October 25-November 17, 2025 with Tarry Butcher & Marcelo Barreiros (ext. to Nov. 20)
It was really baptism by fire for me and Marcelo, taking on this tour for the first time. We started from Antananarivo with a short internal flight to Tulear, on the southwestern side of the island. Our flight was luckily mid-morning, which gave us time for a morning stop at Lac Alarobia, a small wetland area within Antananarivo. The lake held a good number of waterfowl and we started the list nicely with Blue-billed Teal, Red-billed Duck, Fulvous Whistling Duck, Humblot’s Heron and the beautiful and endemic Malagasy Kingfisher, before heading to the airport for our first flight.
Our first major destination was the Spiny Forest near Ifaty, where a full morning amongst the giant baobabs revealed great bird sightings and several interesting little critters such as scorpions, Hissing Cockroaches, geckos and a Hubbard’s Sportive Lemur. We managed good looks at the target birds, including Subdesert Mesite, Running Coua, Olive-capped Coua, Long-tailed Ground-Roller, Madagascar Nightjar and Stripe-throated Jery. A very successful morning in the spiny forest was followed by good looks at the endemic Madagascar Plover and Madagascar Lark. The afternoon at Belalanda Wetlands produced Madagascar Cisticola, Greater and Lesser Flamingo, Little Bittern, Baillon’s Crake and Madagascar Swamp Warbler. Leaving Ifaty, we made our way south to Tulear and did a boat trip to the small island of Nosy Ve, home to a small population of breeding Red-tailed Tropicbirds, where, with the help of the local guide, we were able to find several nest sites and young chicks. We were lucky with the tide and managed to find a small group of Crab Plovers just before the tide stole their island. Our last afternoon on the west coast was spent in a different section of low arid scrub bush, finding Verreaux’s Coua, Lafresnaye’s Vanga and a nesting Chabert Vanga. It was a really good start to the trip.
We made our way east across the island, making various stops and one short delay due to some car trouble, but this gave us time to find a huge Hamerkop nest and Oustalet’s Giant Chameleon. Zombitse National Park was very productive, with a Cuckoo Roller, White-browed Owl, Rufous Vanga on a nest, and by chance, Giant Coua walking across the path in front of the group. We also had great looks at Verreaux’s Sifka and Zombitse Sportive Lemur. The overnight lodge produced Benson’s Rock thrush, Madagascar Coucal and a flushed Madagascar Partridge, with our best views of Madagascar Hoopoe feeding on the lawn outside the rooms. One of my personal trip highlights was our short stop at Anja Community Reserve to view the Ring-tailed Lemurs. It was simply awesome to walk through the small forest with lemurs going about their business unfazed by our presence. We got some really good looks at Grey-headed Lovebirds, and also had time for some social interaction, where the group donated a soccer ball and pump to the neighbouring community.
Ranomafana National Park is one of the last remaining pristine forest sections in Madagascar. We spent 3 full days exploring the forest trails in and around the national park. Some trails were tough, with steep inclines and descents, but others were less strenuous. The group coped well with the trails and were rewarded with good weather and some great bird and mammal sightings. Our highlights from Ranomafana were easily Pitta-like and Scaly Ground-Roller, both of which gave great performances, allowing everyone to get really good, prolonged views. These were two of the major targets in the area. Birding was quiet due to the lack of rain but we slowly chipped away, finding Velvet and Common Sunbird Asity, Crossley and White-headed Vanga, and brief views of Madagascar Forest Rail. Out last morning was productive, finding a small bird party and connecting with Madagascar Cuckoo, Forest Rock-Thrush, Tylas, Blue and Ward’s Vanga, Nelicourvi Weaver, Forest Fody, and our best views of Long-billed Bernieria. One of my favourite little critters that we found was the strange Giraffe-necked Weevil, a small bright red weevil with an elongated neck - just a crazy little thing! Leaving the forest, we slowly made our way back towards Antananarivo. Driving times and distances were definitely the hardest part of this trip, but within the long drives were little birding spots, one that produced gems like Meller’s Duck and White-throated Rail, and another that gave us Madagascar Buttonquail.
