Hi Darcy,

Sounds like a nice place to go birding! I'm guessing the area is what used to be called the "Old Kakuzi Road"?

Your brown bird looks just right for a Grey-olive Greenbul, albeit one in sunlight rather than the usual shade. The swallow might be a Lesser-striped. Ospreys seem to pass Thika on a somewhat regular basis. In addition to the local food supply, the Chania is also one of the larger drainages in the area and thus a useful corridor for migrating.

Best Wishes,

James

On 17 December 2017 at 02:02, Darcy Ogada ogada.darcy@peregrinefund.org [kenyabirdsnet] <kenyabirdsnet-noreply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

Hi all,

I was out birding along the Thika river this morning at Del Monte, just downstream from Blue Posts.  There was a lot of birdlife, much of it singing, and causing me great confusion.

Of those I managed to identify there was too much out of the ordinary for Thika.  There were a couple of Scaly Francolins and nearby a duiker burst out of the bush causing my heart to skip a beat. Zanzibar Greenbuls were plentiful.  I managed a decent photo of an African Firefinch. Over the pineapple fields was the biggest surprise of the day, an Osprey.  

I managed this photo of a smallish (warbler-size) grey-brown bird.  Unfortunately it flew away before I could get a better shot.  It was calling in a grating style, grrrr-grrrr-grrrr or chrrr-chrrr-chrrr. My best guess is Common Whitethroat, but I will gladly be corrected if anyone can tell from this poor angle.

I also got a shot of a swallow-like bird.  It is probably something exceedingly common, such is my poor ability to id these birds. I lightened up the photo as much as possible.. The shape of the wings is what is bothering me. A martin perhaps?

What I haven't seen in some time are any hornbills, Silvery-cheeked or Trumpeter.  Although they are always sporadic visitors depending on fruiting conditions, they have seemingly missed a few too many harvests of late.  I hope they will show up soon.

Cheers, Darcy

 

Darcy Ogada

Assistant Director of Africa Programs
+254-722-339366
P.O. Box 1629-00606

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Nairobi

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Kenya

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James Bradley
Sidney, BC