon (Columba pollenii)

A crappy record shot of Karthala White-eye (Zosterops mouroniensis)

African Stonechat (Saxicola torquatus voeltzkowi)

The hut were we slept in on the Vulcano

The nightwalk also produced some Common Tenrecs, which are introduced to the Comoros for food. During the day we also saw a Furcifer cephalopis Chameleon (endemic for the Comoros). I can only repeat myself: when visiting the Comoros, Mount Karthala is an experience not to be missed.

Furcifer cephalopis

Comoros November 2012 - Grande Comoro, Salimani

After two months spend on the African mainland, we ventured out to the Indian Ocean, where we will spend the next nine months, at least. We started with the Comoros, an archipelago seldom visited, although I don´t know why, for it offers a huge variety of ecosystems and a respectable list of endemic species. We started on Grande Comoro (Ngazidja), of course, for it has the only airported that can be reached from the African mainland. We wanted to start with the most difficult species first: Grande Comoro Drongo. After some research I found a reliable site: Salimani (http://biodivcomores.africamuseum.be/Biodiversity/Birds/Bird_home.htm)

The first time we visited this site which consists of abandoned plantations by ourselves by just taking a taxi-brousse to Salimani (be sure to state that you want to visit the Salimani in the South, for there is also a Salimani Norht of Moroni, the capital. We were shown around by a local we met in the taxi-brousse, who apparently knew the bird. However we did not find it. We still saw other endemic species like Humblot´s Sunbird (nominate subspecies), Comoro Green Sunbird, Kirk´s White-eye, the   dazzling Comoro Blue Pigeon and a pure (!) Comoro Fody (ssp. consobrina). Other good birds included Madagascar Turtle Dove (ssp. picturata although there seem to be no pure ones of this taxa left), Frances´ Sparrowhawk (ssp. griveaudi), Greater Vasa Parrot (ssp. comorensis) and Lesser Vasa Parrot (ssp. sibilans). We also saw plenty of the omnipresent Seychelles Flying Foxes (ssp. comoriensis), which I won´t mention again, for they were truly seen daily. Some Phelsuma v-nigra v-nigra were also noted.

Comoro Blue Pigeon (Alectroenas sganzini)

Seychelles Flying Fox (Pteropus seychellensis comoriensis)

The second time (10 days later) we recruited Chauffeur (see next entry) and we were in possesion of tape, for we found a copy of Atlas des Oiseaux de la Grande Comoro, du Mohéli et d´Anjouan, which contained a cd with all the bird sounds including those of different subspecies, which we were free to copy! According to Chauffeur, the best time to see the Drongo was in the afternoon. So we went from 15:00 to 18:00. We took the same taxi-brousse, got out at the same place and walked the smae route we did the first time, so the random local indeed knew what he was talking about. After a fair bit of searching a bird responded to tape by coming in silently to check things out. (Only the high-pitched contact call seems to work) We enjoyed great views of the bird for 15 minutes and after that we returned to Moroni. Other birds seen on this  walk included a lovely male Frances Sparrowhawk (ssp. griveaudi), Kirk´s White-eye and Lesser Vasa Parrot (ssp. sibilans).

Grande Comoro Drongo (Dicrurus fuscipennis)