Andrew
wibble wibble
13-03-03
Location : Mida Creek, near Watamu, Kenya.
We boarded an old style Arabic Dhow (Dhow) with Jonathan and four others from the hotel at three in the afternoon for a cruise up the famous Mida Creek to watch many different bird species and witness a sunset at the end of the evening.
Mida Creek used to be the mouth of the Sabaki River many years ago before it diverted further up the coast. What is left is a forest lined tidal creek with muddy shores revealed at low tide. This provides a rich habitat for feeding waders and larger birds. The speciality of this creek is the endangered Crab Plovers and it was these birds I had wanted to see above all else on this holiday. The forests run all round the creek meaning it really is only viewable from a boat apart from a dilapidated mangrove platform walk that leads to a small hide.
As the Dhow set off, immediately obvious were lots of COMMON SANPIPERS feeding along the water’s edge. It was not long before we clapped eyes on the creek’s specialities, a few of one hundred and fifty CRAB PLOVERS were feeding away on an exposed mud flat. Imagine a bird slightly stockier than an Avocet and very similar in plumage but with a stout and stubby black bill and you have a Crab Plover. (Crab Plover) On the same mud bank were many other birds including some SACRED IBISES, AFRICAN SPOONBILLS, LITTLE EGRETS, YELLOW BILLED EGRETS, GREENSHANKS and loads of CURLEW SANDPIPERS. The Spoonbills were like ours but with red bills and legs. I was amazed at the frequency of the Curlew Sandpipers, they were common like Redshanks back home on the Exe estuary. On the opposite scale, there were only a few GREY PLOVER and one SANDERLING.
A bit further up the creek watched two of about today’s fifteen huge YELLOW BILLED STORKS. There were also many WHIMBREL dotted around the place, they were expected to migrate soon. I tempted them all to stop off at Bowling Green Marsh with the promise of fine food and good company. Around the creek there were plenty of large GULL BILLED TERNS hovering above the shallower shorelines and diving down for small fish with their large squat black bills. A beautiful GREAT EGRET flew past the bow of the dhow and they do their name justice as they are dwarfed only by the Goliath Heron.
On the end of a sandbar in the middle of the creek was a small party of some LITTLE TERNS and a few SAUNDER'S TERNS hovering and diving for fish. These were really endearing birds and actually quite small for a tern. (Sandbar) Jonathan pointed out some large birds that were a set of dots far away in a clearing on the eastern side and assured us we were looking at a small group of WOLLY NECKED STORKS. Above these birds I recognised a BLACK KITE quartering the forest edge.
A yellowish orange billed LESSER CRESTED TERN flew past the dhow and many more were seen later on. We all gasped as an AFRICAN FISH EAGLE soared like a god above the boat and one man nearly fell over board bending backwards too far as he followed the black and white raptor through his bins. Before long, my pulse was sent racing by a bird I knew would be rare back home, one of several TEREK SANDPIPERS fed along the muddy shore close to the dhow. This bird was similar to a Common Sandpiper but with orangey red legs, no supercilium and a longer dark ended bill with a slight upturn.
A small flock of five GREATER FLAMINGOES flew in a perfect linear formation to join a group of seventeen others feeding near the edge of the creek. I was very interested in these birds but not wholly excited as I consider them to be quite ornamental. I was surprised to see a GREY HERON roosting in the trees near the Flamingoes, it was exactly the same as the birds we have back in Britain.
As we returned down creek I challenged Jonathan to come up with a cup of coffee and a hot dog on the rudimentary vessel but he could do no better than the bubbly and samosas!
The boat pulled up against another large sandbar so that we could watch two more African Fish Eagles which were having a spat over some fish. The birds did not mind us at all. Here, we could also see plenty of RINGED PLOVERS, a single BRIDLED TERN and a few GREATER SANDPLOVERS that I needed assistance in identifying. Over the forest canopy an ensemble of thirteen TRUMPETER HORNBILLS moved from tree to tree.
We pulled up onto a barbecue area where the mangrove walk was and watched a Black Kite and some AFRICAN PALM SWIFTS. Jonathan took three of us for a short walk and explained the finer points of how the long mangrove seeds drop off into the water and float away to germinate elsewhere as the tide drops.
We returned to our drop off point and on the way an OSPREY roosted in a tree no more than twenty five metres away from us. The view through the binoculars was awesome and would have been illegal in Britain. Back on terra firma, we watched the deep crimson sunset that set the water on fire, I was very upset having not brought a spare film for my camera. I was consoled by three PIED KINGFISHERS zooming past us down the creek. I set up my scope to watch a flock of three hundred Crab Plovers gathering before they set off to a high tide roost site somewhere near to the sea. A pigeon of some sort flew over and being silhouetted by the light I could not identify it but instinctively I cursed it like I do with Wood Pigeons!
This evening had turned out to be an absolutely fantastic cruise that knocks the socks off the river Exe cruises run by the RSPB! I was extremely contented with all the mega ticks I had especially the Crab Plovers and Terek Sandpipers. The holiday’s selection of birds was proving to be slightly too much for me to handle and I felt it was all going too fast. However, I dared not complain, as I would not have it any other way!
