Simon Thomsett

Category: Raptor Expedition | Date: Mar 23 2009 | By: simonthomsett

The vast Ruaha National Park and its associate reserves cover an area of some 40,000 square kilometers. One of its previous wardens, John Savage, was a raptor enthusiast. He had noted that Ruaha was a possible over-wintering spot for Eleonora’s Falcons and so I have always been curious to see the area. Our drive into the park was noted on my GPS, and not by any barrier or gate. As we passed this invisible threshold, elephant droppings appeared, as did a young and fine looking Rock Python lying in the road. They seemed to know the demarcation. Laila got out to photograph the python who surprised us by suddenly leaping into the air and making us jump out of its way. Shortly we found a hornless large chameleon in the road that was pretty quick on its feet. It changed colours very quickly too when we put it in the bushes out of harms way.

Rock Python

Chameleon

The river is the official entrance and is spanned by a huge bridge. The water was clear and tea coloured, not muddy brown. We may have made a mistake by turning our attention away from the river and drove aimlessly some 25 kilometers into thick and monotonous miombo woodland, with very little wildlife. We were perhaps overly keen to see the famous Roan and Sable antelopes, and of course the Wild Dogs! (we didn’t!). The Borassus Palms here seem thin stemmed and short, but still looked good for Red-necked Falcons. Instead we saw Grey Kestrels and perhaps significantly no Dickinson’s Kestrels. Somewhat disappointed we returned to our rustic and beautifully placed camp-site overlooking the river over which the full moon rose later that night.

Before dawn the next morning, Eurasian Hobbies flew by catching insects and chasing small birds. We watched them from above as they skimmed the surface of the water and sand banks, with crocodiles and hippos and fleeing plovers in their path.

On our game drive by the river, we came upon a massive Land Monitor Lizard, then the day was filled with a total of 27 lions, in which we observed four hunts, all failures. While our objective is to monitor raptors and take pictures we have agreed that we can allow time to watch other predators. As the hours go by, we also have raptors come to us. We saw 31 vultures in one kettle, the largest group so far in our southern Tanzanian trip. Bateleurs dominated the lists, as did migrant Hobbies. A few Lesser Kestrels were seen hunting over a large pride of lion just as a storm hit us all. We also saw a Verreaux’s Eagle Owl flying out in the open in broad daylight being scalded by a nervous troop of Vervet monkeys.

Lions galore

Eurasian Hobby

On our last full day we drove up a hill, to an unsightly cell-phone tower. As much as I hate them in protected areas, a path is usually cleared up to them and they do allow one a sneaky way up hills. We encountered a nest-building Martial Eagle, a pair of African Hawk Eagles, a Wahlberg’s near a nest, a falcon on a distant cliff top and finally when we reached the summit a pair of Verreaux’s Eagles that sat side by side on one hellish section of road on which I could not stop.

Ruaha is certainly deserving of a return visit.

(Photos by Laila Bahaa-el-din)

Tags: eleonora's falcons, hornless chameleon in ruaha, lions hunting, python in ruaha