Hello Kenya Birders,

Thanks to all who post to this listserve. Most recently, the information regarding Star-spotted Nightjar at Baringo from Ayub Kariuki, as well as a report from Turkana and Olkirimatian by Kieran Avery have been useful and very interesting. Trip reports by Brian Finch, Colin Jackson and others are always informative. Please keep them coming!

Below are some belated highlights from a trip around Kenya with my brother David from 1st Feb – 5^th Mar. The full trip list was around 615 species though we were going for quality over quantity on this visit. We have recordings and photos of some of the species mentioned below and if anyone would like any additional information please get in touch with me at james_bradley AT ymail.com

Kitisuru, Nairobi (1^st-4^th Feb)

Brown-backed Scrub Robin (scarce in Nairobi) and Abyssinian White-eye (a first for me in this area of town though it’s quite possible I’ve overlooked them before now). Grey-Olive Greenbul (group in Kibagare Valley – probably resident here). Yellow-crowned Canary (several at the swamp near the university campus on Loresho Ridge – a very reliable site for this species).

Hunters Lodge (5^th Feb)

Retz’s Shrike (pair  – one of these had a clean silvery grey mantle contrasting strongly with black head and wings – has anyone seen a bird like this before?).

Msambweni (6^th-12^th Feb)

Bridled Tern (near-adult roosting on a dhow inside the reef at high tide). Black-headed Batis (family group) and Siffling Cisticola south of town. Crab Plover (about 150 at the estuary roughly 4km north of the town). African Pygmy Goose (4 pairs on lilly ponds a few kms down the Shimba Hills Rd, including one with a brood of 7-8 young - photographed).

Diani (Jadini?) Forest (9^th Feb)

Tiny Greenbul (pair  – on the Nomads property. I’ve birded this forest many times and never seen this species here before. Said to be at this site though not in recent years).

Kisite Marine Park (8^th Feb)

Brown Noddy and Lesser Noddy (about 40 and 10 respectively – flying north past the island over a half hour period mid-morning).

Shimoni (10^th Feb)

Red-tailed Ant-thrush (pair at an ant swarm in thicket woodland at a northern point on the peninsular only some 3 kilometers south of the main coast road). The trees here are being removed for charcoal at an alarming rate with large pits every 50m in any direction. Three colobus monkeys were hanging on here in a patch of not more than 7 or 8 trees surrounded by grassland. Collared Palm Thrush (several groups seen, some with juveniles). With 5+ palm species here and plenty of low thicket this is clearly a good area for this local species. Senegal Lapwing (pair on burnt ground closer to the town of Shimoni).

Ramisi (10^th Feb)

African Pygmy Goose (at least 15 on lilly ponds by the main road). Also, African Marsh Harrier (1) and Spur-winged Goose (10).

Maungu Hill (12^th Feb - 30km south of Voi at the start of the Kasigau road)

Saker Falcon (one perched at the top of the hill and seen well in flight too). Big, like a Gyr, lots of white in the head, brown/gray overall, boldly marked underside with not particularly pointed wings for a falcon). Also lots of White-headed Mousebirds and Yellow-bellied Greenbuls here.

Tsavo area (13^th Feb – Mombasa Road between Voi and Mtito)

Red-naped Bushshrike (1) and Pale Prinia (2)

Kericho Tea Estates (16^th Feb)

White-spotted Flufftail (a single bird recorded in response to playback in a swampy area of forest). This was from the lowest area of the plantations at about 1800m asl near Chemasit. Probably resident here and likely the first Kenya record from south of the Winam Gulf.

Nyando Valley (17^th and 18^th Feb)

Very birdy: Fawn-breasted Waxbill, Yellow-shouldered Widowbird, Wattled Plover and Broad-tailed Warbler. Red-necked Spurfowl abundant.

South Nandi Escarpment (18^th and 19^th Feb)

There’s some great woodland and bush habitat here (though being burned and cut up at a rapid rate) and it’s a location which is not well known. A good site for Little Rock Thrush, Black-headed Batis, Black-billed Barbet and Western Banded Snake Eagle.  Also a cisticola haven with Whistling and Trilling Cisticolas side by side – both recorded, Red-faced and Siffling Cisticolas. We also saw a single Long-tailed Cisticola here - one of the best birds of the trip, with historical records from nearby Muhoroni. Grey-winged Robin, Little Greenbul and Martial Eagle (juvenile). We didn’t see Yellow-bellied Hyliota, Familiar Chat or Green-capped Eremomela which I saw here last year.

Gembe Hills (20^th and 24^th Feb)

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting (several), Scaly-throated Honeyguide (1), Black-headed Batis (2), Little Rock Thrush (1), Trilling (many) and Croaking (1) Cisticola. Good rocky slope, bush and savannah habitat here with good variety of raptors; Martial Eagle (adult and juv), Lanner (pair), Honey Buzzard (1), Crowned Eagle (adult high overhead heading towards the Gwassi Hills).

