Mombasa Bird Walk

A quick walk to the wetland did not produce much and even the woodland on the way up was unnaturally quiet, Lots of Northern Brownbuls and Barn Swallows with a few Northern Carmine Bee-eaters flying over the water. Migrant waders were very few, just a small group and far away so could only identify 2 Wood Sandpipers. African Darter, Reed Cormorant and a lone Open-Billed Stork, Sacred Ibis, Cattle Egrets, Woolly-necked Stork, Black-headed Heron and a pair of White-faced Whistling ducks were the main water birds. Large numbers of Water Thick-knees which breed all around this area. A drive up to the picnic site, just beating the arrival of the 'sundowner crowd' where a flock of White-throated bee-eaters flew overhead and there was a pair of Scarlet-chested sunbirds and a solitary Amethyst which we haven't seen in ages. A Black-chested Snake Eagle circled round and I saw my first Spotted Flycatcher of the season, in fact there were many of these little birds, hopefully they were eating some of the thousands of ticks at Nuguuni. Another migrant was a superb Red-backed Shrike. Three species of Kingfisher; Striped, Pied and Grey-headed. Lots of seed-eating birds but strangely no Zanzibar Bishops and not a single Bare-eyed Thrush, nearly always seen. A quick flash of a Lizard Buzzard and some superb Yellow-Throated Longclaws which obligingly perching on small bushes so all the walkers could get a good look.

As it was the last walk of the year and to celebrate Xmas we spent our last half hour on the ramshackle verandah of the lakeside lookout eating Lumberjack cake and biscuits and enjoying a drink being rewarded with African Jacana, juvenile Allen's Gallinule, Little grebe, Little Bittern and a Common Squacco Heron walking on the lilys just in front of us with Grosbeak and Golden Palm Weavers coming in to roost. A great walk to end the year - a totqal of 46 species - a good number for not much over 2 hours.