NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK 22ND NOVEMBER 2016

Dear All,
Nigel Hunter and I, met Fleur Ng’Weno at the Main Entrance of Nairobi
National Park at 6.40am on 22nd November. There had been showers
overnight and intermittently over the past few days, just in excess of
an inch but already the place was transforming from yellow to green.

We were through the gate with impressive efficiency and soon on the
way to Ivory Burning Site. Our first interesting sighting was a
Spotted Hyena not very far along the road. It was overcast with an
extremely light rain but the birds were fairly quiet initially. There
were a couple of wet Common Buzzards along the road. By the time we
arrived at Ivory Burning Site, Nightingales (but no Sprossers) had
become very noisy and a few showing well. On the whole though it was
quiet for migrants. There were a few Blackcaps, a couple of Garden
Warblers, three Common Whitethroats and an Icterine Warbler in the
acacia which we quickly lost. Two Great Cormorants flew over low
towards Nagalomon where we mistakenly thought we would reconnect with
them, a nice Eurasian Honey Buzzard flew past low and the was first
for the season, the pair of Zanzibar Sombre Greenbuls were prominent
and noisy.

Checking the Nagalomon Drift, there was nothing to be seen, and the
dam was quiet. In the corner was a cluster of ten Green Sandpipers, a
few weeks ago I remarked how the numbers were so very low this year,
and even though they are the first returning migrant species in
mid-July, these birds appeared newly arrived. In fact the species was
at all water bodies today, and additionally we had at least six
road-puddle birds as well. So this does testify to a new arrival of
the species, although so late. Otherwise we were restricted to an
African Spoonbill, single adult Black-crowned Night-Heron, Great
Egret, Darter, Swamphen, and the first of just two Spotted Flycatchers
seen today. Also three Black-winged Stilts and Nightingales in the
bushes.

On the way to Hyena Dam there was an Isabelline Wheatear on the new
Ivory Burning area, and returning deep puddles on the road which might
be a bit treacherous after another heavy shower. The first
Red-collared Widowbirds were back but not in breeding dress, whilst
White-winged were scarce compared to recent weeks. At the dam it was
as usual the highlight of the day with one White-faced Whistling Duck,
three Red-billed Teal and whilst we had coffee four magnificent
Spur-winged Geese dropped in. A Black Stork was seen several times in
flight but probably the same bird, a pair of Saddle-billed Stork were
off the causeway on the run-off, a few African Spoonbills, the pair of
Fish Eagles commuting back and forth between Hyena and Nagalomon Dams,
and two extravert African Water Rails along the causeway. The usual
plovers were there with five Long-toed which included a presumably
locally bred immature, several Spur-wings and many Blacksmith and
Three-bandeds. Of the palearctics, we appear to have lost the
Black-tailed Godwit after nearly two months, and the Curlew
Sandpipers. We were left with a dozen Black-winged Stilts, two Common
Snipe, a Greenshank, couple of Green, Common and at least fifty Wood
Sandpipers, the giant Ruff and three Reeve, and a Common Ringed
Plover. The best bird was very doubtfully a Palearctic, and was the
first Collared Pratincole for many years but a very young bird with no
trace of adult dress although it had lost any scaly patterning on the
back and was uniform. (See Image). Finally there were two adult
African Jacanas to complete the wader variety. Also arriving whilst we
were there were six White-winged Black Terns. We heard both Yellow
Wagtail and Red-throated Pipit but could see neither.

We next returned past Nagalomon Dam and took the paved road along the
Mokoyeti River, there was another Great Egret in a marsh area, a most
incredibly confiding immature Eurasian Hobby, the pair of Martial
Eagles sitting on dead branches, so maybe the eggs have now hatched,
fifteen Eurasian Bee-eaters, a few migrant warblers and Nightingales
but including a very showy first Marsh Warbler of the season, the
first of two female plumaged Red-backed Shrikes, calling Red-faced
Cisticolas, the only Whinchat of the day, and a small party of Wattled
Starlings.