Gwassi Hills (21^st and 23^rd Feb)

Some more additions after a brief foray last year, Sharpe’s Starling (8+), Yellow-billed Barbet (1), Scarce Swift (2+), Yellow-bellied Waxbill (1) and Olive-green Camaroptera (1) being the most interesting. The latter species is known in Kenya only from the Nandi/Kakamega area and Mt Elgon, though it is mapped by Stevenson and Fanshawe for the forest islands of Kidepo and Moroto in adjacent Uganda, so its presence at Gwassi is perhaps not surprising. The little remaining forest here is being decimated by loggers and charcoal producers despite the best efforts by under-resourced KFS rangers on the ground.  There is still more to be found here for the adventurous.

Ruma NP (22^nd Feb)

Swamp Nightjar (at least five calling around fig tree campsite at dusk). Western Banded Snake Eagle (1), Eurasian Hobby (5-10), Rufous-chested Swallow (several) and Croaking Cisticola (several). Red-necked Spurfowl abundant.

Malaba Woodlands (25^th Feb - some fairly extensive and intact remnant woodland on rocky hills about 9km east-northeast of town: elevation 1350m asl.)

Lots of birds despite visiting in searing heat at 1pm. Black-necked Weaver (2), Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird (2), Trilling Cisticola (1 possibly 2), Black and White Mannikin (several) and great diversity of sunbirds; Little Purple-banded, Olive-bellied, Scarlet-chested, Marico, Copper, Collared (strange birds with a smear of orange down the centre of the belly) and a single Olive! Also a morph of Rock Iguana I haven’t seen before; bright orange/red on the head extending down the spine, jet black torso and hind legs and an orange/red tail. This would be a potentially good area to search for some rare western species like White-breasted Cuckooshrike.

Sioport (26^th Feb)

A single adult female Amur Falcon was a surprise here. All papyrus specialties found minus the Yellow Warbler. No Blue-breasted Bee-eaters.

Mumias (27^th Feb)

Some nice remnant forest in the river valleys between the sugarcane: White-spotted Flufftail (many),  Black-necked Weaver (2), Grey-winged Robin (1), Little Greenbul (many), possible Blue-winged Robin Chat.

Kakamega Forest (27^th- 29^th Feb)

A good portion of the western forest specialties including Chapin’s Flycatcher (1+), Black-billed Turaco (1) and Turner's Eremomela. Missed Hairy-breasted Barbet and Honeyguide Greenbul again. The corridor along the east bank of the Ikuywa River, one of the best areas to bird in the past, has suffered from extensive selective logging in recent years. Grey Parrots are apparently regular in small numbers (max 6?) according to staff at Rondo.

Kerio River (1^st- 2^nd Mar - Chebloch Gorge area)

The birding here is superb. Freckled Nightjar (recorded), Lead-coloured Flycatcher (2), Gambaga Flycatcher (1), Chestnut-crowned Sparrow Weaver (>3 nest building in an acacia), Grey Kestrel (pair feeding young on nest in fig), White-fronted Bee-eater (colony of 20-30 pairs excavating in river bank), Shining Sunbird (1), African Scops Owl (6+ calling after dusk with a distinct variation of the typical call – slower and far less punchy - recorded). Missed the Green-backed Eremomela.

Tugen Hills (2^nd Mar – a few kms east of Kabarnet)

Ross’s and Hartlaub’s Turaco, Fine-banded Woodpecker (pair), Black-throated Wattle-eye (pair feeding fledged young), Olive Sunbird (1 – presumably a western bird), Ruppell’s Robin Chat (1).

Baringo (2^nd-5^th Mar)

Star-spotted Nightjar (1 - Wilson knows where it roosts though only present seasonally)

Some General Impressions (mostly based on my recollection of Kenya from the 90’s):

Overall the country was extremely dry. Raptor numbers lower than what I recall from the past with vultures few and far between. Larger waterbirds (storks, pelicans) also scarce and where have all the Crowned Cranes gone - we saw very few? No Carmine Bee-eaters at the coast (surprising given the high numbers last Christmas). Palaearctic warblers (except Blackcap and Willow Warbler) also very thin on the ground and very few Spotted Fly.  Tacazze Sunbird: said to be common by Stevenson and Fanshawe – is this the experience of others? In 10+ years birding in Kenya I have seen only one and very few in trip reports too. Am I just overlooking them or are they genuinely scarce/rare/declining? Charcoal production occurring on a massive scale in just about all areas visited. Diani Forest still shrinking and appears to support few birds and an unnaturally high density of monkeys.

 

Big Misses:

Black Stork, Yellow-necked Spurfowl, Red-billed and Hottentot Teals, no Palearctic ducks, no bustards, Kittlitz’s Plover, no snipes, Swift and Whiskered Terns, Moustached Tinkerbird, Purple-throated Cuckooshrike, Stout and Chubb’s Cisticola, Fischer’s Greenbul, Sedge and Marsh Warbler, Chestnut and Speke’s Weavers.