Kenya Birding Issue 13 2019

Kenya Birding THE NATURE KENYA MAGAZINE ISSUE 13, 2019

TANA RIVER DELTA

Milestones in a conservation journey that is winning for people and nature

MARTIAL EAGLES Discover their life in the Maasai Mara

SOUTH COAST BIRDING

Uncover the birding places you never knew were there

Kenya Birding Š Nature Kenya August 2019 Issue 13 Kenya Birding is a publication of Nature Kenya, the East Africa Natural History Society and is free to members of Nature Kenya. Printing is made possible by advertising and projects.

Front Cover: Saddle-billed Stork by Martin Creasser Special Mention: Peter Usher Editor: Catherine G. Ngarachu Assisting Editors: Darcy Ogada, Fleur Ng’weno Advertising Co-ordinators: Gloria Waswa, Norman Kiboi Layout & Design: John Mwacharo Printed Offset Litho by Colourprint Ltd. NATURE KENYA CONTACTS For enquiries, contributions and advertising write to: Nature Kenya, the East Africa Natural History Society National Museums, Museum Hill P.O. Box 44486, GPO, 00100 Nairobi Kenya Tel: (+254) (0) 20 3537568 or (0)780 149200 office@naturekenya.org, www.naturekenya.org NATURE KENYA ECO-RESOURCE CENTRES - Mount Kenya, next to Bantu Lodge - Kinangop Reserve, North Kinangop - North Coast, Gede office - South Nandi Kobujoi Eco-resource Centre - KENVO resource centre in Lari - Taita Eco-resource centre, Taita Hills Thank you to all the photographers who very kindly shared and gave permission to use their images for publication. We are also very grateful to the authors and other contributors for their invaluable support.

All copyright for material appearing in this publication belongs to Nature Kenya and/ or the photographer/ author. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher Nature Kenya. The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of the publisher.

ABOUT NATURE KENYA Nature Kenya (the East Africa Natural History Society) is a non-profit conservation organization. Established in 1909 it works to promote the understanding and conservation of nature.

CONTENT KENYA BIRDING 13

COMMENT from the Executive Director ... 3 MAIL DROP - Your birding posts ... 5 SNAPSHOT Birding in Nairobi National Park ... 10

URBAN BIRDING At Play with Cameras and Computers ... 14

LOVE NATURE Bats of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest ... 16 Explore a City Park ... 17 An Encounter with the Enigmatic Potto ... 19

NEWS Conservation and other bird news ... 20

FIELD WORK Ngulia at 50 ... 25

Huri Hills anyone? ... 27

SPECIES Martial Eagles of the Greater Mara ... 28

SAVING BIRD AREAS Eleven years and counting...The Conservation of ... 32 Tana River Delta Land of flood and drought ... 34 Local driven conservation solutions to save Vultures ... 36

WHERE TO WATCH BIRDS South Coast Birding Hotspots ... 38

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WHERE TO WATCH BIRDS

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LOVE NATURE

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5

SNAPSHOT

MAIL DROP

25 20 14

NEWS

URBAN BIRDING

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32

FIELD WORK

SAVING BIRD AREAS

SPECIES

Photos: Potto courtesy of Mpala Research Centre, African Paradise Flycatcher by Washington Wachira, Sooty Tern courtesy of A Rocha Kenya, vulture over the moon by Peter Usher, dawn at Ngulia by Peter Usher, Grey Crowned Cranes with chicks by Wanyoike Wamiti, Martial Eagle by Stratton Hatfield, and dhow at Shimoni and Spur-winged Plover flock by Mustafa Adamjee.

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22 SAVING BIRD AREAS

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comment Purchasing land for conservation Paul Matiku Executive Director “..the conservation community needs to come up with policy frameworks and incentive measures that make it possible for private land owners to take care of threatened species occuring on their land.”

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lot of animals and plants, many of global concern, are found outside our existing network of protected areas. Such places include the Dakatcha Woodland in Kilifi county, some Taita Hills forest fragments, and the Kinangop grasslands. Nature Kenya is buying land only in places that are critical for threatened species and where there is local capacity (Site Support Groups) to support land management.

The challenges to managing this purchased land are similar to managing classical protected areas where the issues include encroachment, overgrazing, unauthorised removal of vegetation, bushmeat hunting, and sometimes even outright assumption of control by neighbouring communities. That said, there is still a high degree of respect for private property. Also, the Kenya Forest Service has agreed to gazette as ‘Forest Nature Reserves’, the land purchases of Nature Kenya, which will lend more formal protection.

Buying land outright could be said to be a good shortcut conservation tactic. However, money is limited and it is not feasible to purchase all the land that is needed for the protection of all threatened species that occur outside protected areas. World leaders and the conservation community need to come up with policy frameworks and incentive measures that make it possible for private landowners to take care of threatened species occurring on their land. For the moment, Nature Kenya will continue to buy land at the three focal areas of Dakatcha, Taita Hills and Kinangop, to help safeguard globally threatened birds and other unique plants and animals.

Taita Hills. PHOTO BY JOHN MWACHARO

TAITA HILLS

The Taita Apalis, found only in the small fragments of forest in the Taita Hills, is the most endangered bird in Kenya, and one of the most endangered birds in the world.

According to scientists, 98% of the original forest has been lost over the last 200 years and the total area of indigenous cloud forest is now approximately 450 ha. Taita Apalis is predicted to become extinct within 10 years.

To ensure this does not take place requires urgent protection of the remaining forest.

Nature Kenya is addressing the problem of forest habitat fragmentation and degradation, through the lease of 6.02 ha of the Msidunyi Forest fragment and through Kenya Birding 13

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KINANGOP GRASSLANDS

The largest threat to the Kinangop grasslands is the conversion and fragmentation of privately owned natural grassland. This has been happening due to a combination of demographic, environmental and economic factors.

The survival of threatened bird species, particularly Sharpe’s Longclaw, and the other fauna and flora within this Important Bird Area is currently in the hands of private landowners.

Dakatcha Woodland. PHOTO BY DOMINIC MUMBU

the outright purchase of small plots of privately owned forest fragments totalling 14.24 ha. Restoration of the purchased plots will be done through the clearance of exotic vegetation and allowing natural regeneration.

The land targeted for purchase is in the corridor that strategically links Msidunyi to Vuria Community Forest, which currently supports 15% of the global population of Taita Apalis. (Vuria lies in the west of the Taita Hills and itself holds an estimated 50% of the global population.)

The long-term vision for the Taita Hills is a programme of forest restoration, management and protection in the Vuria landscape, including Vuria Community Forest.

DAKATCHA WOODLAND

Uncontrolled logging of valuable indigenous trees and illegal commercial charcoal production in Dakatcha has destroyed large tracts of forest vegetation. Unsustainable bushmeat hunting threatens some rare mammals such as the golden-rumped sengi. There is also a rush to buy land there while land prices remain low.

The Dakatcha Woodland, on the north coast of Kenya, is the only known breeding site for the endangered Clarke’s Weaver. Although this species is also found in the protected area of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, it does not breed there.

Since Dakatcha is not protected, without land purchase, extinction of Clarke’s Weaver and other threatened species is ultimately almost assured. The World Land Trust in the United Kingdom, RESOLVE in the United States of America and the African Bird Club are partnering to help Nature Kenya buy 1,000 acres. This is enough to protect four seasonal wetlands where Clarke’s Weaver has been observed breeding.

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Sharpe’s Longclaw prefers short grass with tussocks and avoids cultivation or woodlots. Nature Kenya has, over the years, purchased 185 acres of grassland. However, this amount of land can only safeguard about 50 pairs of Sharpe’s Longclaw.

The Friends of Kinangop Plateau, a Site Support Group, trained by Nature Kenya, manages the land reserves in Kinangop and uses the land to demonstrate to farmers how to set aside grassland for the benefit of both their livestock and Sharpe’s Longclaw conservation.

maildrop

Welcome to the 13th issue — hard to imagine At the onset of the magazine, the thinking was of an extensive brochure, introducing birding in this country to those yet unfamiliar with the activity and attractions.

It was so well received (and nicely filled a gap for Nature Kenya) that we kept at it, taking it one year at a time, never sure if we’d have the means to keep going. But amazingly here we are and hopefully you are still enjoying it.

In this packed issue, don’t miss Fleur Ng’weno and Serah Munguti’s eye-opening pieces (pg. 32-35) on the Tana River Delta.

The conservation of the delta has been a long journey, but considering the spectacular nature of the area it is very gratifying and encouraging knowing what good progress has been made. The land purchases by Nature Kenya, described by Paul Matiku on pg. 3, are another reason to celebrate.

We also celebrate 50 years of the unique scheme of ringing migrants that takes place each year at Ngulia Safari Lodge. Graeme Backhurst, who was there from the beginning of the project, looks back on its origins and describes the birds that are ringed (pg. 25).

Also have a look at the Martial Eagles in the Mara on pg. 28. These amazing birds of prey survive in the greater Mara area, and Stratton Hatfield and Parmuntoro Lemein give us some interesting insights into their numbers and diet.

As always, a very big thank you to the many people who take time to share their birding stories and photographs with us and the birding community. The conservation news can sometimes be disheartening, but we need to get the message out. Then there are those that are entertaining and informative and greatly delight readers — that is what we are all about! Enjoy!

Catherine

Abyssinian Roller in Nairobi National Park On 17 April 2019, after two weeks in Laikipia with a Leeds University field course, I spent a day birding in Nairobi National Park with one of the students, Mara Müller. With the rains still delayed, the park was very dry, but there was a range of European migrants scattered around. Interesting species included several Eurasian Rollers, good numbers of shrikes, Upcher’s Warbler and a Goliath Heron (the first Goliath Heron in the park since 1996, and it was first reported by Brian Finch on 19 February 2019).

After a hot and dusty day, our final stop was at Nagalomon Dam at around 4 p.m. There was nothing unusual on the water, and we were driving back along the causeway when Mara asked ‘what’s the blue bird in the tree’? Looking up at what I expected to be another Eurasian Roller, I was amazed to see instead the bright blue body and elongated tail feathers of an adult Abyssinian Roller. After a few minutes it flew

Northern White-faced Scops Owl and Barn Swallows 17 October 2018

down onto the causeway and then back up to another tree, where we left it. Unfortunately, despite other birders searching for it the following morning, it was nowhere to be seen.

Though widespread across west and central Africa, Abyssinian Roller is usually found only in the northwest of Kenya. There are occasional wanderers as far south as Baringo and Samburu, but this is the first confirmed record for Nairobi. Its occurrence may be linked to the very dry conditions in April.

Rupert Quinnell

On a recent trip to Kalama community conservancy (just north of Samburu National Reserve) we had a very vocal Northern Whitefaced Scops Owl roosting in the tree above camp. The bird was roosting in an old nest. I have only ever seen this species once before on the Wamba road. That area is very productive for owl viewing, and I have seen Pearl-spotted, African Scops and Verreaux’s Eagle Owl on all of my recent visits!

Also, the first Barn Swallows have arrived around Lolomarik, Timau, these past two weeks.

Kieran Avery

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Magpie Starling in Laikipia

Thika birds 26 November 2018

21 NOVEMBER 2018

Yesterday, this Levaillant’s Cuckoo was one of my first visitors. I am struggling to recall the last time I saw one in Thika. I believe I have, but not anytime recently.

I had a Magpie Starling at our bird bath in Laikipia. We have seen this species only a few times before on Tumaren, but run into them at lower altitudes not far to our east. I wonder if they have been seen in many other places in Laikipia.

An interesting photo of a Spurwinged Goose that clearly shows its spurs in flight. I have never been close enough, or at the correct angle to notice them before.

Red-faced Cisticolas have been very vocal.

