NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK 1st August 2015


Dear All,
On 1st August, Nigel Hunter and myself were expertly processed and in
through Main Gate of Nairobi National Park at 6.45am.

It was light overcast and cool, but burnt off to a clear sunny day
after 10am, but still the air remained comfortably cool. There had
been no rain since the last visit, but still much laying water in
depressions.

On entering the Park we decided to give Ivory Burning Site a miss, and
go straight to Nagalomon Dam. On the descent road there was a Sombre
Greenbul singing beautifully very close to the road. At the drift was
a pair of adults and one immature Spotted Thick-knees.
The dam was a hive of activity but almost all from Sacred Ibis, who
crowd the shoreline now. Interestingly what we referred to as the
“island”, where all the birds rest, but had really thought of as a
promontory of forest on land jutting out into the water, is in fact a
real island after all. The typha has died back on the left hand side
showing there is no doubt that the land is not attached by a dry
passage to the shore, and water can no be seen all the way to the back
of the dam!
Other birds here were four Great Cormorants, getting on for a hundred
Reed Cormorants, and three Darters. None of these birds are showing
any intention of joining the Ibis and breeding which is a bit odd.
There were eight Black-crowned Night-Herons but they were all
immatures. Single Wood and Common (the first of three) Sandpipers were
present but nothing else of note. Hippos are very easy to see though.

Taking the back road to Hyena Dam we met up with a family of African
Firefinches that were probably last weeks birds. On the swampy area
were a Yellow-billed Duck, African Water Rail was calling, three Wood
Sandpipers and the only Little Stint of the day, an adult. Turning
towards Hyena Dam, the first swamp area is the best part for birds at
present, there were a Glossy Ibis coming into adult plumage, no less
than three immature Purple Herons, two each of Great and Yellow-billed
Egrets, an extravert African Water Rail, three Swamphens, a pair of
African Jacanas and three more Wood Sandpipers.
Whilst having our breakfast there were additionally an only just
sub-adult Fish Eagle, Common Moorhen with three almost day-old chicks,
and a Lesser Swamp Warbler persistently catching food off floating
vegetation away from cover and taking it to an unseen nest and finally
a few Orange-breasted Waxbills coming for a drink. On the other side
of the causeway, was a pair of Spur-winged Plovers, always a surprise
away from Athi Dam.

On the Run-off there were three Yellow-billed Storks but nothing else,
and checking the ford for a Greater Painted-snipe that Gareth Jones
photographed there last week, we failed to find this but there was an
immature dark morph Jacobin Cuckoo, which seems an odd time of year in
Nairobi. On the Mokoyeti Bridge was a pair of noisy Red-faced
Cisticolas. In the grass were large numbers of post-breeding
White-winged Widowbirds, with out-of-plumage Cardinal Queleas and more
Orange-breasted Waxbills. Quail-Finch were all over the Park.

On the way to Eland Hollow we found a very attractive immature
Red-capped Lark, which looks like an entirely different species from
an adult. But little at the dam apart from many Yellow-crowned Bishops
in the sedges, none of which showed much colour. Between there and
Karen Primary School Dam was a White-tailed Lark, but nothing at the
dam. Crossing the grassland was pretty abysmal, we did have the only
Secretarybird of the day. The murrum pits at the top of Athi Basin
showed that Horace and Smelly are inseparable pals, and the terrapin
was again resting on the hippo, and near here was a Lilac-breasted
Roller, which might be the first in NNP for over two years!

Athi Dam could not have been a bigger let down, the only migrant wader
present was the Common Greenshank that hadn’t migrated! There was one
Fish Eagle, three Yellow-billed Storks, two of the only African
Spoonbills today, five Spur-winged Plovers and two Speckled Pigeons.

There were lots of men dangling off pylons on the way to Cheetah Gate,
a very few birds included several groups of Speckle-fronted Weavers
and a flock of about fifteen African Silverbills. We saw two Violet
Wood-Hoopoes on the Rhino Circuit, there might have been more but one
we saw well had a very short black beak, and so they have nested
locally. The drive around past Hippo Pools, towards Leopard Cliffs was
uneventful apart from the only Bateleur of the day, but on the inside
road towards Maasai Gate we had a nice pair of Short-tailed Larks, our
sixth lark species of the day.

There were no other birds worth mentioning until the forest where
there were about fifteen Violet-backed Starlings, but no sign of the
Sharpe’s here last week. On the forest edge pool a Little Grebe had a
small noisy chick, and a Madagascar Pond Heron fed around the edge,
but replacing the pair of Crowned Cranes with the two chicks from last
week was a large Rock Python. It’s difficult to judge size in the
field, but taking a video as it crossed the road and disappeared into
the swamp, and piecing three parts together (as per the attached
montage) it looks like it is about fifteen feet long. Hopefully the
crane family have just wandered off which they do after the young
hatch.

The last bird was a calling White-starred Robin towards the Langata
Gate, and we were through by 5.00pm.

As a birder, at this time of year the time is better spent in the
north, and not crossing a line from Eland Hollow across to Leopard
Cliffs, virtually anything of interest is north of this line and it is
better concentrating efforts rather than trying to cover the whole
Park.

Best to all
Brian

KEY TO MONTAGE


TOP LEFT

SOUTHERN AFRICAN ROCK PYTHON
This animal was at the Forest Edge Dam, Langata and estimated to be
fifteen foot long.


TOP MIDDLE

MORAEA STRICTA
These native irises were flowering in large numbers in grassy glades
in the forest, but there flowering period is very short and we were
lucky to coincide.


TOP RIGHT

KLEINIA SQUARROSA
This bizarre composite was flowering profusely have clambered through
a Balanites. Just the one plant was seen on the road to Cheetah Gate
and was quite a butterfly magnet.


SECOND ROW FAR LEFT

MALACHITE KINGFISHER
It’s nice to photograph the bird from an elevated position to
appreciate the head colouring.


SECOND ROW SECOND TO RIGHT

KIRBY’S DROPWING
This is a species that always perches on bare ground or rocks near
water. Readily separated from Red-veined Dropwing by the orange bases
to the wings.


SECOND ROW THIRD TO RIGHT

RED-VEINED DROPWING
This is common by any water both still and running and perches on
vegetation. Unlike Kirby’s Dropwing it lacks the orange bases to the
wings.


SECOND ROW FOURTH TO RIGHT

TREE AGAMA
These are fairly common on the Park but easily missed, perching on the
top centre of acacias.


SECOND ROW FAR RIGHT

MADAGASCAR POND HERON
Even at this distance the heavy striping on the underparts is very conspicuous.


SECOND ROW SECOND TO LEFT

SOUTHERN AFRICAN ROCK PYTHON
The same snake curled up.



SECOND ROW THIRD TO LEFT

SHORT-TAILED LARK
Handsome larks, one was picking up nesting material.


THIRD ROW LEFT

HORACE HIPPO AND SMELLY
Just to prove that last week’s image was not a one-off event!


THIRD ROW RIGHT

LILAC-BREASTED ROLLER
The first recorded in over two years.