Trip to Nigeria, Ilara-Mokin

During my trip to Nigeria, I was able to visit my hometown of Ilara-Mokin, in Ondo State in Southwestern Nigeria.
I started my journey in the town of Ile-Ife, where I saw 2 woodland kingfishers on the roof of the hotel! Kingfishers are identified by their bright red beaks, where they are known as àpọ́n in Yoruba, literally meaning "the red one."
After leaving Ife, I spotted a tree filled with what I believed were dozens of weaver nests. Having already seen alot of olive-naped weavers, I was excited to see a flock of village weavers! Village weavers, known as ẹ̀gà, are widely dispersed around Nigeria. A cool fact is that the root *gà can be traced back thousands of years to Proto-Niger-Congo for this same species of bird.

Upon arriving in Ilara and visiting my home, which was more closer to the village Ero, I saw a cool mud structure that I originally thought was some sort of mud wasp nest, ironically there was a mud wasp nest not too far away, but apparently it was a swallow nest! I suspect its an ethiopian swallow nest just because those were most of the birds I saw in that area.

Then, as I walked around the (unfinished) house, I saw a very dead rat, but unfortunately could not ID it beyond that. Also saw a calypso white, and my favorite find of the day (June 5th), an egyptian toad, my first amphibian observation on Inat, and my first amphibian in several years (probably since I saw a salamander in 8th grade in 2017!)

The next day was the most nature filled time of my 1 month trip. I joined my uncle on an expedition to not only my grandfather's farmland, but the Akure forest reserve. The forest reserve was settled by my great-grandfather in the 1880s where he established a profitable cocoa, banana, and yam plantation! It was inherited by his kids and his grandchildren (my mom and her siblings) farmed there for many years. My uncle still farms there till this day, and is also a hunter. I personally don't like the idea of hunting animals, many like in the area my uncle hunts bushmeat as a way to survive. His knowledge on local fauna and flora was astonishing and I made sure to record the names of over 60 animal and plant names in the local dialect.

After arriving to the farm on a motorcycle, we continued the rest of the journey on foot. While I wasn't able to take a photo of most of the animals and wildlife I saw there, just being there was enough. First I saw an African hornbill flying in the distance. Then, right above us, just as I was explaining to my uncle my love of birding, a large owl flew away towards us! My first owl sighting :D, and in the early morning too! With the owl was a flock of birds known as, ṣọ́kụ̀rọ́, I was unable to get a clear photo but was clearly a passerine!

Next, I saw the track of what my uncle said was an "etu," a general name for a duiker! Then was able to get a clear view of a butterfly known as a soldier commodore (after several, several attempts), and an ancient iroko tree!

Then, I saw a flock of birds known as the ìpẹ́ẹ̀, which my uncle said lived in holes, later identified to be in the family of Lybiidae (African barbets)! I also saw a very small songbird known as a tiún-tiún. Interestingly, many of these names are onomatopeic in origin and as my uncle said "they sing/say their name." Very similar to origin of names like "chickadee," and perhaps we should change the American goldfinch to "the potato chip."

We then saw two more hornbills, known as àtiòro in Yoruba, saw a skink, and also heard the call of the Double-spurred spurfowl, known as the àparò, and ụ̀sụn, a species of ground squirrel that is quite hard to pronounce! There are 4 ground squirrels/tree squirrels that are in the reserve, known as ọ̀yẹ́yẹ́, ụ̀sụn, ọ̀kẹ́rẹ́, and ọ̀yụ̀nkụ́n.

For plants, a lot of them had been planted such as cocoa trees, kola nut trees, banana, and mango trees. For native trees, I saw trees known as the àyị̀rẹ́ (albizia glaberrima), òpòròpòrò (pteryo macrocarpa), and many, many oil palm trees. The production of palm oil and palm wine is a popular industry in this region.

Later on my way back, I made by first Inat snake observation (and my first time ever seeing a snake in the wild alive, though not for long :(), a spotted bush snake, at the hair salon of my aunt. Most of the people were very terrified and because of the common confusion with the boomslang, a snake known as ejò abìrùṣoró (the one with poison in its tail), it was swiftly killed by my cousin.

Later during my trip I came upon a large flock of cattle egrets, whose presence in my hometown has been known for most of our time there (since 1850s), and is regarded as a bird associated with purity and magnificence, in the center of Ilara-Mokin. There I also saw two ancient trees there each with their own historical and cultural significance (for one of them, it was the very spot my great-great grandma slept when she first arrived in Ilara-Mokin after fleeing her home because of war). I got a great pic of an olive naped weaver, one of my favorite pics of the trip.

I saw a great deal of army ants, known as ìjàlọ and ìkámùdù, but was too scared to get stung and only got a photo of one species.

All and all this was my first time spending a good amount of time in Ilara-Mokin, and I was so happy to be able to experience the culture and also the beautiful nature and wildlife. Thanks to my family and in particular my uncle, Alaba Atipo, the only one who was really into my interest in animals and birds!

Posted on June 24, 2023 07:35 PM by remile