Oman Day 9 2/11/24

We got up early, sett off to Mirbat, stopping for coffee on the way. We parked in the car park, had our packed breakfast of eggs, cheese, fruit and then walked to the harbour wall where our boat was waiting for us. It was a bit of a steep climb down a ladder in the wall. We then organised ourselves on the seats and set off.  There was a striated heron on the rocks as we left the harbour and at least three green turtles showed themselves in the bay.

As we travelled out we saw lots of swimming crabs. They seemed to mainly use their hind legs in a rapid sculling motion with a little help from the other legs. 

We spent about three and a half hours offshore and we managed to see lots of Red-necked Phalaropes in flocks dotted about the sea, Joanin’s and Persian Petrels and stunning views of Masked Booby, including one that sat on the water really close to the boat.

We also saw Socotra Cormorants in the distance and lots of Sooty Gulls. As we returned we saw more green turtles in the bay, although the views were limited to heads and backs. 

We clambered up the harbour wall ladder again and walked back to the car. On the sand around the dhows were several yellow crabs feeding and we stopped at a small wet area as we drove out for Abdim’s Storks with a Glossy Ibis and a Striated Heron pottering around in the greenery. We stopped to take photos of the archway and to note the ‘war torn’ buildings left over from The Mirbat War, where a group of Communist guerrilas attacked the Omani government during the Dhofar Rebellion, and then headed out to Wadi Samhain.

We stopped at the ‘Location of Gravity’ an odd place where the road gave the impression of travelling uphill when you were running back down hill - more marked from inside. There were a few birds and a flat snake that was probably a viper sp.We kept driving up until we stopped by a radio mast at Jamal Samhain, parked up and walked to the edge of the cliffs. Looking down was amazing and the views were brilliant. We were looking out for Verraux’s Eagle which were known for patrolling the cliffs. I started to look at the plants, which were quite interesting when someone spotted a Verraux’s flying along the cliffs and up onto a rock a little further along. I made it to where the others were and managed reasonable views in the scope. The bird eventually did a bit of a fly rounds, giving slightly better views before settling back on its rock.

Travelling on we parked near a farm area, made our way around the cows, spent a bit of time scanning the camel pound and slowly walked down the slopes, looking for Yemen Serin in the bushes. Although we spent some time we didn’t manage to find any but there were several Arabian Semaphore Geckos some flicking their tails about showing the origin of their name. 

We also found a Long-billed Pipit which gave good views.

Oman - Day 7 31st October

 Day 7. 31st. We set off after breakfast for Mudayy where we hoped to find Hypocolious. We parked up in a car park area near a play area and above a pool. As we walked down the road we found a couple of Sand Partridge making their way in the distance. We walked around the palms and bushes but couldn’t find any Hypocolious. We did see African Silverbill, Ring-necked Parakeet, Blackstart, African Collared Dove. Walking back along the road I had really close views of an blackstart. We found one Nile valley Sunbird which flew into the top of a tree. Walking further round the village didn’t give much else so we drove out to a farm area Green Bee-eaters, Oriental Turtle Dove, Red-throated Pipit and a Chiffchaff. We drove out along a track towards a valley where we were looking for Sandgrouse which used the area to drink but they seem to have been and gone. We did see a few flocks in the distance and we came across a group of birders who had seen flocks of sandgrouse further over so we drove on to a small oasis farm. Viewing from the road wasn’t the best so we walked along the road. David found a still warm Crowned Sandgrouse that had obviously hit the wires and died  very recently.  A really sad sight. We walked on into the compound and walked through the trees to the wall where we had better views, but still didn’t see any close Sandgrouse. We did have Cuckoo before moving on to the Thumraite waste disposal site where there were many Steppe Eagles sitting around and flying overhead. We also had Desert Wheatear and Laughing doves.

Our next stop was very unexpected but very much appreciated as we went to Wadi Dawkah, a World Heritage Site and Frankincense Park for a ‘Scratch and Sniff’ experience, where there were hundreds of Frankicense trees and where Frankincense is still harvested.

wadi Dawkah, Salalah, ad daharz. 

Oman - Day 6 30th October

 Day 6. 30th We were up for an early breakfast before loading up the car and driving to Thumrait. Our first stop was Muntasar oasis which was a 'real' oasis in that it was a green area fed by a pumped spring in the middle of a very dry, sandy area. We walked around the near pools, with a couple of  Quail flushing from the wet grass.There were a few birds in the bushes like Great Grey Shrike, Isabelline Wheatear and Spotted Flycatcher and there were lots of Dragonflies flitting about. We also saw a Crimson Speckled moth. Several flocks of Spotted Sandgrouse flew over as we walked back to the cars. 

