2007 Tour Narrative
This all-too-short tour featured weather that was dry but overcast, in some places cooler than usual; some sites had recently received unseasonal heavy rain. In spite of, or perhaps because of, the weather, we managed to record 512 species.
Among the more interesting species in Nairobi National Park were a Common Buttonquail, two Marsh Owls flying in the late afternoon, a male Brown-backed Woodpecker in Kisembe Forest, a half-dozen White-tailed Larks in Athi Basin, and finally a pair of Nairobi Pipits. The “normal” spectacular species included Ostrich, Kori Bustard, Secretarybird, Giraffe, Zebra, and Buffalo, which for some of us caught the eye more than the less intrusive cisticolas!
On our way east to Mtito Andei we stopped fat Lukenya for some less common dry scrub birds, such as African Penduline Tit, Gray-headed Silverbill, and Southern Grosbeak Canary. Arriving at Tsavo West, we found Orange-bellied Parrots in the bird bath and a pair of Eastern Black-headed Batis in the museum garden. Other nice finds included our first Golden-breasted Starlings and Pearl-spotted Owlet. We continued to Ngulia with a Freckled Nightjar and an attractively patterned Puff Adder on the road.
After an evening with an assortment of mammalian visitors including Leopard, we left the following morning for the dry scrub, where we found several Yellow-billed Hornbills, a showy group of Scaly Chatterers, Pale Prinias, a few Pringle’s Puffbacks, at least five Red-naped Bush-Shrikes, and finally a number of dazzling Tsavo Sunbirds. A Rufous-beaked Snake was searching burrows in spite of the overcast conditions. After a filling lunch we investigated the Tsavo River, adding to our fast escalating list such impressive creatures as Southern Ground Hornbill and Hippopotamus. Leopards and Greater Galagos were again obliging in the evening.
Leaving via Chyulu Gate we set off for Amboseli. A small area of woodland produced Brown-hooded Kingfisher, White-fronted Bee-eater, and Scaly-throated Honeyguide. After a good night at Ol Tukai we had a morning drive around the swamps, which provided a non-breeding Taveta Golden Weaver at the waterside, where there was an easy-to-see Southern Rush Warbler. We successfully found the rarer larks, but a compact group of thirty Greater Short-toed Larks was quite an amazing concentration. Our afternoon around the eastern swamps was again productive, and egrets were in good numbers, with a couple of Cheetahs in some grassy cover. Virtually unheard of was our finding an adult and young Kori Bustard feeding around the bird-table at Ol Tukai Lodge!
The next day we flew to Nanyuki, where the dull, cold weather was not conducive to exciting birding, though we did find a male Oriole Finch. Mammals were more interesting, with both Bush Pig and Giant Forest Hogs among the usual visitors.
On the following morning we drove up to the Met Station, where Jackson’s Francolins and Abyssinian Ground-Thrushes were on view as usual. Misty showers were the order of the day. A pleasant surprise was a female Maccoa Duck at a wetland reserve near Naro.
The next day we had a slow drive back to Naro Moru, on which we found many of our “missing” montane forest species. An afternoon walk around the manicured gardens produced a good assortment of sunbirds and stunning Hartlaub’s Turacos. There were Green Woodhoopoe, Brown Parisoma, and Red-headed Weaver in the parking lot.
After an eventful walk around the gardens, we drove across the Solio Ranch Road. In addition to three Greater Kestrels, two Angola Swallows, and an early Barn Swallow, we also found Black-winged Plovers, the stunning Long-tailed and Jackson’s Widowbirds. plus gorgeous Rosy-breasted Longclaws. At Mweiga we saw a Mackinder’s Eagle-Owl on eggs. Four African Black Ducks were on a nearby dam, and there were several Red-throated Wrynecks, a Scaly-throated Honeyguide, and a pair of Little Rock Thrushes on the road. A single Cuckoo-Hawk enlivened our lunch at Ndaragwa.
