Hello Everyone,

 

I just got home from 3 days in the Mara and had a great trip. I stayed at the Mara Serena and saw around 160 species. It was a lot of fun and my first time to visit this park.

 

    In regards to birds of prey there are a lot of Lesser and Common Kestrels all over the Mara right now with a few Eurasian Hobbies mixed in. Pallid and Montagues Harriers are also there in good numbers with a few Eurasian Marsh. As you exit the Mara Serena in the small bit of forest by the Serena campsite I saw an Ovambo Sparrowhawk. It rained a lot while I was there and after the rains it would perch on a dead tree in full view from the road drying itself. It was good to get great looks at this species. In the forest leading up the escarpment near Oloololo gate, but still inside the park, I had a Western Banded Snake Eagle. This was really neat as just the week before, with David Ngala, I saw a Southern Banded Snake Eagle in Arabuko. Both snake eagles I had never seen before so I was pleased to see them both in a week. Near the Oloololo Gate I also had a Grey Kestrel and coming in one  evening at the Serena airstrip I had two Marsh Owls quartering the grasslands. I also saw two Pygmy Falcons in the southeast of the park around Sand River.

 

    In the flooded grassland between Serena and Oloololo Gate I had a Rufous-bellied Heron and a Black Coucal. I also had another Black Coucal on the road leading towards the Mara Triangle Wilderness Area right around Hamerkop camp. In this area a lot of quail were being flushed by our car and one finally landed on the side of the road and eventually walked out for us. I am pretty sure it was a Common Quail and was happy to see it. In this same area two Red-winged Francolin showed themselves in a drainage ditch and called to each other. I had never seen them before so was very pleased with this (How common are these in the Mara?). 

 

    For as long as I have been in Kenya I have read about Kichwa Tembo and the birds around the escarpment and I talked my parents into taking me there for 20 minutes. It was a mad but fun dash around and I saw some Scaly Francolins with chicks, a single Ross's Turaco and a few Slender-billed Greenbuls. On the base of the escarpment and in the forest climbing up I had two Grey-throated Barbets and a single Red-tailed Chat. I was disappointed I couldn't talk my family into hunting for the other specialties of the escarpment but had fun anyway. 

 

    Back in the park Olive Pigeons were flying over the riverine forest. Every Croton thicket had a Eurasian cuckoo. One morning on driving the road between the Mara Serena reception and the Mara Serena boom I counted 12. There were also constantly flying over. A Great Spotted Cuckoo also flew across the road near the Mara crossing. I am also curious about how common Madagascar Lesser Cuckoo's are in the Mara. This was my first time there so I don't know a lot about the birds here, but some of the Cuckoo's looked particularly small. There were a lot of Willow Warblers around the park and a Common Whitethroat was at Mara Serena one morning.  

 

    Other migrants present were Red-tailed, Red-backed and Lesser Grey Shrikes, White and Abdim's storks, and a few Whinchats. Also all the Widowbirds were in breeding plumage so it was great to see all of these beautiful birds. 

 

    On the topic of mammals, around the Mara river north of Serena I am almost positive I  saw two Cape Clawless Otters. Has anyone seen otters in the Mara?. I am just curious. 

 

    The Mara is an amazing park. I hope I can go back soon. Thanks and Good Birding.

 

Stratton Hatfield