Our next stop was at Quitbit, We parked the car and walked around the oasis of mainly palm trees with buildings dotted about. we were pleased to see Brahminy Starling, Golden Oriole, Hoopoe, House Crow and Menetrie's Warbler, among other things. 

Our next stop was Al Beed Farms with Cream Coloured Courses, Marsh Harrier, Wattled Starling, Namaqua Dove and Little Egret. We drove on to Shisr Farms. We had a small diversion to the Lost City of Wubar, an archeological site which is known as the ‘Atlantis of the Sands’. 

Oman - Day 5 29th October

 Day 5  29th October

We were up at 5.45  for a 6.15 start to drive to the port for the 7 o’clock ferry back to Shannah. It was a bit chaotic but we got boarded and went up to the Families room, where we ate our packed breakfast, waiting for the boat to leave and for them to open the door to the upper deck. It was a quiet crossing, with some dhows ahead of us looking like they were racing to be first in port. As we crossed we saw several Wilson’s Petrels. We then drove straight to Filim where there were loads of waders, including Great Knot, Flamingo and Godwits among the Sandplovers.

We drove a bit further to a creek to look for kingfisher that had been reported over the last day or two but not much luck. We parked by a camel trough and walked round the the edge of the creek, surprising a wagtail in a muddy pool. After we climbed up the rocks we made our way to the water’s edge and sat around hoping for the kingfisher to show. We gave up after a while and made our way back to the cars where we had some close encounters with some camels. We also had good views of Siberian Stonechat and an agama. 

We then drove to Al Ghaftain, a hotel and oasis stop on the edge of the Empty Quarter, parked up and birded the ‘garden’ round the hotel where there were a large number of cats. We also saw a couple of Red-breasted flycatchers feeding among the trees. We climbed out of the compound to walk round a small enclosed area of bushes but not a great deal and climbed a sand pile to check out an area of bushes outside. Again not a lot but there was a lone tree in a compound. We had to ascend a sand hill to return to the grounds where a couple of shrikes were found, sparking a lively discussion about identification. We then booked in and went for dinner. 

We went out for a quick walk round with torches and the thermal but nothing. So we turned in ready for an early start to tomorrow.

Oman - Day 4 28th Oct

 Day 4. A 6 o’clock start, checking out the park although we didn’t see very much. We drove towards the port to get the boat tickets sorted, stopping at the roadside pool to scanning through the ubiquitous Sooty Gulls, Little Egrets, Black-winged Stilts and Slender-billed Gulls. We had a short scan from the sea wall, looking for storm petrels that had been reported lately and then drove back for breakfast with a stop at a gully where we had amazing views of a clamorous reed warbler, kingfisher and a flock of Silverbills. There was a small pool where we saw a Green Sandpiper pottering about. 

After breakfast we headed off to Sur Masirah beach and ripock. Missed hoopoe lark and blk crab fnch lark. Walk closer, turn back, others cont. crab plovers close. Sand plvrs. 

Came back prt way, cut across and drove up est coast. Gulls/pallas’ etc. 

back to hotel, swim/lunch. Back out to sewage works walk round, no viper. Back to pools - moved on by police.  Went into town for dinner. Back to hotel for log, out, found snipe on grass, for chameleon, found one with help. Showed Chris, Put on group, al and Bren came out. Found d second swinging o. A leaf. Derryl lent DW lens andtripod. Brill pics. 

Back in for tea and bedtime

Oman - Day 3 Sunday 27th Oct

 Day 3. This morning we had a more leisurely get up, shower and cup of tea, we pack our bags and went out into the garden to check the trees. There was a Purple sunbird and a white cheeked bulbul flitting around but not much else.

