Lake Nakuru Birds - 26th July 2024

 After our time in the Maasai Mara, Jayne and I drove across to Lake Nakuru National Park/Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge for an overnight stay. 

On arrival, we drove through the park, stopping off at the Lake for a short (1 hour) visit. The first birds we saw in the park were Yellow-collared Lovebirds, which we nesting in the entrance building!) Variable Sunbirds (male and female) were also seen in this area. Arriving at the lake we spotted Little, Cattle and Great Egret, African Openbill Stork, Black-winged Stilt, Lesser and Greater Flamingo (c.30), African Spoonbill, African Skimmer, Giant Kingfisher (a quick fly-past!), Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Cape Teal and, the best for me, Grey-headed Gull (3 adults and 1 juvenile).

Grey-headed Gull

Cape Teal

Arriving at the Lodge, we went to out accommodation, adding several new birds to the trip list: Hildebrandt's Francolin/Spurfowl, Eurasian Roller, Hoopoe (Eurasian or African), Red-winged Starling, African Paradise Flycatcher, Common Bulbul, Mosque Swallow, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Plain Martin, White-rumped Swift, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, Little Bee-eater and Speckled Pigeon.

Speckled Pigeon

After a short break, we went on an afternoon game drive seeing: Red-billed Oxpecker, Augur Buzzard, African Pied Wagtail, Crowned Lapwing, Spur-winged Plover, Blacksmith Plover, Lilac-breasted Roller, Grey-backed Fiscal, Hadada Ibis, Kittlitz's Plover, Great White Pelican, Egyptian Goose, Yellow-billed Stork, Grey Heron, Red-eyed Dove, Grey Crowned Crane, Helmeted Guineafowl, Abyssinian Wheatear and Greater Blue-eared Starling. 

Greater Blue-eared Starling

Next morning, we had a quick drive before moving on to Lake Naivasha. Additional species seen were: Brown-crested Eagle, Common Sandpiper, Hamerkop, Pied Crow, Superb and Hildebrandt's Starling, Black-headed Heron and Common (Fork-tailed) Drongo.

Hildebrandt's Starling

African Birds - Storks, Egrets, Ibises and Herons

Whilst in Kenya, Jayne and I managed to see many different storks and herons.

The first species we saw was the Saddle-billed Stork (seen on our first drive in the Maasai Mara). Hamerkop, Secretary Bird and Black Heron were also seen in the Maasai Mara.

Saddle-billed Stork

Yellow-billed Storks were first spotted nesting, en-route to Lake Nakuru.

Yellow-billed Stork

One of the most common birds were saw was the African Sacred Ibis, the first ones flying over the hotel in Nairobi! We also had many birds at Lake Naivasha.

African Sacred Ibis, Lake Naivasha

Two other species of Ibis were also seen: Hadada and Glossy.

Hadada Ibis

African Openbill and African Spoonbill were also seen at Lake Naivasha, along with Little, Squacco and Great (White) Egrets. Black-headed Heron was spotted at Lake Nakuru.

African Openbill, Grey Heron, Little Egret and Yellow-billed Stork

African Spoonbill

Cattle Egrets were plentiful, especially around the larger mammals, such as African Elephants and Cape Buffalo.

Cattle Egret at Amboseli

Maasai Mara Birds - Part 1

Where do I begin? In the 2 days in the Maasai Mara, we saw 50+ species of bird, pretty much all of them lifers! I can't list them all here, but I've included a few photos of my favourite species.

One bird that I have to include is the Superb Starling. It's one of the most obvious, common and stunning birds that you see on a trip to Kenya. They're everywhere!! We saw them pretty much everyday, including just along the roads as we were driving. Very impressive birds.

Superb Starling

Another bird that must get a mention is the national bird of Kenya - the Grey Crowned Crane. We saw this species a few times on the Mara, including once when we saw a pair with a chick.

Grey Crowned Crane (adult and juvenile)

The bird with the best name must be the Bare-faced Go-away Bird! We were lucky enough to see one that landed right next to the jeep on our first drive.

Bare-faced Go-away Bird

Other species seen included: African Pied Wagtail, Lilac-breasted Roller and the superb White-browed Robin Chat (seen coming out of the toilet in a roadside services!!).

African Pied Wagtail

Lilac-breasted Roller

White-browed Robin Chat

The final bird for this post is the Marabou Stork. This is another iconic species of the African plains, and one we saw on all our drives in the Mara. Not the most attractive species (!), but one that plays an important role in keeping the environment clean and healthy.

Marabou Stork

Maasai Mara - Part 2

On day 2 of our time in the Maasai Mara, we spent the entire day out on safari (7.30am - 5.00pm). We saw all the usual suspects (see previous post), and also added the following species: Coke's Hartbeest, Cheetah, Warthog, Nile Crocodile (on the Mara River) and Vervet Monkey. 

Cheetah

Nile Crocodile

Warthog

Vervet Monkey (taken at Lake Nakuru)

Maasai Mara - Part 1

Last year, Jayne and I had a fantastic two week holiday in Kenya and Zanzibar, to celebrate a special birthday. We visited Kenya for a week's safari and then had a week on Zanzibar. Whilst there, we spotted 134 species of bird (118 of which were lifers), 42 species of mammal/reptile and amphibian (all of which were lifers), 15 butterfly species (all lifers) and 3 species of Dragonfly 9 (all lifers).

Our trip started off in Nairobi, where we stopped for a night, before heading off to the Maasai Mara National Reserve. We spent two days here, staying at the Sopa Lodge, and travelling out onto the reserve.

On the first drive (4pm - 6.30pm), we spotted Impala, Topi, Eland, Plains Zebra, Cape Buffalo, Thompson's Gazelle, Wildebeest, Olive Baboon, Maasai Giraffe, Grant's Gazelle, African Elephant, Hippopotamus, Spotted Hyena, a Mongoose species, most likely Banded, Silver-striped Jackal and African Lion!

African Elephants

Cape Buffalo

Maasai Giraffe

Eland