From: Colin Jackson <colin.jackson@arocha.org>
Date: 2010-12-19 07:38
Subject: Ngulia highlights and Watamu waders
The 2010 Ngulia session has just finished and was once again a great success. David Pearson led the team as usual though I was there with Bernard Amakobe to set things up a couple of days before David arrived - this being the 41st year that he has been to Ngulia for the ringing.

The weather conditions were not bad but also were not fantastic for the attraction of migrants to the lodge lights but we ended up with a very satisfactory total of 17,173 birds. The main highlights,apart from an overwhelming number of Marsh Warblers (over 65% of the catch on some days!) and 1,631 Barn Swallows and c.60 House Martins, are given below. I also blogged it and you can read a bit more and see some images from the time on http://arochakenya.wildlifedirect.org

A Common Redstart on the 29th Nov - only the 13th ever ringed at Ngulia
Ngulia's second Chiffchaff ringed - 3rd December
1 each of Pied and Isabelline Wheatears
1 Eurasian Scops Owl on 3rd Dec
1 Green Sandpiper - 2nd Dec
3 Common Buttonquail ringed and another 2 seen
A Gambaga Flycatcher on the 1st Dec
Over 30 Donaldson-Smith's Nightjars ringed and three Slender-tailed, several Plain and Dusky and 9 Eurasian.
A Shikra was caught and ringed
2 Somali Golden-breasted Buntings

On my way out from Ngulia on the 10th Dec in the early evening and a heavy rainstorm, I saw 3 scops owls (African? Eurasian?) on the road, 2 Heuglin's Coursers, a Corncrake and the usual nightjars. We had very few Steppe Eagles through - and were remembering how 15 years ago we would easily have 50+ in a day passing overhead. I think we would have been lucky to have had 20 in total for the 2 1/2 weeks this year. I also didn't see a single vulture in 2 weeks based at Ngulia... We did, however, have what might be the first ever occasion when no less than TWO Eurasian Sparrowhawks were seen together just off from the ringing station by the pool when Brian Finch was visiting. I had another one on the 10th high over head pumping south.

Wader-wise, we've had 3 nights of wader ringing on Mida Creek this past week with a group of Israeli ringers who had been at Ngulia as well. In total we caught 197 waders of the normal mix of birds though many more Lesser and Greater Sandplovers than normal in terms of proportion - and very few Little Stints and Curlew Sands. Most interesting was the number of old retraps with several from 2004, 2002 and even one Curlew Sand ringed by Jeff Davis when with me in Nov 1999!

During the week we had a Bat Hawk over the carpark at the A Rocha Kenya centre just as we were packing the car to go for the waders. Otherwise I was asleep in the mornings and in meetings all afternoon!

Wader ringing again in mid-January if anyone is keen to come and join in.

Best wishes,
-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Colin Jackson
Director
A Rocha Kenya
PO Box 383,
Watamu, 80202
Kenya

Eml: colin.jackson@arocha.org
Tel: +254 (0)20 233 5865 (wireless)
     +254 (0)42 23 32023 (landline)
Cell: 0722 842366 / 0771 757746

For more information:
www.arocha.org
www.assets-kenya.org
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