Dear all,

I had the opportunity of spending two nights camping at the top of 
the Chyulus this past week-end. It is not an area that 
ornithologists get to very often, in fact it has been rarely visited.

This was a golden opportunity to try playing recordings of Taita 
Apalis to the resident pupulation of Bar-throated Apalis, which is 
quite common there. Interestingly the birds were not impressed with 
Taita repertoire, but became excited when representatives of their 
race griseiceps  from Ngorongoro Crater rim were played at them.

Another interesting form was the resident race of Montane White-eye, 
usually again associated with the rim of Ngorongoro, mbuluensis.  I 
recognised them as resembling this form, but had no idea that they 
were recorded for Kenya. Having only Stevenson/Fanshawe with me, 
there is no mention of this population in Kenya, but 
Zimmermann/Turner do give the Chyulus and Ol Doniyo Orok as part of 
the distribution. To my ears the calls do not resemble the strong 
notes of other poliogaster  forms, but have the softness of Yellow 
White-eye  senegalensis, which they certainly resemble far more than 
the former. White-eye taxonomy is difficult at best, but there could 
be something more interesting here.

I will supply a bird list of the area, but the only important 
addition to the Chyulu avifauna not mentioned in literature is the 
presence of Black-fronted Bush-Shrike.

For me one of the most exciting finds was of Van Someren's race of 
Long-billed Pipit….. chyuluensis of which there are many specimens 
in the museum, collected by him in 1937. The bird inhabits 
grasslands on the slopes, where there are adjacent clumps of rather 
mosaic woodland patches. There are no bare rocky areas at all in 
this area.

When flushed the birds fly immediately into the trees where they run 
around on the branches in nimble fashion.

I had wanted to see these birds, because I failed to find any 
relevent differences between Van Someren's specimens of chyuluensis 
from here in 1937, and the Nairobi Pipit, and here in the field, I 
could again see no difference.

Species recorded from the montane forest and surrounds were as 
follows; Scaly Francolin, Red-eyed Dove, Olive Pigeon, Tambourine 
Dove, Lemon Dove, Hartlaub's Turaco, Red-chested Cuckoo, Eurasian 
Nightjar, Speckled Mousebird, Eurasian Bee-eater, Silvery-cheeked 
Hornbill, Moustached Green Tinkerbird, White-eared Barbet, Spot-
flanked Barbet, chyuluensis Pipit, Tree Pipit, Flappet Lark, Barn 
Swallow, House Martin, Black Saw-wing, Stripe-cheeked Greenbul, 
Cabanis's Greenbul, Black-headed Tchagra, Black-backed Puffback, 
Tropical Boubou, Black-fronted Bush-Shrike, Common Fiscal, Chin-spot 
Batis, Dusky Flycatcher, White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Blue-mantled 
Crested Flycatcher (very high), African Hill Babbler, Olive Thrush, 
Ruppell's Robin-Chat, White-starred Robin, African Stonechat, 
Evergreen Forest Warbler (numerous), Brown Woodland Warbler 
(possibly most numerous forest bird), Singing Cisticola (possibly 
not recorded in Chyulus before, but the distjunct Taita Hills 
population well known), Siffling Cisticola, Croaking Cisticola, Bar-
throated Apalis, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Grey-backed Camaroptera, 
Montane (Mbulu) White-eye, Olive Sunbird, Eastern Double-collared 
Sunbird, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Baglafecht Weaver, Spectacled 
Weaver and Yellow Bishop.

On the return to the foothills, we had a brief stop at the 
incredible looking Kuku Dam, a large area of water with muddy 
islands and extensive reed-beds. We only spent five minutes here, 
and the sunlight was against us and the birds very distant, 
nevertheless through the telescope I could see several hundred 
Pratincoles, large flocks of waders, and a number of Spur-winged 
Plover amongst the Blacksmith Plovers. Large numbers of silhouetted 
ducks brought the number of birds here to well in excess of a 
thousand. A walk around the entire dam, with a telescope should be 
very very rewarding. This dam has a lot more potential than most, 
and is the only open water of any size for a very considerable 
distance.

