We were going to break the African big year record. We were going to see (hopefully) over 1,700 species of birds on the continent for the year. We were going to live out of a truck and do it all independently. We were going to see so many remote and far-off places. It was supposed to be an adventure. And it was… while it lasted. But that big year was ripped away from us by circumstances out of our control. But not only was the big year, Ross’s goal to have over 7,000 species on his life list by the end of the year was gone too. And his other goal of becoming the youngest person in the world to see 9,000 species (something he hoped to accomplish before the age of 40) was suddenly a lot more difficult without a large portion of Africa already cleaned up.
With trans-continental borders all around closed as a result of a contagious coronavirus, we couldn’t leave Tanzania. Originally we didn’t mind being stuck in Tanzania because we still had plenty of birds to see. But with some countries closing down all non-essential travel out of villages or enforcing a curfew, and others going on complete lock down, we risked being quarantined in a less than ideal situation should Tanzania decide to implement similar measures. In an unprecedented move, it was becoming normal for people not to be allowed to leave their houses unless it was absolutely necessary. How could we justify travelling to see birds as essential?
So much to think about. We might have left a bit sooner if it weren’t for the fact that we needed to figure out what to do with our tuck. You see, we owned a South African registered truck brought into Tanzania on a 90-day temporary import permit (TIP) and overstaying that permit could result in thousands of dollars in fines. Not to mention the possibility of losing the truck and therefore any money we hoped to get back after selling it at the completion of our big year.
We also needed to consider what would happen should we get sick. Being caught in a country with a fragile health system was not ideal. What hospital would be worth going to?
And then we needed to consider the anti-foreigner sentiment as a result of a contagion created by foreigners. While we weren’t those people, we still looked like it to the locals. We had already been denied entrance to a village due to our skin color as a result of COVID-19 and everywhere we went we heard whispers of “coronavirus” as we walked by.
Our world, a globally connected society, was shutting down. We had to decide — get on one of the last flights to go home, or ride it out in Africa? We made the difficult decision to go back to the USA.
To be clear, we weren’t going home because we were afraid of the virus itself, we were really going home because of the travel restrictions put in place that would make it hard for us to stay. We couldn’t justify spending money without the possibility of seeing any new birds. We couldn’t risk sheltering in place for months on end.
We don’t have a crystal ball. We don’t know how this is going to play out. This could last for weeks. It could last for months. And with how it is projected, we suspect it could get a whole lot worse before it gets better.
It makes me very sad when I think about all that we lost. But I know I’m not alone. COVID-19 has taken away so much from so many. We still have a lot to be thankful for. As a nurse, I still have a job. As a human, I still have my health. As a birder, a traveler, an adventurer, I can always come back. And believe me, we will be back. Would we do it all again? YES. One thousand times yes. (Only next time we might prefer to go during a year there isn’t a global pandemic.)
All that being said, there are still plenty of blog posts to come! Zambia, Malawi, Ghana, Tanzania (what we did accomplish) are still to come so stay tuned!
And in case you are wondering, we left our truck in the care of a kind man named Eckhart in Dar Es Salaam. If this thing goes away, we hope to return before the year is up and pick up where we left off. (Maybe that’s wishful thinking, but we’ll hold on hope. Maybe Africa will be spared.)
Oh, and since this is a bird blog, I should probably mention that we were just shy of three months into our big year and had already seen 1,004 species in Africa! Stay safe everyone!
So sorry to hear you had to cut your trip short..have a safe return…you will have some time to replan this trip in the near future.
Great post. Nice to know what your aggresive goals were/are.
When you talk about the idea of “youngest to reach 9,000,” do you know if there is an official list for such things, and where it resides? I’ve been looking for years for a full repository of such birding records. The ABA seems to track a lot, but they don’t care about global records, IIRC.
I am worried about the future of global birding. This is going to really hurt ecolodges and free-lance guides. Flight coordination will get tougher with fewer options and less flexibility. I am concerned that many guides will have to change their line of work because tours will dry up. Hopefully this will just be a blip.
