Dear All,

On 19th January I left in the early morning with Nigel Hunter, to go up to
Naivasha to see the two Common Cranes on Marula Farm. We arrived early and
met up with Franny Simpson, who very kindly took us to the paddock where the
two Common Cranes were feeding with some fifty Crowned Cranes, and a number
of Spur-winged Geese. I took some digital photographs and video of he birds
as they fed quite unconcernedly.  This is probably the first record of the
species in the Southern Hemisphere!!! The farm was very attractive to birds,
and on the driveway from the Simpsons house we found an obliging Northern
Carmine Bee-eater, only the second record I have personally seen st
Naivasha, the previous being some ten years ago at what was Safariland
Lodge.
After this we departed for Hippo Point, spending a couple of hours here as
the conditions were very nice for waterside birds, although there is a lot
of water hyacinth. The water level is quite high, and the growth of typha
off shore has resulted in protected lagoons inshore. Amongst the more
interesting species here were a lone Black Heron fishing in the shallows,
many Purple Herons, only a handful of Glossy Ibis, an adult Lesser
Black-backed Gull, amongst the commoner waders were up to fifteen
Black-tailed Godwits,  a single Spotted Redshank, and one African Snipe
amongst the Common Snipe.  There was a good variety of the regular
waterbirds, and the area was very interesting. The Yellow Wagtails present
were flava, otherwise not many migrant passerines present. Another
interesting species in the scrub was a Pale Flycatcher, which I cannot ever
recall seeing around Naivasha before.
We returned to the Simpsons again and Hugh took us down to the Maleva delta.
Along the road we had a pair of Ground Hornbills, and a solitary
Hildebrandt’s Francolin in the dense fever-tree forest. There is so much
habitat on Marula, providing good protection for the woodland birds in the
area. There were four Montagu’s Harriers feeding over one paddock. At the
mouth of the Maleva they have constructed an extremely sturdy tower
overlooking the waterbirds and some 150 Hippo. Amongst the birds here we had
a single adult Black-headed Gull, seven Pintail and a Shoveler, but the high
water level meant that there was no shoreline for waders, although the dozen
Long-toed Plovers were at home on the floating vegetation.

A couple of kilometres from here there are four beautiful bungalows for
visitors accommodations and he whole area is vast with so much of interest
and so much interesting habitat. I will post details of renting these as
soon as they come to hand.

On the 20th (Sunday) I went into Nairobi National Park again with Nigel
Hunter. We were going on to look for the Upcher’s Warbler at Ivory Burning
Site where I had seen one the previous week, as it is a species that has
always eluded Nigel.  We were fortunate in locating the bird in the same
acacia, but amazingly there was a second bird holding another territory in a
neighbouring tree. Whilst Nigel was studying the second bird I heard
something familiar but very out of context calling from the first tree, and
returned to see what was calling like a Northern Brownbul. There in the tree
was a Northern Brownbul, an extremely lost bird, and not only a new species
for the Park, but also a new species for the Nairobi region. The bird flew
into the scrub near to the toilets and would not be coaxed out of cover.
Not far up from the road towards the back of Hyena Dam was a very noisy
immature Ayre’s Hawk-Eagle.

The weather then deteriorated and most of the remainder of the day was
showery with some quite heavy falls interspersed with short dry spells,
nevertheless the birding was quite good. Most other records of interest came
from the burnt areas, here there were eight or so Montagu’s Harrier, one
female Pallid, a Eurasian Buzzard and a migrant Black Kite, singles each of
Common and Lesser Kestrels, four each of Black-winged Plovers and Temminck’s
Coursers, amongst the quite numerous Barn Swallow were singles House and
Sand Martins. About twenty Isabelline, five Northern and three Pied
Wheatears, five Whinchats, over one-hundred Yellow Wagtails, all examined
being lutea apart from one flava, five Tree Pipits, and Parasitic Weavers
were met with five times with singing males on their territories. Athi Dam
was so disappointing only two Yellow-billed Storks, no Marabous even, the
only Palaearctic waders being single Greenshank and Common Sandpiper, but
over sixty Little Stints is the largest number I have ever seen in the Park
before.
About twenty Red-throated Pipits fed on the damp roads.

Spread over the park were five Red-tailed Shrikes and five Nightingales,
very few willow Warblers, and a couple of Spotted Flycatchers. On the
descent road from Baboon Cliffs the rain had brought four African
Firefinches out onto the road where they fed away from cover on the tarmac
with a Nightingale. There was a Hildebrandt’s Francolin on the road after
crossing the Mokoyiet bridge, a species so rarely seen in the park. At  
Leopard Cliffs there were six species of swifts including one Pallid Swift
flying below us. Also here was the most extravert African Firefinch I have
ever seen, feeding on the steps and videoed as it hopped towards us.

The recent wet weather has caused the mammals so numerous last week, to
vacate the Park and spread into the surrounding area. The minor roads are in
a bad state and slippery in the rain, but the birds more than compensate for
this.