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Birding  kenya:  5 december 2001 - 19 january 2002,

E-mail: duanbiggs@freemail.absa.co.za , dusku@webmail.co.za

Telephone: +27 82 341 9502 /  +27 13 735 5524
P.O. Box 106, Skukuza 1350 South Africa.

Introduction

Areas visited

1.   Nairobi and surrounds
2.   Amboseli National Park
3.   Kakamega Forest including a brief visit to  Lake Victoria around Kisumu
4.   Lake Naivasha
5.   Kinangop Plateau including visits to Matubio Gate of Aberdares National Park and the Kikuyu forest.
6.   Shompole Group Ranch including Lake Magadi and Lake Natron
7.   Watamu area including Mida Creek and Arabuko Sokoke Forest and a brief visit to the the Sabaki River mouth. 

Total Species Count: 512

Focus of the trip

The trip had 3 main objectives:

1. Conducting bird surveys in Amboseli National Park in collaboration with Dr David Western as part of an attempt to determine the impact of elephant pressure on bird diversity and community structure.
2. Meeting and workshopping with a number of Nature Kenya's (The Birdlife partner in Kenya - contact details below)   Site Support Groups (SSGs). The SSGs are part of the Important Bird Areas  (IBA) program and are Community Based Organisations (CBOs) which focus on the integrated  conservation of Important Bird Areas. The SSGs are involved in environmental awareness in communities in and surrounding the IBAs , developing  guiding and other activities which represent a more sustainable way for the communities to earn income as well as in the monitoring of the IBAs. The focus of these workshops was on the further development of bird-guiding in these areas and on the sharing of experiences and the strengthening of links between Kenya and South Africa for further collaboration in this field.
3. Conducting baseline  bird surveys for the African Conservation Centre (ACC) in the Shompole Group Ranch and in the Mida Creek, Arabuko Sokoke forest area.

In all of the above one of the primary activities  was birding, either general birding or more intensive quantitative bird surveys. I was fortunate to spend most of my time in Kenya, out in the field busy with some form of birding. I recorded 512 species on the trip.

General

Literature

On my trip I made use of the Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania, by  Zimmerman et al 1996 which is an excellent book. The plates are good overall and the text detailed. The main drawback of this book is that it is not user-friendly. The plates are separate from the texts and  follow a different order.

When the new Field guide of the Birds of East Africa by Stevenson and Fanshawe came out I asked Dr Leon Bennun, head of the Ornithology department, at the National Museums of Kenya about purchasing the new guide and he felt that Zimmerman is more than adequate for Kenya. The East African Wildlife Society's magazine SWARA, stated in a review of the new Collins guide, that the more user-friendly Collins guide is most useful when used together with Zimmerman et al for birding in Kenya and that it is not a complete replacement for Zimmerman. However for a once-off  1 - 2 month or shorter birding trip to Kenya the new Collins guide should be more than adequate. It is probably the best guide to buy if you do not yet have a guide for Kenya and plan to also visit other countries in the region.

The Important Bird Areas of Kenya by Bennun and Njoroge available from Nature Kenya, is an invaluable book when birding in Kenya with birding and ecological information on the top birding spots, and interesting information on the conservation of birds and conservation in Kenya in general.

Food, Supplies,  Water and fuel

Kenya is an expensive country in comparison to South Africa. The best place to buy supplies in Nairobi are the new Nakumatt-mega or Uchumi-hyper stores which sell a wide range of products. Basic supplies can be acquired in most small towns.  Most tap water is not potable in most places and water purification tablets (if you don't mind the taste) or  a water filter are essential. Fuel is expensive in Kenya, relative to South Africa and its average cost is the equivalent of US$0.70 per litre.

