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This male Schlegel's Asity was one of many unforgettable highlights from our Madagascar adventure. (Photo by participant Randy Siebert)
This was my fourth run-through for this comprehensive tour of Madagascar, which Field Guides has been running since 1986, and the eighth time for Jay, a late assignment to the tour when Megan was indisposed. We again had a great tour, albeit with lots of traveling on slow roads, the vagaries of Air Madagascar, and this year not too much of the unexpected (except on boat trips!).
For the third time in recent years we offered an extension to the Masoala Peninsula in quest of some of the most charismatic Madagascar species. This is not for the faint-hearted -- this year we had a very rough and wet 3-hour sea crossing (note to self -- overnight in Maroantsetra next year if we get in after noon, so we can get the calm seas of early morning!), and the walking is up and down on rough and sometimes slippery trails, so moderate fitness is required. That said, you get to see some wonderful birds -- the Helmet Vanga had a new nest site which took about 90 minutes of rough walking but paid off nicely, with the added incentive of Bernier's Vanga en route. Our guide spotted the spectacular Giant Leaf-tailed Gecko because it flicked its tongue over its eyeball as we passed, and we had a wonderful look at this weird, lichenous, crocodile-like beast as it sat on a tree trunk -- ll these Uroplatus are always a major bonus if we find them.
Red-ruffed Lemurs were very vocal and showed well, and we had great looks at both the elusive Red-breasted and Red-fronted couas, Collared Nightjar, Madagascar Wood-Rail, and an obliging Short-legged Ground-Roller after a scramble down a slope, plus Scaly Ground-Roller for a few. Brown Mesite was very obliging, parading about on the trail for us this year; getting this one anywhere can be a real challenge. Madagascar Pratincole and Roseate Tern showed well by the beach, and we almost got to see Madagascar Ibis at nest after a couple of brief flight views as they flushed from trails.
Hubbing back to Tana we then set off south, getting Madagascar Snipe and bonus Eleonora's Falcon en route, then overnighting in Ambositre where the Marolefy family again entertained us nicely with their Madagascan music. A brilliant Madagascar Flufftail at a small marsh next day enlivened the bad road conditions as we journeyed down to Ranomafana for 3 nights and a whole swag of exciting rainforest specials -- Rufous-headed and Pitta-like ground-rollers, Sunbird Asity and for some Yellow-bellied Asity, a wonderful view of the rare Hensts's Goshawk, Cryptic Warbler and Wedge-tailed Jery, another very fortuitous encounter with Brown Mesite, plus Meller's Duck and Gray Emutail at the marsh. Lemurs were also great, with lovely looks at Golden and Greater Bamboo Lemur, Red-fronted Brown Lemurs, and the diminutive Brown Mouse-Lemur.
The long drive down to Ranohira took us through some striking rocky grasslands, where we got a pair of Madagascar Partridge and great looks at Alpine Swift. That beautiful hotel gave us the taxonomically challenged Benson's Rock-thrush in display, plus Madagascar Hoopoe, then it was onto the national park at Zombitse, which was very rewarding despite the heat. The guides eventually came through with the great prize here, the rare and incredibly restricted-range Appert's Tetraka, plus very vocal and showy Cuckoo-Rollers, a fine Torotoroka Scops-Owl, nesting Giant Coua, and an endearing Hubbard's Sportive-Lemur.
A mid-afternoon stop at La Table at a new site of Gerard's got a fine male Red-shouldered Vanga and a bonus Lafresnaye's Vanga -- great to get these early on; then we went on up to Ifaty and got to the Bamboo Club just after dusk, after a brief period stuck in a sand-drift!
A single night at Ifaty was a tad unnerving as we have to get everything in just one morning, but the guides were great and we duly notched Gray-headed Lovebird, Long-tailed Ground-Roller, the bizarre Subdesert Mesite, Thamnornis, Running and Green-capped couas, Banded Kestrel, and Archbold's Newtonia. The rare Madagascar Plover showed very well nearby, then it was back to Tulear.
The boat ride next day was, as ever with boat rides, not without its challenges, this time being a falling and very low tide making beach access difficult and necessitating a transfer by pirogue at one point. Still, we got Humblot's Heron and Red-tailed Tropicbird very well, and Littoral Rock-Thrush and Subdesert Brush-Warber were very obliging, making a rather spray-doused crossing back worthwhile.
An early morning foray back to La Table netted us Verreaux's Coua nicely, then it was time for the flight to Fort Dauphin and the bone-shaking but this year otherwise uneventful 4-hour ride (97 km) to Berenty, where Madagascar Sandgrouse and Madagascar Buttonquail were good compensation, as was a great show from Verreaux's Sifakas and Ring-tailed Lemurs. The night walk gave us Madagascar Nightjar and great views of White-footed Sportive and Gray-brown Mouse-Lemurs, plus Oustalet's Chameleon and Dumerel's Ground Boa for some.
