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Birdwatching trip report - MadagascarPeriod: 20.10.2006-19.11.2006Author(s): Alex Schouten and Angeline Peters Key sites visited: Self driving bird trip Madagascar
Oct 20 – Nov 19, 2006 Alex Schouten and Angeline Peters If have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask us: alex.schouten@wolmail.nl
Why a trip report? Our trip to Madagascar was a combination of birding, watching lemurs and enjoying the scenery. We are no top birders, so why a trip report about birds:
GeneralThere is a lot of information about safety, money, logistics, flights, visa, weather etc in other trip reports. Especially the report of Remco Hofland (How to clean up Madagascar, sept-okt 2004) is extremely detailed and valuable. The report of Brian Gee (1998) is still good, mainly because of the maps of which most are still valid.
So we just give a few notes about the general stuff:
In the field we used the compact guide of Sinclear & Langrand for identification. Because the descriptions of plumage, habitat and sounds in the book of Morris & Hawkins are more detailed we used that book as a good extra reference. Because it is a photographic guide and not very compact, we didn’t use it in the field.
We think Madagascar is not a typical birding destination. After 4 weeks of traveling in the southern half of the country we ‘only’ have 156 birdspecies on our list. A lot of birds were seen only 1 or 2 times and without the help of the bird guides in the national parks we think 125 species would have been our maximum. So birds are relatively scarce, difficult to find and shy. The negative thing about having a bird guide in the national parks is that sometimes you only run after the birds which are not at your list at that time. So you probably pass birds you have already seen earlier on the trip. The result is a list with quite a few birds which we only have seen once, but probably passed many more times…. But we have to say that there are some beautiful birds on the island, like the ground-rollers! We think the birds itselves are not the attraction of Madagascar, but the combination of birds, lemurs, frogs, chameleons/geckos and very friendly people is the reason to visit Madagascar.
Self DrivingIn the national parks you must be accompanied by a guide. Don’t think you can do one step inside the park without a guide, the rule is enfored strictly. We didn’t like the idea of being with a driver while travelling and with a bird guide when birding in the parks. We like our privacy and like to organize things ourselves. Finally I found a Dutch guy who lives in Antananarivo and rents Renaults 4 WITHOUT a driver (www.madagascar-tv.nl). He only has 2 cars for rent, so it feels more like driving his car. The cars are simple (no airco, no power steering etc) and old, but in top condition. But most importantly, everybody in Madagascar can repair a Reanult 4 in case of a breakdown. He has a detailed descripton of the routes you can take and the places where you can sleep and eat. The paperwork of the car is excellent so we didn’t encounter any difficulties with the police checks which are common in Madagascar. Driving on the ‘highways’ in Madagascar is easy because there is hardly any other motorized traffic outside the cities. The other traffic on the roads are cattle and people walking and cycling along the road. So don’t drive faster than 80 km/h, never drive at night (zebus tend to sleep on the road) and you’ll be all right. Driving on minor roads like the road to Ifaty, to the Andringitra Mountains or to St. Augustin requires some more driving skills (especially a calm way of driving….). In the back of our red Renault 4 (station wagon) was a box in wich most of the luggage could be stored out of sight. We never felt unsafe on the road and outside the citys people are not interested in the car or what is inside the car. So weren’t there any problems or drawbacks at all? Not really, although the gasoline was sold out in one city along the road form Tulear to Tana while we really needed gasoline. So fill it up everywhere it is possible. In some places we were the talk of the town, because outside Antananarivo we only saw some 4WD’s with a ‘white’ driver. The Malagassy people are not used to a ‘white’ man driving a Malagassy car (Reanult 4) and really think we came from Mars. Nearly everyday we had a ‘guest’ with us. A park ranger who asked for a ride near Tsingy, a daughter that had visited her mother in a remote village in the Andringitra mountains etc etc. When you speak a bit of French it is very interesting to have a talk with the passengers.
