Falcon quest: searching for Africa’s rarest falcons
At the beginning of December 2023, Andrew Jenkins and Anthony van Zyl set off on a quest to find,
observe and photograph two of Africa’s most elusive raptors: Taita Falcon and African Hobby
Paradise found? Searching for Taita Falcons in Niassa Special Reserve
Stretched across the far northern reaches of Mozambique lies one of Africa’s biggest but best-kept
secrets: the Niassa Special Reserve (NSR). Framed by the Ruvuma River and the vastness of southern
Tanzania to the north, and truncated in the south by burgeoning tracts of rural development, it covers
over 42 000 square kilometres (more than twice the size of the Kruger National Park in South Africa)
and makes up more than 30 per cent of Mozambique’s protected land. It’s a dream destination for
those with an appetite for African exploration, but as we discovered to our considerable discomfort,
it’s a very difficult location to get to.