After a tiresome safari, it is always good to relax some days by the sea before returning home. On this journey, I booked a lodge at a place called Bomani Beach Bungalows, about 60 km north of Dar es Salaam. This lodge is situated in Mlingotini Village on coastal mainland Tanzania south of Bagamoyo. There I got a rustic room with a terrace overlooking a lagoon for about one week in early December. A perfect spot looking for birds and observe the locals doing their fishing business.

With December and January easily being the warmest months in the region, I preferred to stay in the shadows enjoying the Indian Ocean breeze, close to the air-conditioned room. I kept my camera with the 200-500 mm lens nearby, and occasionally got some photos of birds overflying the lagoon or smaller birds visiting the garden in front of me. Many of the heavily cropped bird images shown here were taken from this terrace spot. During my stay, I booked a two-hour boat trip in nearby Saadani National Park. Saadani National Park was gazetted as recently as in 2005. Saadani National Park covers 1062 km2 and is located about 130 km north of Dar es Salaam. Not known to be rich of wildlife, and far from resembling the in-land parks in terms of animal diversity, the coastal vicinity presents a different ecosystem. The trip that cost me about $180 for a two-hour boat ride (yikes!), was well worth the dollars. It started fro the Porokanya-Wami River Boat Safari Pier. Anyway, the most memorable moment of the trip was when the amateurish boat driver managed to ground the boat on a sandbank. An American, maybe aged 65, offered to help by jumping into the crocodile-infested river, to help pushing the boat free. His final words were, "I have lived a good life" :) With the help of the clients, the boat was freed. We got to see some hippos, and I got photos of the Pied Kingfisher. At the boat ramp area, I managed to get a photo of the Palm-Nut Vulture, the highlight of the trip. I am not saying you should not visit this park, although the Americans joining my boat ride claimed to have only seen giraffes during their morning safari game drive. My advice is to skip this park for mammals but go there for the birds. Although we did not see a lot of bird species during the boat ride, Saadani National Park appears to be a good place for birding.

I also went for a half-day dhow trip in the lagoon to look for flamingos. No flamingos were seen, unfortunately, but the white Indian Ocean beaches were well worth the visit. I managed to see numerous species of waders and terns from a distance. And got to see the Crab Plover, a new species to me.

Cabin at the Bomani Beach Bungalows

Dhow sailing

Lagoon view from the cabin terrace

Palm-nut Vulture (Gypohierax angolensis), Wami River. The highlight of the trip to Saadani National Park. I also observed this species from my terrace at Bomani Beach Bungalows and on my dhow trip at the same location. Meaning this vulture must be rather common on this coastal stretch

Palm-nut Vulture, appears to be the same individual as the opposite bird, coming back for more catfish

Northern Carmine Bee-eater (Merops nubicus), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Bomani Beach Bungalows

European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Brown-breasted Barbet (Lybius melanopterus), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Common Scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas)

African Pied Wagtail (Motacilla aguimp), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Salt production plant in Saadani National Park

Grey-headed Kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis), Wami River, Saadani National Park

Bronze Mannikin (Lonchura cucullata), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Indian Ocean seabirds, Bagamoyo

Lesser Crested Tern (Thalasseus bengalensis), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Saunder's Tern (Sternula saundersi), Saadani National Park

Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) (with red bill, largest tern in the world), Bagamoyo (heavily cropped!)

Crab Plover (Dromas ardeola), Bagamoyo

Crab Plover, Bagamoyo

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Little Egret, or more likely Dimorphic Egret, dark morph (Egretta dimorpha), Bagamoyo. Little and Dimorphic Egret is now considered the same species by some experts

Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Dimorphic Egret (Egretta dimorpha), Wami River, Saadani National Park

Ring-necked Dove (Streptopelia capicola), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Emerald-spotted Wood-dove (Turtur chalcospilos), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Namaqua Dove (Oena capensis), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Fork-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis fugax), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Black-bellied Starling (Lamprotornis corruscus), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Spectacled Weaver - male (Ploceus ocularis), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Spectacled Weaver - female (Ploceus ocularis), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Nest-building Village Weaver (Ploceus cucullatus), Saadani National Park

Sombre Greenbul (Andropadus importunus), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Yellow-billed Kite with prey, looks like a Crab Plover?

Poor image of a Black Goshawk (Accipiter melanoleucus) with a wader prey

African Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer), Wami River, Saadani National Park

African Harrier Hawk (Polyboroides typus), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Collared Sunbird (Hedydipna collaris), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Purple-banded Sunbird (Cinnyris bifasciatus), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Eurasian Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus), Bomani Beach Bungalows

African Black-headed Oriole (Oriolus larvatus), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Klaas's Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx klaas), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Northern Grey-headed Sparrow (Passer griseus) with a Brown-Breasted Barbet

White-browed Coucal (Centropus superciliosus), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Curlew Sandpiper - Tundrasnipe (Calidris ferruginea)

Common Greenshank - Gluttsnipe (Tringa nebularia), Saadani National Park

White-fronted Plover - Strandlo (Charadrius marginatus)

White-fronted Plover

Greater Sandplover - Ørkenlo (Charadrius leschenaultii) in front of a Curlew Sandpiper

Size matter! A Lesser Sandplover - Mongollo (Charadrius mongolus), next to a Curlew Sandpiper (left)

Little Stint - Dvergsnipe (Charadrius marginatus)

Little Stint - Dvergsnipe

Bar-tailed Godwit - Lappsove (Limosa lapponica), with a Common Greenshank in front and Whimbrel to the left

Eurasian Curlew - Storspove (Numenius arquata)

Common Ringed Plover - Sandlo (Charadrius hiaticula)

Terek Sandpiper - Tereksnipe (Xenus cinereus) and Whimbrel - Småspove (Numenius phaeopus)

Whimbrel - Småsove (Numenius phaeopus), Wami River, Saadani National Park

Water Thick-knee (Burhinus vermiculatus), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Banded Mongoose (Mungos mungo), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Banded Mongoose on alert

Stranded Blue-lined Philinopsis (Philinopsis speciosa), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Mangrove Fiddler crab (Uca sp.), Saadani NP. Female left, only males have large claw. Six species of fiddler crabs occur in East Africa: Uca annulipes (=Uca occidentalis), Uca gaimardi, Uca inversa, Uca hesperiae, Uca urvillei and Uca tetragonon. Could be Uca tetragonon? Saadani National Park

African Open-billed Stork (Anastomus lamelligerus), Bomani Beach Bungalows

Woolly-necked Stork (Ciconia episcopus), Wami River, Saadani National Park

The Sausage Tree (Kigelia africana) fruit

From the beach at Bomani Beach Bungalows

Northern Greater Galago (Otolemur garnettii ssp. panganiensis), the most common bushbaby in coastal Tanzania. Bomani Beach Bungalows

Tropical House Gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia), Bomani Beach Bungalows