From: Darcy Ogada <darcyogada@yahoo.com>
Date: 2012-12-30 23:48
Subject: Cherangany shamba birds

Happy Holidays all, 

I am up at the farm in Cherangany and have been birding most mornings, when it's not raining!  There's been lots and lots of unseasonal rains over the past 4 days.  I found about 50+ Eurasian bee-eaters roosting in a tall tree in the neighbouring shamba.  They were flying and roosting with a large group of red-rumped swallows. 

Other birds recorded (in sloppy order) include:

crowned crane - two seen on most days
black kite 
common buzzard - one
augur buzzard - pair
brown parrot 
speckled pigeon
ring-necked dove
tambourine dove
eastern grey plantain-eater (eating guavas) - haven't recorded this bird at the farm in over 5 yrs
speckled mousebird
black & white casqued hornbill - a pair flying in the evening
double-toothed barbet (eating guavas) - usually found at the farm and suspect they breed here
yellow-throated longclaw - first time recording these here
bulbul
large flocks of starlings that I think are lesser-blue eared
cape rook- there are quite a number around here
tropical boubou
northern black flycatcher
grey-backed fiscal - first time I've recorded here in 10 yrs
African thrush
white-browed robin-chat
singing cisticola
grey-backed camaroptera
yellow white-eye
marico sunbird
grey-headed sparrow
yellow bishop
baglafecht weaver
village weaver
bronze mannikin
red-cheeked cordon bleu
African citril
yellow-rumped seedeater
harrier hawk
indigobird - feeding on ground maize post-shelling
willow warbler
variable sunbird
stonechat
scarlet-chested sunbird
African blue flycatcher - a trip home is not complete without recording this gorgeous bird
red-billed firefinch
green wood-hoopoe - a noisy flock of 5+
white-eyed slaty flycatcher
tawny flanked prinia
common drongo
brown babbler 

Cheers, Darcy