Hi all, since there isn't a dedicated Mozambique page on here, I wonder if I might tap into your knowledge!
I've just come back from an amazing week in Benguerra, in the Bazaruto Archipelago and before that, a week on safari (Nthambo in Klaserie and Arathusa in Sabi Sands) which was great too. Wasn't a 'proper' birding holiday, but you can't fail to see all sorts of amazing things and for someone from the UK, the variety of eagles was something special and three Southern Ground Hornbill as we were leaving Nthambo was a superb sight.
The grounds around Benguerra lodge are just full of wildlife, so stunning and travelling around the island, I tasted just a flavour of what birds the place has to offer. Pied Kingfishers, Greater Flamingos and (what I thought was) a pair of African Marsh Harriers hunting over the lakes.
I do have a couple of ID questions from Benguerra though. Also, does anyone have a list of what has been seen there? The lodge quoted one figure, other sites different ones but I'm not sure whether anyone has every compiled any sort of formal(ish) list.
If anyone can help me with my questions below, I'll post up what I saw so if anyone in the future is interested, I might provide a few pointers.
Anyway, question one, is this a Senegal coucal? I presume from looking at range and what not that it is, but I was just curious about the barring around the tail.
Second, which kind of bee eater is this? White Fronted or Olive?
And finally, the tricky one - each evening, as the sun went down and the bats came out, they were joined by what I first took to be some kind of tern, then Alpine Swift (which I believe isn't remotely native to the region) and then, well, no idea. Though those two thoughts give you an idea of size.
The birds were only a few tens of metres up, were twisting and turning around the sky like swifts, seemingly (in the poor light) had dark underwings and pale bellies, forked tails and, well, sounded like swifts too. They'd be around for 30 mins or so and then off.
I won't pretend these latter two images are anything but rubbish, but I was really struggling with my (new) bridge to get anything decent in the light and that speed. Maybe getting rid of my DSLR wasn't such a good idea after all! I'd be so grateful if anyone might have any ideas.
I've just come back from an amazing week in Benguerra, in the Bazaruto Archipelago and before that, a week on safari (Nthambo in Klaserie and Arathusa in Sabi Sands) which was great too. Wasn't a 'proper' birding holiday, but you can't fail to see all sorts of amazing things and for someone from the UK, the variety of eagles was something special and three Southern Ground Hornbill as we were leaving Nthambo was a superb sight.
The grounds around Benguerra lodge are just full of wildlife, so stunning and travelling around the island, I tasted just a flavour of what birds the place has to offer. Pied Kingfishers, Greater Flamingos and (what I thought was) a pair of African Marsh Harriers hunting over the lakes.
I do have a couple of ID questions from Benguerra though. Also, does anyone have a list of what has been seen there? The lodge quoted one figure, other sites different ones but I'm not sure whether anyone has every compiled any sort of formal(ish) list.
If anyone can help me with my questions below, I'll post up what I saw so if anyone in the future is interested, I might provide a few pointers.
Anyway, question one, is this a Senegal coucal? I presume from looking at range and what not that it is, but I was just curious about the barring around the tail.
Second, which kind of bee eater is this? White Fronted or Olive?
And finally, the tricky one - each evening, as the sun went down and the bats came out, they were joined by what I first took to be some kind of tern, then Alpine Swift (which I believe isn't remotely native to the region) and then, well, no idea. Though those two thoughts give you an idea of size.
The birds were only a few tens of metres up, were twisting and turning around the sky like swifts, seemingly (in the poor light) had dark underwings and pale bellies, forked tails and, well, sounded like swifts too. They'd be around for 30 mins or so and then off.
I won't pretend these latter two images are anything but rubbish, but I was really struggling with my (new) bridge to get anything decent in the light and that speed. Maybe getting rid of my DSLR wasn't such a good idea after all! I'd be so grateful if anyone might have any ideas.
