Hello Birders,

No particularly special sightings to report from Naibor at the start
of April but our return car journey to Nairobi on 17th April produced
some of the dry Mara specialities between Talek and Narok including
Southern Grosbeak Canary, Silverbird and a fantastic male Straw-tailed
Whydah sporting full breeding plumage and my return to Naibor on 17th
May produced only a Double-banded Courser within sight of the Olarro
Hotel. With no guests in camp for two weeks it was time for some
serious maintenance work so birding took a back seat for a while but
by the end of May the camp had produced a roosting pair of
Rufous-bellied Heron which was a new bird for the camp list.

My routine trips into Talek village became increasingly enjoyable as a
result of numerous sightings of Common Buttonquail (10+ over the past
6 weeks or so) and Harlequin Quail (15+), and close to one lugger
half-way along that route the same low bush repeatedly produced a pair
of Parasitic Weaver. Plenty of African Quailfinch were also seen.

A flock of 50+ White Stork on 24th May seemed quite late as did a Barn
Swallow at Talek Gate on the same day. June 1st produced a crisp
immature Greater Honeyguide in camp and a Goliath Heron along the
river here. June 3rd produced a pair of Black Coucal near Lookout Hill
and a Black-bellied Bustard chick followed it’s mother closer to camp
on the same evening.

The annual migration of Wildebeest took us all by surprise this year
as it was a whole month earlier than anticipated. Following the
migration were 1000s of vultures that boosted the resident population
enormously. It has been quite difficult to gauge exactly how many
birds are involved but the skies have been alive with soaring flocks
in the mornings. Marabou Stork numbers also increased dramatically and
I have since begun to record Woolly-necked Stork regularly as well,
including one over camp on 25th June.

We enjoyed three visits from a flock of White-throated Bee-eater on
8th,13th and 16th June which included some juvenile birds.

On 16th June, a showy pair of White-bellied Bustard refused to leave
the track I was driving along so I enjoyed a fabulous 15 minute
encounter with them down to point-blank range, and a delayed trip from
Talek on 19th June resulted in a mini-night drive which produced two
Square-tailed (Gabon) Nightjar along the grassy tracks into camp.

Cuckoos throughout the month include Levaillant’s, Diederik and
Klaas’s all calling in camp and there was also a Jacobin Cuckoo just
south of us in scrub on the Burrangat Plain mid-month. An immature
Great Spotted Cuckoo was seen close to Ol Kiombo airstrip on 30th May
and then close to Naibor the following evening. Giant and Pied
Kingfishers were seen along the river alongside the camp and from
mid-May we’ve also had Woodland Kingfishers and a pair of African
Pygmy Kingfishers resident in here. Golden-tailed, Green-backed,
Cardinal and Olive Woodpeckers have been in evidence all month and a
lone Common Scimitarbill has been seen on a few occasions. At the end
of last season it was common to see Red-necked Spurfowl in camp but
already this season has produced a family of Crested Francolin, two
Scaly Francolin and a noisy pair of Hildebrandt’s, all in camp and
seen from the office. For anyone interested in egg data, a Crowned
Plover was sitting on a single egg on the Burrangat Plain on 24th
June.

A pair of Buffy Pipit (race goodsoni which was formerly Plain-backed)
were seen close to Ol Kiombo on 30th June when we took a small safari
to explore some other areas of the Mara, starting with one night at
Alex Walker’s beautiful Serian camp in the Mara North Conservancy.
Just north of Musiara Gate we watched a Lanner swoop at a young
Thomson’s Gazelle several times but it failed to take the animal. Very
impressive to watch and the anticipation of a kill was high! The
well-grazed grass and acacia thickets of the MNC produced Red-throated
Tit, Silverbird, Diederik Cuckoo and Grey-backed Fiscal Shrikes were
numerous. Within Serian Camp, a Spot-flanked Barbet and two
Levaillant’s Cuckoo were seen and heard and there were three adult
Martial Eagles circling and talon-grappling together overhead here.
All friendly and no apparent territorial animosity so I wondered about
the relationship of these birds?

On 1st July, we took a slow ride through the MNC where we began to see
many Yellow-fronted and White-bellied Canaries. There was another pair
of birds, the male of which looked just like a textbook Yellow-crowned
Canary but the birds took off before we got within a reasonable
photographic distance; has anyone else recorded this species in the
Mara or would it more likely to have been a “worn” Yellow-fronted
perhaps? The one that got away on this trip!

We proceeded along the lower Oloololo Escarpment and then up past the
Sabaringo Valley towards Kilima Camp. A solitary White Stork was very
late and I was surprised to see a Ross’s Turaco (just outside that
camp’s gate) so far from the thick forest of the valley below. Not
knowing the area too well, we did not enter the Sabaringo Valley
forests but I look forward to visiting there sometime soon to explore
further as it looks very productive from afar.

In the mid-afternoon we arrived at Bateleur Camp (Kichwa Tembo) where
I had two sightings of the Black-headed Gonolek (at the North Bateleur
dining mess and also in front of our tent, #19) which Brian Finch
referred to in his recent email. At Kichwa Tembo’s pool area there was
a singing African Citril plus Chinspot Batis, African Blue and
Paradise Flycatchers and plenty of Spot-flanked Barbet. The camp’s
fabulous wooded tracks were rather quiet on the bird front that
afternoon but did produce some Black Cuckooshrike and Common
Wattle-eye. Unfortunately no sign of Ross’s Turaco here but an Ovambo
Sparrowhawk flew over our tent just before dusk.

The Kichwa Tembo pool area was also quiet the next morning but I did
see a flock of 50+ Red-billed Quelea, two Long-crested Eagle and
singing African Moustached Warbler before a sumptuous breakfast.

We then headed through the Oloololo Gate and through the various
swamps but as time was against us we were unable to explore properly
here. There were numerous family groups of Spur-winged Goose and
Grey-crowned Crane and towards Mara Serena hotel complex a pair of
Black-chested Snake Eagle hovered overhead. On the southern track past
Serena a family of Northern Anteater Chats, which are surprisingly
scarce in the Mara compared to Sooty Chat, showed well.

Looking forward now to a busy season with guests at Naibor before the
autumn migration begins to kick-in.

Happy birding!

Adam