There was a Eurasian Scops Owl on 9 November, also in Thika. It was dragged into a house by a cat, and very unfortunately it only survived for about 48 hours.

Also, Pygmy Kingfishers are around. Last year about this time, I was informed that this species is the northern nominate form that comes south from the northern tropics at this time of the year. I hadn’t realized they were migratory.

Fascinating little birds!

I have not seen or heard a Trumpeter Hornbill in well over one year.

But I still occasionally see Silverycheeked, but even these are much rarer.

With regards to other hot-country starlings we consistently get each year, for a short period, Golden-breasted Starlings and Fischer’s Starling flocks. They typically arrive when it is very dry.

Darcy Ogada

Lesser Jacana in Lake Ol’ Bolossat 14 November 2018 I have been at Lake Ol’Bolossat in Nyandarúa county since August and have seen the Lesser Jacana more frequently than ever before. They mostly occupy marshes with floating vegetation in Ol’ Joro Orok on the western side, particularly between

Fuleni and Kanguu. They may also be seen across on the eastern side between Kanguyo and Makereka.

Nesting African Spoonbills at Lake Ol’ Bolossat

The water level has remained high since the heavy rains in AprilMay 2018. This made the habitat more suitable for those waterbirds that require high levels to breed.

Noticeably, the Grey Crowned Crane bred early, outside its normal season that comes in July-August. It confirms that they will breed at any time of the year as long as the habitat is conducive.

I observed three African Spoonbills on nests yesterday, at Lake Ol’ Bolossat. The nest is a heap of reeds (Phragmites sp.) raised nearly 12 inches or thereabout above the water and about 10-20 m apart. There was a flock of about 50 other spoonbills around the nesting birds.

Also: In late February this year, I observed three nesting African Spoonbills, the first record for Lake Ol’ Bolossat, which were in proximity of a nesting Grey Crowned Crane.

Purple Swamphens were also numerous with chicks all over.

PHOTO PETER USHER

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Wanyoike Wamiti

Kenya Birding 13

James Christian

21 February 2019

I had plans to access the nesting area (wading through), but a male hippopotamus occupying this area showed up to feed, as early as 15:00 hours. Would you have proceeded?

Wanyoike Wamiti

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Some records from the UoN Field Station

Clarke’s Weaver 7 December 2018

7 January 2019

From Dakatcha Woodland

The Cynometra webberi trees were in bloom, the first time I have seen them in flower. Soon it will be time to try to grow the seedlings!

Innumerable other trees, shrubs and herbs in bloom and showy butterflies, dragonflies and blister beetles displaying.

Yesterday, 6 December we visited three different wetlands, each with its own set of interesting birds, such

I had a few hours free this past Saturday and decided to do some atlassing at the University of Nairobi Field Station (Upper Kabete). I managed a full protocol list with 62 species.

There were well over 100 Jackson’s Widowbirds, many in full breeding plumage.

PHOTO ALBERT BAYA

Highlights on 5 December, a Grey Wagtail on a wooded stream near Marafa, a couple of Red-backed Shrikes in the pineapple fields, and lots of Spotted Flycatchers and Barn Swallows. Raptors included Martial Eagle, Great Sparrowhawk and African Black-shouldered Kite.

as Allen’s Gallinule, Eurasian Beeeaters and Red-headed Quelea.

Today, 7 December was the fitting finale – Clarke’s Weavers, nesting at a new site (a seasonal wetland) on a new date (December). A Thick-billed Cuckoo was singing there.

Fleur Ng’weno

Another highlight was seeing a flock of around 50 Black-and-white Mannikins mixed with a few Bronze Mannikins. I had never seen so many Black-and-white Mannikins together.

Migrants around included a few Eurasian Bee-eaters, very many Yellow Wagtails, and one each of Whinchat, Isabelline Shrike and Northern Wheatear. Six Hinde’s Babblers are still in residence.

Sidney Shema

Probable breeding pair of Water Thickknees at Athi Dam Nairobi National Park 19 November 2018 Sunday morning I noticed a pair of Water

Thick-knees at Athi Dam demonstrating aggressive behavior toward a monitor lizard. Not sure if this is indicative of a nest in the area? These are rarely seen in Nairobi National Park.

James Kashangaki

African Skimmer at Athi Dam 30 September 2018 A lone African Skimmer on the north shore of Athi Dam, Nairobi National Park.

James Kashangaki

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was submitted at 11.59 pm, 31 December 2018 With one week to go to the end of the year and 984 pentads (atlas squares) covered, we pushed to reach 1,000 pentads atlassed for Kenya by the 31st. I was able to reach an unmapped pentad — the Sokoke pentad to the southwest of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest — with John Fanshawe, Jaap Gijsbertsen and Kees Barendse. It includes a thin sliver of forest along its northern boundary, which meant we were able to list some forest species, such as Little Yellow Flycatcher.

It also took us to where we had stunning views across from the very southwestern corner of the forest looking west, where the shambas have a few remnant forest trees, above which flew an Ayres’s Hawk Eagle. We also added a Yellowbill, Mosque Swallows and Scaly Babblers.

Heading south and west we found the steep slopes of the ridge have been utterly cleansed of any forest and all that remains is short scrub and open ground. ‘We’ll probably get Flappet Lark down there’, we predicted, and sure enough there it was together with Grassland Pipits, Cut-throat Finches and a lone Redbacked Shrike. A total of 66 species was acceptable for a single bash of about 3 hours in what is definitely mostly very degraded habitat.

Colin Jackson

Pied Flycatcher sightings

In March 2019, a Pied Flycatcher was observed and photographed over several days, on the grounds of the National Museum in Nairobi. Although there have been an increasing number of sightings of the species in western Kenya, recording a Pied Flycatcher east of the Rift Valley is unique and fuels speculation that this formerly rare bird might be extending its migratory range.

Peter Usher

More from Brian Finch There were three Pied Flycatchers reported from Mount Elgon (in late February 2019) seen and photographed

by David Guanieri and Ben Mugambi.

Washington Wachira also reported one in Kakamega. Last year (2018) there were also three reported from Kakamega, all photographed. It now seems Pied Flycatcher is a regular migrant to western Kenya seen at the end of February/early March. But it is difficult to believe that since it was originally recorded 54 years ago, it has been overlooked. All five records have been passed to the East African Rarities Committee and following acceptance it loses its rarity status. But who would ever have imagined in their wildest dreams that one would venture east of the Rift!

Breeding Terns 22 August 2018

PHOTO A ROCHA KENYA

Last week we carried out our third visit to Whale Island this year to monitor the breeding colony of terns.

The most surprising thing was the presence of at least 60 Lesser Noddy flying around the island, perching on the bushes on the leeward side and fishing low to the water to the north of the island. These are the first I’ve seen here. We’ve had Brown Noddy for many years now, sometimes in large numbers,

PHOTO PETER USHER

1,000th Bird Map card

Vulture observations in the Losai National Reserve 4-7 February 2019 The Losai National Reserve is situated in northern Kenya between Laisamis and the Ndoto Mountains. It is a wild semi-desert landscape characterised by rocky hills, grassy plains and riverine woodlands that snake along the seasonal rivers.

I camped in the reserve for four days and given the continuing decline in vultures throughout Africa in recent years, I was pleasantly surprised to see the following: Egyptian Vulture Three adults and two juveniles were seen daily.

White-headed Vulture Two adults were seen together on one day.

White-backed Vulture 10-15 birds daily.

Hooded Vulture 20-30 birds daily.

Unfortunately no Lappet-faced or Ruppell’s Vultures were seen during my short stay, but other birds of prey in the area included several Tawny Eagles, Eastern Chanting and Gabar Goshawks and two African Blackshouldered Kites.

Richard J. Turner though this year we have only seen up to a maximum of about 10 birds.

Sooty Terns are down in number with just about 25 adults present, possibly representing about the same number of nests though probably less...

A total of about 1,400 Roseate Tern nests were counted at the last visit, which was probably close to the peak of egg-laying.

Colin Jackson

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snapshot Birding in

NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK

With more than 520 birds reported from Nairobi National Park it is truly exceptional for birding. Brian’s prolific reporting of birds and other wildlife from the park, with notes and photos, is fun and informing and a muchanticipated feature of local birding.

Brian’s knowledge and skill in identifying Kenya’s birds makes him one of the most sought after bird guides in the country.

5 AUGUST 2018

Black-faced Sandgrouse

Though it’s occurrence is considered uncertain in Nairobi National Park, there have been a number of individuals in recent years and one pair with chicks.

But today we met with males in three widely separate locations, including a pair in the southeast corner of Athi Dam. The others were at the junction of the Embakasi Dam Road and above Hippo Pools. This indicates a local incursion.

Narina Trogon adult male

We couldn’t resist a visit to the trogons in Kisembe Forest. The bright turquoise-blue is the bare skin of the throat, but is only visible as part of the display when the bird is giving its territorial call.

Isabelline Shrike (juvenile). PHOTO PETER USHER

4 MAY 2019

Side-striped Chameleons

On the Ololo track we stopped for a close-up view of flowering Asparagus racemosus, the only essentially local open-grassland Asparagus species. It was flowering in abundance all through the grassland. But what was very interesting about this particular plant is that there was a pair of Side-striped Chameleons Trioceros bitaeniatus on the stem. Subsequent enquiry has shown that whilst recorded singly at both Emakoko and Ololo Lodges on the other side of the Mbagathi River, this appears to be the first record inside Nairobi National Park.

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16 AUGUST 2018

16 AUGUST 2018

Why is this woodland bird an interesting observation?

That is the reason, it is a woodland and forest species, but things are changing in Nairobi National Park.

Now it is turning up regularly in the isolated dams in the dry grassland.

There were even three together at the Karen Primary School Dam. It has become increasingly numerous around Hyena Dam in the past few years, and likewise at East Gate where it is in the crotons.

As it was cold and overcast a large mixed flock on the Rhino Circuit contained a party of four Violet Wood-hoopoes, which were feeding voraciously, staying for long periods in the same groups of branches. There is still some skepticism about Violet Wood-hoopoes being present anywhere near Nairobi, and hopefully this will allay any doubts that exist.

Dusky Turtle Dove

Violet Wood-hoopoe

Two were immature (with black bills) lacking any iridescent body feathering at all, with the matt (deep purplish) on the back being darker than their iridescent wings; head and mantle were much the same colour. Images clearly show both the matt purple back, and glittering iridescent green on the throat.

10 OCTOBER 2018

This amazing bird at Eland Hollow Dam had 24 ducklings.

A check of the “The Birds of Africa” Vol. 1 says that …eggs laid are 4-13, brood sizes 2-13 or an average of 6, and does not mention anywhere about them fostering other ducklings. This bird deserves entry into the records book — it has set a record not to be beaten for a long while.

PHOTO WASHINGTON WACHIRA

White-faced Whistling Duck

10 OCTOBER 2018

Parasitic Weaver

Finding a flock of well over 200 in grasslands along the Mokoyeti on the Hyena Dam run-off was a surprise. There is absolutely nowhere in East Africa as good for this species as Nairobi National Park.

7 FEBRUARY 2019

Kirk’s charaxes 11 MAY 2019

Verreaux’s Eagle Owls

Our first bird of the day, there were three: a full-grown young bird and two adults.

The presence of this family unit is high testament to them having bred in Nairobi National Park for the first time.

This is a dry country butterfly common on the lower stretches of Magadi Road after Kisamese. I have only seen a few along the Mbagathi, but this male holding territory on the Acacia nilotica on the Athi Dam causeway posed for a couple of photographs.

