Hinde's Babbler et. al. at Upper Kabete

Dear all,

Today for the Nature Kenya bird walk we were at the University of Nairobi Upper Kabete field station. The walk was full of surprises and great sightings. Most notable of all was at least 3 Hinde's Babblers, with possibly more in the thicket but unconfirmed. This was in the coffee plantation. Simon Carter's sighting of 2 individuals last week was down near the big dam about 2km away. They are likely the same group but it's hard to say for sure.

We also had at least 1 male Jackson's Widowbird in full breeding plumage with 3 other males in eclipse stage. Red-collared and White-winged Widowbirds (both in breeding plumage) were also seen. Sunbirds were also interesting as we saw 6 species: Scarlet-chested, Variable, Bronze, Northern Double-collared, Golden-winged and Beautiful. In over 2 years of birding at UoN Upper Kabete Campus I have never seen a Beautiful Sunbird. I'm interested in knowing if others have seen one here before. Seeing the species this high up (1800m) is an indication of how dry the year/season has been. Yet Golden-winged tends to prefer cold moist habitat so seeing them both at the same time and place is notable.

Migrants and other interesting species were Yellow Wagtail, about 3 Whinchats, a flock of about 20 Eurasian Bee-eaters perched and flying around a small clump of trees, Isabelline Shrike, Irania, Tree Pipit, Willow Warbler, Olivaceous Warbler, Red-thoated Wryneck, 3 Grey Crowned Cranes and an African Hoopoe.

All in all, a good bird walk.

Best regards,
Sidney