Dear
All,
On
the morning of 14th August 2011, I met up with Nigel Hunter at the
Main Gate, with Roger and Jean Skeen, visiting us from Uganda. Whilst Roger was
familiar with Ugandan birds he had never visited Kenya before and was more than
suitably impressed with his day in Nairobi National Park.
The
previous night there had been unseasonal rain, Karen had just over two inches,
whilst Langata South had had a little more than one inch. It would be
interesting to see what affect this had had on the bird life, with August
traditionally being the driest month, and usually the terrain parched.
We
were through the formalities and in the Park by 6.40am, and entered the thick
mist. It was so soupy that we could not see the birds in the tops of the
acacias at Ivory Burning Site, and left there with nothing recorded of any
interest. We took the back route to Hyena Dam and in front of the car was a
Nairobi Pipit, it was only metres away, and because of the mist was loathe to
fly and just flew ahead of us giving excellent views. It was still thick as we
circumnavigated the back of Hyena Dam, and had a coffee at the dam itself.
After we had been in the Park nearly an hour the veils were very dramatically
lifted and in seconds it was broad daylight though overcast. We could see that
the rain had caused Hyena Dam to overflow, and was across the road. Whilst we
sat there, we had a few Wood and a couple of Green Sandpipers, the African
Jacana still there, as was the Lesser Moorhen. A Purple Swamphen showed very
briefly and African Water Rails called from the typha.
We
drove back and around the Hyena Dam run-off as Nigel was concerned about
getting stuck a bit too early in the day which would not have been a good thing
with our visitors. As we turned along the eastern side of the Mokoyiet, there
was a wet Pygmy Kingfisher sitting in a bush, but it was still glowing. We
decided to try and get into the run-off area from this side, and the road was
not at all muddy. Stopping to view birds around a recently flooded depression
we were very entertained with two Madagascar Pond Herons, single Yellow-billed
and Great Egrets, three Yellow-billed Duck, two African Water Rails, a plethora
of Black Crakes, six Wood and two Green Sandpipers, but pride of place went to
a very showy African Crake which was videoed and photographed (attached), and
is the first in Nairobi for over fifteen years. We seem to be out of the normal
range for the species in central Kenya. There was a Barn Swallow here also.
Retracing
our path we crossed the Mokoyiet Bridge and paused briefly seeing Brown
Parisoma and Red-faced Cisticola. From here we went up to Nagalomon Dam finding
two Darters, three Black-crowned Night-Herons and an immature Purple Heron, and
followed the Kisembe Stream seeing a number of birds but nothing of note apart
from a Bateleur near the nest. At the dam near Langata Gate was a posing adult
Dwarf Bittern in the low sedges, but the forest was silent. Continuing around
to Kingfisher Picnic Site, there were a couple of Black Swifts with the Littles
and quite a few Palm. Along the road towards Olmanyi Dam (completely dry) were
four White-tailed Larks and a party of five Orange-breasted Waxbills amongst
hoards of out-of-plumaged White-winged Widowbirds. On arriving back at the
Mokoyiet River we headed south passing the pair of Martial Eagles at their
nest, and continued around to Leopard Cliffs. Near here there was a Long-billed
Pipit on the road, giving Roger the excellent opportunity of comparing this
with Nairobi Pipit seen earlier. There was a Mountain Wagtail on the well
flowing Mokoyiet river a the bridge below Baboon Cliffs. Little of interest was
found, all the way to Athi Basin, and here it was restricted to a flock of
sixty Somali Short-toed Larks (race athensis of course), and a solitary Wattled
Starling on the back of a Zebra. At Athi Dam were a single adult Pink-backed
Pelican, four Red-billed Teal, three Black-winged Stilt, a pair of Spur-winged
Plover, a dozen Kittlitz’s Plover, only two Little Stint, a Common Greenshank
and three Common Sandpipers. There was a single Black-crowned Night-Heron, and
a non-breeding male Lesser Masked Weaver on the causeway. The pair of African
Hoopoes that have been here for several weeks are still living in this open habitat.
At
Cheetah Gate there were two Marico Sunbirds, eight Chestnut Sparrows and more
Lesser Masked Weavers and a pair of very normal looking Black-faced Waxbills.
The Rhino Circuit was quite birdy with a good mixed flock that contained a
Wahlberg’s Honeybird, and the Parks third only Red-headed Weaver (a female). At
the river lookout, a Little Sparrowhawk flew over, and a little further along
the road towards Hippo Pools were a showy pair of Violet Wood-Hoopoes. No sign
of the White-backed Night-Heron at the Hippo Pools, (of course this does not
mean it wasn’t there), and apart from the usual scrub birds was a Black-crowned
Night-Heron flushed by foraging Vervets, a pair of Red-faced Cisticolas and
African Firefinches calling from cover. Heading towards East Gate there were
single males of Black-bellied and Hartlaub’s Bustards in the grassland, and
four Shelley’s Francolins that were reticent to get off the road.
So
we departed through East Gate to deposit the Skeens in their hotel in South-C
at a little after 5.00pm.
The
rain had had an immense effect on the birds, just overnight it seems that marsh
birds had fallen from the sky. If it had only imminently happened, how on earth
did they know and where were they before arriving in Nairobi?
Mammals
were good; most Zebra were in the Athi Basin, where there were larger numbers
of both Thomson’s and Grant’s Gazelles than usual, but only ten Wildebeest.
Eland numbers appear down. There were three young male Lions at Lion Ridge, and
a honeymoon couple near Olmanyi Dam. A Syke’s Monkey called in the mist from
near the Ivory Burning Site.
August
is not usually considered a good time of year for birds, in fact it could be
one of the quietest months, so on tallying up the days list and finding we had
recorded 197 species without the boost of migrants was quite a surprise.
Best
to all
Brian