Dear All,

Over the last week of July I have been at the coast
(most of the time at Malindi) and althought most of
the time I was on a bird watching program, I managed
to visit most of the IBA�s and recorded some
interesting species.

There are some very interesting pools of water on the
left site, 100m before you reach Sabaki Bridge, where
me and my friend Mark Smith spend some time
photographing birds. We visited this pools several
times and saw two pairs of African Pygmy Goose, about
30 Knob Billed Ducks, over 200 White-Faced Whisling
Ducks (such big flocks I have ever seen). We also saw
several Madagascar Squacco Herons and 5 plus African
Darters, good to see them in such numbers at one time!


The pool is also full of Fan-tailed Windowbirds,
Zanzibar Red Bishops, Black-Winged Red Bishops in one
section that has tall reeds and grass making a nice
swamp. We also saw Mangrove Kingfishers here and we
feel that for photographers, this place gives you a
superp chance of getting close to some hard targets
like Pygmy Goose and Bishops.

At Sabaki Estuary we saw several Black-Headed Gulls in
non breeding plumage among the huge mixed flocks of
sooty Gulls, Lesser and Greater Creasted Terns and the
small Saunders Terns flying all over. There were also
several African Skimmers and a few Pied Avocets, good
numbers of Curlew Sandpipers, Grey Plovers and Terek
Sandpipers and probably first arrivals of Ruddy
Turnsones, which were very mottled. I think that some
of these shorebirds could be spending all the seasons
here without moving on and we need to constatly check
these shorelines and estuaries to monitor them all the
year round.

On one section between the dunes and the shoreline way
out, there were a big flock of Lesser Flamingos and
Several Greater�s feeding one the water trapped
between the Dunes and the Ocean shoreline. 

For 2-3 days we also saw 2 diferrent pairs (males and
Femals) of Golden Pipits singing, on top of small
bushes on the grassland mixed with short scrubs
between the dunes and the Ocean. This is yet another
one we have never seen here before and at first we
thought it was Colin�s Panagani Longclaw, but we were
surprised! 

Efforts of looking for the Madagascar Pranticoles in
several days were fluitless, as we never saw or hear
not even one, are they gone??

The drive towards Gongoni Salt Pans is also very
rewarding with small pools full of water lilies and
waterbirds along the way from the recent rains. At one
point on the way we saw several number of Fire fronted
Bishops (M+F, males in full breeding plumage).

Wish you all a nice winter birding! (hi! It is very
cold even at the coast!)

Ben Mugambi.        

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