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18 OCTOBER 2018

SG Railway Pillars

Whether or not you agree with the presence of the railway bisecting the Park, I personally now do not find it so insidious, unsightly or as environmentally damaging as I envisioned when the project first got underway. It has been an amazing feat to finish the construction from start to finish in just one year. Now the hideous blue fences have been removed and all that remains is the tall pillars with the line on top. There

is a track along the side, which was the service road; there is no rubbish remaining, and the site is spotless where the heavy transport thundered down only a couple of months ago. I am impressed that the change to the environment was confined to such a narrow band. There were fears that the mammals would not go under the line, but to the contrary the mammals have something that actually wasn’t even thought about before, and that is 100% shade to rest under, and they obviously like this as can be seen.

4 JANUARY 2019

Strangely plumaged White Wagtail

We were at the Ox-bow along the Mbagathi, sitting out a downpour, when I spotted some movement on a patch of mud. I put my binoculars up and saw it was a White Wagtail.

This was surprisingly only the second individual the Park has ever seen, the last being a pair at Athi Dam fifteen years ago. So the record was exciting enough, but it looked like no White Wagtail I had ever seen, though it was unquestionably M. alba alba and not some unusual eastern form.

It was 4 January, but the large breast patch was pitch black right up to the throat, so this was an adult male in

27 JANUARY 2019

Squacco Herons

I cannot recall having seen two Squacco Herons together before in Nairobi National Park. These were on Nagalomon Dam. The left is almost in breeding plumage with soft biscuit back and head and very whitish wings.

The bird on the right 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.

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summer (breeding) plumage, but the head and the cheeks were pale grey.

In breeding plumage the males show contrasting black crowns with white face patches, but this was showing the head of an adult male in winter plumage.

A subsequent comment from Hein Van Grouw at the Natural History Museum in the UK “Hard to tell from the photos only what is going on with this wagtail but I assume, as Brian already suggested, that this bird has a ‘disturbed’ moulting pattern and therefore already shows (partly) breeding plumage.

I cannot think of any (heritable) melanin aberration, which could cause this plumage pattern.

9 NOVEMBER 2018

19 APRIL 2019

We stopped to watch some Red-billed Oxpeckers tugging the fur out of Zebras and looking very comical with their false beards. This must be lining for their nest.

This silvery bird is the eastern race unwini, and it always roosts across elevated branches, not on the ground.

Red-billed Oxpecker

Eurasian Nightjar

3 MARCH 2019

Goliath Heron

The first of its kind in Nairobi National Park for 24 years; it has now been present at Hyena Dam for just over three weeks. It’s still there (11th May).

Eurasian Roller

4 JANUARY 2019

Lions, jackals and reedbuck

We had outrageous experiences with three lions near Hippo Pools with the animals literally alongside for 10 minutes, walking 1 km with us. Then there were three Black-backed Jackals above the Hippo Pools that were indifferent almost brushing the car to get to the other side of us. Mammals were in good numbers, and a good variety was seen including Mountain Reedbuck (3) in the murram pit not far from The Beacon.

Incredibly this was the first in Nairobi National Park since April last year. We had none on the southern passage, and none of the usual odd birds prior to their migration northwards. This individual on the Rhino Circuit was a welcome sight showing that the species is not extinct!

This individual shows a markedly forked tail.

PHOTO WASHINGTON WACHIRA

11 MAY 2019

African Paradise Flycatcher This is the least seen form of the three we see in Nairobi National Park. It was an adult male at the KWS Mess, but the long central tail-feathers have not started growing as yet. It is without doubt the most attractive of the three forms.

19 FEBRUARY 2019

3 MARCH 2019

Saddle-billed Stork at Kingfisher Swamp

Eurasian Scops Owl

This is the first ever record of a Scops Owl in the Park. There is only one feature in the field that separates Eurasian from African Scops Owl, and that is the length of the 10th Primary in relation to the 5th — if the 10th Primary is longer than the 5th (it is a Eurasian), if shorter than the 5th (it is the African). The wing-shape is very important and is different depending on if you are a long-distance migrant, or if you stay at home! So we paid special attention to this feature, and the 10th was longer than 5th, even reaching the tip of the tail.

Nairobi is in a very large hole in the distribution of African Scops Owl, and there are no records near here. The closest northwards, is northeast of Mount Kenya in Samburu District, westwards it’s common in the eastern Masaai Mara.

To the east also, it isn’t until reaching Tsavo-like habitat, that it is likely. Then

southwards, maps show it as occurring along the extreme southern border with Tanzania. I have never seen or heard of it anywhere along the road to Magadi.

Conversely, Eurasian Scops have been examined, even in the hand, from Mount Kenya south to Nairobi (but not in the Park), Limuru, Machakos and Kajiado. I have no doubts that this was a Eurasian and not African Scops Owl. We were in the car park at Ololo Lodge and we saw what looked like a bird being mobbed by a variety of bush birds. Whilst looking for the instigator of the commotion, we flushed the bird twice.

The usual female (golden not black eye) that ranges widely throughout the northern parts of the Park is still waiting for the male to return. He seems to disappear each dry season whilst she holds the fort.

Brian is the author of the Nairobi National Park Bird Checklist (available from Nature Kenya) and reports on the Kenyabirdsnet Yahoo list server.

Also, available to download from the Apple and Google Play app stores is the eGuide to Birds of East Africa, which includes Brian’s birdcall recordings.

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URBAN

birding

At play with CAMERAS and COMPUTERS

PETER USHER

I

n a previous issue of Kenya Birding (Issue 10), I wrote of the challenges of bird photography. We considered the equipment, camera settings and techniques that might be needed given a variety of circumstances faced by the photographer. We saw how the actual moment of taking a picture, which might last one thousandth of a second, ignores the hours of preparation, travel and stalking necessary, by the photographer, to achieve a clear, sharp, and centrally posed subject in the camera’s viewfinder.

The other half of the story, as I explained in my earlier article, is the post-production of the image. This is a time-consuming and mostly, necessary exercise. I had promised to address photo editing at a later time and perhaps, now, is that time.

I was reminded of this promise while viewing a photo editing tutorial on Youtube.com, the popular video sharing website. The presenter, an Austrian graphic designer, showed a stock photo of a European Blackbird. The bird was perched on a stone, looking away to a flat area of scrubland. He acknowledged

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that the photograph was sharp and correctly exposed, and that the rules of artistic composition had been employed.

That being the “Rule of Thirds”, where the main subject is positioned on an intersecting point, one third from the top or bottom of the picture and one third from the edge. Bird and portrait photographers use this rule frequently, positioning the subject’s eye at this point.

(There are other composition rules such as the “Golden spiral”, but we won’t discuss that here.) Yet, the presenter declared the photograph uninteresting and a failure, a record shot fit only for the computer’s recycle bin. It failed, in his opinion, to tell a story — essential, he says, for a photo to be considered seriously. He demanded an interesting location, with the bird doing something to provide context and drama, which might excite the viewer.

Yes, I agree that it was a pretty ordinary picture, probably better binned than shared, but I felt obliged to rise to the photographer’s defence. Even with my limited imagination I could have suggested some sort of associated story, like possibly a lurking threat in the scrub. A photo-manipulator (like me, for example) might even make the threat real by introducing the image of a predator in the eye-line of the Blackbird (using leading lines — anothe useful compositional trick). So, I sent a pompous note to the video author arguing that there was nothing wrong with a record shot provided it was sharp and properly exposed and presented.

Birders may need such images for the record or for identification. Scientists might use them to confirm migratory or other patterns, and the rest of us can

always enjoy the beauty of a bird that under many circumstances we may never or rarely see.

I berated him: “Was the video-maker aware of the difficulties in bird photography? You cannot approach it like a studio shoot. The photographer controls neither the lighting nor the posing, and has limited control over location.” Furthermore, “Could he even conceive walking a forest path at dawn or dusk in search of a shy, canopy-dwelling bird that might alight from thick cover for a second, and then fly away before the camera can be turned on, focused and the photo taken. No-one is thinking of the rule of thirds in that moment”.

I suggested, “that a bird photographer needed a large slice of luck to accompany his specialist equipment and skills”.

The response was immediate. He conceded that wild bird photography was difficult and a great shot might owe as much to luck as skill. Then he went on to point out that a professional photographer might spend weeks on location taking thousands of shots just to get that one picture that would elevate him into the pantheon of photo-artists. Well, maybe, but for me, an 80-year old Urban Birder, to lurk in a park with a camera for a couple of weeks is more likely to attract the attention of the local constabulary, rather than the plaudits of the photo critics.

For many others and I, what is not fully achieved in the field, is moved to the photo-editing programme on the computer where adjustment begins.

For those interested in this phase of the photography experience, it is necessary to obtain good photo editing software, of which Adobe Photoshop is the best known. I have recently switched to the similar but cheaper Affinity Photo distributed by Serif Software. It is a powerful editing programme that can be used by the beginner and expert alike.

Next you need a good workflow, and a basic one would firstly discard out-offocus and poorly shot images. Then you would straighten the image and trim any excess background (paying attention to the composition rules of course); correct exposure; apply sharpening and clarity with filters; blur obtrusive backgrounds;

ADDING FOREGROUND INTEREST White-faced Whistling Ducks fly over Kilimanjaro.

adjust hue and saturation, brighten shadows and fill highlights. Finally you can save the corrected image for posterity.

All photographs out of the camera need a little TLC and some editing goes a long way towards a satisfying picture.

This will be sufficient for most purposes, but there are dozens of adjustments, masks and filters to try. Backgrounds can be removed altogether and replaced with others that may be aesthetically more pleasing; obstructing foliage can be made to disappear; moods, locations, seasons CHANGING SKIES and weather can be changed at will, if birding2b.pdf 2/21/2019 Fischer’s Tower – Hell’s Gate cisticola 9:32:30 AM only to prove that photographs B ir O can lie. Perhaps, di v ng er these extra steps iti 10 Kenya Birding Safaris ne 0 are too much for ra ri the purist, even es Are you looking for a Memorable perhaps for the birding adventure or a classic Austrian graphic African safari? designer.

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Kenya Birding 13

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LOVE

nature

Cave-roosting African Trident Bat (Triaenops afer) found in caves around the forest. What is called the “nose-leaf” mouth and nose features are thought to help modify and direct its echolocation calls.

PHOTO JENS RYDELL

BATS There are over 1,300 bat species worldwide, making them the second most numerous group of mammals (the largest being rodents). There are 104 species found in Kenya. They are hugely important to people — for example, fruit bats feed on flowers, pollen, soft leaves and help in pollination. They also often feed as far as 80 km from their day roosts, dispersing seeds widely. In addition, about 70% of bats are insectivorous and help control crop pests. But despite their importance to people, little is known about bats.

F

or almost three years (March 2014-December 2016), while based at Gede, on the north coast of Kenya, I studied bats in and around ArabukoSokoke Forest. Much biodiversity exists outside the protected areas network, and during my study I found 25 bat species in the surrounding farmland (agricultural and human-settled areas), compared to 19 inside the forest.

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Trujillo’s House Bat (Scotophilus trujilloi) is a common bat in and around Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. Many people do not know what a bat looks like, and only a few have ever had a close up look at a bat. People believe that bats are dull, nocturnal creatures of the dark. But we also have some very colourful bats, like the two bats shown here, both of which are common in and around Arabuko-Sokoke Forest.

PHOTO SAMSON ONYUOK

OF ARABUKO-SOKOKE SIMON MUSILA FOREST Agricultural areas dominated by cultivated coconut and mango trees (see below), both of which are utilized by bats for foraging and roosting.

PHOTOS SIMON MUSILA

For my study, I captured 5,217 individual bats and found a striking difference in abundance. In the forest we only captured 890 individuals, while the rest (4,327) were caught in farmland. About 79% of the bats were fruit bats, and 21% were insectivorous bats. So why were so many more bats found in the farmland and not in the forest itself? It is most probably due to the many scattered trees that produce fruits eaten by fruit bats.

