I hosted a Saturday morning birdwalk at Tiwi pond on the 28th of September. We started early at 7:30am. A flock of Northern carmine bee-eaters were the first birds we saw as we branched off the main road, with an adult feeding a young bird(pic attached). On reaching the pond, we saw it was full with water lilies and the water level was a bit higher due to a rainy week. The resident African jacana, African pygmy geese and Little grebes were the first birds we saw. The grasses close to the waters edge had quite a few common waxbills, Bronze and B&W mannikins, zanzibar bishops and pin-tailed whydahs. As we searched for the resident white-backed ducks amongst the water lilies. I spotted a smallish jacana, which at first I thought was a young African Jacana. But on closer inspection, turned out to be a Lesser Jacana!!(pic attached) We all enjoyed watching this rarity feed alone for quite a while, before it disappeared into the tall grasses. Other birds we saw were: White-faced whistling ducks, Black kite, Common and wood sandpipers, greenshanks, ringed plovers, wooly-necked storks, grey and purple herons, a painted snipe and an Immature Palm-nut vulture soaring above. The small forest patch on the far side of the pond gave us: yellow-bellied greenbuls, broadbilled roller, lizard buzzard, Little sparrowhawk, silvery-cheecked hornbills and East coast boubou. 

In the afternoon (around 4pm) I visited the Kongo estuary, it was full of people and I wasn't expecting to see much, I couldn't have been more wrong! Just close to the river inlet a group of small waders were resting(pic attached), they included: common and curlew sandpipers, greater and lesser sandplovers, ruddy turnstones, sanderlings. As I watched them I saw a bird with a very flappy flight, flying over me, I quickly took some shots with my camera and turned out it was a Eurasian Oystercatcher(pic attached), I had seen the last one in early 2017. I proceeded to walk towards Tiwi beach and saw another group of waders many were the same with an addition of grey plovers, whimbrels, and a Bar-tailed godwit(pic attached). Not wanting to disturb the flock I started walking back, when 2 Crab plovers flew over the surf and landed on the beach just ahead of me(pic attached). 

It's definitely the first time I've seen such a number of special waders pass by Diani on a busy Saturday afternoon. Sorry for such a long story, but thank you for reading it.

Mustafa Adamjee