We went for breakfast, with beef bacon among the buffet offerings, with fruit and yoghurt as well as eggs, toast and almost anything you could think of. We then went back to the room, picked up our things, checked the room and went to lobby to pack up car, today with DW, SC and Chris. We headed south and drove more or less straight to the ferry terminal, in order to ensure our ferry booking. We stopped for a drink and a comfort break at a small bar linked to a garage and a small  mosque with loo facilities. We then drove to the port and checked out the gulls flying past while Chris and Dave sorted out the tickets. We drove back a short way and parked outside a restaurant for lunch. We checked out look out the beach where there were lots of waders, including Sand Plovers and Western Reef Herons before driving back to the ferry, onto the terminal and taking a little time to check out the gulls before boarding the ferry. We all went into family side(port), single men go on the starboard, men only side and sat on the seats looking out of the windows. As we cleared port they unlocked the outside door so we went upstairs onto the upper deck. It was a very calm crossing with lots of birds to check out, including several unexpected Storm Petrels along with Sooty Gulls, Cormorants, Slender-billed Gulls, as well as Green Turtles dotted across the surface. After landing we drove to Al Shamkaiah Park. We parked outside and entered the park which was an area of trees with an edge of grass and some flower beds. There were a few butterflies, which were very active in the heat, several laughing doves, a few tree pipits and Silverbills with a Wood Warbler in the tree at the back. As it was getting dark, we returned to the cars and drove to the Masirah Island Resort, which looked out over the beach to book in, unpack and sort ourselves out before dinner at 7.30. The meal seemed to take a long time but was very nice. Following the log, we then went out to check the bushes for chameleons but all we found were lots of small geckos, so went back in to bed.

Oman DAY 2 26th

Day 2. After an early breakfast, we drove through a checkpoint up onto Sayq plateau. We parked up at Wadi Bani Habib where we looked for striolated bunting but no luck. 

     

We began to walk down to the wadi bottom. I went part way down where we had an agama on a rock face and rockthrush flitting on the rocks. A sunbird and whitethroat were feeding in the bushes and then the others went on and I stayed around the viewpoint before wandering back up slowly to just below the top. Several pale crag Martins were zooming around below. There was a Lesser Whitethroat came into a bush quite close and the Blue Rockthrush popped up on a rock, and again on the rim of a flat view area. 

As I walked back up, I saw an Eastern Black Redstart fly through onto a branch before going off down the valley. I chatted with various people, commenting on the President’s plane that passed overhead with it’s attendant guard jet and then the others arrived back up. We had a comfort break and suddenly 2 big raptors appeared - Lappet-faced Vulture. 

We then went to Khab Hail Mahlab, a parking and picnicing area, parked up and scanned for Humes wheatear and Red-tailed Wheatear. There was a pair of Humes on a rock pile and as we walked around there were small Hijar rock geckos dashing about. We wandered up a small wadi where a rock thrush was on the post and then made our way back to the car and drove  back down to a lunch stop where DW found a preying mantis in a tree. We had some food and then went back to the hotel for a break. Brenda, Jules and I managed to fit in a swim in the pool before we went back out to the wadi in the hope of seeing Omani Owl again, we hung around for a while, the others went back along the wadi to try for Pale Scops owl and we stayed by the rock face with no luck. The others returned to a spot along the wadi, we walked along to them explaining to a Norwegian group who were also waiting for the owl that we would be playing a tape, they followed us along and we waited for a response but nothing answered so we called it a day and went back for a buffet dinner by the pool at the hotel. 

Following the log we turned in. 

Oman - Day 1 - 25th

 We landed at the airport about 7.00 am, passed through customs with David W and Alan being diverted through a more rigorous check before collecting together and waiting in the arrivals hall while Chris and Dave A sorted out the cars. We loaded up the cars, seeing our first birds of the trip in the palms, White-eared Bulbuls, Common Mynah, House Sparrow and Indian Silverbills We headed to the port for our pelagic out to Fahlal island. As we passed the Quran National Park we had a Crested Honey Buzzard fly over us. 

We found the port, parked the car and headed along the pontoons to the boat. There’s was a Green Turtle in the basin and flocks of different coloured and patterned fish around the pontoons and the wall. On the way out to the island there were rafts of Red-necked Phalaropes with Common Cormorants and Sooty Gulls  flying around. We also saw several Osprey and a Grey Heron perched on the rocks. It wasn’t long before we were approaching the island and we picked out a couple of Sooty Falcons on the cliffs. As we slowly circumnavigated the island we saw several Falcons, including adult and juvenile birds. As we came round the other side of the island we saw a Red-billed Tropic Bird flying round, including over our heads before disappearing into a hole in the cliffs. We then motored back, passing through an archway and checking out a stretch of sand with Cormorants, Gulls and Terns loafing around.

