OK, long time between blogs but been busy, busy, busy…… been travelling including Pakistan, no chance to go photographing birds though unfortunately! Karachi must hold the biggest population of Black Kite in the world. Literally thousands rise into the late afternoon skies.
Anyway I digress this is a little account of my 2nd day in Nairobi during a recent business trip. For those of you who read my blog on Day 1 will remember that the whole day was spent in Nairobi National Park and what a wonderful park it is.
Gatamaiyu Forest
As much as I was tempted to go back to the Park for the day I was persuaded (and quite rightly) by Joseph to try out Gatamaiyu Forest.
Gatamaiyu Forest is located about 50-km n.w. of Nairobi and stretches through the Kieni forest (part of the central highlands) and boasts many montane species including Chestnut-throated, Grey, Black-collared and Black-throated Apalis, Montane Oriole, Narina & Bar-tailed Trogon, Black-fronted Bush-shrike, Yellow-rumped and Moustached Green Tinkerbird, Scarce Swift, White-browed Crombec. Additionally Mountain Buzzard, Mountain and Cabanis’s Greenbul, African Hill Babbler, White Starred Robin, African Dusky Flycatcher, Cinnamon Bracken and Brown Woodland Warbler, Hunter’s Cisticola, Black-backed Puffback, Grey Cuckoo-Shrike, Northern Double Collared Sunbird, Spectacled and Brown-capped Weaver, Grey-headed Negrofinch and Yellow-bellied Waxbill among others.
Northern Double-Collared Sunbird
(Cinnyrisreichenowi)
Golden-winged Sunbird
(Drepanorhynchusreichenowi)
Hunter’s Cisticola
(Cisticolahunteri)
Brown-capped Weaver
(Ploceusinsignis)
Bar-tailed Trogon
(Apalodermavittatum)
Mountain Greenbul
(Arizelocichlanigriceps)
Black-collared Apalis
(Apalispulchra)
Rüppell’s Robin-chat
(Cossypha semirufa)
Kinangop Grasslands
2nd stop was Kinangop Grasslands on the Kinangop Plateau. The Kinangop Plateau covers about 770 km sq between the forested Aberdare Mountains in the east and the Rift Valley in the west. The plateau is found at around 2,500m altitude. The grasslands are one of the last places for the ever decreasing Sharpe’s Longclaw. Due to a growing human population that depends on the land for food and income the grasslands are disappearing fast, and ultimately, so is the Sharpe’s Longclaw.
The Longclaw depend on high-altitude tussock grasslands for feeding and nesting grounds. Their habitat is dwindling fast. The global population may now be as low as 2,000 birds according to recent research.
If this habitat loss is not halted and reversed, this species will disappear.
Sharpe’s Longclaw
(Macronyxsharpei)
Sharpe’s Longclaw
(Macronyxsharpei)
Capped Wheatear
(Oenanthepileata)
Red-capped Lark
(Calandrella cinerea)
Cape Crow
(Corvuscapensis)
My Blog site Bird Photography in the UAE
Mike Barth
Mike Barth, a photographer from Manchester England, was based in Dubai in the UAE from 2004 to 2016. He has travelled regularly to Africa and Asia and has had the pleasure of birding in some wonderful locations. A passionate bird photographer he now offers tours for small groups, maximum of 6, photographers and offers photographic tours to several locations such as Sri Lanka, India, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana. Please visit his site at https://www.mikebarthphotography.com for information, there you can also purchase prints in various formats.
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