Birding
Another very early morning but when you nap for three hours the afternoon of the day before it’s not entirely surprising. And a cold that I picked up on the various flights and airports getting to Africa has finally kicked in. Alas, some of the less joyful parts of international travel. But, it’s a new day and time to explore…something. With no plans in place, a default for me is to find a local birding hotspot using the eBird app. So that is what I did.
The area that looked most promising was the twin lakes of Lake Burera and Lake Ruhondo. I headed to the boat launch on Lake Burera first and was a little surprised to find myself climbing steeply the last kilometer. Part way up the last stretch I did notice what appeared to be a penstock and suspected the lake had been dammed. This was confirmed when I reached the top and saw a very small concrete dam. Most of the lake is naturally impounded by the regional geology. Almost no birds were around at the boat launch but a young man did give me a brief history of the dam (constructed in 1959 by the Germans and generates a whopping 90 Kwh/day). He also gave me a run down on the islands within the lake (5 or 6 depending on lake elevation).
A little disappointed, I headed back down the hill to Lake Ruhondo. Unfortunately, I couldn’t readily get to the area identified as a birding hotspot since the dam’s powerplant was in that general area and the area was blocked off to non-locals with a gate. I didn’t bother trying to convince the guard I was a local but opted to park along the edge of the road instead. He tolerated this and I was able to spot thirteen different species of birds including several new ones (Red-knobbed Coot, Gray Crowned-Crane, Black-headed Heron, and African Dusky Flycatcher). Unfortunately, the photos are from quite a distance aren’t worthy of sharing. But, just because they are pretty cool looking, I’m going to share one of the cranes anyhow. As well as a decent shot of a Bronze Sunbird.
And, slightly less disappointed, I headed back to the resort and did some more birding in the gardens where I picked up nine more new species (Ring-necked Dove, Hadada Ibis, Spot-flanked Barbet, Chubb’s Cisticola, Abyssinian Thrush, Common Waxbill, African Firefinch, Northern Gray-headed Sparrow, and Brimstone Canary). So, both fire and brimstone this afternoon. Foreshadowing?
Around dinner time I had a chance encounter with another American who mentioned he was heading to see the gorillas tomorrow as well. I offered to drive and he accepted. Turns out he is also a former federal employee who opted to take the deferred resignation program. He is wisely (I think) using the time he is still getting paid to explore as much as possible.