The fruit trees cultivated by farmers in the surrounding shambas for nutrition, sale or timber, also provide important food and possibly roosting sites for bats.

During this study 14 roosts were encountered including one limestone bat roost, which held six different species and an estimated population of 300,000 individuals (see photo below).

Blue Pansy butterfly. PHOTO PETER USHER

Explore a

CITY PARK

CATHERINE NGARACHU The Friends of City Park (Nature Kenya) and partners are working to protect City Park in Nairobi, to ensure that City Park exists for future generations.

PHOTO JENS RYDELL

Only one roost was found in the forest. Bats spend half of their time roosting, resting during the day and emerge in the evening to forage. Most bat roosts occur outside protected areas, in the midst of populated areas. But, little or nothing is being done to safeguard roosts from changes and destruction, and this is one of the biggest conservation challenges to saving bats worldwide.

I also enquired into local people’s perceptions and attitude towards bats. The inhabitants around Gede are mostly Giriama and they call bats Ndema (the Swahili name for bat is popo). The Giriama fear bats and associate them with witchcraft and witches, and disease. That said, the fear of bats transmitting diseases, like rabies, to humans is universal, albeit amplified by misleading information. People always act negatively, killing or chasing away animals they fear, and bats are no exception.

It’s become clear that farmland is especially important in the conservation of bats. Around Arabuko-Sokoke Forest farmers earn little from the fruit trees that are so important for fruit bats and are not motivated to properly tend existing trees or to plant new ones.

Some trees are left to die in weed-infested fields. To save biodiversity we must understand human-animal interactions. For bats, we must understand where they live and what people are saying and doing to them.

City Park, Nairobi encompasses 60+ ha of botanical gardens, historical landmarks, and one of only a few remaining intact portions of the rich indigenous forest that once covered a large part of Nairobi.

The park is managed by Nairobi County and has been gazetted as a National Monument by the National Museums of Kenya. Friends of City Park is a project of Nature Kenya, a voluntary group of residents who have worked for more than 20 years to protect the park and ensure its perpetuity.

WOODLANDS

This small remnant of dry upland forest is home to troops of Sykes’s monkeys, hundreds of beautiful butterflies and more than 120 bird species, including seasonal visitors like the Silvery-cheeked Hornbill.

Several of its plants are today either rare or globally threatened. Work towards a tree plan to provide guidelines for managing the woodlands of the park and zoning of recreational and conservation areas will restore the more degraded areas, protect trees and other plants, and allow the forest as a whole to thrive.

BOTANIC GARDENS

560 plant species are known to occur in City Park and only about one-quarter of these are exotics that originate in countries outside Africa. These exotics, propagated first at City Park, were bought and planted in gardens around the country in the years following independence. The focus is now to restore the gardens with an emphasis on indigenous flowering plants and providing the conditions and facilities needed for maintenance.

Kenya Birding 13

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POLLINATOR GARDEN & BUTTERFLY EXHIBIT

The many local flowering plants and shrubs have different flower shapes and colours. They attract different bees, butterflies and birds that come to feed and shelter among them. Also in the same area is a small netted walk-in butterfly exhibit, where, when established, one will be able to walk among and interact closely with free-flying butterflies. Training is ongoing for Youth Committee members to learn how to raise butterfly pupae.

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ra ga

BANDSTAND

The famous Bandstand on the Park’s central lawn area has been the setting for numerous historic outdoor performances and diplomatic receptions.

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BOSCOWEN COLLECTION This is a small collection of bromeliad plants donated by the Boscowen family sometime in the early 1950s. It was housed in a special sheltered area, which until recently had become inaccessible. At the Boscowen area you will find cycads, bromeliads, and we recently planted a collection of local flowering plants.

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MAP BY LIEZEL BOHDANOWICZ PHOTOS COURTESY OF FRIENDS OF CITY PARK

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Forest Road Jewish Cemetery Cemetery A2

Maze (Mtego Wa Panya)

JOSEPH MURUMBI PEACE MEMORIAL GARDEN

Joseph Murumbi was born to a Goan trader and a Maasai woman, and spent his youth in India. He returned to Kenya, and joined the then Kenya African Union, the first multiracial political party in the country. Joseph Murumbi went on to become Kenya’s second Vice-President (May 1966-December 1966). Around his gravesite is a garden with display panels showing some of his life, and sculptures from his collection or made in his memory. Nearby is the City Park Cemetery of Catholic, Anglican, Jewish and World War I and World War II veterans.

The tree-hedge maze (Mtego wa Panya) was designed out of an old quarry and is physically an extensive labyrinth that sits on the south bank of the river. Its use has long been a very special part of the City Park experience, and very popular with thousands of users. Repair of the maze to help restore its former glory, takes place intermittently.

Support the activities of the Friends of City Park with a small annual contribution of KES 1,000/- (Mpesa business number 100300) We are also looking for new, strong and enthusiastic volunteer committee members, willing and able to serve our small group. Please consider it and email cityparkfriends@naturekenya.org indicating your experience, skills, time availability and interest.

An encounter with the

enigmatic Potto DINO J. MARTINS The late afternoon sunshine filtered through a haze of bright red dust, left behind by the odd vehicle careening past. Honking hornbills whisked through the air above and the gurgling of Great Blue Turaco echoed in the distance. Dappled shadows of trees flashed by — blue, brown, yellow and myriad shades of green — as we drove back to the Rondo Retreat in the heart of Kakamega Forest, after a long day of fieldwork.

A boda-boda (motorcycle taxi) swerved in front of us and our driver swore as we braked sharply to avoid him. We would have gone on, but the unnerving event did not pass without mishap. Out of the corner of my eye I had seen something roll into the ditch by the side of the road.

We stopped and jumped out to find a ball of trembling fur lying in the ditch. I approached slowly; not feeling hopeful given the boda-boda’s swerve had clearly brushed against this creature.

At first I thought it was a hare, or perhaps a sun-squirrel. But on getting closer, the hunched posture and sandy-tan fur indicated something else. I knelt down and the creature made a soft, rasping growl. I could now see that this was one of the rare primates known from this part of Kenya, a Potto!

With the aid of my students, and a spare blanket, the Potto was gently jostled into a medium-sized box — it was barely moving. We arrived at Rondo and offered our newfound friend a large, comfy branch to climb onto. With slow, methodical movement and a quiet, steady gaze he climbed out of the box onto the branch.

The students and I watched in awe as he stretched out and dangled comfortably, watching us closely. I was pleased to see that he only had some minor scrapes from his bodaboda encounter. As tea was served, we offered him some boiled egg,

Pottos have a vestigial finger, opposable thumbs and a special sharp fingernail for grooming.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MPALA RESEARCH CENTRE

breaking off bits and offering them to him. After some consternation on his part, he clasped the egg pieces in his tiny hands and slowly consumed them with great poise, chewing his food carefully and thoroughly.

Thanks to a friend who provided some first aid supplies, we quickly mended Mr. Potto’s scrapes. He was very obliging during the process, helped no doubt by quantities of slightly overripe banana!

After this, he gently shuffled along the branch and tucked his head down, and promptly fell fast asleep. Obviously quite enough excitement for one day!

Over the next few days we repeated this routine over and over. Mr. Potto spent most of his time sleeping and this, together with large doses of TLC, worked wonders.

He was soon fully ready to return to the rainforest.

With a waxing moon rising through the dark tangle of trees, I gently carried him on his special branch to a safe, sheltered spot well away from the road. Mr. Potto shuffled into the low branches of a tree and stared softly at me through eyes as deep and secretive as two forest pools. It was time to say goodbye. A distant Red-chested Owlet signalled approval against a backdrop of cricket evensong.

I gently crept away leaving Mr. Potto to his magical forest kingdom.

Asante!

Many thanks to the Princeton-Columbia Vector Biology 2019 Field Course students who ably assisted in being Potto-watchers, Steve Collins for kindly sharing first-aid supplies and the incredible staff and community at Rondo Retreat Centre and Trinity Fellowship.

Potto

The Potto (Perodicticus potto) is a nocturnal canopy-dwelling primate found in the tropical forests of Africa that reach into western Kenya. They are quiet, slow-moving creatures whose entire existence is centred on being unobtrusive and staying hidden. Omnivorous, they feed on fruit, gums and resins, and insects.

Their remarkable anatomy includes a vestigial finger, opposable thumbs and a special sharp fingernail for grooming.

The neck vertebrae are equipped with long protrusions that jut out when the potto goes into a defensive posture.

The Potto is all around a truly weird and wonderful creature.

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news Kenya’s first countrywide census of Grey Crowned Crane BAKARI NG’ANG’A AND WANYOIKE WAMITI

E

ight teams made up of local, national, regional and international experts and volunteers teamed up to carry out a countrywide Grey Crowned Crane census in Kenya, from 25 February–11 March 2019. This was a followup survey to the partial one done in December 2017 (see Kenya Birding Issue 12), at which it was recommended that a full survey at the end of the breeding season, be done. This survey restarts the national counting of cranes in Kenya after a four-decade hiatus.

Kenya Bird Map

Grey Crowned Crane is endemic to Eastern and Southern Africa, occurring in mixed wetland-grassland habitats. They are in decline however, and recently had their conservation status listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Kenya’s census spanned 28 counties and more than 160 localities (including all the known and suspected crane areas) were visited. 7,776 cranes were recorded and 95% of these were adults.

Also, as we wanted to reduce

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any chance of missing crane families that might be rearing chicks or incubating, we undertook this census soon after the breeding season, when cranes are known to flock.

We therefore estimate Kenya’s remaining crane population ranges from 8,000-10,000 individuals — 2,500 individuals less than the previous estimate of 12,500 (Morrison, 2015).

Future, regular (5-year

interval) surveys are recommended, with even more extensive coverage and a shorter counting window.

This survey was made possible through support from NABU, NABU Crane Center, International Crane Foundation/Endangered Wildlife Trust Partnership, DT Dobie, David Fox and Kenya Wildlife Service.

You may request a PDF of the full report by email: bakarisamuel@gmail.com

COLIN JACKSON

The 1,000 pentad mark, reached at the end of 2018, is a significant milestone for the Kenya Bird Map project. It is a real tribute to the awesome amount of hours and effort put in by a relatively small group of birders. I want to say a huge THANK YOU to all 278 citizen scientists who have contributed to the atlas so far. Team Kenya Bird Map is also doing an outstanding job.

4,855 Full Protocol cards have been submitted (of which 1,117 were submitted in 2018). A Full Protocol card is a full list of species for a pentad, being data that can be easily used for some excellent analysis to understand changes in distribution, population, seasonality, etc. For

Grey Crowned Cranes with chicks. PHOTO WANYOIKE WAMITI

time for seeing Lesser Striped Swallows is around February (pentade no.1 is 1 - 5th January), and there is a clear movement away from Kenya around October.

example, the plot above shows the reporting rate for Lesser Striped Swallow across the whole of Kenya by five-day periods (called pentades - not to be confused with pentads, which are the five minutes by five minutes atlas squares).

This suggests that the peak

Similar analysis can be done for smaller groups of pentads, like for a ranch, conservancy, National Park or even down to a single pentad, so long as there are sufficient records for those pentads.

Such results are going to add substantially to our understanding of species’ occurrence and their current status, which has changed drastically since the first bird atlas was published in 1989.

The data being generated is without doubt going to

reveal some very interesting results for conservation and science.

The atlas is expanding to the whole of Africa this year, watch this space for further information on this and the new website to be launched.

