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| White-crested Turaco |
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| Black & White Casque Hornbill |
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Chestnut-crowned Sparrow Weaver
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| Eldoret |
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| Fan-tailed Widowbird |
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| Jackson's Widow bird |
Our next stop was at the Turaco Kerio River lodge to see the White- crested Turaco which is a resident bird there. Luckily, we got the best sighting of the Turaco perched low on a tree on the edge of the lawns and also of the gorgeous Black-headed Gonolek. After an hour of birding, we left for the Kerio View Hotel for a quick delicious lunch. I noticed a few Indian tourists from Gujarat having lunch. This place sits at an elevation, offering a fabulous view of the Rift Valley. After lunch, we had one last stop, on a road, next to the field near Moiben Marsh to see the Red -cowled Widowbird, Fan-tailed Widow bird and Jackson's widow bird. All these birds were new to me and are found only in Kenya. We braved a continuous drizzle for nearly 30 minutes to get some shots from the road. Once done, we were back in the vehicle with another 2 hours drive to the Kakamega forest. We ended our birding with 35 lifers, in a single day!
On the way, we crossed Eldoret city, which is the second big city after Nairobi in Kenya. I was awake for a while as we travelled from rugged hills to farmlands, livestock herds in local villages to tea gardens and tiny towns. The rain was pounding and it was dark by the time we reached the Kakamega forest area. We left the main road and took a turn into the forest area. In the dark, my eyes could only register the shadow of tall trees. Our vehicle was navigating the slippery mud tracks with great difficulty. I was worried that the tyres would get stuck in the slush of mud. After 30 minutes drive we reached the Rondo Retreat, our destination for the next two nights. It was 7 pm, still drizzling as I walked carefully, taking small steps on the cobbled mossy paths towards the cottage, hoping not to slip on it. The cottage had four rooms with lovely english interiors and decor. We quickly put our camera batteries for charging. There was no mobile connection at this place, so charging the mobile was not a priority. Dinner was served in the dining room. We were exhausted from the journey and famished too. To my surprise, dinner was a formal sit down, three course meal, reminding me of my formal dinners during police training. After enjoying the hospitality of the staff, who served us delicious grilled chicken, poured with sauce from a gravy boat and cake for dessert. I noticed two couples having dinner at the other tables, may be they were birders or researchers. Our cottage was right across the lawn of the dining room. With no respite from the continuous rain, we were worried for our birding next day.
On Day 5, we woke up to gloomy overcast skies, after the incessant rain all night. It was still drizzling at 7am during breakfast. The Kakamega forest covers an area of about 240 square kilometres in the western region of Kenya, near Lake Victoria. It is the only rainforest that Kenya is left with, the last relic of rainforest remaining from Equatorial Guinea, through Congo, with the eastern most part ending in Kenya. The small pocket that remains in Kenya exists due to the conservation efforts of the Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) and Kenyan Forest Service (KFS). The forest is known for great diversity of plant and animal species and is frequented by local and international researchers for study. Kakamega forests also boasts of a variety of bird species and is known to be a birder's paradise. These forests are home to 488 different bird species, of which 200 are specific to the forest and are not seen anywhere else. It is home to seven type of primates too. The landscape is both montane and a lowland, an evergreen equatorial forest, at an altitude of 1500m.
The Rondo Retreat is situated on the Khayega- Chepsonoi road which runs through the forest. Going through the history of the retreat, a tranquil place nestled in the Kakamega forest surrounded by tall tropical trees, was once the home of a saw-miller in 1948. It passed through various phases and has now become a delightful spot for nature lovers and birders. The main house and the cottages, all named after local tribes, birds and forest creatures are attractively decorated with a blend of styles and furnishings and unique decor. Each cottage has a different view to the lush gardens with a backdrop of forest beyond.
