March 26th Tujering/Tanji

Today we decided that we’d spend all day out in the field. We set off slightly earlier and our first stop was at some dry fields near Brufut to look for Coursers. There were no Coursers but two Black-headed Plovers more than compensated. We drove through Tanji and onto Tujering where we turned off onto a track through fields and old water-melon fields.

The area was fantastic; Striped Kingfisher, Black-crowned Tchagra, Purple Glossy Starling, Red Bishop, Grey-headed Sparrow, Scarlet Chested Sunbird, White-fronted Black Chat, Red-winged Warbler, Senegal Batis, Harrier Hawk, Singing Cisticola, Whistling Cisticola and others were seen in one small area. A little wandering yielded Veillot’s Barbet, Green-backed Eremomela, Grey-backed Cameroptera, Lanner, Namaqua Dove, Bru-bru, Northern Crombec, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Black Flycatcher, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Rufous-crowned Roller and the usual supporting cast.

Having spent a wonderful few hours here we headed to Paradise Lodge for lunch (and birding). Having kept out of the midday sun we headed for the fishing village at Tanji where the tide was just starting to go out. It was another experience worth seeing with the boats of the village being pushed out to sea whilst others came in for unloading. The beach had Sanderling, Turnstone and Bar-tailed Godwit. Grey-headed Gulls and a few Slender-billed Gulls as well as Caspian and Royal Terns patrolled the waters along the beach and at the mouth of the river.
We then made for the lagoon where we saw more shorebirds and three White-fronted Plovers.
Finally we called in at the fields again – there was nothing there but on some others nearby we found four Black-headed Plovers and two Temminck’s Coursers. Another great day – we were tired but had seen 101 species – this area is a must for visiting birders and probably worth a couple of visits if you can.