Dear All,

I have just returned from a bird tour. Over much of
the country the story was of failed rains. Tsavo West,
Amboseli, Nakuru, Baringo (apart from the moderate
Lake level) and the Mara were all much dryer than
would be expected for the time of year. The Mara
depressingly so. This made birding quite difficult at
times, many birds were not singing, although there was
evidence of recent breeding. In spite of these
conditions Kenya still provided what must be the best
birding on the planet.

16-11-05....NNP was not very interesting, however Athi
Dam had the same young Avocet, a pair of Spur-winged
Plovers, 2 White-winged Black Terns, 8 Garganey, 1
Glossy Ibis and 3 Red-throated Pipits.

17-11-05...... Lukenya still hosts Lynes's Cisticolas,
 and a pair of Verreaux's Eagles. A strange
combination was a Bare-eyed Thrush and a Golden-winged
Sunbird in the same group of bushes. Hunter's Lodge
had numerous nesting African Golden Weavers and one
nice male Golden Palm Weaver. There were incredible
numbers of Eurasian Nightjars on the road towards
Ngulia at dusk. Some two kilometres from Mtito Andei
Gate there was a Trumpeter Hornbill in the thorn
scrub. The first I have seen in the Park.

18-11-05..... Madagascar Bee-eaters were in breeding
plumage, and numerous through much of the area below
Ngulia and back towards Mtito Andei. A pair of
Red-naped Bush-shrikes put on a fine display near
Ngulia Airstrip, and one was photographed. Over
twenty-five Vulturine Guineafowl fed on the road there
after a shower. Migrants were quiet but most normal
species were represented. There were however
staggering numbers of Eurasian Rollers, estimated at
over two thousand. Two very nice adult Sooty Falcons
were also near the Ngulia Airstrip.

19-11-05.... A pair of Yellow-billed Hornbills were on
the road back to Mtito Andei. Six years ago at the
small patch of forest at the Kimana end of the
Tsavo-Kimana road (which is currently in very good
condition having been recently upgraded) I found
Brown-hooded Kingfishers and Grey-olive Greenbuls
during a short stay. This time there were again
Grey-olive Greenbuls (2) along the river, one
Brown-hooded Kingfisher but in addition other
interesting birds included a White-fronted Bee-eater,
a pair of Ashy Flycatchers, a displaying Lead-coloured
Flycatcher, and a pair of Black-bellied Sunbirds.

20-11-05... Ten White-headed Mousebirds have moved
into the Tortilis Gardens, the species seems to be
spreading in the Amboseli area, but these are the
first I have seen in the Park away from Namanga Gate.
An Eleonora's Falcon flew over in the morning.

21-11-05.... A superb Long-legged Buzzard was
quartering a paddock next to the road adjacent to
Nanyuki Airstrip. Mountain Lodge had a wonderful pair
of Cuckoo-Hawks, and a solitary Mottled Spinetail.

22-11-05....  Day trip up to the Met Station, nothing
out of the ordinary, but the resident manager of the
bungalows regularly puts out ugali for the birds, and
many Jackson's Francolins, a few Abyssinian
Ground-Thrushes and a pair of Hill Chats were tucking
in. The Francolins now rush up to you in case you are
kind enough to offer them something to eat!

23-11-05.... From the roof of Mountain Lodge there had
been a fall of palaearctics, and some 20 each of
Whitethroat and Marsh Warbler, 2 Eurasian Reed
Warblers, 2 Olivaceous, one each of Nightingale,
Red-tailed Shrike and each of the three migrant
Wheatears were chasing insects attracted by the
lights. Not far from the main entrance to the property
there was a Doherty's Bush-Shrike singing. In the
Podocarpus Forest nearby there were two White-eared
Barbets, the first I have seen close to Mountain
Lodge, usually finding them back along the rivers
towards the Nanyuki Road junction, where there was one
on this occasion. The fenceline on the Solio Ranch
road from Naro Moru produced some 200 Isabelline,
fifty or more Northern Wheatears, 8 Whinchats, 2
Eurasian Rock Thrush but strangely no shrikes, some
200 falcons were feeding out over the plains, mainly
Lesser Kestrels, but many remained too far to
determine, however at least 20 Amur Falcons came close
enough, and there could easily have been many more
amongst the distant assemblages.

24-11-05...... Whilst as usual the removal of decent
scrub to make way for the useless golf course at Naro
Moru River Lodge meant that no interesting birds were
seen there, travelling the Solio Road again to the
Mweiga Road was as enthralling as always. Four Bustard
species included a very nice Denham's actually on the
road. There were fewer numbers of Lesser Kestrels, but
still a number of Amur, and one each of Sooty,
Eurasian Hobby and northern Peregrine which caught a
luckless Black-winged Plover. Although there were some
fifteen Harriers of all three migrant species the
evening before, there were only two Marsh. Two
Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters were along the fence, I can't
recall them from here before. Isabelline Wheatear
numbers were around 150, Northern Wheatears over
thirty, but all the Whinchats had departed, but Yellow
Wagtails increased from 30 the previous evening to
over a thousand, plus a sprinkling of Red-throated
Pipits. Four Fischer's Sparrowlarks seemed a little
out of place for the species. Other than that the only
noteworthy species were a pair of Sharpe's Starlings
nesting at T-Falls Hotel, and a Rufous-breasted
Sparrowhawk on the descent towards Subukia.

