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Karoo...Birding trip

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Hi all

This morning went out for a spot of ‘late’ birding out at the Ikoro site again (eucalyptus tree dominated and rock with fairly dense undergrowth in places, 1850m altitude).

I came across this brown flycatcher which caught my attention as it was hawking from small branches. Looking not only slightly bigger than a Dusky Flycatcher but also more slender and not the dumpy look of the latter, too small for Pale FC anyway. Getting closer to it, I noticed the light malar stripes on a buffy/off-white (much lighter than chest) throat – this had me puzzled. Below this there a bit of a light brownish wash going lighter down to a very light vent with hint of vertical blotches, not sure I’d call it streaking really.

Luck was on my side and I managed to hammer off a few photos with the bird giving pretty good side and rear views but not a full frontal unfortunately. The photos below have only been sharpened and cropped in Photoshop – colours, contrast etc have not been touched.

1.      Side view (1):

2.      Side view (2):  http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2785/4424020335_1a6b951651.jpg

3.      Rear view:      http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4001/4424787504_8ac5ee8f0b_b.jpg

Looking at the photos on the pc back home, I noticed the very light yellowish – almost pale orange base of the lower mandible. Zooming in on the other photos I saw that this was not just a dark bill tip like the White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher  toruensis race (which this bird seemed smaller than too). Forehead appears pale too compared to top of the head – well, pale area between eyes over bill. There does

Head Photos zoomed:

1.      http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2802/4424002103_cd73d366c9_o.jpg

2.      http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4036/4424785256_819113042e_o.jpg

Also clear on the one photo, the primaries look very short and not going past the vent and the wings are not even completely folded in on this photo.

·       Vent/tail photo “un-zoomed”:     http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2686/4424789484_ce44ab0d2f.jpg

·       Vent/tail photo zoomed: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2788/4424025461_2a6bf1ce46_o.jpg

Is this an ‘odd’ immature of one of the brown flycatchers (no sign or hint of yellow gape) or a Spotted Flycatcher a near/sub-adult of Spotted FC? If so, what’s on with the yellow-ish base of the lower mandible? Only brown flycatcher I can find in S&F with the latter is Gambaga Flycatcher, and it’s distribution seems limited to isolated patches across central Kenya and northern Uganda.  The closest I can in S&F is the Gambaga Flycatcher with which I have no experience at all.

Can anybody help with this please?

Cheers

Marcell

Elegant Africa Ltd

Blogs:  http://rwandabirdingguide.blogspot.com/

            http://birdingbeyondsunset.blogspot.com/

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Bare, a small village 10km south of Kibungo is turning into a really good birding spot. As well as the papyrus that is oozing warblers and gonoleks, there is some good woodland both on the edge of the swamp and on the hillsides, and today I walked further south right to the end of the peninsula where I found some woodland (I think brachystegia) which was teeming with birds, and provided me with 5 new species for my Rwanda list, including 3 lifers! 73 species confirmed today (in total 114 for Bare). Several more unconfirmed including 5 raptors that eluded identification.

The day began rather unpromisingly with heavy mist. Luckily it lifted slowly, and under the cool cloud cover the birds were quite active all morning. Papyrus Gonoleks and White-winged Warblers were calling down in the swamp, but I stayed on the hill, and was rewarded with lots of lovelies: 2 African Green Pigeons (only my 2nd record for Rwanda), 2 pairs of Eastern Black-headed Orioles and a family of Mackinnon's Shrikes. Then in the overgrown agricultural land: Fawn-breasted Waxbills, Green-winged Pytilias, Red-collared Widowbirds and Yellow Bishops all common. The first `nearly' raptor was a probable African Hawk Eagle passing low, but quickly, above my head. Soon after I disturbed a Common Buzzard waiting for the winds to pick up, the first of at least 10 seen today soaring up on the thermals, migrating north.

PHOTO BY JASON ANDERSON

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PHOTO BY KEEFEE

Names: Blue-winged Mountain Tanager, Anisognathus somptuosus, Tangara Montana Aliazul

About the picture:
The photo was taken at Mindo Loma Lodge in Ecuador. It's a great country full of exciting birds. This excellent, small lodge is a great place to take photos of tanagers and other birds that come to their feeders. They have an elevated gallery with bananas on a pulley system that bring the tanagers in close. A very cool place.


About the Blue-winged Mountain Tanager
The Anisognathus somptuosus is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. It commonly resides within 1400-2400 meters above sea level. It inhabits subtropical and tropical montane forest, second-growth forest, and forest edges.
The Blue-winged Mountain Tanager is about 16 to 17 cm in length and weighs approximately 42 gm.It is brightly colored with its center crown, nape and underparts golden yellow. The rest of the head, upperparts, wings, and tail are mostly black. Wings and tail are edged in turquoise blue and the lesser median coverts are violet-blue. There is some slight regional variations in color. Also the males are brighter in color than females.
It is commonly seen in pairs or small family groups of 3-6 individuals, but has been seen in large mixed groups as well.
Cup nests are built in up in trees, constructed of course grasses and lined with fine grasses. The clutch size is 3-5 eggs. The female incubates the eggs and builds the nest, but the male may feed the female while she incubates. Both sexes feed the young.


http://ezinearticles.com/?Rainforest-Birds---Blue-Winged-Mountain-Tanager&id=1051868

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Congratulations to Gaston Cassus whose photo of a Snowy Egret chick was voted the winner in the February 2010 Theme of The Week Contest!

