December 1999
  • December 10     Dominika moved some 25 km in the Maghama area in southern Mauritania and she stopped near the Senegal river.

  • December 13     Czech Radio Expedition team including Miroslav Bobek, Khalil Baalbaki, and Jan Petrů left Prague for Dakar. They wanted to follow Dominika with Krystof and explore their winter habitat.

  • December 18     The expedition received short signal of Dominika's ground transmitter in southern Mauritania near Maghama; she was probably gliding over the Senegal river.

  • December 19     The expedition crew found Dominika near Maghama by a small lake. Tens of black storks were there with her, making this spot the greatest winter habitat ever recorded in terms of the A. O. project.

  • December 20     Krystof left his winter habitat near the river Karakoro on Mauritania/Mali border and moved some 80 km south to Kayes area in Mali.

  • December 24     The expedition crew terminated a week-long continuous monitoring of Dominika. In her winter habitat, they saw 75 to 80 black storks and explored the birds' daytime cycle/activity. In the morning, the storks were feeding themselves in separate splashes/pools. Then they spent some time sitting on the trees and went feeding again. Birds gathered together and formed several groups. At about 10 a.m., he groups usually took off together and flew to larger water pool ("the small lake"). That is where the storks stayed - if no shepherds showed up - until evening: they were resting, bathing, hunting or clearing feathers. After sunset, the storks flew to a nearby field and then split into darkness, searching for a dry tree in the neighborhood.

  • December 25     The expedition met several nomads with cattle and camel herds. This happened in an area where Dominica had been located in early December. No black storks were to be seen there

  • December 26     The expedition crew visited the place where Krystof was located a week ago. They found four black stork individuals there.

  • December 27     The expedition left Mauritania, crossed Senegal and reached Mali.

  • December 29     After an exhausting day-long march, the expedition started to follow Krystof. He resided in a dry river bed together with another black stork and some birds; the water was quickly vanishing from the bush.

  • December 30     The expedition kept on following Krystof and then the crew went to "base camp".


Texts by Miroslav Bobek and František Pojer
Photo by Khalil Baalbaki, Gérard Jadoul and archive of Africka odysea
Design by Tom Vild
Page by Lenka Hampapová
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