3 DAY BIRD SAFARI
ZIMBABWE
3 DAYS 2 NIGHTS
4-8 PAX
On arrival, we will have a light lunch and off to Christon bank, an area just outside of Harare for an afternoon of birding. This location with huge granitic out crops and fantastic Miombo Woodland.
There are good populations of Miombo Tit’s, Blue-eared Starlings, Cabanis’s Bunting, Whytes Barbet, Wood and Tree Pipits. Western Violet-backed Sunbird, Green-backed Honeybird Collared Flycatcher, Spotted Creeper and Broad-tailed Paradise Whyday will be our targets here.
An early morning trip to Marlborough and other vlei’s will give us a chance to locate Spotted, Corn and Striped Crake, as well as Streaky-breasted Flufftail will be the main tragets at dawn. Other specials that will be breeding are Rosy-breasted Longclaws, Cape Longclaws and Yellow-throated Longclaws.
As the sun rises over the moist grassland, flocks of Amur and the odd Western Red-footed Falcons abound, along with them, and sighted previous years, are the Pallid, Montagu’s, Western Marsh and African Marsh Harriers. The air becomes alive with the sound of calling Pale-crowned and Zitting Cisticolas, Black Coucals and African Rails. Secretive birds like the Black-rumped Buttonquails, Blue Quails, LocustFinch and African Quailfinch are possibles we might flush under ones foot.
We would have another ‘shot’ at the vleis for the required rallids and rarities. We would then leave for Marondera and environs and would endeavour to do some wetland birding as well.
There are some fantastic ‘road side’ birding spots en-route, a stop just outside the town of Marondera in a field filled with Red Hot Pokers (Kniphofia sp.) should produce some excellent birding, Western Violet-backed Sunbirds, Variable Sunbirds, Miombo Double-collared Sunbirds, White-bellied Sunbirds and not to forget the stunning Orange-breasted Waxbills. Another spot a few minutes from here will produce Levaillant’s Cisticolas, Broad-tailed Warblers and Red-collared Widowbirds.
En route we will stop in at Gosho Park to see what Miombo specials are around and can get,Whyte’s Barbet, Cabanis’s Bunting,Tree and Wood Pipit, Collared Flycatcher and Spotted Creeper as well as Brown-backed and Green-backed Honeybird.
