Dear All,
I have just completed a tour in Central Kenya, never before have I 
seen the countryside so devoid of palaearctic migrants at this time 
of year. Where they are is a real mystery.
Nevertheless we had some interesting sightings, not necessarily all 
rarities, but some interesting distributional records.

The Black-bellied Sunbirds were as always dancing around the flowers 
in the Tsavo Inn at Mtito Andei. Several parties of Madagascar Bee-
eaters were found in Tsavo West, there must be local breeding. 
Eurasian Nightjars were on the rafters at Ngulia Lodge, as well as 
more on the road together with Dusky, Donaldson-Smiths and Plain. 
Migrants were just not dropping in apart from rather numerous 
shrikes in the mornings. There was a nice Purple Indigobird coming 
down to drink at the Ngulia pond in the mornings.

A mid-day lunch stop at Kibwezi provided a Pallid Honeyguide singing 
from a tree, it is the first I have seen here.

Amboseli was a bit of a disappointment, the causeway swamp being a 
desert, and migrant numbers pitiful. White-headed Mousebirds were 
again in the Salvadora not far from the main gate but inside the 
Park. The plains were very dry but still held Athi Short-toed, 
Singing and Short-tailed Larks. A Black Heron was the only bird of 
note in the Park but three-hundred Common Pratincoles seemed a large 
number for there.

Along the road back to Namanga from Amboseli, I was shocked to find 
a pair of Orange-bellied Parrots, in the same place as I had found 
Pygmy Batis last year. This is quite well west of the normal range. 

At Blue Posts, a Finfoot was extremely confiding and showy, whilst 
three Black Duck were more skittish. Brown-hooded Kingfisher was 
proving secretive at the river confluence, but on return to the 
garden one was sitting on the fence!
Finding a Grey-Olive Greenbul in the vegetation around the fishpond 
in the main garden was a bit rediculous for this vine tangle loving 
species. A pair of Black-throated Wattle-eyes put on a fine display, 
although much of the indigenous forest has been felled for bananas. 
Rather tragic in this very special place.

Mountain Lodge was quite busy, all four montane starlings… Waller's, 
Kenrick's, Sharpe's and Abbott's being visible from the roof-top. 
This is the first time I have seen Kenrick's on this side of the 
mountain. At the bottom of the access drive to the lodge we found a 
pair of Doherty's Bush-Shrikes, not too easy to find on Mt. Kenya. 
Amongst the usual species visible from the roof was a showy Oriole 
Finch.

Naro Moru produced little in the migrant line, but a large mixed 
party of Eurasian Swifts and House Martins came low over the fields, 
and a Pallid Swift was prominent in the assemblage. The three 
resident Green Woodhoopoes have picked up an adult White-headed, 
which goes around amicably with them, we even watched the White-
headed entering a roosting hole at dusk with the Greens without any 
aggression from any of the party.


On the Solio Road from Naro Moru across to the Nyahururu Road we 
found the bird of the tour, which was a Greater Short-toed Lark, 
which in spite of large numbers of Red-capped Larks, fed alone on 
the muddy wet road. It was quite confiding and I secured a number of 
photos from the vehicle, but did not want to disturb the bird in 
spite of its confiding nature. I have enclosed a few of the photos 
for inspection. This would be only the third record in East Africa, 
the previous two both being collected, one Ukundu at the end of the 
nineteenth century, and one at Athi in 1964. I would be interested 
in hearing comments about these photos. 
Very close to this bird at the start of the road on the Naro Moru 
end was another surprise, a beautiful Sharpe's Longclaw, then we 
located a second bird at the far end of the road which was unlikely 
to have been the first bird. Migrants were sparse, but there was on 
the fence line an adult male Amur and an immature Sooty Falcon.

Baringo was a let down, the water level so high it reaches to the 
concrete jetty, which is great for  the lake, but it means no 
foreshore to attract birds, and the sedges have died back so no 
swamp birds. No migrants were to be found in the gardens, but the 
usual suspects were at the cliffs. A Plain Nightjar roosting under 
cactus, with numerous Slender-tails was amongst the most interesting.

The ponds at Mogotio had attracted many waders including several 
Little Ringed Plover and a couple of Temminck's Stint. Two faithful 
White Wagtails had also returned to the site.

At Nakuru there are many creamy coloured Glossy Ibis, which look 
very bleached. They could be immature birds, and the number may 
suggest local breeding. Also at Nakuru was the immature Great 
Spotted Eagle reported by Richard and Ann Bishop, but in addition 
was a fully adult Imperial Eagle complete with white shoulders and 
crown and grey tail. At the mouth of the Njoro was a Greater Sand 
Plover, and at the southern end of the lake a pair of Lesser Sand 
Plovers. Whilst Ruff and Little Stint were in good numbers, there 
was not a single Curlew Sandpiper to be seen. Other birds at Nakuru 
were two Black-headed Gulls and two Temminck's Stints. 

At Chagaik Arboretum near Kericho, Yellow-spotted Barbet was again 
located as well as Yellow-billed and a pair of nesting Stuhlmann's 
Starlings. Other western birds found during our lunch stop including 
Least Honeyguide, Mackinnon's Shrikes and both Banded and White-
chinned Prinias.

The Maasai Mara was again without much migrant evidence apart from 
the Wildebeeste which had apparently started to return to Tanzania, 
but then came back again… by now their visas should long since have 
expired! Undoubtedly the best bird was finding a female Black-backed 
Cisticola in the Sabaringo Valley, on exactly the same piece of 
short recently burnt grassland that I located the pair last year at 
about the same period. Also on the escarpment we located a pair of 
Rock Cisticolas, and the usual special Sabaringo birds Pale Wren 
Warbler, Green-capped Eremomela, Red-tailed Chat, Trilling and 
Tabora Cisticolas etc., and the local population of Purple-banded 
Sunbirds.
The Siana Springs valley was extremely quiet, but the flock of ten 
Magpie Shrikes livened it up.

Now it is early December, the migrants must be making themselves 
evident soon, I still have to see a Sprosser, which is rediculous 
having spent two nights at Ngulia in late November!!!!

Best to all,

Brian