FROM THE CUCKOO’S NEST NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

Primates.

Gorillas

Had a visit from our friend, the lone silverback, again and he ate the flowers at the back of my tent, as he had done the first time.

Chimpanzees

Chimps have been very noisy in the last few days.  Have seen them a few times in the last month, but not as often as usual.

Monkeys

   Black and white colobus, blue and l’hoest’s monkeys ,  red-tailed monkeys and baboons all are regular visitors to trees by the boundary, where Cuckooland adjoins the forest.  Baboons have now discovered my guava trees and passion fruit vines, which I am not at all happy about.

Birds

Notable sightings in this period include:

White-throated greenbull

Double-toothed barbet

Honeyguide greenbull

African Golden-breasted bunting -now seems to be resident

Yellowbill

Red-headed bluebill

Banded Prinia -first time seen at Cuckooland

Willow warbler

Grosbeak Weaver

Grey Cuckoo-shrike

Equatorial Akalat

Grey-crowned crane

Lots of blue-headed sunbirds

Blue-throated brown sunbird

African Hill  Babbler

Yellow-eyed black flycatcher

Dusky tit

Green hylia – I think -It was a brief view.

Dusky Crimsonwing

African Broadbill

Purple-headed starlings

Lesser honeyguide

Blue-headed coucal

Red-headed malimbe

White-starred robin

African Citril

Narrow-tailed starlings now back from a brief absence

European bee-eaters still patroling the skies  on most days.

And lots of Cuckoos-Diederick, Klaas’s, African Emerald, Black whilethe long-tailed Cuckoos -Dusky and Bar-tailed now present at forest edge.

Insects

Had a visit from 6 entomologists, who collected lots of insects, mainly hoverflies, so hoping to have some new species, Cuckoolandia, to go with our 2 species of moth.

Fruit of the Land

Our avocados now finished, but we get from the village.  And guavas and passion fruit decimated by baboons.  We do get some .strawberry guavas and pineapples from garden.

In the garden, we have salad veg ,leeks, celery, turnips and welsh onions.

.Philip

December 24th, 2018