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Kenya Birds the bird supplement of the EANHS Bulletin Volume 10:T*8T2 • 2002 May 2003 ISSN 1023.3679 Recent Records from top to bottom Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos, a rare migrantfrom Siberia, was photographed by Brian Finch. Brian and Richard and Ann Bishop found the bird at Athi Basin Dam, Nairobi N.P., on 7 April 2002. Note the sharp "cut-off" of colour on the breast. Immature Eurasian Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus, photographed by Itai Shanni at the "vulture pool", Nairobi N. P. on 5 March 2003. Note the uniform buff-brown upper-wing coverts and pale tips to the dark secondary upper-wing coverts. Red-footed Booby, Sula sula, brown morph, was found 23 November 2002 on the beach at Watamu, and nursed back to health by Sanda Ash. In December, Colin Jackson measured, ringed, and photographed the bird and set it free. Kenya Birds, Volume 10: 16(2, 2002 May 2003 1 598 Contents Feature Articles 12 Tradition, Tragedy and the Eurasian Honey Buzzard 3 Not a good way to conserve G. Amutete biodiversity! 13 Pratincole-Wader Interaction L. Borghesio C. Hill Nests of 2 globally endangered species 14 Odd Purple Grenadier on Mt Kulal 6 Aberdare Cisticola K. Ndang'ang'a & L. Borghesio G. W. Eshiamwata & S. Karimi 14 Common Button-quail, Nairobi NP 7 Taita Thrush A. Johnston D. Samba, B. Amakobe, M.Chovu 1 African Finfoot breeding at Mpala Ranch, Laikipia Short (and not so short) Notes B. Chege 10 First records from ephemeral Kijirtit 16 Hinde's Babbler survey, 2000-1 Wetland near Lake Bogoria P. Shaw & J. Musina B. Childress, R. Ndolo, D. Harper 17 Osprey displaying at Watamu 1 Oriole-Finch in Mau & Aberdares B. Means L. Bennun 1 Albino Southern Flycatcher and Two cases of Brood Parasitism J.Kirika 1 Duckling Surprise On the cover: an Arctic Tern P. Davey Sterna paradisaea photographed 1 Arctic Tern for Kenya by Jan Bisschop on 6 July 2002 J. Bisschop at the Sabaki River mouth north of Malindi. This record, if Reports approved by the Rarities 20 Vital Statistics for Kinangop Committee, is the first Arctic Grasslands IBA Tern for East Africa! Top photo K. Ndang 'ang 'a & W. Wamiti caught the tern in flight. Bottom 24 Ringing at Ngulia photo shows the Arctic Tern D. Pearson & G. Backhurst resting near an African Skimmer, Greater Crested (Swift) Terns (at 27 Waterbird Counts, Jul 01 -Jan 02 left and at the back), Lesser A. Owino Crested Tern (behind the Arctic 29 Three Darwin Initiatives Tern) and Common Terns (with P. Matiku, O. Nasirwa, K. Ndang 'ang 'a black bills). Thanks to Jan 33 Records Bisschop. For more details on this record see page 19. Records Sub-Committee 44 Notice Board BirdLife INTERNATIONAL % UatureKenya May 2003 Kenya Birds, Volume 10: 14 2, 2002 1 Kenya Birds is published jointly by the Department of Ornithology, National Museums of Kenya, and the Bird Committee of the East Africa Natural History Society — BirdLife in Kenya and Uganda. Editorial Sub-Committee: Graeme Backhurst, Gordon Boy, Mbaabu Mathiu, Kariuki Ndang'ang'a, Catherine Ngarachu, Fleur Ng'weno, Itai Shanni. Editor: Fleur Ng' weno Advertising rates for Kenya Birds and © Nature Kenya 2003 Nature East Africa (EANHS Bulletin) ISSN 1023-3679 Back cover 30,000/- Printed by Fotoform Inside front cover 25,000/- Subscriptions: Kenya Birds is available Inside back cover 25,000/- on demand, free of charge, with Double page spread 45,000/- membership in Nature Kenya. Full page 20,000/- Subscription rates for non-members are HalfpageB&W 10,000/- KSh 500/= (Kenya), USD 10 (Uganda/ Tanzania) and USD 15 (rest of world, Please provide artwork on Zip airmail rate). Please make cheques (for disk or CD (preferably Macintosh local subscriptions) or credit card compatible). Payment should be done payments (in dollars, for out of Kenya in full in advance. For inquiries please subscriptions) to 'Nature Kenya'. contact Catherine Ngarachu or „ , . r Elizabeth Nyambura at Nairobi numbers of most issues are Back " „„,«,*-„ ~-„™™ • ... U1 . .. XT v 3749957 or 3746090, or e-mail available: contact the Nature Kenya < . _ ™ [email protected] Contacts Articles and notes for Kenya Birds Editor, Kenya Birds, Nature Kenya, P O Box 44486, GPO Nairobi 00100, Kenya E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected] Records • National Birdmap • Nest record cards Department of Ornithology, National Museums of Kenya P O Box 40658, GPO Nairobi 00100, Kenya Phone Nairobi 3742161/2/3/4 or 3742131/2/3/4 ext. 243, fax 3741424 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.museums.or.ke Bird Committee • birdwalks and excursions • birding hotline • Kenya Birds and Scopus subscriptions Nature Kenya, P O Box 44486, GPO Nairobi 00100, Kenya Phone Nairobi 3749957 