Lundy May 18-27 May 2023

The first bit of good news (for me) was that the Oldenburgh was still in repair so it meant helicopters to and from Lundy instead of travel via sea vessel. On arrival I headed straight to Pondsbury in the hope of seeing the long staying Purple Heron. No sign so I decided on a walk round South End. Walking past the church I heard an unusual call that I knew I'd heard before, but I just couldn't place it. I then saw a small finch flying towards the church but apart from the fact it was small with a bouncy flight I couldn't see any id features. After searching round the church to no avail I headed towards Benjamin's Chair where I saw a small finch on it's own busily feeding on the ground. I lifted my bins and there was a stonking male Serin. The call then clicked into place.

What a start, just under two hours in and I'd had a Lundy tick ! Another three visits to Pondsbury that day but continued to dip on the Purple Heron.

Friday 19 May: woke to a rolling mist which quickly burnt off. Off to Pondsbury but I wasn't hopeful and indeed as I scanned there was no sign of the Heron. Then up from Punchbowl flew in the Purple Heron. I watched it fly around and land on Pondsbury. Another Lundy tick.

Millcombe felt quiet with most of yesterday's bird having cleared out but as usual elsewhere there were Wheatears, Peregrines, Stonechats and a Lesser Redpoll to keep the interest.

Saturday 20 May and the winds had turned ENE and it was sunny so a trip to North End. Yellow Wagtail and lots of Wheatears on route with seven males of the latter chasing one another around the tops steps of North Point.

female Wheater

Climbing down to Seal Steps I spent several hours watching seals, Razorbills, Guillemots and Puffins.

Bridled Guillemot

Razorbill

Puffins

Then a surprise visit by two Turnstones and a Purple Sandpiper - both flybys. Hirundines were pouring off the North End and in two hours I recorded 297 Swallows and 78 House Martins and that was while taking photographs so there will have been many more. With decreasing winds and full sunshine it was another great Lundy day.

Sunday 21 May and I finally caught up with the Hooded Crow in Tillage Field. It had become a bit of a long-standing joke that I'd missed it so many times since my arrival.

Hooded Crow

Surprise of the day was an immature Cormorant fishing in Pondsbury. It was later seen catching a fish which put to an end the discussions about Pondsbury and its disappearing fish stock. I spent much of the day trying to photograph Wheatears with colour rings, with some success. A male Kestrel was continuously hunting in south-west field with no sign of a female so hopefully she was sat on eggs or chicks.

Monday 22 May and another sunny if breezy day. At Jenny's Cove I counted 141 Puffins , all on the water and then I was treated to a Peregrine Spectacular. One bird was hunting the top of Jenny's and as is usual the gulls went up and started to harass it. Usually this lasts a minute or two and they peel off. This time however one particular Lesser Black-backed Gull just didn't give up resulting in some near contact, with the Peregrine rolling over onto it's back mid flight and pushing it's talons up towards the Gull.

The chase is on.........

Peace at last !

As I returned back south I saw a Spotted Flycatcher by the pig pens so quickened my pace thinking if there's birds up here then Millcombe must be good. I wasn't disappointed as arriving at the top of the valley there were some 25 Spotted Flycatchers. Given their mainland scarcity in the last 15 years this was a marvellous sight. Throw in the numerous singing Whitethroats, Sedge and Willow Warblers and this was quite an end to the day.

Spotted Flycatcher

Tuesday 23 May started overcast but quickly cleared. I started in Millcombe with a family of Stonechats.

Male Stonechat

Female Stonechat

Young Stonechat

Still lots of Spotted Flycatchers, in fact more than the previous day with a total count of 57 birds and my first Cuckoo of the year. Off south end I watched a continuous stream of hirundines passing north with more than 100 Swifts. Another bird filled Lundy day.

Wednesday 24 May and winds still NNE with sunny skies. News that a Common Rosefinch had been heard singing in Millcombe had seven of us scouring the area for a sighting with the hope it could be a bright red male. No sign and after half an hour I wandered off down to the bottom gardens and then back up through the wood and eventually to the top of Millcombe where we had all previously stood. No-one was there ! So with the slight rising concern that everyone was watching it elsewhere I was about to head off up the east side path when a bird flew into a bush next to me. I fully expected this to be a House Sparrow and was amazed to find myself staring directly at a brown type Common Rosefinch. It sang once and shot off. I barely had time to lift the camera !

Common Rosefinch - male not in breeding plumage

In south-west field flash I found 2 Dunlin

and some 65 Wheatears in south-west field. This was probably an increase in sightings as opposed to any movement, as sideland breeding birds were coming up onto the plateau to feed. Tree Pipit heard overhead and Millcombe still had plenty of Spotted Flycatchers. Along the Upper East Side Path I saw a Peregrine make a pass at a passerine in Tillage field, it missed but I got the feeling it was going to have another go. I hunkered down and waited and then it came hurtling low over the ground and took a Starling as it rose in panic from the field.