By Chris T

After we landed, we walked back along the floating dock, checking out the fish again and noting our first Laughing Dove. We then walked along to a restaurant on the quay side where we had lunch and a drink in the air conditioned restaurant, keeping an eye out the window for any activity.

Because we had done the pelagic, we didn’t have time to return to the Qurum Park but we did drive to the Al Bustan Palace Hotel grounds, where we parked and walked around, catching up with Grey Francolin, Red-wattled Lapwing, Red-vented Bulbul, Graceful Prinia, Purple Sunbird and Ring-necked Parakeet. There was also a pair of Bee-eaters on the fence and Pied Wagtails on the grass.

We then headed to Nizwa and the Golden Tulip Hotel. Along the way we managed to lose Chris in the second car but we kept going and arrived at the hotel, unloaded, began to register as the second car turned up, so we were re-united. 

We settled into our rooms before meeting up for an amazing selection from a buffet dinner by the pool. After dinner we met up for a drive out to look for Omani Owl. Our first attempt was to a wadi where DA had seen the owl regularly in the past, however, we came to a flooded road where a pipe was gushing water over the road making it difficult to cross so we drove to a second wadi where we got out and listened for any calls. Further along the wadi we could see a bright spotlight shining on the cliffs so we drove along to find a bird group with a light on an Omani Owl on the cliff. We spent some time looking at it before returning to the hotel. 

BOC by Sean Clancy

Oman October 24th-November 6th 2024

We had Oman on our list for a little while, mainly because of the Omani Owl. We had thought to do it last year but for various reasons, decided to do it this year. We booked with Chris Townend’s Wise Birding for a 13 day trip starting in Muscat and finishing in Salalah. This gave a wide variety of habitat and included a visit to Masirah island and a 5 night stay in Salalah, including a Pelagic from Mirbat. The flights were booked through Sacha Barbato, a travel councillor, which took all the hassle out of it, and was timed to land at 7.00am to give us a full first day. Sean offered to drive us to the airport for the 8.50 pm direct flight from Heathrow. Sean and Jules collected David and then me. It was a painless drive to Heathrow. We found a parking space in long term, caught a bus quite quickly, checked in, went through security, no problem and went to find Brenda and Alan in Costa. 

We had a prawn sandwich and a cup of tea and chatted for a couple of hours. Chris and Dave came through and joined us with some news that they had arranged an extra boat ride in Muscat for sooty falcon. It would be about 2 hours and then we would head south towards Nizwa, allowing some down time before heading out for the owl in the evening.

 

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Madeira - Monday 22nd.

 We had the usual Blackcap alarm, had breakfast, packed up, tidied up and headed to the airport. A slight problem meant that we went round the car parking area twice but we found the drop off for the car, waited while they meticulously checked the car for any damage, made our way to departures, checked in, went through security and then did a little shopping, had something to eat, boarded our plane and headed home after a really nice short break. 

Madeira airport.

Madeira - Sunday 21st

 A later start, with time to meander. Our first port of call was Canical Harbour to see if the Laughing Gull was still there. A quick scan and it was sitting down on the outer harbour wall. Some bread and left over scraps were thrown into,the sea to see if it would come. The Yellow-legged Gulls enjoyed the feast and the Laughing Gull eventually took off and flew around for a few minutes before returning to its side of the harbour and settling down again. As I had left my big camera in the car, I didn’t get any photos and after I had gone back to the car for it, it was time to move on. 

Our next stop was at a ‘wetland’ at Lugar de Baixo. This was the smallest marshy wetland ever but it did hold a good population of coot, a moorhen and two Glossy Ibis, plus, of course a wide variety of Muscovy Ducks.

We stopped for lunch at a nearby restaurant, sitting out on the patio looking for seabirds but not much about and no Monk Seals either! We stopped in Funchal to check out the harbour area, we parked in a multi story and walked across to the beach area. There was a lighthouse, called the Green Lighthouse, which we walked out to but there wasn’t much beyond some xxxx flitting around the weedy area by the beach and some Sally Lightfoot crabs with enlarged claws on one side. 

We decided to go back up into the hills to retry for better views of Madeiran Grayling. We were going to go back to the area we checked out before but it looked a bit murky and we found a place to park in the National Park. There were lots of Plains Swifts hawking about and we spent some time checking out the butterflies with Long-tailed Blue and Madeiran Grayling and Madeiran Small Copper.

