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Detailed Itinerary: Malawi Tour
2010
Böhm’s Bee-eater and Forest Birding
Dates: 20 November to 2 December
2010
Length: 13 days (Lilongwe-Lilongwe)
Leader: Michael Mills has led several bird tours
to Malawi
Cost per person sharing a room: USD 3492
Single Room Supplement: USD 730
Included: Birding Africa tour leader, Birding Africa
printed booklet with species lists, boat trips as indicated on the
itinerary, road transport, guide fees, entry fees for the parks,
reserves and birding sites, full board accommodation.
Not included: international flights, drinks, optional tips, and
items of a personal nature.
Tour summary
This 13-day tour affords participants the opportunity to see Malawi’s
spectacular birdlife in three main habitats: miombo woodland, montane
grasslands and afromontane forests. The diversity of habitats in
this small country is reflected in its avifauna: more than 650 bird
species occur here, many of them range restricted. Three key highlights
of a visit to Malawi include Dzalanyama Woodland for Boulder
Chat and unrivaled miombo bird parties; Nyika plateau for
scenery and montane birding, and Liwonde National Park for some
tropical lowland birding (Böhm’s Bee-eater)
and large African mammals. We will also visit Zomba Plateau to look
for localised species like White-winged Apalis
and Thyolo Alethe. A highlight will be an evening
boat safari in search of Pel’s Fishing Owl and
White-backed Night Heron.
Detailed Itinerary
20 NOV: Arrive and drive to Dzalanyama
After meeting at Kamuzu International Airport,
Lilongwe, we’ll head for the bird-rich Dzalanyama Forest Reserve,
about one and a half hours away. Dzalanyama is a miombo woodlands
hotspot, giving us the opportunity to search for many miombo specials
during our stay. Situated besides a forest stream and surrounded
by Miombo woodland. Our lodge is perfectly situated for exploring
this area.
21 NOV: Dzalanyama Forest Reserve
We have a day and a half to explore the tall
miombo woodlands of the vast Dzalanyama Forest Reserve, which provide
some of south-central Africa's best miombo birding. Walking from
our accommodation we’ll be watching for more widespread species
such as Green-capped Eremomela, Miombo Rock Thrush, Stierling’s
Wren Warbler, Rufous-bellied Tit, Miombo Tit,
Red-capped Crombec, White-breasted Cuckooshrike, Yellow-bellied
Hyliota, Miombo Double-collared Sunbird, Western Violet-backed Sunbird,
Orange-winged Pytilia, Cabanis's Bunting, Black-eared Seedeater,
Spotted Creeper, Grey-hooded Kingfisher, African Golden Oriole and
Miombo Scrub Robin. Careful searching should also turn up some
rarer species, such as the bright Anchieta's Sunbird, Thick-billed
Cuckoo, Souza's Shrike, Pale-billed Hornbill, Böhm's
Flycatcher, Whyte’s Barbet and Boulder Chat, although
our main target species will be the local, near-endemic Stierling's
Woodpecker, perhaps more accessible here than anywhere else.
22 NOV: Dzalanyama to Viphya
After spending a few hours at Dzalanyama looking
for any missing species, we return to Lilongwe and continue north
across the largely deforested central tablelands. En route to Viphiya
we will search for Fischer's Sparrow-lark, here at the southern
tip of its range, and spend some time checking roadside dambos for
Locust Finch, Broad-tailed Warbler and Parasitic Weaver.
The Viphya Plateau is a vast area that is predominantly covered
in pine plantations and scrub, although we will have some time to
investigate remnant patches of forest and miombo woodland. We should
arrive late in the afternoon, and will search for the range-restricted
Ruwenzori Nightjar after dark.
23 NOV: Viphya to Nyika Plateau
An early morning birding walk near our accommodation
will give us the chance to spot various highland birds, including
Southern Mountain Greenbul, Singing Cisticola, White-eyed Slaty
Flycatcher, the smart Bronzy Sunbird, Southern Citril,
Bertrand's Weaver and Red-rumped Swallow. After a
breakfast we pack our bags and continue north and then west towards
the Nyika Plateau. We’ll stop en route for some introductory birding,
as time allows, and may find our first Black-lored Cisticola.