Friday 26 May and the last full day. I was looking at a White Wagtail in Barton Field when I saw a flash of Yellow and expected to see a normal Yellow Wagtail but this one had a dark head - I've always found the different races of Yellow Wag difficult to identify so was keen to get some pictures to help with the identification. The bird was actively feeding round the Ponies and occasionally would sit up on their pooh which made it easier to photograph. After much deliberation I put it down to the thunbergi race - Grey-headed Wagtail.

While I was watching the wagtail I received news of a Red-throated Pipit at Pondsbury seen and heard by Tim Jones. Off I went accompanied by Luke the new seasonal warden. We searched for a while but were not successful. I decided to return to south end and as I was almost out of sight of Pondsbury made one final glance back to see Luke waving his arms about and pointing. He had seen and heard it, albeit at distance. I returned and we both saw the bird again in flight but more importantly heard it call. Not the greatest sighting of a Ripit but a fabulous end to a great trip.

Next up a bit of time travel back to the previous 10 days spent in Northern Ohio looking for American Warblers..............................

Bayala - final part

afternoon of 13 October

The afternoon game drive provided us with more encounters with lions

an Oxpecker on a Rhino

Black-bellied Kohran

and more elephants - this group coming really quite close as we watched them slowly making their way through the bush.

As they were disappearing Garrick's radio came alive and I heard just one word clearly - that word was Leopard ! Trouble was the light was already going and the area where one had been spotted was a good 20 minute drive. We headed off.... could it be we'd get there in time and would it still be there ? my mind was alive with numerous possibilities.

We arrived near a dam with little light left to hear that the Leopard was still present but there were two vehicles watching it. With the "don't crowd the wildlife" protocol in place we had to wait till one of the vehicles left. A nerve filled few minutes ensued as I watched the light going. I had my camera at the ready but the iso was already at 12800 so any pictures were going to be a real challenge, if the Leopard was even still there. Then a vehicle came out and their guide gave directions to where it was last seen (yes last seen) and wished us luck. We drove in ! I immediately saw it sitting by the edge of the damn. I alerted Sam Tom and Garrick to where it was and we edged a little closer. There is was, a Leopard, I was shaking with excitement. I fired off a few pictures but it was so dark I reverted to video which copes with low light levels much better. And then we just watched it as it stalked around the dam occasionally disappearing into the adjacent bush, to emerge several meters further.

This was my first picture.

After some post production with shadows and exposure in Lightroom I was able to retrieve these images.

The Leopard seemed to have an innate stealth about it as it suddenly disappeared from view and then re-emerged. The camouflage working in conjunction with this stealth made it so absorbing to watch, this was a secretive and solitary animal a true "cat of the night".

With no other vehicles waiting to come in we had a good 15 minutes with this fabulous animal. It was then truly dark. We returned to the lodge though I don't recall much about the drive back.

Dinner was as ever tasty and while Tom got stuck in I was a tad distracted wondering then if I'd be able to edit my near dark pictures to get a decent image. The combination of my Sony camera and editing programmes produced a shout of "blimey it's ok" as I looked at the new image on my laptop - I think I was half way through the starter when it happened. So laptop away and enjoy the great food on offer. Tom certainly did !

14 October - our last day and it started with some good sightings of more Lions a Striated Kingfisher and Broad-billed Roller.

A Black-bellied Korean was next

A snake Eagle living up to it's name

We stopped for our early morning coffee and rusks

Crowned Lapwing

Moving on a Crowned Hornbill was added to the list and more Zebra. I wanted a particular picture of a Zebra which I managed - more on why later.

This was the pic I was after (below) -

We came across a Giraffe chewing some bones. They do this to extract small quantities of minerals such as phosphorus and calcium which they need for their own bone development by sucking and chewing them. They don't swallow the bone just drop it when they've had enough of the minerals.

We finished our night time game drive with several sightings of Slender Mongoose.

Tomorrow was the early flight down to Cape Town so our time at Bayala had come to an end. I'm not really sure I have the correct adjectives to express how superb our time had been. The big five nailed and done so in a eco friendly, non rushed and quiet fashion. The lodge staff had been wonderful, the food superb. Tom had enjoyed the trip far more than I thought he would which also made the trip for me and Sam was delighted also with everything to do with this African adventure. I can highly recommend Bayala for a relaxing and exciting safari.

And here's what Sam did with that Zebra picture.......... ( now on sale in my shop! )

Next up - Cape Town

Bayala part 3

12 October

Returning from the morning game drive and while Sam and Tom were getting ready for breakfast I decided to try and photograph and identify some of the sunbirds in the grounds.