or 3746090, fax 3741049 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www. naturekenya.org 2 Kenya Birds, Volume 10: 1 4 2, 2002 May 2003 Not a good way to increase biodiversity! Luca Borghesio C. Re Umberto 42, 1-10128 Torino, Italy <[email protected]> all know that the world's rainfall to allow the growth of a true Webiodiversity is threatened. forest, which clads the slopes of this Species are being lost at an ancient volcano, and covers an area of 2 increasing rate, and there is an about 110 km . Forest birds, of course, extremely high need to find out Ways make up the most part of the avifauna, to allow a more peaceful coexistence and include some interesting species, between man and the other living such as Green-backed Twinspot and species. Therefore, one could think it is Sharpe's Starling. a very good news that in some places In addition, the forest has the biodiversity is actually increasing. but peculiarity of hosting a large number of is it really so? There is a very interesting waterbirds that live on two small lakes story from Marsabit Forest Reserve, in in the middle of the craters of the extinct northern Kenya. But let start from me volcano. Lake Paradise (a well-chosen the beginning. name!) is about 1 km in diameter, in the Marsabit Forest Reserve is a lovely middle of the forest, while Sokorte Dika place. Although northern Kenya is is smaller, perhaps one-quarter the size generally very dry or even desertic, of Lake Paradise, and is located in the Mount Marsabit receives enough northern part of the area. Apart from Lake Paradise by Rati Kfir May 2003 Kenya Birds, Volume 10: 16 2, 2002 their sizes, the two lakes are very Going through the table, one can't similar, with a rounded shape, shallow help being struck by the differences in waters and wide expanses of mudflats the avifauna in the two lakes. Even around the shores. The Bird Atlas of keeping into account that Sokorte Dika Kenya lists 55 waterbird species as is much smaller, it is clear that it has being present in the two lakes, including much fewer birds than Lake Paradise the rare Maccoa Duck, White-backed (based on size, one would expect that Duck, Southern Pochard and several about 400 waterbirds should be there, Palaearctic migrants. In March 2000 I not 52 only!). Moreover, the small lake visited Marsabit forest for several days, has some bird species (Pink-backed and had a chance to do some waterbird Pelican, African Darter, Yellow-billed counts, which are summarised in the Stork, African Spoonbill, Common table below. Sandpiper) that were not seen at Lake Paradise, and also Sokorte Lake many more Grey Herons Dika Paradise seem to live at Sokorte than Species 9-10 4-8 at Lake Paradise. In contrast, March March several species of ducks and 2000 2000 the Red-Knobbed Coot are Little Grebe 2 200 abundant at Lake Paradise, " - Pink-backed Pelican 1 but seemingly absent at - Long-tailed Cormorant 1 Sokorte Dika. Summing up, African Darter 1 - it seems that Sokorte is 7 1 Grey Heron populated by a few large, Black-headed Heron 1 5 mostly piscivorous birds, - Hamerkop 2 while Lake Paradise teems African billed Stork - 22 Open- with many herbivorous or - Yellow-billed Stork 6 insectivorous species. Why? Sacred Ibis 6 20 One explanation came to African Spoonbill 3 - mind when I inspected the White-faced Whistling Duck - 15 two lakes more closely. In White-backed Duck - 50 the waters of Lake Paradise Egyptian Goose 20 15 grows a rich aquatic Red-billed Teal - 15 vegetation of submersed Hottentot Teal - 15 plants, which appear to host Southern Pochard - 200 an abundant invertebrate Maccoa Duck - 5 fauna. On the contrary, at Black Kite 3 5 Sokorte, no water plants were African Fish Eagle 1 2 visible, but the shores of the Red-knobbed Coot - 1000 lake were covered by Black-winged Stilt - 100 hundreds of dead fish. I am Spur-winged Plover - 20 African - not an expert on Wood Sandpiper 1 - fishes, but to me they looked Common Sandpiper 1 TOTAL 52 1694 like small-sized stunted Nile Kenya Birds, Volume 10: 1&2, 2002 May 2003 Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus. The park rangers said that these fish had been introduced some years before into the lake, by an unknown person who, reportedly, had brought them from Lake Turkana. Nile Tilapia is an omnivore, but Bird Atlas ofKenya. These species were mostly vegetarian, and is known to probably not present there up to the become a pest where it is introduced, recent past, but have now colonised the as it is able to reproduce very quickly lake because of the new food resource. and can have a large negative impact But, is this biodiversity increase a on freshwater ecosystems. Judging positive outcome? Not so much.
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