Dear All,
Nigel and Julia Hunter, and Brian Finch were very kindly invited to
stay with Joe and Janet Mills, on Rawhide Estate Kampi ya Moto (on the
Baringo Road).  Nigel and Brian thought that this would be a wonderful
opportunity to explore this not-so-distant part of Kenya, which
ornithologically seems of late to be off the map. In the bad old days
there were some interesting records from Lake Solai, and it is still
part of the wetlands count, but nothing else of this area has come to
light.

Leaving Nairobi at 9.30am on Saturday 4th September, we called in at
Hippo Camp at Naivasha. It looked as if the water level had risen even
further than when we were here over six weeks prior. As a result there
is little available edge for waders to feed on, and hardly anything to
be seen in the palearctic line. One each of Black-tailed Godwit, Wood,
Marsh and Common Sandpipers, Common Greenshank and Little Stint, with
a few Ruff. The most numerous duck was Fulvous Whistling Duck,
otherwise only a scattering of other species. Although a good variety
of herons, only small numbers and the most interesting being an adult
Dwarf Bittern which flew into the vegetation along the channel at the
end of the raised causeway. Whilst many Whiskered Terns were present,
there were no young birds that could have been raised locally, which
was disappointing.

We left after an hour, then had lunch in Nakuru before continuing on
to Kampi ya Moto. Finally getting into "Rawhide" at about 2.30pm, and
after a rest, had a walk around the farm at 4.00pm until dark. On
tallying up the bird list for this short walk we were amazed to find
it had amounted to no less than 91 species. Surprises this far south
(in fact the first time we had seen them in the southern hemisphere!)
were a pair of Jackson's Hornbills, a family of Brown Babblers and
seven nesting White-billed Buffalo-Weavers. Other interesting birds
included a Secretarybird on its nest, African Mourning Doves very high
here, co-existing with Dusky Turtle-Doves which were very numerous,
several Angola Swallows which were not surprising as they breed nearby
at Mogotio, and Silverbirds which were common, and the first time I
have seen it as a garden bird!

The next day, Nigel and I left "Rawhide" at 6.30am to explore the area
outside of the farm. We had an entire day, driving a circuit that took
in Lake Solai and rejoined the tarmac at Mogotio. In the 114km we
covered, we were above 5000 ft for all of the circuit, and for much of
it even higher, even "Rawhide" is the same altitude as Nairobi. So we
did not get into the acacia scrub that would normally be associated
with the Baringo Road, and consequently the lowland species found in
this habitat were not recorded.
We were seeing endless birds in the scrub along the road, and after
nine kilometers came to the Olbainita Swamp. Neither of us had ever
heard of this, I cannot find reference in the literature and yet this
huge area could be one of the most important wetlands in the entire
country. We are advised that in very dry years it dries into an
extensive grassy vlei, but the soil remains soft, and every wet-season
the swamp returns. From the roadside it is possible to scope the
nearer pools, but beyond the middle, the distance is too far to
identify the birds, to the north end there is a vast grass swamp
without open water. Who knows what was hiding in there. We were also
able to get right to the edge of the bank.
The place is remarkable for ducks, we had eleven African species here.
The most abundant was Fulvous Whistling, second to this was Southern
Pochard.  Pairs of White-backed Ducks were very common, and they spent
much time in aerial chases, but it was difficult to estimate the
number present, they were impossible to spot when landed, but this
must represent a very important population for the species. A pair of
Maccoa Ducks were displaying and the male was roughly grabbing the
female by the scruff of the neck and holding her under the water. If
this is the prelude to mating, it's not surprising the species is
endangered. There could have been other pairs present, but we could
only see the close pair. On the same open lagoon as they were in were
many Lesser Moorhens, most of which were immatures, Purple Swamphens
were also very numerous, more than I have seen anywhere else in the
country, and sitting on a floating stick was a Baillon's Crake, of
course there could be thousands in the entire swamp, but we counted
ourselves fortunate to see this single extravert. Amongst the herons,
there was a single Madagascar Pond Heron in non-breeding dress.
Yellow-billed Egret was the most numerous heron species. Whilst on the
Madagascar theme, several Madagascar Bee-eaters flew over quite high.
Whiskered Terns were in large numbers, but there was no sign of
breeding. In the early morning this area was a living organism, with
constant movements of the avian residents.
At 24kms from "Rawhide" we came to a river valley, which spilled over
as a ford across the road. Here we had a Black Duck, Mountain Wagtail,
and highland species such as Yellow-whiskered Greenbul, Olive Thrush
and Northern Double-collared Sunbird. In the scrub were Singing
Cisticolas and stunning and easy to see African Firefinches.
A little further along the road, there were some swallows and swifts,
and on stopping we witnessed a good movement of Barn Swallows, with
ten or so Common Swifts and an early Sand Martin. Barn Swallows were
almost anywhere we stopped, and already the most numerous hirundine.
At Lake Solai we were amazed at the size of it, it was much larger
than Elementeita and was obviously still rising. Most of the birds
were at the northern end and not easily seen. There were over a
hundred Glossy Ibis, and two Greater Flamingos amongst the numerous
herons. The open water was disappointing, with numerous Red-knobbed
Coots, a few Little Grebes and large numbers of Whiskered Terns. The
only bird of any note was another Madagascar Pond Heron sitting up in
a tree that was surrounded by water.
We back-tracked to Lower Solai to take the road west towards Mogotio.