Travelling in own vehicle

I was fortunate to be provided with a vehicle for the trip. In Kenya the road conditions are unpredictable. Some roads are good, notably the road to Amboseli National Park and the road to Lake Magadi, and many others are horrendous, in particular the roads on the Kinangop Plateau and parts of the Nairobi - Mombasa road. Unless you have prior information about road condition it is best to assume that you will not be able to average more than 60km/h on the main roads and probably 20 or 30km/h on the smaller side roads. Do not rely on the presence of road signs in Kenya at all. In some places there are road signs, but it is strongly recommended that you  establish directions to your destination from someone in person before heading off. The difficulty in finding your way around is compounded by the fact that besides for the main roads, the road network on the maps in many cases grossly misrepresents the road-network (or lack thereof) in reality.  For birders it is probably best to contact Nature Kenya - the Birdlife partner in Kenya, (contact details below) and they will be able to help you. If you are going to make use of local guides, they will most likely  be able to arrange for a local guide to meet you in a town on one of the  main roads. The guide will then direct you to  the relevant birding sites. Due to the limited communications infrastructure in Kenya,  it is advised that you make these arrangements at least a few days in advance.

Money  matters

At most of the facilities we made use of,  prices were charged in Kenyan Shillings. Some of the more 'touristy' places accepted payment in dollars but usually at a poor exchange rate. At the time of our visit the exchange rate was very stable at 77 - 78 Kenyan Shillings to the US dollar. All prices below are given in dollars.

Useful Contact details

Arabuko Sokoke guides: Sokoke@africaonline.co.ke,

Nature Kenya - speak to Solomon or Anthony Kiragu: eanhs@africaonline.co.ke; Solomon mobile: +254  (0)733 795 857; Anthony Kiragu mobile:  +254 (0) 72 300 130

Kakamega guides (Kakamega Environmental Education Program): keeporg@yahoo.com

Kinangop Plataeu guides (Friends of Kinangop Plateau (FoKP)): James Wainaina (founder member) mobile: +254 (0) 733-815670 email: rvgls@kenyaweb.com; Douglas Gachucha (member) e-mail: birdtrucker@comphse.com

Postal addresses for the different branches of FoKP):

FoKP ­ Murungaru branch is 265 Naivasha,
FoKP - Engineer branch P. O. Box 30 North Kinangop,
FoKP ­ South branch P. O. Box 174 South Kinangop,

Colin Jackson and A Rocha Bird Observatory at Mida Creek, Watamu :colin.jackson@bigfoot.com; mobile +254 72 842 366.

Itenerary and Birds

Nairobi and surrounds

General
Nairobi is an attractive city with a wide array of habitats nearby. This evident in the  600 species  ( according to Leon Bennun) which have been recorded in and around the city. I spent a night or so in Nairobi on various parts of the trip when moving from one part of the country to another. The only place we had to make use of commercial accommodation in Nairobi was at the Overlanders/ Backpacker's campsite on the road to Lake Magadi. Accommodation was cheap but the food overpriced. It was the only place in this part of Nairobi that  we could find a camp-site. The main drawback of the site were the rowdy people and the dance music which blasted away until 2 or 3 in the morning. The Carnivore Restaurant and Simba Saloon off Langata Road near Wilson Airport provide good, and fairly inexpensive meals.

Birds

Mountain Wagtail, Nyanza Swift and Whiteheaded Saw-wing - edge of Nairobi National Park, near Africa Nazarene Univeristy off the Magadi road.

Amboseli National Park

General
I was in Amboseli National Park for almost 2 weeks with Stephen Wamiti an IBA Research fellow at the National Museums of Kenya, conducting bird surveys to assess elephant impacts. The elephant impacts in Amboseli are very evident when comparing the dense Fever tree Acacia xanthophloea woodlands in the elephant exclosure around Ol Tukai and Amboseli Lodge with the stark grasslands nearby. These 2 habitats support vastly different bird communities. The road network in Amboseli  is good and the swamps, formed by the run off from Mt Kilimanjaro,  provide for excellent birding.

Birds

Taveta Golden Weaver: Amboseli Serena Lodge and Observation Hill
Longtoed Plover: Abundant in swamps
Redthroated Tit: Acacia tortilis woodland near Kitirua gate
Collared Pratincole: Common over swamps and grasslands .
Fischer's Sparrowlark: Common on open bare ground.
Blacknecked Weaver:  Acacia tortilis woodland near Kitirua gate
Fischer's Starling: Woodland around Mashanani Gate
Greater Spotted Eagle: Near swamps north of Observation Hill
Caspian Plover: Grassland plains just west of Ol Tukai lodge
Yellowthroated Sandgrouse: Road from Ol Tukai to KWS headquarters. Large flocks of 500+ recorded just east of Lake Amboseli.
Blackfaced Sandgrouse: Near Eremito Gate
Capped Wheatear: Grasslands near Eremito Gate
Leadcoloured Flycatcher: Amboseli Serena Lodge.

