Michael´s Fourth Year

[michael-ibk]

So, Gabon! Whew, what a mad trip - in good and bad ways. Trip Report to follow. Birding was not the focus (although I of course tried to sneak it in as much as possible), and wow, really challenging stuff down there. All my illusions about rainforest birding were quickly shattered after we walked 15 km in the forest on our first day and did not see a single bird! August is dry season which means no rain (at all), pretty low temperatures (20 to 30 ° Celsius) and no humidity to speak of. But it also means grey skies, paradoxically the sun rarely comes out in this season. So "super" photo light. Suffer with me through a (not too) long series of EBCs therefore.

 

All photos taken between July 27th and August 14th. I´m posting in scientific order (following "Birds of Western Africa" by Borrow/Demey, 2nd edition). I am including birds already seen in Botswana, so - especially with water birds - there will be quite some overlap.

 

401/G1.) Wilson´s Storm-Petrel (Oceanites oceanicus) /Buntfuß-Sturmschwalbe

 

Seen on a Whalewatching trip off the coast from Loango NP. I have zero experience with pelagic birds but the choice seems to come down between this species and the (very similar) European Storm-Petrel. The legs project beyond the tail which is a good ID feature to tell the two apart.

 

[michael-ibk]

402/G2.) Pink-Backed Pelican (Pelecanus rufescen) / Rötelpelikan

 

Seen a couple of times on the Akaka River in Loango NP. Duller than its cousin, less contrastinc wing pattern in flight.

 

 

 

-/G3.) Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) / Rosapelikan

 

Already seen in Botswana. Seen on the Ogoué River and Loango NP.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

-/G4.) Reed Cormorant (Microcarbo africanus) / Riedscharbe

 

Already seen in Botswana (ASIB henceforth). The only Cormorant in Gabon, and surprisingly scarce there. I don´t remember more than two or three sightings. This one from Lambarene.

 

 

-/G5.) African Darter (Anhinga rufa) Afrika-Schlangenhalsvogel

 

ASIB. This one, on the other hand, was very common on the Ogoué river and the Akaka area of Loango NP. Seems to be a top habitat for this bird.

 

 

Edited September 6, 2019 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

403/G6.) Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutu) / Zwergdommel

 

Seen on the Akaka river in Loango NP. A surprise, did not really expect this familiar European species down there. I´d expect this one is a resident and not a Palearctic migrant. I saw one just last Saturday at home, and also earlier this year in Portugal but could not get a presentable picture. This one was totally trusting in its camouflage and allowed close approach with the boat.

 

 

 

-/G7.) Black-Crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) / Nachtreiher

 

ASIB. One sighting in Libreville on the mangrove fringes of Akanda NP.

 

 

-/G8.) Striated aka Green-Backed Heron (Butorides striata) / Mangrovereiher

 

ASIB. Only one sighting, the same place as the Night Heron.

 

 

I had hoped to see a White-Crested Tiger Heron, a Gabon specialty, but unfortunately no luck.

 

[michael-ibk]

404/G9.) Western Reef Egret (Egretta gularis) / Küstenreiher

 

A new bird for me, seen in Loango NP and Akanda NP. They come in two morphs, the white one (from Loango) is extremely similar to the Little Egret but the yellow on the feet extends farther up the feet. The black morph is distinctive, we only saw it after sunset unfortunately in the mangroves.

 

 

The White Morph:

 

 

-/G10.) Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) / Seidenreiher

 

ASIB. Very common, even in Libreville where they behave like Marabous and love garbage dumps.

 

 

-/G11.) Western Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) Kuhreiher

 

ASIB. Also quite common but not as much as the Little Egret. This one from Akanda was in nice breeding plumage.

 

 

-/G12.) Great Egret (Ardea alba) / Silberreiher

 

ASIB. Common, as they are everywhere. Must be one of the most successful birds worldwide.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 5, 2019 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

-/G13.) Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) / Purpurreiher

 

ASIB. Not uncommon in the Akaka area of Loango NP. Don´t remember it from anywhere else.

 

 

-/G14.) Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) / Graureiher

 

Our classic European Heron. Surprisingly rare, only two or three sightings.

 

 

-/G15.) Goliath Heron /Ardea goliath) / Goliathreiher

 

ASIB. Only two distant sightings.

 

[michael-ibk]

The whole bunch in this post ASIB. There will be less overlap once we´re through with the waterbirds, promise.

