284 : Brown-crowned Tchagra

Brown-crowned Tchagra - Tchagra australis

These are a skulking family of bush-shrikes, feeding on the ground and rarely ascending above head-height. There are 4 similar looking species in Africa told apart by head patterns. I am going with Brown-crowned as the front parts look buff rather than grey to me and the crown is brown with a distinct black edging stripe rather than black all over. This was held out to me as a "Tchagra" - would it were so simple. Smart little birds about the size of a small dove we would run into these most days - but on one occasion only I managed a shot. Believe it or not I let a lot of birds go through in the interests of family harmony and to try and keep the boys engaged. They did well - up to 9 hours a day for 6 days in a safari truck across perhaps 12 drives. Hanging around for half an hour to get "the shot" of a bird thats hopping about and it brown isn't going to cut it some days. They have suggested that we have now "done Tanzania" after 2 years - we are off to Rome on Sunday for 5 days for half term. Not a monkey or deer there. Unless I see absolute commitment to art and history its back to the bush ! Only joking !

Hanging around trying to get a shot of a Greater Kudu in mid leap is a good game. I don't know what the delay between pressing the button and taking a picture is - Out of I think 4 Kudu who were going to perform leaps across the road (the crack in the pavement game for ungulates ?) I only managed to get one in mid jump with its head in view - and another who just considered ambling across was OK. I missed pretty much in  its entirety the male on this occasion. If I haven't impressed on you size and grace of these giant antelope yet all I can suggest is a quick hop down to Mid/Southern Africa. These have overtaken Hartebeest and Topi in my mental menagerie. The power in those legs.

So I managed this one at a walk.

Not so bad !

Take off !

They can leap over a safari truck if push comes to shove.

A younger male I think.

I am still quite shy of taking 100's of pictures and just letting the digital camera roll. Something in me still tries to husband film that doesn't exist anymore. Or perhaps its the idea of filling the camera card. I think if I had my time again in this moment I'd just let the thing whir and see what I got. I am bit too stingy with my resources. I only took I think 6,000 pictures in 6 days. I have whittled them down quite  lot - you should see some of the dross ! You have to be ruthless. I still wish I had taken more of people and scenery. Context.

The joy of watching elephants feeding up close.

The vast open spaces - here the Ruaha river running through a parched landscape. Highlands in the background. I am now an official safari "bore". I must get out this Saturday if only for an hour as I m not actually birding at the moment. I am vicariously re-birding Southern Tanzania from my own Mac.

I bought a quite old book - birding spots of the UAE - it might be quite a good game to go and see what survives, what has been built on and so on. I could pdf up the little drawing and directions and then we could see whats left - Quest for a Crab Plover e.g. Spending every morning mentally in Tanzania is making me dissatisfied with my lot here which is not a good thing and frankly a little rude ! I have Saturday free I believe so an early start with the camera - perhaps a trip up to Umm Al Quwain in search of overwintering Crab Plovers would be a good start. Thats a bird I haven't seen and that's really indictment on my commitment to "local birding". Its all time isn't it. Rugby season has kicked in so Saturday is really the only day as we get up early here in the week and school drop offs are early and then its dark by 6.30 these days. No long Summer evenings by the Thames - I used to bird along the Thames in the East End after a hard days lawyering in my late 20's. I have done lunch time dashes from work but its not really the ticket - you don't want to go back to work. Time to reengage with what's on my doorstep. Really over the mid-term I have a trip to Rome, a trip to London with work and then Xmas in the UK - so its got to be UAE birding to keep the clock ticking over !

Check this out !  A new owl in Northern Oman (link sent courtesy of a friend and old Dubai resident). Now we're talking. Only 7 ! Thats a like a Jacque Cousteau mission on land.

Brown-crowned Tchagra, Tchagra australis
Ruaha National Park, Tanzania
July 2013