Birding and Birdwatching           

Trip Report - Kenya & Zanzibar 7-27 October 1999 Part 4

Masai Mara National Reserve 19/10-22/10/99

We left Naivasha in the morning and enjoyed relatively good roads until we got beyond the town of Narok, then we were back on the dirt tracks. We reached our campsite early in the afternoon so we had time to pitch our tents before going out on an evening game drive. The Masai Mara is the Kenyan part of the Serengeti ecosystem, although the landscape is a mosaic of scrubby woodland and open grasslands set among hills instead of wide, open grassy steppe. The herds of grazers were still in the Masai Mara and had not yet crossed back into Tanzania so there were Common Zebra, Wildebeest, Kongoni, Topi and Thomson's Gazelle everywhere. The predators were here too and on that first day we saw a female Cheetah with five young cubs and some lionesses with a kill.

There were always plenty of raptors in the sky throughout our time at the Masai Mara and some Hooded Vultures roosted in a tree overlooking our camp. The commonest species were Bateleur, Tawny Eagle, White-backed Vulture and Rueppell's Griffon Vulture. We found the nest of a Lappet-faced Vulture in an isolated spindly tree. On the second day the Cheetah family had killed a Thomson's Gazelle and a huge conclave of vultures and Marabou Storks gathered around them. The cubs entertained themselves by harassing the vultures.

Early afternoon on the second day was spent enjoying the facilities at a lodge and watching the birds attracted to the garden flowers and trees. Even here there were vultures, Augur Buzzards and Marabous in the air at all times, joined by the occasional White-necked Raven. On our last full day of the trip we drove to the Mara River to see the abundant hippos there. As we prepared lunch we were overseen by Vervet Monkeys and a Slate-coloured Boubou while a pair of Bateleurs circled above us.

We left on the morning of the 22 October and returned to Nairobi.

Nairobi 23/10/99

We ate at the famous Carnivores restaurant the previous evening and had arranged an excursion around Nairobi for today. We started at Nairobi National Park which is an amazing place, a real wilderness set on the doorstep of Kenya's capital where you can see Giraffes and Lions with the tower blocks of the city as a backdrop. Raptors were plentiful here, again mostly Vultures, but we saw Grey Crowned Crane, Secretary Birds and lots of Larks. A pleasant surprise was seeing a Red-backed Shrike, another reminder that Autumn was well underway back home. If you are ever in Nairobi the park is well worth a visit, even if you have been on safari elsewhere.

From the National Park we went to the Giraffe Centre where a sanctuary has been established for Giraffes. As you entered you were given some cattle pellets. When you feed the giraffes they slime your hands with their tongues so I resorted to throwing the pellets into their mouths. The staff here saw my binoculars and told me they had a birdwatching trail of around 1km but the rest of the party wanted to see the Karen Blixen Museum so I had to forgo that pleasure. The Karen Blixen Museum is set in beautiful gardens and run by the National Museum of Kenya. This was the home of the author of "Out of Africa" and has been restored with a mixture of original items and props from the movie. There were a few birds in the gardens but nothing new.

Zanzibar 24/10-27/10/99

Mrs Kelly's sister had recommended Zanzibar to us and so we ended our holiday by flying from Nairobi to this near mythical island via Mombasa. When you arrive at the airport the first thing you notice are the abundance of coconut palms. No wonder Swahili cooking involves a lot of Coconut milk.

We stayed near the harbour and apart from the introduced House Crows and House Sparrows this was relatively birdless. As someone from a coastal town I expect harbours to be full of birds but all Zanzibar's harbour could muster were a few Sooty Gulls, a single dark phased Dimorphic Egret and a circling pond heron. The Pond Heron was over our hotel on the last day and based on its all white plumage I identified it as a Madagascar Pond Heron.

On our second day we took a "Spice Tour" to the government of Zanzibar's own Spice Plantation. This was fascinating and we bought some local spices to bring home after seeing how they were cultivated. At a ruined bath house for a former Sultana, called Sheherazade, I was surprised to see a Pratincole fly overhead. The shallow fork in the tail meant it was a Madagascar Pratincole. Within the plantation we saw displaying Mangrove Kingfishers in the high treetops. After the spice tour we went to the main Conservation area on Zanzibar, the Jozani Forest, but few birds were seen. We did, however, see the endemic Zanzibar Red Colobus monkey as well as Syke's Monkey and Red-tailed Coastal Squirrel.

On our third day we went to Prison Island where there was a colony of Aldabran Giant Tortoises. These were brought here about 100 years ago and are now part of a breeding programme for this endangered species. Again I saw few birds here other than the House Crows, Olive Sunbird and Indian Peafowl. In the afternoon we went to the east coast to enjoy a nearly empty pristine white beach. With hindsight we should have spent our first and last nights in Zanzibar town with a night in an east coast resort sandwiched between them. The bush here had more birds in it and if I had stayed in the resort I could have birded it at a more suitable time.

Zanzibar is not the place to go for birds, I have never been anywhere else with so few birds evident, but it is a beautiful island with an exotic ambience. The people were friendly and hassle was minimal compared to mainland Africa. We arranged all our excursions with Mr Solomon on the waterfront and he made sure we got the "cheapest price". I only hope that as tourism grows on the island it does not have a negative effect on the Zanzibaris friendly and respectful attitude to visitors.

From Zanzibar we began the long journey back to Scotland touching down in Mombasa, Nairobi, Amsterdam and eventually Edinburgh. We had thoroughly enjoyed our trip and look forward to our next African holiday, Lillian wants to see the total eclipse in Zimbabwe on 21/6/2001 so we will be paying her sister in Harare another visit around then.

Part 1 | Part 2| Part3 |Part 4 |Part 5

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