Kakamega Forest

General
After picking up my girlfriend Erin Bohensky (EB), who joined for the rest of the trip , in Nairobi, we headed for Kakamega forest. Allow a full days  (8 - 10 hours)travelling between Nairobi and Kakamega. There are no signposts to the Kakamega forest station and Isecheno Guest House where the forest bird guides are stationed. It is recommended that you arrange with Nature Kenya that a forest guides meet you at one the forest entry roads off the main Kakamega -  Kisumu road, as the roads to the forest can be very confusing. You would probably be able to find your way to the forest and Isecheno Guest house on your own during daylight without too much of a problem , but avoid arriving in  Kakamega forest any time after dusk, unless you know the directions, otherwise you are likely to get lost as we did. Cheap, clean and basic accommodation as well as camping is available (US$25 for 2 people for 5 nights) at the Isecheno forest station where the guides are based. It is strongly advised that birders make use of the local bird guides at Kakamega for at least a part of your stay. These guides have an excellent local knowledge of the forest birds, including the specials, their calls and how to locate them. The guides play an active role in the Kakamega Environmental Education Program (KEEP) a local grassroots CBO that also functions as an IBA Site Support Group for the forest. The organisation focuses on the conservation of the forest and has over 100 members. KEEP is playing a very important role in ensuring that Kakamega forest remains at least reasonably intact. We spent 5 nights at Kakamega. We found that the southern part of the forest is the best for birding.

Birds

As mentioned above the local bird guides have an excellent of the forest specials and where they can be found. Specials that we recorded are indicated below:

Great Blue Turaco, Blueheaded Bee-eater, African Grey Parrot, Black and White Casqued Hornbill, Browneared and Yellowcrested Woodpecker,  African Blue and Dusky Crested Flycatcher, Common and Chestnut Wattle-eye. Blackbilled, Darkcapped and Brownbacked  Weaver, Redheaded Malimbe, Pinkfooted Puffback, Squaretailed Drongo,  White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Greyheaded Negrofinch, Doubletoothed Barbet (breeding near Rondo Retreat), Yellowspotted Barbet, Yellowbilled Barbet, Stuhlmann's Starling, Bartailed Trogon, Luhder's Bush-shrike, Grey-green or Bocage's Bush-shrike, Green, Greenthroated and Greenheaded Sunbird,  Dusky Tit, Yellowbill, Brownchested Alethe, Whiteheaded Woodhoepoe, Western Blackheaded Oriole (heard), Whitespotted Flufftail (heard). Ansorge's, Slenderbilled, Joyful and Shelley's Greenbul  Redheaded Bluebill, Blackbilled Turaco (heard), Yellowthroated Leaf-love (plantation edge at boom-gate where you turn left to Isecheno guest house) , Uganda Woodland Warbler, Whitechinned Prinia, Whitethroated Bee-eater, Blackbilled Turaco (heard) African Crowned Eagle,   Red-tailed Bristlebill, Brown Illadopsis, Equatorial Akalat, Blackfaced Rufous Warbler, Chubb's Cisticola, Blackcollared Apalis,  Greythroated Barbet and  Tree Pipit.

Lake Victoria around Kisumu

General
The best place for birding around Kisumu was the Dunga Swamp a listed IBA. We took the lakeshore road past the Sunset Hotel to Hippo Point just beyond the Kisumu Yacht Club. The Dunga Swamp is right next to Hippo Point. Here we unexpectedly found a local bird guide called Titus, who says he is always available at Hippo Point. Titus operates without binoculars but knows where to find the birds and provides a measure of security. Titus took us around Dunga Swamp, and then to a swamp at the end of the lakeshore road at Dunga village. Both these sites are supposedly good for the Papyrus Gonolek and Papyrus Yellow Warbler which we unfortunately missed.

Birds

At Dunga Swamp:
Papyrus Canary, Swamp Flycatcher, Redchested Sunbird, Blackheaded Gonolek, Blackbilled Barbet and Great Egret.

