Millenium Park, Abuja, Nigeria, July 2014

My airline employer likes to keep me on the back foot and to make me work hard for my time in the woods. This week in Abuja, Nigeria, I found myself at another unfamiliar location and had to find my way out past the vigilant desk clerk who had refused to allow me to leave the hotel.

Apparently, my company have made it a condition of the accommodation contract that all crew are to remain in the compound, locked behind big, guarded gates.

Since other guests have to come and go, the gates were opened from time to time. Short of wrestling me to the ground, the guards could not actually stop me leaving the premises, so I took a quick wander around the neighbourhood, picking up some common species such as African Thrush, Village Weaver and Western Plantain Eater.

The desk clerk eventually relented and called a car that took me to Millennium Park and we agreed a pick-up time for some 2 hours hence at the guarded gate (Google Earth ref; 9 4 17.96N 7 29 49.84E). For future reference, 2 hours was not quite enough and I found myself hurrying back to the gate. 3 would be about right.

The park has lawns, trees and 2 small rivers which converge at the bottom of the slope. I headed down the path, noting Yellow-billed Shrike, African Thrush and Common Bulbul. At the bottom of the slope it is possible to see across the river into some waste ground beyond. A Grey Kestrel perched on a pylon here with a Black-winged Bishop teed up on a tall slender reed. A Senegal Coucal stood out boldly on the grass. A bridge crosses the upper river at Google Earth ref; 9 4 12.99N 7 29 50.97E. The southern lawns were quite open and dotted with trees which held Superb Sunbird, Green-headed Sunbird and Scarlet-chested Sunbird. I followed the river upstream until I came to the eastern side of the park which was marked by a tiny African Pygmy Kingfisher.

Cattle Egrets stalked the lawns to the north of this section as I found the other river and followed it back to the bridge. Here I crossed and followed the other river back upstream. This area was slightly more closed. Larger, denser trees lined the far bank, but the light was much better from this side in the evening. Violet Turacos, African Paradise Flycatcher and Yellow-throated Greenbuls were seen along the riparian woodland line with Fork-tailed Drongos, Woodland Kingfishers and Brown-throated Wattle-eyes seen on the wooded slopes on the other side of the trim trail.

Yellow-throated Greenbul

As the sun dimmed towards the end of the evening, an entrancing sunbird caught my attention. In the low-angled light the breast shimmered red and the head lit up gold. I had to thumb through the Nectariniidae section a couple of times before I found Copper Sunbird and I have to say that the illustration does not do it justice.

Bird list for Millennium Park; 38

Double-spurred Francolin 7, Long-tailed Cormorant 3, Cattle Egret 5, Shikra 1, Eurasian Kestrel 2, Grey Kestrel 1, Red-eyed Dove 15, Laughing Dove 1, Violet Turaco 2, Western Plantain-eater 4, Levaillant’s Cuckoo 1, Senegal Coucal 3, Little Swift 4, African Pygmy Kingfisher 2, Woodland Kingfisher 1, Brown-throated Wattle-eye 1, Northern Puffback 2, Red-shouldered Cuckooo-Shrike 1, Yellow-billed Shrike 5, Fork-tailed Drongo 1, African Paradise Flycatcher 5, Pied Crow 2, Lesser-striped Swallow 3, Yellow-throated Greenbul 3, Common Bulbul 25, Green-backed Camaroptera 1, African Thrush 15, Collared Sunbird 1, Green-headed Sunbird 1, Scarlet-chested Sunbird 5, Superb Sunbird 1, Variable Sunbird 2, Copper Sunbird 1, Northern Grey-headed Sparrow 2, Village Weaver 12, Black-winged Bishop 1, Red-cheeked Cordonbleu 8, Bronze Mannikin12.

Millennium Park is a public park that is enclosed by heavy fencing with guards at each gate. A bag search is conducted by security, but there is no charge for entrance.

On this Sunday afternoon, there were a few families with children using the playground and a few couples flirting in the shade of trees.  I should guess that it is very quiet during the week.

There are no facilities except hawkers selling refreshments at the gate.

The private taxi from the hotel cost 4,000 Naira (@ 277 Naira = £1) to drop at the park and pick up again 2 hours later.

For a previous post from Millennium Park, follow the link below;

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/millenium-park-abuja-nigeria.html

Visit the dedicated Africa Page for more posts from Nigeria.
Birding, birdwatching, Abuja, Nigeria

Millenium Park, Abuja, Nigeria

I started the afternoon angry and impatient after another run-in with hotel security in Nigeria. This time at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.

They had given me the run around about bird watching in the gardens of the hotel again and wasted an hour of my time before I gave up and crossed the road to Millennium Park instead (Google ref; 09 04’18N 07 24’50E).

In the early morning, the park would have been my first choice, but rain stopped play. As the day progresses, the park becomes busier and interested spectators increase exponentially. I accepted this as inevitable and the lesser of two irritants.

