Dear All,

I met Mike Davidson and Karen Plum at the Main Entrance to Nairobi
National Park at 7-00am. There had been somewhere approaching two
inches of rain overnight and much local flooding. At the entrance some
half-dozen Eurasian Hobbys were catching alates on the wing, and a
Willow Warbler was singing. The strangest site however was of three
Black-winged Stilts flying over!
On entering we found some five very waterlogged Common Buzzards, and
an adult male Lesser Kestrel. At the Ivory Burning Site two Suni fed
along the scrub edge, Scaly Francolin were calling from inside the
dense scrub, there were two Sprossers hopping on the road affording
excellent views, a couple of Nightingales whilst singing remained in
thick cover. Otherwise there were three Spotted Flycatchers and a
couple of Willow Warblers. Two adult Sooty Falcons flew high and away
to the southwest, and approaching a hundred kites were clustered on
small acacias on the plains, but they were too far away to determine
whether Yellow-billed or Black Kites. There were parties of Barn
Swallows flying over with the occasional Nyanza Swift with them.
Yellow Wagtail and Tree Pipits flew over. Tree Pipits were scattered
around the area, with some six seen and others mere voices as they
passed overhead.
At the back of Hyena Dam were a couple of adult Black Storks, a Common
Snipe and the African Water Rails called but did not reveal themselves
here. At Hyena Dam there was an African Jacana, the first in the Park
for some time, and the pair of Saddle-billed Storks hunted frogs with
a couple of hundred Marabous and several Crowned Cranes.  Four
Black-crowned Night-Herons were on their roost on Nagalomon Dam,
whilst an adult Eurasian Roller hawked alates along the Mokoyiet. At
Kingfisher Picnic Site there was a Common Cuckoo, but the surprise was
that it was a hepatic female, some eight Eurasian Bee-eaters, also a
pair of adult Eurasian Golden Orioles added colour to the acacias. A
couple of Willow Warblers were also present, and three Greater
Blue-eared Starlings accompanied the Superbs and Hildebrandt's feeding
on alates. Nearby we came across several wheatears, three Northern, an
Isabelline and a Pied. The Pied was not typical, a first winter male,
but the throat was pure white, the ear-coverts dark, and buffy wash to
the underparts. Every couple of years we see an example of the rare
form (of Pied) "vittata" where the normal all black throat is replaced
by white. This is the first time that an immature bird has been
identified as being this form. I will have to distribute images of
this bird, as equally a first winter male Black-eared Wheatear cannot
be ruled out, the back being pale brown rather than sooty.
It was just here that Mikes car decided that it would not go, and
there was a dry click from the starter motor. Whilst we were stranded
waiting for assistance, four White Pelicans, a male Kori, the
territorial Black-bellied and a juvenile White-bellied Bustards were
seen, a party of Eurasian Swifts flew over as did an adult Fish Eagle
and a Northern Hobby, there were Red-tailed Shrikes and a party of
twenty Wattled Starlings including a stunning breeding plumage male.
Whilst there David Edmonds came along with his wife, and tried to
assist but could not help and unfortunately got stuck whilst passing
us. We managed to extracate them and they organised David Maskell to
come out, and he successfully dragged us along and the engine started.
Our thanks to both parties… we decided to continue, but were careful
not to stall the engine! We had some eight Red-tailed and two
Red-backed Shrikes, and an immature Lesser Grey Shrike which was in
the same general area as the immature ten days ago, but with the
rapidity that birds are going through without any extended stay, could
well be the third for the season which is unprecedented. There was
also a Common Whitethroat, but it disappeared very easily. Both
Pangani and Rosy-breasted Longclaws were surprisingly numerous in the
grasslands, and all were singing. A Shelley's Francolin was standing
in the short green grass. All this from the one stranding!!! Returning
to Ivory Burning Site we had a Montagu's Harrier, and the Zanzibar
Sombre Greenbul was singing from behind the toilets. A second look at
Hyena Dam produced a cooperative African Water Rail but nothing else.
Some fifteen Spotted Flycatchers and a dozen Willow Warblers were
scattered through the area, and although a good variety of migrants it
could not be termed a "fall" perhaps the rain started too early the
previous evening not giving migrants time to start moving. There were
many more migrants around in the afternoon than the morning,
suggestive of a bush-to-bush movement. The third visit to Ivory
Burning Site revealed nothing new apart from three Lesser Striped
Swallows. At 4-00pm we left so that Mike could have his vehicle
checked at a garage.
So Nairobi National Park has done it again!!!!!!

Best to all

Brian