Photo@Tony Crocetta
Malachite Kingfisher is the most stunning species easily watched in any wetland with fish.And this great picture was taken at the shore of Lake Baringo, located in the northern part of the Great Rift Valley.Enjoy birding
Category: Uncategorized
Photo@Joseph Aengwo
Rosy-patched Bush Shrike is a beautiful bird!it is locally common in bushed grassland, bushland and scrub in arid and semi-arid plateau country up to altitude of about 1600 meter.Two races occur, apparently without intergrades: hilgerti in northern and eastern Kenya from Turkana, Ileret, Marsabit and Moyale to Baragoi, Isiolo and Athi .While the race Cathemagmena is in south Kenya in areas around Tsavo west and East National park.
While birding in those areas mentioned, this bird should be hard to see as they always like singing on top scrub bushes.They are never shy as such.
A few important resources about Kenya’s Important Bird Areas.
A fantastic map of Kenya’s Important Bird Areas from Nature Kenya.
Also, from KenyaBirds, a listing table of the Important Bird Areas, Locations, Habitats, and threatened species.
Coming up soon, a Bird of the Week with a song I recorded while birding recently.
– Joe
Through my work with the Lake Baringo Biodiversity Conservation Group and growing up in the region, I have directly witnessed the decline and endangerment of the African Fish Eagle. This spectacular bird that feeds on fish is being poisoned by farmers and agricultural uses.
We at Lake Baringo Biodiversity Conservation Group were concerned about information received about a decline in the population of Fish Eagles for no clear reason and a huge increase in the water level in the lake. Whether this water level increase was good or bad for the general welfare of this vital wetland ecosystem, is a question that we cannot answer with precision without seeking the opinion of a biologist and receiving data to support our hypothesis .The researchers suggest that the decline of the Fish Eagle population in Lake Baringo is being driven by poisoning.
Munir Virani, who is director of Peregrine funds Africa programmes, has been carrying out research in this area, and has blamed this decline in the use of Furadan by farmers to poison crocodiles. Farmers occasionally lace the bodies of dead fish with a toxic pesticide called Furadan. This appears to be aimed at crocodiles that kill their livestock. Farmers use the fish to entice crocodiles into their death, however, not all poisonous fish are eaten by crocodiles, and some end up being eaten by Fish Eagles. If this is done rampantly it can easily wipe out the whole Fish Eagle population in Lake Baringo.
Additionally, the Fish Eagles in Lake Baringo have been trained to be eating dead fish by the local boat operators. They did this deliberately to allow tourists to have a closer view of this spectacular raptor picking up the fish. However, with farmers putting dead poisonous fish into the lake, Fish Eagles trained to eat dead fish subsequently consume these as well. Although the practice of enticing Fish Eagles with dead fish for tourism purposes has no direct detrimental effects on the species, due to the farmer’s practices this has become a serious concern. Unfortunately, no government institution mandated to protect wildlife has intervened to halt the practice of releasing dead poisonous fish into the lake.
Many members of LBBCG run boat excursion businesses for tourists, and have been trying to educate their clients of the risk that such practices pose to these birds of prey. We have subsequently, written to Nature Kenya and Kenya Wildlife Service informing them of the urgent need of an appropriate intervention.
Furadan, an insecticide, is an extremely toxic to mammals (including Humans!), invertebrates, fish and birds.
The plight of the African Fish Eagle and other wetland birds is being documented by Stop Wildlife Poisoning and WildLifeDirect.
In 2009, Dr. Richard Leakey at WildLifeDirect addressed the potential ban of Furadan in Kenya and FMC’s (Furadan manufacturer) withdrawal from the Kenyan market and its buy-back programme following the poisoning of lions in the Maasai Mara. Although in a follow-up article, the legality of the toxic insecticide in Kenya was still up for debate, and the death of wetland birds in Bunyala due to Furadan poisoning is still being observed in 2011.
Stop Wildlife Poisoning has geared up its awareness campaign and regularly posts about the use of pesticides in Kenya and the poisoning of birds due to Furadan. A video was produced for International Vulture Awareness day on September 2, 2011, and many other images and videos regarding the poisoning of Kenya’s birds can be viewed on Stop Widlife Poisoning’s website.
This disturbing and unacceptable use of pesticides needs to be addressed by the Government of Kenya and its East African neighbours.
– Joe
Important reading & resources:
Stop Wildlife Poisoning: Furadan in Kenya
Lake Baringo is a fantastic location for bird watching in Kenya. I grew up in Lake Baringo, where I developed my interest in birding and I never get tired of going out to observe all the species in my backyard. Yesterday, with my friend Wilson Tiren, down by the shore of the lake and at the rocky cliff we spotted some impressive species! There are approximately 500 bird species in and around the lake. We spent a full day birding and managed to come up with this list of species for those keen birders who are wondering what can be seen in this area of the Great Rift Valley.
