Pretty well, thanks for asking (and, yes, that is the best line I can come up with after just thirty minutes sleep and six hours wandering around a park in Nigeria, sorry).

I have to say I was really looking forward to this trip. My Year List has been idling rather than surging ahead (Graham has apparently been having a quiet July too), and I felt like I hadn’t been birding for quite a while. I mentioned that last fact to Jo who gave me one of her most withering ripostes - a piercing stare of ice and fire, a look combining a derisory “Oh poor you” with a “At least you get out sometimes I’ll be here all weekend with Evie who I love and adore of course goes without saying but what wouldn’t I give to be going somewhere overseas for a change instead of freezing to death in what now passes for an english summer so don’t complain to me because I don’t want to hear it okay.” Jo supports me 100% under virtually every circumstance, but I have to admit this year’s birding efforts have meant I’m away more than usual…I dropped the subject and left for the airport with my tail between my legs.

It must be very galling to see your partner disappear out the door every week, bags packed, looking ahead to a day’s birding in some locale you’ve never been to and probably never will. Pointing out that in this instance to get there I’ll be working all night, that our Nigerian passengers - while having some of the broadest smiles in Africa - can be a little, er, ‘demanding’, and that I’ll arrive in Abuja just as it’s getting light feeling like I’ve been wrung out and chewed up doesn’t for some reason result in the sympathy I’d sometimes like. I suspect those of you reading this will probably know how she feels and don’t want to listen to my whimpers either…I’ll get on with the report then…

View from my room at the Transcorp Hilton looking towards Millennium Park

I was looking forward to the trip because the only other two times I’ve been to Abuja I’d managed to find a pretty good selection of birds without going too far from the hotel. Of course I’d love to explore further afield, but I don’t know anyone in Abuja and I’ve never been entirely confident that wandering off on my own carrying what probably amounts to an annual salary in optics is a good idea. Don’t get me wrong, by the way, I don’t think I’m particularly at any more risk in Nigeria than I am in many other places on the planet - but ‘thinking’ is not the same as ‘knowing’ and I don’t take risks unnecessarily (in almost twenty years of birding abroad I’ve only been mugged once and that was by a traffic policeman in Venezuela who was more interested in cash than my binoculars fortunately - not a bad record really). No, whilst I’m sure the less busy savanna outside the city must be great for birds, the scrub and woodland in and adjoining both the hotel gardens and the fairly quiet Millennium Park (which is within easy walking distance of the hotel) has always been fairly productive and worth spending time working properly.

Abuja seems to be birdy still because whilst it’s definitely an expanding city, it’s still a small one and set in what looks from the air to be miles of savanna. There is agriculture of course, and pockets of more industrialised land, but on the whole it does seem to be in what birders would definitely call ‘ a good area’. The park I mentioned earlier has a broad stream/narrow river running through its centre and the remains of what was probably more extensive riverside woodland clinging to its edges. The river starts in the distant hills and I’ve a feeling that many birds use it as a corridor to get from one area to the next, hence the avifauna does seem to be mobile and liable to be sightly different on each visit (I know that three visits is hardly a significant survey, but most experienced birders would probably feel the same way if they came here).

The Park incidentally has had quite a substantial facelift in the two years since I was last here. On my last visit I was warned not to go into what looked like a rough area of allotments on the northern side of the river/stream because - allegedly - “bad men smoke weed there”. Many young Nigerians seem to be built like pro boxers as it is, and the thought of being challenged by a “bad” one out of his head on cannabis was enough to keep me out of what looked like intriguing habitat. The scrubby allotments that looked so enticing are now gone and they’ve been replaced by a less inspiring jogging track and lawns - but fortunately the “bad men” are gone too, and it makes the whole birding experience much more of a - er, ‘walk in the park’ than it was before. I’d be surprised if the change in habitat and ‘tidying up’ hasn’t affected the avifuana, but there does seem to have been an effort to keep the tall trees and the riverside vegetation is still there, so perhaps it hasn’t been all bad…

Millennium Park, no “bad men” here…

Of course there are some species which - providing the habitat isn’t altered beyond all recognition - will always be present. When I began the Year List I was calling my push for 1000 birds in twelve months the “Old Friends, New Friends World Tour”, partly in memory of my best friend who died the month before I started and also because I knew I’d be going back to many areas I’d birded before where I was familiar with the species I ought to see (hence the feeling that they were ‘old friends’).

