NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK 27th JANUARY 2019

Dear All,
Nigel Hunter and myself arrived at the Main Gate at 6.30am, it was a
Sunday and if you can by any means avoid a Sunday, or even Saturday…
you should! The queue for processing the entry came out of the office
and right across the Car Park. We were processed at 7.10am and had
recorded a few things around the Main Entrance before entering, though
the only species not found once through the gate were Great
Sparrowhawk, Willow Warbler, White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher and Yellow
White-eye. The queue for processing by now extended across the Car
Park and had a tail to the side and vehicles kept on arriving, NNP was
doing great business today.

Along the entrance road we had Tree Pipit and the first Nightingale,
but although a completely clear morning things were extraordinarily
quiet. Ivory Burning Site produced a few more Nightingales and a some
Lesser Striped Swallows, but we were to find these common throughout
the entire Park, they were now really and truly back, but very late
compared to previous years. The next stop was Nagalomon Dam, with
nothing singing from the scrub along the causeway and both the Drift
and the Bridge were bird less. At the Dam there was a Little Bittern
that gave an alarm but we never saw it, around the edge were three
African Spoonbills, a breeding and a non-breeding plumaged Squacco
Herons, (see image and discussion), a Great Egret, three Darters, an
adult Fish Eagle, several noisy Green Sandpipers, a couple of Wood,
and a singing Zanzibar Greenbul.

Taking the back road to Hyena Dam there was not much activity on the
road, but sitting on the tops of the acacias was a group of four
Palearctic Black Kites, all were adults (see images and discussion).
Further along was the first of three Augur Buzzards, the first of
three Turkestan Shrikes, concealed Eurasian Reed Warbler and African
Firefinch called from deep cover, and a male flava Yellow Wagtail was
on the swamp, with a second similar bird seen later at Eland Hollow. A
few out of plumaged Red-collared Widowbirds were the only individuals
encountered today. A count up of the species so far recorded before
arrival at Hyena Dam was a surprising 120 species. At the Dam all we
added were a Marabou, Yellow-billed Egret, the first of over eight
Black-winged Kites, seven Crowned Cranes were part of twenty counted
today, ten Black-winged Stilts (there were none on Nagalomon earlier
which was most unusual), five Long-toed Plovers, two Common Sandpipers
which were the only two today, and the first of six Whinchats, the
first time over three in a day this season. Additionally were another
Fish Eagle, a few more Green and over twenty Wood Sandpipers. On the
ox-bow along the Mokoyeti the pair of African Water Rails were at
home.

The dry conditions over the last few weeks had resulted in very dusty
roads, but this was exacerbated by the fact that many of the roads had
been recently graded. We inhaled a lot of dust today. We took the road
along the Mokoyeti but the vegetation was yellowing and grassland
birds were not in evidence at all, and this was the case throughout
the Park with very dull plains driving. We continued to Olmanyi Dam
where there was still quite a bit of water, here we found eight
Yellow-billed Storks with five African Spoonbills and a Common
Greenshank. Continuing to the road below Impala Lookout we stopped for
a couple of cars going past as they were kicking up dust, and another
came and another whilst we sat and waited, after some time the
fortieth vehicle passed and was the final and evidently someone must
have found a Lion, this was another convincing incident showing us the
disadvantages of being there on a Sunday. Wherever we went, even to
the remotest parts of the Park there was someone already there! We
carried on to Kingfisher Swamp where a second pair of African Water
Rails announced their presence. White-winged and only a handful of
Jackson’s Widowbirds were in the sedges, there was a nice party of
around ten Eurasian Bee-eaters, and two other parties encountered
today, and a Gabar Goshawk. The Picnic Site was unsurprisingly full so
we continued towards Maasai Gate.

Along the road towards Ololo there were flocks of Red-billed Queleas
in the Acacia brevispica woodland, and with them were a number of
Speckle-fronted and Grey-capped Social Weavers, the last named whilst
common on Kitengela is very rarely recorded in the Park. At Ololo
unlike last week when so much was coming down to drink, nothing was
today even though it was equally as hot. There was another Fish Eagle
present, and Red-faced Cisticola, the first of three Olivaceous
Warblers, and first of just two Spotted Flycatchers, and Brown
Parisoma, were all additions for the day. Returning to the main track
there was a Secretarybird on its nest, a Black Stork flying down the
valley, the Pallid Honeyguide sounded louder than usual at the
Mokoyeti crossing where a Garden Warbler was singing, and along the
Mbagathi were an adult Martial Eagle and several parties of Blue-naped
Mousebirds. Above Hippo Pools was a pair of White-bellied Bustards, a
few more Speckle-fronted Weavers and four Black-faced Waxbills
behaving most unusually in that they were persistently creeping around
sheer tree trunks then flying off to another trunk. This suggests that
they were finding some protein, as it was unlikely there were seeds to
be found, but that would be as unusual as their behaviour if they had
turned carnivorous! After Hippo Pools was another adult Martial Eagle
with the Steppe Eagle on his usual tree close by, and whilst Rhino
Circuit seemed quiet we were lucky enough to locate a feeding party
further inside the woodland with Laughing Dove, a pair of Abyssinian
Scimitarbills, several Red-throated Tits and a group of  noisy Lesser
Masked Weavers.

