NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK 7TH FEBRUARY 2019

Dear All,
Thursday morning Magadi Road was just endless snail-pace traffic,
necessitating a detour around the back roads to re-join Langata Road,
which had hardly any traffic at all, and Nigel Hunter and I were at
the processing office of Nairobi National Park to find no-one else
checking in. It’s all swings and roundabouts choosing the correct day
to go where there will be neither holdups on the roads, or at the
check-in.

As we were a little late, we opted to miss the walk around the
car-park (which loses a number of birds for the day), and headed off
for Ivory Burning Site, on the way the only migrant Shrike of the day
(which is a sure sign that we have lost a large percentage to middle
eastern heathens slaughtering them as they migrate through their
countries), it was a Turkestan. The IBS was extremely quiet, not much
was calling from the bushes, but a couple of churring Nightingales and
a seemingly cheerful Zanzibar Greenbul. Three Yellow-billed Storks
flew towards Hyena Dam, and both Red-rumped (see image), and Lesser
Striped Swallows were sitting in the trees, and both species were
widespread and common all day. It was a strange morning, there was a
haze at ground level making it appear shady but there was not a cloud
in the sky and the sun was shining.

The causeway on Nagalomon Dam was absolutely silent, none of the usual
migrants uttering a word, and the Nagalomon Dam itself also appeared
quite quiet, but there was an indication that birds were coming back
in to breed again. Good numbers of Long-tailed Cormorants, at least
eight Darters, five African Spoonbills engaged in head-bowing and
trumpeting, and Sacred Ibis also looked interested.
On the sand spit, was a party of Green Sandpipers which were
widespread today, and one we later found already in breeding plumage
was a very beautiful bird (see images). Whilst watching these, in the
Typha behind them enjoying the weak sun, was an adult male Little
Bittern of the race payesii, with two fledged young, showing that they
have successfully and secretively bred. (See image). There were a few
Black-winged Stilts and Wood Sandpipers, but not a lot of activity
around the edge.

The quietness continued along the back road to Hyena Dam, but there
was excitement at the units where a Shikra was hunting, these are very
rare anywhere in the Nairobi region. At Hyena Dam were one each of
Great and Yellow-billed Egrets, the pair of adult Fish Eagles, the
first of five Augur Buzzards, five Crowned Cranes which have been here
for some time, ten Black-winged Stilts, five Long-toed Plovers
including the white-winged bird, four Common Snipe, a Common
Greenshank, a few Green, fifteen Wood a couple of Common Sandpipers
and a Ruff. Two Yellow Wagtails were female flava, and the first two
of seven Whinchats today. Quite a number of Plain Martins were sitting
on the sedges and playing with nesting material on the ground, yet
they have never been known to breed in NNP.

Following the road along the Mokoyeti, there were a pair of Black
Storks soaring, and a third perched on a tree, the first of over a
dozen Black-winged Kites, a female Eurasian Marsh Harrier, the Greater
Spotted Eagle adult on its favourite dead tree (see images), and a
pair of noisy Martial Eagles. There was no sign of the African Water
Rails at the oxbow, or anything else there. There were a few Banded
Martins feeding over the grassland, and several seen later in the day.
In spite of Olmanyi Dam looking in good condition all we could rustle
up were two more Common Snipe. The next stop was the Kingfisher Dam
where the pair of African Water Rails was at home, as well as another
pair of Crowned Cranes, a Secretarybird, non-breeding Jackson’s but
breeding-plumaged White-winged Widowbirds with Red-billed Queleas,
only the second Sedge Warbler for this season, and with the breeding
swallows were two House Martins. At Kingfisher Picnic Site there were
three Black Storks in the air together (it’s very difficult to
accurately count Black Storks without knowing if there is duplication
of individuals), and a very noisy Abyssinian Scimitarbill. Further
along the road the days only Tawny Eagle was associating with a group
of scavenging Yellow-billed Kites.

On the road to Ololo there were Grey-capped Social Weavers and
Speckle-fronted Weavers with both probably nesting in this patch of
Acacias, the Secretarybird there was on its nest and we found the
first two of just three Northern Wheatears today. At the river the
wintering Spotted Flycatcher was in the car park, and the only
individual of the day (see image), and there was a singing
Nightingale. The Pallid Honeyguide was as expected singing from his
favourite tree below Baboon Cliffs. Not much activity in the woodland
above Hippo Pools but Banded Parisomas were singing, and along the
Mbagathi and the Rhino Circuit it was so quiet the only species we
added were a Striated Heron, a Laughing Dove, a Willow Warbler and the
first of just two Olivaceous Warblers. There was also another House
Martin with other swallows, and along the Pipeline were a female Pied
Wheatear and another Northern.

Athi Dam was the place for birds today, seven Black-crowned
Night-Herons roosted on the Causeway (see image), amongst the many
hundreds of Marabous were 113 White Storks (see image), and the very
young Open-billed Stork was still here (see image), another Black
Stork was also present and a dozen Yellow-billed Storks, the first
Glossy Ibis in a while fed along the shore (see image), and another
five African Spoonbills were asleep. The currently resident Water
Thick-knee dozed under the bushes along the waters edge in the SE
corner, Spotted Thick-knees occupied other bushes, apart from numerous
Blacksmith and Spur-winged Plovers, other waders consisted of four
Common Ringed Plovers, five Kittlitz’s and a scattering of
Three-banded Plovers, a dozen Little Stints, five Ruff, three Common
Greenshank, twenty Wood and a couple each of Green and Common
Sandpipers and joining them the first White-winged Black Tern in a
while (see image). Banded Parisomas called from the acacias, where
sadly there were no migrant warblers.