24-25 NOV: Nyika National Park
We have two full days to explore the grasslands,
bracken-filled valleys and forests of the Nyika plateau. Our attention
will first and foremost be turned the Afromontane forests, where
several tricky skulkers lurk in the dark forest interior. The star
bird of the plateau is the very local Sharpe’s Akalat, which
we will try to track down in the Manyenjere forest across the border
in Zambia. Most birding groups are unsuccessful at finding this
species, but we’ll give it as good a go as possible. Here, and in
the Chowo forest we stand the chance of seeing several other localised
species such as White-chested Alethe, Olive-flanked Robin-Chat,
Fülleborn's Boubou, Chapin's Apalis, Bar-tailed Trogon,
Sharpe’s Greenbul, Malawi Batis, Moustached Green
Tinkerbird and Evergreen Forest Warbler. Other more widespread
Afromonontane birds we may find here include African Hill-Babbler,
Orange Ground-Thrush, White-tailed Crested-Flycatcher and Waller's
Starling. At the forest edge we may see Hildebrandt’s Francolin,
White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Mountain Yellow Warbler and
Slender-billed Starling. Scrubby streamlines and Hagenia
thickets will be searched for Baglafecht Weaver, Yellow-browed
Seed-eater (scarce), Churring Cisticola, Yellow-bellied Waxbill,
Dusky Turtle Dove, Mountain Thrush, Cape Robin Chat,
and two scarce sunbirds, Scarlet-tufted Malachite Sunbird
and Ludwig's Double-collared Sunbird. Open grassland species
include Red-winged Francolin, Denham’s Bustard the impressive
Montane Marsh Widowbird, which should be in breeding plumage,
Wailing Cisticola, and the rare Wattled Crane. Perhaps
the highlight in this habitat is the striking Blue Swallow,
which normally breeds in healthy numbers. On optional night-drive
may turn up Spotted Hyaena or Leopard.
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26
NOV: Nyika Plateau to Lake Malawi
With quite a long drive ahead of us, we’ll waste
no time in heading south off the Nyika Plateau, perhaps stopping
en route to scan the flat topped Acacia trees for Brown
Parisoma. We hope to reach the tall miombo woodlands near the
northern entrance of Vwaza Marsh National Park before it gets too
hot, as here we stand the chance of seeing the very localised White-winged
Babbling Starling and Chestnut-mantled Sparrow Weaver.
After that we’ll continue towards Nkhata Bay, where in the afternoon
we’ll visit a patch of lowland forest where East Coast Akalat
can be seen.
27 NOV: Lake Malawi to Zomba Plateau
If necessary we’ll return in the early morning
to Mukhwadzi Forest Reserve to search East Coast Akalat,
where other possibilities include Grey-olive Greenbul, Eastern
Nicator, Narina Trogon, Green-backed Woodpecker and perhaps
even Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo. After breakfast we’ll continue
along the shores of Lake Malawi, stopping at Senga Bay for some
wetland birding, where we may see Yellow-billed Stork, Rufous-bellied
Heron and Black Heron. We should arrive at the Zomba
Plateau in the late afternoon, where we’ll spend some time looking
for the very snappy White-winged Apalis, before heading to
our accommodation.
28 NOV: Zomba Plateau
We have a full day to bird the Afromontane forests
of the Zomba Plateau, which are home to a wide range of species.
Highlights here may include Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler,
Black-headed Apalis, Eastern Saw-wing, White-eared Barbet,
White-starred Robin, the very local Yellow-throated Apalis,
Malawi Batis, Forest Double-collared Sunbird, Southern Citril,
Yellow-bellied Waxbill, Red-faced Crimsonwing, Bertrand’s Weaver,
Olive Bush-Shrike, Livingstone’s Turaco, Placid Greenbul,
Southern Mountain Greenbul, Stripe-cheeked Greenbul and Yellow-throated
Woodland-Warbler. If we are very fortunate we may even lay eyes
on Green Twinspot, the very rare Thyolo Alethe (almost
extinct here), Lemon Dove and Orange Ground-Thrush.
29 NOV: Zomba to Liwonde National Park
We’ll use our final morning at Zomba to fill in
any missing gaps, before heading for the lowlands of Liwonde National
Park, on the banks of the Shire River. Here, birding around camp
should produce the striking Böhm's Bee-eaters, Collared Palm
Thrush and Southern Brown-throated Weaver, although we’ll
wait until the following day to explore further afield. This evening
we will embark on a boat safari in search of Pel’s
Fishing Owl and White-backed Night Heron.
30 NOV: Liwonde National Park
We have a full day in this amazingly diverse national
park. A morning walk through the riverine thickets is always very
productive and provides our best chance for Pel's Fishing
Owl at its daytime roost, although Lilian's Lovebird
and Brown-breasted Barbet are noteworthy. We should
also find Green Malkoha, Purple-crested Turaco, Bearded Scrub-Robin,
Livingstone's Flycatcher and if we are lucky perhaps even White-backed
Night Heron. Overhead we’ll keep an eye out for the scarce Grey-headed
Parrot and Dickinson’s Kestrel. The rest of the time
will be focussed on the tall mopane woodlands, where we have a good
chance of locating Racket-tailed Roller, Speckle-throated
Woodpecker, Arnot's Chat and Meves's Starling.
1 DEC: Liwonde to Lilongwe
After some early morning birding at Liwonde we’ll
return to Lilongwe, arriving in time for some final birding at the
Lilongwe Nature Sanctuary. Our attention will be focussed on the
Lingadzi River and its adjacent thickets where Red-throated Twinspot,
Black-throated Wattle-eye, Schalow's Turaco and Magpie Mannikin
occur. The best birds here are found along the river, although as
always, it will require some effort and a good deal of luck to track
down Half-collared Kingfisher, Mountain Wagtail and the scarce
African Finfoot.
2 DEC: Lilongwe and depart
After breakfast, we return to Lilongwe airport
in time for our flight home.
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