Birding weekly 20140427

Red-throated Bee-eater with a
yellow throat colour morph

From Korhogo in the beginning of the week I headed out East into the Warigué area, which is situated along the Leraba and Comoé Rivers along the Northern boarder of Côte d'Ivoire. Most of the time was spent travelling but birding was done in-between. The highlight here was a colony of Red-throated Bee-eaters (Merops bulocki) with several yellow throat morphs flying within them. I was able to find two individuals with the Yellow colour morph. The area is phenomenal, regarding the mix of Forest and open Wooded Savanna. Several new species for me here were the Long-tailed Nightjar (Caprimulgus climacurus) flying around at dusk and dawn where we camped along the Comoé River. A pleasant surprise was a Shinning-blue Kingfisher (Alcedo quadribrachys) which caught a fish and sat close by beating it on a branch before swallowing it. The Swamp Flycatcher (Musicapa aquatica) which was flying around catching flies (of all things) in the overhanging trees along the river bank.

The forest patches seem void of life for birding but a lot happens up at canopy level, apart from a few Snowy-crowned robin-chat (Cossypha niveicapilla) and African Thrush (Turdus pelios) scratching around on the ground. It is at the forest edge that bird-life comes to life, one new species for me here was a Yellow Penduline-tit (Anthoscopus punctifrons), calling at the top of a tree along the forest edge. Listening in the forest one could hear the Tropical Boubou (Laniarius major) calling yet I was not able to catch a glimpse of them. Waxbills (Estrilda sp.) and Firefinch (Lagonosticta) were present on the forest edge in numbers along with Bronze-winged Mannikins (Spermestes cucllata). Sunbirds fly around from flower to flower and are easier to see on the forest edge. While walking along the Comoé River we followed a Dark-chanting Goshawk (Melierax metabates) as it kept its comfortable distance from us.

The Leraba River, with over-hanging trees along its banks

Shining-blue Kingfisher (Alcedo quadribrachys): This species intrigued me as I hoped to find it common along water bodies within West Africa, it had alluded me. In Benin on one occasion a friend of mine saw it and called me. When we return it was gone. Hpwever these have been areas outside its normal distribution however the habitat type matches its requirement. That is along larger rivers with trees hanging over the bank into the water. Best way to see it is to sit in the middle of the river and watch it dart across the main channel as it tries different fishing spots.

African Finfoot  (Podica senegalensis): The African Finfoot is one bird that tends to be on the difficult side of spotting. However here in West Africa is is in relative abundance along permanent rivers which have good overhanging vegetation. Exploring the banks of the Comoé River I flushed one out of it resting place to later see it cross the river a few time while watching birds from the middle of the river. If they don't feel threatened they are fairly active up and down the river crossing the channel frequently.

Other Species: African Fish-Eagle (Haliaetus vocifer)

Beautiful Sunbird (Cinnyris pulchellus)

Grey-backed Cameroptera (Cameroptera brevicaudata)

White-crowned Lapwing (Vanellus senegallus)