Jumbo ! Kenya-1

    After three months of planning , we finally boarded the flight to Kenya on a 10 day birding trip. It was my dream come true to visit Kenya exclusively on a birding trip.  On August 28 , six of us from Chandigarh, Captain S S Cheema, Rima Dhillon, Alpana, Narbir Singh , Dr Aprajita and I boarded the flight to Mumbai and Mumbai to Nairobi. All credit for planning the trip meticulously goes to Captain Cheema for taking care of every minute detail from bird guide to accommodation and visa permits to tickets. A week before the final date , we were excitedly getting our cameras , lens, binoculars , birding gear and other necessary items ready and deciding if a duffle bag or a suitcase has to be taken for the trip. We were instructed to travel light by our guide. Our Indigo flight from Mumbai was at 02.20 hrs , early hours  and we landed at Nairobi at 5.30 am. It was a short 5 and half hours flight to Nairobi and Kenya was 2 and half hours behind IST.  We were picked up at airport by Moses, our bird guide for the next 10 days in his Safari 8-seater vehicle. My groupies started taking shots of birds perched on the tree at the parking , while Moses was loading our bags at the back of the vehicle. For the next nine days, we breathed, talked , dreamt about birds. With wonderful thoughts in my mind as Moses drove us to the Hotel Tamarind Tree , which was around 30-40 mins from the airport. As per the itinerary , our birding session starts in the morning at Nairobi.

Nairobi Airport Exit 

First group click from the vehicle

   

Nairobi National Park 

    Our guide , Moses gave us one hour to get ready and come down to the lobby. Our first birding trip was to start at the Nairobi National Park. We rushed to our rooms to freshen up and were all down as per schedule. It was 9.00 am when we reached the Nairobi National Park. Surprisingly, there were no crowds at the entrance of the park. Moses parked the vehicle in the parking area and we walked for an hour to see the birds on the huge trees around. There were so many birds on the trees , some flying down to forage on the lawns. Within one hour, we got to see nearly 20-30 species. The bird species seen here are not found in India .There were birds eveywhere, we saw the White-browed Sparrow weaver foraging in the lawns, Red-billed Firefinch, Variable Sunbird, Northern double- collared Sunbird, Amethyst Sunbird, White-eyed Slaty-Flycather,  Abyssinian Thrush, White-bellied Tit, Northern Fiscal ( similar to the Shrike we see in India),Long-tailed Cormorant, Common Bulbul. After an hour , we got into the vehicle and Moses drove us through the second gate into the National Park. 

     The park has large tracts of grasslands and few big trees and some bushes along the mud track. We saw many birds and mammals during the two hour drive in the park at a close range and got some fantastic shots. The park has a mixed vegetation of grasslands, wetlands and wooded areas supporting a wide range of wildlife within the boundaries.The vehicle in which we were travelling was custom -made for safaris. The roof top opens up and there is a platform to place our cameras. Except for Captain Cheema, who is tall enough to place his camera on the top , rest all of us had many moments of acrobatics trying to climb on our seats and take position with the cameras  at the top. It took us some time to get used to the jumping on the seats to take a click before the bird flies away. We stopped at  the 'Ivory Burning Site' for 30 mins inside the Park. At this  location, it was mentioned on the plaque erected there that the first and most famous burnings occurred in 1989 , led by then-President Daniel Arap Moi and conservationist Dr Richard Leakey from KWS who set fire to 12 tons of ivory, symbolising the commitment of Kenya in combating poaching and protecting endangered wildlife. Apparently, this site has been used several times ,with the largest burning in 2016, when 100 tons of ivory and rhino horn was destroyed in high profile international event.

     Here, we got to see the Red-backed Scrub- Robin, Purple Grenadier, Red-cheeked Cordonblue, Reicheno's Seedeater foraging in the grass and Little Bee-eater, Blue-naped Mousebird on the trees. The bird species found in Africa  have interesting names. We took some good clicks at this spot and got back into the vehicle. 

