Last week Tues 4th May I heard my first Af Pygmy Kingfisher for the year in the hedge 
outside my house... 2 days later ringing at Mwamba just down the beach we caught 
TWO in the first round.. very nice birds of the race natalensis. Surprisingly though, no 
Red-capped Robin Chats yet this year - tho' I did have one in the Mida extension of 
Arabuko-SOkoke on Saturday... but normally it's hopping with them here by now. I 
suspect that our serious lack of rain has held them back and they're waiting for the 
rains to set in for real. Was looking for SGT on Sat as well - but no luck yet. 

We also ringed a Sedge Warbler last week on 6th - the first record for Mwamba Bird 
Observatory tho' I've seen plenty of them in some years in the seasonal marshes inland 
of here. Wader numbers are seriously down now with only about 1,300 birds at Mida 
on our count today - but 'Olly the one-legged Oik' (Eur Oystercatcher) is still there 
hopping around. He's now been here for a full year having been first found last May. He 
seems very content and would appear to have given up the idea of trying to fly all the 
way back to his breeding grounds only to be out-competed by a two-legged bird and so 
is sticking it out in the sun and wealth of food on Mida!

Colin-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - -- -- -- 
Colin Jackson
Mwamba Bird Observatory & Field Study Centre,
A Rocha Kenya
PO Box 383
Watamu, 80202
Kenya

Tel: +254-(0)42-32023 (O), 32037 (H)
Mobile 0722-842366
eml: colin.jackson@arocha.org
<www.arocha.org> 
see also <www.assets-kenya.org>