- Cattle egret
- Intermediate Egret
- Hammerkop
- Green-backed heron
Green backed Heron - Hadada ibis
- Glossy ibis
- Sacred ibis
- Grey heron
- Egyptian goose
- Black-shouldered kite
- Imperial eagle
- Fish eagle
African Fish Eagle - Black-chested snake eagle
- Eurasian mash harrier
- Dark chanting goshawk
- Gabar gashawk
- Shikra
- African harrier-hawk
- Verreaux’s eagle
- Common kestrel
- Pygmy falcon
- Lanner falcon
- Crested francolin
- Black crake
- Purple swamphen
- African jacana
- Spotted thick-knee
- Heuglin’s courser
- Common sandpiper
- Emerald-spotted wood dove
- Namaqua dove
- Laughing dove
- African mourning dove
- Brown parrot
- White-bellied go-away-bird
- Black and white cuckoo
- Diedrik’s cuckoo
- White-browed coucal
- Pearl-spotted owlet
- Little swift
- Blue-naped mousebird
- Pied kingfisher
- Striped kingfisher
- Grey-headed kingfisher
- Woodland kingfisher
- Malachite kingfisher
- Little bee-eater
- Northern carmine bee-eater
- Lilac-breasted roller
- Rufous-crowned roller
- Green wood-hoopoe
- African hoopoe
- Eurasian hoopoe
- Jackson’s hornbill
- Red-billed hornbill
- Hemprich’s hornbill
- D’arnaud’s barbet
- Red and yellow barbet
- Black-throated barbet
- Lesser honeyguide
- Greater honeyguide
- Scaly-throated honeyguide
- Nubian woodpecker
- Grey woodpecker
- Rock martin
- Red-rumped swallow
- Barn swallow
- Common bulbul
- Northern brownbul
- Cliff chat
- Isabelline wheatear
- White-browed scrub robin
- Spotted morning thrush
- Olivaceous warbler
- Northern crombec
- Yellow-bellied eromomela
- Red-fronted warbler
- Pale prinia
- Grey-wren warbler
- Yellow-breasted aplis
- African-grey flycatcher
- Pygmy batis
- African paradise flycatcher
- Brown-babbler
- Northern grey-tit
- Beautiful sunbird
- Hunter’s sunbird
- Eastern violet-backed sunbird
- Brubru
- Slate-coloured boubou
- Sulphur-breasted bush-shrike
- Grey-headed bush-shrike
- Northern white-crowned shrike
- Drongo
- Black-headed oriole
- Red-billed oxpecker
- Greater-blue-eared starling
- Superb starling
- Yellow-spotted petronia
- Grey-headed sparrow
- White-browed sparrow weaver
- White-headed buffalo weaver
- White-billed buffalo weaver
- Black-headed weaver
- Lesser-masked weaver
- Vitalline masked weaver
- Northern masked weaver
- Jackson’s golden-backed weaver
With this week’s bird of the week being the Flamingo, it reminded me of an important environmental and conservation concern regarding this spectacular pink bird: SODA ASH (sodium carbonate). The Eastern Rift Valley is home to Lake Nakuru, Lake Bogoria, Lake Elementaita, Lake Magadi, and Lake Natron – all soda lakes, famous for providing the habitat of the near-threatened Lesser Flamingo.
Sodium carbonate is used in many household and industrial products and is being harvested in Lake Magadi, Kenya by TATA Chemicals, who are also proposing to set up a new environmentally devastating plant at Lake Natron, Tanzania.
The introduction of a soda ash plant into Lake Natron would have catastrophic effects on the already near-threatened Lesser Flamingo. Not only would the plant lead to habitat degradation and species loss, but its development would also be detrimental to East African tourism, and the livelihood of the Maasai community living in the surrounding area.
Bird Life International highlighted these concerns in April 2011 with their article “Fresh concerns as President orders Lake Natron soda ash mining fast tracked”
“Lake Natron is the only regular breeding site for Lesser Flamingos in Eastern Africa. The 1.5-2.5 million Lesser Flamingos – which represents three quarters of the world population – breed only at Lake Natron. ………Noise from the heavy equipment, the presence of people and a network of pipes will chase away the birds which are highly sensitive to disturbance while breeding”
Lessons learned in Lake Magadi highlight that little to no economic or development benefits have come from harvesting soda ash in the magical waters home to the flamingo.
