NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK 8th MAY 2016

Dear All,
We had another 3.2 inches of rain over Saturday 7th, we have now had
40 inches so far this year for a locality that has an average entire
twelve-month average of 27 inches, it’s now feeling a bit excessive
having had all this in a third of this period. In the whole of March
we fell short of just one inch, so since it started mid-April up to
now alone has been 30 inches. So the land has reached a saturation
point, but hopefully the low aquifers will be at least partially
replenished.

Nigel Hunter and myself still visited Nairobi National Park, and had
completed the check-in by 6.45am. It was dull but not raining. At the
gate, they wisely had a list of roads not to try out as people had
recently been stuck on all of them. We followed their advice and kept
to the main road towards Athi, and back much the same way apart from a
circuit taking in Baboon Cliffs. Being sensible we had a good day, and
did not get mired anywhere.

Ivory Burning Site was as quiet as the grave, but the new Ivory
Burning Field with its depressing charred piles was attracting plovers
to the open grass. There were five Spur-winged and a number of
Blacksmith and Three-banded enjoying the wet mown sod. There was even
another Spur-winged Plover on the Nagalomon Drift where no Spotted
Thick-knees were to be seen.

Nagalomon Dam was a melee of activity with the Sacred Ibis colony,
there were a good hundred Black-crowned Night-Herons present. The
African Spoonbills still have not showed a convincing sign of nesting
although there are still seven in the colony. Many Reed Cormorants are
sitting on what looks like platforms inside the tree, and giving
intimate necking stretching displays to the adjacent partner. But we
are still waiting on proof of nesting for this species for NNP as
well. Also many loafing Cattle Egrets have also never nested in NNP,
but Sacred Ibis sure have!
Apart from all this there really was very little present, a Little
Egret was in the Ibis colony, always inexplicably rare in the Park.
The first of some eight Grey Crowned Cranes were here, and quite
noisy.

We left this show for the main road to Hyena Dam, in the flooded
grassland was a gathering of ten Yellow-billed Egrets (all in
non-breeding plumage) and two Great Egrets. The Saddle-billed Stork
sat on its nest in the far away acacia along the Mbagathi whilst
presumably the mate was elsewhere. The grasslands not just here but
all over, had Red-collared Widowbirds scattered throughout. We only
saw about three White-winged, and none elsewhere. I suppose the star
should be the first ever Hyena we had ever seen actually at Hyena Dam!
The water level was really high, the ford looked menacing, but
knowledge of its concrete base meant that it posed no problem to
cross, although some visitors turned back on seeing it. There is so
little peripheral vegetation now, the place looking quite open. The
birds were all the regulars, and some old regulars were not to be
seen. Apart from the quarrelsome Egyptian Geese the only waterfowl
were three White-faced Whistling Ducks, the resident pair of Fish
Eagles were well at home, just one Swamphen was showing, there were
five Long-toed Plovers in the flooded grass along the outflow, and
another five Spur-wings, but I suspect an interchange with the birds
we had seen earlier. The pair of African Jacanas were mating, so we
can hopefully expect chicks fairly soon.