Dear all,

This weekend, I went on a rather rapid trip to Shaba Game Reserve 
with Richard and Ann Bishop, the object being to find Masked Lark, a 
species that they had never seen. Stopping off at Thika Settling 
Ponds en route, we found that the rarities had all returned… females 
Gadwall and Tufted Duck, and now two drake Ferruginous Duck, plus 
one each of Spotted and Common Redshanks. An auspiciously good 
start…. Lunch at Cape Chestnut in Nanyuki, with extremely tame 
Tacazze and nervous Green-headed Sunbirds, coming into their sunbird 
feeder. Descending to Shaba we had a Grasshopper Buzzard on the road 
in from Isiolo, and a juv Red-necked Falcon near a drying waterhole. 
The next morning in spite of the black lava being covered in dry 
grassy vegetation, William's Larks were very numerous and singing 
all over the area, and Masked Larks were easily located in what 
appeared to be family groups of up to five birds. They actively 
sought out the open lava patches in the sea of grass. I have 
included photographs of both species of larks for those interested, 
quite possible that William's has not been photographed before, but 
I am not sure. On the Shaba Gate road, nearing Shaba Hill we found a 
pair of displaying Barbary Falcons, which stayed in the area for 
some ten minutes. We might have some video, but the no decent photos 
other that distant flight silhouettes. Incidentally in S&F the adult 
birds are shown with quite heavy markings, but the male was quite 
plain below, identical to the illustration in Svensson, with 
cinnamon tinge to underwing coverts. Another three Grasshopper 
Buzzards were seen, but the whole area abounded in Harriers, apart 
from a few Marsh, there were forty or so Montagu's all but three 
were ring-tails. Up to five could be seen at a time. There were a 
few Upcher's Warblers in the scrub, and it is quite likely that they 
have wintered locally.

In Meru Forest we found a Wood Warbler, again inadequately portrayed 
in S&F. The most distinctive feature being the snow-white undertail 
coverts, that from below extend almost to the tip of the tail…. This 
is such an obvious diagnostic feature, but not even mentioned in the 
field-guide. Again this is so well illustrated in Svensson, our bird 
was almost all pure white below, with just a touch of yellow on the 
throat, not the extensive area of yellow on the breast as shown in 
the field-guide. 

 

Best to all

 

Brian