The BirdLasser app now operates across the world and data can be submitted from any corner of Africa already — do sign up and join us in this great project if you haven’t already!

The Kenya Bird Map project has been fortunate to receive funding from the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI) and the National Research Fund in Kenya, to allow us to train ornithologists in the analysis of atlas data.

DARCY OGADA

When Owls became an Illicit Regional Commodity

“I have two eggs where do I get a buyer?”

This is the most common question I am now asked about owls. It used to be that glimpsing or hearing an owl invoked fear in many, but it seems an abrupt shift from this perception has taken place. Now owls are seen as a regional commodity and they only invoke greed.

As a senior Kenya Wildlife Service official told me, owl eggs have become the new quail eggs, referring to the overhyped nationwide supply-and-demand frenzy for quail eggs that reached its nadir in 2013 (see Kenya Birding 2014). Largely driven by the belief in the miraculous healing properties of quail eggs, the market was oversupplied resulting in its subsequent crash.

While there are some obvious parallels with the demand for quail eggs, an oversupply and subsequent market crash of owl eggs is unlikely as they are procured from wild populations, where their supply is naturally regulated. The most important difference is that the trade in owl eggs is wholly illegal.

You might be wondering of what use are owl eggs. Some might call it traditional medicine, but exactly how owl eggs are used remains a mystery. Like quail eggs, owl eggs are touted as a cure-all with claims that include the ability to cure cancer and HIV. Owl eggs have also been suggested to give predictive powers, according to believers.

To help ensure the mystical properties of owl eggs are not lost along the supply chain, a rigorous process of collection is maintained. This involves the sprinkling of unga flour (maize meal) prior to collection and handling eggs using only a black or white cloth. This may sound like a bit too much hocus pocus, but truth be told, it is probably happening in a neighbourhood near you. Owls of all stripes and sizes are targeted. If you suddenly find a stranger (or even someone you know) clambering up a tree, be suspicious. They are probably hunting for eggs or even young owls. Everywhere you go, even inside protected areas, the hunt is on.

Pearl-spotted Owlet. Mackinder’s Eagle Owl eggs dusted with unga to be collected by egg poachers (top left) and chicks in a ground nest vulnerable to poachers (below). PHOTOS DARCY OGADA

In case you haven’t already noted my repetition, I will repeat it again here, the trade in owl eggs is illegal. But whether illegal or not, this seems to make little impact on those seeking to join the trade.

When I posted a blog on this subject in October 2016 again stating the trade was illegal, I received 27 comments. Ten of those comments, mostly from locals, were from people wishing to sell owls or their eggs.

Not surprisingly, the cost of eggs is increasing as owl populations are collapsing. For example, the owl population I studied during 2004-07 have produced nary a chick in two years. The price of eggs alone, combined with local disdain for owls, may virtually ensure that this is one conservation crisis with no end in sight.

I have been questioned as to why even publicize this issue when doing so will only result in more harm to owls. This is undeniably true in the immediate future, although it is hard to imagine any more growth in the ‘industry’. But trying to

tackle yet another conservation crisis such as this cannot be achieved when the sum total of those fighting to address the problem are less than five, and those even aware of the issue are not many more.

Could I end this depressing conservation story, on an optimistic note? I will try — I am inevitably asked, ‘Where is the Kenya Wildlife Service in all of this?’ Whenever I have received a report of egg theft, or obtained contacts of traders that can be followed up, I pass these along to them. Is there more action on this issue by KWS? I am unable to confirm any further actions even though I suspect there may have been some.

Also — unrelated to any of my reports to the Kenya Wildlife Service — a local newspaper confirmed the arrest of two people in possession of owl eggs in Malindi in 2015.

(Please get in touch with me if you have any comments, questions or suggestions, but not to sell me owl eggs. ogada.darcy@peregrinefund.org) Kenya Birding 13

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PHOTO ©LORENZO BARELLI

In appreciation of

PHOTO ©NICK EADE

DR. DAVID PEARSON

Flamingo Bumper Breeding Season KEN MWATHE & EMMANUEL MGIMWA

Personal tribute from the then ABC Chairman Dr. Richard Charles (now Vice President) African Bird Club (https://www.africanbirdclub.org)

New Publications

“This year, we counted over 1,750,000 adult birds compared to 760,000 last year, which is an increase of 130%. The number of chicks increased by over 600% from 120,000 in 2018 to 995,000 in 2019,” says Emmanuel Mgimwa, BirdLife’s Manager of the Lake Natron Ecotourism Project.

This bumper year could be

An Annotated Checklist of Mammals of Kenya Musila S, Monadjem A, Webala PW, Patterson BD, Hutterer R, De Jong YA, Butynski TM, Mwangi G, Chen ZZ, Jiang XL. 2019.

Listed are the 390 mammal species that occur in Kenya: • 106 species of rodents • 104 species of bats • 63 species of even-toed ungulates (including whales and dolphins) • 36 species of insectivores and carnivores • 19 species of primates • five species of elephant shrew • four species that are hyraxes and odd-toed ungulates • three species that are afrosoricids, pangolins, and hares, and • one species each of aardvark, elephant, sirenian and hedgehog Get the new checklist at Nature Kenya offices at the National Museums of Kenya in Nairobi (available June 2019) Or download at https://bit.ly/2Vfnff0 22 Kenya Birding 13

attributed to good weather conditions, but may also be thanks to the support of local communities, who are restoring water catchments to create ideal breeding habitats. In 2018, the Government of Tanzania ruled against building a soda ash factory on the site, securing its safety.

Since then, it has shown continued commitment to maintain the integrity of Lake Natron as a flamingo breeding site.

For more on this story visit http://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/ news/bumper-breedingseasonflamingo-factory-lakenatron Editors note: Look out for the young flamingos that are now dispersing across East Africa

Also, a new birds checklist!

The current 4th edition of the Checklist of the Birds of Kenya was published 10 years ago. A revised 5th Edition is now in preparation and will be published shortly.

Copies will then be available from Nature Kenya.

Wild Flowers of Kenya & Northern Tanzania Anne Powys

Checklist of the Birds of Ke nya FIFTH EDI

TION

BY COLIN JACKSON

David John Pearson (1941 - 2017) passed away peacefully, aged 76.

Great news from Lake Natron in northern Tanzania, the world’s most important breeding site for the Lesser Flamingo. BirdLife, in collaboration with Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) and the Engaresero Eramatare Community Development Initiative (EECDI), conducted a survey in February 2019 and are now reporting an impressive breeding season.

Kilifi (Clarke’ s) Weaver Ploceus golandi PHOTO

“A humble man who eschewed the limelight, he was indeed a quiet giant in East African ornithology. Whilst holding academic posts in biochemistry at Makere University College in Kampala and Nairobi University for over 20 years, he became a pioneer of ringing and migration studies of waders and passerines in the region, chairing the East African Records Committee for 14 years. He published many papers and articles, and co-authored books, notably Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania (1996) with Dale Zimmerman and Don Turner, and Reed and Bush Warblers (2010) with Peter Kennerley, which remain standard reference sources. In the 1970s, with Graeme Backhurst, he established the unique Ngulia Palearctic migrant ringing project, which continues actively to this day.”

Bird Committe e, Natu East Afric a Natural Histore Kenya ry Society Nairobi, June 2019

A compact guide featuring nearly 400 wild flowers of Kenya and northern Tanzania, grouped for ease of use according to colour.

The book includes the most widespread and commonly encountered species as well as some unusual flowers found in more remote areas.

Plants range from hardy succulents to spectacular epiphytic orchids and shaggy mountain lobelias, each concisely presented with reference to key features and typical habitat.

Additional notes indicate whether a given species has particular ecological, medicinal or cultural value.

Flying an adult Augur Buzzard.

PHOTOS SHIV KAPILA

Saving Raptors in Trouble with the Kenya Bird of Prey Trust SHIV KAPILA

B

irds of prey are all in decline, something that is bound to become more apparent sooner rather than later. In Kenya, raptors seem to clash with the lives of people who hold superstitious beliefs about them or whose livestock (particularly chickens) fall prey to raptors. The indifference of many, and a lack of understanding or appreciation of the importance of raptors is also a problem.

Habitat loss, poisoning, collisions (with windows, wires, etc), persecution, hunting, deforestation and even renewable energy activities, such as wind farming and capturing geothermal energy, all contribute to raptor mortality.

It is with this in mind that I helped to set up the Kenya Bird of Prey Trust in 2014 with the late Sarah Higgins, and Simon Thomsett. Simon, Africa’s most eminent raptor rehabilitator and falconer, recognised the evolving dire raptor situation well before others, and spent decades singlehandedly trying to stave off the inevitable.

The Bird of Prey Trust has two main bases: our Kilimandege Raptor Centre located in Naivasha, and Simon’s

home and camp on the Soysambu Conservancy, on the shores of Lake Elementaita. Kilimandege Raptor Centre is the first point of contact for injured birds that are brought in by the public.

They are assessed and housed, and taken to a vet for treatment and surgery, where this is needed. For most of those birds that cannot be released back into the wild, the centre becomes their permanent home. We continue to build up facilities and envision a fully-fledged raptor care centre that includes an education facility, state-of-the-art avian veterinary clinic, enclosures for up to 30 birds, and captive breeding pens for endangered species.

At Simon’s home is the Soysambu Raptor Camp, the final destination for birds deemed healthy enough to begin the process of being gradually released back into the wild. Soysambu, at 55,000 acres, is large enough to get bigger birds (eagles and vultures) back to full fitness.

We spend a significant time using falconry techniques to re-train birds how to fly, hunt and behave. It would be negligent to release any bird that is not in perfect condition, and isn’t capable of killing for itself. Such a bird would be

Tawny Eagles belong to the genus Aquila, typical brown eagles with baggy feathers all the way down their legs to their feet. In Africa they are generally scavengers, putting them at risk from poisoning, and so are showing major declines. They weigh up to 3 kilogrammes and have wingspans up to 1.8 metres.

Great Sparrowhawks (sometimes called the Black Sparrowhawk) are forest Accipiters. Their long tails and short wings are designed for high speeds and agility in closed-canopy environments. They are primarily bird hunters, taking anything up to the size of a mature guineafowl, and have specially adapted, extra-long middle toes to help them grasp swift prey. Quite common in Nairobi suburbs and most forest patches around the country, they are greatly affected by increasing infrastructure and deforestation.

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This Black Stork was ringed

by Petr Šaj in the Czech Republic, Hynčina (District of Šumperk) while in the nest on 6 June 2015. It was ‘recovered’ on 26 November 2018 in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya in good condition and identified from its numbered colour leg ring by Doris Schaule. Doris notes, “I had seen this ringed Black Stork at the Bachuma waterhole in Tsavo East, and via my Facebook group Wings over the Tsavos I got the contacts for where to send a report, the rest is history!”

PHOTO FRANTIŠEK POJER

One of our main aims is to do captive breeding of rare species. Four of Kenya’s eight species of vultures are listed as ‘Critically Endangered’, two more are ‘Endangered’, and there has only been a scattering of records of Bearded Vultures

The longest known journey made by a Black Stork from the Czech Republic

PHOTO DORIS SCHAULE

consigned to a slow, agonising death from starvation.

The distance this Black Stork migrated from the Czech Republic to the place of discovery in Kenya is 6,313 km!

Many thanks to Dr. František Pojer Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic for his report

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Immature Little Sparrowhawk.

PHOTO SIMOM THOMSETT

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over the past 30 years, with perhaps only one or two pairs left in the country. Our large eagles (Verreaux’s, Martial and Crowned) are also teetering precariously on a precipice and our owls face a multitude of significant threats. The time to make an effort to captive breed species is now, while they still occur.