ItineraryFri Oct 20 Amsterdam-Antananarivo (Tana). Arrival at 10 pm. Picked up by Coen at the airport and went to his house (B&B). Sat Oct 21 Tana-Andasibe/Perinet (3,5 hours). Birding at the Mongoro Brigde for the Mad. Pratincole. Arranged Florent for the next day and we did some birding along the road. Sun Oct 22 Mantady (till noon), afternoon visit to Perinet and Marsh area 15 km from Perinet. Mon Oct 23 Birding in Perinet. In the morning with Patrice. Nightwalk. Tue Oct 24 Birding in Perinet. Wed Oct 25 Morning: nothing (diarrhea), in the afternoon we drove back to Tana Thu Oct 26 Early morning flight to Morondava. Arranged a taxi to Kirindy and a 4WD to Tsingy for saterday morning. Arrived at Kirindy around noon. Too hot for birding until 4 pm. Nightwalk Fri Oct 27 Early morning and late afternoon birding in Kirindy. Nighwalk Sat Oct 28 Early morning birding. Travel day from Kirindy to Tsingy from 9 am to 5 pm Sun Oct 29 Petit-Tsingy in the morning, relaxed in the afternoon Mon Oct 30 Grand-Tsingy in the morning, walked to marshy area in the afternoon Tue Oct 31 Visit of wetlands, 2 hrs drive from Tsingy Wed Nov 1 Drive back to Morondava, all day Thu Nov 2 Early morning fligh to Tulear. Arranged transport to La Reserve (hotel 3 km southeast from Anakao) and taxi at St. Augustin on Sunday. Fri Nov 3 Walk along the beach and through the inland. Sat Nov 4 Morning: trip to Nosy Ve (tropic birds). In the afternoon we went to St. Augustin. Sun Nov 5 Early morning walk along the river to the springs. Taxi at 11 am to go to Tulear to pick up our rental car. Drive back to St. Augustin. Mon Nov 6 Trip with piroque up the river for the Mad. Sandgrouse. In the late morning drive to Tulear and further on to Ifaty. Tue Nov 7 Birding in Ifaty (spiny forest) Wed Nov 8 Drive to Zombetsi Forest (Aperts Greenbul) and further on to Isalo Thu Nov 9 Walking in Isalo Fri Nov 10 Walking in Isalo Sat Nov 11 Drive to Ambalovao Sun Nov 12 Early morning drive to Andringitra Mounains NP and walking all day Mon Nov 13 Walk in Andringitra untill noon, drive to Ranamofana in the afternoon Tue Nov 14 Ranomafana/Vohiparara (birdwachting) Wed Nov 15 Ranomafana/Vohiparara (no birding, watching for lemurs) Thu Nov 16 Ranomafana/Vohiparara (birdwachting) Fri Nov 17 Early morning Ranomafana (lemur watching), in the afternoon drive to Ambositra Sat Nov 18 Drive to Antananarivo Sun Nov 19 Visit the Zoo, flight to Paris/Amsterdam at 1 o’clock at night on Monday
Perinet/Mantady
Site descriptonMangoro River bridge is located about 20 kms west of Périnet, and is known as a good site for Madagascar Pratincole, that breeds on rocks visible from the bridge. We saw two birds on the way to Perinet. Périnet is 3 hours driving east of the capital Tana and holds good rainforest birding. It has excellent guides and quite a few specialties, in birds, lemurs and chameleons. There are many paths and tracks through the forest, which offers easy birding. The further you go into the forest, the more leeches there are. The night walks are not allowed in the National Park, but you stay on the road outside the park. Mantady takes about an hour to reach from Perinet. It consists of higher elevation rainforest, accessed by a unsurfaced road. Mantady has several designated hiking trails where some good birds can be found. Mantady is the most reliable site for Short-legged and Scaly Groundrollers. Walking is more difficult then in Perinet because of the differences in height.
We left the Perinet/Mantady area with 73 species on our list, nearly half of the final number of bird species after 4 weeks of birding on Madagascar!
AccomodationWe stayed at the excellent Feon’ny ala, conveniently located near the turn-off from the main road and half an hour walk from Perinet entrance. The family bungalows (6 beds) were the only one available at that time and are € 24,- per night. These big bungalows have a balcony with chairs right on the edge of the rainforest. We saw a Ward’s Flycatcher from our balcony and were waken up by the sound of the Indris in the morning. The Greater Dwarf-Lemur are fed every night near the restaurant (which is very cheap).
GuidesLuc was not available, so he recommended his friend Florent. He asked 150.000 ariary (€ 60,-) for 1 day, but we made him clear that was too much. Finally we agreed for 100.000 ariary (€ 40,-) which is still a very steep price. After a while you know what rice, vegetables and fruit will cost on the market and realize how incredible high the price is. After he got the discman and CD’s from Remco Hofland in 2004, we sold our little Radioshack-speaker to Florent. Till now he climbed the hills with a big gettoblaster on his shoulder…… Florent is very good and knows the sounds very well. But is very focused on the birds you want to see and sometimes forgets the more common birds. One morning we had the luck to do some birding with Patrice. We think he is even better than Florent and he asked 40.000 ariary (€ 16,-) for a 4 hour birding trip in Perinet.
