NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK 27th October 2014

Dear All,
Fleur Ng’Weno, Jennifer Oduori, Sheena Orr and myself met up at
Langata Gate, which was fully operational before 6.30am.

There had been no rain since the three inches that fell ten days
before, and already there was so much sign of the environment needing
more. It was a cloudy morning but brightened later.

There was an Eastern Honeybird at the gate, and on entering we took
the left turning through the glade, checking the run off from the
Langata Road, there were a few Wood Sandpipers and a Yellow Wagtail.
All that Hippo-Grebe Dam could provide us with, was a few White-faced
Whistling Ducks, but a little further on there was a superb adult
Bateleur which just posed in a tree in front of us. Also here we had
our first of three Common Buzzards today, and a Violet-backed
Starling.
Circling back round back towards the gate, we stopped at the bridge
and there was a Black Stork back in residence, all adult apart from a
dark brownish head. There was a Garden Warbler singing from cover, but
a showy Common Whitethroat fed in the top of an acacia very openly.
Also a group of four African Green Pigeons posed in the top of a tree.

Continuing on to Nagalomon Dam some eight Black-crowned Night-Herons
were very active in the trees, a couple of Darters were flying around
as well, a very nice pale Booted Eagle circled over the dam, a
Swamphen was absolutely glowing as it unconcernedly bit of reed bases
that it was holding in its feet. There were three Green and a few Wood
Sandpipers on the edge, a single Eurasian Bee-eater went over and a
Blackcap sang from cover. The pair of Spotted Thick-knees was on the
drift.

As we had already taken some time to get this far, we had our morning
coffee at Ivory Burning Site, there was a Crested Francolin calling
from in the lantana, but no sign of any Nightingales yet, in fact the
only palearctics were the first two of five Spotted Flycatchers.

Taking the back road to the swamp at the back of Hyena Dam, we were
amazed to see that it had dried up enough to get across and not have
to detour back. Apart from a pair of Crowned Cranes, only the first of
two pairs today, there were only a few Wood Sandpipers. Hyena Dam was
more rewarding although the marsh edge is fast disappearing, there
were two Glossy Ibis still, a trio of African Spoonbills, two Great
and one Yellow-billed Egret, a pair of Secretarybirds that seem
permanent residents now, an immature Bateleur, a female-plumaged
Pallid Harrier (the only Harrier of the day), a dark Booted Eagle,
several African Water Rails, that would only show their bills, and
could well have had young, four scattered Swamphens, two adults and
two duller birds, three Long-toed Plovers, two African Jacanas the
usual scattering of twenty or so Wood and a few Green Sandpipers. In
the surrounding vegetation were all three Widowbirds but in very small
numbers, in fact we only heard Jackson’s, a few Barn Swallows although
they were generally distributed today, and an impressive flock of over
a hundred Wattled Starlings.

On the road that circuited the run-off was the first of three Pied
Wheatears today, all male. Driving through the grasslands there was
not a lot happening, we did find a nice male Lesser Kestrel, the first
of five Black-shouldered Kites, another Secretarybird, single of each
Daurian and Isabelline Shrikes, a number of Banded Martins, one
White-tailed Lark, and a very attractive group of twelve Grey-headed
Silverbills.

There was a Little Grebe and a Great Egret on the dam to the right
just before Karen Primary School Dam, and there we had another Spotted
Thick-knee and a couple of non-breeding plumaged Yellow-crowned
Bishops even though the male was singing as if he did have the colour!
There was another group of White-faced Whistling-Ducks.

Continuing through the grassland there were three African Silverbills,
and the first of seven Northern Wheatears of which five were on the
“Burnt Patch.” At the Murrum Pits at the top of Athi Basin, out of
twenty vultures bathing and drinking, nine were Rueppell’s.

Athi Dam was quite good, a couple of very pink Yellow-billed Storks,
an Open-billed Stork, five African Spoonbills, an adult and a subadult
Pink-backed Pelican, ten each of Spur-winged and Kittlitz’s Plovers,
three each of Marsh Sandpiper and Common Greenshank, two Common
Sandpipers and six Little Stints. A Pied Avocet, which had black on
the wings, but retained a brown head, could very well be a palearctic
visitor, also four Black-winged Stilts. Three Speckled Pigeons
occupied themselves in the weeds around the edge, a party of unseen
Eurasian Bee-eaters called from somewhere, but the strangest sight of
all was of three Violet Wood-Hoopoes in the acacias along the
Causeway, the first time away from the immediate vicinity of the
Mbagathi River. There was a Black-crowned Night-Heron in the usual
roost.

Closer to Hippo Pools there were another three Violet Wood-Hoopoes,
surely not the same birds back from their wanderings and three
kilometres away! Driving towards Kingfisher we found an adult
Black-chested Snake-Eagle, a Steppe as well as a couple of Tawny
Eagles, a Willow Warbler singing and a scattering of Wattled
Starlings.

Taking the left track to the murrum pits just after Leopard Cliffs, as
none of us had ever been there before (!), we found them nicely
flooded and of potential interest. The days only Isabelline Wheatear
was here, and another party of ten Grey-headed Silverbills. On
continuing the journey we had another five African Silverbills as
well.

The Burnt Area was not too productive, but there were two Black-winged
Plovers, and from here we left for Langata Gate, exiting just after
5.30pm.

It had been a very nice day, rather low on migrant numbers, and no
Whinchats, apart from the early two beginning of the month, where are
they?

Plains game were in good numbers beyond Karen Primary School Dam, but
apart from six Suni and a few Bohor Reedbuck, nothing that wasn’t
normal.

Best to all
Brian