this just came from Brian Finch

> Dear All,
> I spent Christmas in Tanzania, I was not on a bird
> tour, but I think  some of the migrant records are
relevent to > our own  region. 

> On 24th December, there were Iranias scattered  in
open
> situations in West Kilimanjaro and the lower parts
of Meru    > immediately overlooking Amboseli. 
> There was an Upcher’s Warbler at the entrance of
Lake Manyara
> NP in the same group of acacias that there was one
> in, in early January 2005.
> At the far end of Lake Manyara NP there is an
incredible place > called the Tree Lodge, sitting on
the balcony literally
> pressed against the west wall of the Rift Valley, I
found that > I was seeing species that in Kenya are
very strictly eastern. > Silvery-cheeked Hornbills,
three Eastern Bearded Scrub-Robins > sitting on the
same branch in some strange group display, both >
Grey-Olive and Yellow-bellied Greenbuls and Peter’s
Twinspots > singing from the scrubby bushes.
> After returning to Kenya, I went up to Naivasha for
a couple  > of days on 4th and 5th January, ostensibly
to photograph
> Black-lored Babblers.
> At 10-45 hrs I arrived at KWS Hippo Camp Site and
stayed until > 18-30hrs.
> The low level of the water, whilst rather alarming,
is proving > a great attraction for the birds, and
there is a wide variety > of thousands and thousands,
the whole lakeshore is teeming with
> birdlife, and the habitat is extensive.
> Huge numbers of White Pelicans, over a hundred
Greater        > Flamingos, plenty of African
Spoonbills, Glossy Ibis, Grey     > Herons but
surprisingly few egrets.
> In the wader line most common species that one would
expect   > are there, however only 2 Black-tailed
Godwits, 2 Spotted
> Redshank but about 8 Temminck’s Stints. There are
over 60     > Avocets, but only 6 or so Common
Pratincoles. Large numbers of > Little Stints and
Ruffs, slightly less Curlew Sandpipers and  > Marsh
Sandpipers, then smaller numbers of Ringed Plovers,
Wood > and Common Sandpipers and Greenshank.
> Common Snipe are numerous, and feeding in the open
on the     > foreshore.
> Terns are in large numbers Whiskered probably
slightly more   > numerous that White-winged Black and
Gull-billed. All gulls
> were Grey-headed except for one very pale and large
Heuglin’s  > Gull sitting on a hippos back. They seem
to be fairly regular > at Naivasha nowadays. Whilst
walking across the tussocky      > grassland I flushed
a dark, round-winged Snipe. Fortunately I > managed to
photograph it sitting in the dry grass, and by     >
persuing it very fortunately managed to get a flight  
       > photograph, and it is what I suspected, an
African Snipe. This
> is the first I have seen in the Rift. 
> Several hundred Shoveler fed along the beach, but
only a very > few Garganey and Pintail. Otherwise six
normal african ducks  > were present.
> Amongst the migrant raptors, it was quiet, very
strangely and > sadly no Ospreys all day. Four
Harriers of three species, one
> callidus Peregrine, and the strangest being a
second-year     > Greater Spotted Eagle which fed in
the papyrus. It was        > digitised both perched
and in flight.
> Of the passerine migrants, there were six Red-tailed
Shrikes, > and one adult male Red-backed Shrike, this
is a late date for > a bird in the Rift Valley as they
should be on the wintering  > grounds by now, mainly
in the south of the continent. Three    > Northern,
two Isabelline Wheatears, one Rock Thrush, all three >
migrant Swallows, a few Olivaceous and Willow Warblers
in the > acacias. Plenty of Yellow Wagtails, apart
from one lutea, all
> those seen that had some trace of male plumage
strangely      > appeared to be beema, with washed out
pale grey crowns and    > prominent white supercilii.
> Somewhere in the late afternoon there was a Common
Quail      > calling, but probably just a resident
bird.
> I urge people to go up and see this spectacle, and
the wall to > wall mammals that it is so nice to walk
amongst. It really is > a very underated and
underwatched  KWS protected area.
> Next morning I looked at Naivasha Club, there were a
hoardes  > of birds around the island, an Osprey was a
welcome sight,
> and there were two Common Teal at the jetty. A walk
out       > towards the Yacht Club revealed many
Olivaceous Warblers in    > the fever trees, and a
surprise find was an Upcher’s Warbler  > in stunted
acacias keeping within a couple of feet of the     >
ground. I obtained a few photos of it, but it kept
much to    > cover. I have not seen the species at
Naivasha before, and it
> is a very late date for a bird still moving south. 
> I then looked at Naivasha Sopa, an amazing
establishment, I   > had not been there since it was
Safariland. The Pearl-spotted
> Owlets are still in residence, making it easier to
see what   > small birds are in the acacias.
> There was an immature Lesser Black-backed Gull on a
hippo, and > a Swamphen in the water meadows run off
from Homegrown.       > Neither of the two localities
had Black-tailed Godwit or      > Spotted Redshank,
which was a surprise.
> The conditions at Lake Naivasha are ripe for turning
up       > something very unexpected.
> Best birding to all throughout 2006, and a very
happy new year,
> 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

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