Peter B's Second Big Year 2023

[BRACQUENE]

My Rwanda Kigali and Akagera NP safari ended on Sunday and you are probably all waiting for the first birds to be posted ; just started to look through my collection of pictures but have been very busy with visiting my mother and returning to my former home village and tomorrow I am leaving as usual for the Belgian coast to spend Christmas and Boxing Day over there so you can imagine it will be some time in 2024 before my second Big Year will be complete ..

Some thoughts already for my birder friends ( and the others who will read this  )about this amazing NP that is waiting to be discovered ( Michael has been there for sure and Fred will be going next year ! ) We didn't go on our own ( self driving is an option as we met a guy from Leipzig who drove through the country with a private guide ) ;  the trip was organized by Wilderness meaning that for the first three nights at Ruzizi Tented Lodge managed by African Parks we were driven around by the same friendly guide ( not a birder though ) who came to pick us up at the airport : the activities around Ruzizi are all organized by African Parks and have to be paid ,  so the lovely Ruzizi itself is only a place to stay ( choose the Top Tree Tent if you can - we did ) .

I am a bit disappointed by the lack of organized birding activities in a NP that has some 490 species ( I heard that African Parks used to do this but stopped !!?? ... ) We only did the boat tour late afternoon on Lake Ihema and the Walk the Line tour ( rather challenging 7 miles ) close to the electric fence of the NP to far from the Kiyonza Reception Centre .

At Magashi Camp on Lake Rwanyakizinga things were different as they organise all the activities themselves but depending on the number of guests you can be with other people in the car or on the boat and as you all know this means compromising over the number of stops and whilst you are hearing the sound of the papyrus gonolek others want to see the White Rhino closeby  : the last two days though we were lucky to have Venuste who knew his birds for our own ( Anne included  ) .

Finally a word about this amazing book by a Belgian doctor  who came to Rwanda in 1969 and was longtime working for the WWF-Conservation project in Akagera NP and published als the amazing " Akagera , land of water , grass and fire " : you can get it at African Parks Entry Gate in Kiyonza and also in the Bookshop at the Airport ! Exceptional photo's and information 

 

[xelas]

@BRACQUENE, welcome back and yes, I am anxiously looking forward to see what Rwanda birds are all about. Don't forget to write a trip report also (or add a few logistic info in BY thread).

[Dave Williams]

It's always interesting to read and see where people have been, I just wish they would put costings on it. I tend to think that they are beyond what I want to pay without investigating any further. Rwanda is the exception. I can get a cheap Ryanair flight to France, head to the coast and get a dinghy over to the UK where they are offering free flights to Rwanda if all goes to plan next year. Bring on the report..I'm going!!

[BRACQUENE]

Thanks Dave for your reaction and you will not regret it ; for me it was by far the easiest safari to get on destination and that Brussels Airlines flight could bring me also to Entebbe which makes me think of an Uganda trip in the future 

[Galana]

5 hours ago, BRACQUENE said:

Fred will be going next year ! )

Fred has been before some years ago. It is a good park and I will be looking to see any changes they have made. Staying in Ruzizi but will be doing our own activities. We even got a good discount on our drivers accommodation (so maybe they will expect us to share him.)

30 minutes ago, Dave Williams said:

I just wish they would put costings on it. I tend to think that they are beyond what I want to pay

Dai bach. Rest assured that if I can afford it so can you. Daily non stop Flights from LHR-KGL

No need to go to France. Security is non existent. Just roll up to Weymouth speaking Welsh.

 

Better give Peter his thread back as I need his report. Newcomers are disqualified if birds are posted the following year.

[BRACQUENE]

Didn't know Fred you had been there already but the question should rather be where have you not been in Africa ?  I told the staff in Ruzizi that you will be coming next year and they can't wait and some will even take urgent birding courses in the meantime to be prepared 

[michael-ibk]

Welcome back Peter, I´m looking forward to seeing your Rwanda birds . and a report hopefully! Ah, Gael R. Vande - he corrected some of my birds a few years ago on ebird, he is the local reviewer.

[PeterHG]

Here’s another one looking forward to birds and stories from your trip. In the meantime have a wonderful Christmas on the coast! 

[BRACQUENE]

It is about time to start my Rwanda collection ; after the 118 birds in the first half of the year in Belgium ( and Zeeland ) stopped by some heath issues and the weather in the last months  and the 162 in Kenya in August don't expect too much in terms of numbers : visiting Kenya and Rwanda both in East Africa in the same year meant that there are duplicates ( a lot of them ) but happily some of the birds that are already in my Kenia collection came out much clearer now and I am happy to show them also ; on the other hand apart from the fact that intensive birding was limited to the the last few days the weather wasn't exactly in our favour with thunderstorms in Magashi on three consecutive days after lunch so birding in camp 

All in all though I am satisfied with the result and to start here are some duplicates .....

 

1/ Water Thick-knee ( Burthinus vermiculatus - Watergriel ) - Akagera NP Lake Shakani Campsite 11th of December 2023 : 

 

 

 

 

 

We had seen those in Kenya when having  breakfast along the Mara River on the 15th of August on the other side of the river ; here we just left the unfenced campsite on the shores of Lake Shakani  not far from Lake Ihema when suddenly they were very close to our car ....

