Neil Gray Birds

12 October 2007 Just back from two weeks in the DRC, where I managed a little more birding than my previous trips mainly because I walked close to 50km in Miombo woodlands during my field work and the birds "came to me". I spent one night some 200km from Lubumbashi camped on the bank of the Luapula River looking across into Zambia. This spot was only 105km from Lake Bangweulu - perhaps the closest I'll ever get to a Shoebill!

This was the most rewarding area as I added Cabanis's Greenbul, Yellow-bellied Hyliota, Pennant-winged Nightjar, Rufous-Cheeked Nightjar and African Wood-Owl to my Africa list (last four still not yet seen in Southern Africa). The Pennant-winged Nightjar put on a spectacular weaving flight as it was disturbed from its day-time roost as we walked beneath it. Not long afterwards we also disturbed two Square-tailed (Mozambican) Nightjars. Red-faced Cisticola and White-browed Coucal called from the reedbeds along the Luapula riverbank. Red-billed Firefinch foraged in the camp. African Golden Oriole seemed particularly common.

On the shore of Lake Nzilo near Kolwezi I heard four different cuckoos all calling at the same time - Diederik, Jacobin, Red-chested and Black Cuckoos, and in the same area added another new species to the Africa list, the Sooty Chat. This bird would perch on low bush, launch itself some 10m into the air making a very melodious call, then settle down again on its perch - just the sort of thing I might expect from a lark or cisticola rather than a chat. Other noteworthy records were several Magpie Mannikin, Miombo Pied Barbet and African Yellow White-Eye.

Work inevitably interfered and I had to let slip unidentified several undoubted non-Southern African species! Yet again, I did not have my long lens to capture some of these new species.

Neil Gray