We had a full day of birding at the retreat and in the Kakamega forest. The overcast skies did not look promising for birding or photography. After a sumptuous breakfast, our itinerary for the day was to spot birds around the grounds of the retreat and outside on the road, with the forest on both sides. For nearly two hours in the morning, we walked in the beautiful manicured lawns with tall trees and bushes in the undergrowth on the edges. The bad weather made it difficult to sight the birds from the sounds coming from the forests. The light too was not good for photography. There was a haze around due to the mist making visibility poor. Later, we moved out on the road for birding around the place, walking for 2-3 kms on the mud track, with pools of rainwater at many places. The sky cleared after two hours but not completely. The Sun seemed reluctant to come out in the open and shine brightly. The density of birds on the road side trees, which was the edge of forest was extraordinary and in the morning session of nearly five hours we sighted 45 species, many lifers. While birding on the mud track, we walked towards the tea gardens, close to the forest. Tea has been planted in the forest cleared through logging or on natural ways. We returned for lunch by 12 noon and spent some time clicking birds on the grounds of the retreat. The grounds were vibrant with beautiful flowers and a medley of bird calls. There are two memory stones etched with the name of A W Bob Turton, who originally acquired and cleared this place and his wife Betty Venice Turton, placed by their children.
After lunch, I was relaxing on the verandah of the cottage and was surprised to be in the company of the Joyful Greenbul on the cane chairs, unmindful of my presence. At 3 pm, we again went for birding just outside the gate for nearly a kilometre looking for East African birds. We were delighted to see some spectacular birds known for their beautiful plumage like Ross Turaco, Black-billed Turaco, and Great-Blue Turaco, recording nearly 24 bird species in the afternoon session. I missed the Great-blue Turaco, one of the prized bird species of this place. In fact, it nests in the Rondo Retreat. In the evening, I waited for a very long near its nest but there was no sight of it. It was the most disappointing moment for me. Hopefully, someday, I would go back to Kakamega forest to see it. By the end of a long day of birding, we had seen 62 bird species and 48 lifers at Kakamega Forest, a very good number to see in one day. Moses, our guide is a relentless pursuer. Some of the highlights of the day were Yellow-spotted Barbet, Eastern Yellow-billed Barbet, Grey-throated Barbet, Hairy-breasted Barbet, Blue Malkoha, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Vieillot's Black Weaver, Green-headed Sunbird, Dark-Backed Weaver and Jameson's wattle-eye, of which only Narbir, our group member could get a shot. We were leaving this place in the morning for our next destination, Masai Mara.
Rondo Retreat can cast a spell on anyone; It was an unforgettable experience, in the middle of the Savannah rain forest, surrounded by the sounds of forest inhabitants from dawn to dusk, a visual delight of flowers and trees and maintaining an old world charm. These are pictures from Rondo Retreat.
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| View from verandah |
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Joyful Greenbul
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| Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird |
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| Blue Malkoha |
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| White-browed Robin-Chat |
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| Viellot’s Black Weaver |
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| Black-billed Turaco |
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| Blue Monkey |
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| Ross ‘s Turaco |
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| Grey-throated Barbet |
On Day 6, we left early after breakfast at 6 am. We had a long trip towards Masai Mara via Lake Victoria, which we would reach only by the evening. Before leaving we bought some souvenirs at the small curio shop at the reception. Fortunately, it was a bright sunny day and the drive from Rondo during day light was of a completely different experience, with dense forest of tall tropical trees, almost touching the sky on both sides of the track with long stretches of slippery road, due to continuous rains. I heard Moses say we will be looking for the Great Blue Turaco on the way.
The drive to Lake Victoria from Rondo Retreat was nearly an hour across western Kenya's scenic roads. It was 9.30 am, when we reached Dunga beach, near Kisumu on the shores of Lake Victoria, known to be an important birding spot especially through the backwaters, swamps and papyrus fringes. Moses took us on a boat ride with a local guide to explore the backwaters for resident birds species of papyrus like Papyrus Gonolek, Swamp Flycatcher, African Pygmy Kingfisher, Malachite Kingfisher, Great Swamp Warbler. We spent more than an hour boating to catch a sight and get a shot of these rare and elusive species, confined to dense papyrus thickets.
