NGONG DESCENT ROAD TO ENDESHANT 25th AUGUST 2013

Dear All,
On 25th August, Nigel Hunter, Adam Kennedy and myself left at 6.40am
for a short sortie to the descent road from Ngong Town.

It was a light cloudy start, but brightened up fairly quickly with the
sun making its appearance just before mid-day when the temperature
started to climb.

We first stopped along the descent road near Savannah Resort, as there
was quite a bit of activity. An immature Levaillant’s Cuckoo was
feeding on caterpillars in a group of bushes, whilst the usual Lyne’s
Cisticolas (see image), and numerous Schalow’s Wheatears provided
entertainment. A Zanzibar Sombre Greenbul was feeding in a fruiting
bush, which was a surprise here and a few Violet-backed Starlings were
also present. There were several couples of Long-billed Pipits that
were obviously pairing up, (see image). At the bottom of the hill on
an open area was a fairly pallid Hoopoe, and as it raised its wings we
could see a white band across the primaries, identifying it as a
Eurasian Hoopoe of the race waibeli usually found further north, (see
image). Whilst we sat and watched the bird catching food in the short
grass, several times it flew off with tasty morsels in the same
direction over a hedge, and was obviously nesting nearby. This makes
for a very interesting record. We also saw several normal African
Hoopoes, including one male calling very close to where we were
watching the waibeli.

We birded slowly along the road, finding numerous species, at one
lightly wooded section, where we had stopped for a Bare-eyed Thrush,
there was a very noisy and quite confiding Scaly-throated Honeyguide.
In the grassy scrub just before Endeshant we found some five Bush
Pipits, (see image), which were singing at times from acacias. Here
there were more thrushes, including a spotty juvenile in a plumage
rarely seen, (see image). Amongst the rank short weedy growth was a
good assemblage comprising of a ten or so different estrildids
species, but perhaps the most striking were the Reichenow’s Seedeaters
which in one small area visited we guestimated at some 500 birds.

Endeshant was full of water, but not of birds, it was a disappointing
show. We did see three Madagascar Pond Herons, but apart from the
usual very few ducks, coots and moorhens there really was no reason to
linger and we returned slowly home.

Stopping at the Savannah Resort we were very surprised to find a
confiding male Green-winged Pytilia. At over 7000 ft, this bird was
certainly above its altitudinal ceiling given as occurring up to 1400
metres (about 4600 ft) in Zimmermann and Turner, (see image).
Also here were a party of very high flying (about 50) all dark swifts,
that could have been Eurasian.

One Barn Swallow was seen, but interestingly all the Lesser Striped
Swallows have fled the area.

Best to all
Brian

NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK 26th AUGUST 2013

Dear All,
Mike Davidson, Heather Elkins, Karen Plumbe and myself, met at the
Main Entrance Gate to Nairobi Nation Park at 6.30am.

It was a grey and characteristically gloomy day, and quite cold. The
man at the gate was saying that the system was refusing to accept his
log-in and we would have to leave our Smart Cards with him, and he
scribbled a note in case we were stopped.

Let’s start with the negative issues. KWS has blocked off an entire
area in the eastern part of the Park, by ploughing a trench across all
the access roads. This means that from Hyena Dam Run-Off all the way
to Athi Basin, there is no eastern access. So no more Eland Hollow, no
more Karen Primary School Dam, no more tracks through the grassy
plains.

This is without any doubt a most stupid, lack of thought, selfish,
inane move by KWS. The message given is that they care more about
revenue than wildlife viewing. A major resource being the commuters
who speed through the Park in a hurry to get to work, most exiting at
East Gate. Up to now it has been possible to avoid this by taking
alternative routes. Now game viewers are forced to watch game solely
from this main road, and get covered by dust, and of course anything
timid scurrying for cover. Can you believe it, what idiot has not
considered the consequences?

So Nairobi National Park is now a most unpleasant place to visit until
the routes are all re-opened, and the reputation that KWS is going to
derive from expectant visiting tourists is going to be very deservedly
uncomplimentary.

With the shutting off of such a large portion of the Park, which has a
considerable number of Rhinos, Lions and all the plains game, with no
visitors entering these areas, the section is an invitation for
wholesale poaching.

The message KWS has sent out is that there is something going on and
they don’t want the public to see what it is. Maybe there is no
sinister motive involved and it is just amateurish governance of the
Park by people who cannot see the long and short term effects that
their actions have caused.

No-one, including Fonnap (Friends of Nairobi National Park) was
advised of this intention, and in spite of approaches to the Warden,
no explanation has been forthcoming. They are going to lobby the
Warden, personally I think we should all be writing to the Director of
Wildlife.

Sooooo, we visited KWS Mess Gardens, there were a couple of Suni on
the way and another there. There was a good variety of birds present,
although a slow start, including the sad Black-collared Apalis. Then
continued around to Ivory Burning Site, where there was not anything
of note.

At the Mokoyeti Bridge on the Nagolomon Dam Causeway the same Green
Sandpiper has clocked up its sixth successive week in the same spot.
The Dam itself was not quite as active as we have been used to. Nine
Long-tailed Cormorants sat in the roosting tree together with an
immature Darter and two Black-crowned Night-Herons. There were seven
Orange-breasted Waxbills feeding in the grassy verge.

Along the back road to Hyena Dam there was also not much to report,
and the dam had a single Little Grebe, the Water Rails were calling,
but the good news was that the sole surviving young Swamphen was still
with its parent. A few Wattled Starlings fed amongst a group of
Kongoni nearby. On the run-off, a Yellow-billed Egret was all we could
muster, but just as we exited to join the commuter rally on the main
road we had a frustrating series of poor views of a Buttonquail.