We ate in a supermarket ‘cafe’ and then walked back to the spot we had arranged to be picked up for our night walk for Zino’s Petrel breeding site. It was quite a ride but we got there before it was completely dark. The walk out was very stressful for me as my breathing was not good. The others went on ahead and I was diverted to a lookout not so far. It meant that I didn’t hear them as well as the others, but I did record them and that worked out ok. 

The walk back was even worse but eventually the very welcome sight of the lookout post was just ahead. I made it back to the van, glad that I had been but, very thankful I had made it back but I will never do that again. We were driven back to our car in Machico and then drove back to the house.

Madeira - Saturday 20th

 We’d planned an early start but as we didn’t wake up until around 8 it wasn’t quite so early. The plan was to go straight up to the Miradour and look for Bertholot’s Pipit to get some photographs before breakfast and before the crowds arrived. We were also going to look for Rock Sparrows. Following a chat with Bernie the day before, we decided to drive to the end of the Levada and look for Little Egret for the trip. Pulling into a space we looked into the Levada and there was a little egret, pottering around, there was also a Grey Heron and a flock of Waxbills worked their way along the reeds before flying off. 

We then headed up to the Miradour but it was very quiet with just a Spectcle Warbler heard so we checked e-birds and went back down the to the bottom road. We parked up in a parking area opposite the ‘Marina’ and walked up the hill. Almost immediately a Bertholot’s Pipit popped up giving really good views. David could hear Rock Sparrows further up the hillside so we spread out and made our way up. David came back to tell me that they had the Sparrows on the ground so I joined them but the light was awful so we walked round to a better position. It didn’t seem to phase the sparrows at all. There were about 6 sparrows in all plus a couple of Pipits giving excellent views.Walking back down we came across a nice yellow Canary in a bush, and then decided, as it was getting late, that we would head into Canical harbour and find somewhere for lunch.

The village of Canical was much less busy and much less touristy, parking was relatively easy and we made our way down to the harbour. Sean walked on as David went back to the car for his bins before joining Sean along the harbour. A shout from David had me walking to the end of the harbour wall as Sean had found a Laughing Gull on the harbour wall. We managed some photos and I rang Hugo to let him know before we then walked back to find somewhere for lunch.

We chose a cafe with outside seating and sat down to order drinks and a meal. I ordered prawns in garlic, which were very nice with a Pepsi, which turned out to be non-sugar!

Then it was time to head back to the house to get ready for our last pelagic. Fingers crossed it was better than the last two. It was much rougher than before so hopes were high, we saw several Cody’s as we travelled along and the boat stopped for a Green Turtle on the way. 

There seemed more birds about, but only Cory’s and Bulwer’s, which did loops round the chum slick until right towards the end, when Caterina called a Pteradroma which flew through, doing one loop. Unfortunately it didn’t hang around long and I only got brief views before it headed off. Just before it was time to go a small shearwater flew through, which was called as a Manx. On our journey back, another Pteradroma flew across the bows. Success!! 

Madeira- Friday 19th

 Friday.

Up around 7.00 breakfast on patio. Packed up and drove down to the Levada in Machico. The Plan was to go the bottom and walk back, in bits. It was so busy we decided to go back up the levada and find a parking place and look at what was there. We found a spot by the football pitches, and went across to the levada. There were lots of Muscovy ducks of many colours and sizes. The levada  supported plenty of plants, many looking quite exotic. As we peered over the edge, a couple of Grey Wagtails were strutting around in the water and on the stones. Sean and I walked slowly downstream, stopping to admire a spider, which had an amazing web structure and egg cases dotted about. There were also other spiders using the steps down to catch prey. Meanwhile, David walked upstream. It wasn’t long before David called us to say he had Waxbills. We walked fairly swiftly back, but the birds had disappeared in the reeds. A short wait and the waxbills flew out and over the road into some fields. 

We had lunch in a restaurant near the Levada, it was very pleasant watching people go by. We then got ready for the boat, found a parking place, again quite close, enjoyed another icecream before the boat. Boat out. The boat ride out was choppier and we went to the north of the island, passing through a gap between the Ileu da Cevada and the Ilheu do Farolat the end of the archipelago, the sea was choppier, which gave us more hope but the birds were very sparse. We did see Cory’s Shearwaters and a Gull followed us out and kept us company, but not much else. We motored back into the sunset, had some food and went back to the house.

