September 19th

We leave E Unoto Retreat and stop at a Maasai primary school for the
distribution of our remaining supplies. Again we are received by the
director and have a tour of the school before we distribute our gifts.
The children seemed so happy with their new pencils; we reflected on
this moment when we stopped by the toy department in Harrod's in London
on the way back. Our society seems like wretched excess in comparison.
We stop in town for a spot where Anthony has previously seen VERREAUX'S
EAGLE-OWL. We walk through yellow acacia woodland, and get good looks at
AFRICAN GOSHAWK and OPEN-BILLED STORK, but no owl. We spend about an
hour, and I am ready to throw in the towel, when the owl flies right by
us and lands in a tree. I get good photos with my camera, but I now wish
I had gone back to the car for the scope for
and digiscoping camera and gotten a shot that way.
We then drove to Gibbs Farm on the slope of the Ngorongoro crater. The
farm has been there for decades and has wonderful gardens, great staff
and fabulous views of the valley below. The parking lot had a tree
filled with BRONZE SUNBIRDS and occasional COLLARED SUNBIRDS. SPECKLED
MOUSEBIRDS were plentiful, as were BAGLAFECHT'S WEAVERS (two races). We
loved Gibbs Farm.

Best Bird VERREAUX'S EAGLE-OWL
Hardest Bird AFRICAN GOSHAWK
Highlight All the children in the school holding up their pencils
and cheering.

September 20th
We took a walk into the Ngorongoro Conversation Area behind Gibb's Farm
large organic vegetable garden. We could not go in early, because the
elephants and buffalo come down from elevation to the surrounding forest
in the night, and it is not safe to bump into one in dense forest.
The walk was somewhat quiet. We did have soaring a MOUNTAIN BUZZARD and
BAT HAWK, along with a GREY-CAPPED WARBLER. Finally we saw what Anthony
was looking for, a brief but stunning view of SCHLOW'S TURACO. It is
emerald green above and deep scarlet below, and it just stopped me in my
tracks.

Best Bird SCHLOW'S TURACO
Missed Bird MOUSTACHED TINKERBIRD, heard by Anthony but
not seen.
Highlight Gibbs Farm gardens, food, and staff.

September 21st
That morning Anthony and I met early to bird the gardens. We had
numerous OLIVE THRUSHES at ground level, and in the canopy were CARDINAL
WOODPECKER, BLACKCAP and WHITE-TAILED BLUE-FLYCATCHER. Moving down to
the gardens we found migrating EURASIAN BEE-EATERS along with TAMBORINE
DOVE, BLUE-SPOTTED WOOD-DOVE, and a flock of AFRICAN CITRIL.
We then gathered ourselves together and left Gibbs Farm for the
Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge. As we gained elevation we encountered
CINNAMON-CHESTED BEE-EATERS, a specialty of the area. After checking
into the Sopa lodge we descended into the crater. Ngorongoro crater is a
wonderful area, but it is heavily visited and at times we felt like we
were in an animal park. We picked up some good birds including
YELLOW-BILLED KITE at a picnic spot. The lake in the crater was almost
dry, but a small stream of water was enough to bring in PIED AVOCET,
GREATER FLAMINGO, CAPE TEAL and YELLOW-BILLED DUCK. We also got to see
COMMON OSTRICH mating, which involves quite a bit of wing waving and
neck gyrations on the male's part.
After calling it a day, we left the lake and headed back to the lodge.
We soon came across a group of cars by the side of the road, usually a
good sign. Sure enough, there was a Cheetah with a kill. We had been
warned that too many cars could stress the animal and put it off its
kill, so we just looked briefly and then headed off. Anthony spotted
something in the distance, and urged Geitan to hurry up. After a
kilometer or more, we find that he had spotted a pair of Rhinoceros,
mother and baby, who gave us somewhat distant but satisfying views. We
were lucky, in that rhinos had not been seen in the crater in four days.
Flushed with success, we continued back, saw a small group of cars
around a tree, and got a good look at our only Leopard of the trip.
Ngorongoro lives up to its reputation!

Best Bird GRAY-CROWNED CRANE, close in and in good
light.
Hardest Bird YELLOW-BILLED DUCK
Highlight Cheetah, Rhino, Leopard, 1-2-3, all in 40
minutes

September 22nd
Anthony and I birded the Sopa lodge grounds that morning, and picked up
some good birds including GOLDEN-WINGED SUNBIRD, TACAZZE SUNBIRD,
WHITE-NAPED RAVEN, and STREAKY SEEDEATER. We left the Sopa Lodge after
breakfast for one last tour through the crater. We watched a pride of 11
Lions try unsuccessfully to stalk a mixed heard of Zebra and Wildebeest.
Most appeared to be juveniles, and didn't seem to know quite what to do.
After lunch in the crater, we pressed on for the long, dusty, bumpy, hot
drive to Ndutu Lodge on the eastern fringe of the Serengeti. Did I
mention it was dusty? More than once I wished for Japanese engineers
that afternoon.

Best Bird AFRICAN WOOD-HOOPOE, at a picnic spot in the
crater
Hardest Birds CINNAMON BRACHEN-WARBLER, on the grounds of Sopa
Lodge. A notorious
skulker.
CHESTNUT-BANDED PLOVER, with chicks on
the lake in the crater on our
second visit
Biggest Miss AFRICAN QUAILFINCH, seen by Anthony as we drove
by in the crater.