14-15 Nov 2019: Kigali and Environs

Hime must be the slowest, and safest, driver in Rwanda. It seemed as if every vehicle in Rwanda travelled faster than us, eighteen-wheeler trucks and buses included. Sometimes, on a steep decline, locals on bicycles passed us at a staggering rate. There are very few straight and level stretches of road in Rwanda. Hime was either using first or second gear to climb up a volcanic hillside, or using the same low gears to safely negotiate a slippery and wet decline. The mountainous bends and turns reminded me of the God-help-me Pass in the Lesotho highlands, and I also frequently closed my eyes in heart-felt prayer.

It was a relief to see patches of blue sky on the way to Kigali, and the sun was welcomed like an old friend. Hime’s older brother, Bali, joined us as we headed to Lake Mugesera, some 30 km southeast of the capital. The wetlands here teemed with birds, but a pleasant few hours of birding delivered no new species. That evening I splurged on an excellent supper of pizza and beer to dampen my frustration at not finding new birds.

Black-headed Gonolek, Lake Mugesera

The next day we birded the banks of the Nyabarongo River that forms part of the upper headwaters of the Nile. A not-so-pleasant surprise was one of the largest crocodiles I have encountered in my life – lucky for me it was sunning itself on the opposite bank of the river. The river scrub and reedbeds provided excellent birding opportunities, but again I was disappointed in not finding any new species. The afternoon was spent catching up with my admin in a local shopping centre before leaving for the airport to fly to Ethiopia.

Roughly a week’s birding in Rwanda netted 103 species in total, of which 27 species were new for the African Big Year list. This brought my total for the year up to 1434 species.