Mostly a driving day with a few stops along the way, one of which was particularly good. We were watching a few fairly standard African birds (new for the trip and a few of the group), when a constantly calling Warbler flew in. I was asked what it was. I said: “I don’t know, but I know I’ve never seen one before!”. After consulting the books it turned out to be an out-of-range Miombo Wren-Warbler, a species I hadn’t really considered, and a new bird for everyone including Deo and Luke. It flew off after only a minute or so, but by a bit of walking up a hill and playback, I managed to get some record shots and some decent sound recording. Greencap Eremomela was also ticked whilst searching for it.
We arrived in Bwindi an hour or so before dusk and did some birding though it was slow. However, I got lucky with my room, having a balcony view over a large valley and so, whilst enjoying a beer and admiring the forest, I gave a quick blast of Montane Nightjar, out of hope rather than any expectation. And one called back. Half an hour later I had one perched (extremely briefly) in a tree a few feet from me and managed to follow it (or another) in torch-beam when it was dark.
Recording of the Miombo Wren-Warbler.