(See pg. 28 on Martial Eagles in the Mara, a study supported by the Kenya Bird of Prey Trust) The Kilimandege Raptor Centre is not yet open to the public. We are hoping to complete our rebuild by the end of July, at which point visitors will be welcome on appointment. The Soysambu Raptor camp is open to day visitors and researchers only – please get in touch through our facebook page, The Kenya Bird of Prey Trust.

24 Kenya Birding 13

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Ngulia mist. PHOTO PETER USHER

Ngulia at

50

GRAEME BACKHURST

The fantastic annual ringing of thousands of Palaeartic birds Irania ringing. PHOTO PETER USHER

N

gulia Safari Lodge, in Tsavo West National Park, was opened to the public in May 1969, fifty years ago. In November of that year, during the short rains, it was discovered that thousands of birds and millions of insects, were attracted to the Lodge during misty, moonless nights.

Nobody knows why birds are attracted to lights in mist, but it has been known since ancient times and is known as ‘the lighthouse effect’. At Ngulia that first November, the game-viewing lights were particularly bright, but it was one, mounted high up on a wall, that was the chief culprit. I was called down by the then Parks Director to investigate and report. I found that the ground below this light was strewn with dead birds and insects. Clearly the cure was to turn it off, and immediately, the carnage lessened considerably.

It was noted that the birds involved were overwhelmingly migrants from Europe and Asia, most of them bound for areas far to the south of Kenya. As it turned out, much good was to come out of this discovery as my wife and I, together with other members of the East Africa

Natural History Society (Nature Kenya), organised to ring the birds as they came through. We caught them from dawn onwards, not only with mist nets, but also, in the early days, by picking up birds that had flown into the Lodge, by hand. The number of birds entering the building has decreased over the years, probably because the number and power of the game-viewing lights has been significantly reduced. Bird ringing, the fitting of small numbered metal rings with a return address, is the normal method of marking birds for scientific and conservation reasons.

The news of this annual phenomenon took longer to spread in those preinternet days, but after a couple of years, people from overseas began to join the small band of locals making annual visits, between late October and January, to ring the migrants. Since 1969, a team has participated in each of the fifty years the Lodge has been there, and well over half a million birds have been ringed.

The hundreds of thousands of birds that come down to Ngulia each year during misty weather are mostly small song Kenya Birding 13

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Ringing of a Rock Thrush in Ngulia. PHOTO PETER USHER

Marsh Warbler. PHOTO PETER USHER

birds — warblers and small chats — and most are bound for their final wintering areas much further south in Africa. The most common is the Marsh Warbler, an 11-gram greenisholive bird, which sings a wonderful song in its breeding areas.

It is notable for the wide range of imitations it does of the songs of other birds, mostly African ones learned during its months in Africa. This song is only heard south of Ngulia between March and May before the birds leave to breed in Europe and Asia.

by a member of the public. There may be a few explanations for this, but the most likely reason is possibly due to the comparative empty vastness of the areas to the north and south of Ngulia. The eastern and northeastern parts of Kenya are sparsely populated by people, as are areas to the south of Ngulia abutting the border with Tanzania.

The second most common is the Thrush Nightingale or Sprosser. This is the northern version of the Common Nightingale, famed for its wonderful song. Following on from the Sprosser, comes the Common Whitethroat, another warbler, larger and more colourful than the Marsh Warbler.

Altogether, 62 different migrant bird species have been ringed at Ngulia, and others, such as eagles and falcons, are commonly seen overhead, but never caught or ringed.

From the very beginning the Kenya Wildlife Service has allowed us to ring birds at Ngulia, and we are very grateful to them. We also thank the UK-based Wetland Trust, and all the overseas ringers who contribute financially to allow Kenyans to take part at Ngulia, largely free of charge. The Wetland Trust has also provided free rings for our use, and the Swedish Ringing Centre has helped in many ways; we are most grateful to both bodies.

In 2017 we were treated to seeing and catching a ringed bird of a species we’ve never ringed at Ngulia! It was a Black Stork, ringed as a nestling in Poland, which spent some days feeding on insects in front of the Lodge alongside the much larger Marabou Storks.

Catching birds ringed in other countries, and having ones we’ve ringed reported back to us from other parts of the world, is part of the excitement of ringing. In the fifty years of the Ngulia scheme, we’ve had interchanges with 45 different countries.

These range from the four Scandinavian countries and Russia in the north, Pakistan and Kazakhstan in the east, France and Belgium in the west, to Zimbabwe and Botswana in the south.

Surprisingly, we’ve yet to have an interchange with South Africa where several ‘Ngulia species’ spend the winter.

More of our ringed birds have been reported from Saudi Arabia than from any other country, and for good reason. In Saudi, hunting small birds is a widespread popular pastime. Small migrant birds are caught in nets, trapped on sticky twigs (smeared with bird lime), or shot. They are eaten and regarded as a delicacy. The habit is widespread in the Middle East and in some Mediterranean countries, as it was in much of Europe in earlier centuries.

It is remarkable that in Kenya, only one Ngulia-ringed migrant bird (and two African ones) has ever been reported as found, 26 Kenya Birding 13

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View of the Huri Hills. PHOTO DARCY OGADA

Somali Short-toed Lark. PHOTO DARCY OGADA

‘Where’s that?’ is likely to be the response when I mention Huri Hills. This series of volcanic hills that pop like overripe pimples between the Ethiopian border and the Chalbi desert, seem to have little name recognition. While reaching Marsabit these days is easy enough, the final 155 km to Huri Hills via Maikona is still a vivid reminder of the rigours of travel in northern Kenya. But the journey for any intrepid birder is an essential part of the experience, and the unique species to be found along the rugged roads will quickly make you forget the years of life that you are pounding off your vehicle.

Species such as Greater Kestrel, Egyptian and Hooded vultures, Heuglin’s Bustard, Chestnut-backed and Chestnut-headed Sparrow larks, Whitecrowned Starling, and Brown-tailed Rock Chat are not difficult to come by. Nor are the ubiquitous sandgrouse, chiefly Chestnut-bellied.

From Maikona the gradual climb to Huri Hills comes with relief from the heat and with birdlife that looks at once familiar, yet oddly different.

Familiar in the sense that those of us inhabiting the Central Highlands can easily relate to seeing an Augur

Buzzard or Rufous-naped Lark until you remember you’re surrounded by desert and close to the Ethiopian border. Even common species appear odd. Helmeted Guineafowl of the race meleagris sporting Germanicstyle helmets with gravitydefying ear flaps. A Diederik Cuckoo with the wrong colour paint job — a dazzling electric blue. And similarly, the strange orange-necked Kori Bustards, whose colour choice evokes a bride who defies the age-old custom of wearing white. Such are the quirks of the birds of Huri.

Our travels to Huri Hills are

to count raptors, and for its density and diversity of these birds there are few places in northern Kenya that can compare. One can easily spend the day looking skyward and see Martials, Egyptians, Lanners, Lappets and the odd Peregrine. Even surprises such as Ayres’s Hawk Eagle turn up.

I would be remiss in not mentioning the mist of Huri Hills that covers the hills for several hours each morning.

Again, you can be forgiven for thinking you are in Limuru.

In many ways birding in Huri Hills is well-suited for those birders for whom the description ‘early bird’ is an anomaly.

It would be a birding taboo to travel to northern Kenya and not mention its larks.

You will have no trouble seeing Crested and Thekla larks, which collectively outnumber Masked Larks by at least 20:1. Admittedly it also takes me an entire two-week trip to distinguish one dumpy looking lark from the next. Because I travel with an overzealous bunch of part-time bird guides, their enthusiasm and knowledge of larks more than makes up for my relative lark apathy.

During a recent trip one of our aforementioned guides nearly jumped through the car window, reason, an unidentified lark, which turned out to be a Somali Short-toed Lark of the northern race megaensis which we were fortunate to obtain one of the purportedly few photos of this race. My enthusiasm for larks has since ratcheted up a notch.

Huri is a relaxing place to bird, one can effortlessly stroll through the hills and the remnant sacred forest of magnificent Erythrina trees.

The lack of permanent water meant that the nomadic Boran and Gabbra people traditionally only grazed the hills during the wet season, and the area was only permanently settled in the 1970s. Konso agro-pastoralists from southern Ethiopia also have a small presence in Huri Hills1. Perhaps this is why you can find the odd Speckled Mousebird.

The area is such a total aberration compared to the surrounding desert that one can believe that just about anything can turn up. This is one of the many reasons that I will keep going back to Huri. …and no we did not find the Orange River Francolin.

Hirsch, S.M., 1996. The ecological and socio-economic conditions and their implications for land use systems in the Huri Hills, northern Kenya. Journal of Eastern African Research & Development, pp.187-210.

1

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species

MARTIAL EAGLES

of the GREATER MARA STRATTON HATFIELD AND PARMUNTORO LEMEIN IMAGES BY STRATTON HATFIELD

They fly the skies above the greater Mara — the Maasai Mara National Reserve and surrounding community-owned wildlife conservancies. Stratton Hatfield and Parmuntoro Lemein reveal some surprises about the Martial Eagle’s extent, success in breeding, and diet in the Mara.

28 Kenya Birding 13

S

oaring over the renowned Mara ecosystem, that is best known for lions, elephants, and the great wildebeest migration, is perhaps the region’s most overlooked apex predator — Martial Eagles. Until recently, very little was known about this avian predator in the greater Mara area. That was until 2016, when a team of researchers, conservationists, guides and community members banded together to begin a project to increase our knowledge of this species’ ecology. The project also informs this species’ conservation management, and raises Martial Eagle awareness within the Mara and beyond.

Since the inception of the project (known as the Masaai Mara Martial Eagle Project), a remarkable 22 pairs of Martial Eagles have been found utilizing~2,500 km2 of this conservation area*1. Each of these pairs maintains an extensive breeding territory that overlaps marginally with neighboring pairs. To estimate the size of these territories, GPS transmitters were placed on a sample of adults from this population. Preliminary results indicate that Martial Eagle territories in the Maasai Mara are approximately 175 km2 in size. Also, based on the transmitter data, we estimate that between 25 and 30 pairs of Martial Eagles (50-60 adult breeding birds) utilize the protected areas*2 within the greater Mara.

While it is too early to tell how healthy this population is, our initial findings show a mostly saturated landscape with little room for additional pairs within these protected areas. Longterm, it will be important to study breeding productivity (number of chicks produced by each pair each year), juvenile recruitment (how many chicks survive to adulthood), and adult replacement rates (how long adult Martial Eagles survive in a given

territory) to accurately gauge whether this population is increasing, stable, or in decline.

Previous studies have indicated that Martial Eagles produce only one chick on average every two years. Our monitoring efforts indicate similar breeding productivity in the Mara, but much more data is needed.

One recently fledged Martial Eagle was banded at its nest and was found dead, by staff of Nature Kenya, seven months later; it had been electrocuted on a recently installed power line 100 km from its nest. Other recorded causes of chick mortality include predation by a leopard and a Verreaux’s Eagle Owl. Life expectancy for Martial Eagles in the Mara is unknown, but we suspect an average of around 20-25 years, with exceptional individuals living to 40 years of age or older.

Martial Eagles in the Mara have an infamous reputation of preying on lion and cheetah cubs. While there have been a few verified reports of these big cat predation events, the results of our project’s diet study indicate that lion and cheetah cubs are very rarely on the menu. Male and female Martial Eagles are sexually dimorphic with females approximately 35% larger than males.

As a result of this size difference, males and females generally prey on different species. So far, the preferred

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prey recorded for male Martial Eagles include hares, guineafowl, francolin, and bustards, while females take young impala, young Thomson’s gazelle, mongoose, and hyrax. Livestock and poultry predation events have been recorded, but remain infrequent within our study population.

