THE BIRDS OF NYANDUNGU, RWANDA, AFRICA, Guest Post by Karen Minkowski

Black-headed Heron, Nyandungu Urban Wetlands Eco-Tourism Park, Kigala, Rwanda

My friend Karen Minkowski, a frequent contributor to The Intrepid Tourist and definitely an intrepid traveler, is currently in Africa, a place that she has visited often. Karen is a keen birdwatcher and I thank her for sharing her wonderful photos of the birds of Nyandungu with The Intrepid Tourist.

While visiting Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city, in early 2023, I took my camera to NyandunguUrban Wetlands Eco-Tourism Park, in one of Kigali’s many valleys. The Park comprises 120 hectares (297 acres) of a restored wetland complex -grasslands, ponds and a small fig forest. It was created to reestablish some of Kigali’s lost biodiversity and to provide the community with social and economic benefits (lots of jobs!). Somewhere between one and two hundred species of birds reside in or use the Park’s habitats. The Park is buffered from the surrounding suburbs by agricultural fields. In the photo above a Black-headed Heron flies across the grassy wetland.

I’ve recently returned to Rwanda for a longer stay, and I visit Nyandungu frequently. My photos are annotated with a few facts I gleaned from Google and Google Scholar. Cornell University’s online Birds of the World is a favorite source. Here are some of the birds I’ve seen:

African Openbill

The African Openbill is a stork that feeds primarily on mollusks. Within seconds, it can pry open and extract a snail from its shell, using the tip of its lower mandible. It cuts the muscle that keeps the shell closed, rather than crunching it.  Greater effort is needed to open mussel shells, so Openbills may deposit captured mussels on the shore, leaving the sun to kill them.  As the mussels die, they release their hold on their shells. In this photo the Openbill is likely probing for insects in the dead wood.

Spur-winged Goose

The Spur-winged Goose derives its name from a small spur, or spike, at the bending point of each wing and is used in fighting during the breeding season. Spur-winged geese that eat the poisonous Blister Beetle store the toxin in their tissues, which may kill whatever subsequently eats the geese.

African Stonechat

The African Stonechat is an Old-World flycatcher that feeds almost exclusively on insects, their larvae, and other invertebrates. It occupies a wide range of habitats on the continent.

Common Bulbul

A very common bird throughout much of Africa south of the Sahel, the Common Bulbul is primarily a fruit-eater, but also takes a few insects and small vertebrates.

White-browed Coucal

The elegant White-browed Coucal has a lovely call, a kind of soft, warbling sound. Its body pulses to the rhythm of the call, a bit like bellows. Male White-browed Coucals spend more time than females incubating the eggs, but both sexes share the task of feeding their young. They eat mostly insects, spiders, and small invertebrates.

Fork-tailed Drongo

Fork-tailed Drongos are known to give false alarm calls to scare other bird species into abandoning their food to a thieving drongo. They also mimic the alarm calls of other species for the same purpose. Why hunt when there are easier ways to get a good meal?

Black-lored Babblers

Black-lored Babblers are highly sociable birds. The one on the left had been grooming the bird in in the middle, then moved a short distance away and returned a few seconds later. It is tempting – if hopeless - to imagine what they are communicating with these postures and expressions! These birds literally babble when grouped together, as if they cannot contain their excitement. The authors of a bird guide describe the sound as having a “slightly insane and hilarious laughing quality”.

BIRDS OF ZIMBABWE, Part 1: Guest Post by Karen Minkowski

 Southern Masked Weaver(male) near Dete, Zimbabwe

My friend Karen Minkowski is spending several months in Africa and sent me some of her wonderful photos taken on her morning bird walks. Karen and I were on the same memorable trip to East Africa in 1971 that I wrote about in my post on May 16, 2011. Karen has been back to Africa many times since then, both for work and for pleasure. I thank her for sharing her terrific photos and observations of African wildlife with The Intrepid Tourist.

For six weeks I lived in Dete, a small town of about 3,000 people in western Zimbabwe on the border of Hwange National Park, while I was volunteering for a foundation that works with local communities. A dirt road separated my house from the bush and the nearby national park boundary. Early each morning I walked along the road observing and photographing birds. The abundance, diversity and beauty of Zimbabwe's birds were a continual source of enjoyment for me. Here are some that I managed to capture with my camera.

A female Southern Masked Weaver is inspecting a nest that appears to be undergoing repairs, as suggested by the juxtaposition of old and new grasses. The male builds the nest, and if the female accepts it she'll line the inside with soft plant materials. Like many weaver species, this one also nests in colonies.

The birds chatter away as they prepare their nests. Each bird extracts a single blade of grass from the surrounding bush or gardens and then flies back to the colony to weave it into the nest. Taking a break to feed, small flocks of Southern-masked Weavers gorge on grass seeds or forage for insects.

The Blue Wax Bill's small size and habit of flitting quickly in and out of bushes made it difficult for me to get a photo. I finally resorted to continuous burst shooting in hopes that one of many images might come out in focus and with the bird acceptably posed.

This is the stunning, yet somehow oddly put-together Southern Red Bishop in full breeding regalia. He looks to me as though he'd donned a red head scarf and then casually tossed the end around his neck before showing up at his display site. Perched below him is his rather drab-colored (potential) mate. 

I loved watching birds interacting. Sometimes an encounter lasted just long enough for one bird to land and another, nearby, to fly off, clearly ceding space to the first; at other times a prolonged interchange would occur.

These two African Golden Orioles faced each other while one chirped at the other. Then they would separate, likely foraging for insects, but never more than a couple meters away. Then they came close together again, with more chirping, and again separated. I couldn't tell if they were mates or a parent and offspring. After a few minutes one flew off to another tree, and the bird remaining behind suddenly changed its call from chirping to a lovely warble. Soon it, too, left the tree and both flew out of my sight.

Late one afternoon, I photographed these Arrow-marked Babblers through my open bedroom window as they huddled together and engaged in mutual and self-preening. They forage in small groups of 9-12 and babble as they move through the lower strata of vegetation and on the ground. The babbling probably serves to keep the group together.

Quite a bit of commotion - movement and noisy vocalization - attracted my attention to these two very animated Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills.

Eventually one, I assume a parent, fed its hungry, insistent young. 

Look for Part 2 of BIRDS OF ZIMBABWE next week.