Nairobi National Park 2nd Gate

Impala Herd 

Rhino at NNP

   

At Ivory Burning Site

At the NNP

Group click at Ivory Burning Site

     

    Moses drove us towards the Nagolomon Dam side where we got to see many water birds. Large flock of African Scared Ibis , African Darters, Yellow -billed Stork, Lapwings, Cisticolas and Marabou Stork which looked like the Greater Adjutant species we have in Assam were seen including crocodiles basking in the sun on the banks of Dam. On our way out of the park, we also saw a Common Ostrich ,a very large bird, Rhinos sleeping in the mud puddle and herd of Impalas.  

Vervet Monkey at NNP

African Scared ibis

Crocodile at NNP

Little Bee-eaters 

Yellow-necked Spurfowl 

White-bellied Go-away-bird 

 

                                                                                                                        

    None of us thought of breakfast in the morning in our excitement to start birding.  By 1.00 pm, I could feel my stomach growling and was happy that Moses decided to take us for lunch. We were back at the parking area and walked towards the cafeteria near the main gate. Moses had placed the order for food on mobile while on safari. We did not have to wait long for our order which was ready and served to us. We had baked fish and grilled chicken with rice or vegetables on the side and it was just awesome. After an hour of lunch break, Moses drove us back into the park for the afternoon round of birding. It was 3.00 pm, we saw nearly 28 bird species, including White-bellied Go- away bird, Crested Francolin, Yellow-necked Spurfowl, Scarlet Sunbird, four species of Doves. By 4.30 pm, we started our drive back out of the Park back to Hotel. It was a very a successful day of birding with nearly 82 bird species spotted on Day 1 of our trip. Nothing can be better than this !

   Back at the hotel , I was sharing the room with Dr Aprajitha. I rested for a while before getting ready for  dinner at the hotel restaurant by 8.00 pm. To my surprise, I bumped into an old friend of mine, Masooma who was with me on the Chevening course in UK in 2004. We chatted for a while and she told me about her work in Kenya with a NGO working for women doing 'Story telling' workshops. Interesting work ! We hoped to catch up again before I left Kenya. 

  Dinner was a good spread of Chicken biryani , Indian lentils and vegetables. Since the next day we had an early start by 6 am and to move to our next destination,  Lake Baringo. I had an early night.

Nairobi to Lake Baringo 

Manguo Swamps

Grey -crowned Cranes

Manguo Swamps

     Birders are early birds and dot on time . We were all packed and ready to leave for the next destination. We had an early breakfast by 7.30 am and were on the road towards the north-west of Nairobi. As we reached the outskirts of Nairobi , Moses stopped on the roadside to show the water birds at the Manguo swamps. It was a cloudy day and the swamps had many birds foraging in the reeds and in the water.  I caught the sight of the beautiful Grey-crowned Cranes walking in the grass from the window of the vehicle. It was a dream come true moment to see these beautiful cranes. We all quickly got off and moved to the spot to take shots of the gorgeous Grey-cronwed Cranes. After enjoying the sighting of some beautiful birds  and 19 bird species at the swamps we moved towards Lake Baringo. Not familiar with the geographical location of the place, I just enjoyed the views outside. Lake Baringo was located in the Great Rift Valley region of Kenya, in Baringo County. It is about 290 Kms from Nairobi. The lake is situated at an elevation of 3,180 feet above sea level and is one of the two fresh water lakes in the rift valley. 

      We soon entered the Rift Valley view point and stopped for few minutes to enjoy the views of the valley from here. There were few curio shops selling wooden handicrafts at this place and the sellers surrounded us showing their wares. After taking some shots of the landscape and some unexpected shots of sunbirds flitting on the bushes we started on our destination to Lake Baringo. 

Bronze Sunbird

Rift valley

Rift Valley view point

    Lake Baringo is located in the Great Rift Valley region of Kenya, in Baringo County.It lies about 290 kms  north west of Nairobi, the capital Kenya. The lake is situated at an elevation of around 970 meters (3,180 feet) above sea level and is one of the two freshwater lakes in the Rift Valley (the other being Lake Naivasha). Geographically, Lake Baringo is surrounded by semi-arid landscapes, volcanic features, and cliffs, making it a significant ecological and tourist destination. It is known for its biodiversity, particularly its bird species, and is a habitat for Hippos and Crocodiles.

