KENYA BIRDERS’ SPECIAL 2007

“Birdwise this year’s tour to Kenya was very unusual. Unseasonable and heavy rain throughout December had turned most of the country green, which was very good for the local people and for birds such as bishops, widowbirds, whydahs and weavers. We saw males of many of the latter groups in full breeding plumage, often engaged in dramatic display flights some of which had never been seen on previous Sunbird tours. We also benefited by finding some shy and skulking birds such as Broad-tailed Warbler which we watched singing and displaying – a species we have not seen on this tour for at least eight years.

The lakes and marshes had all filled up and the aquatic vegetation had quickly recovered with many water bodies covered in flowering lilies and fringed by lush reed and rush beds. But where were the waterbirds? Many species that we regard as resident were absent and pelican, herons, egrets, ducks and terns were all well down in number. For example, we failed to find any Pink-backed Pelicans, Goliath Herons, Glossy Ibis, or Hottentot Teal at all. Presumably these ‘resident’ species had moved elsewhere to breed – but where? We found no trace of them in our extensive journey around southern Kenya, from Lake Victoria in the west to the Indian Ocean in the east.

Palearctic migrants were also very scarce. Flocks of White Storks are normally a frequent sight in Kenya mid-winter – we found just one small group of ten in Tsavo National Park. White-winged Black Terns usually feed over many lakes – we saw none. Passerine migrants were also scarce – no Garden Warblers and very few Blackcaps or Olivaceous Warblers. One possible explanation is that if the heavy rains also fell further north in Africa, perhaps the southbound migrants encountered an abundance of food on their journey and stopped off to take advantage of it. Perhaps they simply hadn’t reach Kenya as yet?

Fortunately, Kenya’s avifauna is so rich and diverse that we still had plenty of wonderful birds to watch. Even though our trip total fell short of our target of 700 species, no one should really be disappointed with a trip that encountered 689 species in three weeks. Where else on the planet can you see that many birds in that time period? The answer is simple – nowhere! Kenya is quite simply the best birding destination on Earth. And then added to this are all the fantastic mammals, not to mention the supporting cast of reptiles, butterflies, dragonflies, and the like.

Highlights were far too numerous to list in full, but for the author at least included the following; the Bat Hawk gliding silently overhead at Gedi Ruins, the flying displays of the Peregrine Falcon and White-necked Ravens at the top of the Great Rift escarpment at Iten, the display flights of the Black-bellied Bustards in the Mara, the pre-breakfast Ross’s Turaco in the valley above Kichwa Tembo camp, the cute family of Sokoke Scops Owls in the forest of the same name, the already mentioned Broad-tailed Warbler, the Scaly-breasted Illadopsis family at our feet in Kakamega Forest, the Leopard at Lake Nakuru, the Cheetahs playing tag around the vehicles in the Mara, and all three species of chameleon, so sharply spotted by Edwin while driving the front vehicle. Doubtless we all have our favourites and each person’s list would be different, so rich and varied were our wildlife experiences in Kenya.

And then added to all of this was our very compatible group. It seemed that not a cross word was exchanged throughout the entire trip and we all got on very well indeed – an ideal tour from that respect. And then the lovely accommodation – Rondo Retreat, Mountain Lodge, Kichwa Tembo tented camp – and the food – so many sumptuous breakfasts with omelettes or crepes cooked fresh for us on the spot, and wonderful buffet lunches and dinners. And then there were the roads of course!!!! How those Land Rovers last more than a year or two is hard to understand. But we did see the road construction camps being set up in various places so hopefully Edwin and Zach’s belief that things will be much better by next year will prove true.

Altogether a fabulous trip – thanks to everyone for taking part and sharing all the fun. There is no doubt we had a really great safari to Kenya this year. Hakuna matata!” David Fisher

Bird List:

During the last 22 years Sunbird has operated over 50 tours to Kenya, during which more than 900 species of bird have been recorded. However, this list only contains the 865 species recorded during the last nine January tours. Prior to the English name of each species a number from 1 to 9 is given. This indicates on how many of those nine trips the species has been recorded. Thus an 9 indicates that we've never missed it and you can assume we have a very good chance of seeing it on the next tour, while a 1 indicates we've only recorded it once in the last nine years and our chances next trip are fairly slim. A 9 doesn't necessarily mean it is a common bird of course - it might be a major rarity that we've made an extra special effort to find each year - Magpie Shrike for example.