I started on the males as they were easier to identify. First up a male Marico Sunbird

here an adult male Scarlet-chested Sunbird

and a young Scarlet-chested Sunbird

another Marico

It was soon time for breakfast and as ever Tom had got a head start and was halfway through his first helpings and making his second order with "The Professor" who had got to know Tom's requirements.

Following breakfast I continued in the camp grounds....

A Lesser Striped Swallow was nesting behind our room.

A male Chinspot Batis

and here the female Chinspot

One of the commonest small birds in the grounds were the Yellow-fronted Canaries

We had been recommended the "Elephant Interaction" at Bayete Zulu Game Reserve- which was just a 20 minute drive away. This is home to two habituated elephants- Rambo & Rachel, who are free to roam the reserve as they wish. The story behind this is that they were rescued from a tourist attraction in another part of Africa. The attraction had shut down and these two majestic, beautiful creatures were scheduled to be culled! The guys at this reserve rescued them from their fate and brought them over to Bayete. Then the problems began- both Rachel and Rambo were so used to human interactions that they were constantly getting into trouble by seeking out that human contact. Roaming into villages, damaging fences and buildings to do so. The answer? A feed station was built for them, well away from where damage could be done. As people want to know more about elephants they can now go to the feeding station to learn about Rambo and Rachel and elephants in general from the reserve rangers. The guests pay an entrance fee which in turn covers the cost for their welfare and Rachel and Rambo get the human interaction that they long for.

Among many facts we learnt that there are 80,000 muscles in an elephants truck

inspecting the Jacobson's organ which helps the elephants in pheromone detection - their sixth sense.

Then back out on the game drive and more encounters with Zebra

I had noticed something strange happening over the past few days and that was Tom using binoculars !

Scanning across the hills it was amazing to see the distances these game animals moved. Here some distant Nyala.

Nothing like turning the corner to see a Rhino coming towards you along the road. Off goes the engine and with us making no noise or movement it came remarkably close.

Some very nice Leopard food standing at the side of the road. If only they would snort and run off in a panic, but no they were quite calm so no Leopards on the cards.......

A Hammerkop at one of the dams

We encountered a group of Giraffes fighting. The sound of them wacking their necks at one another and swishing their heads from side to side captivated Tom. If I knew how to upload video on this blog platform I would. These two were really going for it.

13 October

Becoming the norm our first animals of the day were Buffalo.

and on the backs of those Buffalo were Oxpeckers keeping them clean and having themselves a meal at the same time, a good commensal strategy.

More Rhinos - Garrick told us the way to tell Black from White Rhino was that the latter keep their heads down close to the ground for grazing. Black Rhinos are browsers and their pointed lip helps them feed on leaves from bushes and trees.

Ever present were Birchall's Coucals.

We were getting to know Garrick and he had another of those moments. A purposeful drive to a nearby dam where we encountered some Lions. We sat and watched them for a good while, a bit of interplay a lot of sleeping and some mating going on.

To be so close to these Apex predators with them taking so little notice was a real privelage. The game have got used to vehicles and don't seem to equate them to humans, but that would be a different matter if you jumped down from the Land Cruiser !

We left the Lions to their routines and stopped off at a couple more dams on our return to the lodge.

Yellow-billed Stork

Following breakfast and thanks to Derek Woodhouse's and David Fisher's contacts I had been invited to a hide for an hour's afternoon birding. On arrival I was surprised to see it was sunk into the ground and was on eye level with a drinking pool.

It was already hot and I was wondering how I'd cope with the increased heat, but no fear there as it was air conditioned ! A wonderful hide and I was extremely grateful to have been allowed to use it. Garrick accompanied me and he too was impressed.

Some of the sightings from this hide included......

Golden-breasted Bunting

Crested Barbet with Bulbuls

Spectacled Mousebird

Sombre Greenbul

Jameson's Firefinch

Green-winged Pytilia

Village Weaver

and in a show of horns..........

and then more Impala, females all looking a bit nervous..... must be a Leopard about I mused

Nope just a couple of Warthogs

I returned to the Lodge to find Sam and Tom by the pool.

It was our penultimate full day and as I swam in the pool my mind wandered onto thoughts of "you know what" What chance is there in the remaining time of seeing a Leopard. There had been reports of one but it was very elusive and apparently only seen briefly by another lodge disappearing into the bush to lie up all day. Hmmm it wouldn't be a disaster as the trip so far had exceeded all my expectations but it would be the icing on the cake to see one, or even part of one.

So with just three drives left, this pm and two on the last day I was excited/concerned/apprehensive............. would I catch up with this most wanted cat ?