 

-/G16. ) Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta) / Hammerkopf

 

Common on the Ogué and in Loango NP, and surprisingly even seen in the middle of the rainforest in Ivindo.

 

 

-/G17.) Hadada Ibis (Bostrychia hagedash) / Hagedasch

 

Seen quite regularly in Loango. Gabon is also home to the Olive and Spot-Breasted Ibis, but both are shy species and rarely seen on dedicated birding trips even.

 

 

-/G18.) Wooly-Necked Stork (Ciconia episcopus) / Wollhalsstorch

 

Two or three sightings in the Akaka area of Loango NP.

 

 

-/G19.) Yellow-Billed Stork (Mycteria ibis) / Nimmersatt

 

Two or three birds seen in the Akaka area.

 

 

We also saw a juvenile Lesser Flamingo on the road to Port Gentil.

Edited September 5, 2019 by michael-ibk

[Galana]

Nice change from elsewhere. More please.

[michael-ibk]

405/G20.) Hartlaub´s Duck (Pteronetta hartlaubii) / Hartlaubente

 

Two pairs at Langoé Bai, and quite a few seen in the Akaka area. A dastardly shy Duck though. A proper rainforest species not around in classic safari areas. Lifer. Not closely related to other Ducks. Gustav Hartlaub was a German ornothologist who loved to collect exotic birds, having possessed more than 2,000 in 1844. He´s the founder of the Journal of Ornithology, still an important publication for birders. At least nine birds are named after him.

 

 

-/G21.) White-Faced Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna viduata) / Witwenpfeifgans

 

ASIB. A few seen in the Akaka area.

 

 

The only other Duck seen was African Pygmy Goose.

Edited September 6, 2019 by michael-ibk

[pedro maia]

Michael, are you going to reach 700 hundred species this year?

 

Looking forward for more.

 

 

Edited September 5, 2019 by pedro maia

[xelas]

Great start to Gabon birding, @michael-ibk! Grey skies are not that bad at all. Always better then rainy sky .

[michael-ibk]

I wish, @pedro maia, would have to do some serious travelling this year. Hm, not a bad idea now I´m thinking About it. :-)

 

No arguing there Alex!

[optig]

@Micheal-ibk I just love your bird photos. As you know thanks to you I was able to identify so many new species of birds. I hope that you'll go to Mozambique in 2021 because your skills will make the trip considerably better for all of us. 

[Dave Williams]

Keep them coming Michael. I have to admit I had to look on the map to place where Gabon is!

[Kitsafari]

wow you are fast! great shots as always, and your count will be far higher than mine. And I bet my EBCs will beat yours hands down.

 

[michael-ibk]

Challenge accepted! Wait for my "Broadbill".

[Zim Girl]

Great start to your Gabon birds Michael.  Looking forward to the full TR when it comes.

[lmSA84]

Great start - I'm fascinated to see what you found!

[michael-ibk]

406/G22.) Palm-Nut Vulture (Gypohierax angolensis) / Palmgeier

 

Very, very common, seen a couple of times in Lope and Ivindo, but then absolutely abundant on the Ogoué River and in Loango. I´d say we saw hundreds of them. The only Vulture in Gabon, and an unusual one - its diet consists mainly of fruits although it also eats carrion and has been observed to even attacks domestic poultry.

 

 

 

-/G23.) African Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer) / Schreiseeadler

 

ASIB. Not nearly as common as in classic safari areas. Only a couple of sightings in Loango.

 

 

 

I´m fairly certain we also saw an Osprey but it was very distant.

Edited September 6, 2019 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

407/G24.) Lizard Buzzard (Kaupifalco monogrammicus) / Sperberbussard

 

A distant sighting near a village close to Libreville. This raptor does occur in safari areas but the only place I´ve ever seen it before was in Kakamega Forest in Kenya, the last remaining patch of Congo rainforest there. More closely related to Accipiters (Sparrowhawks/Goshawks) than Buzzards.

 

 

-/G25.) Gymnogene aka African Harrier-Hawk (Polyboroides typus) / Höhlenweihe

 

A couple of sightings of this familiar raptor. We did not see many Birds of Prey in Gabon. Many of the well-known species are missing, for example there are almost no Falcons. And the resident species do not soar much but hunt inside the forest. I would have loved to see specials like Congo Serpent Eagle or Long-Tailed Hawk but all these forest dwellers are not often spotted.