The main attractions of the park are two small rivers that converge here. I started to follow the northern of the two which flowed from the WNW. On the first bend was a substantial Village Weaver colony with a number of nests still in the approval stages.

Male weavers build the nests, but will often abandon their efforts if a female does not show enough interest. His materials may be recycled into his subsequent attempts until female approval is granted and rewarded in time honoured fashion. The males of the local race of Village Weavers have a chestnut nape.

Already I had attracted inquisitive onlookers and was feeling slightly exposed. A young man called Marvelox was becoming very persistent and eventually I accepted his company and his offers of help. The first thing he did was set me a quandary. The bird below had me puzzled for some time.

I eventually plumped for Northern Black Flycatcher, but the bill seemed very fine and the bird did not sit as upright as I would expect it to. Only after seeing the rictal bristles on super digital zoom did I accept it as the only real likelihood.

A pair of wonderful Bearded Barbets flew over and a young Grey-headed Kingfisher flew up into a tree nearby. One of his parents was in the adjacent tree wearing the red bill and chestnut waistcoat attained through seniority.

Another young man, Manuel joined us and both became keen spotters. Though obviously non-birders, they showed an interest and “watched my back” which was comforting though ironic since I had abandoned birding at the hotel after their insistence that I be accompanied.

A young Splendid Sunbird was feeding on small insects that used to call a banana flower home.

I almost dismissed a Senegal Batis as the Chinspot version until I checked my field guide for confirmation.
The stream harbours some fantastic insect life as well as the birds, including beautiful butterflies and extraordinary locust/hopper things. 

 A Yellow-bill and a Senegal Coucal showed briefly on the other side of the river.

My dragonfly blog has not been getting enough traffic to warrant it’s distinct identity so will return to being part of the bird posts. The “blogger floggers” who want me to “stick to the birds” will have to suck it up. Whose blog is it anyway?

As dusk approached, we returned downstream. Some Bar-breasted Firefinches waited until I had stowed the camera before emerging and then disappeared again as soon as I unshipped it. A sunbird gave me cause for thought right at the end. It was silhouetted against the fading sky and I can only hazard a guess at Copper Sunbird. All thoughts welcome as it would be a red crayon bird for me..

Warnings of personal security risks in Nigeria can discourage people from experiencing life beyond the coffee shop and gym. Young men such as Marvelox and Manuel show that Nigerians can be as welcoming as anyone else in the world. If an escort would give you more confidence to go further a-field, I can put you in contact with them.

Bird species; 29

Cattle Egret 50, Striated Heron 1, Yellow-billed Kite 15, Red-eyed Dove 8, Western Grey Plantain-eater 12, Yellowbill 1, Senegal Coucal 1, African Palm Swift 4, Grey-headed Kingfisher 6, Bearded Barbet 4, Red-shouldered Cuckoo-shrike 4, Common Bulbul 40, Yellow-throated Greenbul 2, African Thrush 12, Snowy-crowned Robin-chat 2, Northern Crombec 1, Northern Black Flycatcher 1, Brown-throated Wattle-eye 1, Senegal Batis 1, Splendid Sunbird 1, Yellow-billed Shrike 6, Northern Puffback 1, Fork-tailed Drongo 2, Piapiac 2, Pied Crow 1, Village Weaver 40, Bar-breasted Firefinch 2, Red-cheeked Cordonbleu 2, Bronze Manikin 1,

Other birds seen en-route and during my aborted walk at the hotel are included below to give a fuller picture of what might be found in a municipal park in Abuja and generally around the area on a May afternoon. Additional species brought my list total to 40.

Additional species;

Cattle Egret 25, Common Kestrel 6, Laughing Dove 3, Western Grey Plantain-eaters 8, Senegal Coucal 1, African Palm Swift 6, Little Swift 300, Yellow-fronted Tinker-barbet 1, Bearded Barbet 2, Common Bulbul 20, African Thrush 8, Brown Babbler 1, Yellow-billed Shrike 8, Northern Puffback 1, Fork-tailed Drongo3, Piapiac 7, Purple Glossy Starling 1, Grey-headed Sparrow 2, Village Weaver 20

Wot? No pictures?

My trip this weekend is scheduled to be Lagos in Nigeria.

Without the camera, It could be a dull monologue, so here is a picture gallery taken from previous trips to Nigeria.

Common Wattle-eye

Grey-headed Kingfisher

Malachite Kingfisher

Blue-breasted Kingfisher

Yellow-billed Shrike

Scarlet-chested Sunbird

Yellow-throated Longclaw

Splendid Sunbird

I hope you liked them.

Now that I look with an ritical eye, I notice that all of these pictures came from Abuja. Abuja is a few hundred miles North of Lagos and was recently adopted as the administrative capital of Nigeria

Actually, the trip to Lagos was quiet with only a very few birds seen around the grounds of the Sheraton Ikeja, Lagos.

These included, Allied Hornbill, Western Grey Plantain Eater (always reliable) and Splendid Glossy Starling among the African Thrush and Common Bulbul.