Jumbo ! Kenya-3

Masai Mara to Nairobi !

Day 7 of our Kenya birding trip to Masai Mara National Reserve was a dream come true for me. A visit to Mara with my friends was on my bucket list for more than ten years, but somehow it never materialised. I was eagerly looking forward to the most exciting African safari. The Masai Mara was established as a game reserve in 1961. It is contiguous with Serengeti National Park of Tanzania. The landscape of reserve has vast open plains, acacia trees , rolling hills and the Mara and Talek rivers. The traditional inhabitants of the region, the Masai people , gave the park its name and culture. The Masai Mara is home to numerous species, known as Big five and Big Nine and a variety of bird species. An important attraction at Mara is the 'Great Migration' of Wildebeest and Zebras in lakhs to Tanzania. The Duma camp where we were staying was surrounded by tall trees and bushes. Just outside the dining tent, we saw the beautiful Purple Grenadier foraging in the bushes, the light was still low at 7am to take any shots.

Inside the park

Gate of Masai Mara NR

When we entered the Park an hour later , the air was crisp and fresh. The morning drive through the vast grasslands was serene and quiet, with animals looking like tiny dots faraway grazing in the horizon. Surprisingly, for almost an hour there were not many sightings of animals. As Moses, our guide drove towards the Talek plains, we could see herds of Zebras, Giraffes, Wildebeest, Impalas, Cape buffaloes, Elephants, Wart Hogs running, a Lioness watching the animals and strategising the attack. We saw an interesting scene of a Spotted Hyena's desperate attempts to steal a bite from the carcass of an animal and being chased by a mixed flock of Vultures. To add to the list was the ubiquitous sighting of Red-billed Oxpecker perched on the zebras, giraffes , buffaloes and other animals, pecking on ticks. ( L-R below, Lioness , Wildebeest, Spotted Hyena & Vultures , Zebra with Red-billed Oxpecker)

The sharp eyes of Moses would not miss any bird in the bush and we saw as many as 48 species of birds in the next four hours. The best were the Yellow-throated Sandgrouse, Kori Bustard, White-bellied Bustard, Black-bellied Bustard, Arrow-marked Babblers, three species of Cisticolas and the Yellow/ Red- billed Oxpeckers.

Yellow Sandgrouse

Black-bellied Bustard

White-bellied Bustard

By the time we got back to the camp for lunch at 1 pm it had become very hot. Two hours later, we were back in the Park for the afternoon safari. Moses drove us to the eastern section where we got good sightings of Black Crakes, Saddle -billed Stork, Common Ostrich, Vultures-Hooded and Whited-backed, and a pair of Black-chested Snake -Eagles, one of them striking a green snake with super precision, in total, around 29 species.

Common Ostrich

Saddle-billed Stork

Black Crake

By 6 pm, we were back to the Camp. September 4 was Col Cheema's birthday and we were hoping to celebrate during dinner. The staff of the Duma camp planned a surprise birthday celebration and with the lead man, the manager of the camp holding a torch in the traditional way chanting the birthday song in their style. The whole atmosphere turned lively with others joining the staff, shaking a leg to the birthday song in the local style. After the impromptu dance and song, and once the cake was cut, we raised a toast to the birthday boy. Back in our tents, we slept to the sounds of animals coming across the fence, opposite our tent.

Birthday Party

Balloon Safari

View from Tent

Day 8, and our second day at Mara, we could see the colourful balloon safaris taking off from outside the fence, across our tent. It was 6 am when I went for breakfast, hoping to get some shots of the Purple Grenadier before we left for the safari. We were taking packed lunch as a full-day safari was planned ahead for the "Big Five"and we did not intend to come back for lunch to the camp. We started by 7 am and after completing the formalities we entered the gates of the Park by 8 am. There are many women from the Masai tribe selling their wares at the gate. They chase you to buy the traditional stuff which can be taken as good souvenirs, from masks to dolls. While making the purchases, one has to be cautious as the possibility of getting fleeced is high for those who don't know how to haggle. Initially the women quote high prices and finally sell for 50% less.

Our important targets for the day was to see the "Big five" and look for Narina Trogon and Schaclow's Turaco birds at the Matera camp . On the way, we saw the King of Savannah , also an iconic symbol of Masai Mara the "African Lion" who walked so close to the vehicle , looking into our camera lens. It was a thrilling moment. Also, saw "tower of giraffes"and "dazzle of zebras" grazing in the grasslands. We stopped near a stream seeing several safari vehicles waiting. Upon checking we learnt that a leopard had left its kill on a tree and they were waiting for it to return from the bushes down the stream. It was 10 am, we waited for 30 mins for the leopard to come out but no luck so we decided to move to our first destination-- the Matera camp. The Camp is surrounded by dense vegetation of forest and tall trees like an "oasis in the desert". It was a luxury camp with tables laid outside for the evening candle lit dinners. We spent an hour at Matera and got shots of the beautiful Narina Trogon from a close range and the Schaclow's Turaco, which refused to come out from the canopy of a tree. We got some wonderful shots of Woodland Kingfisher, Giant Kingfisher, Brown-crowed Tchagra, Tambourine Dove and left at 12.30 pm.

Matera Camp

Narina Trogon

Woodland Kingfisher

We drove for another one hour towards the location of facilities for toilets. All safari vehicles stop at this place as there are only a few designated areas where tourists are allowed to get off the vehicles in the Masai Mara National Reserve. Lunch was planned under a big shady tree. Moses laid a sheet on the ground for us to have the packed lunch of grilled chicken legs, potato wafers, boiled eggs, sandwiches and fruit. We had the company of Starlings, both Superb and Hildebrandt's.