Swamp at end of road at Dunga village:
Yellowbacked Weaver, Northern Brownthroated Weaver, Slenderbilled Weaver , African Pygmy Kingfisher and Malachite Kingfisher.  

Lake Naivasha

General
Lake Naivasha is one of the most 'touristy' areas we visited. At the Lake Naivasha Lodge after some negotiations we were permitted to camp for US$ 9 for 2 people, one tent per  night. The campsite is in a lovely open fever tree woodland overlooking the lake.  If you have a vehicle the drive along southwards from Lake Naivasha lodge is very pleasant. The road becomes a dirt track at the southern end of the lake wherafter you need a 4 X 4 to proceed to the very scenic crater lake

Birds

Greybacked Fiscal - Fever tree woodland around Lake Naivasha Lodge
Pinkbacked Pelican, Great Cormorant -  On lake from Lake Naivasha lodge
Purple Heron - Swamp  vegetation, near Lake Naivasha Lodge
Redbilled and Hottentot Teal - Southern Lakeshore just beyond Fisherman's camp.

Kinangop Plataeu

General
Kinangop Plataeu is one of the strongholds in Kenya of the endemic and endangered Sharpe's Longclaw. The Friends of Kinangop Plateau (FOKP) is a grassroots CBO and is also an IBA Site Support Group  focussing on the conservation of the plataeu and its bird species, specifically the Sharpe's Longclaw. FOKP has over 100 members and plays an important role in preserving the few remaining patches of grassland which provide habitat for the Longclaw. When we visited, FOKP was planning to establish guides in the near future. The FOKP members who took us birding (some of which will most likely become the guides) were very enthusiastic and had an excellent local knowledge of the birds in their area. To make finding species such as the Sharpe's Longclaw and Jackson's Widowbird an easier matter, I would recommend making use of the FOKP guides as they know where these species are found. Most of the road network (with the main road from the Nairobi highway to Matubio gate being the only exception) has hardly been touched in terms of maintenance for  decades. This includes the road signs. Maps of the roads in the area are grossly inaccurate. The guides will thus also be able to help you find your way around the plateau.

James Wainaina is the founder member of FOKP and his contact details are: mobile: +254 (0) 733-815670 email:rvgls@kenyaweb.com.  Douglas Gachucha a FOKP member who expressed great interest in becoming involved in bird guiding during our visit can be reached at birdtrucker@comphse.com. Otherwise, you will be able to contact the FOKP  through Nature Kenya, although a few days should be allowed for this. If you get hold of FOKP and they do not yet have guides available, some of the members will be more than willing to take you out to find the Sharpe's Longclaw and other specials. 

Road to Matubio Gate
We made a day trip from the plataeu to Matubio gate of Aberdares National Park. It is a very scenic drive passing through a wide range of habitats. The plateau round Matubio gate presents an opportunity to find some Afroalpine species.

Northern Kikuyu Forest
A few hours were spent in the northern part of Kikuyu Escarpment Forest on the road that passes through and goes south-east of Njabini. The patch of forest is not more than 5 - 7km from Njabini town. There was some confusion with FOKP members who accompanied us as although this part of the forest forms the northern part of the Kikuyu Forest IBA in the IBA report; the FOKP members knew the forest as the Southern Aberdare forest. When accompanied by FOKP members or guides be sure to be clear about which part of the Kikuyu forest you would like to visit to prevent confusion. When entering this part of the forest it is best to be accompanied by an FOKP guide or member as they understand the process of negotiating with the forestry departments guards that operate the boom gate just inside the forest and know how to get there. The Kikuyu forest is being destroyed at an alarming rate and the FOKP are involved in trying to preserve what is left.

