NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK 8th April 2013

Dear All,
After a wet night that had turned Langata Road into a flowing river,
Mike Davidson, Fleur Ng’Weno, Jennifer Oduore, Karen Plumbe and myself
met at the Main Entrance to Nairobi National Park at 6.30am.

The overnight rain confined us to the north, as the roads were too
muddy and treacherous to venture to the southern portion of the Park.
In fact we confined ourself to KWS Mess Gardens, Ivory Burning Site,
Hyena Dam from the front road as the back road impassable, Nagalomon
Dam, Karen Primary School Dam and Eland Hollow which is a small
proportion of the Park. We were out through the Main Entrance at
3.30pm, having recorded nearly 150 species.

On the descent road there was a Common Buzzard drying out in the
beautiful sunny morning light. Our first call was Nagalomon Dam, this
was the first time that I have ever seen it, the drift just before the
Causeway was a flowing river but not too deep to negotiate, Nagalomon
Dam has lost its reed-bed, there only being a metre wide fringe along
the shoreline, and the water level was very high turning the Mokoyeti
River into a raging torrent. There were over forty Black-crowned
Night-Herons incorporating just slightly fewer immatures sitting in
the trees along the bank where they were accompanied by a Great Egret
and male and female Darters. In the far corner were a pair of Spotted
Thick-knees which had probably been washed out from a normal day
roost, and were at the edge of the water. Along the causeway was a
Pygmy Kingfisher, which may or may not have been related to a pair at
Ivory Burning Site later, and the dam also had a Giant Kingfisher.