Talking about striped Flufftail, sometimes back in 2004 I was relaxing at wajee nature park's picnic site (part of mukurwe-ine valley) when I saw the bird coming from the thicket to the picnic site. I had the chance to see it very well but unfortunately never had a camera with me. That was some good moments.Happy birding.Mwangi wa Gitau.
On Jan 20, 2016, at 3:59 AM, James Christian jc@james-christian.com [kenyabirdsnet] <kenyabirdsnet-noreply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:Thanks Don,Very interesting. It was at 11344 feet or 3457 meters and the date was Jan. 17 2016.Cheers, JamesOn Wed, Jan 20, 2016 at 12:09 PM, DON TURNER <don@originsafaris.info> wrote:Dear James; Thanks so much for these details. Couple of questions DATE and any idea of altitude.I see its in the northern part of the park. Most definitely a Striped Flufftail.Years back I tried playback of calls of the Southern African bird all over the Mt Kenya moorlands, but never had a response of any type. In the 1930's Meinhertzhagen claimed he had this bird on Mt Kenya, but with his reputation now in tatters, its difficult to assess.The bird also occurs on Elgon and there was a good sighting of one at 3,200m back in December 1969.The type came from Loliondo District astride the Kenya - Tanzania border back in 1901, it was trodden on by a hunter's gun-bearer. Later in the 70's Vince Fayad netted what he felt was a female in the Ngurumans, but without any actual specimen or photos that's another record that was difficult to assess.Best of luck on any future visits to the area. Any list of birds from these higher altitudes always welcome.Thanks and very best wishesDonDear Don,Thanks for your note. I'm thrilled that my sighting could help figure out this birds habitat needs.I saw the bird at the trailhead that we use to go rock climbing in Dragon's teeth in the Aberdares. This area is accessed via the Shamata or Rhino Gate (remarkably fancy new road for a part of the park nobody visits - hardly anyone besides climbers seem to go over there). The habitat is moist medium-deep tussock grass and it appears that a fire had burnt some of the taller heather a few years back so that there was no bush story but standing dead wood in clumps. We backpacked through quite a bit of similar habitat to this but it was only on the return to the vehicle that we flushed anything remotely rail-like.The bird: I knew instantly that it was a rail and despite never seeing a flufftail I knew by its coloration that it had to be in that grouping. He flushed only 10 feet before me both times within 10 minutes of each other (i kept walking after him/her). As i said I could see the red on the tail but I could also see clearly the red on the head and the black and white markings on the flanks.I was once an american bird biologist and I have always been fascinated by rails. A super book actually about photographing the 5 American rails is Shadowbirds by Burt William. I was inspired by the book and tried in vain for a while to get photographs of Black Rails while working with Yellow-billed Cuckoos in Arizona.Anyway, hope that helps. Here is the UTM marker for the site, conveniently at the end of the road (4 wheel but not far from the quality 2 wheel-appropriate new road from Shamata).
S 00 15.483'E 036 35.602'Cheers, JamesPS has anyone ever censused for these guys by playback? I also wonder in what season they might like to breed and more frequently vocalise.On Wed, Jan 20, 2016 at 8:29 AM, DON TURNER <don@originsafaris.info> wrote:
Dear James; Not sure if my reply concerning your flufftail did the rounds on kenyabirdsnet.
If not here is a copy:
Dear James; This is a truly excellent sighting indeed. That
high altitude tussock grassland is indeed the habitat of Striped
Flufftail, and there have been several historical records from there,
the last being a reported sighting near Satima peak in February 1974.
A flufftail that high up with an all-red tail could only be a
Striped, and so after 42 years its really great to have this. Many
congratulations.
Could you possibly expand the details for us with a brief account of
your two sightings, date and particularly the altitude etc. A brief
description of the bird would also help.
Thanks and very best wishes
Don Turner
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----James Christian
Karisia Walking Safaris