On 27th December I met up with Fleur Ng'Weno, with Nigel Moorhouse and
his friend and although gathering at 6-30am it was another forty-five
minutes before we could get in as the staff had somehow locked
themselves out of the card-loading office! This was not so bad with
the Parks second only Red-headed Weaver feeding in the trees, the
first record also being in the car park and like this bird an adult
male. There were a few Willow Warblers but nothing else of note.
Firstly visiting Ivory Burning Site, there were a few Tree Pipits on
the entrance road, but the site itself was not too lively, about eight
Nightingales, an Upcher's Warbler, Acrocephalus that did not show
themselves, and a dapper Spotted Flycatcher. This was a bit
disappointing after the inches of rain that had recently fallen, but
it was getting late as we arrived having had the delay at the gate and
things might have been more obvious earlier. There were more
Nightingales along the back road, but nothing else, and the entrance
to Hyena Dam provided a resting Steppe Eagle, a young Fish Eagle, a
male Eurasian Marsh Harrier and a few Yellow Wagtails. At the dam was
an obliging African Water Rail, and with an emergence of insects two
Sedge Warblers were flycatching with other species. The run-off whilst
attracting a concentration of Sacred Ibis, revealed little else on the
swamp, other than a few Wood and Green Sandpipers, the only Common
Kestrel of the day, a few displaying Rosy-breasted Longclaws and
twenty or so barn Swallows. The first of five Northern Wheatears and
first of ten Red-tailed Shrikes. There was a very nice noisy couple of
fully adult Fish Eagles sitting on the bushes. At `nameless swamp
there was nothing, but in the bushes there was a Great Reed Warbler
sitting up enjoying the sun and drying off. Whilst normally fairly
common in April/May when heading north, there was a bird at the back
of Hyena Dam at this time last year.
Heading towards Nagalomon Dam there was a female Parasitic Weaver, and
below Impala Lookout,  female Pallid Harrier and a Nairobi Pipit was
on the road. Kingfisher was not too lively, four Black-winged Plover,
a very pallid immature Eurasian Bee-eater, the first of seven
Isabelline Wheatears and a couple of Lions. Continuing along the
southern road we had the first of three Pied Wheatears, a Mountain
Wagtail below Baboon Cliffs where there was a male Syke's Monkey
apparently waiting for handouts at the picnic site, but little else
until the top of Athi Basin where there were a Black-bellied Bustard
and a pair of handsome Short-tailed Larks. The contrast of the
northern parts of the park and the south-east which was still a desert
was remarkable. In spite of the rain over the past few days, little
had fallen here, Athi Dam had hardly showed any increase on water
content and was most disappointing. There was  calling Fish Eagle
somewhere, two roosting adult Black-crowned Night-Herons, six
White-faced Whistling Duck, eight Red-billed Teal, a handsome drake
Southern Pochard, a pair of Spur-winged and fifteen Kittlitz's
Plovers, Black-winged Stilt down to the last three, only fifteen
Little Stints, six Marsh and three Common Sandpipers, and two
Yellow-billed were the only Storks present. We drove across the
parched plains towards Cheetah Gate, there were a pair of
Yellow-throated Sandgrouse under a bush, the Eurasian Hoopoe is still
present, other drier country species included a Laughing Dove, a pair
of Marico Sunbirds (they appear resident here), and five
Crimson-rumped Waxbill. Still no Olivaceous Warbler in the Park this
season!!!!! Hippo Pools was also dull, the only migrants being a
couple of Nightingales, Willow Warblers and a Spotted Flycatcher,
although a pair of African Firefinches were very showy, and there was
also what was possibly the fifth (an adult) Fish Eagle of the day.
Leaving via the "Beacon" we had the only Lesser Kestrel of the day,
and adult Eastern Chanting Goshawk was a surprise however, further on
was the only Kori Bustard of the day, a displaying male and on the
circuit to Hyena Dam was another pair of Black-winged Plovers.
We left the Park through the Main Entrance at 6-00pm, having had a great day.
Mammals have spread themselves over much of the Park, so the
concentrations of Hyena Dam and Kingfisher had diluted. It would
appear that the game is in the huge numbers that it has been of late
however. Rarest mammal for the day was a roosting Yellow-winged Bat
near Cheetah Gate.

An addition to the Nakuru trip on 5th December was an adult Greater
Spotted Eagle.

Best to all
Brian