The other days we had a ‘standard’ guide from the park. They know some birdsongs, are very alert and have good eyes. So although they are not real bird guides like Florent and Patrice, a day birding can be very good. Most of the times you are walking fast to a place whereabout a specialty will be around. Usually they tape or whistle the bird and as soon as the bird respond, the guide runs off the track into the forest. The only thing you have to do is follow him and point your binoculars in the direction the guide is pointing out. With the standard guides you must do the birding together: sometimes he will spot a bird, sometimes you find the bird yourself. They hardly leave the trails ad walk much slower than the bird guides. I must admit that although you need the specialized guides for the difficult bird, we also liked the days with the standard guides. The mix of 1,5 days of birding with Florent/Patrice and the 1,5 days of birding with the other guides was perfect. We did a nightwalk with Drina, the caretaker (15.000 ariry, € 6,-). He was friendly and excellent and took us into the normally closed Orchid Garden after dark. By going into the Orchid Garden, you have the feeling to be in the forest instead of walking along the road.
WeatherWarm during the day, some drizzle at night.
BirdsWith the help of tapes and Florent/Patrice we saw all 4 Ground-rollers. Especially the short-legged ground-roller is a difficult bird and not seen on every trip. Other good birds were Cryptic Warbler, Rand’s Warbler, Pygmy Kingfisher (resting above the path in Mantady), 3 species of Coua, Mad. Grebe (near graphite mine), Mad. Woodrail (poor views), Mad. Sparrowhawk, Mad. Cuckoo hawk, Velvet Asity, White-throated Oxalybles, Mad. Crested Ibis and the Mad. Scops Owl (at the campground near the entrance). The scenery and the beauty of the forest are better in Mantady (1 hour drive). But due to circumstances we spent most of the time at Perinet.
MammalsIn total we saw 7 species of lemur: lesser bamboo lemur (Mantady), Diademed Sifaka (Mantady), Black and White Ruffed Lemur (Mantady), Indri, Brown Lemur, Wooly lemur, Brown Mouse Lemur.
Other AnimalsDuring the night walk, we saw many frogs (just 1 species), 4 species of chameleon and 1 species of leaf-tailed Gecko.
KIRINDY
Site descriptonThis is not a site which is visited by birders. Many go to Ampijoroa, which is also located in the western part of Madagascar. We spent 1 week in the western part of Madagascar visiting Kirindy (mainly for the lemurs) and Tsingy (scenery). Kirindy is a fantastic place to stay 2 or 3 nights. It consists of deciduous forest and just before the rainy season it gives a boring impression. But we saw excellent wildlife and birds in the forest. But the biggest advantage of the park is that, after your first guided walk, you are allowed to walk on your own in the forest!! The main research area is about half an our walk from the research station. There is a grid of walking trails which are numbered, so you can’t get lost. The roadside pond 2 km south of Avenue de Baobabs, about 20 km north of Morondava, was nearly dry and no birds were there.
How to get thereWe took a taxi at the airport to take us to the city. After changing money at the bank he brought us to Kirindy (1,5 hours, 90.000 ariary). We also arranged to be picked up by a 4WD 2 days later at Kirindy to go further on to Tsingy. The forest station and restaurant are located along a sandy road, about 5 km east of the main road north from Morondava to Tsingy.
AccomodationNew huts (with bathrom) are build and costs 40.000 ariary (€ 16,-) per night. The food in the open restaurant (with great information about the mammals, reptiles and amphibians) is simple and you must order the food hours in advance. Not many tourists visit Kirindy, so you really feel like a guest on the research station.
GuidesThere are 2 guides: Remi (the caretaker) and his assistant (we forgot his name). Because Remi was ill, the other guide took us on a morning walk and 2 night walks. He is very friendly and knows the birds. The walks are cheap compared to Perinet.
WeahterThe weather in Kirindy in the end of October is extreme. We had no rain, but the humidity was high and the temperature extremely high. After 9 am it was too hot for birding and only after 4 pm it was OK to go out again. In between we only lay on our matrass at the veranda of our bungalow, sweating. It was about 40 degrees in the shade!!!
BirdsThe dry forest bordering either side of the sandy road holds interesting birds such as Giant and Cocquerel’s Coua (both of which are actually easiest seen within the forest stations grounds), White-breasted Mesite, Sickle-billed and Rufous Vangas, both Vasa Parrots, Grey-headed Loverbirds (near the pool in the dry river), Mad Buttonquail and White-browed Owl. The latter started calling from trees around the forest research station at 9 pm each evening, and could be seen very well when using a flashlight.
