In association with Birdseekers
TANZANIA WILDLIFE EXTRAVAGANZA
November 5 - 18, 2010

Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti Migration and more!

Africa’s mammal migration has to be one of the greatest all time wildlife spectacles on Earth. For a full African wildlife experience there can be few places to rival the sheer number of mammals that pass through the famous Serengeti during November each year. A phenomenon epitomized in so many TV wildlife documentaries, we will enjoy it at its best using a comfortable fleet of 4x4 vehicles allowing us the best possible viewing of areas many birds and mammals.  Visiting several outstanding lodges and reserves, we will see a variety of endemic and specialized birds including Rufous-tailed Weaver, Ashy Starling and Yellow-collared Lovebirds.  While searching for birds, we also get the chance to see Africa's magnificent mammals such as Leopard, Lion, Hyena, Elephant, Black Rhino, Hippo, and Cheetah.

Among the acacia studded plains we will seek out many specialties including the sought after Karamoja Apalis. In the ‘Lark Plains’ we will look for the critically endangered Beesley’s Lark and a host of other shrikes, sandgrouse and raptors. Regular jeep safaris will take us to areas to find Red-and-Yellow Barbet, Narina Trogon, Schalow’s Turacos, bee-eaters, flycatchers and sunbirds, while wetlands especially around Lake Victoria teem with water birds such as herons, storks, ibis, ducks and waders. The famous Ngorongoro Crater, one of the great wonders of the world will offer us a unique and unforgettable spectacle of wildlife. Teeming with birds and mammals, the crater offers species of bustard, the handsome Chestnut-collared Plover, Schalow’s Wheatear, Rosy-breasted Longclaw, Secretary Bird and much more. Join us for a wildlife extravaganza like no other!   See our 2008 Trip Report (pdf)>>

Trip Cost and Travel Planning>>    Registration Form>>

ITINERARY

Days 1 & 2
Flight to Kilimanjaro arrive morning on Day 2. Night Ndarakwai Camp.

Day 3
Today we will look for a variety of Somali-Masai species en-route to the “Lark Plains” and our target bird the critically endangered Beesley’s Lark, a Tanzania endemic which numbers less than 200 birds. In the open plains, we will also search out species such as Athi Short-toed, Foxy, Red-capped and Short-tailed Larks, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Capped Wheatear, Taita Fiscal, Rosy-patched Bush-Shrike, Pallid and Montague’s Harrier, Amur Falcon, Eastern Chanting Goshawk, and Greater Kestrel. Among the profusion of other birds we will look for are Schalow’s Wheatear, White-fronted Bee-Eater, Fischer’s Sparrow Lark, Ashy Starling, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Speckle-fronted Weaver, White-bellied Go-away-Birds, Parrot-billed Sparrow, Wahlberg’s and Martial Eagle. We will also take a night drive at Ndarakwai Camp to look for Galagos, Aardvark, Owls and other night creatures. Night Ndarakwai Camp.

Days 4 - 5
Today we drive toward Tarangire Safari Lodge through Baobab covered plains and groves of trees.  During our journey and over the next two days, we shall experience some of our finest birding. Endemics such as Ashy Starling, Rufous-tailed Weaver and Yellow-collared Lovebird will be high on our hit list, and these will be backed up by a huge variety of species that could include White-bellied and Buff-crested Bustard, Southern Ground Hornbill, Red-necked Spurfowl, Tawny and Steppe Eagle, Long-crested Eagle, Lappet-faced Vulture, Pygmy Falcon, Yellow-throated and Black-faced Sandgrouse, Heuglin’s and with luck Violet-tipped Courser, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Magpie Shrike, Nubian Woodpecker, Fan-tailed Widowbirds, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Banded Parisoma, Black Bishop and Red-faced Crombec. In and near wetlands we can look for Greater Painted Snipe, Rufous-bellied Heron, Spur-winged Goose, Grey-headed Kingfisher, d’Arnaud’s Barbet, Eastern Paradise and Steel-blue Whydahs and a variety of wading birds. Mammals are very well represented here and include Leopard, Lion, Buffalo, Spotted Hyena, Elephants, Eland, Rock Hyrax, lots of mongoose and much, much more. Two nights Tarangire.

Day 6
After a final look around Tarangire we will set off for Lake Manyara and an area rich in wildlife right beside some Hippo Pools. Among the vast wetland we may see Saddle-billed Stork, African Spoonbill, Gray-crowned Crane, Collared Pratincole and Long-toed Plover. The forest here holds Narina Trogon, Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeons, the elusive Purple-crested Turaco, White-headed Barbet, Marico and Variable Sunbirds, and quite often one or two Palearctic winterers. Continuing on to the fabulous Gibb’s Farm we will be in for a real treat. Around the flower-filled gardens we should see many more sunbirds including the lovely Bronze, perhaps even a Golden-winged and the scarce Green-headed Sunbird.  Other species nearby may include White-tailed Blue-Flycatcher, Speke’s and Holub’s Golden-Weaver, Gray-capped Warbler, Klaas’s Cuckoo, African Black-headed Oriole and in the evening whistling Montane Nightjars and Greater Galagos too! Night at the fabulous Gibbs Farm.