Birds

Hunter's Cisticola - Common throughout area in forest edge habitat
Hartlaub's Turaco - Common in forest throughout area
Kinangop Plataeu
Sharpe's Longclaw,  Levaillant's Cisticola - near Marungaru, in grassland near dam - FOKP guides know where.
Wingsnapping Cisticola - Common on Kinangop Plataeu
Blackwinged Plover - Western side of Plateau near escarpment at Murangaru
Moustached Green Tinkerbird - Heard calling in montane forest at edge  of plateau about 5km south of  Murangaru
Road to Matubio Gate of Aberdares National Park from Ndunyu Njeru
Chestnut-throated Apalis - In montane forest
Goldenwinged Sunbird - Forest edge
Jackson's Francolin - Common in edge of bamboo forest
Aberdare Cisticola - Heathland at Matubio Gate
Abyssinian Crimsonwing - Forest edge
Blackheaded Waxbill - Forest edge at foothills of Aberdare mountains
Northern Kikuyu Forest, a few km on road east of Njabini 
Finebanded Woodpecker, African Hill Babbler, Grey Cuckooshrike, White-starred Robin and  Whitetailed Crested Flycatcher

(Central) Kikuyu Forest
We visited this part of the forest for just over an hour on our way back to Nairobi from Kinangop plateau. This forest is reached coming from Naivasha by turning left at the fly-over once you have completed your ascent out of the rift valley. There were no road-signs at this junction when we were there. It is a few hundred metres after a takeover lane ends at the top of the ascent. Stay on this road once you have turned left and after about 20 - 30mins you should be in good forest habitat. The forest is spectacular but I understood it is one of the forests which has been or is going to be degazetted and whilst birding the background noise is one of chainsaws and axes. The best way to bird here is probably to follow one of the small gravel tracks that lead off from the main road where it is quieter. New species recorded here were the Barred Longtailed and African Emerald Cuckoo. 

Shompole Group Ranch - including Lake Magadi and Lake Natron

General
Shompole Group Ranch is situated to the south-west of Lake Magadi. A company called Art of Ventures has in partnership with the local Masai built an ultra-luxurious eco-lodge. However you do not have to stay at the eco-lodge to visit the area. For the less adventerous, who don't like getting badly lost, it is advised not to enter the group ranch without someone who knows the area or detailed prior information about the roads. It is recommended that you visit the area with a well-serviced vehicle and a working GPS and a couple drums of fuel. It is probably a good idea to have someone expecting you back at a certain date. Although there are a number of fairly good roads no available map indicates these roads and it is easy to get lost.

The scenery on the ranch is spectacular and there is a large diversity of habitats and birds. If you do visit the area, you need a 4X4.

Birds

Whiteheaded Barbet - Riparian vegetation of the Ewaso Ngero River.
Blackthroated Barbet - common
Black Heron,  Little Ringed Plover - - Ewaso Ngero swamp, where the river flows into Lake Natron.
Lesser Spotted Eagle - Near Ol yaika village
Booted Eagle - Nguruman escarpment
Gabon Nightjar - common on plains
Upcher's Warbler - Common in Acacia tortilis woodland.
Redfronted Warbler, Chestnut Sparrow -- Common in arid scrub and thornveld.
Blacknecked Weaver - Fairly common in denser vegetation
Whitebellied Canary - Acacia tortilis woodland

Arabuko Sokoke,  Mida Creek and Watamu area

General
For those driving down to this area, it is suggested that you allow 12 hours for the trip from Nairobi to Watamu, and be very wary of the dangerous and wreckless driving of the other road users. The Hunter's Lodge at the Kiboko petrol station 160km from Nariobi offers good, reasonably-priced accommodation and cheap camping on the Nairobi - Mombasa road. It is a good idea to spend 2 days travelling down as you then have time to explore the good birding habitat on the way south including the Tsavo West and Tsavo East National Parks.  Check on the security situation in these areas before you embark on your journey.  Arabuko Sokoke is well developed for tourists, with a modern information centre. The guides are members of an organisation called the Friends of Arabuko Sokoke which  is a local grassroots Community Based Organisation and is also the IBA Site Support Group for the forest. It plays an important role in the conservation of the forest. We were accompanied by Manuel, who like the guides elsewhere displayed an excellent local knowledge of the birds in the forest and had good knowledge of other birding spots in the surrounding area such as Mida Creek and Sabaki River Mouth. The guides will be very helpful in getting you to the good spots for waders such as Crab Plover on Mida Creek. Off the main road there are no road signs and many little tracks so unless you want to spend many hours finding your way around, making use of the guides is a good idea.  The guides at Arabuko can be contacted and reservations made at Sokoke@africaonline.co.ke.

