The Atlantic Odyssey was going to be over in a couple of hours after first light. As I got arrived on deck soon after first light, we could see Praia harbour was very close. We we too close in to have much chance of any of the good Seabirds. So, there was just the chance for some initial views of Praia harbour. To be honest, it wasn't an attractive looking place. Especially, after the really interesting islands we had visited earlier in the Odyssey.
Praia harbour
Praia harbour
Everybody seemed to have accepted the Birding was over: Christian, Tony, Glenn, Geoff, Mike & John (left to right)
Fishing in the harbour: It looks like the number of fishermen outnumber the number of fish
Praia harbour lighthouse: This lighthouse looks like it is past its best. Later we were to discover that seems to apply to Cape Verde as well
Cape Verde Sparrow: It wasn't a totally wasted time standing on the quayside as a party of Cape Verde Sparrows were found grovelling in a weedy edge by the quayside. That was the first endemic on the list
Alexander's Swift: They have quite a forked tail & the pale brown colouration is just about visible in this photo
Alexander's Swift: As well as the small size, they looked shorter winged & tailed compare to a scarce migrant Pallid Swift
Alexander's Swift: All too quickly we were being loaded back into the minibus to get to the reservoir before it got too hot. In hindsight, we should have spent a few more minutes here to try & get some better views & photos as we had time in hand & these were the only Alexander's Swifts that I saw
Brown-necked Raven: Brown-necked Ravens occur from Cape Verde across Northern Africa to Western Pakistan
The initial view of the reservoir
The reservoir: I guess it was a reservoir once, but it looked in bad shape. Apparently, there hadn't been any significant rain for a couple of years
The reservoir bottom
Cape Verde Sparrow: It was good to see another small party of Cape Verde Sparrows on the dam walls, although they didn't hang around for long once the first people started racing across the top of the reservoir
Cape Verde Sparrow: The males are stunning when seen well
Little Egrets with a lone Black-winged Stilt: It was a depressing sight given there couldn't be much food in the reservoir for them. Although I guess the Little Egrets could be using it as a roost site & feeding along the coast
Bourne's Purple Heron: It is surprisingly well camouflaged against the hillside & dead vegetation
Bourne's Purple Heron: Fortunately, it wasn't long before another individual flew over
Bourne's Purple Heron
Bourne's Purple Heron: Bourne's Purple Heron is restricted to Santiago Island on Cape Verde. There are only a couple of dozen pairs breeding on Santiago & given the recent lack of rainfall on the islands, the long-term survival of this cracking subspecies is concerning
Bourne's Purple Heron: A bit later another individual flew over, although it wasn't particularly close
Bourne's Purple Heron: However, it circled & came around lower on the second occasion
Bourne's Purple Heron: The distinctive kinked neck of a Purple Heron
Bourne's Purple Heron
Bourne's Purple Heron
Bourne's Purple Heron: It is named after Dr William Bourne who sent an early skin to the Natural History Museum. It was only after additional specimens were collected that it was realised that it is a distinctive subspecies
Bourne's Purple Heron: It looks deeper-necked than a Purple Heron in this photo
Bourne's Purple Heron
Once the Plancius was docked, the officials were quickly onboard to sort out the passport & customs approvals. There were a number of different options for the day. There was a free Plancius organised tour of the island & a Wildwings organised tour which we had been charged for. Both of which were due to end with passengers who were staying on getting back on the Plancius around 16:00. I had arranged to stay in the same cabin, but I was moving bunks. Getting on before the new passengers would allow me to ensure this happened. For those passengers who were leaving there was a longer trip which would include looking for the Cape Verde Barn Owl in the evening. We had been told we would have a local guide for the day & the Wildwings trip was the one to book on & so had already paid our money. The Wildwings punters were quickly off the Plancius so we were on the quayside ready for our minibus to arrive. Well we didn't need to have been so keen as we were waiting for at least 45 minutes in the sun. There had been no message passed to Steve Holloway, who was leading the West African Pelagic section for Wildwings, to say when we would be ready to go.
