Mpala Birding and A Game Drive

Saturday, 25 June 2011

I woke up at 5:00 feeling energetic and ready to go.  I first went to the library, plugged in my computer, and journaled for a bit (to catch up on all the entries I missed).   Unfortunately, I underestimated the cold and the mosquitos.  Last night I had asked one of the researchers here whether the mosquitos are bad or not.  He said, “Nah, nothing to worry about.”  Well, this morning I proved him wrong big time.  I wore my to-the-knee shorts, and while I sat typing, my legs got completely devoured and burned very painfully.  I was also cold.  So I went back  to my room, pulled up my pant legs to see the horrible mess the mozzies have created of my skin, smeared my legs in anti-itch cream, and put on a long pair of pants and a sweater.  I then returned to the library to finish my journaling.


Result of the mosquito rampage... and that's just one leg only:

After being in a car all day yesterday, I seriously craved yoga.  So I spread out the yoga mat on the library veranda and stretched to my heart’s delight.  It felt wonderful!  The sun was out soon enough, at about 6 am.  I grabbed my bins and  field guide and off I went.  Boy was I in for a treat.  Mpala is teeming with bird life.  I only stopped birding for a half-hour breakfast of bananas, granola, and yogurt drizzled with honey.  Then I kept on exploring and learning my birds until 11:00 am, when I decided to sit down at my computer and actually record everything I’ve seen today.  Not a bad start to the day, I must say!

Location: Mpala Research Centre, Laikipia County, Kenya  (just strolling around the property, within the perimeter fence)

Weather: Cold in the morning (I wore two fleeces and wished I had long underwear on.)  Warmed up very quickly once the sun got out.  At 9:30 it was really hot, and I was sweating.  So I changed into a tank top and shorts.  It’s pleasantly breezy throughout the day.  The air is never stagnant for long.  (BTW, I regret not having a small thermometer on me to know the exact temperatures.)

Notes: I spent 6:30-7:00 am standing by a banda behind the main office building.  A lady had thrown out left-over food (appeared to be ugali and potatoes), and this smorgasbord attracted a wealth of birds.  Weavers, hornbills, and ravens pranced around unabashedly right in front of where I stood.  I felt like I was at a petting zoo!  (I petted the birds with my eyes.)  That was quite a treat for me, and I swore to have my camera with me next time.  Highlight: 22 lifers!!

RED-FACED CROMBEC – repeated “tea kettle, tea kettle, tea kettle”; very emphatic song

VITELLINE MASKED WEAVER (15) – nasaly calls, insect-like buzzes

YELLOW-SPOTTED PETRONIA (2)

FAN-TAILED RAVEN (2)

Laughing Dove

Greater Blue-eared Starling

Slate-colored Boubou (6)

CRIMSON-RUMPED WAXBILL (4)

CHESTNUT WEAVER

Von der Decken’s Hornbill

Red-billed Hornbill – very dog-like call, “gav!”; also a flicker-like, sad “put put put whucka, whucka, whucka, whucka…”

Grey-backed Cameroptera – song like a clicking gun trigger/whip-snapping, repeated “chi-

dick, chi-dick, chi-dick”

BLACK-CHEEKED WAXBILL

Superb Starling (super common) – sounds like budgies

White-bellied Go-Away Bird (incredible looks!)

BANDED PARISOMA (2)

EMERALD-SPOTTED WOOD-DOVE – awesome, long song

NORTHERN GREY TIT (2)

African Grey Flycatcher             

African Mourning Dove

Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu (4)

RUFOUS CHATTERER (3)

RED-BILLED QUELEA

Black-shouldered Kite

WHITE-RUMPED SWIFT (20)

White-browed Scrub-Robin

D’Arnaud’s Barbet (2) – dueting; jumbled notes

Lesser Striped Swallow

Chinspot Batis

Fork-tailed Drongo immature

Purple Grenadier

BLACK-NECKED WEAVER (female)

Speckle-fronted Weaver (4)

YELLOW-BREASTED APALIS

CARDINAL WOODPECKER (female)

SCALY-THROATED HONEYGUIDE

Rufous Sparrow

Red-winged Starling (6)

3:00 pm: I went on a game drive with Dan and Susan.  Dan showed me the Mpala property, including areas of black cotton soil vs. red soil.  What a beautiful landscape!  The soil type completely shapes the type of vegetation composition and thus habitat type.  Black cotton soils produce more a more open environment that is less shrubby and more reminiscent of a grassland while the characteristic of red soils is closer-spaced acacias and more grass species (5 dominant ones versus one in black cotton soil).  I really want to learn more about the soil chemistry since it shapes pretty much everything I see around here.

We saw a few more good birds (new ones to the list are below) as well as several groups of elephants, giraffe, kudu, striped ground squirrel, Grant’s gazelle, and impala.

Zebra butt, anyone?  This is the Plains Zebra... the most common zebra species in East Africa:

The endangered Grevy's Zebra is much more densely striped (thinner stripes and more of them, giving it a "blurry" appearance when seen at a distance, as opposed to the Plains Zebra which is more "contrasty".)

And now for the birds:

HEUGLIN’S COURSER (2):

WHITE-THROATED BEE-EATER (2)

Kori Bustard (2):

Black-bellied Bustard

Malachite Kingfisher (2)

LONG-TAILED WIDOWBIRD:

FISCHER’S SPARROW LARK

VEREAUX’S EAGLE – very majestic pitch-black individual perched atop a kopje

Common Fiscal

White-bellied Canary

Eastern Chanting Goshawk (2)

YELLOW-NECKED SPURFOWL:

Beautiful view of a distant kopje:

We watched a massive bull elephant feeding right alongside the road.  We were so close that I couldn't take photos of his whole body - only bits and pieces:

Two lazy hippos lounging in a pool:

A silky sunset sky as the day began to fade:

Evening: Sheep Roast Party!  The two Kiwis here at the station (helicopter pilot and net-gun operator) decided to throw everyone a party to celebrate the end of the gazelle-capturing project.  They were going to return to New Zealand tomorrow, so they bought a large sheep and lots of beer and wine and threw us a party.  How awesome!  I didn’t stay up too late, though, as I was quite tired.  On my way to my banda, I stared up at the night sky in complete reverie.  I love stars.  I especially love it when I can actually see them – in wild places away from light pollution.  When it’s not cloudy here, the sky is littered with glittering stars that always make me pause for a few breaths of stillness and wonder.  The streaky Milky Way is such a surreal sight to behold, and I am spoiled to see the sky alight in its dazzling gown almost every night.