Quick addition from a visit on 6th December:

A bright yellow Parasitic Weaver on the road between Olmanyi Dam and Kingfisher Picnic Site.

The African Emerald Cuckoo was still singing from a dry tree near the main gate, both at 7 am and 10:30 am.

Nairobi National Park, home to healthy, nesting populations of Critically Endangered White-backed Vultures and Endangered Grey Crowned Crane is under threat again!

See the story in the weekend Star http://www.the-star.co.ke/…/sgr-changed-cut-deep-nairobi-national-park

With concern, Fleur


On 12/7/15 7:53 AM, "Brian Finch birdfinch@gmail.com [kenyabirdsnet]" <kenyabirdsnet-noreply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

  

NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK 5th December 2015

Dear All,
On 5th December, Nigel Hunter and myself entered at Main Gate of
Nairobi National Park. By 6.40am the car-park was thronging in
tourists and tour vehicles and it appeared that there has been a major
upsurge in visitors which was very nice to see. There had been no rain
overnight, but it was still impossible to get to several places, such
as the Langata Gate/Kisembe Forest area, back and sides of Hyena Dam,
the Run-off, the inside road to Eland Hollow, nor was it possible to
get there from Karen PC Dam or off the East Gate Road, most of Athi
Dam and Rhino Circuit.

Along the entrance road there was an Emerald Cuckoo, the first of the
days Nightingales and a couple of Black-and-White Mannikins. Ivory
Burning site was quiet, there were a few more Nightingales and a
female Amur Falcon flew over towards Nagalomon Dam and disappeared.
The acacias were empty of birdlife, and there was a Zanzibar Greenbul
singing back in the scrub. There was no sign of the thick-knee on the
causeway and Nagalomon Dam would have been very quiet if it were not
for the return of the Sacred Ibis to breed where they had after the
long rains. This squeezes out other water birds and two Darters had
taken refuge away from them. There were over twenty Black-crowned
Night-Herons though. The water level is very high, but there was a
Swamphen, and fifteen mixed Green and Wood Sandpipers around the edge.

We tried the back road to Hyena Dam but had to turn back in the dip,
so never managed to see the new swamp, or the swampy area along the
edge of Hyena Dam. There was a Scaly Francolin calling which was the
first for some time, and a few more Nightingales. We retraced and took
the main road to Hyena Dam. There were six White-faced Whistling-Duck
which were our only non-Egyptian Geese waterfowl today. They were
sitting in the water running across the road and like so many birds
around Hyena Dam, only going to budge if hard pressed. Apart form the
days only Yellow-billed Stork, there was a very nice adult male
payesii Little Bittern, a very much non-breeding Squacco Heron, and
single Great and Yellow-billed Egrets. A female Western Marsh Harrier
came and quartered the swamp, and was the only migrant accipitrine
today, an adult Fish Eagle rested in the large acacia. The African
Water Rails continue to become more and more extravert, there were
four seen, with one pair allo-preening then mating right in the open
whilst standing in grass only a few inches high, there were two
Swamphens and not to be outdone by the rails, one just fed below the
window as we crossed the causeway. The four Long-toed Plovers have now
become five, having been joined by another adult, there were still
three Spur-winged Plovers with the many Blacksmiths, and two adults
and an immature African Jacana. In the migrant wader line was a single
Common Snipe, but some twenty-five Wood and six Green Sandpipers, both
species being very widespread today. There was a Sedge Warbler
skulking in the same bush as one that shared it with a tame Eurasian
Reed Warbler last year, at the corner of the causeway, although not
seen anywhere else today, the immediate vicinity of Hyena Dam held
seven Whinchats, the only other migrant being a few Barn Swallows
which were widespread in small numbers.

Taking the road that circuits the run-off was our only
Black-shouldered Kite of the day, a couple of some six (mainly heard)
Rosy-breasted Longclaws, whilst along the Mokoyeti were six Eurasian
Bee-eaters and the first of just three Willow Warblers today.

It was quiet at Karen PD Dam, a gathering of four Hamerkops was an
unusual sight in the Park, but there was only a male Yellow-crowned
Bishop in full breeding plumage on its own. A detour to East Gate gave
us a male Marico Sunbird, and crossing the plains there was the first
of only two Northern Wheatears on the murrum quarry, (which also had a
solitary Chandler’s Reedbuck), a male Hartlaub’s Bustard, a
Secretarybird and a couple of Pangani Longclaws. Our first of two
adult Turkestan Shrikes, the only migrant shrike today.

The murrum pit at the top of Athi Dam featured Horace Hippo, but just
two Greenshank, and along the top of the basin were a singing
White-tailed Lark and a young male Pied Wheatear. Athi Dam was for the
best part inaccessible, but there is hardly any edge areas, there was
a Red-knobbed Coot, but apart from that another two Greenshank and
three Common Sandpipers completed it, apart from a few of the usual
Spur-winged Plovers.

The fallen electricity cable rests across the road still, I wonder if
those horrible pylons have ever had current flowing through them?

Along the Mbagathi we found the a Eurasian Hobby, adult Martial Eagle,
Kori Bustard, a charming Pygmy Kingfisher and African Hoopoe and a
pair of Black-faced Waxbills. Perhaps the best birds of the day were
singing Red-and-Yellow Barbets calling from the Acacia mellifera
scrub, the first in the Park for at least two years, but they never
revealed themselves. Kingfisher Picnic Site had a pair of Tawny Eagles
and a Brown Parisoma.

Grey Crowned Cranes were in small numbers with just three pairs seen,
and whilst Red-collared Widowbirds were common, few Jackson’s were
seen, and the only White-winged were a few female plumaged birds.

When you do not get a palearctic “fix” at this time of year, it cannot
have been a good day. On exiting the Main Gate at 4.00pm, the clerk
said how many birds did you see today. I replied I doubt if we
recorded more than 160 species, she said that was a lot to which I
replied, it feels like our lowest ever. When the species were totalled
up, we had had an amazing 178 species, so it must have been a good
day, thank goodness for the Afrotropicals.

Mammals were much confined to the southern end, especially Zebra,
though a few at Kingfisher. There were a lot of Eland and Kongoni
about. Three White Rhinos below Impala Lookout, and a Black near the
Beacon, a very nice and very large Egyptian Mongoose crossed the road
near Hyena Dam.

Best to all
Brian

IMAGE
TOP LEFT
African Water Rail

TOP RIGHT
African Pygmy Kingfisher

BOTTOM
Purple Swamphen
 
   
 Posted by: Brian Finch <birdfinch@gmail.com>        

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