KENYA: Sabaki Estuary and Mida Creek

The Galana River, which flows through Tsavo East, enters the ocean just north of Sabaki. Turning off the Malindi to Lamu road we worked our way through rain washed tracks and gullies to get as close to the sand dunes as we could. We passed an African Cuckoo-Hawk standing in grasses, and located a pair of Black-headed Lapwings with one youngster in the shade of a palm tree. For the remaining two and a half hours of daylight we walked out to Sabaki Estuary and scanned the exposed mudflats. As the afternoon wore on, the numbers of shorebirds and waders increased as the rising tide pushed them further inland.

A lone Pink-backed Pelican flew to join Lesser and Greater Flamingos in the deeper water. Several Yellow-billed Storks went back and forth from the estuary to the adjacent marshes.

White-faced Whistling Ducks were roosting amongst the waders, which included dozens of Pied Avocets, Whimbrel and their larger relatives the Eurasian Curlews, as well as Bar-tailed Godwits. Gulls were represented by Sooty, Lesser Black-backed and Hueglin’s, while the terns consisted of Caspian, Lesser Crested, Common and many Gull-billed. It was the shorebirds that made up the bulk of these roosting groups. Curlew Sandpipers could be seen in large flocks, and in between, we would pick out Terek Sandpipers, Common Ringed Plover, Lesser Sand Plovers and Little Stints. Amongst the shallow tidal pools that separated us from the mudflats, it was Greenshanks, Marsh and Wood Sandpipers that were busy feeding.

The following day we visited Mida Creek, which is about half-an-hour south of Sabaki, in the late morning. As we took the entrance track in, we found a Mangrove Kingfisher (above) perched low in a tree.

Having had a successful morning, Ben and Sue drank freshly-bored coconut water offered by an enterprising local entrepreneur, and Arafa, one the Mida Creek guides, showed us locally designed jewelry along with dozens of Kenyan kanga’s (sarongs). These being rectangular pieces of cotton, with vibrant colored traditional patterns printed on them. The local economy and Mida Creek Conservation and Awareness Group in particular,  benefited from our purchases.