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Central Mozambique in Search of Pittas (and other great birds) 2 - 16 December, 2010Introduction |
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If you are interested in this trip, please Book/Ask for information here.
Introduction Mozambique offers superb and exciting birding in some amazing places, from the vast wet grasslands of Rio Savane to the to lowland forest and savannah in the "Coutadas" of the Zambezi valley. Then there is the awesome forest on Mount Gorongosa and fascinating Miombo woodlands in the region which offers a host of specials. All in all, this is still one of the most exciting and in places, unspoilt birding destinations available on the sub-continent. This short trip concentrates on the most diverse and exciting localities in Central Mozambique, with an emphasis on localities where African Pittas occur regularly in the summer months. This offers a host of special birds not found elsewhere, and in many cases outside of the summer months. Birds which are much more likely or only possible in the summer months include Blue Quail, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, Twinspot Indigobird, Collared Flycatcher, (European) Blackcap, Eleonora's Falcon, Great Snipe and African (Angola) Pitta. See the list of specials (appendix 1) for some of the great birds we expect to encounter on this trip. This trip can either be done as a self-drive trip, or you can drive with us in an air-conditioned 4x4. vehicle. Please enquire regarding the pricing of the specific option you would like to take. A fly-in option is also available - this reduced the length of the trip substantially. About our Mozambique trips Indicator Birding has been organizing Mozambique birding trips for 4 years, and Etienne Marais, who will be your leader knows the localities and the birds intimately. We provide 29Mhz CB radios to all vehicles in order to ensure a smooth and pleasurable trip with maximum birds. We do minimal birding in convoy, in order to ensure that everyone has an equal chance of seeing all the birds on offer! Our results in terms of actual birds seen are excellent, and we specialize in showing participants good views of all the birds concerned. All of our previous trip reports are available and we can (on request) also supply names and contact details of all those who have been our Mozambique trip previously. Itinerary (Provisional) December 2 (Thursday) Johannesburg to Three-ways Safaris. After meeting at the border to assist with border crossings, we drive up to Three-way Safaris near the Bubi River. This is a beautiful spot in pristine bushveld. One does not expect to see any of the true Mozambique/Zim specials yet, but Depending on their own circumstances self-drive participants will make their way to Musina for an overnight stop-over. Possible get together over dinner. Overnight Three-way Safaris (Bubi River) D1: December 3 (Friday): Three-ways to Mutare After some quality early morning birding (Thrush Nightingale possible) we then drive up to Mutare (6 hours). The aim is to get to the Mutare area with plenty of time for birding. In particular we focus on the area around Mutare where miombo specials such as Cinnamon-breasted Tit, Whyte's Barbet, Cabanis's Bunting and Spotted Creeper can be found. Other species on offer include Scarce and Mottled Swift, Twinspot Indigobird and Eleonora's Falcon. Overnight: Inn on the Vumba D2: December 4: Mutare to Envirotrade Camp (Gorongosa) First up is a morning session of great birding in the Bvumba highlands with local guides. We then head through the border post and make our way to the Envirotrade Camp. This is set in maginifent miombo woodlands in the Gorongosa Conservation area and is a good area for such mega-ticks as Speckle-throated Woodpecker (found by us in July 08 and Jan 09 and July '09), Yellow-bellied Hyliota and even Spotted Creeper. Overnight: Envirotrade Camp D3: December 5: Gorongosa Mountain This climb is timed at the beginning of the trip, as later in December, it is usually too wet to attempt the shorter, birder-friendly Renamo Hut Route, but early December (hopefully) provides a window of opportunity to do this great walk! Early morning departure for Gorongosa to walk up the slopes of the mountain via the shorter western route. 