Climbing out of Athi Basin we had a Shelley’s Francolin under a bush,
and a Long-billed Pipit, whilst at the Vulture Drinking Pools were
nineteen White-backed and seven Ruppell’s accompanied by a young
Steppe Eagle (see image). Nothing new appeared over the grassland as
we drove to Karen Primary School Dam, where a female Saddle-billed
Stork posed beneath the Phoenix palms, and the days only two Little
Grebes were on the water. Eland Hollow had its army of Black-headed
Herons with nineteen present but apart from non-plumaged Jackson’s
Widowbirds coming in to drink with a number of Quailfinch, the only
other bird was a changing male lutea Yellow Wagtail.

Nothing additional at Hyena Dam but the Yellow-billed Egret was there,
this only being mentioned because when we arrived at Nagalomon Dam
there was one there also. Along the Causeway there was a Eurasian Reed
Warbler feeding in the acacias. Heading towards Langata Gate, we had a
young Martial Eagle (see image), a Common Buzzard, five Crowned Cranes
at the Vlei where they seem to be a resident group, and feeding
quietly right at the Nagalomon Bridge near the exit was the Woolly
necked Stork very confiding and feeding on frogs under the deep shade.
This bird has been in the area for some three months, though only seen
three times it is a expert at concealment. Once again we had had seven
Stork species in NNP on the same day.

We were through Langata Gate at 5.15pm having recorded 191 species.
Barn Swallows numbers were up on past visits and suggests that the
northward movement is already under way. There have been major returns
of Eland, Kongoni and Zebra now the grass is dry.

Best to all
Brian


KEY TO MONTAGE


1	LITTLE BITTERNS
We had a sighting end of December which was a pale male and thought
the migrant nominate, then hearing a bird give an alarm once ten days
ago but did not see it.  This morning in the same area in the NW
corner of Nagalomon Dam behind the sand spit in the Typha and a long
way from for the camera, but being a bright morning a male of the
resident race payesii (more orange) was sunning with two juveniles.
This is a good breeding record for the Park.

2	RED-RUMPED SWALLOW
These were common all through the Park today, with Lesser Striped only
in slightly smaller numbers, both species in spite of how dry it is
look as if they are going to settle down to breed.

3	GREATER SPOTTED EAGLE
After not being on it’s favourite dead tree ten day ago as it was an
overcast morning, it was back on today’s nice sunny but still cool
morning for all the world to see. It is a reasonable way from the
road, but easily identified with the very white bill, short peak at
back of head, very black overall, chubby appearance with a short tail.
The tree can be seen in the Hyena Dam run-off, from the Mokoyeti
section of the Main Road just past the ex-bow on the right, it can
also be seen more distantly from the Hyena Dam Causeway.

4	WOOLLY-NECKED STORK
Amazingly making this another Superb Septemciconius Day after one so
recently, this bird was tucked away by the bridge near the Langata
Exit. There was enough time to get a shot of it tossing a frog
(probably Ptychadena), up into the air and swallowing it. The bird was
amazingly tame happily feeding in the swampy shade of the Nagalomon
River only five metres from the car. As luck would have it, a large
truck with concrete piping pulled up behind us with a car of rangers,
and could not get past us, we had to let them pass but when we got
back, no Stork! This bird which really hides well has been resident in
the Park for nearly three months now.

5	SPOTTED FLYCATCHER
This spotless Spotted Flycatcher has being wintering in the tree at
the car park for Ololo Lodge, and was the only one seen today.

6	WHITE-WINGED BLACK TERN
They have been very scarce this season; this bird at Athi Dam hardly
shows any signs of breeding plumage.

7	KIRK’S CHARAXES
This is a dry country butterfly common on the lower stretches of
/Magadi Road after Kisamese, however I have only seen a few along the
Mbagathi, but this male holding territory on the Acacia nilotica (is
this the only one in the Park?) on the Athi Dam Causeway posed for a
couple of photographs.

8	GREEN SANDPIPER
This is an appreciation of this species in breeding plumage as early
as it may seem. Green Sandpipers pull out very early and numbers will
fall dramatically from mid this month. This one is already in fine
spring dress, and the wings and shoulders a shiny bronzy green which
gives the bird its name.

9	SADDLE-BILLED STORK
The female with the yellow eye, was posing at the base of the
magnificent clump of Phoenix reclinata palms on the Karen Primary
School Dam Causeway. The day’s sixth Stork species.

10	MARTIAL EAGLE
Two adults were very talkative in the same area as the Greater Spotted
Eagle, but this young bird was not far from Langata Gate but Kisembe
Forest.

11	STEPPE EAGLE
This is a young bird, and not the same that has been seen recently.
The inset shows the extent of the gape-line almost reaching the level
of the back of the eye very well. It was with the vultures at the
Vulture Drinking Pools at the top of Athi Basin.

12	GLOSSY IBIS
This looks like a dull non-breeding adult, and was at Athi Dam. There
hasn’t been a Glossy Ibis in the Park for several months now.

13	BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON
These birds are very photogenic and trusting in their roost on the
Athi Dam Causeway, there were seven today.

14	AFRICAN OPEN-BILLED STORK
This is the same very young fluffy bird seen at Athi Dam ten days ago.

15	WHITE STORK
A total of 113 were amongst the hundreds of Marabous at Athi Dam.