Karen Country Club bird walk, Friday 27 January 2017
On a fine sunny morning, myself, Shirley Scroggie, Alex Duncanson, Marilyn McDonagh and Gail Paul set off on the first Karen Country Club bird walk of 2017.
Our first stop at the wetlands was disappointing – everything is so overgrown and there is little clear water for ducks and other swimmers, and a noisy generator for pumping water was not conducive to hearing bird song or calls. We glimpsed a Collared Apalis in thick bush after some searching, and a single Great White Egret and a small flock of Cinnamon-chested Bee-eaters, perched at the top of separate trees, were pleasing sightings, as was a flying pair of Grey Crowned Cranes. Our next stop was the small pond at the 14th, where we found Little Grebe and an impressive Grey-headed Kingfisher.
The water level of the dams was quite high, and a good number of birds were present. Plain and Rock Martins flittered above, and Great Cormorant, Cattle Egret, Hamerkop, Three-banded Plover, Yellow-billed Duck, Egyptian Goose, and Grey Heron were all on display. Among the visitors were Common Sandpiper and Black-winged Stilt, but identification of a back-lit flock of around 20 waders proved elusive.
The 7th green, as ever, was interesting – Brown Parisoma, White-bellied Tit and Willow Warbler in low acacias, the mellifluous call of the Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike, and a dozen or so Yellow Wagtails mingling on the sward with the local African Pied Wagtails.
Other highlights of the morning included a pair of nesting Kenya Rufous Sparrows, doing their best but constructing a rather untidy ball compared to the true weavers; an attractive pair of Common Fiscals; Variable, Bronze and Collared Sunbirds; and numbers of Green Pigeons attracted to the fruiting figs.
After an unpromising start, a total of 52 species was very satisfying.
John Dawson
Birds seen and heard on Karen Club bird walk, 27 January 2017
Egyptian Goose
Yellow-billed Duck
Little Grebe
Hadada Ibis
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Great White Egret
Hamerkop
Great Cormorant
Black Kite
African Goshawk
Grey Crowned Crane
Black-winged Stilt
Three-banded Plover
Common Sandpiper
Dusky Turtle Dove
Red-eyed Dove
African Green Pigeon
Hartlaub’s Turaco
Klaas’s Cuckoo
Speckled Mousebird
Grey-headed Kingfisher
Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater
Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird
Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike
Black-backed Puffback
Tropical Boubou
Common Fiscal
African Paradise Flycatcher
Pied Crow
White-bellied Tit
Plain Martin
Rock Martin
Black-collared Apalis
Yellow-breasted Apalis
Grey-capped Warbler
Grey-backed Camaroptera
Common Bulbul
Yellow-whiskered Greenbul
Willow Warbler
Brown Parisoma
Olive Thrush
Ruppell’s Robin Chat
White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher
Collared Sunbird
Bronze Sunbird
Variable Sunbird
Kenya Rufous Sparrow
Baglafecht Weaver
Holub’s Golden Weaver
Yellow Wagtail
African Pied Wagtail
(52 species)