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| Boat ride |
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| Papyrus |
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| Malachite Kingfisher |
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| Boat ride |
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| Greater Swamp Warbler |
We got back to the Dunga beach side for a boat ride on Lake Victoria. This place was teeming with activity with fisher men and women sorting the catch on the beach. Rima, my group member was waiting for a good shot of Hamerkop and finally got a fabulous shot. There were many water birds on the beach, with plenty of fish available for food. We went in two boats on the lake for 30 mins. I was surprised to see so many wooden structures in the water, which are known as fish cages used for aquaculture, especially fish farming. Huge flocks of White-winged Tern, Whiskered Tern and Pink-backed Pelican and some waterbirds were seen perched on these fish cages. The afternoon sun was blazing on our heads at 12 noon when we came to the Hippo view point, which was closer to the beach. Moses was looking for some bird, meanwhile, I got some good shots of Northern Brown throated Weaver and Grey-capped Warbler. We recorded 28 bird species.
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| Dunga beach |
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| Fish Cage |
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| White-winged Tern |
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| Pink-backed Pelican |
After 15 minutes, we were back on the road, heading towards our next destination. I was already feeling hungry. Our vehicle was stocked with lot of knick knacks carried from back home and tuck purchased by Alpana, our group member from Nairobi. After a drive of nearly two hours, at 3.30 pm we stopped at Fair Hills hotel for lunch. While we ordered food, two of our serious birders were outside in the garden near a small pond, looking for birds. It started to drizzle and surprisingly, one of them saw the Great Kingfisher, the largest of the Kingfisher species, perched on a low branch. The rest of us rushed out in the drizzle, which rapidly turned into a downpour, to get a quick shot of the Kingfisher before getting soaked in the rain with the camera.
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| Giant Kingfisher |
Lunch was quick and we were back on road to Masai Mara which was around 130-150 kms from this location at Bomet County. During the 3- hour drive, we traversed different landscapes from rolling hills, tea plantations, maize and sugarcane fields. We passed through rural markets crowded with local folk buying and selling vegetables, fruit, cattle and household items. After the initial two hours of drive, the landscape changed to dry scrubland, interspersed with bush, acacias. And very soon, the landscape changed to vast open grasslands stretching towards the horizon, known as the classic East African Savanna. The last stretch of 50 kms was a bumpy jolting ride to the "Duma Camp" at Mara. We touched the gates of Duma camp at 7pm. As we entered the camp it started raining heavily. We took some refreshments and checked into our cosy tents, with nice warm interiors, facing the long stretch of grasslands. It was comforting to see an electric fence to protect the camp from wild animals in the night. Dinner was served in the dining tent. It was a delicious spread of both Kenyan and Indian cuisines, prepared by a Gujarati cook, called specially when the camp has Indian guests.
We were finally at the Masai Mara, one of the world's best known Game reserves and eagerly looking forward to the morning safari and the birding at Mara. My next three days experiences will be narrated in Kenya-3 blog post !
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| Pygmy Batis |
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| African Black-headed Oriole |
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| Swamp Flycatcher |
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| Green-winged Pytillia |
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| Hairy-breasted Barbet |
what a wonderful read! your experience of birding in Masai mara, I can guess how much you enjoyed clicking totally different colourful species, Thank you for sharing such a well documented and informative birding journey. Be in bliss
ReplyDeleteThank you. I will write on Masai Mara in my next blog covering the last three days of the trip.
DeleteAnother lovely read which incites your imagination and makes you travel along. How is the food in Africa? Are there good vegetarian options there which are stomach friendly?
ReplyDeleteThanks. Food is really good in Kenya, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Vegetable curries and fruits are part of every meal in Kenya.
DeleteYour experience at Kakamega has really made me want to be there right now. Awesome blog. I feel very happy when people find the widow birds. There transformation in the breeding season leaves me so much in awe. In my own first spotting the birds looked like a rag piece of cloth floating in the wind over tall grasses. Very happy to read this blog that been written so well while documenting things to such nice level of detail.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kakamega forest is a must visit for birders. Its a superb place.
DeleteThanks for sharing your vivid description of your Kenya trip. Felt as if I was going through the trip myself. Lovely pictures too.
ReplyDeleteThank you , Glad you enjoyed reading it !!
DeleteWoww, it was as if I was there with you people. So lively narrated.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed reading it !!
DeleteI lived reading this. It's like being there with you! I must appreciate your patience and energy to click these rare birds. All the best for your others trips!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing such experience which encourages many to try to visit the African areas for wildlife photography
ReplyDeleteWell done