18 Jan: Melodious and gropper

After a rather noisy night- (every night is party night in a Ghana), we got up at 5 to a healthy pineapple and bread breakfast. The first net round saw a rush of Palearctic migrants with 5 Garden Warblers, 2 Reeds Warblers, 1 Grasshopper Warbler and 1 Melodious Warbler. From the guide book recently published on Ghanaian birds ‘groppers’ shouldn’t be here so it’s an interesting species to catch, Bee says there has been one seen before Christmas too- so not just a fluke! I’d not seen a melodious before so it was great to have the chance to ring it (thanks Ian). They look superficially like an Icterine, but smaller and quite yellowy green whereas Ickies tend to have a buffy tinge and a thinner looking bill. Also I find Icterines tend to shout at you in the net, and this little bird stayed very quiet.

We colour ringed all the migrants and took, feather, faecal and blood samples for analysis in the lab later, as well as fat and muscle scores. None seem to carry a lot of fat, the Garden Warblers were carrying some - up to score 3. Afrotrops caught were a Greenbul, Bronze Mannikin, and Red-headed Quelea. We also saw some European Bee Eaters fly over. After all the birds were ringed we packed up shop and had a civilised lunch at the dining table. Bee and I did our impression of two washer women as Ian sorted out charging flat batteries and action man Oppong helped me put up an ad hoc washing line. Nets will go up later today and hopefully it will be a good day.#

Above: Grasshopper Warbler

Above: Melodious Warbler

Posted on behalf of Vicky

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

17 Jan: Hornbills and ground squirrels

Nightingale Team: Today we had a lie in, followed by a maize porridge and condensed milk to start the day. All tummies in good working order too which is always a bonus. An introduction to the ringing sites was due so Bee showed us the transect routes for the Palearctic migrants survey and we recorded a few en route.

Whinchat, Nightingale, Tree Pipit and Woodchat Shrike all made an appearance, as did a Grey Hornbill, Common Bulbuls, African Paradise Flycatcher, Vieillot’s Black Weaver and a handsome Lizard Buzzard. We found a nice snake skin lying on the path, spotted some mammal footprints in the dust and some cheeky lizards scampering always out of reach of the camera lens. Bee also saw a nice Abyssinian Roller en route to get lunch at the Runners restaurant in town where Ian and I were treated to our first ever foufou and goat stew. Despite the weird texture it was pretty tasty and better still, its etiquette to eat it with your hands. The Occra stew was avoided- we’re learning to follow Oppong’s lead when it comes to food. Back to the guest house, and a quick pack up as the guest house owner had somehow double booked us with a regular, and we needed to move to a new place.

An hour later we were in the new digs, and although a few door handles short, some do it yourself electrics, and a longer drive to the trap site, it’s otherwise a nice clean place to stay. After settling in we set the nets at the north entrance near Barnabus’ patch ready for the first ringing session of the trip for Ian and I. The nets went up quickly and hopefully will catch at least one Nightingale, which was croaking and jibing us from right next to one of the rides. 7 nets up and furled, we saw several ground squirrels as we finished. A dinner of yam, tomato sauce and sardines washed down with a malt drink or beer rounded off the day nicely. Not a bad day at all!

Posted on behalf of Vicky

Monday 16/01/12 pm. Meeting up with Ian,Vicky and Oppong

After a call from Augustus, we get the first draft of the satellite image of the study site emailed from the remote sensing centre at Legon. It looks useful, and should be a good guide as to which directions we need to explore to find the probable best habitat beyond the present borders of the study area.

Earlier on we heard from Nick, who has remained back in Accra, that Ian and Vicky had arrived safe and sound, and at mid-morning Ian called to say that they’re on their way to meet us. After an amazing late lunch with our awesome landlord, we head over to Nkawkaw to link up. After a brief meet and greet, we swap vehicles and drivers, and Bee swaps with Nick to head over to the nightingale site with Ian, Vicky and Oppong. This leaves Japheth, Nick, Roger and me with driver Emmanuel. With a food shop needed, there’s no cooking for Emmanuel tonight, so we grab some fried rice from a fast food stall at Abetifi. Not the best meal ever. I won’t survive long on this kind of diet, so I hope Emma is up for the catering challenge this time around. Only time will tell...

Chris O

Monday 16/01/12 am. Some success, but a familiar problem

We have another go at netting, near the spot where bird 2 spent a lot of time last December. Quite ironically the first bird we caught was a nightingale! Full biometrics were taken but no tag put on this bird – saving the tags for the nightingale study site. After over an hour of trying, however, we actually caught a wood warbler. We were not getting too excited however, as a quick check of the tail showed that there was no way we were going to be able to tag it. Those feathers present were all at various stages of growth, but the central pair was missing altogether. The state of moult in the wing suggested that perhaps it was about half-way through, at about 3 or 4 weeks to go before completion. If all the wood warblers are like this, then will we be able to tag any at all? We put colour-rings on it in any case, as we did the 4th bird in December, seeing as with the latter we were able to relocate it a couple of times without a tag. Perhaps we can do it with this new one.

We spend the rest of the morning surveying the remainder of the site for wood warblers. Not as good as yesterday, with just 5 encountered, but still more than on this same section last December. A particular highlight was the first woodchat shrike that I’ve seen on the study site.

Chris O

16 Jan: Looooooooooong journey

After a pleasant, albeit small, breakfast of sausage, egg and beans (got beaten to it by hungry students), the Yellow-billed Kite circling overhead the hotel patio helped introduce us a new friend, Iben from the Denmark Ornithological Society (DOF). She had overheard some bird talk at the table and was also working on a project with the GWS on a ringing project. Just enough time to twitch the Western Grey Plantain Eater and a few Cattle Egrets before we shared the car to GWS office -  it was sad to leave our new found acquaintance so quickly with so much to talk about.

Emmanuel (our driver) and Nick (co pilot and prince of part of Berekum!) accompanied us on the day long journey  through Accra, to Kumasi where we were to meet Bee, Chris and Roger. A few African Grey Hornbills, Hooded Vultures and Pied Crows wafted overhead as we motored by never ending stalls selling fresh fruit, tiger nuts, chilli boiled eggs and other groceries.  Finally we stopped to meet our new team mates, receiving a warm welcome before Ian and me, plus Bee and Oppong (our chef and driver) set off. Chris, Roger and Emmanuel went the opposite direction to the Wood Warbler site.

Our guest house, some 3 hours later, was fine with comfy beds and after some acrobatics, string and impressive use of a kitchen knife, my mozzie net was erected by Oppong. A quick fast-food dinner of fried rice and chicken in town and bed after a long tiring day. Roll on birds!!

Posted on behalf of Vicky

Sunday 15/01/12 Surveying, but not catching

First morning in the field, and to start we have a go at catching. We set the net where we caught our first two last November. We give it an hour but after no response from any wood warblers, we pack away and set off to survey the site.

A whinchat is present at the start, and by the end of the route (half of the usual transect) we encounter a total of 11 wood warblers. Some of these are only registered as a result of playback after the end of the standard 5 minute count. Elsewhere we record 10 willow warblers, 4 melodious warblers, 3 pied flycatchers, 2 spotted flycatchers, and 1 garden warbler. Wood warbler numbers are up on this section of the site since last December’s final survey, and so too willow warblers.

No news from the UK (as it is the weekend after all!), but we assume that Ian and Vicky are on their way and hopefully arriving in Accra tonight!

Chris O