
Primates.
Chimpanzees
I am seeing chimps, on average, 2 or 3 times a week, at the moment.
Other monkeys
Black and white colobus, blue, red-tailed and l’hoests monkeys all seen regularly. Baboons seen less often than before, I am happy to report.
Other Mammals
Side-striped jackal been leaving presents along the paths
Birds
Another excellent period for birds. Notable sightings in the last 2 months were many, but included:
- Double-toothed barbet
- Equatorial Akalat
- Yellowbill
- Many Cuckoos, including African emerald, Black, Dusky long-tailed, Levaillant, Red-chested, Diederik and Klaas’. Dusky long-tailed has taken to calling throughout the night, while I think I am also hearing Olive long-tailed calling in the daytime.
- Black-throated Apalis
- Lots of cuckoo-shrikes, grey, Petit’s and Black
- White-throated greenbul
- Mountain greenbul
- Shelley’s greenbul
- Yellow-throated greenbul
- A pair of Honeyguide green bulls seem to be resident at the moment
- Blue-headed sunbird
- Purple-bellied sunbird, seen again on our flowering Spathodea trees
- Green throated sunbird
- Green sunbird
- Blue-throated brown sunbird, quite common right now
- Olive Pigeon
- African Golden-breasted bunting.
- Grosbeak Weaver
- Speckled tinkerbird
- Buff-spotted woodpecker
- Tullberg’s woodpecker
- Elliot’s woodpecker
- Red-headed bluebill
- African citril
- Doherty’s bush-shrike is now often around and have seen him a few times
- Brown-capped weaver also seen frequently
- Thick-billed seedeater
- Red-faced Crimsonwing
- Lesser honeyguide
- Wilcox Honeyguide
- Bar-tailed trogon
- Stuhlmann’s starlings
Fruit of the Land
We have some avocados, a few guavas, and pineapples. Strawberry guavas now getting ready, if we can keep the mousebirds away from them.
In the garden, we have leeks, turnips, celery, radishes, welsh onions, tomatoes, cabbages as well as salad veg.
Swimming Pond
Have now installed a new controller for the pump, plus a new aerator, so the pond is now very swimmable, which I and the frogs have been enjoying in the last 2 weeks
Philip
January 6, 2020