The columns of numbers and letters between the English and the scientific names refer to our last tour (2007) and the key to those numbers and letters is given below. This is the place to look to determine the status of each species. A bird seen on 21 days is clearly widespread and almost certainly common, while one seen on only 1 or 2 days is either very local, rare, or possibly both. No numbers or letters between the English and scientific names mean that the species was not recorded during our last tour.

The order, English and scientific names used in this list generally follow those used in Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania by Zimmerman et al which is our recommended field guide for the tour. A few species have been split or lumped by other authorities since that booked was published and these have been incorporated into the list. A few taxonomic notes have been added.

Key to numbers and letters between the English and scientific names:

Column 1 = number of days recorded

Column 2 = greatest daily count

H = heard only

(H) = species was seen, but most birds only heard

N = nesting evident

E = recorded during extension week only

(I) = introduced

9	Common Ostrich	4	24	N		Struthio camelus
3	Somali Ostrich	1	9		E	Struthio molybdophanes
1	Great Crested Grebe					Podiceps cristatus
2	Black-necked Grebe					Podiceps nigricollis
9	Little Grebe	4	12	N		Tachybaptus ruficollis
9	Great White Pelican	4	100			Pelecanus onocrotalus
8	Pink-backed Pelican					Pelecanus rufescens
9	Great Cormorant	6	100			Phalacrocorax carbo
9	Long-tailed Cormorant	2	12			Phalacrocorax africanus
8	African Darter	1	1			Anhinga rufa
1	Dwarf Bittern					Ixobrychus sturmii
6	Little Bittern	2	2			Ixobrychus minutus
4	Black-crowned Night-Heron	1	1			Nycticorax nycticorax
9	Cattle Egret	14	100			Bubulcus ibis
9	Little Egret	6	6			Egretta garzetta
4	Dimorphic Egret					Egretta dimorpha
6	Western Reef Heron	1	1			Egretta gularis
8	Black Heron	1	1		E	Egretta ardesiaca
9	Squacco Heron	2	20			Ardeola ralloides
9	Rufous-bellied Heron	1	2			Ardeola rufiventris
9	Striated Heron	2	1			Butorides striatus
9	Yellow-billed (Intermediate) Egret	1	1		E	Mesophoyx intermedia
9	Great Egret	1	4			Casmerodius albus
9	Grey Heron	8	6			Ardea cinerea
9	Purple Heron	2	1			Ardea purpurea
8	Goliath Heron					Ardea goliath
9	Black-headed Heron	15	20			Ardea melanocephala
9	Hamerkop	15	30			Scopus umbretta
9	White Stork	1	10		E	Ciconia ciconia
7	Black Stork	2	5			Ciconia nigra
9	Abdim's Stork	3	100			Ciconia abdimii
8	Woolly-necked Stork	4	2			Ciconia episcopus
8	Saddle-billed Stork	1	2			Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis
9	Marabou Stork	13	100	N		Leptoptilus crumeniferus
9	African Open-billed Stork	3	207			Anastomus lamelligerus
9	Yellow-billed Stork	5	10			Mycteria ibis
9	Sacred Ibis	10	'00s	N		Threskiornis aethiopicus
9	Hadada Ibis	14	20			Bostrychia hagedash
2	African Green Ibis					Bostrychia olivacea
8	Glossy Ibis					Plegadis falcinellus
9	African Spoonbill	4	5			Platalea alba
9	Greater Flamingo	3	50			Phoenicopterus ruber
9	Lesser Flamingo	4	'0,000s			Phoenicopterus minor
7	Fulvous Whistling Duck	1	12			Dendrocygna bicolor
9	White-faced Whistling Duck	7	45	N		Dendrocygna viduata
9	White-backed Duck	1	2			Thalassornis leuconotus
9	Spur-winged Goose	1	11	N	E	Plectopterus gambensis
9	Egyptian Goose	14	50	N		Alopochen aegyptiacus
7	Knob-billed Duck (Goose)					Sarkidiornis melanotos
6	African Pygmy Goose					Nettapus auritus
8	African Black Duck	1	2			Anas sparsa
9	Cape Teal (Wigeon)	1	6			Anas capensis
3	Common Teal					Anas crecca
9	Garganey	1	3			Anas querquedula
9	Yellow-billed Duck	4	20			Anas undulta