The Lemurs Of Ankarafantsika

Continuing on from yesterday’s post where we met the birds that hang out in Ankarafantsika’s car park, we will now meet the lemurs.  Although you will also see them while hiking in the actual park, these photos were all taken in the car park.  My husband was a bit surprised by how close they came.

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Common Brown Lemurs

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Coquerel’s Sifaka – my personal favourite!

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In the evening we also saw a few of the shy nocturnal species.  Unfortunately I couldn’t get any decent photos as it was dark and they were far away enough so that a flash wouldn’t have helped and would have frightened them off.  We saw Dwarf Lemurs, Golden-brown Mouse Lemurs, and Grey Mouse Lemurs.

Samango Monkeys & Other Birds – Magoebaskloof

Although we only had one day in the Woodbush Forest and we spent most of it on the Grey-headed Parrots, we still managed to see some other birds and the elegant Samango Monkey!  Kurisa Moya has a bird list.

This Olive Woodpecker was in the same tree as the Grey-headed Parrots.

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After the Grey-headed Parrots, Narina Trogons and any Turacos were next on my wish-list so David did his best to find them.  We did hear them but never saw them.

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I think this is a Dark-backed Weaver

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These Samango Monkeys were a few metres down the road from the Grey-headed Parrots.

 

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So was this pretty butterfly.

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Little Sparrowhawk

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We drove around in the forest still hoping for Trogons & Turacos but no luck.

 

 

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Either an Amethyst or Malachite Sunbird

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Jackal Buzzard

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Not sure about this raptor.

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Duiker

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Kangaroos Everywhere!

There’s no escaping them, not that most visitors to Yanchep would want to.  Western Grey Kangaroos are literally everywhere!

They greet you as you drive into the property.

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They are all over the lawn.

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They come close to your room!

IMG_6608This is where you come to get those up-close shots of wild kangaroos to make your friends jealous!  They are used to people taking photos and are pretty calm about it.

SAI Sanctuary: The Birds & Animals

SAI Sanctuary is one of the most relaxing places ever to just kick back and watch the birds and animals.  One very pleasant surprise is the usually elusive and shy Sambar Deer.

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IMG_1656 IMG_1662Many different bird species frequent the stream, even the local chickens!

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Even the insects can be interesting!

IMG_2574 IMG_2513They have a rooftop deck which is a superb place to see the birdlife for miles around.  We were all up there when the heavens opened with a torrential downpour.  We had to retreat inside and wait it out.  While we were chatting under the roof, Anil heard a flock of Malabar Parakeets.  I grabbed my camera and ran as fast as I could and followed him to the rear deck,  but they were too fast and disappeared into the forest.  When the rain stopped, we went back out on the deck and I got a few shots of some other birds.

IMG_2575 IMG_2576 IMG_2578 IMG_2579 IMG_2581Another flock of Malabar Parakeets decided to surprise us, approaching from the rear without the usual parakeet squawking and flew over our heads.  Once again, I was too slow with the camera but at least I got to see a small flock of them!

Coqui – The Famous Puerto Rican Frog

The common coquí or coquí (Eleutherodactylus coqui) is a frog native to Puerto Rico belonging to the Eleutherodactylus genus of the Eleutherodactylidae family. The species is named for the loud call the males make at night. This sound serves two purposes. ‘CO’ serves to repel males and establish territory while the ‘QUI’ serves to attract females.[3] Since the auditory systems of males and females respond preferentially to different notes of the male call, this is an example of a sex difference in a sensory system. The common coquí is a very important aspect of Puerto Rican culture and it has become an unofficial territorial symbol of Puerto Rico.

PR Coqui

Since they are more famous for their sound rather than their appearance, you really do need to spend at least one night in a rainforest lodge like the ones in El Yunque just to have the experience of listening them sing.

And one more!

Birding Adventures In Botswana

Another spectacular video from Birding Adventures TV!   There are no parrot species in this video, though Botswana does have a few parrots species.   They have some amazing footage of feeding lions along with some classic Botswanan birds such as Secretary Bird, Wattled Crane, Lilac Breasted Rollers and several Bee-Eaters.  Enjoy!

Animal Of The Week – Seram Bandicoot

The Seram Bandicoot (Rhynchomeles prattorum), also known as the Seram Island long-nosed bandicoot, is a member of the order Peramelemorphia. It is the only species in the genus Rhynchomeles The species was described from a collection of seven specimens, made in 1920 at the Indonesian island of Seram, the only record of its existence. It is classified as an endangered species on the Red List of the IUCN, due to its narrow distribution range and noted as data deficient. Conservation of the species, if extant, is threatened by clearing of lower altitude forests near its type locality. The introduction of pigs, dogs, and other feral animals could cause a decline in population.

You are most likely to encounter this animal if you visit Seram in search of Moluccan Cockatoos and other endemic birds.  Not a very dramatic or exciting animal but one of the few endemic species to be found on Seram.  This species was recorded from upper montane tropical forest. Little more is known about the species natural history.

Birding In Peru Inkaterra Video

I need a break after all the resource pages I did in the last couple days, so today let’s enjoy this video posted by Birding Adventurers TV on YouTube.

“In this episode we feature the birds and wildlife of the Peruvian amazon and Machu Picchu. Hosted by the Inkaterra family of hotels, we came face to face with sunbitterns, spectacled bears, Andean Cock-of-the-rocks, Andean Motmots, Giant River Otters and many more.”

If you have been inspired to visit Inkaterra’s beautiful eco-lodges, check their website for more info.

If you want to know how to get to Peru cheaply on frequent flyer miles, I have a series to help you!  Start here.

If you don’t have enough miles and want to get some more, check my Resource pages.

Animal Of The Week – Pacific Flying Fox

If you are on your way to Aitutaki to see the Tahitian Blue Lorikeet or Atiu to see the Rimatara Lorikeet, you will be passing through Rarotonga and have a chance to see one of the few native mammals in the Cook Islands, the Pacific Flying Fox.

Pacific Flying Fox

This species is the most widespread of the Pacific fruit bats. It ranges from Karkar and Koil islands of Papua New Guinea, southeastwards into the Solomon Islands (Malaita, Makira, Rennell, and Santa Cruz islands), and from here ranges to Vanuatu, New Caledonia (New Caledonia Island and Ouvéa Island), Fiji (widespread), Wallis and Futuna (few old records), Tonga, Samoa, American Samoa, Niué, and the Cook Islands (Mangaia and Rarotonga) (Mickleburgh et al. 1992; Flannery 1995; Bonaccorso 1998). It is possible that this species has been introduced to some islands by humans (Flannery 1995).

Pteropus tonganus is an important as pollinator and seed disperser in Pacific island ecosystems. Without them, it would be difficult to maintain community diversity, because of the disturbances by storms. These animals are needed to affect the regeneration of dominant forest trees. They are also necessary to maintain genetic flow between islands. The loss of flying foxes may affect plants that have coevolved with them. About 30 per cent of plant species on Samoa are totally dependent on flying foxes for pollination or seed dispersal. This is remarkably high compared with forests in continental areas. Flying foxes like P. tonganus are keystone pollinators and seed dispersers, and disruptions of their populations would result in chain reaction of other extinctions–of plants and other animals that are dependent upon them.

For more information, please visit this site and this site.

Animal Of The Week – Echidna

This week, let’s have a look at one of our Australian animals, the Echidna.

Echidna

They are fairly common across Australia including Tasmania, though higher density populations are found on islands where foxes do not occur (e.g. Kangaroo Island and Tasmania).  You can learn more about them on this website.  Tasmania seems to be one of the easiest places to see them.  And finally, here’s a short video clip about echidnas.