Dear All,
I visited Nairobi National Park on 20th December, there had been
negligible showers and I was through the gate at 6-30am.
I visited the Ivory Burning Site, the Nightingales were very vocal and
there were about ten in the area, a few Tree Pipits were flying over,
and other migrants included a Eurasian Reed, Upcher's, Garden, several
Willow Warblers and a Blackcap. There was a Croaking Cisticola singing
from the scrub, which is far north for the Park. Just around the
corner on the back road was a young, very brown Jacobin Cuckoo and
pairs of Scaly and Crested Francolins feeding on the road at the same
time. Still seems a strange species combination. On the rear entrance
to Hyena Dam there were twenty Yellow Wagtails feeding under the
hooves of Kongoni and Wildebeeste, but nothing much at the dam. On the
run-off were the female Saddle-billed Stork, a Yellow-billed Egret,
one each of Eurasian Marsh and Montagu's Harriers, a few Wood and
Green Sandpipers. the first of two Common Kestrels, first of five
Northern Wheatears, three Whinchats, a Red-throated Pipit, a couple of
Rosy-breasted Longclaws and the first of ten Red-tailed Shrikes. There
were two Common Squacco Herons on "nameless" swamp, but nothing on
Nagalomon Dam apart from a few sandpipers. There were small numbers of
low feeding Mottled Swifts at Impala Lookout, Narina Trogon were
calling in the forest, and here was the only Common Buzzard of the
day. Exiting the forest there was a Sprosser that was noisily
maintaining a territory in a dense patch of scrub, and a washed out
immature Eurasian Roller on the edge of the plain. In the area of
Kingfisher were a Common Snipe, Black-bellied Bustard, five Isabelline
and three Pied Wheatears and a female Eurasian Rock Thrush. Circling
around to exit through Langata Gate was a Kori Bustard, and I left the
Park at 2-00pm.
Very few Barn Swallows today, and only a scattering of migrants.
Mammals were in very good numbers, a couple of Lions and seven White
Rhinoceros being the better species. There is still a Hippo in Hyena
Dam.