An organisation called A Rocha is setting up a bird observatory at Mida Creek, they can be contacted through Colin Jackson colin.jackson@bigfoot.com. There are many tourists in this area and facilities such as fuel are thus widely available. The roads in this area are generally exceptionally good by Kenyan standards. The tides have a large impact on the birds at Mida Creek and Sabaki River Mouth. In Arabuko Sokoke forest there are 3 major different habitats (Brachystegia woodland, Mixed Forest and Cynometra thicket) which host different bird communities. The guidebooks available at the information centre provide excellent information and are worth purchasing. The small remaining patches of coastal forest fringing the creek also provide for excellent birding. The Gedi Ruins National Monument provides for good forest birding and is a spectacular historical site definitely worth visiting.

Birds

Mousecoloured Sunbird, Scaly Babbler - Thickets near about 3km south of  Turtle Bay Beach club
Arabuko Sokoke Forest
Southern Banded Snake Eagle, Crowned Eagle  - Brachystegia woodland
Lizard Buzzard - Along the main road
Crested Guineafowl - Cynometra thicket
Narina Trogon - Common in Brachystegia woodland and Mixed Forest
Trumpeter Hornbill - Brachystegia woodland
Green Barbet - Common in Brachystegia woodland, mixed forest and forest edge vegetation.
Mombasa Woodpecker - Common in Brachystegia woodland
Fischer's Greenbul, Eastern Bearded Scrub Robin, Blackheaded Apalis - Common throughout the forest
Northern Brownbul - Brachystegia woodland and Cynometra thicket
Terrestrial Brownbul - Cynometra thicket
Pale Batis, Eastern Nicator - Common in Brachystegia woodland and Cynometra thicket
Redtailed Antthush - Brachystegia woodland
Chestnutfronted Helmetshrike, Little Yellow Flycatcher - Common in Brachystegia woodland
Bluemantled Crested Flycatcher - Mixed Forest and Cynometra thicket.
Fourcoloured Bush-shrike - Common in Cynometra thicket
Blackbellied Starling - Common throughout forest.
Plainbacked Sunbird - Brachystegia woodland
Amani Sunbird - Common in Brachystegia woodland
Mida Creek
Osprey,  Western Reef Heron - At the mouth
Openbilled Stork - One sighting over the northern side of the creek
African Spoonbill, Pied Avocet,  Lesser or Mongolian Sandplover, Greater Sandplover, Grey Plover, Sanderling, Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew, Terek Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone - Recorded at various localities on the creek
Sooty Gull - One sighting at the mouth
Lesser Crested Tern - One sighting on in northern part of Creek
Northern Carmine Bee-eater - Coastal forest fringing Mida Creek.
Yellowthroated Longclaw - Grassland patches around Mida Creek.
Zanzibar Sombre Greenbul - Common in forest edge vegetation.
Little Yellow Flycatcher - In coastal forest surrounding the creek.

Malindi and Sabaki River mouth

A day trip to the Malindi Harbour and the Sabaki River Mouth is well worth it. Malindi is about 15 minutes from Watamu and the Sabaki River Mouth which has vast expanses of mudflats with literally tens of thousands of waders is about 1 hour from Watamu. Unless you know the area, you should take one of the guides from Arabuko Sokoke as they know where to access these sites and where you can park your car safely. These sites give you an opportunity to pick up some more seabirds such as Sooty Gull, Lesser Crested Tern,  Heuglin's Gull, Caspian Tern, Greater Crested Tern, and Saunder's Tern. The Sabaki River mouth is surrounded by arid scrub and here Namaqua Dove, Purplebanded Sunbird, Golden Palm Weaver, Zanzibar Red Bishop, Scaly Babbler and  Spurwinged Plover were recorded.

List of species recorded

All species recorded are indicated below. The relevant codes for the main areas visited are:

n: Nairobi and surrounds
a: Amboseli National Park
k: Kakamega forest
l: Lake Naivasha and surrounds
p: Kinangop Plataeu
s: Shompole Group Ranch including Lake Naivasha and Lake Natron
w: Watamu area, including Arabuko Sokoke forest and Mida Creek.

If any species were recorded only outside of these 7 sites, the localities that they were recorded at are indicated.

The list below follows the names and chronological order of the Check-list of the Birds of Kenya third edition 1996, Ornithological Sub-committee, East African Natural History Society

Total number of species recorded: 512

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