Greetings to all.

A week ago while on a non-birding tour I could not stop enjoying close up looks of very tame Shallow’s Wheatears at the new Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge while a near tree (50m away) had one single Hemprich’s Hornbill calling and who stayed around for all the lunch hour while there. I have seen them a couple of times in the park before and frequented them Menengai Crater whenever i went birding there and as well as Railway Station in Nakuru once. Also very close was a “Blue-spotted Wood-Dove” as to how i ID’ed it feeding together with an Emerald Spotted Wood Dove. Never seen them before in  Lake Nakuru NP..... I did not want to follow the bird for a better photo as it wasn’t on visitors interest but I managed one attached. However, same day I found 1 more Blue Spotted WDs and I was worried that may be  I have been overlooking at them before and just calling them ESWD since that’s what i expected. However, later but same day i thought if i remember BSWD have yellowgreen bill tip but this two individual had red-tipped bills. I therefore hoped to find another  individual but never came across. Now I’m totally confused if this is BSWD or ESWD and if a south-of-equator Emerald SWD with red bill would look like and I cannot find any photo of ESWD with red bill that I ever took. The bill tip of this is red to about half the bill length would appreciate a help on this or what the story is

 

In June while with Tris Allinson from Birdlife International we had a single male African Crake in Nairobi N Park. Some roads were dry but there still quite lots of slow running water through the grassland where the bird disappeared too. We never got a photo unfortunately. Same June, Ethiopian Swallows were feeding two youngones along the Solio fences along the 32km rd north of Solio. While the first bridge had 2 nests of Angolan Swallows and were feeding babies. Before this sighting, the eastern most range for the birds i knew only ones nesting at Keekorok bridge in Masai Mara. And i have read of the ones nesting in school at OlBorosat.

 

Then about two weeks ago still in Lake Nakuru National Park and still on a non-birding trip I came across these weaver that looked “icecream” yellow (attached). Looks like leucism but does it come this yellow.

Same Nakuru had this female Cliffchat (attached) whose mantle feathers were fluffed over the wing as i’d thought. But she flew out and back the feather seemed unchanged

Best Regards

chege