| DETAILED
ITINERARY
DAY 1
The tour commences in Luanda, from where we transfer to our camp,
approximately 3 hours’ drive south along the cost. We should
see a variety waterbirds in the wetlands en route, including our
first African Openbill, Goliath Heron or
African Jacana. We may arrive in time for a little
camp birding, with Bubbling Cisticola and Rufous-Tailed
Palm Thrush both being possibilities.
DAY
2
We have a full day to explore the surrounds of our camp. Riverside
thickets attract a host of species, with Swamp Boubou,
Purple-banded Sunbird, Yellow-bellied Greenbul
and Golden-tailed Woodpecker all being
fairly common. Grey Waxbill and Rufous-vented
Paradise Flycatcher are also present, but with some luck
will be outshone by the scarce White-fronted Wattle-eye
and Angola Batis. Away from the river
arid bush holds two more specials in the form of Red-backed
Mousebird and Golden-backed Bishop, the
latter which has a fairly distinctive non-breeding plumage.
DAY 3
Today we transfer to the famed Angolan Escarpment, with its host
of little-known endemics. We first head south along the coast, passing
a number of wetlands where we may see Saddle-billed Stork
among the other herons and storks. Excitement will mount
as we head inland and start to wind our way up the escarpment. Our
first stops in degraded forest may yield Olive-bellied Sunbird
or Grey-crowned Negrofinch, but these
won’t hold us up for long, as we hope to arrive in the early
afternoon to set up camp at Kumbira Forest, our base for the following
three days.
DAYS 4,5 and 6
Kumbira Forest in the Gabela region has become synonymous with Angolan
escarpment birding for good reason. We have three days to explore
the forest and grasslands of the area. Around camp we may find our
first Pink-footed Puffback, Yellow-bellied
Wattle-eye, Blue-headed Crested Flycatcher,
Brown Illadopsis, Masked Apalis and
African Broadbill. Further exploration in the forest
is likely to yield also Yellow-billed, Naked-faced
and Hairy-breasted Barbets, Narina
Trogon, Dusky Tit, Brown-chested
Alethe, Falkenstein’s Greenbul,
Pale-olive Greenbul, Forest Scrub-Robin
and Gabon Coucal. However, these pale
in comparison to our main targets, which include Red-crested
Turaco, a trio of fantastic Bush-Shrikes, namely Perrin’s,
Gabela and Monteiro’s, and
two decidedly shy endemics, the flycatcher-like Gabela Akalat
and powder-blue-eyed Pulitzer’s Longbill.
Venturing onto the high rocky slopes
above the forest will produce more interesting species. The unusual
Rockrunner occurs alongside Miombo Rock-Thrush,
Pale-billed Firefinch, Striped Pipit and
the scarce Oustalet’s Sunbird. Some luck
will be needed to track down Montane Double-collared Sunbird,
Angola Slaty-flycatcher and Dusky Twinspot.
However, the undisputed highlight would be the legendary Angola
Cave-Chat, which we hope to re-locate where we recorded
it in 2003.
Other species we could see include:
Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo, African Emerald Cuckoo, Yellowbill,
African Wood Owl, Mountain Nightjar, African Pygmy Kingfisher, Crowned
Hornbill, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Brown-eared Woodpecker, Petit’s
Cuckoo-shrike, Slender-billed Greenbul, Red-capped Robin-chat, African
Thrush, African Moustached Warbler, Buff-throated Apalis, Grey Apalis,
Green Crombec, Southern Hyliota, Green Hylia, African Blue Flycatcher,
Green-throated Sunbird, Eastern Black-headed Oriole, Yellow-throated
Nicator, Square-tailed Drongo, Black-necked Weaver, Veillot’s
Black Weaver, Compact Weaver and Orange-cheeked Waxbill.
DAY
7
We wrap up at Kumbira Forest, with some early morning birding before
heading back down in to the lowlands, where we spend the last night
of the tour.
DAY
8
Transfer to Luanda for our departure flight. |
