KENYA – The Magadi Road : Heading back North

At Lake Magadi there are only a handful of birds that one is likely to see in the salt ponds. Lesser Flamingos of course that feed on the algae and a few shorebirds along the fringes. The sought after species here is the small Chestnut-banded Plover (above) which only found here in East Africa from Magadi south into northern Tanzania. At the gate to the salt factory Peter spotted two of them walking towards a flock of sleeping Kittlitz’s Plovers that also held a Little Stint. Three Grey-headed Gulls and Blacksmith Lapwings were also roosting on a line of exposed rocks in the pond.

Beginning our journey back we soon had a Pied Wheatear flying across the road and 4 Black-faced Sandgrouse flushed for the roadside edge when I got out to look for the wheatear.

We stopped for a late lunch in a lovely shaded acacia grove that outlined a very dry man made cattle pond. Northern White-crowned Shrike and a pair of Von der Decken’s Hornbill’s could easily be seen while Cardinal Woodpecker, Red-faced Crombec, Buff-bellied Warbler and Banded Parisoma worked the acacia’s. A restless Beautiful Sunbird perched briefly in several trees until alarm calls went up. Looking around a saw a Gabar Goshawk gliding through. Those that did not take off just froze and all went quiet.

By mid afternoon we were on our way back making one stop at a small watering hole at Ol Tepesi. As we approached the Masai had their herds of cattle orderly grouped in the shade of various trees, each herd clearly separated and waiting their turn to be summoned to the well! The water attracted a host of small birds namely Chestnut Sparrows, Grey-headed Social-Weavers, White-bellied Canaries, a few non breeding plumaged Straw-tailed Whydahs, a couple of Blue-capped Cordon-bleus and Hildebrandt’s Starlings. Banded Parisoma, Northern Crombec and Brubru could be found foraging along the acacia canopy branches.

Though we had seen Schalow’s Wheatear (left) a few times on the drive down, including a male, we found a more cooperative female. She spent most of the time feeding in the shade of a building amongst the well cropped grasses. It is the only one of the wheatears found in East Africa, migrant or African, that does not show white in the tail.

all photos © adrian binns