24 Aug 2019: Rio Savanne

Most of Rio Savanne turned out to be a total bust, although the morning started on a very positive note. We found a Bat Hawk nesting in a tree on the Beira road and at our first stop after the Rio Savanne turnoff we flushed a pair of Square-tailed Nightjars. After trudging through fields of grass we managed to find a Black-rumped Buttonquail – a Southern African lifer. The Mandela shuffle was danced with panache and gusto – much to the amusement of two local ladies watching the mzungu freak show.

Bat Hawk, Beira Road

The rest of the day was spent struggling through grassy patches around dambos to locate Blue Quail and along the river edges Lesser Seedcracker. We only managed to find various groups of Locust Finches, the second Southern African lifer for the day. This time the Mandela shuffle was executed in a limping style; my legs protested any exuberant activity.

Square-tailed Nightjar, Rio Savanne

Rio Savanne was extremely dry and lacking the usual array of water birds and waders associated with this floodplain system. In the mangroves at the mouth of the Rio Savanne we found a Mangrove Kingfisher, a new tick for the Big Year list. Exhausted after a long day’s big effort we arrived at Muzimbiti Lodge to a welcoming 2MM to quench our thirst and to celebrate another successful birding day in Africa.