Back to Fort Dauphin and then Tana next day, before flying up to Mahajunga and Ankarafantsika NP, with the journey in getting us a very lucky find of Madagascar Jacana at a small relict marsh, the only ones we saw. Ampijoroa was very nice, and a night walk gave us the newly described Golden-brown Mouse-Lemur and Western Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur. Next day Jay and I heard Madagascar Fish-Eagle as we emerged at dawn, but we had to go look for Schlegel's Asity and White-breasted Mesite, both of which were terrific -- what a bird that male Schelegel's Asity is, quite unbelievable. The walk later failed in the quest for Van Dam's Vanga, though we saw a newly abandoned nest, and the Madagascar Fish-Eagle then chose to take the day off, oh well!
Our final boating adventure saw us in two open boats going up into the Betsiboka estuary, where Bernier's Teal came good with 18 seen, and great views and photos of the rare Madagascar Sacred Ibis plus bonus Lesser Flamingos, before another spray-doused trip back, this time thankfully with waterproof jackets to cover us! A late-flight back to Tana left on time, and next day after a morning at Lac Alarobia with White-throated Rail, Madagascar Squacco, Squacco Heron, Dimorphic Egrets, and Black Herons, some of us went to the Tsimbazzaze Zoo where we were lucky enough to go see the extraordinary Aye-ayes and a Fossa.
Our finale at Andisibe-Perinet is always pleasant. I love that lodge where you can hear the Indri from your room, and this year we actually saw 2 from the dining room! The road up to Mantadia is now really bad so it took forever, and Scaly Sparrowhawk was not in evidence despite the guides' best endeavours, but Forest Fody, Madagascar Grebe, and Meller's Duck were good. Small-bird numbers seemed down this year, and our lodge was actually one of the best spots -- we got Nuthatch Vanga, Blue Vanga, White-headed and Red-tailed vangas, plus Ward's Flycatcher (Vanga) right there.
We had an eventful trip going to see Madagascar Long-eared Owl in a torrential thunderstorm, and many of us went back next day for photos and dry viewing of a fine adult and a juvenile. Madagascar Scops-Owl showed beautifully, and the eccentric but gifted Nestor showed us a fabulous Madagascar Sparrowhawk, a lifer for Phil (excepting the still equivocal Masoala accipiter!). Lemurs were excellent, with great looks and sounds from Indri, a truly wonderful heart-stopping noise, and nice views of Diademed Sifaka, plus Crossley's Dwarf Lemur (Furry-eared on our checklist) congregating at a fruiting tree at the lodge and running down the power lines.
Our trip back to Tana coincided with the Tour de Madagascar so we we had to contend with errant cyclists all over the place, plus a huge storm, but departure next day to Reunion was straightforward, and we even squeezed in views of Barau's Petrel close to the capital city before dusk. Our morning birding at La Roche Ecrite got us more or less everything, though sadly being denied playback cost us the Reunion Cuckooshrike that was calling close by. Still, a fine male Reunion Harrier was great, and the eponymous Stonechat, Gray White-eye, Olive White-eye, Bulbul, and Paradise-Flycatcher all performed nicely.
Mauritius at long last gave us good calm and sunny weather for the first time in several trips, and this helped no end. We got great looks at Mauritius Fody and scored big with the rare Mauritius Olive White-eye and a very responsive Mauritius Cuckooshrike, whilst the Mauritius Bulbul also showed well and we lucked into a fine male Mauritius Paradise-Flycatcher, a proposed split too. Our site for the major non-passerine rarities came good for Pink Pigeon, in good light for once as well, and Jan luckily found us Mauritius Parakeet feeding by the entrance (we then learned the feeding program had stopped so seeing them was much harder). The Mauritius (Box) Kestrel was not at the customary nest boxes, but we were very lucky to get a female out hunting over the cane fields adjacent to the forest, and great to see one actually doing something!
Our final late-afternoon trip was down to La Roche qui Pleure for a seawatch (aka staring at distant dots), which gave us lots of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, Bridled Tern, and Lesser Noddy plus a single Barau's Petrel and a far-distant Pterodroma that was probably "Round Island" Petrel but which we lost too soon to confirm. Phil went back on the next two afternoons post-trip for some 5 hours and got to see one "Round Island' Petrel late in the afternoon on the last day, so we may add this as an option for 2014.
