Hi Colin,
Good that Broad-bills have already made an entry. Little Stints may be
inland at present, there were over 500 at Bogoria at a roosting area
near the main entrance, which including an intriguing one with a white
rump which I photographed.
Am interested by the White-faced Scops Owl, which would be a southern.
They have a far more dramatic call than Northern, and it is surprising
that if they were more numerous than records suggest then people would
be hearing them. I have only ever seen the species twice in Kenya
(having heard them first), both times the same valley near Eremit off
the Oltepesi Road, which comes off the Magadi Road. How often have you
come across them?
Did you ever get down to Sabaki mid April to see all the
Violet-breasted Sunbirds on the Combretums?
Best for now
Brian

On 9/27/12, Colin Jackson <colin.jackson@arocha.org> wrote:
> Just back from a waterfowl count at Sabaki River Mouth. Reasonable
> numbers of birds though very few Little Stints which was surprising.
> Mangroves are invading even faster and sand continues to fill in the
> soft, deeper mud thus reducing the area available for waders to feed.
> Having said that, it may be expanding further south - we need to do a
> proper GIS project on it to really understand what is going on.
>
> Birds of interest were:
> - Broad-billed Sandpiper have returned (last month we saw none) with
> c.25 counted (totals being tallied still)
> - Peregrine - 1 adult flew over disturbing all the waders and headed off
> north. Probably a male judging by the size
> - almost 300 whistling duck - both White-fronted & Fulvous
> - 3 Knob-billed Duck
> - 1 Af Open-billed Stork on the river and a further 5 in the
> lily-covered pool by the bridge
> - best bird was an adult Palmnut Vulture - my first record for Sabaki
> - Black Heron - doing his umbrella fishing act in the pool by the bridge
> - Grey-headed Kingfisher
>
> Very few gulls and terns today - a few Common and Saunders and one
> Caspian Tern.
>
> Other records of note from the Mida Creek Bird Club:
> 3rd Sept - single African Skimmer - a new species for Mida Creek as far
> as I am aware
> 7th Sept - single Eurasian Oystercatcher
> 16th Sept - 6 Pink-backed Pelicans (not at all common at Mida)
> 17th Sept - White-faced Scops Owl - this species is probably far
> commoner around here than is suggested in the literature
>
> Colin
>
> --
> -------------------------
> Colin Jackson
> A Rocha Kenya
> Christians in Conservation
>
> Cell: +254 (0)722-842366
> Land: +254 (0)20 260 0731
>
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>