Tuesday 17/01/12 Still no success at catching wood warblers

This morning’s efforts involve a netting attempt where bird 3 was caught last year. Total catch: 1 olive-bellied sunbird. Not very good, frankly. We’re doing all we feel we can – 2 nets, 2 playback systems, and then moving the nets further into the wooded farmland after each hour of failure. We do get some responses in terms of pewing when the playback is started, but not a sniff of a bird coming to the net. Ok, maybe not wholly surprising as they aren’t normally very vocal at this time of year, perhaps due to the moult factor, but I would have expected one or two by now? Obviously I’ve forgotten how much effort it was to catch 4 last month! After almost 4 hours of mobile netting, we go on the hunt for bird 3. Even if the radio-tag has stopped working, it will still be colour-ringed. We’re out of luck, but in the process we spot a honey buzzard floating overhead.

After an Abetifi fast-food lunch once again (different stall, and wache this time), Emma sets of for his first big grocery shop. As we’re without the vehicle, the rest of us take a walk into the valley below the house – the route we investigated with a timed species count last October, on the day we first clapped eyes on our fabulous new digs. A great circular walk through various wooded farmland habitats, with some forest edge, fallow scrub and more open fields, and back via the partly cultivated rocky plateau grasslands. Although no wood warblers were here back in October, I was hopeful of several this time around – the habitat looks pretty good. Just the one seen though, so again it seems we’ve made the right choice of study site further from town. It feels like a decent patch for some local birding, though, should we get any time off!!

It’s Emmanuel’s first meal this evening, and I’m quite astonished actually. A simple tomato based stew with some rice, which is very tasty indeed. Hope this continues!!

Chris O