Ack - I meant this past SATURDAY - sorry...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Nate Dias <offshorebirder@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Feb 3, 2017 at 7:58 AM
Subject: Nairobi NP Jan. 28 - 2 Crowned Eagles, Verreaux's Eagle, etc.
To: kenyabirdsnet@yahoogroups.com

I enjoyed a good day's birding around Nairobi NP this past Sunday with
Roger Smith and Ben Mugambi. We ended with 118 bird species, due to
concentrating on mammals (particularly Suni and Rhino) in addition to
just birds. Leaving the East Gate just before 6pm, we had an issue
with "staff abandoning their gate post early" which I will comment on
later.

A highlight of the day was a pair of Crowned Eagles over the forest
not far from Nairobi Tented Camp. We went from Suni sighting to
sighting (18 individuals!) after making the left hand turn below
Nagalomon Dam. Just after crossing the Kisimbe River (west of Nairobi
Tented Camp), I heard a familiar manic whistling call (and hoped it
was not a clever mimic). Then Ben spotted a single adult Crowned
Eagle circling high that quickly soared behind the treeline. We drove
forward a bit to an opening where we could look back towards the eagle
location and saw two adult Crowned Eagles soaring together. One did a
diving display a couple of times. It was noteworthy that all Suni
immediately disappeared after we first heard the Crowned Eagle
vocalizing; we did not have another Suni sighting afterwards.

We also had a Verreaux's Eagle perched and then in flight in the
Mokoyet Valley not far from the Emakoko.

It was also nice to see a pair of Black Rhino out in the open - exact
location undisclosed for reasons of tradecraft.

We started the morning entering the East Gate, since the line was
already pretty long at the main gate at 6:45am. From the picnic area
just inside the gate, we enjoyed watching around 3 dozen Little
Swifts, 1/3 that many Palm Swifts, a couple of Scarce Swifts and a
handful of Barn Swallows. Might have been a White-rumped Swift or two
mixed in, but it was hard to tell. We did not see any Mottled or
Pallid type Swifts to try and photograph, as per Brian's recent
request. Also present were Red-billed Quelea, Rufous Sparrow, Common
Fiscal, Superb Starling and other common + expected birds.

A puffed-up Kori Bustard was just south of the East Gate, and the dam
not far to the west (Eland Dam?) held some waterbirds and shorebirds.
A pair of Red-billed Teal kept trying to sleep through the racket of a
pair of Coke's Hartebeest butting horns in earnest. The water's edge
held an African Jacana, a few Blacksmith Lapwings, a Three-banded
Plover, 2 Wood Sandpipers, and a Little Stint. Driving away from the
dam, we had a covey of five Shelley's Francolins.

Hyena Dam held 12 Long-toed Lapwings, 10 Blacksmith Lapwings, 6
Spur-winged Lapwings, and a couple of Three-banded Plovers. Other
shorebirds included three Common Snipe, 9 Black-winged Stilt, 4 Wood
Sandpipers, and half a dozen Little Stint. We did not see any African
Water Rails but four Black Crakes walked and flew around brazenly.
One of the Marabou Storks present kept washing part of a blue plastic
shopping bag and trying to swallow it. Another had a broken foot that
others pecked and pulled. We later saw the same bird around 5:30pm
preparing to roost with lots of other storks beside Athi Dam. Other
birds present at Hyena Dam included a pair of Crowned Cranes. A
drying-up boggy patch nearby held a Green Sandpiper and a couple of
Common Snipe.

We made our way to Nagalomon Dam, which was pretty quiet birdwise
except for a pair of Lesser Swamp Warblers, a White-headed Barbet and
a Malachite Kingfisher. But we did see a young male Lion chase a herd
of Impala on the far side of the dam.

In general it was hard to find much Typha or reeds around dams -
presumably due to drying conditions and hungry Buffalo.

After the Suni and Crowned Eagle encounters (poor photo of an Eagle
attached), we enjoyed good birding at the Kingfisher Picnic site. A
couple of African Moustached Warblers were working out their
territorial boundaries and one sat up and sang fairly out in the open
(photo attached). Two Brown Parisomas fed actively and although they
did not mind us, presented a challenging target to photograph. A pair
of Red-throated Tits foraged and scolded nearby birds and mammals.
There was also a pair of Chin-spot Batis, Scarlet-chested Sunbirds,
the requisite Striped Kingfisher and Red-cheeked Cordon Bleus.

At 5pm the Athi Basin had Fawn-coloured Lark, Yellow-necked Spurfowl,
and Pangani Longclaw. Athi Dam and the surrounding area had hordes of
Marabou Storks, with a few Yellow-billed Storks, a Black Stork, a
handful of White Storks and some Cattle Egrets. A lone White-faced
Whistling-Duck was present among Egyptian Geese and shorebirds
included a Ruff, Kittlitz's Plover, Spur-winged Lapwing, Blacksmith
Lapwing, Little Stint, Common Sandpiper and Wood Sandpiper. The
shoreline also held a small flock of Fischer's Sparrow-Larks.

It was a drag to see the SGR monstrosity looming near Athi dam and
earlier along the southern region of the park we saw what seemed to be
cattle grazing inside the park well across the Mbagathi River.

When we attempted to check out of the east gate at 5:59pm, we were
told the gate attendant / customer service representative had already
left. They were supposed to be present until 6:30pm. Due to a dinner
engagement I had at 7, we did not have time to go round to check out
of the main gate. This meant Ben had to return another day to get
officially checked out. When we stopped by the Langata gate the next
morning just before 7am on our way to Corner Baridi, it was still
closed with no staff in sight. Not unexpected given all Brian's posts
about that gate attendant chronically showing up late for work.

It is surprising how little staff accountability exists at the park
where KWS headquarters is located!

This, plus the recent news that National Parks will no longer accept
cash for admission (M-pesa only), put a bit of a damper on things.

Good birding,

Nathan Dias