VISITED SITES

Below is a list of the sites I birded.

Taita Hills

The Taita Hills are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains which are shared with Tanzania. The hills are known for their moist forests with a unique fauna and flora. The forested hills are home to 3 distinctive and endemic subspecies which are often treated as full species by several authors: Taita (Olive) Thrush, Taita (Bar-throated) Apalis and Taita (Broad-ringed) White-eye.

Guides: Only few independent birders go to the Taita Hills, probably because of logistic reasons. Hereby I could propose a solution as one of our local field assistants might be the best option for guiding you around and/or arranging transport. He's keen on birding and speaks English well (and some basic Dutch also). He lives in Wundanyi but as he is working on our project he might not be available though...

Max Chovu
mail: maxchovu@yahoo.com
phone: +254 721 66 81 84 or +254 736 39 81 46

Highlights: Olive Thrush (only a handful of birds were captured, these were all translocated birds from other forests as part of a re-introduction program), Broad-ringed White-eye (common throughout), Hartlaub's Turaco (several birds along the forest edge). I did not put too much effort in seeing the apalis as I thoroughly visited this area a few years ago.

East Coast

The Arabuke-Sokoke Forest reserve (ASF) lies a few kilometers inland, between the towns of Kilifi and Malindi, about 110 km north of Mombasa. It is the largest remnants of the tropical forests that covered much of the East African coast and is an important habitat for several endemic and endangered birds. We birded the forest by accessing it on a motorcycle and driving on lots of footpaths. Around noon it gets very warm and bird activity slows down.

A short afternoon visit to the Mida Creek reserve will be rewarded with the glance of incoming Crab Plovers while enjoying some refreshing coconut milk. The entrance to the sanctuary is right opposite one of the ASF gates. A small entrance fee and a tip for the coconut is a welcome support for the local community who try to protect this great reserve.

The Sabaki River mouth comprises the sandbanks, mud banks, dunes and freshwater pools and marshes at the mouth of Kenya's second-longest river. The area is and heavily used and disturbed by the local people but still seems to be a good bird sanctuary to spot good numbers of waders and waterbirds. It can be found approximately 5 km north of Malindi town, between the Malindi-Mambrui road bridge and the sea.

To see the restricted and threatened Malindi Pipit we went to the coastal grasslands near the Gongoni community about 40 km North of Malindi. The area seems to be under serious pressure caused by the ever expanding salt companies. We could see how one of the more reliable sites was being destroyed by an army of bulldozers. The birds were still around but will soon be gone. We also encountered minor difficulties with the company staff entering the waste land.

Guides: As I was limited in time and had no own vehicle, I used the help of a local guide to show me around. You can't enter the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest on your own anyway. It is easy to arrange this: just go to the reserve's head quarters. I contacted mine in advance as he is said to be the best guide and David certainly proved to be both an enthusiastic and competent bird watcher!

David Ngala
mail:
phone: +254 734 65 26 10

Highlights: Sokoke Scops-Owl (2 birds seen on their day roost and heard later on in ASF), Sokoke Pipit (several seen at close range walking on the forest leaf litter in ASF, great bird!), Amani Sunbird (several seen well in the typical Brachystegia woodland of ASF), East Coast Akalat (easily taped in on several occasions in ASF), Malindi Pipit (at least 3 seen in the short grasslands in the Gongoni area), Madagascar Pratincole (at least 5 seen both at the Gongoni salt pans and Sabaki River Mouth), Fischer's Turaco (only 1 seen in the plantations behind the ASF head quarters), Plain-backed Sunbird (regularly seen in the coastal forest of ASF), Zanzibar Bishop (not uncommon), Yellow Flycatcher (fairly common in ASF), Mombassa Woodpecker (several birds seen and more heard in ASF), ...