Dear Kenyan birders,
                                  During my usual field work on the Sabaki River Mouth I had various interesting sightings that I would like to communicate to the list.

I stayed at the site from the 29th of December to the 3rd of January.

Many white-throated bee-eaters particularly on the South Bank.

Hundreds of barn swallows feed in the area, forming big concentrations, especially on the dunes, I've counted up to 400+ resting on the sand.[02-01-04] Most of them show really worn plumage.

1 female Eurasian marsh harrier, possibly the same individual seen on the 27th of November, is still hunting in the area. seen on the 29/12 and on the 3/01.

African skimmers present in the estuary in numbers oscillating from 1 to 10.

1 common black-headed gull among hundreds of the more usual sooty gulls.

4 Superb starlings not common in the area ( it was my first time to see them here after 10 months of regular surveys)[30-12-04]

1 cut-throat finch. apparently has been seen before (David Ngala pers.comm.) but is still a good record. The Bird Atlas of Kenya doesn't show presence of the species in the Malindi or the Sabaki squares.[30-12-04]

Rufous chatterers more confident than ever seen at least 4.

1 Abyssinian white-eye on the south bank.

...at last but not at least...

2 frigatebirds flying from north to south along the beach.[31-02-04] Even if in poor light I would identify them as two juvenile Lesser frigatebirds. White "arm pits" and light but not white head being the main features. 
If that is true it should be one of the few records for Kenya (4th?).
I'll submit a full description of the birds to the Rarity Committee.

interesting the big number of sooty gulls but the big flocks of terns seem to have disappeared..

that's all for now

Happy new year to everybody

Simon Valle



Simon Valle 
Mwamba Field Study Centre, ùPO BOX 383, Watamu-Kenya
Via Pizzo Bernina 2, 00141, Rome-Italy






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