TPC Pools: Trip IV

Flamingos overhead!

About a half hour drive away from our house, the pools are the closest quality birding spot in Moshi (TPC I, TPC II, TPC III). This past weekend I was even more excited to go because Ana had brought her telescope back from Spain and I was keen to learn how to use it. She told me that it was best used for shore birds since they stay relatively still and are typically out of good view when using binoculars. We decided to pop out to the pools on Sunday afternoon and see what was around.

The last time we visited the pools were pretty low and we have a hard time understanding what causes the water level to fluctuate. It is the dry season now and we haven't had much rain, though we have been on holiday for most of July/August. The water seemed to be at a normal level and at first we saw our usual suspects.

However, at a seldom visited pool (there's probably 5-10 pools) we saw a mirage of pink. Was it a mirage? No, it was 475 flamingos! We had never even seen one flamingo here and although they are known to migrate quite a bit, we were still surprised to see such a great number. We enjoyed watching them from a distance with the telescope before something suddenly scared them. They all took off in unison and we watched at they circled around overhead. The day was very hot and the air was still so as the flamingos circled back and flew directly over us, the flapping of their wings crescendoed overhead. It was a truly spectacular moment!

We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon, though anything more than two hours in the hot sun can be too much. I did end up having a great tutorial with the telescope and now I'm excited to take it out again!

A black winged stilt takes off over the pools. 

Ana checking out some birds with a little dust tornado heading her way. 

Pools with the "blue mountains" in the background. 

Flamingos taking off. 

The cows don't bother. 

Setting up to look at some Wood Sandpipers across the way.