While some species (eg African Paradise Flycatcher, Bronze Mannikin, African Palm Swift, Pied Crow, Grey-backed Camaroptera, and Laughing and Red-eyed Doves are widespread across Africa) there are a good number I’ve now seen on all three visits to Abuja that I don’t usually see outside of Nigeria, including Double-spurred Francolin, Black-billed Wood Dove, Senegal Coucal, African Thrush, Brown Babbler, Northern Black Flycatcher, Red-winged Cuckoo-shrike, African Golden Oriole, Western Plantain-eater, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Village Weaver, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, and Yellow-billed Shrike (a very nice selection even if there’s nothing there that regular birders in West Africa won’t have seen many times before).

African Golden Oriole Oriolus auratus

African Thrush Turdus pelios

Grey-backed Camaroptera Camaroptera brevicaudata

Bronze Mannikins Lonchura cucullata

Senegal Coucal Centropus senegalensis “anting”

Yellow-billed Shrike Corvinella corvina (adult,left, and juvenile)

Male Northern Red Bishop Euplectes franciscanus

Each visit has though brought a few surprises too. The very first time I came here (back in December 2004) I found a wintering Western Olivaceous Warbler just outside the hotel garden, and on the last visit (in August 2006) I saw African Blue Flycatcher and Red-headed Lovebird in Millenium Park - all three were life birds and great to see. This time I saw a bird I’d never heard of before and which was so startlingly like a small Toucan that I was momentarily transported to South America - but more of that later…

Most of the ‘best’ birds I saw this time around were in the Park, where I picked up a good number of “Year Birds” and a few species I saw for the first time in Abuja, including a Striated Heron walking quietly along the river edge, a pair of Grey Woodpecker (a mid-sized woodpecker that is grey - how’s that for a description, eh?), a pair of Ethiopian Swallows which landed right by me on a wire (they may not be especially good-looking swallows, but who wouldn’t want to be able to say they’ve just seen an Ethiopian Swallow?), good flight views of a Yellow-throated Longclaw that appeared out of nowhere and bounded away to somewhere else, a Senegal Eremomela picking its way through the canopy of a large tree, and a stunningly beautiful African Pygmy Kingfisher which I managed to creep up on as it sat perched on a low branch by the river…even if I’d seen very little else getting such good views of a bird like this would have made staying awake so long worthwhile.

Ethiopian Swallow Hirundo aethiopica

African Pygmy Kingfisher Ispidina picta: 12 cm of gorgeousness!

Another pleasant surprise was getting (relatively) excellent views of an Oriole Warbler as it made its wary and silent way through some low vegetation in an eroded part of the river bank. I say ‘relatively’ because this West African endemic is normally a very difficult bird to see. I’ve only seen one twice before (once way back in 1990 on one of my very first trips to Africa, and the second in Abuja in 2004), and it’s one of those birds that has gripped me ever since. These were by far the best views I’ve ever had, and the photo below is the only one without any blurring that I managed to get as I wasn’t able to get a high-speed shot (I really dislike using flash on birds that habitually stay in cover because I always feel their eyes must be adapted to low-light conditions and having a bright flash going off in front of them must be quite unpleasant) - it’s good enough though to show the slender shape and the unique speckled dark head.

Oriole Warbler Hypergerus atriceps

Another bird I saw has proved difficult to identify. The only species I can find that sort of fits the description is Olivaceous Flycatcher Muscicapa olivascens. It may be just that I’ve been in South Africa too recently, but when I first saw it I thought “Oh, looks something like a Marico Flycatcher” , and rather than a Muscicapa flycatcher I thought it had a Bradornis flycatcher feel to it. I first saw it being buzzed by cordon-bleus as it sat in a tree, but it was otherwise feeding and behaving like a flycatcher. It was quite approachable for the few minutes I saw it, and I was certain I would quickly identify it when I went though a field-guide back in the hotel room, but Olivaceous is described in the references I have as a “lowland rainforest” species and central Nigeria doesn’t seem to be within it’s range: any thoughts anyone?

Update: Many thanks to Ross McGregor who mailed saying this is a Pale Flycatcher, a common and widespread species I’ve actually already seen this year! In my defence I was thrown because there is a significant area of the bird’s range missing from the field-guide I use (”Birds of Africa south of the Sahara” - Sinclair and Ryan), which shows Pale Flycatcher as only occurring in central and southern Africa and not throughout West Africa as it should. At least I was right that it was a Bradornis…

Pale Flycatcher Bradornis pallidus

Anyway, the very best bird of the day came right at the end of it back at the hotel (when I say ‘end’ I mean about 13:00 as I was almost falling over by then). I was walking back along the side of the hotel looking for Snowy-crowned Robin-chat when I looked up and saw two chunky birds about the size of a large starling flying into the canopy of a tree about 80m away. As I said way back at the beginning of this report - which you may well have started last week and forgotten by now - when I got my binoculars on them I was momentarily thrown into South America by what looked like a small-ish scarlet and black toucan.