Thank you very much to everyone that entered and voted!

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Once again Ikoro didn't disappoint and kept me busy juggling binoculars and camera with the variety of species around. The Cinnamon-chested Bee-eaters (Photo on right) were everywhere and I later came across an adult perched with 2 immatures of which I managed to get a fair photo. The food seemed plentiful as all were hawking and gleaning, well those that weren't more concerned about getting breeding started like the Paradise Flycatcher, Brown-crowned Tchagra and Yellow Bishop displaying - the latter was also energetically pursuing a female all over the place.

Between all this, I saw a brown flycatcher-like bird with a fair amount of white on the wings and immediately bring to mind one of the Ficedula flycatchers. There was also a lighter brown and narrow collar visible with a hint of the same colour supercilium. Unfortunately it didn't hang around and left very promptly - leaving me with sketchy notes and wondering if indeed it was a Ficedula flycatcher and whether it was a female or immature.

The African Harrier-hawk seemed interested in all the commotion but quickly got dive bombed by a variety of very small albeit brave (or silly?) birds. All the activity at this stage also included Dusky Flycatcher, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Bronze and Variable Sunbirds, White-browed Robin-chat, Thick-billed Seed-eater (pair), Tawny-flanked Prinia, Chubb's Cisticola (very vocal as usual with some doing serious territory defence), Fawn-breasted Waxbill, Western Citril and Baglafecht Weaver.

As these things come about, something drew my attention behind me (no idea what) and I saw a bird perched about 20m away - massive white spot on the forehead and a lot of white on the wings. I froze, well except my hands pinning the binoculars to my face - Yes, it was a Collared Flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis) male in breeding plumage - but I needed better views to be sure and at least one photo for the record. In the end I got 3 ID-able photos showing the distinct features of the species including a 'patch' of white on the lower down the primaries, full wide and white collar. The rump was whitish. To say I was pleased no end is an understatement.

Interestingly I came across the Collared Flycatcher again about 40min later and 200m away from the original sighting - was it the same bird? Who knows but I'll be back at Ikoro to try and find it before it sets off on its long journey north. To see the other 2 photos, click on these links: rear and side views

The rest of the morning didn't produce more excitement but there were good sightings of Red-billed Fire-finches with nesting material, Augur Buzzard, couple of Yellow White-eyes, White-tailed Blue Flycatcher (always a pleasure to see them), Red-chested Cuckoo (also being very vocal) and ending with a displaying Pin-tailed Whydah male.

Certainly a very worthwhile morning for birding with the sun having made its appearance for a short while. Late afternoon produced a massive hailstorm leaving my lawn all white and the air rather chilly. Just another day at the office!

Photos from Ikoro:

 PHOTOS BY MARCELL CLAASSEN

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First up was a Common Sandpiper as I got out the car and a lone Sacred Ibis in a tree. Further off into the wetland were a couple of Fan-tailed Widowbirds flitting around in what appeared to be mating displays.

The more numerous Yellow-backed Weavers were all involved with nest building and one nest had a female going in and out regularly. The 4 Village Weavers looked lost among all their cousins and didn't hang around where I was.

Suddenly out of the distant reeds 3 Yellow-billed Ducks flew up and over me and toward somewhere much further upstream. They flew back and forth about 3 times. At one stage aGreat Egret followed them back from upstream. A surprise came in the form of a Pink-backed Pelican flying out from behind some vegetation upstream and away in a southerly direction. The air show was participated in by a couple of Augur Buzzards calling constantly and the Angola and Red-rumped Swallows doing fly-bys. White-rumped Swifts made an early appearance before setting off downstream. Only 1 Black Kite passed overhead - about 1km back toward town later there were about 30 odd circling and rising in early thermals and another 15 Hooded Vultures about 500m further following suit.

In the trees next to the road the Speckled Mousebirds kept busy although at a seemingly snail's pace compared to the gleaning speed of the Bronze and Variable Sunbirds. The latter also had a nest in a Eucalyptus tree about 3m above and right next to the water. Both Pied and Cape Wagtails were present as was the ever energetic Swamp Flycatcher.

Other species seen include Western Citril, Hadada Ibis, Pied Kingfisher and Common Waxbill. I didn't venture into or along the wetland today but certainly will be returning to see what hidden treasures it holds.

PHOTOS BY MARCELL CLAASSEN

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The Theme of The Week for this week is...Squabbling!

If you have a photo of birds ding battle, ou can submit your photos in either the Trekkie's Forums or in the relevant GBT Flickr Group Discussion . Remember a winner is selected each month end and receives a prize for GBT. 

PHOTO BY BATMAD

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