 

[michael-ibk]

408/G26.) Ayre´s Hawk-Eagle (Hieraaetus ayresii) / Fleckenadler

 

Seen twice (probably the same individuum) in Ivindo village. IDing this one gave me a bit of a headache until I realized this species has a white-headed morph - voilá! A widely but patchily distributed bird (I have seen it before in Ethiopia and Rwanda). Ayres's Hawk-Eagle is a bird hunter, almost to the exclusion of any other type of prey, especially Doves and Pigeons, it soars high above the ground to search for prey. Fortunately not so high when I took these shots. :-)

 

 

 

409/G27.) Crowned Eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus ) / Kronenadler

 

A classic rainforest hunter. A terrible ebc, it was very far away but size, (barred) tail and wing pattern point to this species. The most definite clue, however, was not its look but the reaction of the jungle - the monkeys were going mad, and this huge bird is a higly successful monkey killer. Seen at Langoué Bai in Ivindo NP.

 

Edited September 6, 2019 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

410/G28.) African Finfoot (Podica senegalensis) / Binsenralle

 

One of the biggest birding delights in Gabon. This peculiar and unique species is very common in Loango NP and - in relative terms of course - not as skulking as in Kafue for example. Wiki says: "They are very secretive. Even experienced ornithologists see them very rarely, making them a prized sighting for birders and twitchers." Well, come to Loango, you experienced ornithologists, really no problem here.

 

The male, a bit darker:

 

 

 

And a female:

 

 

 

-/G29.) Black Crake (Amaurornis flavirostra) / Schwarzielralle

 

ASIB. A few individuals seen from the watchtower at Langoué Bai in Ivindo NP.

 

 

-/G30.) African Jacana (Actophilornis africanus) / Blaustirn-Blatthühnchen

 

ASIB. Abundant in the Akaka area of Loango NP. Their density here might top the Delta.

 

 

Keen observers might have noted I have skipped quite a few families in the book. No Helmeted Guineafowl in Gabon. I did see a few Black Guineafowl in the forest, a rare sighting according to our guide. But they were hastily crossing the path, and it´s so dark in there that my camera would not even recognize something to focus on. No Francolins for us, birding groups usually find some rainforest species like Latham´s Forest Francolin with some effort. No Bustards or Cranes - they don´t occur in most of Gabon.

Edited September 6, 2019 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

411/G31.) Grey Pratincole (Glareola cinerea) / Graubrachschwalbe

 

Quite common on the Ogué River. Which is very interesting for birding but we just used it as a route to get from A to B with the boat and went fast without stops until ... well, you will have to wait for the trip report to learn about our most harrowing day in Gabon.  I was delighted about this beautiful bird, another lifer for me, and fortunately we stopped on a sandbank to watch some hippos. Well, I ignored the hippos to be honest and was focusing on my chance to get this bird. A strictly Central and West African species.

 

 

 

412/G32.) Rock Pratincole (Grareola nuchalis) / Halsbandbrachschwalbe

 

Also seen on our boat ride on the Ogué river but - as is quite noticable from the quality of the picture :-) - we did not stop for it. A far more extensive range than its cousin, found in West Africa, Congo, Zimbabe and up to Ethiopia and Sudan. This bird associates with the rocks along the embankments of rivers and lakes as its seasonal movements are determined by local water levels.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

413/G33.) Forbes´s Plover (Charadrius forbesi) / Forbesregenpfeifer

 

One distant sighting in atrocious light in Loango NP. Seen with some Wood Sandpiper (-/G34). The West African counterpart to the familiar Three-Banded Plover, slightly bigger and no white on the forehead. Named after British zoologist William Alexander Forbes who travelled to west Africa in 1882 to study the native fauna, starting from the mouth of the Niger delta. He was taken ill shortly after Christmas and died in Shonga. Other "Forbes´s" include Forest Rail and Blackbird.

 

 

-/G35.) Kittlitz´s Plover (Charadrius pecuarius) / Hirtenregenpfeifer

 

ASIB. One sighting in Loango NP of this familiar grassland Plover.

 

[michael-ibk]

414/G36.) White-Crowned Lapwing (Vanellus albiceps) / Weißscheitelkiebitz

 

Quite common on the Ogoué River but only seen there. A Lapwing of big river systems and a familiar sight for all Mana Pool visitors. The only regular representative of the familiy in Gabon, only Senegal Lapwing is also occurring but rare.