Gatamaiyu Forest and Limuru Ponds, 25th June 2013

On 25^th June, Brian Finch and I met at the entrance to Mwitu Estate (Nairobi) at 6am and travelled to the gate of Gatamaiyu Forest arriving just before 8am, after a small diversion. After passing through the reserve fence and driving 100m, there is a small enclosure belonging to the Forest Service where we parked up. We then followed the main track for c.4 hours and although the path is slippery in places it is an easy walk. Despite the pleasing list of species that we encountered in the forest (see below), it must be stressed that the forest was quiet and few birds were actively singing (White-tailed Crested Flycatcher being the exception) and we had to work hard to get the birds to show. My target species was Black-fronted Bush-shrike which for too long has been my “bogey bird” and within several minutes we had located two birds in our first mixed flock that also held Montane Oriole, Purple-throated and Grey Cuckoo-shrikes, Yellow-whiskered Greenbul, Olive and Green-headed Sunbirds, and Grey Apalis. Several hundred metres down the track, we generated interest from a second mixed flock that included African Hill Babbler, White-tailed Crested Flycatcher, Brown Woodland Warbler and several of the species mentioned previously. As so it continued, with each new flock providing a few new species for the day list. Among the personal highlights were 4 male Bar-tailed Trogon including one being chased by a Fine-banded Woodpecker, a loose gathering of at least 25 Hartlaub’s Turaco (there may have been 40+but they were constantly on the move), several approachable White-starred Robin, 4 forest Apalis species, good views of several Thick-billed Seedeater, and some very jazzy White-tailed Crested Flycatchers. After a picnic lunch, we drove to Manguo Pond (Limuru) where in the marshy vegetation we counted at least 8 Purple Swamphen. Further on, at the main viewing area, we found a distant female Maccoa Duck, plenty of Fulvous Whistling Duck and numerous pairs of White-backed Duck with ducklings. Whiskered Terns are still showing well and Lesser Swamp Warblers were especially vocal. A female Little Bittern, of the resident race payesii, was seen dropping into some tall reeds and eventually found perched just above the water line. Among the bushes on the bank, we found several Malachite Sunbirds, a female Golden-winged and a pair of Bronze Sunbird plus a very obliging female Stonechat that repeatedly dropped to within 2 feet of our 2 feet. We then drove around to the old sewage beds at the back of Limuru but with the exception of a calling Water Rail there was little of interest and we made our return to Mwitu around 4pm. In total, we recorded 112 species which are listed below. Those marked with an (H) were “heard only” and those birds recorded in/ adjacent to Gatamaiyu are marked with an asterisk *.

Cheers for now,

Adam

Fulvous Whistling-Duck

White-backed Duck

Egyptian Goose

Yellow-billed Duck

Red-billed Duck

Hottentot Teal

Southern Pochard

Maccoa Duck

Little Grebe

Marabou Stork

Long-tailed Cormorant

Hamerkop

Little Bittern

Grey Heron

Black-headed Heron

Great Egret

Intermediate Egret

Little Egret

Squacco Heron

Sacred Ibis

Hadada Ibis

Yellow-billed Kite

African Harrier Hawk (Gymnogene)

Augur Buzzard *

Lanner Falcon

African Water Rail (H)

Black Crake

Purple Swamphen

Common Moorhen

Red-knobbed Coot

Grey Crowned Crane

Blacksmith Plover

African Jacana

Whiskered Tern

Speckled Pigeon

Lemon Dove *

Dusky Turtle-Dove *

Red-fronted Parrot (H) *

Hartlaub's Turaco *

Nyanza Swift

Little Swift

African Palm Swift

Bar-tailed Trogon *

Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater *

White-headed Wood-hoopoe *

Crowned Hornbill (H) *

Fine-banded Woodpecker *

Black-backed Puffback *

Tropical Boubou *

Black-fronted Bushshrike *

Grey Cuckoo-shrike *

Purple-throated Cuckoo-shrike *

Common Fiscal

Montane Oriole *

African Paradise Flycatcher *

White-tailed Crested-flycatcher *

Pied Crow

Plain Martin

Angola Swallow

Black Saw-wing *

White-bellied Tit *

Common Bulbul

Slender-billed Greenbul *

Yellow-whiskered Greenbul *

Eastern Mountain Greenbul *

Cabanis's Greenbul (placidus)*

Brown Woodland Warbler *

Lesser Swamp Warbler

Little Rush Warbler (H)

Evergreen Forest Warbler (H) *

Black-collared Apalis *

Black-throated Apalis *

Chestnut-throated Apalis *

Grey Apalis *

Grey-backed Camaroptera *

Hunter's Cisticola *

Winding Cisticola

White-browed Crombec (H) *

White-eyed Slaty-Flycatcher *

African Dusky Flycatcher *

White-starred Robin *

Cape Robin-Chat *

Rüppell's Robin-Chat (H)*

Common Stonechat

Olive Thrush *

Brown-chested Alethe (H) *

African Hill Babbler *

Montane White-eye *

Waller's Starling *

Green-headed Sunbird *

Olive Sunbird *

Bronze Sunbird

Malachite Sunbird

Golden-winged Sunbird

Northern Double-collared Sunbird *

Eastern Double-collared Sunbird *

Variable Sunbird

Baglafecht Weaver

Holub's Golden Weaver

Speke's Weaver

Brown-capped Weaver *

Yellow Bishop

Grosbeak Weaver

Grey-headed Negrofinch *

Yellow-bellied Waxbill *

Abyssinian Crimson-wing *

Common Waxbill *

Rufous-backed Mannikin *

Cape Wagtail

African Pied Wagtail

Yellow-crowned Canary *

Streaky Seedeater *

Thick-billed Seedeater *