One reason I love East Africa so much is that you don't have to plan things very far in advance. Such was the case as I ringed up a certain bird specialist in Kibale NP. Nothing against Semliki, but we had had enough of that place. I was pleasantly surprised that this guide was available. So we did the usual routine: bird in the morning, pack up, get a motorbike to the nearest stage, take a minibus or taxi to the next park, find a cheap accommodation and organize a motorbike for 5:30 am or so the next morning. We had a system of budget birding perfected.
We met our guide in the wee hours of the morning outside the park office. After figuring out what to do about the fee situation (the accountant had not shown up for work yet, obviously), it was decided that there was no time to waste and off we went onto some mysterious trail, navigating by way of headlamps in the dark.
It took extreme discipline to ignore the persistent calls of Red-chested Owlets, but our quest was a singular one: to see the Green-breasted Pitta. For the non-bird-savy, its a bloody good bird.
The principle strategy was to listen in the dark for the males's flutter flight display which he prefers to do in a small arena of flat leaves within a certain vegetation type.
We continued this strategy for a couple hours, spotting some really nice things in the meantime: white-tailed ant-thrush, grey parrots, but no pitta. Suddenly, I noticed the sound of liquid being poured from somewhere up in the trees. I followed the discreet stream up to its source. I could not believe my eyes, for looking back down at me was a little juvenile chimp!
 |
| Hello there! |
Over the course of the morning, we hiked up to 8 km to 3 different Pitta sites, but we found no Pitta. Instead, we were very lucky to see 8 chimps. Most fortunately of all, we did not have to pay the chimp "tracking" permit, which would have been $150 for me plus more for Martha. Instead, we paid the birding fee which was about half that.
I could not believe our luck as we stood frozen on the path and this huge male chimp crossed the path, stopping to peer at us from behind a tree. Then, stealthily, his female followed with her tiny baby.
The rest of the morning was spent photographing butterflies, which was not difficult, as they decorated every sun-lit path with suitable minerals or flowers.
 |
| Vieillot's Black Weavers |
 |
| Great Blue Turaco |
Fully refreshed by much needed doses of tea and lifers, we were back at the office the following morning, ready to destroy the Pitta once and for all.
This time, we focused on a different area, splitting up and combing the forest floor systematically. After almost 10 total hours of searching we finally had good views but they were not easy. Our epic guide spotted it the first time. In fact there were two, but they were moving quickly and silently. I could not believe that such a plump bird could hop on dry leaves without making a sound. His idea was to flank it, then drive it slowly toward us while we waited in ambush. "It is as quiet as a rat," described our guide. Just then, an actual rat walked by. Confused by the reality vs. the simile, there was a bit of miscommunication. Around that time, I saw something dart by, a bird of some sort. We concluded that because it was just a flash in my peripheral and I could not tell what it was, that must have been it; "being ambiguous" is indeed one of its principal field marks. It took almost an hour of creeping around and calling each other over with "come quick!!" to eventually get good views for all three of us. Bellow is the best shot I could manage, and I feel pretty damn lucky to have gotten it!
 |
| Green-breasted Pitta: one of the most sought-after and mysterious species in East Africa |
Would I have been ready to pay for a third day of guiding and searching for this enigmatic bird? Hell yes. But it did not matter, for we had slayed the Pitta and could now leave, wallet relatively intact. But Kibale had one last treasure in store for us. As we were hitchhiking in some guys' truck, I asked them to stop because I saw a snake on the road. The two gentlemen were very obliging, to my surprise, and willing to entertain my impulse to see what is not the most popular creature among Africans to say the least. It was a gorgeous Rhinoceros Viper, which I aided across the road and undoubtedly saved. With its rectilinear locomotion (undulations of contraction rather than winding in an S-shape), it would have taken this guy all day to cross that road!
 |
| Rhinoceros Viper Bitis nasicornis |
Next, we would head to Bwindi to meet the legendary Emmy Gongo.
No comments:
Post a Comment