Andrew’s 2 month expedition studying the rare Cape Verde Warbler.
This expedition was part of a project by the University of East Anglia, UK, led by Helena Batalha and Dr. David Richardson. The project was part funded by the Rufford Foundation.
For more info:
http://www.rufford.org/projects/helena_batalha or http://www.africanbirdclub.org/sites/default/files/2013_CV_Warbler2_0.pdf or email h.batalha@uea.ac.uk
The first European colonial outpost in the tropics and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Established by the Portuguese, it became an important trading port especially for the transcontinental slave trade.
Fogo National Park
São Nicolau
The small fishing village of Tarrafal. Saw my first ever sea turtle here, probably a loggerhead (Caretta caretta), swimming amongst the boats.
Serra Malagueta Natural Park.
I feel privileged to have seen this breeding colony of Bourne’s Heron. This bird is only found on the island of Santiago and there are thought to be fewer than 100 individuals left with over half the population nesting on this one tree!
Needless to say, the breeding success of these incredibly rare bids is being monitored very closely. By looking at the number of fallen eggshells underneath the tree and through direct observation they can estimate the fledgling success.
The 1st bird we caught in Cape Verde
Viewed from Praia cliffs. These spectacular birds are almost 1 metre in length (including the tail) and are in decline in Cape Verde.
Endemic to Cape Verde.
Serra Malagueta Natural Park
Serra Malagueta Natural Park.
Serra Malagueta Natural Park
Serra Malagueta Natural Park
The island of Fogo is essentially one large volcano (3,000m above sea level). On the slopes of the volcano are productive coffee and banana plantations.
Mount Fogo is an active volcano that last erupted in 1995. The crater/caldera is vast (about 10km in diameter) and full of unusual rock formations and hardened lava streams.
Fogo National Park
Feas’s Petrel (Pterodroma feae) breed in the caldera of Mount Fogo. Nice to see the locals showing some respect for their natural heritage. Unfortunately it was the wrong time of the year to see them in the crater!
This lived in our bathroom in Fogo
São Nicolau
São Nicolau.
São Nicolau.
Monte Gordo National Park, São Nicolau.
Boat to Raso Island. We managed to get a fishing boat to take us to Raso Island in the hope of seeing the Raso Lark (Alauda razae). The Raso Lark is one of the rarest and most range restricted birds in the world. Unfortunately we couldn’t get permission to land on the island as it is an important seabird colony and the Cape Verdean government will not allow any to land on Raso to stop people eating the seabirds. Thousands of Little Shearwaters have been killed some years for food. Our plan was to try and see this very rare, small, brown bird from the boat!
The Kestrel tried to catch a Cape Verde Warbler in the net, awesome!
Crow Crag Productions 