Birding
A birding expedition can take many forms due to the exceptional variety of habitats available, and by far the most exciting prospect is cruising the mangroves channels, miles of beaches, the nearby Linene Estuary or the open ocean is search of birds inhabiting this picturesque landscape.
Straight from the Lodge departure, Pelican Bay is often filled with a variety of species from Yellow-billed storks, little egrets, cormorants, kingfishers and of course massive pink-backed pelicans which the bay was named after. These can generally be approached quite close in a boat and provide great viewing.
Venturing further afield the shoreline and mangroves of the San Sebastián Coastal Reserve are filled with a magnitude of species and often host rare and special birds skulking along the well vegetated shoreline and forests. Similar to Pelican Bay, a variety of species roost here at night and congregate here in vast numbers to find shelter in and on the mangroves.
Moving from the mangroves to the Estuary one can expect to come across greater flamingoes wading in the shallows, their bright pink plumage contrasting beautifully against the white sands and blue waters
The Linene Estuary, accessible during high tide, is simply spectacular in its variety of birdlife it hosts, with sandbanks and islands simply covered in thousands of birds of several species. Terns are the most abundant, whilst rare crab plovers zip between small sandpits and islands over azure coloured waters. A special occurrence to keep your eyes open for in this area are Indian Ocean humpback dolphins on the hunt, herding fish to the shoreline and beaching themselves to gorge on fish which dashed for dry land in an attempt to escape, with birds following the hunt to grab a fish or two for themselves. This area acts as a migrant trap for birds and is exceptional for finding rare and out-of-range species
Long telephoto lenses are required for coastal birding, and anything from 400mm (longer is better) and upwards work beautifully on these expeditions
Boat Based Birding
Gallery