Spanish Sparrow: There was a party of Spanish Sparrows on the quayside, but they had disappeared by the time we had the OK to disembark. This is the nominate hispaniolensis subspecies which occurs in Cape Verde, the Canary Islands, Madeira, Southern Europe & North Africa
We were on the quayside: But there was no minibus
Mike & the Plancius
By the time Steve & the minibus showed up, it became apparent that although it was a Wildwings trip, we would get the dubious delights of Little John & Mrs Little John. These were two of the most selfish photographers on board. Little John thought it was fine to walk in front of others & remain there so long as he get his photos. After this bad behaviour for the first few days, we had ensured that he wasn't going to be allowed close enough to us to continue to behave badly. All the Wildwings punters were ready to go, but the Little Johns were conspicuous by their absence. Surprising, as they were always pushing into the front of any zodiac landings. They finally bothered to wander off the Plancius just before the minibus arriving. Next, we learnt from Steve that there was no local guide, as the guides had been taken by the Wildwings party who were on the longer day trip & the ship organised trips. We were left with Steve's limited knowledge from a trip the day before. Somehow, we also seemed to pick up a local chancer who wanted to act as a guide. He had no idea of guiding, except for a certificate from the Arthur Daley school of guiding. Not surprisingly, he didn't contribute anything, except additional confusion when we ran into the Cape Verde Buzzard. Given what we now knew perhaps we should have saved our money & booked on the free ship's tour. However, I never asked what they saw so didn't find out which was the best option for Birds seen. But it wasn't a good start to the day from my viewpoint.
The plan for the day was to travel to a nearby dried-up reservoir as Steve had seen Cape Verde Warblers & the distinctive Bourne's subspecies of Purple Heron there on the previous day. We were told to shout if we saw any Swifts or Birds of Prey, as they would be the endemic Alexander's Swifts, Cape Verde Buzzards or Alexander's Kestrels. The first shout was for an Alexander's Kestrel. This is one of two endemic subspecies of Kestrel, both of which have been suggested as potential future splits. Alexander's Kestrel occurs on Santiago Island & some of the other islands in the South East end of the archipelago. The other subspecies, known as Neglected Kestrel, occurs on the Northern islands. A few of the group saw one around Razo the following day, but unfortunately, I didn't hear about this sighting until it was dark & we were miles away from Razo.
Alexander's Kestrel: Male. This Alexander's Kestrel appeared smaller & darker than the British race of Kestrel & they are less sexually dimorphic. This has a streaked grey crown so it is looks like a male
Alexander's Kestrel: Male
Alexander's Kestrel: Female. Later in the afternoon we ran into this female Alexander's Kestrel
Alexander's Kestrel: Female. It's a distinctive subspecies, but still regarded as a subspecies of Kestrel
Alexander's Kestrel: Female
Santiago was a hot, arid & rugged island
There was little in the way of cultivated land
About halfway to the reservoir, we picked up a handful of Alexander's Swifts flying along the edge of the road. The minibus was quickly stopped & allowed us to get some views of this small, pale endemic Swift. This is named after Captain Boyd Alexander (1873 - 1910) who was an African explorer & ornithologist.
Alexander's Swift
Brown-necked Raven: This Brown-necked Raven at the same location was a bigger & slower target to try to photograph
The next shout was for a large & distant Bird of Prey that looked a potential candidate for a Cape Verde Buzzard. This proved to be another frustrating incident for the day. We were near the start of a descent into a valley. A quick decision to stop should have been made to stop quickly. There were a couple of pull-ins we could have used, but the hopeless fixer said there were better places down in the valley. So due to dithering, instead of a prompt stop, the decision was left to a non Birder who had no idea why we needed to stop. The result we were in a poor position to view the Cape Verde Buzzard. While we saw it, the opportunity for better & longer views had been lost. We could have been dropped & if necessary, walked down hill to a better parking position as there wasn't a lot of traffic on the road. Obviously, it was the only Cape Verde Buzzard we saw. It left a number of us frustrated as we knew it wasn't a common species on Santiago & we needed to take advantage of any opportunity to see on. As it had dropped out of view & didn't appear to want to reappear, the decision was made to push onto the reservoir.
Initially, the reservoir looked like it would be devoid of Birds given it was dried up. However, there were a flock of Little Egrets standing around, along with a Black-winged Stilt & a roosting Common Sandpiper.
What we couldn't see on the reservoir bottom were any of the distinctive Bourne's Purple Herons. These are currently treated as a subspecies of Purple Herons, but they have been split in the past. Then one was picked up flying over & landing on the far hillside. Not brilliant views, but at least we had seen one.
It had been a good start to the day on Cape Verde, but there was still the endemic Cape Verde Warbler to see.