At the large dam near Nyahururu an obliging Little Bittern sitting with legs splayed as it gripped the reeds in what looked a very uncomfortable position. A pair of African Water Rails insulted us from the edge of the marsh, and numerous Levaillant’s Cisticolas parachuted from the sedges. Continuing to Nakuru and Baringo, we could see the damage caused by recent downpours. In the morning we were surprised to see that the water level had continued its rise and was pushing closer towards the lawn. Indeed, there were crocodiles swimming over the jetty!
This inundation was good for the birds, but not for accessibility, as only a narrow channel remained where the jetty was. There was a single Magpie Starling in the garden, feeding in a fruiting Neem together with numerous Bristle-crowned Starlings, Jackson’s Hornbills, and Black-headed Orioles. White-bellied Go-Away Birds dropped to the ground to collect the fruit that this gathering let fall. The bird table was busy with a good variety of breeding-plumaged weavers. We managed to find all of the cliff specialities, along with Great Spotted and Levaillant’s Cuckoos. Of the nocturnal species we saw Grayish Eagle-Owl, Slender-tailed Nightjar, and the stunning Heuglin’s Coursers at their daytime retreats. A seasonal pool in the area held a single Dwarf Bittern and Knob-billed Ducks. A pair of Eurasian Hoopoes of the African race wabeli were in the scrub.
In the afternoon we left for Nakuru. At Hippo Picnic Site pool we found several Painted-Snipe, and other waterbirds were in good numbers: Lesser Flamingos probably totaled more than a million birds, one of the most impressive bird spectacles anywhere in the world.
In the morning we birded the forest, finding very nice parties of White and the very rare Gray-crested Helmetshrikes. The latter were very obliging, allowing photography at close quarters. Several Broad-billed Rollers were in the forest, and among the early-returning White-winged Black Terns were singles of Black-headed Gull and Common Sandpiper. Great White Pelicans were starting to return after a long absence, with up to two thousand present. After breakfast next day we had a look at the sewage ponds, where among the few waterfowl was a single White-backed Duck. Among the swifts and swallows were Horus Swift and Gray-rumped Swallow.
Then we set off to the Mara by way of Kericho. At the Chagaik Arboretum we had a taste of western Kenya, with Yellow-spotted Barbet, Snowy-headed Robin-Chat, Banded and White-chinned Prinias, and Black-billed Weaver. Near Leiten there were many Yellow-backed Weavers at nests; this isolated montane population was not discovered until 2005.
Our first morning in the Mara was spent on the Siria (Oloololo) Escarpment, where we were most fortunate in locating most of the local specialties, including Ovampo Sparrowhawk, Red-tailed Chat, Trilling and Rock-loving Cisticolas, Pale Wren Warbler, Green-capped Eremomela,and Yellow-bellied Hyliota. There was a Black Coucal in mainly breeding plumage near Oloololo Gate, and the major surprise for the Mara was a House Martin. We also watched a couple of Rufous-bellied Herons on the Serena oxbows, a Banded Snake Eagle at the nearby Hippo Pools, and an aggressive pair of Wood Owls in Kichwa. The flowering shrubs around the Rondavels had their usual resident Purple-banded Sunbirds.
The following day we visited Musiara Swamp, which had an assortment of interesting herons, eight Woolly-necked Storks, and a dozen Open-billed Storks. In the forest along the Mara River was a very responsive Golden-tailed Woodpecker, which came in to allow itself to be digitized; Gray-headed Woodpeckers, an unconvincing split, were also here. At the Musiara airfield pit there were twelve Madagascar Squacco Herons, and a nearby low tree had a Saddle-billed Stork with two young in the nest.
Returning to Nairobi, we realized on seeing Yellow-billed Kites again that we had not encountered that species anywhere else on the tour. The bird is definitely a regular migrant, but that habit is concealed by the onmipresence of Nairobi’s resident birds, which seem to know when they are onto a good thing and have overcome the urge to migrate.
Of our 512 species, 510 were seen, with only two heard and never visible—a remarkable statistic. The mammals were spectacular, too, with 61 species seen, and we encountered no fewer than 19 reptiles and 115 species of butterfly. In sheer wildlife biomass, Kenya is simply untouchable, with a variety of birds unmatched anywhere else on the planet.
- Brian Finch
Updated: September 2008