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Trip Report: Mozambique "Lite" North 24 April to 5 May, 2008

15 birders led by Etienne Marais ventured into Central Mozambique via the long and strenuous southern Mozambique route. The route allowed for some excellent birding at Inhambane. Other localities covered included Vilanculos, Save Pan, Rio Savane, Dondo to Muanza and Chinizua roads, Catapu, Caia, Gorongosa Mountain and woodlands outside Gorongosa Park.

Overall 317 species were recorded in Mozambique and despite difficult birding at several localities a host of specials were seen including: 37 Crab Plovers, Pacific Golden Plover, 1000's of Lesser Sand Plover (Mongolian), Livingstone's Flycatcher, Southern Banded Snake-eagle, Rosy-throated Longclaw, Rufous-bellied Heron, Madacascar Bee-eater, Lesser Crested Tern, Violet-backed Sunbird, Raquet-tailed Roller, White-breasted Cuckoo-shrike, Pale Batis, Red-faced Crombec, Black-eared Seed-eater, Magpie Mannikin, Southern Hyliota, Green-backed Woodpecker, Variable Sunbird, Collared Palm-thrush, Green-headed Oriole, Swynnerton's Robin, Chirinda Apalis, Black-fronted Bush-shrike, Stripe-cheeked Greenbul, Slender Greenbul, Blue-spotted Dove, Red-winged Warbler, East Coast Akalat, Grey-headed Parrot, Bohm's and Mottled Spinetail, Ayre's Hawk-Eagle, Dickinson's Kestrel, Red-necked Falcon, Sooty Falcon, Cuckoo Hawk, Broad-tailed Paradise-whydah, Black-winged Bishop, Orange-winged Pytilia, Lemon-breasted Canary, Grey-rumped and Mosque Swallow, Chestnut-fronted Helmet-shrike, Black and White (Vanga) Flycatcher, Cabanis's Bunting and Locust Finch

1. The remarkable autumn concentrations of shorebirds on the Barra Peninsula, Inhambane. After wading through tidal waters past White Sands, we located 37 Crab Plovers, Pacific Golden Plovers and numbers of other waders. The most amazing sight here however was seeing mudflats near the end of the peninsula covered by thousands and thousands of waders, the vast majority being Lesser Sand Plover, many in full breeding plumage. A huge flock few off as we arrived and total estimates of the number of Lesser (Mongolian) Sand Plovers in the area range from 3000 - 6000 birds. It was great to be able to see Lesser and Sand Plovers standing side by side.
2. The birding at Rio Savane, Chinizua Road and Miombo birding outside Gorongosa Park was somewhat quiet compared to previous visits, In particular the Forest Patch on the road between Beira and Rio Savane was dead-quiet with only Terrestrial Brownbuls being heard after being there for more than an hour! Also not seen in this area in a full day of birding were Wooly-necked Stork, Saddlebilled Storks, Wattled Crane and Collared Pratincole.
3. The road between Dondo and Muanza - which traverses mostly degraded woodland with just a few trees left standing, is still excellent and we had best views of species such as Vanga Flycatcher here as well as good bird parties with plenty of woodpeckers, Hyliota's etc.
4. The variable floodplain habitat along the Zambezi should not be under-estimated, and Moustached Warbler, Anchieta's Tchagra and Blue-spotted Dove all seem to be common (although never easy to see) in the mixed/modified habitats of the floodplain. More time might well have been spent birding here!
5. Gorongosa Park and the Carr Foundation has ceased organizing walking outings on the mountain, so it is back to the old style ceremonies - either at Canda or Vinduzi. The former locality is much more accessible, and if rain has not fallen in the last few days the shorter walk via Renamo Hut is by far the easiest way I know to access the forest. Compared to November, birding on the mountain was more difficult due to very long grass (up to 10 feet high in places) and a rather quiet post summer forest, which made us work hard to get views of Green-headed Oriole and other forest birds.

Without wasting any time, we headed towards Maputo and then turned off the main road northwards towards Moambo - with the aim of taking the more scenic and pleasant "detour" via the Nkomati River. This route can be shorter if the road quality is good, but we stopped several times for birding, and in the latter stages the road quality deteriorated. Birds seen were mainly common Bushveld species including Hornbills, Rollers, Bee-eaters and so on.

