Dear Sidney and Steve,
Thanks for the Lesser Striped Swallow updates, it does seem that they
are back in the area but would be great to hear from others when they
first see them.
Your experience with the Amurs is magical, when at an alate emergence
they dash around madly taking no interest of your presence. Very large
numbers must pass over Nairobi unseen, but early morning they can be
moving quite low, and in the evening when looking for roost sites they
also come within visual distance.
Very best
Brian

On 11/29/16, Stephen Graham <swgraham4@gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear Brian,
> By Sunday, several Red-rumped Swallows had returned to a regular haunt
> along Lower Kabete, near Farasi Lane, while a single bird was among
> assorted hirundines feeding over a sports field in Gigiri on Saturday
> morning. I saw another on the edge of Karura Forest on Monday.
> The thunderstorm that rolled over Nairobi on Saturday evening brought the
> most magical birding experience I have had in Kenya: the rain triggered a
> tremendous termite hatch around my home, and presumably pushed many a
> migrant down toward the ground. First one, then two, then more and more
> falcons appeared from the murk, flying around the heads of my family as we
> stood mesmerized in the rain in our garden. Amur Falcons, with maybe some
> Red-footed among them though it was hard to tell, at least 30 in all. After
> a quarter-hour they moved on, but we won't forget them.
> Regards,
> Steve
>
>
>
> On Fri, Nov 25, 2016 at 5:32 PM, Sidney Shema Kamanzi
> <sidneyshema@gmail.com
>> wrote:
>
>> Dear Steve, Brian and all,
>>
>> On Sunday 20th Nov, during a Nature Kenya Sunday bird watch, we saw about
>> 5 Lesser Striped Swallows busy building mud nests under the roof of one
>> of
>> the houses at Ziwani Retreat Centre (between Juja and Thika). There was a
>> high diversity of swallows/martins including Barn, Wire-tailed and
>> Red-rumped Swallows, Black Saw-wing, Plain Martin and Rock Martin.
>> Migrants
>> included Blackcap, Black Stork and Eurasian Swifts. The area was also
>> interesting as we saw birds of forest, bush and grassland. Brown-backed
>> and
>> White-browed Scrub Robin were both seen. Raptors also abounded, including
>> Lanner Falcon (2 adults and juv), Ayres Hawk-Eagle, Augur Buzzard,
>> African
>> Fish Eagle, Black-chested Snake Eagle and Gymnogene.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Sidney
>>
>> On Thu, Nov 24, 2016 at 7:11 PM, Brian Finch birdfinch@gmail.com
>> [kenyabirdsnet] <kenyabirdsnet-noreply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hi Steve,
>>> Thanks so very much for sending this detail on Lesser Striped Swallows
>>> in. On Tuesday I was in NNP all day, in all the favourite haunts for
>>> Lesser Striped, there were none to be seen even though Red-rumped were
>>> gathering mud in puddles.
>>> Yesterday (Wed), one flew over the house calling, staying high and
>>> flying over without any deviation. I concluded this was not one of our
>>> birds. Today our pair were back and singing on their favourite
>>> perches.
>>> It would be really good if people could write in when they see their
>>> first, as I suspect in the next couple of days they could be
>>> everywhere, which would suggest a mass movement back to Nairobi.
>>> Without this information, the migration of the species back into
>>> Nairobi will continue to remain a mystery.
>>>
>>> Best for now
>>> Brian
>>>
>>> On 11/22/16, Stephen Graham swgraham4@gmail.com [kenyabirdsnet]
>>> <kenyabirdsnet-noreply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
>>> Hello Brian,
>>> You were asking for sightings of lesser-striped swallows returning to
>>> Nairobi. I saw several feeding at the dam on the Kofinaf coffee estate,
>>> off
>>> Ngenda Road, north of Kiambu, on Sunday Nov. 20. Still, none have
>>> returned
>>> yet to where I have often seen them off Lower Kabete in Nairobi.
>>> Regards,
>>> Steve Graham
>>>
>>> --
>>> Stephen Graham
>>> +254 (0)706 693 421
>>> 
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Stephen Graham
> +254 (0)706 693 421
>