Other animalsKirindy is famous for its mammals, such as the Giant Jumping-rat, the Pygmy Mouse-lemur and the Fosa. The rats hibernate in the dry season and were seen for the first time the day before we arrived. But despite a long wait nearby a burrow, we didn’t see them. They come out late at night in the beginning of the wet season, so you must be lucky to see them. During our 2 night walks we saw 6 species of lemur, of which the Pygmy Mouse-lemur is the most difficult one to see. This very tiny animal runs along small branches in the trees like a mouse and is very fast. The other lemurs seen were the Grey Mouse-lemur, Red-tailed Sportive-lemur, Pale Fork-marked lemur, Fat-tailed dwarf lemur and Coquerrel’s dwarf lemur. During the day Verraux Sifaka and Red-fronted Brown Lemur (common at the forest research station) are easy to find. But the most impressive sighting were two fosa’s walking on a sandy track just 10 meter from us. We were sitting on a trunk just off the track to the grid very early in the morning and they didnt notice us in the beginning. So I could make some nice pictures of these weird creatures. Sometimes the fosa is just walking in the camp. In the camp we only saw a glimpse of it a couple of times, but they are shy and fast.
TSINGY
How to get thereTsingy de Bemaha NP is reached after a 6 hour drive from Kirindy. It’s the second largest protected area on the island. The razor-sharp tsingy forms an impenetrable fortress in places, while the Mamabolo River cuts a beautiful gorge through the limestone. In combination with Kirindy it’s absolute worth the 7 days we spent in this part of Madagascar. We arranged to be picked up from Kirindy by a 4WD when we were in Morondava two days earlier. Believe it or not, the 4WD (with driver) was at Kirindy exactly on time. The drive to Tsingy is an adventure itself. The two rivers you encounter are crossed with very small ‘ferries’ (maximum of 3 cars on the boat) and are packed with locals. The road is OK, but very dusty and we had 2 flat tires (luckily not at the same time…). At 5 pm we arrived at Bekopaka, the ‘gateway to Tsingy’ and went to our accomodation. Tsingy can’t be reached in the wet season because the road is too bad and the ferry crossings are not possible with high water levels in the river. On top of that, the hotels and the park are closed…..
What to visitThere are a few areas you can visit: the small Tsingy (near the second river crossing at Bekopaka), the Grand- Tsingy (15 km further north), the gorge and a marshy area near the small Tsingy. The scenery in Grand-Tsingy is great. The ‘walk’ through the Grand-Tsingy is one of the most spectaculair things we’ve ever done in our lives. At one moment you walk through narrow crevices down in the Tsingy and after a tough climb of 10 minutes, suddenly you are on top of the Tsingy. Leave your scope at home because it’s impossible to carry it during the walks. We also tried to visit a wetland area northwest from the Tsingy. According to our guide these were Ramsar-wetlands. After a 2 hour drive we arrived at some wetlands, but these were not the famous Ramsar Wetlands. We got no permission from the village chief to go onto the lakes with a boat and were also not allowed to do the birding from the banks of the lakes either. After paying some money to the chief of a nearby village we could some birding along the lake and saw some nice birds, but not the number of birds we had hoped for. The end of the dry season should be the right season for visiting the Ramsar wetlands, but try to get as much information in advance as possible. The owner of the lodge we stayed told us the Ramsar wetlands are a 1 day drive further west and not 2,5 hours to the north….
AccomodationWe stayed in the excellent Tanaokay, north of town, which is owned by a very friendly French (or was it Italian?) lady. The bungalows are not cheap (50000 airary, € 20,-) and are sometimes full. We stayed two nights in a rented tent and 2 nights in the bungalows. The food is excellent and she is very creative in preparing vegatarian food.
BirdsAs far as we know there are no bird guides in the park, but the guides have very good eyesight and are still of value when birding. Because the walks are strenous and the temperature was extremely high, birding was difficult. In the Tsingy, we saw some nice birds like Schlegel’s Asity, Green Pigeon and numerous Couas. In the wetland near the Petit Tsingy we saw good birds like a Mad. Jacana, Mad. Fish-eagle and 5 species of herons (Humbolts) and White-faces Ducks. The day we went to the wetlands we saw an African Openbill and other waterbirds like Greenshanks, Hottontot teal, Whiskered Tern, Darter and Common Squacco Heron. Not the birds and the numbers we had hoped for. But it was a nice try and we drove through areas where tourists normally don’t go. In the gorge (close to the ferry) we saw a few Mad. Pratincole very close, a much better sighting then the ones at the Mongore brigde on our way to Perinet.
