From: Colin Jackson <colin.jackson@arocha.org>
Date: 2014-02-07 06:57
Subject: Chiffchaff singing - Turi
This morning about 10:30am, I'd just got back to our friends home in
the middle of school from doing some ringing in the tiny stand of
indigenous forest that St Andrew's School, Turi, has along a
riverine valley on one of its boundaries and was unpacking the car
when I heard what sounded very like a Chiffchaff singing from a tall
cypress tree across the next garden. As I had my recording gear on
me, I dug it out and waited.. and managed to get the attached. No
doubt about it - a Common Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita!
The recording is a little faint as it was not very close, but it's
still clearly a Chiffchaff.
Also near Njoro a couple of days ago mid-morning there were a lot of
raptors and storks in the air including a small Accipiter soaring
high, quite pale underneath - unfortunately I didn't have a scope on
me and wouldn't like to claim anything, but I did wonder if it
wasn't a Eurasian Sparrowhawk.
The habitat up here around Molo has been hammered - like seriously
flattened in terms of forest. Looking at the Google Earth image is
quite frightening to see how 'naked' it now is. Only in the steep
riverine valleys are there any remnants of indigenous trees (can't
really call it 'forest') but amazingly there are a few forest birds
still hanging on there - White-browed Crombec, Mountain Yellow
Warbler etc. Turi school is getting rid of quite a large area of its
eucalyptus plantations and putting in indigenous forest since they
have replaced kuni water heaters with solar and reduced the kuni
useage from 7 tonnes of wood per day to just under 2! It's very
exciting the potential to reforest some of the school grounds and
they are also planning an area of wet grassland for the Crowned
Cranes to breed in.
Colin
--
-------------------------
Colin Jackson
A Rocha Kenya
Christians in Conservation
Cell: +254 (0)722-842366
+254 (0)771-893636
www.arocha.org
www.assets-kenya.org
Blog: www.arochakenya.wildlifedirect.org