The Trekkie's Forum

Excellent SR!!!

Well done.

Nice going SR!!

Sheesh...you GBTrekkies are becoming renowned! 

Awesome photo!

Well done guys. I got a copy of the book (already have the old green book). The worst part of the book is that I am spurred on to add the species on the cover to my life list. The old book was hard (Picathartes and Prince Ruspoli's Turaco), but they were do-able. The new book has Congo Peacock. Nigh on impossible!

Not too much changed in the versions - this one has no pencil scratchings in it of limited African sightings! There are some new pics, some lumped species, etc. Some range maps were wrong in the old version, and sadly have not been fixed. Hairy breasted Barbet(on lass) is an example, it is shown as purely a W African bird, whereas its range extends into Uganda - I've seen it there...

Still, a damn fine book to have. WTM's target is to increase his Non Southern African bird list to 2, at least!

Cheers

Niall.

I agree with what you say about wanting to go and find all those great birds throughout Africa Niall. When I got the first edition I just had to do a 3 week trip through Zambia, but of course that is just scratching the surface. I would love to bird a country like Gabon. Have you been there?
Great profile pic of the Cuckoo Finch BTW!

Hi SR

Africa sure is a wonderful place to bird! I haven't done Gabon yet, my escapades include:

Nigeria - work, so limited to Lekki Conservancy, and a weekend trip to Ibadan. Crap country? Not really, if it's birds you are after!
Uganda - 1 trip for work, but Shoebill was a priority in 2 days I took extra. Did another trip in July this year, awesome birding
Zambia - been once to Choma for Chaplin's (Zambian) Barbet (although I was dragged there as a 4 month old for a year or so, a little early in life for birding!)
Tanzania - snuck in a 4 day birding trip last week - excellent birding, but scratched softly at the surface of TZ birding. We picked up TZ's first ever record of Short toed Snake Eagle:



My target destinations are Cameroon (Grey necked Picathartes and some Speiropses, etc), Sierra Leone (exploration and White necked Picathartes), Ethiopia - BIRDING HOTSPOT! - Prince Ruspoli's Turaco, etc..... Then on to Madagascar for some real odd species.

Dream dream dream dream.....

Niall.

Well done on that Short-toed Snake Eagle! You must have been over the moon with that sighting.

I used to guide overland safaris through Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya in the 90's and can kick myself for not having birded more then. I really lost out big time.
At least there were the more common species that I recorded and photographed like, Red and Yellow Barbet, Superb Starling, Ruppells Vulture and Von der Deckens Hornbill. One bird I photographed while in the Serengeti which I only realised long after was a special sighting was that of a Grey-breasted Spurfowl



My trip to Zambia produced the much sought after Ross's Turaco, Chaplin's Barbet and in the Bangweulu Swamps a Shoebill with 2 chicks.

Just reminiscing WTM. The good old days.