Fortunately I managed to get my thoughts together and realised that they were barbets, and I vaguely recalled seeing a similar illustration in the field guide I use…but couldn’t for the life of me remember what they were called.

Thankfully they remained in the same tree for about ten minutes and I took some distant photos. I’m certain there are far better photos out there, but here - ladies and gents - are, as I later discovered, the strikingly beautiful Bearded Barbet (I’m sorry, but what a rubbish name for such a gem!). Species 1002 for the year, and one of the very, very best so far…

Bearded Barbets Lybius dubius

So once again Abuja turned out to be a pretty good place to bird. I’m sure there must be some really good areas nearby, and if any birder living in Abuja would be interested in birding with a keen but very occasional visitor please email me - I’ll cover any expenses and do amusing things like fall asleep mid-step and look puzzled over why I’m seeing Brazilian birds in an African park…

One more thing. I often think that as someone who’s been fortunate enough to travel a great deal perhaps I ought to give the occasional “Traveler’s Tip”. So here’s one for anyone thinking of going to Abuja: unless you enjoy having lit matches put out on your skin try not to get stung by the wasp in the photo below (which I’ll have you know I didn’t kill - it was my fault for squishing it against my arm). If you do it will hurt - a lot - and then your arm will go red and hot and it will hurt some more. And you’ll feel a bit odd for a while. Oh, and it will itch for a couple of days. Sensible advice from one who knows…

OWW! - anyone know what this little beauty with the big sting is?

Trip List (new for the Year underlined):
Striated Heron Butorides striatus 1; Hammerkop Scopus umbretta 1; Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus 4; Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus 1; Double-spurred Francolin Francolinus bicalcaratus 2; Red-eyed Dove Streptopelia semitorquata 10+; Laughing Dove Streptopelia senegalensis 10+; Black-billed Wood Dove Turtur abyssinicus 3-4; Western Plantain-eater Crinifer piscator 8-10; Senegal Coucal Centropus senegalensis 5-6; African Palm Swift Cypsiurus parvus 10+; Little Swift Apus affinis c)10; African Pygmy Kingfisher Ispidina picta 1; Grey-headed Kingfisher Halcyon leucocephala 1 (seen from bus to airport on 20th); African Broad-billed Roller Eurystomus glaucurus 4; Green Woodhoopoe Phoeniculus purpureus 4; Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird Pogoniulus chrysoconus 1; Bearded Barbet Lybius dubius 2; Grey Woodpecker Dendropicos goertae 2; Ethiopian Swallow Hirundo aethiopica c)10; Lesser Striped Swallow Cecropis abyssinica 2; Rock Martin Ptyonoprogne fuligula 3-4; Yellow-throated Longclaw Macronyx croceus 1; Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike Campephaga phoenicea 1; Common Bulbul Pycnonotus barbatus 10+; Yellow-throated Greenbul Chlorocichla flavicollis 1; African Thrush Turdus pelios 20+; Tawny-flanked Prinia Prinia subflava 2; Red-winged Warbler Heliolais erythroptera 1-2; Oriole Warbler Hypergerus atriceps 1; Grey-backed Camaroptera Camaroptera brevicaudata 5-6; Senegal Eremomela Eremomela pusilla 1; Northern Black Flycatcher Melaenornis edolioides 5-6; Pale Flycatcher Bradornis pallidus 1; Brown-throated Wattle-eye Platysteira cyanea 1; African Paradise-flycatcher Terpsiphone viridis 5; Brown Babbler Turdoides plebejus 6; Splendid Sunbird Cinnyris coccinigastrus 4; Variable Sunbird Cinnyris venustus 6+; Copper Sunbird Cinnyris cupreus c)10; African Yellow White-eye Zosterops senegalensis 3-4; African Golden Oriole Oriolus auratus 1; Yellow-billed Shrike Corvinella corvina 6-8; Black-crowned Tchagra Tchagra senegalus 1; Fork-tailed Drongo Dicrurus adsimilis 5-6; Piapiac Ptilostomus afer c)20; Black-necked Weaver Ploceus nigricollis 2-3; Village Weaver Ploceus cucullatus c)20; Northern Red Bishop Euplectes franciscanus 6-8; Red-billed Firefinch Lagonosticta senegala 4; Red-cheeked Cordonbleu Uraeginthus bengalus 4-5; Bronze Mannikin Lonchura cucullata 10+; Village Indigobird Vidua chalybeata 1