I've been birding our A Rocha Kenya plot here in Watamu for 15 years and still turning up awesome surprises! I was in the middle of signing cheques with our accountant in my office yesterday morning about 10am when my 5-year old son, Kai, comes rushing in shouting "Daddy! Daddy! there's a HUGE bird in the nature trail!!!"... Well, he knows plenty enough about birds to know if it was a Hadada Ibis and the same for it being a crow... which he knows would not be worth running to tell me about - and if it was a 'huge bird' then it was not going to be one of the usual contenders of a robin chat or something... So I looked at our long-suffering accountant, John, and said.. "pole ndugu - got to dash...!" - grabbed the bins and followed Kai at pace down the path..

And the photo (below) is what we saw...! First record for Mwamba - our centre in Watamu at plot 28. Also, as I have been in the middle of doing an atlas card for our atlas pentad (square) no. 0320_3955, this guy was species no.42 on the pentad full protocol card - and I've still got another full day to go of the five days per card that you have to try and get as many species as possible for it - 70 would be acceptable! Have had flocks of Euro Bee-eaters passing through for 2-3 weeks now; only two Barn Swallows up until last weekend when I saw another two and then today 6 went past heading south along the beach... their numbers have yet to pick up. Spot Fly's have been reported from elsewhere around Watamu/Mida but I've yet to have one here at Mwamba. 

The Afrotropical migrants have yet to leave - and by repeating Full Protocol cards at 6 day intervals you then can get a beautiful picture of the arrival and departure of migrants. Red-capped Robin Chats are practicing their songs seriously in the bush / forest around us - mimicking Emerald Cuckoos, nightjars, bee-eaters and Crowned Eagles all in the same breath. Yellowbills also still present and vocal.

The atlas is already producing really interesting results - will post some of the early results in due course for your interest. Anyone who's able to, please do contribute your records from any birding around now to the atlas as your data will make a significant contribution to helping build up the picture of what our birds are doing.

Viva atlassing!!

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Colin Jackson
A Rocha Kenya

Cell: 
+254 (0)722 842366
      
http://www.arocha.org
http://www.assets-kenya.org
http://kenyabirdmap.adu.org.za