Dear fellow birders:

On Sunday 10 August 2008, Rupert Watson and I ventured out for a 1-day birding circuit, covering five sites. The weather was pleasing with sunny spells throughout the day. The birding timing was between 07h00 and 17h20, and yielded a tally count of 113 bird species. What a great and fun-filled birding day!

The bird species recorded, per site are given in parenthesis. The bird-rich sites were off Mukoma Road, Langata, Nairobi (26), Limuru Sewage Works (41), Manguo Floodplains (16), Bathi Dam and its environs (39), and the Gatamaiyu Forest (41). The latter 4-sites are all in Kiambu West District, Central Province, approximately 45-minutes drive, in the North-West direction from Nairobi.

I will only highlight some of the very interesting bird species seen and breeding records. Fuller checklists of the day’s birding will be posted at www.worldbirds.org/kenya

Two raptors namely the Great Sparrowhawk and an immature African Harrier-Hawk were recorded. Others birds included the Dusky Turtle Dove and the Bronze Mannikin (with several young ones), amidst of the adults at the bird-feeding table, in Langata, Nairobi.

At the Limuru sewage works, several odd-left-out migrants were recorded (Wood and Common Sandpiper), whilst, confirmed breeding records were from the Egyptian Goose (six gooslings), Red-knobbed Coot (two chicks) and Black-winged Stilt (two young ones) respectively. An Augur Buzzard was seen feeding on unidentified rat-like-looking rodent.  Another melanistic Augur Buzzard was soaring over the same vicinity.

The Manguo flood plains, the following birds were recorded – Grey Crowned Crane, Maccoa and White-backed Duck.

Further ahead to the next site, Bathi Dam and its environs the Golden-winged Sunbird was the show-master! Other birds included the Yellow-bellied and Black-headed Waxbills. An immature Great Cormorant and the Bronze Sunbird were recorded.  In addition, pair of the African Black Duck, African Harrier-Hawk and Thick-billed Seed-eater were present too.

The final site the Gatamaiyu Forest was the highlight of the day’s birding. The areas specials included White-headed and Green Wood hoopoes, Fine-banded Woodpecker, a pair of the ABBOTT’S STARLING, Brown-capped Weaver, White-browed Crombec, Grey and Black Cuckoo shrikes, Mountain, Yellow-whiskered and Cabanis’s Greenbuls, Black-fronted Bush-shrike, White-tailed Crested Flycatcher.  Two raptors recorded included Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle and the Augur Buzzard.

Happy birding always,

J. K. Ndung’u