Leaving the Kuku group ranch, we entered the Mbirikani group ranch 
area, and the very luxurious and exceedingly birdy Ol Donyio Was 
camp, run by Richard Bonham. Here we stayed the night, and had two 
hours the following morning in the immediate vicinity before leaving 
for Nairobi. The list of birds in the Chyulu foothills were as 
follows;Common Ostrich, Marabou, Yellow-billed Stork, Hadada, Sacred 
Ibis, Black-headed Heron, Great Egret, Cattle Egret, Egyptian Goose, 
Red-billed Teal, Collared Pratincole, Temminck's Courser, Blacksmith 
Plover, Spur-winged Plover, Crowned Plover, Kittlitz's Plover, Ruff, 
Common Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, Common 
Buttonquail, Harlequin Quail, Crested Francolin, Yellow-necked 
Spurfowl, Helmeted Guineafowl, White-bellied Bustard, Kori Bustard, 
Ruppell's Vulture, African White-backed Vulture, Tawny Eagle, Augur 
Buzzard, African Hawk-Eagle, Montagu's Harrier, Black-shouldered 
Kite, Lanner, Lesser Kestrel, Pygmy Falcon, Black-faced Sandgrouse, 
Laughing Dove, Ring-necked Dove, Red-eyed Dove, Speckled Pigeon, 
Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove, Namaqua Dove, White-bellied Go Away Bird, 
Red-chested Cuckoo, Diederik Cuckoo, Black-and-White Cuckoo, White-
browed Coucal, Eurasian Nightjar (extremely numerous… must be their 
peak passage), African Scops Owl, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Little Swift, 
White-rumped Swift, Blue-naped Mousebird, Grey-headed Kingfisher, 
Little Bee-eater, Eurasian Bee-eater, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, 
Eurasian Roller, Lilac-breasted Roller, Rufous-crowned Roller, 
African Hoopoe, Green Wood-Hoopoe, Von der Decken's Hornbill, Red-
billed Hornbill, Grey Hornbill, Spot-flanked Barbet, Black-throated 
Barbet, Red-fronted Tinkerbird, Cardinal Woodpecker, Nubian 
Woodpecker, Scaly-throated Honeyguide, Pangani Longclaw, Yellow 
Wagtail, Tree Pipit, Grassland Pipit, Fischer's Sparrowlark, Singing 
Bush Lark, Rufous-naped Lark ( this was a bit unexpected, and was of 
the race harterti confined to Emali Plains), Fawn-coloured Lark, 
Rock Martin, Barn Swallow, Dodson's Bulbul, Eastern Nicator ( 
another surprise, quite common in the dense acacia thicket in the 
foothills), Zanzibar Sombre Greenbul, Yellow-bellied Greenbul 
(another surprise in dense acacia thickets), Superb Starling, 
Fischer's Starling, Greater Blue-eared Starling, Wattled Starling, 
Red-winged Starling, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Black-headed Oriole, 
Black Cuckoo-shrike, Common Drongo, Brown-headed Tchagra, Black-
headed Tchagra, Black-backed Puffback, Slate-coloured Boubou, 
Sulphur-breasted Bush-Shrike, Grey-headed Bush-Shrike, Rosy-patched 
Bush-Shrike, Long-tailed Fiscal, Red-tailed Shrike, White-crowned 
Shrike, Chin-spot Batis, African Grey Flycatcher, Spotted 
Flycatcher, Southern Black Flycatcher, Northern Pied Babbler (did 
not expect that here), Eurasian Rock Thrush, White-browed (Winged) 
Scrub-Robin, Sprosser, Isabelline Wheatear, Northern Wheatear, 
Capped Wheatear, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Willow Warbler, Olivaceous 
Warbler, Upcher's Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Tiny Cisticola, 
Rattling Cisticola, Ashy Cisticola, Desert Cisticola, Yellow-
breasted (Brown-tailed) Apalis, Grey Wren Warbler, Grey-backed 
Camaroptera, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Banded Parisoma, Yellow-bellied 
Eremomela, Red-faced Crombec, African Penduline-Tit, Variable 
Sunbird, Marico Sunbird, Amethyst Sunbird, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, 
Eastern violet-backed Sunbird, Yellow-spotted Petronia, White-headed 
Buffalo-Weaver, Red-billed Buffalo-Weaver, Red-billed Quelea, Black-
necked Weaver, Paradise Whydah, Village Indigobird, Quail-Finch, 
Crimson-rumped Waxbill, Black-faced Waxbill, Red-cheeked Cordon-
bleu, Red-billed Firefinch, White-bellied Canary, and Cinnamon-
breasted Rock-Bunting.

The scrub around Ol Donyio Was appears to be a very important 
staging place for migrants on their return journey northwards. 
Perhaps the Chyulus that are covered in mist most nights, pose a 
barrier, bringing the migrants down into the bushes on the lower 
slopes. I was amazed by the numbers of Eurasian Rollers, 
Whitethroats and Sprossers. The two hours spent here was a 
frustratingly short time, and the potential considerable. Maybe this 
area could be the northern passage equivalence to Ngulias southern 
passage.

I could not have made this excursion without the very kind 
assistance of Quentin and Patricia Luke, and Richard Bonham.

 

Very best wishes to all….. Brian