Dear All,
I overlooked sending in a report for 26th August, on a days outing
Nigel Hunter and I did to Crescent Island with a short stop at Manguo
Ponds on the return.

The target was to see if the Steppe Gull that was present at the end
of May when the Caspian Tern was at Crescent Island, might have
oversummered. Steppe Gull at present is not on the East African list
but hopefully this will soon change. We found that the Caspian Tern
never left, and is probably still there now as it is obviously
comfortable on the lake. It keeps company with three other Palearctic
gulls that have also not returned this season. They were Baltic Gulls,
nearly all of this form winter in East Africa; they are a very
restricted range gull as far as their breeding is concerned. The name
Baltic Gull might not be a familiar name. We used to call them Lesser
Black-backed Gulls but now they are not, and have been given specific
status. However we have not lost Lesser Black-Gulls as a result as
Heuglin’s Gull now considered a race of Lesser Black-backed Gull!
Steppe Gull is either considered a race of Lesser Black-backed through
its alliance with Heuglin’s Gull, but many consider it a good species.
It was largely responsible for Herring Gull being on the East African
list until removed when the last Kenya Checklist was published. But
Steppe Gull still has to be acknowledged as being in our region and
that is primarily why we visited Crescent Island… but there wasn’t
one. As we catch up with Eurasian treatment of the large white-headed
gull forms, things will only get worse! A few waders consisted of
Wood, Green, Marsh and Common Sandpipers, Common Greenshank, and a few
Common Ringed Plover. Flying around the houses was a male White-headed
Saw-wing; it is a very birdy place. Many Barn Swallows were in, and
the odd Horus Swift in the swallow flocks. African Black Swiftss were
as they always seem to do around this time of year, nesting on
buildings on Kenyatta Road in Naivasha. A few were also flying around
buildings on Crescent Island.

A look at Manguo showed that Whiskered Terns have had a good breeding
success and adults were feeding dependent but flying young, ducks were
pretty abysmal, no Maccoa and just one White-backed. Three Swamphens
were parading around, and there was one Glossy Ibis. The conditions
look a lot better than the few birds that are present. Hopefully it
will be more interesting once the migrant season is under way.

Best for now
Brian

KEY TO MONTAGE
Top left three images showing breeding Whiskered Terns, alongside
three images of Caspian Tern on the island. Apart from the Water
Giraffe and a few Grey-headed Gulls that snuck in the remainder are
all of the three Baltic Gulls.