MammalsThe most spectacular mammal we saw in this area is the Decken-Sifaka, which is very localized in the west. We also saw the Milne-Edwards’s Sportive Lemur and the Red-tailed Sportive Lemur.
ANAKAO, NOSY VE AND SAINT AUGUSTINE
Both villages are located south of Tulear. After the flight from Morondava to Tulear we went to the office of Compagnie du Sud in the harbour of Tulear (every taxi driver knows where to go to). They can arrange transport (car and boat) to the villages south along the coast of Tulear. They are extremely expensive, but it is wel organized and fast. The plane landed at 10 am in Tulear, we were at the office at 10’45, we got into a mini-bus at 11 am, drove for 1 hour to the beach, went into a speed boat and were at our accomodation at about 1’30 pm. Great. Afterwards we found much cheaper ways of travelling in the area, but that will cost you more time.
Anakao/La Reserve/Nosy VeEvery birder goes to Anakao for the Littoral Rock-thrush and to Nosy Ve for the Red-tailed Tropic Birds. We also went to the area because of the beautiful bluegreen see, the fantastic beaches and just to relax. We decided to avoid the hassle of Anakao and stay in la Reserve, 3 km southeast from Anakao. They have 6 bungalows with veranda right on the beach (no running water, you use buckets to flush the toilet and make your own shower) for acceptable prices. The seafood is excellent. From La Reserve you can arrange transport to the mangroves (8 km further) or to the National park of Lake Tsimanampetsotsa. When we were there the 4WD was available, but the driver and the keys were in Tulear, so no mangroves and national park. We made a walk along the coast in the direction of the mangroves, but it was too hot for a 16 km walk. We ended up in an Italian owned restaurant, about 6 km from La Reserve. In the morning it was low tide and we spotted some crab plovers, a whimbrel, kelp gulls, ruddy turnstones, grey plovers, sanderlings, White-fronted Plover and swift tern along the coast. Right in front of us at the beach there were also some Mad. Plovers! The beaches south of La Reserve are remote (we didn’t see anybody during a full day walk) and we have the feeling anything can turn up there. On our way bacl we walked more inland through a kind of spiny forest in which there were plenty of Mad. Buttonquails, Littoral Rock-thrushes, subdesert Brush-warblers and Mad. Hoopoes around. We also saw a Verraux’s Coua (the only one of the trip) and some Lafresnaye’s Vanga’s. During our visit to Nosy Ve, we saw many Red-tailed Tropic Birds (what a beauties), but unfortunately no other interesting seabirds during the crossing. The scenery is superb, the beaches empty and the birdlife excellent. La Reserve was definitely worth the visit and one of the highlights of our trip.
Saint AugustineThis is a village at the mouth of the Onilahy River. The boat to Anakao leaves from this village, but it is also the place to see the Mad. Sandgrouse. There are 2 accomodations in Saint Augustin, of which Longomany (at the landing of the boats) is the best. It is run by a nice French guy and had simple, cheap, but good bungalows. With your scope it is nice to scan the river mouth for birds, like red-billed Teal and Knob-billed Duck. The owner of Longomany can organize a trip upriver to a spot where the Sandgrouse come to drink. You can only do this trip with high tide, because the river is too shallow at low tide. We saw more then 20 Sandgrouse come in to drink the fresh water of the river. In some older trip reports they see the Sandgrouse closer to the village and the river mouth, but according to the French owner, nowadays they are only found further up the river. And he likes hunting, so he knows where the birds are…. A nice surpirse during the trip with the piroque was a group of 10 Greater Flamingo’s wading in the river and a group of 5 common terns passing. Other things to do from Saint Augustin are a walk to a nice natural spring (walk of about 1,5 hours one way) and a walk into the hills. During the walk to the spring we saw a Mad. Squacco Heron! In the hills (we had our Renault 4 and that saved us a long, hot walk) we tried for Red-shouldered Vanga, but didn’t find it.
