KENYA: A Samburu Morning

Upon leaving the Serena we first crossed a sand bed and stopped to watch a large troop of Olive Baboons (above) interacting, playing and preening with each other. This was their social hour.

Crossing the Ewaso Nyiro bridge we ventured into the Samburu reserve and immediately came across wonderful sightings. D’Arnaud’s Barbets (above) were dueting only feet away from us and Crested Francolins, just as vocal, dug up insects and seeds below them. Small flocks of Blue-naped Mousebirds alighted on the shrubs and proceeded to work their way into them. A Wahlberg Eagle carried nesting material to its nest atop an Umbrella Acacia.

Interactive mutually beneficial relationships are always exciting to watch. We witnessed a band of Dwarf Mongoose (below) and a Yellow-billed Hornbill cooperatively hunting. As the mongoose forage an area, the hornbill will be able to feed on anything that has eluded the mammals, and in return the hornbill is able to keep an eye to the sky for any marauding raptors.

As the morning heated up raptors could be seen circling over the hills. Along with the ubiquitous Tawny Eagle, there were Walhberg’s Eagles, Ruppell’s and White-backed Vulture, African Harrier Hawk and a couple of Fan-tailed Ravens.

Flocks of Eurasian Bee-eaters have just shown up on their wintering grounds, and their liquid contact calls could be heard throughout the day. We came across a handful of Fischer’s Starlings moving through the shrubbery. Wanting better looks we backed up to where we could get a good view. What we found was an additional five starling species, Superb, Wattled, Golden-breasted, Violet-backed and Magpie! Most of Africa’s iridescent starlings as simply stupendous, maybe none more so than the sight of a Golden-breasted Starling (below). Their long blue tail trailing behind as they quickly move through the arid acacia-dominated landscape.

Amongst a small area of fallen trees, there was a great deal of activity and scolding by Black-cheeked Waxbills, Grey Wren Warbler, White-browed Scrub Robins, Spotted Morning Thrush, Somali Golden-breasted Bunting, Northern Crombec and Abyssinian Scimitarbills – though we could not see what had them distressed, it was likely to be a snake.

After a great deal of searching we did manage to find a Somali Bee-eater (above), perched only a few feet off the ground. Along the way we encountered many White-bellied Go-Away Birds, a Three-streaked Tchagra, the diminutive Pygmy Falcon and Fawn-coloured Lark. Down by the river an adult Martial Eagle was on the lookout for an easy meal, possibly a dik-dik, and other raptors included an immature African Hawk Eagle and Verreaux’s Eagle Owl.