“Soda ash mining at Lake Magadi has left local communities disillusioned with little to show for the 100 years of mining. The environment has been damaged and fresh water nearly depleted”
With the re-emergence of the issue recently, the Star published an environmental commentary, ‘Don’t Fund Lake Natron Mining’ advocating halting the development of a soda ash factory on Lake Natron.
Let this be a call to bird enthusiasts, ornithologists, conservationists, environmentalists, and tourism professionals to come together and advocate for the protection of Lake Natron, the rehabilitation of Lake Magadi and the security of our precious Lesser Flamingo.
Watch the amazing documentary The Crimson Wing and find inspiration to see these Flamingos continue their flight between the Rift Valley soda lakes.
The stunning movie trailer: The Crimson Wing
Other important articles and resources:
Bird Life International – Think Pink
Bird Life International – Serengeti Highway and Lake Natron
– Joe
An early morning birding at the shore of Lake Baringo and the adjacent bushes nearby resulted in an impressive species list, and the most exciting one were:
1.Yellow-crowned Bishop, Euplectes afer
2.Northern Red Bishop, Euplectes franciscanus
3.Northern Masked Weaver, Ploceus taeniopterus
4.Brown Babbler, Turdoides jardineii
5.Pale Prinia, Prinia somalica
6.Grey Wren-Warbler, Calamonastes simplex
7. Red-fronted Warbler, Heliolais erythroptera
and the bird of the day…..
Magpie Starling, Speculipastor bicolor
– Joe
In a recent tour to Saiwa Swamp National Park I managed to spot over 70 species of bird in a period of 48 hours. I stayed at the a self-catering Tree Top House which was quite unique. Just after I checked in, from the balcony, I had brilliant view of a female Sitatunga with a young baby!! That was the better way to begin birding and in a few minutes of observation I had recorded: Little Rush Warbler, Grey-crowned Crane and Chubb’s Cisticola. That evening I did a long walk to platform (Tower) 4 where I was lucky enough to see the male Sitatunga and Yellow-billed Duck. The next day I hiked to Tower 5 route, Acacia Nature trails and Bushback observatory tower. It will be unfair not to mentioned the great view I had of a group of endagred De Brazza monkey and the curious looking Colobus Monkey. It is indeed a great place to spend a weekend and as for birders and Twitchers, it is a must visit place.
Below is the list of birds I observed:
Bird List for Saiwa Swamp National Park seen on 28th to 30th October 2011
- Long-tailed Cormorant
- Little Bittern
- Goliath Heron
- Grey Heron
- Yellow-billed Stork
- Hamerkop
- Sacred Ibis
- Hadada Ibis
- Yellow-billed Duck
- Great Sparrow hawk
- African Hawk-Eagle
- Long-crested Eagle
- Grey-crowned Crane
- Spur-winged Lapwing
- Common Sandpiper
- Blue-spotted wood-Dove
- Tambourine Dove
- Ring-necked Dove
- Ross’s Turaco
- Black-and-white Cuckoo
- African Cuckoo
- Klaa’s Cuckoo
- African Emerald Cuckoo
- Blue-headed Coucal
- Woodland Kingfisher
- Malachite Kingfisher
- Lilac-breasted Roller
- Crowned Hornbill
- Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird
- Lesser Honeyguide
- Cape Wagtail
- African pied Wagtail
- Yellow-whiskered Greenbul
- Cabanis’s Greenbul
- White-headed Saw-wing
- White-starred Robin
- Grey-winged Robin-Chat
- African Thrush
- Little Rush Warbler
- Cinnamon Bracken Warbler
- Chubb’s Cisticola
- Tawny-flanked Prinia
- Grey-capped Warbler
- Grey-backed Camaroptera
- Black-collared Apalis
- African Dusky Flycatcher
- Swamp Flycatcher
- Black-throated Wattle-eye
- African Paradise-flycatcher
- Yellow White-eye
- Green-headed Sunbird
- Northern Double-collared Sunbird
- Green-throated Sunbird
- Ludhers’s Bush-shrike
- Pringle’s Puffback
- Marsh Tchagra
- Forked-tailed Drongo
- Eurasian Golden Oriole
- Lesser Blue-eared Starling
- Grey-headed Sparrow
- Grosbeak Weaver
- Northern Brown-throated Weaver
- Fan-tailed Widowbird
- Yellow-mantled Widowbird
- Black-bellied Firefinch
- African Firefinch
- Common Waxbill
- Black-crowned Waxbill
- Pin-tailed Whydah
- Thick-billed Seedeater
Birding from Tree Top House in Saiwa Swamp National Park
Kenya Birding 