365 Project, Day 114
Here is my day 114 submission to my 365Project:
This morning was the last morning at Camp Malongo, in Cabinda Province, Angola, I had to do some last exploration of the local wildlife. I only went out for a brief excursion around this morning as I had to return to my accommodation to pack and then be ready to head to the heliport for our flight to the ship.
Although I didn't wander around as long today I was happy I went for one final walk and still had some nice observations including: a great sighting of a pair of white-fronted bee eaters (Merops bullockoides), more village (black headed) weavers (Ploceus cucullatus), a monkey skull, a hadeda Ibis (Bostrychia hagedash), a possible African thrush (I'm not 100% sure that's what it was, Turdus pelios), a piping (white tailed) hornbill (Bycanistes fistulator), a northern grey-headed sparrow (Passer griseus) and some Bronze Mannikins (Lonchura cuculluta). Not bad for a shorter morning venture :)
I also took some photos from around Camp Malongo and am including them here so you have a better idea what this place is like. Oh and excuse the blurriness in some as most of these were taken with my iPhone :)
This morning was the last morning at Camp Malongo, in Cabinda Province, Angola, I had to do some last exploration of the local wildlife. I only went out for a brief excursion around this morning as I had to return to my accommodation to pack and then be ready to head to the heliport for our flight to the ship.
Although I didn't wander around as long today I was happy I went for one final walk and still had some nice observations including: a great sighting of a pair of white-fronted bee eaters (Merops bullockoides), more village (black headed) weavers (Ploceus cucullatus), a monkey skull, a hadeda Ibis (Bostrychia hagedash), a possible African thrush (I'm not 100% sure that's what it was, Turdus pelios), a piping (white tailed) hornbill (Bycanistes fistulator), a northern grey-headed sparrow (Passer griseus) and some Bronze Mannikins (Lonchura cuculluta). Not bad for a shorter morning venture :)
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| White-fronted bee eater (Merops bullockoides) |
Fun fact of the day:
White-fronted bee eaters dig holes in cliffs or banks of earth where they nest in small colonies. The family groups making up these colonies are known as "clans" and they are known to exhibit cooperative breeding with non-breeding individuals helping relatives raise their brood.
To read more interesting facts about white fronted bee eaters check out this Avianweb.com webpage.
Here are the rest of the photos from this morning's adventure:
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| White-fronted bee eater (Merops bullockoides) |
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| White-fronted bee eaters (Merops bullockoides) hanging out near one of the tracks going around camp |
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| White-fronted bee eater (Merops bullockoides) on a traffic cone of all things :) |
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| White-fronted bee eater (Merops bullockoides)...take off! |
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| White-fronted bee eater (Merops bullockoides) doing some aerial hunting |
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| White-fronted bee eater (Merops bullockoides)...another take off! |
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| female village (black headed) weaver (Ploceus cucullatus) |
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| Yesterday I found this monkey skull on the ground around camp...I had considered taking it to the ship with me (ha ha!) but decided against it. I did go back and snap this photo today though :) |
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| Hadeda Ibis (Bostrychia hagedash) |
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| I believe this is an African thrush (Turdus pelios)? |
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| Piping (white tailed) hornbill (Bycanistes fistulator) |
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| Northern grey-headed sparrow (Passer griseus) |
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| Village (dark headed) weaver (Ploceus cucullatus) |
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| Bronze Mannikin (Lonchura cuculluta) |
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| This little bronze mannikin (Lonchura cuculluta) was fun to watch as it seemed to be struggling to get this piece of grass |
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| bronze mannikins (Lonchura cuculluta) getting close |
I also took some photos from around Camp Malongo and am including them here so you have a better idea what this place is like. Oh and excuse the blurriness in some as most of these were taken with my iPhone :)
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| Views around from the office we visited to go online |
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| Views around from the office we visited to go online |
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| Views around from the office we visited to go online...busy place, ha ha! |
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| View of the trees where the straw coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) live |
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| The room I stayed in overlooked the tennis and squash courts with the heliport on the other side |
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| Views from my accommodation building |
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| The field adjoining the forest where I saw the Sitatunga (Tregaluphus spekii) most mornings |
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| While wandering around the other day we came across this cliff with good views beyond the camp |