Location : Mida Creek, near Watamu, Kenya.
We boarded an old style Arabic Dhow (Dhow) with Jonathan and four others from the hotel at three in the afternoon for a cruise up the famous Mida Creek to watch many different bird species and witness a sunset at the end of the evening.
Mida Creek used to be the mouth of the Sabaki River many years ago before it diverted further up the coast. What is left is a forest lined tidal creek with muddy shores revealed at low tide. This provides a rich habitat for feeding waders and larger birds. The speciality of this creek is the endangered Crab Plovers and it was these birds I had wanted to see above all else on this holiday. The forests run all round the creek meaning it really is only viewable from a boat apart from a dilapidated mangrove platform walk that leads to a small hide.
As the Dhow set off, immediately obvious were lots of COMMON SANPIPERS feeding along the water’s edge. It was not long before we clapped eyes on the creek’s specialities, a few of one hundred and fifty CRAB PLOVERS were feeding away on an exposed mud flat. Imagine a bird slightly stockier than an Avocet and very similar in plumage but with a stout and stubby black bill and you have a Crab Plover. (Crab Plover) On the same mud bank were many other birds including some SACRED IBISES, AFRICAN SPOONBILLS, LITTLE EGRETS, YELLOW BILLED EGRETS, GREENSHANKS and loads of CURLEW SANDPIPERS. The Spoonbills were like ours but with red bills and legs. I was amazed at the frequency of the Curlew Sandpipers, they were common like Redshanks back home on the Exe estuary. On the opposite scale, there were only a few GREY PLOVER and one SANDERLING.
A bit further up the creek watched two of about today’s fifteen huge YELLOW BILLED STORKS. There were also many WHIMBREL dotted around the place, they were expected to migrate soon. I tempted them all to stop off at Bowling Green Marsh with the promise of fine food and good company. Around the creek there were plenty of large GULL BILLED TERNS hovering above the shallower shorelines and diving down for small fish with their large squat black bills. A beautiful GREAT EGRET flew past the bow of the dhow and they do their name justice as they are dwarfed only by the Goliath Heron.
On the end of a sandbar in the middle of the creek was a small party of some LITTLE TERNS and a few SAUNDER'S TERNS hovering and diving for fish. These were really endearing birds and actually quite small for a tern. (Sandbar) Jonathan pointed out some large birds that were a set of dots far away in a clearing on the eastern side and assured us we were looking at a small group of WOLLY NECKED STORKS. Above these birds I recognised a BLACK KITE quartering the forest edge.
A yellowish orange billed LESSER CRESTED TERN flew past the dhow and many more were seen later on. We all gasped as an AFRICAN FISH EAGLE soared like a god above the boat and one man nearly fell over board bending backwards too far as he followed the black and white raptor through his bins. Before long, my pulse was sent racing by a bird I knew would be rare back home, one of several TEREK SANDPIPERS fed along the muddy shore close to the dhow. This bird was similar to a Common Sandpiper but with orangey red legs, no supercilium and a longer dark ended bill with a slight upturn.
A small flock of five GREATER FLAMINGOES flew in a perfect linear formation to join a group of seventeen others feeding near the edge of the creek. I was very interested in these birds but not wholly excited as I consider them to be quite ornamental. I was surprised to see a GREY HERON roosting in the trees near the Flamingoes, it was exactly the same as the birds we have back in Britain.
As we returned down creek I challenged Jonathan to come up with a cup of coffee and a hot dog on the rudimentary vessel but he could do no better than the bubbly and samosas!
The boat pulled up against another large sandbar so that we could watch two more African Fish Eagles which were having a spat over some fish. The birds did not mind us at all. Here, we could also see plenty of RINGED PLOVERS, a single BRIDLED TERN and a few GREATER SANDPLOVERS that I needed assistance in identifying. Over the forest canopy an ensemble of thirteen TRUMPETER HORNBILLS moved from tree to tree.
We pulled up onto a barbecue area where the mangrove walk was and watched a Black Kite and some AFRICAN PALM SWIFTS. Jonathan took three of us for a short walk and explained the finer points of how the long mangrove seeds drop off into the water and float away to germinate elsewhere as the tide drops.
We returned to our drop off point and on the way an OSPREY roosted in a tree no more than twenty five metres away from us. The view through the binoculars was awesome and would have been illegal in Britain. Back on terra firma, we watched the deep crimson sunset that set the water on fire, I was very upset having not brought a spare film for my camera. I was consoled by three PIED KINGFISHERS zooming past us down the creek. I set up my scope to watch a flock of three hundred Crab Plovers gathering before they set off to a high tide roost site somewhere near to the sea. A pigeon of some sort flew over and being silhouetted by the light I could not identify it but instinctively I cursed it like I do with Wood Pigeons!
This evening had turned out to be an absolutely fantastic cruise that knocks the socks off the river Exe cruises run by the RSPB! I was extremely contented with all the mega ticks I had especially the Crab Plovers and Terek Sandpipers. The holiday’s selection of birds was proving to be slightly too much for me to handle and I felt it was all going too fast. However, I dared not complain, as I would not have it any other way!
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