This year, the decision was made to avoid the 12-hour drive north to Ankarafantsika National Park, and what a great choice that was. We flew to Mahajanga and then drove from there, still arriving in the late afternoon but with enough time to do a short walk. It was clear from the start why this is such an important location to include on the tour, with Frances’s Sparrowhawk at lunch, followed by Mongoose Lemur, Common Brown Lemur, Crested Coua and Coquerel’s Sifaka right outside the rooms, even before setting off on the walk. A real crowd-pleaser was Sickle-billed Vanga, which perched right above our heads, and shortly after a massive target of White-breasted Mesite, expertly located by our local guide. We did a short optional night walk before dinner, finding Madagascar Tree Boa and Common Madagascar Cat Snake, an unexpected treat for the group. Next morning was the search for Schlegel’s Asity and, after a good amount of effort, we finally located a pair feeding high in the canopy, but wow, what a gorgeous bird! It was well worth the effort. The morning walk also produced Madagascar Green Pigeon, Hook-billed Vanga, and Madagascar Fish-Eagle. With limited time here we pushed on, heading back to the sandy section of the forest which we had visited the previous day. It worked, finding our remaining targets of Van Dam’s Vanga, Red-capped and Coquerel’s Coua quickly, we decided to keep the winning streak going and push on towards the lake. We had no luck on the Jacana, but spotted an extremely cooperative Madagascar Pygmy Kingfisher to wrap up the morning. Then it was time to pack up and head back to Mahajanga, where we enjoyed another boat trip into the Bombetoka Bay and estuary in search of the rare Bernier’s Teal. Unfortunately, the tides where not in our favour, making the search extremely difficult, but we did manage to find a single Malagasy Sacred Ibis and a lone Lesser Flamingo.
Andasibe Mantadia was the final major destination for the tour, but man, it was fantastic! We hit the ground running with a short afternoon walk in the community section of the park, finding a roosting Collared Nightjar and Madagascar Scops Owl, and a better view of Madagascar Forest Rail. The sounds of Indri calling in the background signified the presence of another of my major target species. Heading deeper into the forest the next morning, we had a tough search for Short-legged Ground-Roller, and right at the end, as we were about to call it a day, our local guide heard something. We tracked back into the forest, over a river, under a branch and through vines to finally find it. What a beauty and a great result for the effort put in! The next day we spent time in the Analamazoatra Reserve that was much busier with tourists. Working our way around them, we had great looks at Madagascar Ibis, Nuthatch-Vanga, Madagascar Blue Vanga, Brown leaf Chameleon and the main attractions - Indri and Diademed Sifaka. Our last morning in the area was a bit wet, with the occasional light drizzle, but despite that we found some fabulous birds at the lodge and while walking down the main road. Lodge birds included Madagascar Cuckoo-Hawk, Madagascar Flufftail and a Red-fronted Coua, whilst from the road we managed to locate Madagascar Owl and Red-breasted Coua.
A quick one-night stop at the end of the tour was on a very special inland island to see the cryptic Aye-Aye, a strange, nocturnal, long-fingered lemur. After a drive and a short boat cruise, we found ourselves on a beach that closely resembles a tropical beach. We did a short walk in the forest surrounding the lodge, finding very few birds. Where the birds fell short, the animals took over. We saw a Leaf-nosed Snake, Panther’s Chameleon, Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur, Crowned Lemur and Black Lemur. The star of the show was just before dinner when we took a short boat trip to the Aye-Aye Island, a conservation area where the locals have feeding sites to help protect these endangered critters. We had three come to the feeding station. This was Marcelo’s top wish for the trip. The next day we started making our way back towards Antananarivo for the final day of the trip, seeing Madagascar Pratincole on the way. Due to cancelled flights, the extension group had an extra day in Antananarivo, so we decided to give the Lac Alarobia another visit - finally connecting with Malagasy Pond Heron, ending the official tour on a really high note.