IFATYIfaty is a must on every birding trip to Madagascar. In fact it’s only a very dusty, small town along a sandy road west of Tulear, but the scenery (especially the vegetation) is great and there are some specific birds you will only find here. By accident we took the right road out of Tulear, but we can’t give you exact directions. So just ask a few people and they will point you in the right direction. It takes about 1,5 hour to reach Ifaty and the road was OK for our Renault 4. On the way towards Ifaty we had a severe sandstorm and all the tracks were filled with loose sand. The Reanult didn’t like that, so we got stuck in the sand one time (there are allways people who are helpful pushing you out of the sand) and we had to wait a while beause of an overheated engine. But on the way back to Tulear there were no problems at all. Most birders only visit the spiny forest with birdguide Moosa (or one of his sons) and will have all the specialties in a couple of hours. But it is worthwile to visit the turtle-project and the arboretum, which are both close to the house of Moosa. After the birding with Moosa we travelled a few kilometers further west (till the car got stuck in the sand) and walked a few kilometers along a dirt road heading north. We think it was the sandy track indicated on Brian Gees map, at km post 32. Very beautiful vegetation, but except for the only Banded Kestrel (good views) of the trip there were no new birds.
AccomodationWe stayed in the Mangily Hotel, but the price for a room was much higher than in 2004 (report of Remco Hofland) or 2005 (private report of Arjen Brinkman). In fact, we payed 60.000 ariary (€ 24,-) per night. OK, we had some seaview and the rooms were nice and clean….
BirdguidesA lot has been told in other trip reports about the family members of Moosa, the bird guides for this area. They have a small house just west of town. You can’t miss it because they have a sign and it is at the point where you park your car to walk to the botanical garden and the turtle project. Some birders had a great time with them, while others were very dissapointed because they were drunk or chased the birds into the trees. We also had mixed feelings. Moosa’s son Freddy was friendly, not drunk, punctual and not expensive: 20.000 ariary (€ 8,-) for a couple of hours birdwatching in the spiny forest. We had the specialties within 3 hours and the vegetation was nice. But there was hardly any communication with the guide: he more or less ran through the forest from nest to nest and pointed out the birds. Then there was some very loud shouting towards the other family members to point out the birds to other birders. They scared a Subdesert Mesite into the tree (which is very unnatural) and the poor bird sat there motionless for more than half an hour waiting for a tour group of eldery people. We didn’t ask directions for Madagascar Plover because we had seen it already near Anakao. But Moosa said it was breeding opposite his hut. We didn’t go for Red-shouldered Vanga at La Table. We think there is a very good alternative to Moosa. Late in the afternoon we visted the Arboretum of Reniala ( www.reniala-madagascar.com/renialauk.PDF). We had an excellent guide and saw many of the bird species again. The guide told us all the specialties of the spiny forest are on the grounds of the Arboretum and they are less shy (no hunting). It is very quiet at the Arboretum and the trees are great. You can even stay there for the night. And the money is not spent for whiskey, but for the protection of the last parts of the spiny forest. At least give it a try!!!
BirdsThere are many Madagascar Nightjars around and some of them were still flying when we went to Moosa early in the morning. The Long-tailed Groundroller, Archbold’s Newtonia, Subdesert Mesite, Green-capped Coua, Running Coua and the Thamnornis Warbler were seen easily in the spiny forest. We also saw some Lafresnaye’s and Sickle-billed Vangas. We didn’t stop for the Sub-desert Brush-warbler, because we had seen them round Anakoa where they are much more common. But remember: with Moosa you go straightforward to the specialties and straight back to his house after you got them! Along the coast at the Mangily hotel we could add curlew sandpiper and common ringed plover to our list.
WeatherHot and windy. During the heat of the day, it is better to read a book on the balcony of your bungalow.
Sandspit between Ifaty and TulearAbout halfway these towns there is a huge sandspit, you can’t miss it. It was full of shorebirds, but you need your telescope to identify them. There was a big group of lesser flamingo’s roosting and we could add lesser crested tern and little stint to our list (146 species)
ZOMBETSI- Vohibasia NPThis isolated patch of forest along the main Tulear – Tana highway (RN 7) is now a national park with an office, a permit obligation, a network of trails and a knowledgeable park official able to show more than just the species endemic to this forest, Appert’s Greenbul. The office/visiter centre is on the eastern side of the road. Take the small road towards the visit centre and park your car there. Don’t walk into the forest on your own and don’t look for the football field in old trip reports any more It is well organized nowadays. The entrance fee was 10000 Ariary per person (€ 4,-and we paid the ‘guide’ also 10.000 ariary (no fixed price). He was very surprised he got so much money. But despite it is well organized, we found the park a bit boring. OK, it was in the middle of the day we reached the park and we did get a ‘pupil’ as a bird guide. But the forest is not very exciting and there is only 1 bird of real interest: the Appert’s Greenbul. We walked for nearly 2 hours before we saw a few of them. It was the only new bird of the trip in the forest. Although we must admit we saw quite a few coua’s (Giant and Crested) and had great views of them.
