Langata & Serengeti birds

On the 20th September, Nigel Hunter and myself decided that we would
investigate the forest along the descent road between Limuru and Mai
Maahiu. We stopped first along a track that went off on the left about
a kilometre before the tourist dukas. In this initial walk at an
elevation of what we estimated over 2200 metres we found about seven
Blue-capped Cordon-bleus scattered in pairs and singles through the
bush. The fact that it was multiple encounters makes one wonder if it
is vagrancy from lower altitudes escaping the drought, or are they
regularly at this location. Red-cheeked were not encountered at all.
Are there any other records from as high an elevation as this? Other
species seen here were a pair of Red-throated Wrynecks, Malachite
Sunbirds feeding on the Leonotis, Cinnamon Bracken Warblers and
Hunter's Cisticolas were numerous. On the other side of the road
(right) there was a dirt road that climbed up towards the ridge. Here
we found a party of twelve Eurasian Bee-eaters, Moustached Green
Tinkerbird, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Golden-winged and Eastern
Double-collared Sunbirds.
On the other side of the dukas we followed the Mayer's Road checking
the riparian scrub along the creek. The most surprising thing here
were the several singing Brown Woodland Warblers, seeing Blue-capped
Cordon-bleus at an estimated 1200 feet higher than Brown Woodland
Warbler seemed just wrong! As so little is known about this area as
the tendency is just to use the road to get to the Mara or Naivasha, I
have listed the species that we recorded.

Above the dukas
Harrier-hawk, Scaly Francolin, Ring-necked Dove, Red-eyed Dove, Dusky
Turtle Dove, Speckled Mousebird, Eurasian Bee-eater, Spot-flanked
Barbet, Red-fronted Barbet, Moustached Green Tinkerbird, Eastern
Honeybird, Wahlberg's Honeybird, Red-throated Wryneck, Barn Swallow,
Red-rumped Swallow, Rock Martin, Black Saw-wing, Grassland Pipit,
Common Bulbul, Cape Robin-Chat, Ruppell's Robin-Chat, Olive Thrush,
African Stonechat, White-browed Scrub-Robin, Mountain Yellow Warbler,
Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, Red-faced Crombec, Hunter's Cisticola,
Tawny-flanked Prinia, Grey-capped Warbler, Grey-backed Camaroptera,
Yellow-breasted Apalis, Grey Apalis, White-bellied Tit, Montane
White-eye, Bronze Sunbird, Golden-winged Sunbird, Malachite Sunbird,
Eastern Double-collared Sunbird, Amethyst Sunbird, Common Fiscal,
Tropical Boubou, Black-backed Puffback, Brown-headed Tchagra, Pied
Crow, Rufous Sparrow, Spectacled Weaver, Baglafecht Weaver, Holub's
Golden Weaver, Yellow Bishop, Blue-capped Cordon-bleu, Purple
Grenadier, Red-billed Firefinch. Yellow-crowned Canary, African
Citril, Reichenow's Seedeater, Streaky Seedeater.

Below the dukas
Hadada, Harrier-hawk, Ring-necked Dove, Red-eyed Dove, Emerald-spotted
Wood-Dove, Speckled Mousebird, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Red-fronted
Barbet, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Lesser Honeyguide, Eastern
Honeybird, Wahlberg's Honeybird, Nubian Woodpecker, Grey Woodpecker,
Red-rumped Swallow, Rock Martin, Black Saw-wing, Black Cuckooshrike,
Common Bulbul, Cape Robin-Chat, Ruppell's Robin-Chat, Olive Thrush,
White-browed Scrub-Robin, Brown Woodland Warbler, Red-faced Crombec,
Singing Cisticola, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Grey-capped Warbler,
Grey-backed Camaroptera, Yellow-breasted Apalis, White-eyed Slaty
Flycatcher, Chin-spot Batis, Paradise Flycatcher, White-bellied Tit,
Abyssinian White-eye, Bronze Sunbird, Northern Double-collared
Sunbird, Amethyst Sunbird, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Variable Sunbird,
Tropical Boubou, Slate-coloured Boubou, Black-backed Puffback,
Brown-headed Tchagra, Sulphur-breased Bush-shrike, Common Drongo, Pied
Crow, Rufous Sparrow, Yellow-spotted Petronia, Baglafecht Weaver,
Yellow Bishop, Purple Grenadier, Red-billed Firefinch. African Citril,
Reichenow's Seedeater, Golden-breasted Bunting.

