NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK 5th October 2016

With Mike Davidson currently visiting, Karen Plumbe provided the
transport for him as well as Heather Elkins and myself for a full day
in Nairobi National Park on 5th October.

Being a Wednesday, the usual weekend customer service staff skiving at
Langata Gate, as has been the uncontrolled case for the past few
years, was not expected. Wrong, we arrived at Langata Gate at 7.05am,
and the Customer Service employee had still not arrived. We lost 35
minutes getting caught up in the morning traffic jam trying to get to
Main Gate because there was no one to process our cards. With the
ridiculous demands for card-holders to be out of the Park at 6.00am,
amongst the most interesting time of the day, and yet visitors on day
passes take note, you can come out anytime before dark and you incur
no penalty, because you do not have to have your card checked out.
This seems a bit one sided to me especially as card-holders who are
loaning KWS by paying in advance (often well in advance) are the party
that is penalised by having to ensure they exit the Park at 6.00pm.
The Warden should demonstrate that she has at least some control over
her staff, and be severe with the Customer Service (such a misnomer)
at Langata Gate, and get rid of them in favour of someone who will do
their job.
When we arrived at Main Gate we were processed professionally,
speedily and amicably.
There had only been a hardly measurable sprinkle overnight, but the
morning was gloomy and grey, only becoming more cheerful in the early
afternoon.

Our only Willow Warbler for the day was at the Main Gate, and our
first interesting bird came within minutes of entering, not for any
rarity, but for such interesting and attractive plumage. It was a
Black Kite, but it could equally have been a Yellow-billed Kite,
either way it was mimicking a Spotted Eagle in its pattern. See the
image, has anyone seen a bird like this before?

With the excitement of the young African Skimmer that resided a week
at Hyena Dam (only the third record in NNP), having not seen the bird
and not knowing if it was still there, also it was 8.00am by now
thanks to certain people not doing the job they are paid for…. we made
straight for Hyena Dam. Although the typha die-back has left a fairly
open waterscape now, there are still some good stands, and the back of
the swamp is in such good condition to draw in something unusual and
it was not to disappoint.
On arriving at the dam at the west end of the causeway we saw an adult
Fish Eagle in the large acacia, extravert single African Water Rail
and Swamphen, and with the Barn Swallows were at least eight Sand
Martins. At the other end of the causeway there were a pair of
Secretarybirds (four seen today), and a gathering of Wood, and singles
each of Green and Common Sandpipers. At the back of the swamp we found
a pair of Red-billed Teal, four Glossy Ibis, a single Great Egret, a
good fifteen Black-winged Stilts, four each of Long-toed and
Spur-winged Plovers, six Common Snipe, more sandpipers, a Little
Stint, but the prize wader was just the second record of Black-tailed
Godwit for the Park.

There was little along the back road to Ivory Burning Site, apart for
hundreds of noisy Wattled Starlings in dense flocks, and a few
White-winged Widowbirds in non-breeding dress, being the only
widowbird species seen today.

At Ivory Burning Site we could see a young Great Cormorant flying in
circles above Nagalomon Dam, but the only palearctics here were two
Garden Warblers singing beautifully. The days only Violet-backed
Starling (a female) was here, as well as a good assortment of usual
species.

No sign of any Thick-knees on the Nagalomon Drift, but the dam held
some nice surprises. There were two African Spoonbills that had
feathered faces, so the eye stood out prominently not being partly
hidden in naked facial skin as in adults. It is likely that these were
actually the progeny from the few pairs that bred here back in August.
Only six Black-crowned Night-Herons remained and all were adults
indicating that the young birds have left the area, the only other
heron species was another Great Egret. The excitement here was finding
another new breeding species for the Park. All the bedlam of the
nesting Sacred Ibis back in May to August was over, and the trees were
peaceful again. It seems that the Darters had been waiting for the
Ibis to move out, and there were a female with two large young, a nest
with two large young and just to the right of them another two nests
with incubating adults. It’s about time that they bred here, being a
virtually omnipresent species. (See image). There was a second
Swamphen feeding along the edge, and three Black-winged Stilts on the
sand bar.