Our Martial Eagle project is in the process of expanding. Not only are we hoping to grow our work on Martial Eagles, but also to begin studying other raptor species in the greater Mara under the umbrella of an envisioned long-term Mara Raptor Project. We look forward to updating you on our progress in future issues of Kenya Birding. *1Maasai Mara National Reserve, Mara Triangle, Naboisho Conservancy, Olare-Motorogi Conservancy, Mara North Conservancy, Ol Kinyei Conservancy, Olarro South Conservancy, Olarro North Conservancy, Olderkesi Conservancy, Siana Cnservancy, Oloisukut Conservancy, Lemek Conservancy *2Maasai Mara National Reserve, Mara Triangle, Naboisho

This work would not have been possible without the help of numerous companies, organizations, foundations and individuals. Specifically, we are grateful for the support of the National Museums of Kenya, Kenya Wildlife Service, Narok County government; the Mara Conservancy, Seiya Limited, Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association (MMWCA), various conservancy boards, numerous camps and projects within the greater Mara; BAND Foundation, Angama Foundation, The Peregrine Fund, the Kenya Bird of Prey Trust, University of Kentucky, and Wageningen University and Research.

Conservancy, Olare-Motorogi Conservancy, Mara North Conservancy, Ol Kinyei Conservancy, Olarro South Conservancy, Olarro North Conservancy, Olderkesi Conservancy, Siana Conservancy, Isaaten Conservancy, Oloisukut Conservancy, Lemek Conservancy, Enonkishu Conservancy, Ol Chorrooiwua Conservancy, Pardamat Community and Conservation Area, Olerai Conservancy, Nashulai Conservancy

MAP COURTESY OF IRENE AMOKE/MAASAI MARA WILDLIFE CONSERVENCIES

30 Kenya Birding 13

Kenya Birding 13

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SAVING BIRD

areas

Eleven years and counting…

THE CONSERVATION OF THE

TANA RIVER DELTA Nature Kenya’s Advocacy Manager Serah Munguti reflects, with gratitude, on the work that Nature Kenya and many partners have put into the Tana Delta over the last eleven years.

A

bout seven years ago I gave a talk on the Tana River Delta to an international audience of about 500 people. At the end of the talk a man from the audience walked up to me and said, ‘the situation in the delta is pretty hopeless’. He was not just being skeptical.

Demand for large chunks of land for commercial activity started in the 80’s.

By 2007 a real scramble for land had hit the Tana River Delta with national and multinational corporations, and the national government, all jostling to exploit the potential riches of the delta.

They sought more than 300,000 ha of land in the delta and in outlying dryland areas adjacent to the delta.

But since then things have changed a lot for the delta — for the better, I’m glad to say. A big part of the change has been brought about by a land use plan for the delta, which provides for land and water allocation. The plan was facilitated by Nature Kenya (with support from Department for International Development (UK) and the Ecosystem 32 Kenya Birding 13

Alliance), and completed in 2015. The county governments of Tana River and Lamu, the national government, local communities and international experts were all involved. In 2016 the land use plan (and the Strategic Environmental Assessment that informed it), won the Royal Town Planning Institute’s International Award for Planning Excellence.

To start implementation of the land use plan Nature Kenya is supporting the county governments and local communities in the Tana Delta to set up a 95,200 ha community conservation area (CCA). We believe the best place to demonstrate how to implement the land use plan is in the heart of the delta, where biodiversity is richest and access to water and land is hotly contested. The Wildlife Conservation and Management Act (that allows for development of wildlife conservancies) and the Forest Conservation and Management Act (that provides for community forests) make it possible for CCAs to be implemented and

to begin activities in this pilot area.

An interim CCA management committee was set up with representation from all interested groups in the delta. The county governments of Tana River and Lamu, and the Kenya Wildlife Service chair the Committee. Preparation of a CCA management plan has started. Preparation of a land and water register to record both water abstraction and land that is under any form of irrigation, has also started.

Once the register is completed, the CCA management committee will develop, in consultation with all stakeholders, a formal system of application for water abstraction.

The Tana Delta Conservation Network, the Site Support Group in the delta, is also supporting communities to form and register a network of (45) village committees for oversight of natural resources and land use.

Communities are also engaged in farming crops, rice, and fish, as well as beekeeping, ecotourism, and goat-rearing. These Kenya Birding 13

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enterprises have been doing well and so far 727 households have cumulatively earned KES 1,360,365 (£10,338) since their inception in April 2017. These community enterprises demonstrate sustainable production as recommended in the land use plan.

Valuable lessons learnt from the work in Tana Delta Firstly, real partnership and collaboration is based on trust. By working together for many years, on various activities, the government, civil society and communities have forged a strong partnership.

Secondly, adhering to a course and perseverance bears results. It has taken more than eleven years to get to this point in the Tana Delta, with the involvement of a lot of people. This is unlikely to be achieved within a single project’s funding timeframe.

Thirdly, adaptive management is necessary for the success of a longterm programme that is implemented in a community with a history of tribal conflict, extensive flooding-occasionally followed by drought, and where there are major security concerns.

Cultivation of rice in Hewani (above) and (left) a community member inspecting a fish pond at Moa village, Tana River Delta.

PHOTOS NATURE KENYA ARCHIEVES

Perhaps most importantly, we go to great lengths to ensure that all segments of the community are included in consultations and actions. For instance, during the forming of the land use plan we held consultative meetings in 106 villages to obtain their input and buy-in. We put inclusiveness above speed of delivery.

The conservancy and income-generating activities are being implemented with funding from the Darwin Initiative.

Starting this year, Nature Kenya is also working with partners including the UN Global Environment Facility (GEF) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to implement forest landscape restoration in Tana River and Lamu counties.

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Land of FLOOD and DROUGHT FLEUR NG’WENO IMAGES BY MUSTAFA ADAMJEE

It’s a land shaped by the extremes of flood and drought, abundance and scarcity. A place where the water that meets the land in harmony, can sometimes bring disaster. It’s a land that people with completely different lifestyles — farmers, herders, fisherfolk, hunter-gatherers — call home. It’s also a land with a dazzling diversity of birds. This is the Tana River Delta on the north coast of Kenya.

T

he Delta filled with water last year from the heavy March to May rains. We timed our visit in early April 2019 to coincide with the northward bird migration, and found the wetlands still held water and teemed with life. The rest of the landscape however, presented the chaotic nature of this year’s rains: some areas were still parched dry, while others, having received scattered rains, the vegetation in new leaf, was a brilliant, eye-popping green.

THE RIVER

A community-owned boat takes us up the river to ‘lake’ Mbililo, where the river is broad and shallow and hippos and bird congregate — this is the highlight of any trip to the Tana Delta. At Kipini, the wide river passes through tall stands of mangroves. African Fish Eagles, African Darters and Little Egrets decorate the trees. The tall mangroves gradually give

African Fish Eagle.

way to fresh-water Barringtonia, which drop their large white starry flowers onto the dark water. Mangrove Kingfishers perch among the large leaves, and crocodiles hide in the shadows.

The river meanders, almost forming circles, so progress is slow. As the boat travels upriver, the shores appear more fertile. There are mango trees, coconut and Areca palms, occasionally a dugout canoe or a landing site. Pied Kingfishers perch among the nests of Eastern Golden and Golden Palm Weavers hanging from the trees. After Kau, the grasslands and stands of Borassus palms begin to appear.

Flocks of Spur-winged Plovers (and in season, Common Ringed Plovers) gather on muddy banks. As the boat continues through the grasslands, the birds on the mud banks become more varied, with White-faced Whistling Ducks, Water Thick-knees and a variety of herons: Cattle and Great White Egrets, Squacco, Grey, Black-headed, and Goliath Herons.

Vast herds of white cattle graze in the grasslands.

Egyptian Geese, Cattle Egrets and in season, Northern Carmine Beeeaters, feed among

34 Kenya Birding 13

them. If a cow or bull has died, the sky may fill with soaring vultures.

Critically Endangered White-backed Vulture is the most common, but Hooded, White-headed, and Lappetfaced Vultures may appear.

The boat rounds one more of the countless bends, and suddenly we see a mass of hippos crowded together, almost piled on each other! The coxswain expertly slips the boat past the hippos and lands on the mud bank, from where we can survey the bird congregations, while keeping an eye on the hippos.

On one bank African Skimmers are resting alongside terns and Collared Pratincoles. On another bank there are large flocks of Spur-winged Geese, Yellow-billed and African Open-billed Storks, Sacred and Glossy Ibis and African Spoonbills. During the northern winter, flocks of Caspian Plovers and Pacific Golden Plovers gather here. It’s hard to know where to look. There are small birds too, such as Chestnut-backed Sparrow Larks. As the hippos re-arrange themselves, the African Skimmers take off, in striking black, white and red.

It’s a long trip back down the meandering river, but we have collected memories (and photos) for a lifetime.

FORESTS, FARMLANDS AND BUSH

A congregation of water birds at Lake Witu.

THE LAKES

These are the most capricious of the Tana Delta’s natural wonders.

In some years the lakes are dry or nearly so, and the birds have gone elsewhere. Where do they go, I wonder? Do the thousands of birds born in the Tana Delta in times of flood fan out to populate the rest of Kenya’s wetlands?

Lake Mnuji near Kipini is actually off the Delta system, but close enough to visit. On a rainy April morning, we found it was covered with white water lilies, some open water, and thick stands of reeds.

Herds of white cattle filed down to drink. Purple Swamphens, Common Moorhens and Allen’s Gallinules, Black Crakes and African Jacanas scurried along the water lily leaves. Knob-billed Ducks and Pink-backed Pelicans flew in and out. We looked up into the grey sky and saw dark shapes dropping out of the sky. Pratincoles.

No streamers on their tails, and on the ground they looked dark, without a pale throat. Madagascar Pratincoles, just arriving from the south!

Lake Witu is a seasonal lake, close to Witu town. It provides water for

the surrounding settlements. For the birds it was a feast, as the slowly drying wetland exposed fish, frogs and other food. Along strips of water were lines of Black Herons, some shading the water with wings fanned out like umbrellas. African Spoonbills and Yellow-billed Storks walked slowly, swishing their beaks through the water. Flocks of Great White Egrets and a single Saddle-billed Stork fed on frogs in watery grass. Among the migratory sandpipers we saw the bright pattern of a Greater Painted-Snipe.

Lake Moa is a little deeper and close to the river, and its rich fish stocks are the basis of a fish-smoking enterprise supported by Nature Kenya. Birds seemed few, but enthusiastic community members urged us to walk the transect line they have established. As we set off, migrating Amur Falcons and Eurasian Hobbies swooped across the grey sky, feeding on termites to power their journey north and northeast. Then more dark shapes with long wings and short tails dropped from the sky, to land near the far end of the lake. Here we found a grassy bank covered with thousands more Madagascar Pratincoles.

There is more than wetlands in the Tana Delta. Near the main town of Garsen it’s mostly dry thornbush, and along the road, grows the invasive Prosopis aka Mathenge or mesquite — a small thorny tree introduced as a “miracle tree” and now causing endless problems. It’s there that we found an African Grey Hornbill with its prey, a gigantic frog.

On our way to the river and between lakes we passed through farmland and woodland and saw waves of migratory cuckoos: Common Cuckoos heading to Europe and Asia, and Jacobin (Black-and-white) Cuckoos heading probably to India. A fruiting fig tree was full of colourful African Green Pigeons and Brown-breasted Barbets, while migrating Eurasian Rollers and Red-backed Shrikes perched nearby. A walk through the grounds of the Tana Resort at Gamba reveals a wide variety of coastal birds, including Mombasa Woodpecker and Collared Palm Thrush.