   On the way, we crossed  Lake Elementita, a saline lake. It was 1.20 pm when we reached the Equator point. We were excited to be at the 'Equator' and stopped for 30 mins to take some pictures. We took a demo on the 'Coriolis Force' effect at the Equator and at the northern and southern hemispheres of the equator. In the non-technical usage the term ' Coriolis effect' depicted by the the rotating reference object, which is implied to the earth and this force causes moving objects to be deflected to the right in Northern and to the left in the Southern hemisphere. 

Group pic at Equator

At Equator

   From here, it took us 45 mins to reach Tumbili cliff lodge on the banks of Lake Baringo. The short drive from the road to the resort was scary as the water level has increased , flooding the approach route  for nearly 1/2 Km. It was a lovely resort and we were welcomed to the sweet calls of a bird identified by Moses as 'Spotted Morning Thrush'. We were absolutely famished , so headed directly to the dining hut for lunch and were surprised by the welcome sight of more birds at the bird feed across the hut. We had a sumptuous meal and beautiful sight of Village Weaver birds, Ruppell's Starling and Mourning Collared Dove before going to our rooms, which had very nice interiors and a view to the lake.

     Interestingly , the single room cottages were constructed with local materials and had aesthetically done interiors. There was no door on the back side ; it opened to a small patch of lawn and the lake. The shower area and toilet also had curtains and no doors ! Before sunset, the back side opening was zipped closed with a net to protect from mosquitoes and insects from entering the cottage. The beds also had super fine mosquitos nets. After lunch, none of us rested as we wanted to explore the garden in the resort which had good tree cover and could hear the chirping of birds from all corners. We gathered at the gate by 4.00 pm for the evening birding session to see some Sunbirds and later , walked down for 500 mts on the mud track which had thick vegetation of small and medium bushes of Acacia on both sides. The evening session of birding for nearly two hours was time spent well  and we sighted around 28  bird species around the resort area. The vegetation around the Lake has different types of Acacia. These drought resistant trees are well-adapted to the semi-arid conditions , providing shade and food to the wildlife. As the sunset, we went to our rooms to change and were back in the dining hut to enjoy the cool breeze from the lake and chat over drinks on the day's birding. It was time to check the best and bad shots of the day,  before dinner. I found the salads more appetising than the main course, which was also very well made of grilled chicken and fish.  The next day morning session was to begin at sunrise so we had to be ready by 5.00 am and wait at the dining hut. Moses told us that will be taking a boat ride on Lake Baringo and explore the bird life around the lake.

Spotted Morning Thrush

Flooded area to Resort

          

Interiors of the room

Birding at the Resort

Black-throated Barbet

   

Dideric Cuckoo

Lake Baringo Boat ride 

   We were ready by 5.00 am at the dinning hut having tea and waiting for the sunrise. It was a glorious morning with the first rays of the Sun glistening on the lake. There was no light outside yet, just the early morning haziness. The bird feed was just 10 steps from the dining room near the fence with the lake below. While waiting for the boats, we were thrilled to see the pair of Jackson Hornbills come to the feed . There was a flock of village weaver birds not willing to leave the feed for the Hornbills. By 6.30 am , the morning light of sun rays was lovely and gave a feeling of calmness. We got into two motor boats and sailed towards the right side of the lake looking for birds, especially at the edges of the lake which had floating vegetation and reeds. The size of  Lake Baringo is around 130 Sq Kms depending on the rainfall. Narbir, Aprajita and I were in one boat and the other boat had Moses, Cheema, Alpana and Rima. As we sailed into the Lake we could see 10-15 Pied kingfishers hovering in the air briefly before diving swiftly into water. It was a fascinating sight to see rapid action of the Pied Kingfishers hovering and diving with such precision to hunt fish. We could see 49 bird species on the throny bushes around the lake and in the reeds.We got some amazing shots of Red Bishop in the reeds. The boatman was very chatty and gave us information about the  Baringo Lake. There were five islands around the Baringo lake. On one island, around 200 people lived, it had a school and other necessary civic amenities.  There was another small island which was owned by one  person and apparently he lived there with his four wives and numerous children. I  could see vehicles parked under a shelter on the banks of the Lake. Our Boatman told that people living on the islands parked the vehicles at the banks and went to their homes on motor boats.

