NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK 24th March 2014

Dear All,
With no traffic on the Magadi Road, it was only five minutes to the
Langata Entrance to Nairobi National Park for Mike Davidson, Heather
Elkin, Karen Plumbe and myself, having departed from my place.
Jennifer Oduori came in at Main Gate, and we all met up at 7.00pm.

On the way from Langata we saw the only Common Buzzard of the day, and
a flock of at least forty Eurasian Bee-eaters and probably more
catching emergent insects over the bushes, there having been a light
shower in the night.

At the main gate, there was a Grey-headed Kingfisher, which is a
surprise up here as they are almost all seen along the Mbagathi, also
an Emerald Cuckoo and an Eastern Honeybird. However our stay at the
KWS Mess was extremely brief as there was quite obviously nothing to
see and nothing much heard.

At Ivory Burning Site things were fairly quiet, with single Olivaceous
(first of five today) and a Brown Parisoma in the Acacia gerardii.
Along the causeway at Nagalomon Dam there were single Nightingale,
Eurasian Reed and a Garden Warbler, whilst the dam was fairly quiet
with thirty Long-tailed Cormorants, which is a good number for here,
two Darters,  fifteen Black-crowned Night-Herons and a Green Sandpiper
in smart streaky breeding plumage.

We took the back road to the new swamp, a Scaly Francolin feeding
along the road was the first for some time, but the swamp was more
interesting with African Water Rails, a beautiful male Painted-snipe,
a Ruff, fifteen Wood and a Green Sandpiper.

Retracing to Hyena Dam, we passed a solitary rather small acacia and
stopped as it had the only Red-backed Shrike of the day in it. Whilst
we stopped we could see other birds moving amongst the flowers and
foliage. There was our first of seven Spotted Flycatchers, first of
just three Willow Warblers, but pride of place went to the first
Icterine Warbler Nairobi has seen for over ten years. (See images
attached).
The dam was not a hive of activity, one of two Eurasian Marsh Harriers
came by, a Water Rail made a brief appearance, a flock of over
thirty-five Wood Sandpipers dropped in, there were Banded Martin
amongst the Barn Swallows present, three Sedge Warblers were in the
vegetation of which one was most obliging in feeding in an Acacia
instead of reeds. Proceeding as far as we dare along the side road
which was still very boggy we found a Red-throated Pipit and the first
of eleven mainly impressive adult male Whinchats seen today, whilst in
a tree sat an indifferent immature Martial Eagle.

Now taking the run-off there were good numbers of Jackson's
Widowbirds, including displaying males, and a flock of ten
Orange-breasted Waxbills which included a few very young olive and
beige birds.

At Mbuni Picnic Site the pair of Tawny Eagles have returned to their
nest to breed, and a Northern Hobby was flying around. At Karen
Primary School Dam the Crowned Crane was still incubating, and a
Hartlaub's Bustard was cowering and hiding well in short grass. Some
five Yellow-crowned Bishops cavorted in the sedges. Finally three
Blue-naped Mousebirds were the first for a few weeks. Eland Hollow Dam
still held on to its African Jacana, a pair of Spotted Thick-knees
were at their usual spot, a Sedge Warbler sang from the sedges which
also contained a few more Yellow-crowned Bishops.


 In the grasslands it was noisy with Cisticolas but not a lot else
except for a nice male Common Kestrel. Above Athi Basin was our first
of only two Secretarybirds today, a male Kori Bustard with a female
seen several kilometres further, and single Pied and Isabelline
Wheatears. The murrum pits only mustered twenty Vultures which
included three Ruppell's and a Lappet-faced. The dam was fairly quiet
with no surprises, a lone adult Pink-backed Pelican was fishing, still
fourteen White Storks are preferring the safety of Nairobi than
risking their lives crossing Lebanon, waders amounted to seven
Black-winged Stilts, eight Spur-winged, twenty Kittlitz's and two
Common Ringed Plovers, fifteen each of Little Stints and Ruffs, five
Common Sandpipers, with single Marsh Sandpiper and Greenshank. A
single Speckled Pigeon fed in the weeds. Along the causeway were seven
roosting Black-crowned Night-Herons, a young Fish Eagle, and a
Laughing Dove was a nice surprise not easy to see in the Park since
the illegal excision beyond the Cement Factory. Along that road we
found a young Eurasian Roller and the only Turkestan Shrike of the
day. Whilst the Rhino Circuit was so very quiet and hot just rewarding
us with a Long-crested Eagle and a Common Whitethroat. There was a
second Common Greenshank at the marshy ox-bow bridge.

Heading to Kingfisher via the Hippo Pools direct, we had a couple of
pairs of White-bellied Bustards, single Common Whitethroat and Garden
Warbler but again it was hot and very quiet. On the burnt area nine
Black-winged Plover, one pair had two very small chicks, too small to
have been the chicks from two weeks previous. There was also a very
nice male Parasitic Weaver on a low bush, a single breeding plumage
Wattled Starling just more wattle to still grow though, but just as we
neared Kingfisher the prize of the day was spotted. Nairobi's first
ever documented White-throated Bee-eater, a stunning adult (image
attached). In the old literature the notation of the Nairobi Checklist
states recorded NNP none since 1972, which means that the record was
hearsay and they don't know when it was. It is best to consider this
the first ever for Nairobi and we have the images as proof!

At Kingfisher there was a beautiful but well camouflaged Brown Parrot,
a pair of Long-crested Eagles and the usual pair of Red-throated Tits.
The nearby swamp held a Saddle-billed Stork and the only Isabelline
Shrike for the day.