Days Comoro Birding Tours

Comoro Birding Endemic birds ITINERARY

DAY1: – Arrive in Hahaya airport, Comoros

Arrive, welcome and transfer to hotel Retaj or Similar.

Afternoon birdingtour to Chongodjou for endemic Grande Comoro Drongo, Grande Comoro Cuckooroller, Comoro sunbirds, Comoro blue pigeon, Comoro olive pigeons….Etc

Tour briefing fornext morning

Night in hotel Jardin de la paix

Breakfast

DAY 2: – Moroni Mt Karthala expedition

Full day excursion to Mount Karthala. Drive with4X4 vehicle up to 1700 Meters and trekking 1hour and half to see famous endemickarthala white eye

Trek down trough primitive forest [UO1] to see Karthala Scops owl, Comoro bulbul, grande Comore cuckooroller, Comoro cukoo shrike, Comoro thrush, Comoro brash warbler etc

We will spend the full day hiking variousslopes of Mount Karthala, an active volcano and the highest point of theComoros. The mountain is covered by moist evergreen forest up to almost 6,000feet (about 1,800 meters) above sea level; higher up the vegetation consists ofstunted trees and heathland. We are able to drive about two thirds of the wayup to the top of the volcano, then walk the rest of the way (usually 1-2 hoursdepending on the group’s fitness) to see the crater and to bird the heathforest. On private trips, some clients prefer camping on the flank of MountKarthala, but the targets are still in reach without camping which is what wenow arrange for our set departure tours like this one. Karthala Scops Owl doesrequire staying in the forest until after dark, then walking back to the 4x4.Mount Karthala is an IBA (BirdLife International: Important Bird andBiodiversity Area), and its avian riches are truly exciting. Many of thesementioned species found on the mountain are endemic to the.island

Night in hotel Jardin de la paix

Breakfast and lunch

DAY 3: – 9h00 Flight Moroni—Anjouan island

Transfer to Hotel Johanna Livingstoni.

Afternoon/evening excursion to Moya forest to look for Anjouan Scops Owls.

Discover a variety of indigenousbirds, Anjouan cuckoo roller, Anjouansunbirds, Pale Paradise Flycatcher etc.

Today we’ll walk into Moya Forest (Forêt deMoya, another one of the Comoros’ IBAs) in the early morning and will spend theday birding in the forest. Here we’ll look for Anjouan Brush Warbler andAnjouan Sunbird, as well as for Frances’s Sparrowhawk, Comoros Olive Pigeon,Comoros Blue Pigeon, Lesser Vasa Parrot, Olive Bee-eater, Crested Drongo,Malagasy Paradise Flycatcher, Malagasy White-eye, Comoros Thrush, Comoros Fody,Malagasy Harrier, and, as always, many others. We also hope to visit a roost ofLivingstone's Flying Foxes, the rarest fruit bat in the world, which feed onthe agroforests scattered along the

Breakfast and lunch

DAY 4: – Scheduled Boat from Anjouan to Moheli

Arrive in Moheli and transfer to Relais de Singani hotel. Excursion to Miringoni to see the very endemic Moheli green pigeon and Moheli brush warbler and Thrush.There are four bird species endemic to Mohélit hat we will be looking for: Comoros Green Pigeon, Moheli Bulbul, Moheli BrushWarbler, and Moheli Scops Owl. Additional specials we might encounter on Mohéli,are Comoros Thrush, Blue Vanga, Tambourine Dove, Malagasy Turtle Dove, GreaterVasa Parrot, Malagasy White-eye, Malagasy Green Sunbird, Malagasy Harrier,spectacular flybys onto the volcanic ridges of Peregrine Falcon, and with luckeven the enigmatic Cuckoo Roller, the only member of an ancient lineage (notCoraciiformes), without any known relatives among modern birds and thereforethe only species in its own order. At night, we will have a sortie to try foranother one of our main targets, Moheli Scops Owl.

Night in hotel Relais de Singani

Breakfast and lunch

DAY 5: – Full day to Ziroudani birding

Drive to Ziroundani for birds’ site tolook for Moheli Green Sunbird, Moheli blue Vagan and Moheli scops Owls.

We will have another full day to search forthe avian treasures that the island of Mohéli has to offer. One of the thingswe might do, is walk down to the village of Nioumachoua and the Mohéli MarinePark, the Comoros’ first national park. (But the exact program depends on whatbirds we still need to target, and other factors). The islets of this park withtheir dry or non-existent vegetation are remarkable; their importance lies intheir attraction for seabirds. In particular we will look for White-tailedTropicbird as well as various other marine species. The part of the parkextending onto the land is home to Comoros Thrush, Moheli Brush Warbler, andBlue Vanga, among many others, and offers us another chance of finding MoheliScops Owl.

Night in hotel Relais de Singani

DAY 6: – Flight –10h30 – 11h00 Moheli to- Moroni

Transfer to Moheli airport for flight back toMoroni.

Arrive and transfer to hotel Retaj or Similar

Day free and discover the missed endemics bierds

Breakfast

DAY 7: – Flight – Onward flight back home

Transfer to airport. End of Comoros birding Services.

Breakfast

Tour include: Hotel accommodation, transfer from airport+ excursion tours of island+mineral water in the bus, national parcs

Tour Exclude: Visa;, Domestic flights, optional Dolphin and Whales watch according to weather, Food not mentioned in the program; drinks and personal expenses