My time in Kuti has come to an end. There is a large group from Lilongwe here and I will try to hitch a ride with one of them (if they are sober) tomorrow. On Tuesday I am supposed to travel on to my next assignment – the African Bat Conservation (ABC) project at Liwonde National Park. I have been photographing bats here at Kuti to contribute to their survey: here are some Fruit Bats that hang out (literally) at the Education Center.
Bats getting educated
These last days I have been using a bicycle to move around. It allows me to reach some corners of the park where I haven’t spent much time yet and is also convenient since I have moved to a house a bit further from Landirani, the reception/restaurant where we meet and have our meals. Ciaran left on Thursday, back to Lilongwe and onwards to Ireland. We had grown close, him and I and Catherine, during the 10 or so days we had been here. Three very different people – a solicitor, a management consultant and me, whatever label applies. Very harmonious, complimentary, we had a lovely time together.
With the large group expected (more about them further on) I had to move out of the cosy chalet I had shared with C. My new quarters are the old managers lodge – a real “Bush House” with a rusty tin roof and a screened verandah. It is sadly neglected and although Linus (the German Peace Corps volunteer ) has been living in it for a few weeks, except for some empty beer bottles he hasn’t done much by way of interior decoration; I think he will take to student life very well when he starts his medicine studies in Freiburg next year. He is away for a long weekend and as the dusk gathers and the monkeys in the Gum-tree outside become silhouettes funny noises start coming from the roof, also from the door frame which is a bit more alarming (probably geckos). I had been tempted to open the trap-door to the attic in pursuit of more bat photos but after my encounter with the shower curtain my eagerness to meet exotic life-forms was quite satisfied.
The old Bungalow
On my last day I ride out to the big wetland at “Sunset Deck”. There are many birds and animals here but we always come here to watch the spectacular sunsets over the Rift Valley escarpment. So it’s hard to see much when the sun is in your eyes.
Kuti Sunset
Now in the early morning I can get a good look at at the various birds: Plovers, Pelicans, Ibises, Herons, Geese and others. There are also quite a few villagers checking their fish traps. They are not supposed to be doing this – technically they are poaching – I guess they know the “Bosses” only come here at sunset. Anyway with all the birds and fishermen and the water level being very low I don’t believe anyone’s finding a lot of fish.
Sunrise on the Wetland
The Fish don’t have a chance
In the afternoon it just has to be the Dambo. This waterhole is the best birding spot here. I park my bike and make my way quietly along a game trail to a shady spot from which I can see: Wart-hogs, guinea-fowl, an Impala all doing their thing at the far end. A classic African scene.
While I watch, I suddenly think of what I call “the Bird Tree”. It’s a large dead tree that birds love to perch on. Whenever I pass it I look and there is almost always somebody there – like this Paradise Wydah flying his long tail in the wind from the highest point – what a show-off!
It isn’t far with the bike so I pedal over and there is a big brown bird of prey sitting in the tree. I have seen this fellow several times already but never well enough to be sure of his identity. Now he stares at me boldly with bright yellow eyes – as I suspected, a Brown Snake-Eagle!
[ text removed on request of Lilongwe Wildlife Trust Management ]
Sorry to go on a bit of a rant there. I have been avoiding this sort of stuff. What do I know? I have only been here a month – I could have it all wrong. Time to head over to the spooky house, a nice walk through the dark, with nightjars whistling and the stars overhead. I will wake up to monkeys having their breakfast in the Gum-trees and look around and say goodbye Kuti, see you again: Tiwonana Mawa (actually means see you tomorrow but its the best I can do with my very limited Chechewa vocabulary – and it does sound nice).
