Dear All,
Attached is an update of the First Dates as at the 15th November 2016.

The 12th, usual cold and cloudy start with intermittent sun in morning
and more in afternoon. No hint of rain.
Probably all of the palearctics today are at least temporary residents
in the area. The distinctive rufous Common Buzzard was patrolling the
local gardens in the afternoon, four Common Swift moved E in the early
morning, just three Eurasian Bee-eaters were feeding overhead, only
the occasional Barn Swallows flying in random directions, for the
first time since September there are no Willow Warblers, but there
were three Blackcap, one Common Nightingale gave excellent views as it
fed in short grass under the hedge, and there were three Tree Pipits
in the area.

Amongst the Afrotropical movers, the Grey Crowned Cranes reached a new
high of nine in a flock and again headed W along the valley towards
the Rift, and a Bat Hawk made a brief appearance.

The morning of the 13th showed no change in the weather cold, grey and
no rain. Again brightening from quite early in the morning for a
mainly sunny afternoon.

At dusk a female-type Pallid Harrier came into the paddock but did not
stop, possibly the same bird as two days ago, the rufous Common
Buzzard was in residence. Two Aquila eagles flew W down the valley in
the afternoon, they appeared very dark both above and below and
short-winged. They were probably both adult Lesser Spotted Eagles but
a bit too far to be really certain. They were not Steppe Eagles
however. In the late afternoon a Eurasian Hobby going west was shortly
followed by an adult Sooty Falcon. A single female-type Eurasian
Golden Oriole flew low E across the garden in the afternoon, possibly
a few more Barn Swallows than lately, four Blackcaps were sitting on
the same branch in a lantana, and a Garden Warbler was eating Grewia
similis fruit. A Great Sparrowhawk flushed the only Willow Warbler of
the day, which needn’t have worried as they are not exactly a full
meal, but it probably did not know this and wasn’t prepared to take a
chance! Yesterday’s Nightingale was still around and some three Tree
Pipit were in the area, and for the first time since September, no
Eurasian Bee-eaters!

For the Afrotropical wanderers, a new single flock high of over
twenty-five Long-tailed Cormorants flew E along the valley, but only
two Grey-crowned Cranes followed the same direction in the evening, as
did only the fourth Black-shouldered Kite for the place. It was a good
day for raptors with the usual resident adult Martial Eagle over IUCN,
and an adult Ayre’s Hawk-Eagle hunting over the valley. Eight
Grey-headed Silverbills came over low but continued E towards NNP,
they were the first here for the recording period but we have had them
in the past.

No change in the weather on the 14th, but apparently Kibwezi had heavy
rain last night and there are quite a lot of billowing clouds here
today.
One Eurasian Hobby flew W along the valley in the early morning, there
were seven Eurasian Bee-eaters flying around, in the early morning one
Eurasian Golden Oriole flew high E down the valley, another slight
increase in Barn swallows, just one each of Willow Warbler and
Blackcap, a Nightingale pinking from cover in the IUCN eastern
boundary, and again about three Tree Pipits in the area. On the
afternoon watch a Black Stork landed in a tree along the Mbagathi, the
rufous Common Buzzard was patrolling the area, the Nightingale was
feeding along the edge of the western fence where it had been the
previous two mornings, and how it did it I have no idea but a silent
Tree Pipit appeared ten feet in front of me and stayed for the rest of
the afternoon feeding around me, silently. There is a lot of evidence
of “the usual suspects.”

Eight Grey Crowned Cranes flew W to roost, it must be fairly close to
here and for the first time since March, the Bat Hawks appeared as a
pair and were displaying for nearly twenty minutes right over the
paddock and the house. A single African Black Swift came over very
low, Red-billed Queleas seem to be flying over with more frequency.


On the depressing morning of 15th, I was sitting up in our paddock, it
was cold (and still is) overcast and blustery, all the right moves for
rain but none was appearing. I was sitting in a chair recording the
visual migration. Our Bat Hawk appeared without his mate at 6.40am,
and did a few circuits. Ten minutes later he flew across the garden
with a rather large forked stick in his claws. Twenty minutes later he
came back from where he had flown to and did more circuits, then
started madly diving amongst the bushes and trees within feet of the
ground wheeling and swerving for about five minutes, round and round
and passing within fifteen feet of me on the passes. The female never
appeared and all this was pure exuberance, he was having fun, not
hunting or displaying. A Bat Hawk can brighten up the most unpleasant
of mornings!

The palearctic story today, the Black Stork came in to roost at
6.15pm, but the rufous Common Buzzard was early and up before 7.00am
patrolling the gardens. A Peregrine spent fifteen minutes perched on a
tower, but was small and crisp black/white and was certainly the
resident race minor and not a large palearctic bird calidus. Two
Eurasian Hobbies flew strongly S after the light showers this evening,
and a Common Cuckoo came in at tree-top level heading N, so was
unlikely to be a new arrival. In the morning several compact flocks of
over 150 “Pallid” Swifts were flying over low, and after the afternoon
showers there were a few feeding over the Mbagathi Valley. After an
absence all day, over thirty Eurasian Bee-eaters flew over as a flock
heading for a roost in the evening. Two Eurasian Golden Orioles were
flying high E in the morning, just two Barn Swallows, whilst actually
in the garden  just three Willow Warblers, single Blackcap and Common
Nightingale and two Tree Pipits.

It was possible that as far as the Afrotropicals were concerned water
birds might have been moving locally. Recorded were four Black-headed
and one Grey Heron, two separate African Spoonbills and ten
Yellow-billed Storks. It is time for the Lesser Striped Swallows to
return to Nairobi, and with the showers and the heavy rains to the
east it is likely the birds will suddenly appear but we don’t know if
it is en masse or gradual. It would be interesting if people could
record the first birds that the see back in Nairobi, as we know
nothing of this annual absence August-mid November, but they certainly
all go somewhere else.

Just for the record, the following first common to regular palearctics
are still unreported…. Northern Pintail, Common Kestrel, Lesser
Kestrel, Amur Falcon, Eleonora’s Falcon, Eurasian Honey-Buzzard,
Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Corncrake, Pacific Golden Plover, Little Ringed
Plover, Great Snipe, Spotted Redshank, Sanderling, Temminck’s Stint,
Broad-billed Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Slender-billed Gull, Lesser
Cuckoo, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Eurasian Hoopoe, Lesser Grey Shrike,
River Warbler, Basra Reed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler,
Eurasian Reed Warbler, Marsh Warbler, Upcher’s Warbler, Icterine
Warbler, Chiffchaff, Wood Warbler, Barred Warbler, Irania,
Semi-collared Flycatcher, White Wagtail and Red-throated Pipit. Most
of these should have representatives already here.


Best for now
Brian