NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK 3rd March 2014

Dear All
Nigel Davidson and myself, met up with Heather Elkins, Fleur Ng'Weno
and Jennifer Oduori, and were soon through the formalities and on our
way to KWS Mess Garden by 7.00am.

It had remained dry, and a number of dams are losing water fairly
rapidly now, especially Athi. It remained sunny all day.

At KWS Mess, there was not too much going on, a Suni was out and
about, but the trees were rather quiet. We had two Nightingales, two
Blackcaps, the Black-collared Apalis and that was about it.

Ivory Burning Site was just a drive through on the way to Nagalomon
Dam. Here there were two Darters, fifteen Black-crowned Night-Herons
(probably getting ready to nest soon), a sub-adult Purple Heron, and a
couple of Green Sandpipers.

The back road as far as the blockage at the new swamp was equally
quiet, with noisy African Water Rail, single Common Snipe and Ruff, a
few Green and over twenty Wood Sandpipers, a Nightingale in the same
area as last week and a party of Jackson's Widowbirds.

By now we were ready for our morning refreshments, and retreated round
to Hyena Dam. Whilst the coffee was appreciated we heard but could not
find a Little Bittern that gave an alarm call, there were the small
Great Egret, the creamy-headed Eurasian Marsh Harrier which has
certainly staked out a territory, more noisy African Water Rails, one
Swamphen, a few Wood and Green Sandpiper, plus one Ruff, and a party
of Barn Swallows resting on the reeds. Also our first of eight
Whinchats today, many males in fine colour now, and a Sedge Warbler
was churring from the reeds.

On the run-off there was a party of six Orange-breasted Waxbills, and
sweeping back round towards the exit there were two singing Eurasian
Reed Warblers and a Garden Warbler in one patch and a young male
Quailfinch around the edge of the flooded drift where an immature
Purple Heron was feeding in the reeds.

At the Main Entrance we dropped off Fleur and Heather, and picked up
two guests who were more into mammals than birds, so although we were
seeing a few things we were spending time with the mammals. At the
gate we had a few Eurasian Bee-eaters and Willow Warblers.

The immature Martial Eagle was with four migrant Black Kites on its
nesting tree, in the plains was a male Lesser Kestrel, Isabelline
Wheatear, three Turkestan and a Red-backed Shrike.

Along the Mbagathi River there were two Secretarybirds, single Common
Buzzard, and an immature Black Stork (not the ginger-headed bird), and
two Violet Woodhoopoes.

Around Athi Dam, a Black-crowned Night-Heron was at its roost, some
sixty White Storks were along the shore with four Yellow-billed and an
adult Open-billed Stork. Four African Spoonbills waded the shallows
where there were also four Black-winged Stilts, eight Spur-winged and
six Kittlitz's Plovers, also two Common Ringed Plover, eight Little
Stints, a large group of thirty Ruff, two Greenshank and two Common
Sandpipers. In the grassland was a White-tailed Lark.