February 23, 2015: Wood You Like Owl with That?

The rest of the group arrived during the night, long after Linda and I had retired:

• ·       Linda and Me
• ·       Jenny and Terry Cloudman, our old friends from Rice and frequent travel companions.
• ·       Jan Kelley and Susan Fortunow, from Miami
• ·       Bill Jeffrey and Casey Bayles, from Brooklyn.
• ·       Barbara and Jerry Hoganson, from Arlington, who barely made their connection in Amsterdam due to weather delays at Dulles airport.
• ·       Merrill Lester, from Hickory, NC.

So, after meeting at breakfast, we set off to show the newcomers the birds of the area. Everyone was delighted with two Gray Crowned Cranes around the pond. One of the loveliest birds in the world, the pair foraged in the short vegetation on the other side of the pond. They seemed to be starting nuptials, dancing around and spreading wings. It seems it was still preliminary, but still a great show to watch. Here is a photo of some of the action:

With that as a start, you know the morning had to be a good one. We even managed to finally get a scope view of our nemesis, the Red-chested Cuckoo, and verified that it did indeed have a red chest, or a red throat at least.

We wandered down the now familiar trail along past the trout farm to the dam, picking up all the birds we had seen over the previous two days except the Gray-olive Greenbul, who refused to show themselves.

Linda, Terry, and I got separated from the rest of the group while I tried, with some success, to get a photo of a beautiful Gasteracantha species spider. Linda spotted this right beside the trail. Although it was prettiest when viewed dorsally, we had to be satisfied with the this shot as she tried to repair damage to her web.

We had to search for the group, who turned out to be watching a male Peter’s Twinspot that Kevin turned up near where we had seen it before. Alas, we arrived a bit late for the show, the price you pay for loving spiders.

Most of the group, as you’d expect, were ready to relax after the trip, so we took the afternoon off. We tried out the pool, which would have been great for swimming laps. Instead we lazily let the water cool us off before repairing to the veranda.

After dinner, we set off on an owling expedition, which provided a perfect coda to the day. Kevin called in a pair of African Wood Owls for great looks.

It was 10:00 by that time, and we were all ready for bed. Tomorrow we start in earnest, with a trip to Arusha National Park, about an hour away.