The folks that set recent global big year records did so in the nick of time, IMO. Arjan’s record will not fall in 2020 or 2021…
Like you, we are not worried about the virus so much as the reaction to it. Peru is getting crazier by the day.
I don’t think there’s an official list. As you mentioned, the ABA doesn’t cover global very well at all. The most accurate snapshot would probably be surfbirds world list, but as mentioned by Phil, igoterra also has a lot of the major listers on it. EBird is also lacking for the most part, but if you look at surfbirds, igoterra, and eBird you can get a pretty good understanding of the overall picture! As for “youngest to hit 9,000” I don’t think anywhere keeps track of age, but luckily the global world listing community is small enough that it’s fairly easy to keep track of such things. Johnathan Rossouw hit 9,000 last year just before his 50th and was the first person to hit 9,000 before 50. I think 9,000 by 40 at least was in the realm of possibilities for me before these issues. Not sure if it still is, but will definitely keep working on it!
Sort of ironic that you are leaving Africa for USA….the new covid -19 hotspot, complete with an arguably third world health system. Good luck. I enjoy your posts. Maybe the birds might be the winners from this pandemic.
Yea we just left Tanzania with 13 cases for Chester Co which has +80 cases! But I still think if things get wild, the USA is a better place to be than Tanzania where we’d have no support system. Hopefully things calm down soon and we can return!
Sorry you had to abandon the great African adventure, I have enjoyed it thus far and was looking forward to the rest, but in the circumstances I am surprised you hung on as long as you did. Let’s hope you can pick it up again sometime, meantime stay safe and good luck back home, I hope you can get back without undue complication.
For any readers who might not know it, the iGoTerra site has lots of lists and totals from all countries, and includes world totals, well worth checking out
Thanks Phil. Yes, we made it home safely. We did try to hang on for as long as we could, but seeing all the countries around us completely shutting down was enough to push us to head home. I’m hoping we can get back in a few months, but I feel like that’s just wishful thinking at the moment.
Love your reports. Looking forward to Ghana report especially as I was there in February and was pleased to see a flufftail after reading your attempts.
Nice! Yes, white-spotted is typically a bit easier to see than the others, but any sighting of a flufftail is something to celebrate! Ghana posts will be coming soon, although I’ll have to warn you, our Ghana trip was a bit of a disaster but luckily we still managed most of the birds. But more of that to follow!
Very sorry to hear of this news. I am sure that you two will bounce back and cover Africa very soon. Good luck till then and take care.
Thanks! Yes we hope things calm down soon and we can get back at it!
Hi Ross and Melissa, a big THANK YOU for your blog … I can’t count the number of countries / airports where I’ve enjoyed reading about your adventures and thought this might be a good time to send some love. I mean, how many people make it to Mount Namuli? With life so unpredictable I admire your courage to do what you can while you can. I think it’s better to shoot for the stars and (almost inevitably) end up with some battle scars versus ‘playing it safe’ and never being disappointed. I’m sorry to hear that this difficult situation cut short your overland trip, given all the planning you put in, your vehicle, etc. I have a feeling there are lots of great birds and adventures in your future 🙂
Thanks Jason, I’m glad you’ve been enjoying the blog. Yes. The currently situation sucks pretty bad, but hopefully things can get back to normal in a few months. Hopefully you’re staying safe as well and finding a few birds during these times!
Sorry to hear this trip came to an end. What a great adventure!
Dear Melissa and Ross, your passion for birding has taken you all these fabulous places! I was so excited to follow the blog for updates on your great African adventure. Your trips are an inspiration! When the COVID-19 crises started to hit us in Europe (and the US), we originally thought you were luck to ride it out in East Africa and not be affected at all. How naive I was! I’m so sorry it cut your big African year short. All the best for the coming months at home. Greetings from Austria!
Thank you for your kind words. We hope that things calm down in the coming months and maybe, if we’re lucky, we can get back to our big year sometime in August! Until then, going to do small walks around our local area and see what spring migrants arrive in the coming weeks!