Our February half-term this year was to Cape Verde, the island of Boa Vista, 6 hours flight from Manchester.
Boa Vista has only opened to tourism in the last 5 years, there are but 2 hotels on the island of any size, both run by Riu. We said in the Riu Touareg on the very south coast, the road only started about 2/3 of the way from the airport, which was very small. It can only cope with a max. 2 planes a day and has no electric to spare for landing lights, so all flights must arrive and depart in daylight !!!
The first bird seen was the endemic Iago Sparrow at the airport terminal (shed !!)
The transfer took about 35 minutes over mostly cobbled roads and tracks. It was apparent the idea of hiring a car was a non-starter as, when there were tracks, there weren't any signposts !!!
The journey added Brown Necked Raven, Hoopoe Lark, and Cattle Egret. On arrival at the hotel a Swallow and a House Martin were flying round the complex, although this was the only time I saw them.
Booking in was very smooth and efficient, as soon as I'd unpacked I took a stroll to find the grey water lagoons I'd read about and get my 'bearings'.
They were about 10 minutes walk to the east along the beach, although I later found it easier to walk to them along the road out of the front of the hotel.
I visited the lagoons nearly every day in the late afternoon. Black Winged Stilt, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Kentish and Ringed Plover were ever present, as were Hoopoe Lark, Bar Tailed Desert Lark, Spectacled Warlber and Spanish Sparrow in bushes and surrounding scrub.
On occasion I added Greenshank, Spotted Redshank, Wood Sandpiper, Ruff, Sanderling and Dunlin representing the waders.
Alexandra Kestrel and a passing Osprey were the only raptors.
Instead of turning right into the lagoons at the end of the road, a left turn up the track takes you to an old rundown farm of sorts, a few enclosed animal pens.
Further up this track away from the farm I found Cream Coloured Courser on some sandy patches, Hoopoe and Bar Tailed Lark in the rocks, and Black Crowned Sparrow Lark flitting about, another Alexandra Kestrel, the ever present Spanish Sparrow and Spectacled Warbler.
All I'd read about Boa Vista advised me to walk to the Isle Ihuela to look for the last pair of Magnificent Frigatebirds in the Western Palearctic, so one afternoon about 2.30 I set off believing it to be about 20 minutes walk along the beach !!!
Wrong !!!
About 45 minutes later after traversing sand dunes bigger than I 'd ever seen and cliffs of rock, good job it wasn't too hot, but the sun was very strong, I found the island.
Unfortunately by now a sandstorm had blown up and I could barely stand let alone hold my scope steady !!! I managed to find some shelter down the cliffs and saw alot of Brown Booby seemingly nesting on the island, I assumed the white ones were young and not Masked Booby.
Suffice to say, no Frigatebird !!!!
The only way back through the sandstorm was to heroically follow the beach until I sighted the hotel again !!!!
I'll probably never get all the sand out of my optics or my hair !!!!!
Before the storm I had seen Wimbrel, Grey Plover and Turnstone along the rocky coast.
I had wanted to go to the north of the island to see the Red Billed Tropicbird, but our 'island tour' didn't quite take us far enough north of Sal Rei, so I dipped on that too. Still a reason to return one day ??? On the tour I added Little Egret and Grey Heron. I also too this of the wild donkeys that inhabit the island.
So 30 species including 5 lifers wasn't a bad haul. I was disappointed to dip on the Frigatebird, which I think you'd need to be lucky to see, and the Tropicbird, which I think you'd get with a bit more persistence.
A relaxing time, because there's little to do on Boa Vista exept relax, that's no bad thing.
Lovely hotel, lovely friendly people, and warm, if somewhat windy weather.
They are planning to add another 18,000 hotel beds in the next 10 years, so it's going to change, maybe they'll add a few roads ???
Boa Vista has only opened to tourism in the last 5 years, there are but 2 hotels on the island of any size, both run by Riu. We said in the Riu Touareg on the very south coast, the road only started about 2/3 of the way from the airport, which was very small. It can only cope with a max. 2 planes a day and has no electric to spare for landing lights, so all flights must arrive and depart in daylight !!!
The first bird seen was the endemic Iago Sparrow at the airport terminal (shed !!)
The transfer took about 35 minutes over mostly cobbled roads and tracks. It was apparent the idea of hiring a car was a non-starter as, when there were tracks, there weren't any signposts !!!
The journey added Brown Necked Raven, Hoopoe Lark, and Cattle Egret. On arrival at the hotel a Swallow and a House Martin were flying round the complex, although this was the only time I saw them.
Booking in was very smooth and efficient, as soon as I'd unpacked I took a stroll to find the grey water lagoons I'd read about and get my 'bearings'.
They were about 10 minutes walk to the east along the beach, although I later found it easier to walk to them along the road out of the front of the hotel.
I visited the lagoons nearly every day in the late afternoon. Black Winged Stilt, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Kentish and Ringed Plover were ever present, as were Hoopoe Lark, Bar Tailed Desert Lark, Spectacled Warlber and Spanish Sparrow in bushes and surrounding scrub.
On occasion I added Greenshank, Spotted Redshank, Wood Sandpiper, Ruff, Sanderling and Dunlin representing the waders.
Alexandra Kestrel and a passing Osprey were the only raptors.
Instead of turning right into the lagoons at the end of the road, a left turn up the track takes you to an old rundown farm of sorts, a few enclosed animal pens.
Further up this track away from the farm I found Cream Coloured Courser on some sandy patches, Hoopoe and Bar Tailed Lark in the rocks, and Black Crowned Sparrow Lark flitting about, another Alexandra Kestrel, the ever present Spanish Sparrow and Spectacled Warbler.
All I'd read about Boa Vista advised me to walk to the Isle Ihuela to look for the last pair of Magnificent Frigatebirds in the Western Palearctic, so one afternoon about 2.30 I set off believing it to be about 20 minutes walk along the beach !!!
Wrong !!!
About 45 minutes later after traversing sand dunes bigger than I 'd ever seen and cliffs of rock, good job it wasn't too hot, but the sun was very strong, I found the island.
Unfortunately by now a sandstorm had blown up and I could barely stand let alone hold my scope steady !!! I managed to find some shelter down the cliffs and saw alot of Brown Booby seemingly nesting on the island, I assumed the white ones were young and not Masked Booby.
Suffice to say, no Frigatebird !!!!
The only way back through the sandstorm was to heroically follow the beach until I sighted the hotel again !!!!
I'll probably never get all the sand out of my optics or my hair !!!!!
Before the storm I had seen Wimbrel, Grey Plover and Turnstone along the rocky coast.
I had wanted to go to the north of the island to see the Red Billed Tropicbird, but our 'island tour' didn't quite take us far enough north of Sal Rei, so I dipped on that too. Still a reason to return one day ??? On the tour I added Little Egret and Grey Heron. I also too this of the wild donkeys that inhabit the island.
So 30 species including 5 lifers wasn't a bad haul. I was disappointed to dip on the Frigatebird, which I think you'd need to be lucky to see, and the Tropicbird, which I think you'd get with a bit more persistence.
A relaxing time, because there's little to do on Boa Vista exept relax, that's no bad thing.
Lovely hotel, lovely friendly people, and warm, if somewhat windy weather.
They are planning to add another 18,000 hotel beds in the next 10 years, so it's going to change, maybe they'll add a few roads ???
