Despite
Isiolo town being small in size its bird life is amazing
from dry land species to big raptors soaring in clear
sky on hot dusty days. The variety of habitats attracts
different species of birds, from shrub land,rocky &
patches of grasslands. One of the spectacular views of
birds I ever saw was Eastern Paradise Whydah, Pin-tailed
Whydah,Steel-blue Whydah and a big flock of Red-billed
Quelea on their bright plumage on the same tree. Bat
hawks making fast hunts before dark will also add your
checklist.
Due to lack of enough rain for vegetation during dry
season somali herders from as far as Moyale travels with
their camel in to Isiolo-meru area in search of
vegetation, they go purchasing Euphombia tirucalli
planted around homesteads by Ameru community members.
The purchase act as a source of income when there is no
crops in their farms.
While
recording birds in a company of a local guide we saw a
herd of about 250 camels the biggest I had never seen
before. Using my binoculars I noticed two of them were
doing something strange on a dry leafless Acacia
tortilis, at a close range I noticed that they were
actually enjoying White-browed Sparrow Weaver's nests,
hurriedly picked my phone to capture the moment but
wasn't enough! Had a brief conversation with herder who
mentioned that the big herbivores will go for the nests
whenever they have an opportunity. What happens to eggs
and the chics inside the nests??
Happy
birding,
John
Gitiri.