Early morning shot

At the Dinning Hut

Jackson's Hornbills at Bird feed

African Jacana

Vehicle Parking area

Flooded Hotel on Lake Baringo

Pied Kingfishers on Lake Baringo

Boating on Baringo

Golden -backed Weaver nests

Red Bishop

Yellow-crowned Bishop

African Fish Eagle

   

European Barn Owl

Hamerkop

Red-fronted Barbet

    By 9.00 am , our boats moved towards Parmolok Island for the African Fish Eagle which is a resident bird of the island. After getting some fantastic shots of the African Fish Eagle flying with a catch, we started back towards our resort for breakfast, after five hours of birding around the Baringo lake. It was an unforgettable experience of birding on the lake. Specially so, as our guide was a patient , soft spoken and relentless person who ensured all of us got good clicks of the birds.

    After Breakfast, we started at 11.30 am to look for the Pearl-spotted Owlet , which is found in the trees not very far from the resort gate. It was a hot day , Moses drove the vehicle for 5 mins out of the gate on the mud track, crossed the flood water and the vehicle broke down. The shaft of the vehicle broke and we all had to get off. Thankfully,  it did not break down while driving through 500 mts stretch on mud track with of 2 feet water. Moses had expected that the shaft would break, so he had already ordered for a new one. Meanwhile , we got off and wandered around the trees clicking Superb Starlings, which were foraging on the ground. After ensuring the replacement shaft was on way, Moses took us to the location of the owlet on foot . We walked for 5 minutes to the spot  and could see the owlet perched in the canopy of the tree. It was nearly 2.00 pm, we were hungry , another vehicle came to pick us up and made two trips to drop us at the resort which was less than 10 mins drive. On way, we also saw 4-5 Green Woodhoopoes perched on the top of a tree canopy and making loud calls, a beautiful bird which is a colourful version of our Rufous Treepie.

Green Woodhoopoe

    

Pearl-spotted Owlet

Superb Starling

   After lunch, we headed  to another location near the village to see more Owls. The vehicle was repaired and ready for the drive. We left at 3.30 pm , first to see the Slender- tailed Nightjar and from there to Greyish Eagle Owl. We had to trek up a hill for a Km to see the Greyish Eagle Owl. The kids in the village were fascinated by our cameras. The views from the top of the hill were superb. Tired and exhausted by the walk and the hectic day of birding, we got back to the resort by 6.00pm . We all got together in the dining hut by 7.00pm , had a round of mocktails and cocktails from the bar , catching up with day’s events before a sumptuous dinner of fish, chicken , sautéed vegetables, fruit and a lovely desert. 

After dinner, we slept early as we had to leave this place by 6.30 am for the Kakamega Rain Forests, near Uganda border. 

Red and Yellow Barbet

Spot-flanked Barbet

Northern White -faced Owl         

Greyish Eagle -Owl

Evening session at Tumbili lodge

At the GE-Owl spot

        

Rock Hyrax

                                           

                     
                                                

Lake Baringo to Kakamega Rain Forest 

   The time had come to say good bye to this fantastic place. We saw and clicked 161 bird species in last three days making us deliriously happy. If I had been a regular tourist , I would not have visited Lake Baringo as it is not on the tourist map for visitors. We were ready by 6.00 am and had breakfast and also clicked some group pics with the Lake in the background. Our next destination to Kakamega Forests near Uganda border was a long drive of nearly 200 kms which would take almost 5 hours . Moses had plans to stop at many places on the way for specific birds. I will write about the remaining five days of my trip in my next blog. To be continued.

Group pic with Moses

View of Lake Baringo from the Resort