4x4 Vehicles will be used to ferry those with 2x4 vehicles up to the start of the hike. The main target of the climb is of course Green-headed Oriole, but it also offers a variety of other good birds including as Orange-winged Pytilia, Variable Sunbird, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Eastern Saw-wing, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, Pallid Honeyguide, Moustached Grass Warbler, Singing Cisticola and Anchieta's Tchagra. In the forest we hope to see Black-fronted Bush-shrike, Chirinda Apalis, White-tailed Crested-Flycatcher, Swynnerton's Robin and Red-faced Crimsonwing. Overnight: Envirotrade Camp D4 December 6: Rio Savane to Msasa (Chinizua) After a morning session of birding in and around Rio Savane, we head northwards via Dondo and Muanza. En route there is plenty of good birding - including the best chance for Yellow-bellied Hyliota anywhere on this trip. In all likelihood we will arrive at Msasa in the late afternoon or early evening. Overnight: Msasa Camp Chinizua D5 December 7: Msasa area to Catapu. Early departure for the traditional Chinizua site, where Pittas are regular in summer, along with a host of other great birds including Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, White-breasted Cuckooshrike, Blue Quail, Green-backed Woodpecker, Speckle-throated Woodpecker, White-chested Alethe, East Coast Akalat, Chestnut-fronted Helmet-Shrike, Eastern Saw-wing, Ayre's Hawk-Eagle, Miombo Blue-eared Starling. and Lesser Seedcracker. In the afternoon, once we have finished our birding we head north to Catapu. Overnight: Mphingwe Camp, Catapu D6,7 December 8-9 Catapu Birding Catapu provides access to excellent patches of lowland forest hold East Coast Akalat, White-chested Alethe, African Pitta, Narina Trogon, Black-headed Apalis, Slender Bulbul, Chestnut-fronted Helmet-shrike, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo and Vanga Flycatcher. Livingstones Flycatcher is common here and adjacent open woodland holds Orange-winged Pytilia and Broad-tailed Paradise Whydah. The area also provides access to the Zambezi river floodplain at Caia, where a host of new birds can be expected including Long-toed Lapwing, Red-necked Falcon, Anchieta's (Marsh) Tchagra, Lesser Jacana and Moustached Grass-Warbler. Garganey were present at at wetland here in the summer of 2007/08 Overnight: Mphingwe Camp, Catapu D8 December 10 Catapu - Gorongosa Another full morning birding in the Catapu area. In the afternoon we head south in time to bird the superb Nhambita area outside Gorongosa National Park, where Speckle-throated Woodpecker occurs. We stay at the Gorongosa Adventures Camp run by Sakkie van Zyl. Overnight: Gorongosa (Gorongosa Adventures camp) D9: December 11 (Saturday) Gorongosa Early morning departure for Gorongosa to walk up the slopes of the mountain via the shorter western route. The main target of the climb is of course Green-headed Oriole, but it also offers a variety of other good birds including as Orange-winged Pytilia, Variable Sunbird, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Eastern Saw-wing, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, Pallid Honeyguide, Moustached Grass Warbler, Singing Cisticola and Anchieta's Tchagra. In the forest we hope to see Black-fronted Bush-shrike, Chirinda Apalis, White-tailed Crested-Flycatcher, Swynnerton's Robin and Red-faced Crimsonwing. In the afternoon/evening we take a two-hour drive back to Gorongosa National Park. Overnight: Gorongosa NP (Camp Chalets) D10: December 12 (Sunday) Gorongosa - Zimbabwe Early morning birding in the excellent miombo woodland near the gate of the Gorongosa National Park. Here Yellow-bellied Hyliota and Speckle-throated Woodpecker are possible. The group then splits up and those flying out head back to Beira. The rest of the group heads westwards to the Zimbabwe border post Overnight: Seldomseen D11 December 13 (Monday) Mutare area birding Full day birding in the Mutare and Bvumba area, which offers awesome forest birding with Swynnerton's Robin, Briar Warbler and Buff-spotted Flufftail just a few of the birds on offer. We pay special attention to Eleonora's falcon and Bush Blackcap. D12 December 14 Mutare to South Africa We leave early and head back to RSA> Optional extension D12 December 14 (Monday) Mutare - Marondera - Masvingo A long day trip up the Marondera area to search for Collared Flycatcher and other miombo specials. In the afternoon we head south towards Masving. En route we hope to see Wood Pipit, Yellow-backed Widowbird, Boulder Chat, Miombo Glossy Starling and others. D12/13 December 15 Masvingo to Gauteng Time permitting we will do some birding in the Masvingo woodlands, and then head back to South Africa. Book/Ask for information regarding pricing and booking here. | ||