We took the Kijabe Road to the top of the escarpment, and had a look
at Manguo Pond, and the new raised walkway for birders, now it has
become a fenced in bird sanctuary. The water level was very low and
there were hardly any waterfowl and the only migrant waders were a few
Common Sandpipers. There were over half-a-dozen Yellow Wagtails
already, and a Eurasian Black Kite in the area. The nearby sewage pond
had some twenty Glossy Ibis, a nice pair of resident watchful
Peregrines in a dead tree, but little else.

It made for an interesting circuit, and the escarpment forest is well
worthy of investigation. There was a Grey Duiker crossing a track, and
Leopard tracks along a road from the night before.

NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK 21st SEPTEMBER 2009
EURASIAN CUCKOO, NORTHERN AND ISABELLINE WHEATEAR, SAND MARTIN, BARN SWALLOW

Today 21st September, Mike and Louisa Davidson, Karen Plumbe and
myself had a day in Nairobi National Park. Being a holiday weekend,
there was an amazing number of people in the Park, with visitors
entering from as early as 6-15am (when we arrived).
The Park had seen nothing of the recent rain that had fallen in the
city and Karen/Lavington.
Our first stop was Ivory Burning Site where there was a couple of
White Rhinos and a good variety of birds but nothing out of the
ordinary. Roosting birds were leaving the reedbed on Nagalomon Dam,
and flocks of Grosbeak Weavers, Black Saw-wings and Plain Martins were
flying past. There was nothing also up to the back of Hyena Dam, where
the small swamp had a female Northern Wheatear and a party of Zebra
Waxbills which looked like a family group with several immatures with
an adult pair. At Hyena Dam there was a calling African Water Rail and
one of only two Lilac-breasted Rollers seen today. On the run-off were
two Yellow-billed and one Great Egret, and on the plains an Oribi with
a very tattered ear, a few Wattled Starlings and a few distant Athi
Short-toed Larks, plus another family of Zebra Waxbills but very few
Quailfinch. At Karen Primary School Dam there were two Yellow-throated
Sandgrouse. Whilst there was nothing at Embakasi Dam, there was a
Steinbok on the way, and the first Isabelline Wheatear of the season.
Towards the Athi Basin there were over a hundred very noisy Athi
Short-toed Larks, three White-tailed Larks, ten Red-capped Larks and a
number of Fischer's Sparrowlarks (and plenty of Rufous-naped Larks of
course). Near Athi Dam was another flock of over a hundred Athi
Short-toed Larks, whilst at the dam three White Pelicans, three adult
Black-crowned Night-Herons, ten Black-winged Stilts, a pair of
Spur-winged Plovers and migrant waders consisted of one Wood, four
Common, two Marsh Sandpipers and four Little Stints. The first Sand
Martin accompanied a party of Barn Swallows. The water-level is
dropping fast. Stopping for lunch along the Mbagathi River on the
Rhino Circuit, we were staggered to find an immature Eurasian Cuckoo
which stayed with us for the hour we were there. This is an incredibly
early date for this species, all the more remarkable with the bird
being an immature. The only other bird of any note was a Green
Sandpiper. There was little all the way to Kingfisher Picnic Site
where there was a Saddle-billed Stork on the little swamp, and two
Bohor Reedbuck amongst the numbers and variety of other game animals
that included another pair of White Rhinos. Calling in at Nagalomon
Dam there was a Great Cormorant and a pair of very nice Egyptian
Mongooses. Just before reaching the Main Entrance Gate at 5-00pm,
there was a Suni along the road. A remarkable day for the smaller
antelope species. There were Barn Swallows met with several times
during the day, but Banded Martins were seen all through the Park all
day, though no flocks. Cinnamon-chested Rock-Buntings were seen a
number of times including one party of eight with the brightest male I
have ever seen.
The cattle abound in the southern parts of the Park, sadly also large
numbers of Goats and Sheep. It's out of hand again. Of the native
mammals, they were in impressive numbers virtually throughout the
Park.
There seems to be an earlier arrival of migrants than usual, we shall
have to see if this trend continues during the rest of the month and
into October. All first dates of species should be recorded.

Best to all
Brian