 

 

 

[BRACQUENE]

To finish my sentence : so birding in camp wasn't always an option 

5 minutes ago, BRACQUENE said:

the weather wasn't exactly in our favour with thunderstorms in Magashi on three consecutive days after lunch so birding in camp 

 

[michael-ibk]

Good to see your first Rwanda bird, very nice photo. I'm sure the eye detect features of all our different mirrorless cameras will love this species. 

[BRACQUENE]

Let's start with the Cuculidae :

 

2/ 281 Blue-headed Coucal ( Centropus monarchus - Monniksspoorkoekoek ) Akagera NP Lake Rwanyakizinga 14th of December 2023 : 

 

 

 

Common breeding resident throughout Rwanda but in the east , the drier savanna area , it is strictly a wetland bird , occurring as you can see above in papyrus , tall reed or dense shrubs

at edges of marches 

[BRACQUENE]

3/ White-browed Coucal (Centropus superciliosus - Wenkbrauwspoorkoekoek) Akagera NP Lake Rwanyakizinga 13th , 14th & 16th of December 2023 : 

 

 

 

Also a common breeding resident and wholly sedentary bird ;  we saw lots of them alone or in pairs !

[BRACQUENE]

4/ 282 Blue Malcoha ( Ceuthmochares aereus- Blauwe geelsnavelmalkoha ) Akagera NP Wilderness Concession - Magashi 15th of December 2023 : 

 

 

Strongly reduced in numbers in Rwanda where it only occurs in the westen part of Nyungwe Forest , along Lake Kivu and some parts of Akagera ; we were lucky to see it in camp not far from the main area ! 

[BRACQUENE]

5/ 283 Great Spotted Cuckoo ( Clamator glandarius - Kuifkoekoek ) Akagera NP Lake Ihema Ruzizi area 9th of December 2023 : 

 

 

Only one sighting but in excellent conditions ; in Rwanda confined to the east , mainly Akagera as an irregular non-breeding visitor : not common at all 

[xelas]

Excellent start of Rwandan birds! Which lens have you used?

[BRACQUENE]

Thanks Alex for your kind words : The Olympus 300mm f/ 4.0 IS Pro

[Galana]

A very good start.

5 hours ago, BRACQUENE said:

we were lucky to see it in camp not far from the main area ! 

Seeing the Blue Malkoha (Yellowbill) anywhere is a lucky event.

[Kitsafari]

Your camera has definitely showed its worth in the photos. look forward to more. 

[BRACQUENE]

 

Another picture of the Great Spotted to start the day ...

 

6/284 Levaillant's Cuckoo ( Clamator levaillantii - Levaillants Koekoek ) Akagera NP Hippo Beach Lake 15th of December 2023 : 

 

 

 

Hippo Beach or Plage Hippo on Lake Mihindi is a hit or miss place for birds at least ; we were there twice and the first time we saw nothing despite fair weather conditions ; the second time the light in late afternoon was horrible but suddenly some sun and we saw this bird , an intra-African migrant and common breeding visitor in Rwanda which parasitizes the Black-lored Babbler and the Arrow-marked Babbler. 

In Akagera mainly found near water as was the case here ! 

[BRACQUENE]

7/285 Red-chested Cuckoo ( Cuculus solitarius - Heremietkoekoek ) Akagera NP Wilderness Concession - Magashi 15th of December 2023 : 

 

First bird of the day before sunrise in Camp ; the name in latin and dutch say it all : a mainly solitary intra-African migrant bird which feeds high in the vegetation and in Akagera it parasitizes the White-browed Robin-chat and the African Trush  :  both of them we will see later in the same area !

[BRACQUENE]

And now the Lybiidae : 

 

In Kenya we saw the D'Arnaud's or more correctly @Galanathe Usambiro Barbet , the Spot-flanked Barbet and the Red-fronted Tinkerbird 

 

8/ Spot-flanked Barbet (Tricholaema lachrymosa - Rauwbaardvogel) Akagera NP Ruzizi area 10th of December 2013 : 

 

 

 

A double but again in better light than in August ; this Barbet is in Rwanda restricted to the central Bugesera District and Akagera NP and occurs mostly like here in the upper part of the vegetation feeding on a variety of fruit 

[BRACQUENE]

9/286  Red-faced Barbet ( Lybius rubrifacies - Roodwangbaardvogel ) Akagera NP Far North  16th of December 2023 : 

 

 

Returning to Kigali by the Nyungwe Gate on our last day in very bad light a common breeding resident in Akagera and central Bugesera 

[BRACQUENE]

10/287  Double-toothed Barbet ( Pogonomis bidentatis - Dubbeltandbaardvogel ) Akagera NP Ruzizi Tented Lodge 10 & 12 th of December 2023 : 

 

 

 

 

 

The one  on the cover of " Birds of East Africa" with an impressive ivory bill and we saw them a few times especially in Ruzizi Lodge but also on the 15th close to Magashi ;

fairly common in central and eastern Rwanda ; I love them !! 

 

[BRACQUENE]

11/288 Crested Barbet ( Trachyphonus vaillantii - Kuifbaardvogel ) Akagera NP - Lake Ihema 9th of December 2023 : 

 

 

Uncommon breeding resident resticted to Akagera NP in Rwanda ; forages as an insectivorous mostly on the ground ; we had another sighting going back to Kigali on the 16th