Madeira - Thursday 18th

  Thursday. The Blackcap alarm was going loud and strong and then a leisurely get up and breakfast on the terrace. Decided to drive out to Ponto do Rosa. This is a line of sharp peaks making a promontory off the north-east corner of the island.The drive up was quite scenic but very busy in places and we were lucky to find a parking place right at the end. We had heard Bertholot’s Pipit on the way up but parking was difficult. Getting out the car and scanning round we found several Canaries sitting up on the fence so we made our way up to the fence line. They were very tame and didn’t seem to mind people getting quite close. We met up with a small group which turned out to be Caterina and three of the other travellers on the boat this afternoon. She picked out a Bertholot’s flying towards us and we did see a few more. She also picked up a Spectacle Warbler on the fence rail inside the compound.

We spent quite a bit of time with the Canaries trying to get to get good photos as the light was making it difficult. We also spent time with the Warbler which turned out to be two young birds spending all their time foraging among the weeds and not being easy to see, let alone photograph, but they came out into the open on the wires and in top of the weeds.

The geology was quite interesting as it looked like lots of mud pool bubbles which had solidified and a lot of them had lumps of rock in the centre as if the rocks had fallen into the bubbles and dried. We also had Kestrel and Plain Swift flying about, with David and Sean seeing a Sandwich Tern fly through the saddle in the islands

It started to get really busy so we decided to go back to Machico for lunch before returning to the house to get ready for the boat ride. We managed to find somewhere to park, walked over to a kiosk which had dough bread sandwiches filled with ham and cheese with garlic butter.  They were a bit stodgy and not very tasty so I decided to keep half of mine for a snack for the boat if I needed it. 

We ate our snack, walked along to the harbour to have a look. There were lots of crabs of different sizes clinging to the harbour wall concrete cubes, including one that was a great deal bigger that the others, there was also one on the rocks just along from the harbour which was an odd pink colour, it was also very flat. There were also some interesting fish in the harbour, one sort was black with electric blue edges to the fins and body as it turned in the water. There were a variety of other fish around the slipway before we headed back to the house to get ready for the pelagic.  

Parking was lucky, with a space not far from the  harbour. We bought an ice- ream, with David enjoying a tub of Pistacio. It was very warm so I didn’t put on my waterproofs. I ended up on the front seat, but as I couldn’t reach the floor, I decided to move back to the third row. The second row was filled by two Italian photographers, with no binoculars and 600 mm lenses. I managed to find somewhere to put my feet and held on to the handles provided in the seat in front. On the way out we saw several Cory’s Shearwaters and one whale species, which turned out to be a Blainville’s Beaked Whale. The chum was put out in a bucket with holes in the side which gave continuous bits and oils out of it. It attracted Cory’s, and Desertas Petrels and an European Storm Petrel or two. The first pass was most successful with the numbers dwindling after that. They did change the bucket but it didn’t seem to help. We motored back around 10.pm with little else.

We returned to the car, drove back towards the house, stopping on the way for a burger at the burger van by the football pitch and then having a tea before turning in. 

Madeira - Weds 17th

  Up around 6.30/7.00 with a Blackcap singing strongly outside. A short watch outside had blackbirds and singing Blackcaps, with a Grey Wagtail being heard but not seen. After breakfast on the terrace we packed up some snacks and drove to the Palheiro Gardens. A mistake at a roundabout meant we spent time backtracking through the back roads back towards Machico and the motorway, this time taking the right exit and heading to Funchal. The drive up to the gardens was quite interesting with narrow roads, an almost impossible right turn and great views. When we reached the gardens we parked up, bought tickets and walked down through an avenue of Agapanthus with Blackcaps everywhere and a Robin that showed on a branch just down the slope. We reached the Car Park area and managed to find a couple of Trocaz pigeons in a tree, we watched them and got some photos and then spent time following a pair of Madeiran Chaffinches flitting through the trees. There was a pair of Blackcaps in a tree in the field that gave reasonable views but still no good views of a male. We spent a little time chasing butterflies and watching the many Madeiran Wall Lizards that had taken over a rubble mound before moving further into the gardens. We met a young man from Serbia who was booked on the boat tomorrow, and he pointed out another couple of pigeons. David could hear Madeiran Firecrest so we scanned the trees and eventually, one appeared, it then flew down to some low bushes, where it gave reasonable views, but was not easy to photograph as it was so active. We made our way down towards the tea rooms, coming out in front of the hotel, which had a lawn in front of it with two Trocaz Pigeons poking about on it. We slowly walked on, coming down outside the tea rooms. One of the staff saw us and let us in, apparently, we shouldn’t have gone that way. We ordered tea and I had a very tasty veg quiche. Some very tame Madeiran Chaffinch hopped along the wall, picking up crumbs and several Perez frogs could be seen jumping into the pond as people walked by. We walked back up to the car by a different route, checking out the Kestrel and some butterflies in some rough ground with odd flowers spread across it. We drove up higher to look for butterflies. We stopped a couple of times and then stopped at an area that looked good for butterflies. We found Siskins in the tops of the trees and several butterflies which were mainly Meadow Browns. We drove on and found a better site with clouded yellow, pale clouded yellow and, eventually, Madeiran Greyling. We drove slowly down towards Machico, stopping at a site for Barn Owl. Unfortunately, there was no sign by dusk, and as the time was passing, we decided to move on, finding a burger bar just down the road. It turns out the owls don’t show until it is really dark. 