It’s in the Delta’s riverine forests that the rarest wildlife is found. There are still elephants in the Ozi Forest, and Onkolde Forest is home to the unique Tana River Red Colobus monkey (pictured below).

TRAVEL NOTES Tourism is still undeveloped, and there are some security constraints.

At the moment a visitor can stay in Garsen or Minjila along the MalindiLamu Road and go on day trips from there. Local bird guides are available.

Contact Nature Kenya at the Coast for more advice: nkcoast@naturekenya.org or naturekenyacoast@gmail or tanadelta@naturekenya.org

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Local volunteers

A village anti-wildlife poisoning awareness meeting in session.

PHOTO SIMON SHATI

Locally driven conservation solutions

TO SAVE VULTURES PAUL GACHERU, REBECCA IKACHOI AND SIMON SHATI

P

eople have local solutions to the challenges that they face.

They adapt to their everchanging surroundings, whether it’s in response to climate change or changes in policies that affect them.

This is something we learned as we endeavored to safeguard critically endangered African vultures from imminent extinction.

The main threat facing vulture populations in Kenya is linked to the retaliatory response of communities to livestock predation by carnivores. Use of poison to kill big cats and hyenas in particular, has a knock-on effect for non-targeted species. Scavenging mammals and vultures often end up being victims. Documented evidence indicates that over 60% of vulture deaths are as a result of wildlife poisoning.

In Kenya, the killing of wildlife is a crime and compensation for damage caused by wildlife only applies when there has been an injury or loss of human life. There is no compensation for any damages to property, farm crops, or livestock caused by wildlife attacks*.

Communities are therefore implementing locally grown solutions

36 Kenya Birding 13

to mitigate this wildlife conflict problem, and here are three examples of methods being successfully deployed.

Social engagement By actively engaging community members in public discussions Nature Kenya provides an avenue for the wider dissemination of information. In such forums, opinions are shared openly and solutions derived consultatively.

Community scouts and rangers are the first responders to poisoning incidents.

By sharing knowledge with them in a simple, easy to understand manner via the National Wildlife Poisoning Response Protocol, their ability to respond to wildlife poisoning incidents has been enhanced. The result has been an increase in the reporting of suspected poisoning incidents, a reduction in wildlife fatalities, and improved coordination and support with the Kenya Wildlife Service veterinary department.

Formal and informal compensation schemes As a way of consoling with fellow community members who have lost livestock, an informal practice has evolved, in which village elders take a lead in mobilizing communal support. Neighbors and relatives who empathize with the affected persons may offer a small number of animals as compensation. This traditional mode of compensation has no rules or regulations and relies purely on the goodwill of neighbours.

Organized groups have also set up formal schemes. In these schemes members make regular contributions towards what is in effect a form of insurance. This system is governed by defined rules and regulations. It also A dance troupe based in the Masai involves the tourist facilities in the area, Mara, called the Buffalo Dancers, has who make a contribution. Even though mastered the art of blending traditional the full value of the livestock killed Masai folklore with advocacy, by creating is not reimbursed, the compensation entertaining performances that are equally amount paid is better than receiving educative. They cleverly knit anti-wildlife nothing. poisoning messages into traditional song and dance. The group always draws huge crowds at livestock markets, and shopping or town centres.

The impact is that there has been a noticeable positive change in attitudes among members of the community — they are now more alert to wildlife poisoning incidents, and better understand the negative impacts of poisoning even to human health. Now a wildlife poisoning incident, which previously would have gone unnoticed, attracts more attention and this reduces wildlife casualties.

African White-backed vultures on a nest. PHOTO PETER USHER

A community bird monitoring team on the look for Clarke’s Weavers in Dakatcha Woodland (left). A Clarke’s Weaver flock (above).

PHOTOS ALBERT BAYA AND STEVE GARVIE

Understanding

CLARKE’S WEAVER

C

larke’s Weaver is an endemic bird that inhabits ArabukoSokoke Forest and Dakatcha Woodland. For 100 years after the bird was described, the breeding sites of this species were unknown to the birding community. In 1994 a number of birds were spotted feeding flying young. But it wasn’t until 2013 that volunteers from the Dakatcha Woodland Conservation Group, led by Fleur Ng’weno, discovered a breeding site. This, the first documented Clarke’s Weaver nesting site, was at the Arbamkenge wetland in Dakatcha. Following this discovery several sightings of breeding Clarke’s Weavers have been recorded in different wetlands in Dakatcha Woodland.

These sightings have been the result of the monitoring done by the local community group in Dakatcha at nine wetlands. However, there is still a knowledge gap about their breeding cycles and sites preferences because no consistent record of breeding has been achieved.

In December 2018, following rains that had been experienced in November, a monitoring team comprising of local bird guides, accompanied by a team from Nairobi, set out for a week-long survey.

There was indication that the wetlands were in good condition, filled with water and mature sedges, but there were

EDWIN UTUMBI AND PAUL GACHERU

no signs of the weavers. All wetlands seemed ideal for breeding — so why were Clarke’s Weavers absent?

After days with no record of Clarke’s Weaver, the team decided to try one last seasonal wetland in the northern part of Dakatcha Woodland, called Warisesemulu. Under the hot mid-day sun, one of the local community team members shouted, “Clarke’s Weavers, Clarke’s Weavers”. The team approached the wetland with caution and settled down under a bush for a picnic lunch, while watching the birds that had

already woven their nests, ready for nesting. No one had expected to find the birds breeding this far north or at this time of the year. No one can yet explain the mystery of the Clarke’s Weavers breeding habits.

There are threats that endanger the survival of Clarke’s Weaver. Threats such as land use changes and commercial charcoal production, put at risk the integrity of forests and seasonal wetlands in the Dakatcha Woodlands, jeopardizing their breeding sites.

TAITA HILLS UPDATE Energy-saving jikos introduced in Taita hills primary schools in 20172018, to reduce fuelwood use, recorded incremental benefits to community well-being. The schools recorded a notable improvement in performance in national examinations. This was attributed to increased teacher-student contact time as a result of having students in school. In addition, security was enhanced because the food was now available at school, limiting individual movement to home during lunchtime. (Watch video at the Nature Kenya YouTube channel).

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WHERE TO

watch birds

SOUTH COAST Birding Hotspots MUSTAFA ADAMJEE

SHIMBA HILLS Directions: Take the road (C106) to Kwale town, which is located southwest of Mombasa, off the main south coast Likoni-Ukunda road (A14). Follow the many road signs showing the way to the Shimba Hills National Reserve — the main gate is situated 3 km beyond the town.

Kenya Wildlife Service fees and rules apply and you can only get out of your car in designated places in the reserve. The best birding areas in the reserve, where you are able to walk around, are the Sable bandas and Makadara picnic site. You may also join the hikes to the Sheldrick Falls (enquire at the main gate on entry).

Driving slowly along the Marere Hill circuit and viewpoints is also sometimes productive.

The reserve is one of the best places in Kenya to see the beautiful Green-headed Oriole.

Other special birds seen here are Crested Guineafowl, Rednecked Spurfowl, Southern Banded Snake Eagle, Fischer’s Turaco, Green Tinkerbird and Croaking Cisticola.

Shimba Hills. PHOTO PETE STEWARD If you are lucky you may glimpse the Sable antelope, which is now probably only seen at this reserve. If you can, also visit the Shimba Hills Lodge, where a watering hole serves to attract many elusive birds for a drink. Exit the main gate of the reserve to visit the lodge.

MRIMA AND DZOMBO HILLS Service. Before you visit it is necessary to first contact the Kenya Forest Service office by email: zmkwale@ kenyaforestservice. org, to have a ranger to accompany you in the forest. The Kenya Forest Service office is near Mrima Primary School, which is located along the Lunga Lunga main road. The hills are about 80 km from the Likoni Ferry — take the Lunga Lunga Road going African Golden Oriole. PHOTO PETE STEWARD towards the Tanzanian border. (You could also Directions: These two forests are try to use Google Maps to find the most southerly Important Bird Mrima Forest.)

For a better birding Areas in Kenya and are protected experience, it is important to areas under the Kenya Forest reach the forest early in the day.

38 Kenya Birding 13

Usually the forest is lively by 7 a.m.

A good number of species from the Shimba Hills biome can be found here, in greater abundance. The highlights are Plain-backed and Uluguru Violet-backed sunbirds, Blue-mantled Crested and Little Yellow flycatchers, Black-headed Apalis, and Yellow-bellied, Fischer’s, and Tiny greenbuls. A number of raptors also occur in the area. The nearby shambas are a nice place to see more open-country birds, many typical of the Tsavo biome.

MKURUMUDZI RIVER ESTUARY Directions: To get to here, take the Lunga Lunga Road past Ukunda enroute to the town of Msambweni. It’s about 47 km from the Likoni Ferry, and you will turn from the Lunga Lunga Road 1.3 km before reaching the turn-off to Msambweni. Soon after crossing the Mkurumudzi river bridge you will see a small dirt road on your left. Turn into this dirt road, follow it up until the nearest rural house and ask for permission to park your car there.

Palm-nut Vulture.

PHOTO PETER USHER

You may ask the helpful locals to guide you to the beach, a 20 minute walk away. A great time to be here is when the Palaearctic migrants are around and its low tide, or the tide has started to advance. Here you would expect to see large flocks of waders, a good number of Yellow-billed Stork, Sacred Ibis, Grey Heron, Yellow-billed and Dimorphic egrets, Crab-plover, and Palm-nut Vulture.

BIXA POND IN TIWI Directions: Situated behind the Kenya Bixa factory, the Bixa Pond is a seasonal wetland surrounded by grassland. There is also a small thicket area near the pond. Kenya Bixa is in Tiwi, a populated area a few kilometres north of Ukunda, on the south coast. On reaching the factory entry gate, continue going south for 500m along the main road to find a dirt road going right. Drive down the dirt road for only 1 km and to your left should be a small pathway going to the pond. The walk to the pond is just about 50m, so you can leave your car along the dirt road, under a shading tree.

It’s best to be polite to any locals who may be around, and whom you may ask to accompany you. (Leave them a small tip at the end, if they do). If none are around, you may still proceed. This place is great for waterfowl like White-faced Whistling Duck, White-backed Duck, African Pygmy Goose (now difficult to find even in places it was known to be present around the country), Little Grebe, and African Jacana. Also, look in the surrounding bush and grassland, which is great for other interesting birds of the coast hinterland.

Bixa pond.

PHOTO MUSTAFA ADAMJEE

SHIMONI AND NEARBY ISLANDS This area is a tourist attraction, well known for its dolphin safaris and snorkeling. The best way to explore the islands is by dhow. To take a dhow trip make a booking through one of the many coastal tour agencies, or arrange it with a local organiser (and agree on a rate) at the Shimoni jetty. Alternatively, you may hire a boat and explore these rocky islands, but it’s going to be more expensive.

Kisite Island (well known for snorkeling) is a good place to look for Brown and Lesser noddys. Many Sooty Gulls, Gull-billed, Lesser Crested, Swift, and Saunders’s terns can be seen during the months of October-March. Roseate and Sooty terns are sometimes seen during the months June-August. On the mainland is the village of Shimoni, which has its own abundance of coastal species, including: Broad-billed Roller, Crowned, Trumpeter, Silvery-cheeked hornbills; and Brown-breasted and Black-collared barbets. Along the road to Shimoni you will encounter a few rice paddies and lily ponds, which are great places to look for African Open-billed Stork, Little Bittern and Squacco, Grey and Black-headed herons. Cattle, Great White, Yellow-billed, and Little egrets are also abundant.

PHOTO MUSTAFA ADAMJEE

Kenya Birding 13

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