The Vumba Mountains or The Bvumba – Misty Mountains just SE of Mutare. Our base was the well-known Seldom Seen cottages where the staff did us proud in a large comfy farmhouse with a great view eastwards into Mocambique.
Resident birding guide and everything-else Buluwezi was great. He took us up into the Miombo woodland in search of the very special African Spotted Creeper. One flew in and gave great binocular views but was too quick for the cameras, Then one arrived and sat still for maybe ten minutes! Most un-creeper-like. So we all got pictures.
Also Red-faced Crombec, Purple-crested Turaco, Yellow-streaked Greenbul, Miombo Double-collared Sunbird, Black-eared Seedeater, and yay! at last, a Stripe-cheeked Greenbul sat and looked at me!
On our own walks we saw Black-fronted Bushshrike, Cape Robin-Chat, Lemon Dove, Stone Chat, Long-crested Eagle, Fiscal Shrike, Bronzy Sunbird, Tawny-flanked Prinia.
Buluwezi saved my most-wanted-bird of the whole trip for last. After a big circular walk to various spots in the forest below the homestead, he brought us back to near the garden and had us lying down in the damp soil and leaf litter peering into the gloom. There a male Swynnerton’s Robin sat inches off the ground and preened itself for ages while we got saturation views. I didn’t bother with my camera, just kept my Zeiss binnies glued to him. I hope to get a pic from Dave or Esme to show here. Here’s wikipedia’s pic by Maans Booysen as a place-holder.
Onward! South to the Chimanimani Mountains and Chirinda Forest. Except the latest intel on Chirinda Forest was that the road was simply too bad to be worth it. So Chimanimani and then Gonarezhou.
~~oo0oo~~