ISALO National ParkThis is not a top birding spot, but it is a very scenic area, worth a stop on the way from Tulear to Ranamofana. The park was the most accessible site for Benson’s Rock Thrush, but since Sinclair & Langrand (2003) has lumped Benson’s Rock Thrush with Forest Rock Thrush there are no bird specialties in the park. The entrance fees and the prices for the walks are high. For 3 walks and the entrance feesfor 3 days we paid 150.000 ariary (€ 60,-) which we think is a bit too much. But OK, the guide was a nice guy and the scenery is superb. We stayed in a nice, cheap accomodation (Chez Alice) and paid 60.000 ariary (€ 24,-) for 3 nights. We made walks into the Canyon de Maki and the Canyon des Rats on the first morning. The road towards the start of the walks is OK for normal cars in the dry season. We saw Ring-tailed Lemurs near the canyon, which was a bonus for us. The Rock Thrush is easy to seen in both canyons. In the afternoon we walked onto the plateau towards the piscine naturelle. This really was a wonderful walk with great views and an very nice swimming pool (cool water!). During the day it gets very hot, so an afternoon walk to the pool was the right decision. The next morning we went to the Cascade des Nymhes and near the campgroud in that gorge we saw a White-throated Rail walking along the river. The guide told us that this beautiful bird is walking in the campground early in the morning. It is good idea anyway to spent the night in one of the campgrounds. They are situated on nice spots and the guides will do the cooking for you! The second afternoon we tried for the Mad. Partridge and for the Harlequin quails along the main road and in the backyard of the Relais de la Reine, but we failed also beacuse of a huge thunderstorm. We saw some small birds running and flying short distances, but couldn’t identify them. Near the Relais de la Reine there is a waste dump, which attracts huge amounts of Kites (more then 100!). So we only had 2 new birds on our list, which was now on 149 species.
ANDRINGITRA MOUNTAINS NPAgain no top birding spot, but a very beautiful mountainous national park which absoluteley is worth a visit. But the road towards the park is a bit tricky. They close the road when it rains because the 4WD’s would ruin the road during and shortly after rain and normal cars won’t make it anyway. We planned to go to the park in the afternoon, but because of the rain we had to stay the night in Ambalavao (Hotel Bougainvillées). It’s a good idea to ask at the hotel what the condition of the road is. The ranger station just north of town is closed in the weekend. It takes 2,5 hours from Ambalavao to the park. It is a beautiful drive into the mountains and just OK for our Reanult 4. You pass some small villages where tehy don’t see white people driving a car every day!! There are 3 toll booths on the way, but you only have to pay some money at the first one. The money is for maintainance of the road. At the toll booths they can close the road when it is raining. We stayed at the ‘La Gite’ which is situated about 4 kilometre before the park and is also the ranger station. The entrance fee of the park and the guides are much cheaper then in most of the visited national parks in Madagscar (15.000 ariary pp for 2 days park and 10.000 ariary for the guide for the whole day!!). With a normal car, the Gite is as far as you can get. To drive to the campground and the start of most of the walks you need a 4WD. In the gite there is no restaurant, but when you take some vegetables and rice with you they do the cooking for a small tip. At the gite there are a lot of guides hanging around waiting for guests. We were the only guests in 2 days, but you can be unlucky that a tour group visit the gite. From the gite it’s a ¾ hours walk to the start of the walking trails. We made a day walk (Diavolana, 12 km, 8 hours), which was superb. Not for the birds, but for the scenery, the vegetation and the insects. The only new birds were common quails (along the road towards the park early in the morning) and the Mad. Partrigde (on the track between the Gite and the start of the walks, above the village). So with the 2 new birds we are just above our goal of 150 species. From the gite you can also walk to a remant of primary rain forest clinging to the side of a mountain which survived because the slopes were too steep for cultivation. We didn’t have time for that walk, which was a pity. It may be very interesting for both lemurs and birds. Not much research is done in that forest according to the park rangers so it’s not exactly known what species live there.