Re-joining the main road to Karen PC Dam, the grasslands proved
surprisingly quiet, the three common swift species were joined by both
Common and African Black Swifts, but Barn Swallows were remarkably
scarce, Red-rumps were widespread and gathering mud for nests but
Lesser Striped are still to return. The Dam was also unproductive and
the water level still dropping. There were immature males of both
Pallid and Montagu’s Harrier, but the Park has still to produce a
Marsh Harrier for the season, usually so common. It was also slim
pickings all the way to Athi Basin, where there was a single
Red-throated Pipit and a handsome pair of Lappet-faced Vultures. Athi
Dam wasn’t very active either with one African Spoonbill, two roosting
adult Black-crowned Night-Herons, an adult Darter, six Spur-winged
Plovers and just one Kittlitz’s, whilst the palearctics amounted to
several Black-winged Stilts, a Common Ringed Plover, three Greenshank,
and eight Little Stints. The rarest birds here as far as the Park is
concerned, being a couple of knob-less Red-knobbed Coots. These
immatures most closely resemble Common Coot (which might turn up in
East Africa one day), but in all ages that species has a black
feathers projecting from the lores on to the bill, in Red-knobbed it
is always a smooth line between the black of the face and the white of
the bill. Additionally RKC have a pale almost bluish cast to the bill,
which is snow white in Common Coot. (See image). Taking the road to
the Pipeline we found another two Isabelline, three Northern, four
Pied Wheatears and a female Eurasian Rock-Thrush all enjoying the
murrum piles along the trench. At the Mbagathi at the end of the
pipeline we stopped for lunch and found a good variety of woodland
species including Grey-headed Kingfisher, Abyssinian Scimitarbill,
Red-throated Tit and Banded Parisoma amongst others.

Leaving here we visited the Rhino Circuit which was very quiet, and
further down the road the ox-bow which was more interesting. There was
a Verreaux’s Eagle Owl calling along the river, which is a species
rarely recorded. Along the ox-bow margin was an extremely handsome
adult Striated Heron, a Fish Eagle adult but for a few dark speckles
on the bottom of the white breast, a Common Snipe, three Marsh
Sandpipers plus usual Green, Wood and Common. Finally four Violet
Wood-Hoopoes clambering about in the trees. Between here and Hippo
Pools we had two Turkestan Shrikes a couple of Pangani Longclaws which
included the same bird bathing in the same puddle as last week! Above
the Hippo Pools were the usual Speckle-fronted Weavers and a Banded
Parisoma.

As usual it was quiet along the southern road, there were a couple of
Silver-backed Jackals feeding on some unseen remains, but this had
attracted a few White-backed Vultures along with a pair of
Lappet-faced and a Ruppell’s, three Steppe and a Tawny Eagle. Also a
pair of Long-billed Pipits on the road and a Pygmy Kingfisher on the
Mokoyeti crossing below Baboon Cliffs.

As time was now running out we took the short cut across Sosian
Valley, leaving out all the western part of the Park and all of the
forest to return back to Main Gate via Nagalomon Dam again. We found
three Secretarybirds, a White-bellied Bustard, a couple of
non-plumaged Jackson’s Widowbirds bathing in a puddle, two Tree Pipits
and a “ring-tail” Montagu’s Harrier at the dam.

We were out through the gate at 5.40pm, having had a very full and
interesting day. Plains game was widespread, but not concentrated
apart from Wildebeest groups in the south. Again whilst a good variety
of Palearctic migrants, numbers of individuals were very low, however
the variety of species was extremely good with 205 species recorded
today, of which 29 were not recorded as part of the 214 last week. To
give more idea of the local variety, in the home paddock up to 8.00am
this morning (23rd), in exactly the same Pentad as Hyena and Nagalomon
Dams, I recorded twenty species not found in the Park at all
yesterday, including the first Lesser Striped Swallow!

Best to all
Brian

KEY TO MONTAGE
(Available in three sizes!)

TOP LEFT
SPOTTED HYENA
Just after entrance on tarmac road

MIDDLE TOP
COLLARED PRATINCOLE
Hyena Dam, looks to young to have flown from anywhere!

TOP RIGHT
STEPPE AND TAWNY EAGLES
Steppe left, Tawny right

MIDDLE ROW LEFT AND CENTRE
FRESH IMPALA AND RED-BILLED OXPECKER
Wondering if life is going to always be like this, and not liking it!

CENTRE ROW RIGHT
COMMON SNIPE, MARSH AND WOOD SANDPIPERS
The newly accessible Ox-Bow just east of Hippo Pools is very productive.

BOTTOM LEFT
RED-KNOBBED COOT
Two immatures at Athi Dam.

BOTTOM CENTRE AND RIGHT
EURASIAN HOBBY
Ridiculously confiding immature was not going anywhere. Still capable
of looking very cross though.