Dear All,
Today (26th April 2008) I went into Nairobi National Park with Fleur Ng’weno. It had rained a lot during the night, and the morning was equally miserable. Showers continued up to 10am, roads were very slippery and there was a lot of roadside flooding. We entered through Main Gate, where there were four Tambourine Doves feeding on the road together, and a late Common Buzzard sitting by the roadside. At the back of Hyena Dam was our only Willow Warbler, whilst at the dam was an immature Purple Heron and a pair of African Black Ducks on the open water. We drove past Nagalomon Dam where Black-crowned Night-Herons including one young bird were in their colony, there was a male Darter amongst the nesting Long-tailed Cormorants. On the small bridge crossing the Mokoyiet down from Nagalomon we had a Marsh Warbler and a Spotted Flycatcher.
Driving through the old burnt area we could only locate four Red-backed and three Lesser Grey Shrikes. There were flocks of feeding Wattled Starlings probably totally eighty birds. Males in full breeding plumage. A small flooded area of sedges had eight Yellow-crowned Bishops and the Red-collared, Jackson’s and White-winged Widowbirds were in impressive numbers.
When turning towards Maleva Picnic Site, there was a crack and the clutch-cable snapped, last Saturday it was brushes and bushes preventing the starter motor from functioning, and the previous week, a slow puncture and fuel starvation. That’s three problems in three weeks, so the vehicle should work well once a new clutch cable is inserted. We thought without a clutch it was not too wise to continue down to the southern parts of the Park, and so turned back. On the back road to Hyena Dam were two young Black-winged Plovers, and a little further two adults with a chick. There were also a couple of Parasitic Weavers. The flowers on the burnt ground are still impressive, countless Gladiolus flowering, and now a good selection of species.
We stopped for an hour or more at Ivory Burning Site. Unbelievably two Upcher’s Warblers still in the Acacia gerardii, and very noisy but still no song. An incredible assemblage of swallows and swifts came down and skimmed over the grass, amongst the common species was an African Black Swift which was a new bird for Fleur. A Sand Martin flew through, and only about ten Barn Swallows were seen. Very nice Booted Eagle, and an adult Ayre’s Hawk-Eagle flew over the area, as did six rather late Eurasian Bee-eaters. In the distance over Nagalomon Dam were two bright green bee-eaters, but we could not be sure whether they were Madagascar or Blue-cheeked but they were very bright which suggests Blue-cheeked. A single African Hoopoe was also in the picnic area, not a commonly recorded species in the Park.
At 2-00pm we left for Main Gate, transferred into Fleurs car and went to Splash for the afternoon. There were two hiding Olivaceous Warblers in the car-park and one maybe two Sedge Warblers in the sedges around the ponds. A pair of African Hoopoes were courtship feeding and must be thinking of settling down locally. Brown Parrots were screaming somewhere but we could not see them, but the best bird was out feeding on frogs in grass out on the by-pass. An adult Woolly-necked Stork. Although there are a few records from Nairobi NP, I have never seen it there. The bird was only fifteen feet from the boundary wall, and ten feet from the heavy traffic to which it seemed oblivious. I was willing for it to cross the wall, so it would count for the park, and thankfully it took a short flight over the wall, then came straight back and carried on searching for frogs.
Regardless of the weather and mechanical inconveniences, it was as always a wonderfully exciting day.

Best to all

Brian