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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Kenya. Part 4 of 7 (1 Viewer)

Andrew

wibble wibble
14-03-03
Location : Turtle Bay Scrubland & Shambas, Watamu, Kenya.

A last minute phone call to Jonathan was made to arrange a birding trip through the shambas and scrubland behind the hotel early in the morning just as it was getting light. I was quite disheartened by the abject poverty in which the locals were living in. Understandably, I was ashamed of how we take simple things for granted and complain too much back home. One ray of light was the people were really happy and extremely friendly shouting “Jambo” all the time to all they passed by and little children waved to me eagerly.

Overhead the first birds of the day to show were a flock of COMMON BULBULS and there was a COMMON DRONGO in a tall palm tree. Within a bougainvillea lined garden wall were four singing BLACK & WHITE MANNIKINS. As we neared the edge of the shambas there were six very special birds, RED BILLED FIREFINCHES were feeding away in the dusty track.

On the outside of the shamba was a walled area to the left and a small managed plantation to the right with a dusty path and scrub in the middle. Around this area on posts and wires were six SPOTTED FLYCATCHERS typically flying off from their perch in a circular motion and returning to where they took off from. In the walled area were a few small trees and some scrub, here

I was taken aback by the bold supercilium of a small BLACK CROWNED TCHAGRA feeding shyly in some thick scrub. Lots of EURASIAN GOLDEN ORIOLES and AFRICAN GOLDEN ORIOLES flew around between various points, so many that amazingly, I began to curse them! A diminutive EMERALD SPOTTED WOOD DOVE flew towards us and alighted in a thin beech like tree. Jonathan and I got smashing views of it in my scope.

My attention was soon totally captured by a pair of dazzling purple backed birds in a tree and they were identified as VIOLET BACKED STARLINGS. This was a bird I would never forget, the purple on the back is akin to the foil wrapper on a bar of Diary Milk chocolate! They had a large harem of drab brown females.

In the small plantation I spotted an exceptionally well camouflaged GRASSLAND PIPIT moving through the loose ground cover. High up in the sky I got four of a target species, HADADA IBISES were flying in formation to the coastal oasis of the Sabaki river mouth. In the same bird rich area, a ZANZIBAR SOMBRE GREENBUL perched in an open tree and I scoped it. It was nothing to shout about really, being a plain olive green bird with a longish tail and yellow eye. I still enthusiastically ticked it! Plenty of RED EYED DOVES passed overhead in various directions.

I remember looking through my scope at a beautiful singing YELLOW FRONTED CANARY somewhere around here too but not specifically where. I was getting so many outstanding birds that I was forgetting where some were seen! Some BLACK HEADED WEAVERS perched in palm trees and an AFRICAN PIED WAGTAIL ran along a white wall.

We moved on a bit and soon I was instructed to look up and I observed four stupendous CARMINE BEE-EATERS flying over inland. I was really excited by these sought after birds and could not imagine the day getting any better from this point on. Further into the scrub land we trained the scope on a pair of RING NECKED DOVES sedentarily perched in a large thorny bush.

So far I had clocked nineteen species and it was only quarter past seven. It got quieter now and it was a long time before the next addition to the list which were three GREY HEADED SPARROWS on some wires and feeding on the ground. I was told these were special birds. A pair of long tailed SPECKLED MOUSEBIRDS flew overhead and they were a sight for sore eyes. We were stopped in our tracks by the spectacle of an imposing GREAT SPARROWHAWK gliding overhead occasionally flapping it’s wings to the southwest. It was very much like the Eurasian Sparrowhawk but a bit bigger obviously as it’s name suggests and a lot whiter on the breast and wings. Another raptor, a BLACK KITE soon appeared very high in the sky, trying to steal the limelight. My shouts of exclamation flushed out a few TRUMPETER HORNBILLS that were in dense thicket.

On the way back we passed down the side of the earlier bountiful area and a bird flew past our heads into a tree. I set up the scope and after a patient wait, we were watching an enchanting BLUE NAPED MOUSEBIRD with a very long tail and crested head. It was a truly spectacular bird. In a garden back in the shambas, within a yellow flowered bougainvillea were two female AMETHYST SUNBIRDS, these were not the dazzling males but a much appreciated sight and valued addition to my day’s list. I really enjoyed this walk through a surprisingly bird intensive area that must be overlooked by many tourists. Today proved to be yet another bumper harvest with twenty six different species and all of them specialities to me.

14-03-03
Location : Turtle Bay Beach, Watamu, Kenya.

I spent the afternoon relaxing in the cooler shades within the hotel and we ventured out on the beach in the evening. The intention was to explore beyond the island point and it turned out to be a unexpected surprise. The beach in front of the hotel is clean and tidy and we passed the point to find a completely different beach covered in seaweed. This provided a rich feeding ground for many species of wading birds to my delight.

Immediately, we were graced with a close scrutiny of a PIED KINGFISHER hovering above the edge of the water looking down and then diving in for small fish. It went to settle on a overhanging twig on the island to be joined by two others. Along the tide wrack were plenty of RINGED PLOVER, SANDERLING, COMMON SANDPIPER, four WHIMBREL, a few GREENSHANK and nine CURLEW SANDPIPERS. The Sanderlings were walking as deep in the water as they could holding their wings upright, snatching at the water for food. Plenty of exceptional birds were on offer including three shockingly close BROAD BILLED SANDPIPERS and four LITTLE STINTS mingling with the other birds unafraid of passing humans.

Soon the waders were eclipsed by an astoundingly close and detailed view of an OSPREY passing directly over us. Plenty of AFRICAN PALM SWIFTS and a few ETHIOPIAN SWALLOWS circled in the skies above. A single MOTTLED SPINETAIL passed among the Swifts and there were probably more. Further up the beach I set up the scope and looked out to a small islet only adding a GREY HERON and out at sea were lots of Terns and some SOOTY GULLS. On the island point were some COMMON BULBULS and a few AFRICAN GOLDEN WEAVERS.

After escaping the clutches of some local beach traders we walked back along the beach as the sun set with plenty of Common Sandpipers feeding along the edge of the Indian Ocean. The Broad Billed Sandpipers and Little Stints put the icing on the cake and the short evening session had pushed the day’s species count to forty three.
 
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