RANOMAFANA
GeneralAs well as perinet this is a must for birders. But unfornateley this was our major dip for the birds. We had 2 different birdguides, but the birds just didn’t want to cooperate. We must admit we didn’t spent all the time in Ranamofana on birdwatchting: we went into the primary forest with a friend of us (non-birdwatcher) on one day and and with Valbio research station guides the last morning especially for the diademed sifaka. On both occasions we couldn’t pay all our attention to the birds. Ranomafana has well-maintained trails through good rainforest, however, the elevational differences make walking harder than at Mantady. The excellent combination of (some…) birds, lemurs, reptiles and amphibians make this place worthwile. Vohiparara is 10 km west of Ranomafana at a slightly higher altitude. It is one of the few sites where the rare (and gorgeous) Yellow-bellied Sunbird-Asity can be found. It is not allowed to walk in the forest on your own, so a guide and a ticket are necessarry. The trails run through beautiful forest, with epiphytic orchids and bromelias. A treefall 45 mins walking from the start of the maintrail is where the Yellow-bellied Sunbird-Asity is found. A lot of new trails are made, so maps of old trip reports are not valid any more.
Getting thereIn other trip reports and travel guides there are horror stories about the road to Ranomafana. Well, that is history. The southern entrance road is perfect nowadays and it only takes 1,5 hour to reach Ranomafana from the RN7. But be aware ot the speedbumps (30 or so), so don’t drive too fast. They are also rebuilding the northern entrance road, but that was not finished in november 2006.
AccommodationWe stayed in the Ihary Hotel at the eastern end of Town. The bungalows are great and are situated along the river (40.000 per night, € 16,-). But the diningroom is not pleasant and sterile. So we had dinner in other places in town.
Birdguides and birdsWe encountered Jean-Cry near the park office, which is 5 km west of town. Jean-Cry is a good bird guide, but was not able to show us one new species. OK, our list was 151, but about 10 new species were possible in the forest. He was a bit crippled and not very sharp. He asked 40.000 ariary (€ 16,-) for the morning, which was reasonable On the other birding day we had an appointment with Jean-Cry again, but he was not there. His brother was put in prison and Jean-Cry had to arrange some things with the police. Maybe this was the reason he was not concentrated two days earlier. But luckily Theophile was available and could help us out. He asked the same price for a long birding morning in Vohiparara) but the weather was not cooperating. It was raining half of the time and we saw 4 new species: grey emutail and brown-throated Sand Martin (both not in the forest, but in scrub outside the forest), brown emutail and yellow-bellied Sunbird-Asity. But not the number we had hoped for. So for example no Grey-crowned Greenbul, no Brown Mesite, no Pollens Vanga, no Crossley’s Babbler and no common Sunbird-Adity. We left Ranomafana with 155 birdspecies on our list. We did a night-walk with a new, unexperienced guide, but there were enough other guides and tourists in the forest and after all that was a great experience.
WeatherIt certainly was the start of the rainy season and every afternoon and sometimes also in the morning there was rain. Sometimes drizzle, but sometime it was pooring cats and dogs. The temperature was nice, but a bit chilly during the rain.
LemursRanomafana is world famous for its lemurs. In a single morning you can see greater bamboo lemur (less than 15 animals survive in the park), golden bamboo lemur, red-bellied lemur (also seen in Vohiparara) and woolly lemur close to the entrance station. With a bit of luck you can also see the Milne Edward Sifaka (also seen in Vohiparara) and the Black and White Ruffled Lemur. We saw the latter one on the primary forest trail. That is a beautiful day walk to a camp (where you can camp if you like) although there are a lot of leeches/////. In the secondary forest near the entrance station we encountered no leeches.
NightwalkThe nightwalk is a bit strange. All the visitors (with their own guide) walk to the same spot: Bellevue, the place where they feed the Fanaloka (Malagasy Civet) and the Brown Mouse-lemur. We were lucky only 6 tourists were there, but stories of other people make clear that somentime 50 (noisy) people are there ….. On the way back everybodey takes the same route, so you have a lot of eyes (and torches) to look around. We saw 2 species of leaf-tailed gecko, some frogs and a sleeping pygmy-kingfisher (which we had already heard during the day).
Tsimbazaza Park & ZooTsimbazaza Park & Zoo is known for being a fairly reliable site for Madagascar Cuckoohawk. We dipped, but had an nice afternoon watching the lemurs and other animals. We think the zoo has a fairly high standard when you compare it to other zoos in other African countries. The most interesting thing is the natural history museum with skeletons of the ‘elephant birds’ and ‘giant Indri’ and some birds which are probbaly extinct. There was a big heron colony in the zoo with 6 breeding heron-species but nowadays only the cattle egret is prominent. We saw a black crowned Night-heron in between the cattle egret, which makes the trip total 156 species. This is excluding the introduced species (like the mynah) and birds which we only heard (like the brown mesite and the Crossley’s Babbler).
LIST OF BIRDS (excl. introduced species and excl. birds only heard)
LIST OF LEMURS
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