On 14th June, I went into true Fairbank-style with getting a bus to Heathrow and sleeping on the floor overnight, waiting for the TAP check-in desks to open, where I swiftly checked-in and was soon on my way to Lisbon, where I later met up with Mike Catsis and Will Price. It was then onwards to Luanda and a 15-minute taxi to our hotel where we met Niall Perrins, who had spent a few days driving from Jo'burg to Luanda. He was to drive another crazy amount over the next 2.5 weeks, as we navigated Angola, from Luanda to Uige, down crisscrossing our way to Lobango.
It was an excellent trip with 88 new birds for me, with particular highlights being White-headed Robin Chat, Gabela Bushshrike, Angolan White-headed Barbet, Rufous-bellied Tit, Yellow-bellied Wattle-eye, Gabela Helmetshrike, Red-crested Turaco, Bohm's Spinetail and Braun's Bushshrike, to name only a few.
The country, despite some nice areas, is in a terrible state and many of the above species will vanish in no time, due to an incompetent rate of forest clearance. The Tundavala escarpment near to Lobango was stunning, both for the views and the birding and was a welcome ending after a few weeks of depressing sights.
Niall, having expertly guided us, finally left us in Lobango as he started his epic journey back home, whilst we flew back to Luanda, stayed overnight, then flew home the following day, arriving on 2nd July.
Below are a few pictures of the trip. I purposefully left my camera at home and I really enjoyed being without it, so expect fewer nice photos in the future. The below are all phone-scoped pics, bar the views of course.
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| Angola Cave Chat |
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| African Broadbill - only seen one previously in Uganda, 2016 |
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| African Spotted Creeper - only one seen previously in Ethiopia, 2012 |
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| Achieta's Barbet |
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Angolan White-headed Barbet - touted as one of the rarest birds in Africa,
this mega was located on our final morning at its only known location
at Tundavala. |
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Beach Life - most wanted and I went straight into seawatching
mode, finding a few Wilson's Petrels and a West African Crested Tern. |
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| White-headed Barbet location |
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| Black Bee-eater |
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| Braun's Bushshrike |
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| Tundavala Escarpment |
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| Calandula Falls - the third largest in Africa |
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Hartlaub's Spurfowl - after dipping in Namibia, it was awesome to see
this chunky-billed spurfowl |
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| Kinjila - a pristine forest only a few years ago, now nearly all gone |
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| Miombo Rock Thrush |
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| Monteiro's Bushshrike |
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| Pale-billed Hornbill |
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| Rufous-bellied Tit - another Namibian dip |
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| Schalow's Turaco |
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| Swiestra's Francolin - a mega bird and one of the highlights |
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White-headed Robin Chat - a beauty, but, a mega range-restricted species
with only tiny pockets of habitat left |
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| Wood Pipit - another Namibian dip |
