Mida Creek this week has been a hive of activity for migrants heading 
north. Evenings there have been stunning in the golden evening light 
with storm clouds around and then all the waders looking very dandy in 
breeding plumage. We watched with delight a flock of brick red Curlew 
Sand as they took off just before dusk, climbing steadily and then 
circling around 2-3 times as they continued to climb, calling loudly and 
excitedly all the time and then took bearing for the north and just went 
for it gradually gaining height more and more as they vanished as specks 
into the distance... They'll be in the Middle East by now, if not further.

Also seen were several 1,000 Barn Swallows pounding through heading 
north at high altitude - you didn't see them until you heard a distant 
but volumous swallow chattering and looked hard overhead to just make 
out the specks of 100s pouring through on a northerly bearing. 
Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters are also moving through, some in flocks of c.100 
birds which were heading north. As dusk approached, one or two flocks 
turned back and appeared to heading towards the mangrove forests around 
Mida to presumably roost the night out before heading on in the morning 
(and indeed this morning as we were taking nets down in a mind-blowingly 
stunning dawn there were sounds of the bee-eaters on the move again).

Most of the waders have left by now. Just Lesser Sandplovers in any sort 
of numbers. Little Stints are few and far between, Tereks pretty much 
gone (out of 99 birds caught this week only 3 were Tereks). Greater 
Sandplovers are mostly first years which won't migrate; no Eurasian 
Curlews seen on our count yesterday and only 36 Whimbrel and 29 
Greenshank. Crab-plovers are still in reasonable numbers - almost 300 - 
including 3 with blue colour rings that I've put on over the last 3 
years. Many more Sacred Ibis, Yellow-billed Stork, egrets and Af 
Spoonbills have turned up the last couple of weeks. One Red-backed 
Shrike in the vlei beside the creek.

Afrotropical migrants expected now - in fact we had the first Mangrove 
Kingfisher calling from the (appropriately) mangroves two days ago and 
another at c.3am also heard - a migrant, perhaps??

Red-capped Robin Chats not yet here. One early record of Yellowbill 
(though I see Jonathan Mwachongo recorded the species in Tana recently) 
3 weeks ago.

A great time of the year!

-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
www.tanariverdelta.org