My thanks to a very pleasant and good-humored group; it was fun taking you all round on what is quite a taxing trip. Particular thanks to the brilliant Gerard, our long-time local fixer and birder, to the various skilled and entertaining local guides, to Jay for a lot of scope carrying, much playback (complete with dodgy speakers) and useful Madagascar knowledge, and to Sharon in the Field Guides office for good logistics on a complex and difficult itinerary. Jay and I enjoyed sharing all these wonderful sightings in Madagascar and the Mascarenes with you, and we look forward to another chance to do the same in another part of the world. Safe travels, good birding, and Happy New Year to you all!
Phil in Antananarivo, Dec 2013
KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant
BIRDS
We were pleased to catch up to the rare Madagascar Pygmy-Kingfisher. (Photo by guide Phil Gregory)
After a soaking first attempt, we were treated to much better views of this Madagascar Long-eared Owl juvenile and an adult on our second visit. This juve is quite the fluffball! (Photo by guide Phil Gregory)
We saw this rare Malagasy Sacred Ibis, with its striking pale eye, really well on the Betsiboka estuary. (Photo by guide Phil Gregory)
Frances's Goshawk was a great study in Accipiter ID. (Photo by participant Randy Siebert)
We could hear the vocal Red-ruffed Lemurs long before they came into view. (Photo by participant Randy Siebert)
Madagascar is definitely THE place to study chameleons. (Photo by participant Randy Siebert)
We had great looks at the endangered Pink Pigeon again this year. (Photo by participant Randy Siebert)
Couas comprise a distinctive subfamily of the Cuckoos. This Blue Coua was one of the more widespread species we came across in wet forests. (Photo by participant Randy Siebert)
We didn't have to step back very far before this cryptic Collared Nightjar disappeared in the leaf litter. (Photo by guide Phil Gregory)
We were all delighted to watch this Long-tailed Ground-Roller step into the open in the spiny forest. (Photo by participant Randy Siebert)
Berenty provided us with great looks at Torotoroka Scops-Owl. (Photo by participant Randy Siebert)
Helmet Vanga -- Jay's lifer and the star of the show on the tour's extension to the Masoala Peninsula! (Photo by guide Phil Gregory)
We tracked down Rufous Vanga at three different locations. (Photo by participant Randy Siebert)
The charismatic Sickle-billed Vanga (Photo by guide Phil Gregory)
Madagascar Paradise-Flycatcher is a real beauty; there are also endemic close cousins on Mauritius and Reunion -- subspecies of the Mascarene Paradise-Flycatcher. (Photo by guide Phil Gregory)
The color combination of the Broad-billed Roller is both beautiful and distinctive. (Photo by participant Randy Siebert)
Malagasy Kingfisher has quite the curly crown! (Photo by participant Randy Siebert)
MAMMALS
The bounding Verraux's Sifakas at Berenty were one of the behavioral high points of the tour. This one's got a baby aboard. (Photo by participant Randy Siebert)
Hubbard's Sportive Lemur (Photo by participant Randy Siebert)
The enormous Comet Moth is an endemic. (Photo by participant Randy Siebert)
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
OTHER HERPS
Boophis sp. frogs at Ranomafana
Mimophis mafaliensis was a snake at Berenty.
Madagascarophis colibrinus, a snake from Ankarafantsika, by the road at night
Mantidactylis sp. geckoes at Fort Dauphin
BUTTERFLIES
Papilio antenor is the large spectacular swallowtail from Parc Mosa.
We saw a range of others, but Madagascar butterflies seem to be very active and it ws hard to get at-rest shots; I think Gaylan and Dan may have done quite well here.
Comet moth (Argema mittrei) -- a fine large adult was at Feon N'y Ala.
STAR BIRDS
Many choices, but Helmet Vanga is obviously the star being spectacular, bizarre, rare, hard-to-get-to and hard-to-find AND a lifer for Jay.
Ground-Rollers have to figure as well; all 5 species were again seen on the trip and 4 of them very nicely indeed.
Schlegel's Asity was outstanding this year.
All 3 mesite species performed really well, an unusually good trip for them with some nice photos out there.
Cuckoo Roller for wonderful vocals and some great views.
Eleonora's Falcon making a welcome reappearance on the checklist after a very long absence.
Bernier's Teal amd Madagascar Sacred Ibis showing so well on the Betsiboka estuary.
That amazing Henst's Goshawk seen so well at Ranomafana.
The identification puzzles over Madagascar Sparrowhawk vs Frances's Sparrowhawk.
That wonderful responsive Mauritius Cuckooshrike, especially ironic after we had heard the Reunion one calling so close.
Those marvellous owls at Andisibe with the pair of Madagascar Scops sat side by side and the adventure with the Madagascar Long-eared Owls.
Totals for the tour: 243 bird taxa and 32 mammal taxa