Days 7 - 8
This morning if we can tear ourselves away from a fabulous breakfast we will take a walk into the forest behind our lodge. Here we will look for a range of species such as Brown-headed and Bar-throated Apalis, White-eyed Slaty-Flycatcher, Black-throated Wattle-Eye, Cinnamon-chested Bee-Eater, Tambourine Dove, Eastern Honeybird, Purple-throated Cuckoo-Shrike, and if we are lucky Crested Guineafowl or maybe even a Leopard!

Moving on, we continue our climb out of the Great Rift Valley, as the road winds its way ever higher until we are looking out over the rim of the famous Ngorongoro Crater - Africa’s Garden of Eden. Enroute we will keep a look out for African Hobby and African Crowned Eagle, and among the highlands such species as Dusky Turtle Dove, Schalow’s Turaco, White-necked Raven, Steppe Buzzard, Red-winged Starling, Tacazze Sunbird, Mountain Thrush, Hunter’s Cisticola and African Emerald Cuckoo.

Our second day will see us take a game drive down into the crater itself and play witness to one of the most incredible wildlife spectacles on Earth. As we descend we will already be aware of the masses of large game feeding in the grasslands below us. Birds to look out for include Schalow’s Wheatear, Northern Anteater-Chats, Black-faced Waxbill, and the gorgeous Rosy-breasted Longclaw. Once into the basin we will follow tracks that lead through woodlands, marshes and open grassland. Black-bellied and Kori Bustard should be evident, as well as Gray-crowned Cranes, Secretary Bird, Hildebrandt’s Francolin, and the endemic Rufous-tailed Weaver. Raptors can include Lappet-faced, Ruepell’s, White-headed and White-backed Vultures, Lanner and African Hobby, while wetlands hold species such as Kittlitz’s, Black-winged and Long-toed Plovers, Black Crake, Lesser Swamp Warbler and Winding Cisticola. A seasonal lake usually holds Lesser Flamingos as well as ducks and shorebirds including the handsome Chestnut-banded Plover. Mammals are of course well represented and we will search for Black Rhino, Lion, Cheetah, Hippo, Spotted Hyena, Serval, Bat-eared Fox and much much more. Two nights Ngorongoro.

Days 9 - 11
In the afternoon we move on to Ndutu and our lodge which is a true oasis in an otherwise barren looking landscape. Enroute and around the lodge we can hope to see the endemic Gray-breasted Francolin, plus Fischer’s Lovebird, Temminck’s and Two-banded Courser, Plain-backed Pipit, Red-throated Tit, Silverbird, Buff-bellied Warbler, Capped Wheatear, Red-fronted Barbet, Rufous Chatterer and Black-lored Babbler. At Ndutu, we will be in prime position to search the vast acacia studded plains of the Western Serengeti. Herds of game will be ever present along with their associated predators, and birds will of course be party to the drama. Grant’s and Thompson’s Gazelles, Impala, Burchell’s Zebra, Topi, Blue Wildebeest, Leopard and Cheetah will all be on our menu! And here in areas of riparian wood we will seek Meyer’s Parrot, Bare-faced Go-away-Bird, Usambiro Barbet, Sulphur-breasted Bush Shrike, Ashy Flycatcher, Black-headed Gonolek, Woodland Kingfisher and in the groves of whistling thorns the highly sought after Karamoja Apalis. Three nights Ndutu.

Days 12 - 13
Our final days in Tanzania will see us searching for any special Serengeti species that we might have missed while based at Speke’s Bay on the southern shores of the huge Victoria-Nyanza Lake with all its accompanying wildlife. Millions of terns winter here, together with literally countless Sand Martins; they can be watched hawking insects over vast papyrus beds that fringe parts of the lake shore. We shall explore some of these lakeside marshlands, areas that have been visited by very few zoologists, let alone other birders, and with luck we will make some very interesting discoveries. Some “trip birds” that we will be looking-out for include: Dwarf Bittern, Striped Crake, Wattled Lapwing, Angola Swallow, African Reed and Broad-tailed Warbler, Swamp Flycatcher, Papyrus Gonolek, Red-chested Sunbird and Slender-billed Weaver. Two nights Speke’s Bay.

Day 14
Leaving from Mwanza airport on the shore of this vast lake we fly back to Kilimanjaro for our connecting overnight flight back home.

Leaders:  Gina Nichol, Steve Bird and local guides