As it turned out this "detour" proved costly in terms of time and Frikkie and Hester (who had missed the turn and headed through Maputo) had been waiting at Xai-xai for about 90 minutes before the rest of the group arrived.

A return to to the southern point of the Peninsula, and we followed the bold Landy crew in venturing across the still flooded track towards White Sands. Beyond the inundated area a Falcon was ID'd as European Hobby, and a number of terns posed beautifully on poles in the water - Here one was able to view Lesser-crested and Swift Tern side by side. Past White-sands camping area, we reached the Peninsula, where a flock of Crab Plovers were visible. A vegetated dune and small shack provided a screen to allow for a close approach and we had some excellent scope views of a variety of shorebirds including 37 Crab Plovers, Pacific Golden Plover, Terek Sandpipier, Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew, Curlew Sandpipier, Turnstone and others. A large area of mudflats was covered with a huge flock of sandplovers, the vast majority; of which proved to be Lesser Sandplover (Mongolian). It was great to see Lesser Sand Plover and Sand Plover side by side for comparison. The number of birds seen here was staggering with Lesser Sand Plovers numbering between 3000 and 6000. Huge numbers of Grey Plover were also present.

Our next birding stop was the grove of Baobab trees about 47km north of Massinga, where Mottled and Bohms Spinetail and Mosque Swallows were seen. En route we also had plenty of good sightings of Lizard Buzzard.

We then took a walk down towards the pan. The 2km walk occupied about 3 hours and produced some good birds, most notably Livingstone's Flycatcher, Pale Flycatcher, Stierling's Wren-warbler, Mozambique Batis, Amethyst and Collared Sunbird, Red-backed Mannikin, Village Indigobird, Flappet Lark, Brown Snake-eagle and a nice display flyover of a Southern-banded Snake-Eagle. Other species present in the area included Bearded Scrub-Robin and Nicator.

As one approaches Beira, the wetlands offered promise with large numbers of African Openbill in evidence, as well as Egrets and Herons along the road. We pressed on to Beira City, with a stop to fill up with Fuel. We arrived at Beira Guest House after dark, and checked in to the Guesthouse. The Guesthouse has well appointed and comfortable rooms, but could only accommodate 8 or our group, the others staying in a flat a few blocks away. The flat was quite smart and the rooms comfortable, but the surrounding area reminds one a little of newsroom war footage of Beirut!

On the floodplains proper, we walk over the grasslands and almost immediately get good scope views of Locust Finch on the ground. We soon encounter the first of numbers of Short-tailed Pipit. A flushed Quail turns out to be Harlequin Quail. Other birds seen in the area include Plain-backed and Grey Sunbird, Palm-nut Vulture, Senegal Lapwing, Broad-tailed Warbler, Mangrove Kingfisher, Bronze, Red-backed and Magpie Mannikin, Southern Red Bishop, Fan-tailed Widowbird, Brimstone canary and Red-faced Cisticola.

On the way back some more good birding is on offer and we see an exciting tussle between a pair of Dickinson's Kestrel and a Red-necked Falcon.

We head down towards Chinizua - and stop for lunch in a nice spot in this pristine, undisturbed woodland. The plan is to bird the chinizua access road, which offers good miombo birding. While the woodland is dead quiet for long stretches, we do encounter a handful of bird parties which include Cardinal, Bearded and Green-backed Woodpecker, Southern Hyliota, White-breasted Cuckoo-shrike, Violet-backed Sunbird and more Red-faced Crombec, Green-capped Eremomela, Stierling's Wren-warbler and Mozambique Batis. Closer to Chinizua we encounter the first Kirk's Francolin, as well as Red-winged Warbler, Grey Waxbill and African Firefinch.

It is surprisingly cool at night and many animals and birds are heard, including the ever-present Thick-tailed Bushbaby (Greater Galago) and Scops, White-faced and Wood Owls.

