Mass picked us up in a taxi (his friend was driving) from the hotel at 7:30am. After half an hour’s drive we pulled off the road outside Abuko Nature Reserve and Mass took us to an area of rice field on the other side of the road, opposite Abuko. Our first notable birds were 3 African Pied Hornbills which were perched high on a distant tree but took off and flew past us as we walked towards them. A small pond in the fields produced Black Heron, African Jacana, two Black Crakes, a handsome pair of Greater-painted Snipe, Great White Egret, Common Sandpiper, Black winged Stilt, Redshank and Greenshank. Other birds seen in the area included Hamerkop, Yellow Wagtail and Pied Kingfisher. 

After our pleasant, morning stroll around the rice fields we crossed back over the road and entered Abuko Nature Reserve. As soon as we got inside the entrance Mass stopped us and looked up into a big palm tree above our heads. He’d heard Red-necked Falcons calling and they were nesting in the palm. We saw three of them at fairly close quarters. We walked along the path to the Education Centre, seeing the usual woodland birds along the way. There was a Giant Kingfisher perched on a branch just outside the hide at the Education Centre but it flew off as we arrived. We saw a couple of crocodiles in the pool and a few African Darters were drying out in the sun on the branches above the water. The bushes and trees on the opposite bank of the pool were festooned with egrets and herons. We picked out Grey, Squacco, Striated, Black-headed, Black and Black-crowned Night Herons as well as the ubiquitous Cattle Egrets. Mass said we’d probably get a better look at a Giant Kingfisher from the photo hide so we went there next. We didn’t see a Giant Kingfisher there but we had close views of more African Darters and saw a Palm Vulture which was half hidden in one of the trees but obligingly flew out and perched in the open for a while. Mass spotted a big monitor lizard lying in a tree on the other side of the pool. How he spotted it I don’t know. I could just about make out its eye and one leg, eventually.

African Darter

 As we were walking back along the path from the photo hide another birdwatching guide called us over. He was peering into a bush and looked rather excited. He had a spotted a Western Bluebill, the first time he’d ever seen one and we all had a good view of this elusive bird as it preened. We carried on along the path through the forest as the morning got warmer and warmer and, amongst other things, saw Green Vervet monkeys, two Ground Squirrels, Violet Touraco, African Paradise Flycatcher, Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher and Lesser Honeyguide. At one point Mass veered off the path into the forest in search of some bird which he had seen fly in. My wife and were following close behind when he suddenly stopped and said, “Snake!” There was five-foot long cobra slithering off through the dead leaves in front of us. Mass and I followed it to get a closer look while my wife stayed exactly where she was. The rest of the walk around the reserve was fairly quiet. Little Greenbul, Violet Touraco and numerous Hooded Vultures soaring above the forest being the only birds worthy of note.

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