Dear All,

At about midday on 28th March, I left with Richard and Ann Bishop for
an overnight on Kipiti Estate, run by ILRI. It is located just west of
Konza and the Konza Road, in Machakos District. We were going there
ostensibly to look for Aardvarks at night, and returning the next
afternoon.
We left via Kiserian/Isinya, seeing two male Montagu's Harriers, to be
our only migrant raptors at all apart from a lone Common Kestrel. The
road from Isinya was very good, and we arrived in the early afternoon.
The place was so incredibly dry and dusty, the evening spotlighting
was a fight with dense clouds of very light but nevertheless opaque
dust which hung in the air. We failed to find Aardvarks, but did have
to drive carefully around their holes, we did have about twenty Spring
Hares, fifteen Cape Hares, with four Grey Duiker and a Steinbok
amongst the more usual ungulates. It was not at all exciting and quite
uncomfortable. There were three nightjars, one each of Eurasian, Dusky
and Slender-tailed.
The next day we were hoping for rain, but nothing fell in this area,
so a hoped for fall of migrants did not eventuate. The arid bush did
have some twenty Whitethroats and three Barred Warblers, and we
recorded in the paddocks four each of Northern and Pied Wheatears, and
a dozen Isabelline. Shrikes were low with four each of Red-tailed and
Red-backed, and there were only two Eurasian Rollers and six Eurasian
Bee-eaters. Other migrants around the garden were two Eurasian Golden
Orioles, five Spotted Flycatchers, four Willow and one Garden Warbler,
three Tree Pipits and one lutea Yellow Wagtail. More impressively
there were some fifteen Eurasian Rock Thrush and all but three adult
males. There was a light passage of Barn Swallows.
Amongst the afrotropicals, Kori Bustard are really numerous in this
region, and some fifteen were seen, Southern Grosbeak Canarys were
common on the hill slopes. A family of Bare-eyed Thrush also lived in
the garden, and a male Greater Honeyguide enjoyed the bird bath!

Best to all

Brian