We make an early start to the Coutada's where the grass stands 10 feet tall along the track into Coutada 12- making it difficult for the Disco to figure out exactly where the track is! En-route we see a few nightjars, probably Fiery-necked and Square-tailed. Our main target birds are Alethe's and Akalats and while most of the group gets good views of the first, the Alethe proves to be a real "ghost bird". Other good birds seen in the area include Woodward's Batis, Slender Greenbul, Livingstone's Flycatcher, Narina Trogon, Blue-mantled Crested-Flycatcher and Plain-backed Sunbird. We walk beyond a patch of dense forest and in more open woodland are able to watch the display flight performed repeatedly by an African Broadbill. Soon afterwards, while searching for another alethe, we encounter a large flock of Chestnut-fronted Helmet-shrike as well as a host of other birds.

In the mixed woodland-grassland near the Zambezi there is tantalizing birding on offer. Here we hear Anchieta's Tchagra, Moustached Grass-Warbler and Blue-spotted Dove, but the rough and very overgrown terrain prevents us from getting near to any of these birds! We do however get good views of the local race of Red-necked Francolin.

Day 7: 30 April Catapu Birding

As some of the group head back to catapu, the group splits up - some birding along the Inhamitanga-Marromeu road, which offers superb habitat. Others spend time birding on the Catapu concession itself, which is some 25 000 ha in extent and also offers plenty of interesting habitat! Birds seen in this later session of birding include Kirk's Francolin, Green Malkahoa, Southern-banded Snake-eagle, Crested Guineafowl, African Crowned-Eagle, Augur Buzzard, Bataleur and Wahlberg's Eagle.

While traveling back we run into a male Broad-tailed Paradise-Whydah in full breeding plumage. En route back to Catapu we also see no less than 5 Dickinson's Kestrels, a single Meyer's Parrot and a soaring Cuckoo-Hawk.

We leave Mpingwe early, with the aim of starting the walk relatively early. The drive in the early hours of the morning is uneventful apart from one or two trucks parked in the road with only a few branches as warning of their presence! We meet our guides at Canda at 06:00 am. The track up to Renamo Hut is relatively well-worn and clear - until one reaches the higher parts where the long grass makes following the track a little tricky!

Once in the main forest, necks are strained up into the high canopy, By now it is already 10:00 am and post breeding season is not the best time to be birding here. Nevertherless there are plenty of birds about which include Chirinda Apalis, Stripe-cheeked and Yellow-streaked Greenbul, Cape Batis, Yellow White-eye, Black-fronted Bush-shrike, Yellow-rumped Tinker-Barbet, Grey Cuckoo-shrike and Livingstone;s Turaco. We work hard to see Green-headed Oriole and despite hearing many, not everyone gets adequate views of this bird. Swynnerton's Robin is also apparently common here and several birds play hide and seek with the group - some getting excellent close up views of this stunning bird.

Gerhardt and Anlie did not join us for the mountain walk, but rather spent more time in the coutadas before heading down to Gorongosa NP. They had a good bird party along the road to Gorongosa NP featuring views of Broad-tailed Paradise-Whydah

We arrive just after sunset at Blue Waters, having pre-ordered our dinner by SMS, which makes a big difference not only to the service, but apparently also to the quality of the food!

An early morning reward for Ralph who has good views of a Sooty Falcon while watching the sunrise. First stop is the Vilanculos area. In front of Casa Rex we find a small group of Madagascar Bee-eaters. There is other good birding here, including Grey Sunbird and a Nicator that drops down onto the lodge lawn. We then head for a patch of "Msasa-Miombo" woodland, where we have heard unconfirmed reports of Olive-headed Weaver. The area proves a little tricky to find, and en-route we get a bonus in the form of a nice floodplain area with Rosy-throated Longclaw and plenty of Grey-rumped Swallows in attendance.

We then head south - we are now truly on the road home, and Morrungulo with it's palms and beaches is a welcome relief from a day of really bad potholes for miles and miles.

Day 11:4 May Morrungulo to Chidinguele

At Chidinguele, very few birds were seen. As it turns our the local advice regarding snorkeling is not all that reliable and the sea is just too rough for any such recreation! The most notable marine sighting was that of numbers of Loggerhead Turtles just beyond the surf-line.

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