View of Pop-up roof

Lunch Spot

Hildebrandt's Starling

Superb Starling

After an hours' break for lunch while birding,Moses drove us towards the southern section of the NR in search of the Cheetah and the Leopard. We did not want to miss out on the sighting of these wild animals during our exclusive trip to Masai Mara. We succeeded in getting a good and amazing sighting of both. During our first stop, we got shots of leopard relishing its kill of Impala on the tree oblivious to the audience watching from the vehicles. From here, Moses drove very fast to the area where the Cheetahs were seen. It was fascinating to see two males grooming each other, for a significant time, after eating the kill. Both animals walked together, with heavy bellies, urinated on a tree and walked away into the grasslands. After an exhausting but hugely successful day of sighting 84 bird species and herds of Wildebeest, Giraffes, Lions, Cape Buffaloes, Zebras, Water Hogs, Hyenas, Gazelles, Topi ( a medium sized antelope) , Reedbucks, Impalas, Hippos bathing in a pond, Banded Mangoose, Kirk's Dik Dik, Spotted Hyenas , we returned to the Duma camp at 6.30 pm. Dinner was sumptuous with Indian and Kenyan cuisines, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. New groups of young people seemed to have arrived as all the tables in the dining tent were occupied.

African Lion

Lioness

Leopard with Kill

Cheetahs

Cape Buffalo

African Elephants

Day 9 of our trip, this morning, we were leaving Mara NR and heading to Lake Naivasha. By 7 am, when we were ready to leave, we took group photos with the staff of Duma camp who had taken such good care of us. Breakfast was a delicious spread. We had African fried sweet bread called Mandzi, along with bread, butter, eggs and sausages.

At Duma camp

With Alisa at Duma camp

Lake Naivasha is a 4-hour drive from Duma camp. On the way, Moses stopped for an hour at a place which had huge souvenir shops. It was easy to get lost in these huge stores surveying the collection of exquisite handicrafts made of wood. It was an expensive place, and I took some time deciding on what to buy that will reflect the best memories of our visit to Kenya. While few of us were busy making up our minds, Alpana, Rima and Narbir ( our group members) got good shots of Chestnut sparrows behind the cafe area. After the long drive, we finally reached Lake Naivasha by 1.45 pm. We had a quick lunch of pizza and burgers at Mattelo 's Italian Restuarant and left for the lake for a boat ride from the Karagita public beach. After an hour of boat ride on Lake Navisha, we saw 29 bird species and got some fabulous shots of Klass's cuckoo, Red-chested Cuckoo, African harrier Hawk, African Fish eagle, Giant Kingfisher and the African Jacana. It was a tourist place bustling with people taking boat rides.

Our next stop was at a place called Kinangop island grasslands to see the Sharp's Longclaw which is an endemic bird and for the Long-tailed Widow bird. The local community have been actively involved in the conservation work for protecting the endemic bird species. One of them had come with us to help locate the Sharpe's Longclaw in the vast grassland. After an hours' walk in the grasslands, we could see the bird and also get some shots. The light was receding and we had one more bird to see, we carefully walked along the banks of the wetlands in the long reeds to see the Long-tailed Widow bird. I managed to get few shots in poor light but was more worried to walk back safely on the wet, slippery uneven ground, through the reeds to the vehicle. It was nearly 6.30 pm when we started for our destination for the night at Crater lodge in the Crater Nat Park. We reached the place at 9 pm. It was dark and all I could see was a scary walk down the steps leading to the lake where the accommodation was in tents. The water of the lake was dangerously close to the steps leading to the tents. After a busy day, we enjoyed the candle light dinner in the glass house, the dining area. Tired and exhausted, after a sumptuous dinner, I just went off to sleep.

Long-tailed Widowbird

Sharp's Longclaw

Day 10, on our last day of birding in Kenya, we woke up to a spectacular sunrise across the Lake Sonachi, a privately maintained alkaline lake located in a volcanic crater near Lake Navisha in Kenya's Great Rift Valley. This is also known as Crater lake and is a private wildlife sanctuary, home to Colobus monkeys, Giraffes and Zebras and is a well known destination for birdwatchers. We started our day by exploring the lush surroundings before breakfast. The dining area is a glass building with a beautiful view Lake Sonaichi surrounded by thick forest. ( Pictures below : Views from my Tent and the surrondings).

By 7.30 am, we started our birding from the reception area at the entrance of the place, to a lovely sighting of a pair of Hildebrandt's Spurfowl, Collared Sunbird, Golden-breasted Bunting, Red -chested Cuckoo. For nearly four hours, we explored the sanctuary and could see 51 bird species, including the Rothschild's Giraffes found at Crater Lake and Lake Nakuru National Park and Vervet Monkey, Black and White Colobus Monkeys and Baboon. The lunch was laid in the floating restaurant in the background of a breathtaking view of the lake and its surroundings. We quickly packed our bags and left them ready to be taken by porters to the reception. By 1 pm, we were at the reception to leave this beautiful place.

At the Reception

Crater Lodge

At the Floating Restaurant

Moses had few more target birds to show us on way to Nairobi, the White-fronted Bee-eater and Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater. To our good luck, we got to see both and also got good shots of the Bee-eaters. Without any more stops, we reached Nairobi by 7 pm to our hotel Lerraut, close to the airport. We had an early morning flight, so barely slept for few hours before leaving for the airport at 2 am.

Hildebrandt's Spurfowl

Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater

White-fronted Bee-eater

With 342 bird species in 10 days, we completed a fabulous birding trip to Kenya in September, 2024 with the best bird guide, Moses. The memories of the place-the people, the landscapes, the sights, the joys , and the camaraderie- will remain etched in my heart forever. With this blog, I have tried to share my experiences of Kenya trip in three series. Sharing few pictures from the trip below.