A long ride to Paradise

Bergen – London- Johannesburg – Lilongwe. My travel initerary. I left Bergen in the afternoon on the 14th. and landed at Lilongwe airport 24 hours later. After a couple of hours in the immigrant zone of the airport, getting visas and other stuff, I was picked up by WESM’s driver Vincent. Roadside birding during the 30 minute drive from the airport, produced nice birds such as Black-winged Kite, Lilac-breasted and European Rollers and Pied Crows. We carried on to the site where I am going to be based the next ten days, at the lovely Woodland Lilongwe Lodge, where I was accommodated in a cabin of my own.

A few mammal species were also seen in the lodge-area, including a Bush Duiker Sylvicapra grimmia just outside my cabin, some 30 Vervet Monkeys Cercopithecus pygerythrus and a roaring Lion was heard. It was apparently in a cage not far away...

After dinner at the lodge we visited the WESM office, and I met up with a handfugl of the administration, including the CEO Vincent Kaitano. We planned the coming days, including the visitis to the IBA’s we currently are working in. Already tomorrow we’ll visit the forest reserve in Dzalanyama.

Having had only a little sleep at the flights, I only managed a little birding around the lodge and WESM’s office before going to sleep at 18:30! The afternoon birding was rather frustration with lots of birds around, but most of them only heard (and not identified). Anyway, I got great views of species like Helmeted Guineafowls, Little and African Palm Swifts, a few Swallow species, Red-throated Twinspot, Black-backed Puffback, African Paradise Flycatcher, Common Waxbill and a few more.