Back on the main road again we carried on as far as the Pipeline, here
apart from a large male Lion under a bush we picked up two Pied and
four Northern Wheatears of which one male was already showing spring
colours although still in heavy moult. These were our only wheatears
all day, (see image). At Athi Dam one Water Thick-knee was in the
usual place under a waterside bush and undoubtedly its mate was close
at hand in deeper shade. Spotted Thick-knees were under the bushes
away from the water. Around the edge were five White-faced
Whistling-Ducks, a very young Open-billed Stork (see image), up to a
thousand Marabous with seventy White Storks scattered amongst them
(see images), huge numbers of Marabous appear at this time of year,
after a period of almost total absence so they are a regular migrant,
three African Spoonbills, just three Black-crowned Night-Herons at
their roost, five Black-winged Stilts, the days only Marsh Sandpiper
and Common Snipe, three Common Greenshank, a few Wood and Green
Sandpipers, ten Little Stint and five Ruff. There was a lone Little
Ringed Plover that was already almost in breeding plumage (see
images), and amongst an impressive flock of 42 Kittlitz’s Plovers (see
image), were three Common Ringed all in non-breeding plumage (see
image). The scrub was quiet with just species already encountered such
as another Laughing Dove and pair of Banded Parisomas.

Leaving here it was time to head back, at the Vulture-Drinking Pools
were twenty-two White-backed, ten Ruppell’s and an immature
Lappet-faced Vulture (see image). The family of four Short-tailed
Larks seen on the last visit was in the same place and nearby was a
handsome male Kori Bustard (see image). With nothing to see at Karen
Primary School Dam, Eland Hollow was equally impressive were it not
for the strange scattered twenty-four Black-headed Herons. Up to now
only a few Quail-Finches had been met with, but driving through the
Whistling Thorn we put up reasonable numbers. Both Hyena and Nagalomon
Dam contributed nothing extra although there was another
Secretarybird, but heading towards Langata Gate we found three
different Common Buzzards (see image), only singles had been met so
far this season, and the last bird being a pair of breeding-plumaged
Little Grebes on Langata Dam. We were out of Langata Gate at 5.10pm.

The total number of species recorded today was 202, which was again
more than we thought we were seeing because there were some very long
stretches that produced nothing. Barn Swallows were barely a handful
today but the silliest misses numbered Helmeted Guineafowl,
Yellow-necked Spurfowl, Cattle Egret, Cardinal Woodpecker, Chin-spot
Batis, Pectoral-patch Cisticola and Village Indigobird.

Mammals were widespread but greatest concentrations below Impala
Lookout to Kingfisher and Athi Basin.

Best for now,
Brian


KEY TO MONTAGE

1	COMMON BUZZARD
As we passed alongside Kisembe Forest to exit Langata Gate, we had
three different Common Buzzards; this is the first time more than one
has been seen in a day in this season.

2	YELLOW-BILLED KITE
This large and heavy-billed bird is one of two Yellow-billed races,
either the common resident parasitus or the middle-eastern aegypticus.
It’s an immature hence the dark not yellow bill. Compared to the two
adult nominate Black Kites photographed in the morning (7 & 8). I am
trying to find out more about these structural differences.

3	LITTLE RINGED PLOVER
Until the past ten years rarely recorded in NNP, but now appears
almost annually, this bird is extremely advanced towards breeding
plumage for end of January.

4	COMMON RINGED PLOVER
There were three birds in non-breeding dress associating with the
Kittlitz’s Plover flock.

5	KITTLITZ’S PLOVER
A compact flock of forty-two birds is by far the largest party in many years.

6	KORI BUSTARD
This male was near the Vulture Drinking Pools at the top of Athi Basin.

7	BLACK KITE
Migrant from the Palearctic, this is an adult in brownish plumage.
Compare the structure with the Yellow-billed Kite (2).

8	BLACK KITE
One of a group of four (as was 7), all were nominate birds with are
migrants. This bird is also adult but very reddish below.

9	OPEN-BILLED STORK
In the same corner of Athi Dam as an adult on the previous visit, now
the spot occupied by this immature. It is a very young bird still
showing much creamy-brown feathering on head and breast, with profuse
pale tipping over much of the plumage. It doesn’t look as if it was
much time since it left the nest.

10	TURKESTAN SHRIKE
Only three migrant shrikes seen today, all were Turkestan.

11	SQUACCO HERONS
I cannot recall having seen two Squacco Herons together before in NNP.
These were on Nagalomon Dam. The left is almost in breeding plumage
with soft biscuit back and head, and very whitish wings. The right
bird is in non-breeding plumage with heavily streaked head and
underparts, soft brown wings with darker back. It seemed odd having
two differing plumages at the same time, but maybe the right-hand bird
is a migrant from the Palearctic, something suspected but never
proven.

12	LAPPET-FACED VULTURE
This bird was at the Vulture Drinking Pools with ten Ruppell’s and
twenty-two White-backed. It was being singled out for prodding by a
Marabou. Not many young birds like this are ever recorded in NNP,
usually they are fully adult.

13	MARABOU STORKS ARE BACK
And how! Two views at Athi Dam, there were seventy White Storks with them.

14	NORTHERN WHEATEAR
Wheatears today were only on the Pipeline, where there were two Pied
and four Northern. This male is in advanced stages to moulting into
breeding plumage.