Mon, April 22 - The Search for the Egyptian Plover

Up at 4:15 after a surprisingly good sleep - the music outside abated quite a bit and the A/C, while weak was good enough for us.  The motel served us omelets, toast and Dundee marmalade which was a slight improvement over the usual.  We dropped off a little laundry, took off at 5:30, and drove west for about 30 minutes to the long earthen Tono dam.  The sky was clear and we could see fishermen in long dug-out canoes taking off into the lake behind it.  We walked around the dry woodland savannah for several hours seeing several new birds among which was the Bearded Barbet, a robin-sized bird with bright red breast, black back and a large white bill with a little bristle below it. 

 The day which had started clear, suddenly grew dark and overcast which kept the temperature very pleasant.  The area was dotted with huge Baobab trees and was very lovely. We even found a little lily-filled pond in the middle of this arid land

Birding under a Baobab Tree

Birding Tono Dam

.  We returned to the Siri and as we got out of the bus, a tremendous wind picked up and buffeted us.  We went to our rooms and it started to thunder and pour!   We found the group’s laundry covering the bar with the ceiling fans rotating at top speed trying to dry it!  Very accomodating staff!!  When the rain slackened a bit we dashed to the van and took off once again to the Comme Çi, Comme Ça  where we were able to admire the decorations and originality of the place.  The lunch was the usual with pineapple and very good mango for dessert.

 

 Comme Çi, Comme Ça Restaurant

We took off from the restaurant in the slackening rain and headed east for 48 miles and, as the road was in such a badly potholed condition, it took us 2 hours to get to the village of Sapeliga where we picked up a local guide.  We continued on a mile and found ourselves on the bank of the White Volta River, winding beautifully through steep terraced banks and full of wide sand bars.  On the other side was the country of Burkina Faso.  We watched a dugout canoe ferry bring a passenger and motorcycle precariously across!  Our goal here was to see the Egyptian Plover and there they were!  Very lovely small birds with apricot breast, blue-grey back and distinctively-marked black and white head.  The bird appears to have no neck but the body and head form a teardrop shape with a beak.  We watched them and the river before getting back in the bus for the two hours back.  After the rain all the fields were partially flooded and the streams bubbling along - I guess the rainy season has finally begun. 

We passed many  adobe mosques and compounds, some with the thatch forming high peaks in the center of the roofs.  Everyone was very friendly: adults responding to our waves with two-handed waves back and the little kids jumping up and down.  Springtime is here as we also saw lots of just-born goat kids, lambs and tiny piglets, along with burros.

Dinner at Comme Çi Comme Ça.