We headed back to the house, made a cup of tea and headed to bed.

Madeira - 16th - 22nd July

 We’ve been thinking of doing a short trip to Madeira for the pelagics to see Zion’s Petrel, among other things and this year we decided to go for it. We booked EasyJet flights, an Airbnb and a car plus three days of pelagics and a night walk with Windbirds. 

The journey to the airport was relatively painless, although we were a little late and the transfer went smoothly. Sean got off first, went on to the booking hall and we followed. We went to bag drop, negotiated the automatic system and went to find Sean. He had managed to leave his passport on his case as it went through onto the carousel. Some very helpful staff re-assured him it happened often and they would find it. After a stressful 20 minutes or so one of the men scrabbled around under the check in desk and found the passport where it had fallen down the side. Relief all round. 

Time was getting short so we headed to Smiths, bought a meal deal and headed to the gate, arriving as the plane was beginning to board. We located our seats, sorted out our bags and settled in for the flight to Funchal. 

The flight took us across the Chanel Islands, the Normandy peninsula, the bay of Biscay then across the top on northern Spain before heading across the sea for Madeira. We landed at Funchal, taxied, deplaned, went through passport control, collecting a stamp as we went and a short walk to the baggage claim Had us out remarkably quickly. Collecting the car took a bit longer but it was the most helpful, polite and friendly car collection we’ve had. We were offered 2 cars and given the one with the lowest mileage. We thought we had booked a second driver, but changes in the booking seemed to loose it but we were offered a choice of full to full or bring back empty plus second driver for 70€ so we took that option. The car was a Nissan Juke automatic and when we went to collect it, the man said he would have to go and find it. 

We set the phone sat nav for the Airbnb and followed the directions along the dual carriage way and along the levada until we turned left up the narrowest, steepest road to the road for the bnb. We settled in, went shopping at a local supermarket and then stopped at a hot food counter in another supermarket, which we took back to eat as it was getting so late.

Kruger - Day 10 - Return to Uk

 

Today was our last day and we were due back at Johannesburgh airport for our 21.40 flight home via Cairo.

We got up around 5.00 as usual and had a walk round exploring the camping area and finding a hide with great views over a waterhole. We had good views of Zebra and Buffalo drinking with flocks of doves coming and going.    

We walked back to the restaurant, getting slightly lost before being directed to the steps up from the swimming pool, had a lovely 'Sunrise' breakfast with added mushrooms then returned to our rooms and loaded up the car. 

We returned to the waterhole where we had views of Nyala, Zebra and Buffalo as well as a very close Yellow-billed Hornbill which hopped past the hide. the Nyala Bull was very reluctant to come to the waterhole and spent a lot of time hovering in the stream before coming into drink at the extreme left hand side.

We reluctantly returned to the car and set off on our 6+ hour drive back, stopping for the obligatory picture of the entrance Gate, and again as we left the Park at the Punda Maria Gate.

We then drove south, stopping for lunch at a service area before heading to the airport, negotiating our way to the car drop off, unloading, checking in and going through security ready for the homeward flight.

The stop over in Cairo gave us time to get something to eat and a drink, although my waffle took forever and wasn't what I expected and then we were on the onward leg to Heathrow.

We collected our luggage with David's and mine coming off early but Alan and Brenda's being among the last ones to appear. Then it was out into the cold to catch the bus, collect the car and head home after an amazing trip to the Kruger.