Dear All,

I went into Nairobi National Park on 17th April 2008. It was cloudy 
in the morning, but quite sunny and warm from mid-day. There was no 
rain, nor any rain the previous few days.

I enterend at Main Gate, and went straight to the Ivory Burning 
Site. Amazingly the Upcher’s Warbler is still there, but another has 
joined it! There were no other migrants here, the only other birds 
being a White-browed Sparrow-Weaver, only the second time I have 
seen the species in the Park away from Main and Cheetah Gates where 
there are colonies. 

On checking Nagalomon Dam, the was a Darter sitting in the cormorant 
colony as with the previous Sunday, but now an adult male, before it 
was a female sitting there. 

The road from Ivory Burning Site to the back of Hyena Dam was 
disappointingly quiet, but in one bush near the dam were two 
Whitethroats and a Eurasian Reed Warbler, another Reed Warbler in 
nearby sedges, and two Sedge Warblers at the dam itself. I thought 
this was a good sign for a fall of migrants but was so wrong.
Also at Hyena Dam were a Eurasian Hobby, the only Wood Sandpiper all 
day, a Sand Martin flying through with Barn Swallows, and an African 
Hawk Eagle. The last bird was an all rusty bellied bird, but in 
flight showed the white bases to the primaries. It is possible that 
the immature Ayre’s Hawk-Eagle I saw perched at Hyena Dam a few 
weeks earlier was this individual, as it is so rufous and plain 
below…. but maybe it was a different individual. There was a Common 
Kestrel perched in a low shrub, and several African Water Rails were 
calling but not seen.
In the adjacent burnt area there was a male Parasitic Weaver 
associating with a party of White-winged Widowbirds. As well as in 
other areas of the Park, White-winged, Red-collared and Jackson’s 
Widowbirds were a prominent feature, with the latter engaged in 
bouncing display. There was a single Red-tailed Shrike at Hyena Dam, 
the only one seen all day. Over the whole park perhaps two-hundred 
Red-backed, and a disappointing fifteen Lesser Greys, all of them in 
the northern section of the park.

Olmanyi Dam was disappearing already, there was a single female 
Whinchat near here, but nothing otherwise. Contrastingly Ruai Dam 
was too full for birds, but there was a beautiful male Yellow-
crowned Bishop in the sedges.

Athi Dam was birdy though nothing to outrageous. The increase in the 
Sacred Ibis population to something like five-hundred birds, already 
made the area look busy. There were over 110 White-faced Whistling 
Duck, 25 Red-biled Teal and over twenty Egyptian Geese. The only 
stork was a young Yellow-billed, and not a single Spoonbill. 
Palearctic waders were quite low, but certainly more than on Sunday, 
consisted of four Ruff, one each of Common Greenshank and Marsh 
Sandpiper, and fifteen Little Stints. Four Black-winged Stilts have 
moved in with a pair of aggressive Spur-winged Plovers and a handful 
of Kittlitz’s. Another wanderer was a single non-breeding plumage 
Little Grebe. Three Black-crowned Night-Herons were in the ibis 
colony and White-tailed Larks were noisy overhead.

There was a single Olivacous Warbler near Cheetah Gate, the 
remaining plaearctics were a miserable three Willow Warblers, 
another two Common Whitethroats, two Spotted Flycatchers,  and a 
moderate passage of Barn Swallows all day.

Other interesting features of the day, were a return of Quail-Finch 
after an absence of quite some time… under normal circumstance it 
should be on of the commonest birds after the rains. Also Common 
Waxbills have made a large incursion being throughout the Park.


Brian