25-11-05..... Baringo was not very interesting for
migrants. The jetty had a few Sedge Warblers, the
prosopis forest adjacent to the Club had a female
Irania, there was a single Rufous Bush-Chat in the
scrub, and apart from four White Storks, little of
note on the foreshore. There was an African Thrush in
the acacia scrub next to the airstrip which is vagrant
to the area, and two Eurasian Hoopoes there. On the
way back to Nakuru after Marigat, there were fifteen
Magpie Starlings along the roadside. Finding a
Ruppell's Agama was a coup.

26-11-05..... With not much water running into Lake
Nakuru, the water level was low. Whilst normally
having thousands of terns at the mouth of the Molo
there were only five White-winged Blacks and a few
Gull-bills. One raft of Little Grebes numbered over
500, but there were no sign of any other grebes. Wader
numbers were well down, none along the lake foreshores
apart from the occasional Ruff or Little Stint. As a
result none of the less common species were found. By
contrast the flamingo numbers are spectacular. At
Hippo Picnic Site there were one each of Western Reef
and Black Herons. Nearby was a Dimorphic, whilst the
swamp below Baboon Cliffs had three Dimorphic Egrets.
There were two Great Spotted Eagles near Lanet Exit,
and some seventy Steppes at the mouth of the Njoro and
nearby shoreline. The sewage farm had some
two-thousand Shoveler, and a few Pintail already, but
strangely no Garganey. There was also a Black-headed
Gull here and a Fan-tailed Raven mobbing an eagle.
Along the northern end of the Lake there is a tree
that has fallen over, and there is a pair of Eurasian
Hoopoes of the race senegalensis, nesting amongst the
soil trapped in the roots. I believe they have not
been found breeding this far south before. In addition
a pair of African Hoopoes were found breeding not far
from Lion Hill. There were large numbers of
Gull-billed and fairly large numbers of White-winged
Black Terns along the southern end of the Lake in the
afternoon. 

27-11-05..... The Hippo Picnic Site in the morning had
a resting Little Tern rarely recorded in Kenya and
duly digitised. The Western Reef Heron was there as
was a very pale Black-necked Grebe devoid of any
colouration feeding along the edge of the sedges. This
more resembled a palaearctic bird with dark cap, pale
face and upturned bill. Whilst not suggesting that it
is, the resident African birds have no non-breeding
plumage, and this is the first I have ever seen like
this. There must have been over two-thousand Little
Grebes just offshore in this one area.  A short stop
along the forest further in from the Kericho Arboretum
was rewarding, Yellow-spotted Barbet was there as
always, and a Kakamega Greenbul which I have only seen
there once before. There was a Wood Warbler feeding in
one tree with many Willow Warblers and what seemed
like hoardes of Blackcaps. A short stop at the huge
reedbed near Litein revealed a Yellow-backed Weaver in
full breeding plumage, rather high for the species as
well as farther east than one would expect of this
Lake Victoria Basin bird.

28-11-05..... Dawn in Kichwa Tembo, Maasai Mara did
not yield any surprises, but a drive up the escarpment
provided resting adult and immature Ovampo
Sparrowhawks and both were digitised. Seeing a fledged
but dependant young bird is the first proof of
breeding that I have in the Sabaringo Valley, though
they have always been resident in the area. Also here
there were a pair of Red-tailed Chats with two young
on their first flight. A Golden-tailed Woodpecker
outside of Kichwa is always a nice find in the Mara as
they are not at all common. The only other thing of
interest was a young Rufous-bellied Heron that had the
streaky underparts resembling a Dwarf Bittern, I have
never seen this plumage before, nor seen it
illustrated. This bird in flight showed a rufous tail
and band on the wings.

30-11-05.... Leaving the Mara, we found a couple of
interesting species with a Bush Pipit in the Siana
Valley, and an Icterine Warbler near the start of the
paved road north of there.


Whilst remaining in Central Kenya for the two weeks,
and not visiting the far west, Kinangop-Limuru-Kieni,
Thika, Coast or Samburu/Meru area we recorded 598
species of which only nine species were heard only,
based in Nairobi, we really do live in a species rich
region. What really interests me is that certain of
the commoner species were not found in spite of being
in their range/territory on multiple occasions. There
were no signs of Pink-backed Pelican, Knob-billed
Duck, Fulvous Whistling-Duck, African Goshawk,
White-throated Bee-eaters, Pygmy Kingfisher, and only
one Rufous-crowned Roller, this does suggest a major
exodus from the region either at this time of year or
because of unfavourable conditions. It will be
interesting to learn if other birders are finding the
same absentees.

Best birding to all

Brian

I rather go birding...
***************************************
Itai Shanni                    
itaisha1@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/itaisha1
           
Tel 00-254-722889099 (KE)
    00-972-522-497541 (ISR)

P.O. Box 47419           
Nairobi                  
Kenya