Dear All,

Mike Davidson and I went into Nairobi National Park for the day 
(29th Oct).

No recent rain, the grasslands are still rank but dry. Dam levels 
are dropping most having a muddy edge.
Migrants are still few and far between, only a few palaearctic 
waders the best being a Temminck's Stint and five Common Snipe at 
Ruai Dam. There were single Common Buzzard and Booted Eagle on 
Kisembe Forest edge, a male Pallid Harrier and a Lesser Spotted 
Eagle in Athi basin, also a few Eurasian Bee-eaters which were the 
only individuals recorded today.
Just three Yellow Wagtails, a reasonable passage of Barn Swallows, 
two Northern Wheatears, two Spotted Flycatchers, a Willow Warbler 
and two adult Red-tailed Shrikes.

The best bird of the day was an Afrotropical, not only a new species 
for the Park but the first ever recorded in the Nairobi District. At 
Athi Dam on the waters edge by the SW end of the causeway was a 
Water Thickknee. The distribution whilst N (Baringo) E ( Lake 
Jipe ), S (Amboseli) and W (Maasai Mara) of us has a lowland 
distribution, although admittedly fairly high in the Mara.
Other birds of interest included Little Sparrowhawk at Langata 
Entrance, Squacco Heron and Yellow-billed Egrets at Hyena Dam, and 
the two juvenile Saddle-billed Storks and another Yellow-billed 
Egret at Hyena Dam run-off.
A Martial Eagle nest along the Mbagathi has a juvenile nearly ready 
to leave, a pair of Black-chested Snake-eagles nearby might also be 
ready to nest, and a pair of Secretarybirds were on top of an old 
nest near the Maasai Gate road junction.
Athi Dam additionally had single White Pelican, Great Cormorant and 
Spur-winged Plover.
Finally Zebra Waxbills were again widespread and numerous and Quail 
Finch was probably the Parks most abundant species.

We tallied 181 species of which we collectively saw 174 species, 
when I was in the Park ten days ago, I recorded 52 species not 
recorded at all on the current date, just testifying to the 
incredibly ornithological diversity of the area.

Best birding
Brian