KENYA – Wajee Bird Sanctuary

It took the best part of a couple of hours for Peter and I to get from Nairobi to Wajee Nature Park located in the central highlands south of Nyeri. We did stop along the road to admire a Long-crested Eagle (right) and a pair of Grey Hornbills.

Wajee Nature Park is a small 22 acre island oasis of remnant forest surrounded by cut and burn agriculture. It has been preserved for the sole purpose of providing habitat to one of Kenya’s few endemics birds, the highly localized and threatened Hinde’s Babbler (below) . There are many walking paths which all lead down steep slopes to the adjacent open fields. Babblers are just that, always ‘babbling’ and that is the easiest way to track them down. It did not take long to hear them, though in the dense underbrush it took us a while before we had very good looks at these skulkers.

This tiny bird sanctuary is also known for its African Wood Owls and Edwin the resident guide soon found a roosting pair. There were a handful of other species here including Yellow-bellied Waxbills, Yellow-whiskered Greenbul, Grey-capped Warbler, Tambourine Dove, Black-collared Apalis, White-headed Barbet and the ever present Black Sawwings. Around the entrance area there was a gorgeous butterfly, a Sotik Acraea (above), several African Dusky Flycatchers hawking insects only a few feet off the ground, Cape Robin-Chats, Ruppell’s Robin-Chats, Northern Puffback and many Mountain Thrushes.