12-14 Sep 2019: Nyika National Park

Nyika is the foremost birding hotspot in Malawi, but is only reached by an atrocious 110 km dirt road of corrugations and potholes. We were unable to reach the park gate before nightfall and camped at a youth training centre outside Rumphi. The park gate was only reached by mid-morning the next day and then some serious birding commenced.

We birded a montane forest pocket next to the road, conveniently ignoring the signs of elephant activity. Here we encountered the Moustached Green Tinkerbird, Black-lored Cisticola and Churring Cisticola along with Southern Mountain Greenbul and White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher. I was fortunate to see a Black-backed Barbet, but it disappeared before I could point it out to Maans, which did not enhance my popularity. In the grasslands we were very glad to eventually find Hildebrandt’s Spurfowl - two adults and six chicks. A nearby dam delivered numerous Blue Swallows hawking insects over the water and the foliage on the banks was filled with Montane Widowbirds. At the campsite we met up with our first fellow South Africans who showed us a video of a male lion roaming about the camp. This did not inspire us to go walk-about, and we made sure that our fire was burning throughout the night. At dusk the Rwenzori Nightjars started to display and call, providing a fitting backdrop to the Eland, Zebra, Reedbuck and Bushbuck that walked past the camp.

Rwenzori Nightjar, Nyika

Day two at Nyika started well when we encountered a large flock of Yellow-crowned Canaries. Further along the road we found our first covey of Crawshay's Francolin, previously a sub-species of the Red-winged Francolin. While birding another montane forest patch we heard Olive-flanked Robin Chat but were unable to lure it out of the deep tangles. We did, however, find Ludwig’s Double-collared Sunbird and Sharpe’s Greenbul before we were chased out of the forest by marauding red ants. Reaching the road, we removed all our clothing with utmost haste. Luckily no one was present to see Maans and myself dancing around in our birth suits while furiously scratching and de-anting ourselves.

Bar-tailed Trogon, Nyika

On the edges of the next forest patch we identified Dusky Turtle-doves and Waller’s Starlings and were able to have Chapin’s Apalis respond to our calls. Inside the forest we had stunning views of various Bar-tailed Trogons, always a very special bird to find. That afternoon, while birding a drainage ditch near the camp, we found Cinnamon Bracken Warbler as well as Mountain Yellow Warbler. The next morning we had great views of the Yellow-browed Seedeater in some reedbeds near the main camp. On our way out of Nyika we again entered the infamous ant forest where we were able to entice the Olive-flanked Robin Chat, Sharpe’s Akalat and White-breasted Alethe to show themselves.

Denham's Bustard, Nyika

Nyika was definitely a Malawian highlight. The various habitats and a wide range of bird species that we had encountered made it a gratifying experience.