The past month has been really interesting in Watamu for migrants in 
particular and a few odds and ends. Over this period we ran a ringing 
course at the A Rocha Kenya centre, Mwamba, from 7-18th May at which we 
had three enthusiastic Ethiopian ornithologists and three Kenyan 
trainees - also v enthusiastic and great to have had on board the 
course. It's a great time of year to be ringing as you detect the 
Afrotropical migrants arriving and sure enough only 4 days before we 
started I heard the first Red-capped Robin Chat in the garden and the 
first morning of the course we caught 3 and the next 5 and we kept on 
catching them thereafter as the 'bread and butter' species. African 
Pygmy Kingfishers were also in good numbers - interestingly all of them 
immatures - we caught the first adult only on the 26th May in Gede Ruins 
Forest. We moved the nets up to the edge of the old KEFRI plantations 
which I've ringed in since 1998 but which they are now cutting down the 
secondary growth forest that has come up  and burning it in preparation 
of planting an exotic plantation again. We put nets in the remaining 
part and very interestingly caught several forest species that you would 
expect in older growth forest - including East Coast Akalat and 
Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher.

In total we caught 339 birds of 37 species, the most interesting being 
no less than three Asian Lesser Cuckoos - the first I've caught away 
from Ngulia. The last one ringed was a beautiful hepatic form. Not only 
that but the first one was accompanied a short while later by a Common 
Cuckoo - also very infrequently caught and ringed. Nets in the small 
strip of forest beside the plantation produced the expected Tiny 
Greenbuls and several East Coast Akalats, Fischer's Greenbuls and a 
couple of Plain-backed Sunbird. Another Afrotropical migrant was 
Paradise Flycatcher - we have not recorded them for some months and then 
in the first week of the course ringed three and subsequently a further 
three.

On Sunday 13th we were doing a wader count at Mida and I received three 
phone calls in as many minutes saying there was a large bird in a church 
compound in Watamu and could I go and rescue it... We duly swung by 
Watamu Baptist Church to be taken to a small room where the bird had 
been locked up... a very handsome specimen of an adult Masked Booby!! We 
had had some very strong winds and heavy rain and it must have been 
blown inshore and landed in the compound in the night. We took it home 
and fed it up with fish over the next 5 days and released it. It flew 
off and landed on the water but floated down to the northern end of the 
beach where it was seen to fly short distances but still sit mostly on 
the water. There was no sign of it the following morning and we can only 
surmise it managed to take off and head out to sea.

Last weekend I had an Ashy Flycatcher singing from the top of a tree in 
our garden on the beach front - first time I've had one along the beach 
as it is normally in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. The Yellowbills have also 
arrived back - about 3 weeks after the Red-capped Robin Chats. Also 
White-crested Helmet Shrikes were seen by Kevin Gichuki on our nature 
trail during the ringing course one afternoon - I'd ringed 3 last year 
but they disappeared in around September but apparently may still be in 
the area or were just passing through this time as we've not seen them 
again.

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Colin Jackson
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