Overall, it was a very successful tour and hearty thanks go to everyone involved. A huge thanks to our local guide, Gerard and my fellow tour leader Marcelo. Happy Birding!
EXTENSION:
The extension this year was cut short due to cancelled flights, which gave us only a few short hours in Mauritius. Nevertheless, with the help of the local guide, we did exceptionally well. Starting very early from Flic-en-Flac we made our way to Ebony Forest where we saw Grey Francolin, Mascarene Paradise-Flycatcher, Red-whiskered Bulbul and Mauritius Grey White-eye. Next stop was Black River Gorges National Park, where we found Pink Pigeon, Echo Parakeet, White-tailed Tropicbird, Mauritius Cuckooshrike and Mascarene Martin. Fighting against time, we made a last quick stop at Ile aux Aigrettes, snatching Mauritius White-eye and Mauritius Fody, as well as Mauritius Flying Fox and a giant Aldabra Giant Tortoise. It was a whirlwind tour of Mauritius before heading to Reunion.
Reunion was just as crazy, with one full day to explore the island, starting early at what is arguably Reunion's best known birding site, La Roche Ecrite. On arrival, we were immediately treated to our first endemic, the super confiding Reunion Stonechat; these birds would often pose in close proximity to us. A small flock of Reunion Grey White-eye scurried around a small flowering bush and provided great views to everyone. We started ascending the trail up the gorge; the trail is moderately difficult but certainly quite doable and super scenic. Some way up we bumped into our first Mascarene Paradise Flycatchers, represented here by an endemic subspecies, which probably should be a good candidate for a split. Reunion Olive White-eye is a slightly trickier customer than Reunion Grey White-eye, the other endemic white-eye on the island, but soon enough our patience were rewarded with great views. Reunion Bulbul eventually put in a showing and certainly the most attractive, relatively speaking, of the Indian Ocean Island bulbuls. Mascarene Swiftlets swooped by overhead and a dapper Reunion Harrier delighted everyone as it quartered low over the forested slopes of the gorge. Sadly, even after much searching we could not locate the highly sought after Reunion Cuckooshrike, and due to some time constraints we could not go higher up the trail where our chances would have been better. On the way back down to Saint-Denis, we were delighted to encounter several White-tailed Tropicbirds, Reunion's national bird. Late afternoon saw some of us do a bit of sea watching not far from our hotel, where we quickly notched up a few new species. Barau's Petrels were particularly numerous, joined by a few Brown Noddys, some Wedge-tailed Shearwaters as well as a Tropical Shearwater. All too soon we had to bid Reunion farewell after a good day's birding, and I was once again reminded why Reunion remains my favourite of the Indian Ocean Islands.
MAMMALS ON THE TOUR
Gray Mouse Lemur (Microcebus murinus)
Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur (Cheirogaleus medius)
Brown Lemur (Eulemur fulvus)
Red-fronted Brown Lemur (Eulemur rufifrons)
Mongoose Lemur (Eulemur mongoz)
Red-bellied Lemur (Eulemur rubriventer)
Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta)
Gray Bamboo Lemur (Hapalemur griseus)
Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata)
Zombitse Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur hubbardorum)
Crowned Lemur (Eulemur coronatus)
Verreaux's Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi)
Coquerel's Sifaka (Propithecus coquereli)
Diademed Sifaka (Propithecus diadema)
Milne-Edwards's Sifaka (Propithecus edwardsi)
Indri (Indri indri)
Aye-Aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis)
Red Forest Rat (Nesomys rufus)
Roof Rat (Rattus rattus)
Ring-tailed Vontsira (Galidia elegans)
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/433879
You can see my iNaturalist report of non-avian taxa at this link: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/madagascar-2025-field-guides-birding-tour
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/mad25TRIPLIST.pdf
-- Tarry Butcher