mvecht`s fifth BY

[TonyQ]

A lovely Kestrel!

[shazdwn]

Wow that is a lot of tufted ducks, I don't think I've ever seen a flock of any type of duck of that size

[PeterHG]

Great close-up shots of the Kestrel!

[mvecht]

IOM #12 Jackdaw

Very common around the house.

 

 

It will be some time before I post again. Off to the Equator next weekend

[xelas]

31 minutes ago, mvecht said:

Off to the Equator next weekend

Enjoy the warmer climates!

[Dave Williams]

Those Eagle numbers are amazing. That is a UK target species for me but not that easy to achieve. Can't see it happening this year.

How are you finding the R7?

[mvecht]

@Dave Williams the Eagles have made an amazing recovery. After being extinct they started breeding again in the early 1990’s. Now we have 150+ pairs!

i am very happy with the R7 given its price. A few fellow birders got their R7 at exactly the same time as me and it is quite obvious that the ones that have lenses designed for the R series are doing better in terms of focusing speed. My Tamron 150-600 is a little slow for the camera but I still get quite a few bif’s in focus although not as many as those using Canon 600mm or 100-500mm. One of my friends just switched from R7 to R5. He is still using both but finds the R5 a better choice. 

[Kitsafari]

@mvecht ENjoy!

[mvecht]

@KitsafariI will as I am of to Kenya staying at Porini camps😀

[Kitsafari]

17 minutes ago, mvecht said:

@KitsafariI will as I am of to Kenya staying at Porini camps😀

 

in the Mara conservancies? You will for sure!

[mvecht]

@KitsafariRhino 3 nights and Cheetah 4 nights and then birding  in Malindi for 6 nights. 

[Galana]

Too late to wish you safari njema but hope you do well in the sunshine.

Malindi? Mida creek and Sokoke. Excellent choice.

[mvecht]

On 2/24/2023 at 12:25 AM, Galana said:

Too late to wish you safari njema but hope you do well in the sunshine.

Malindi? Mida creek and Sokoke. Excellent choice.

@Galana  Are you not forgetting the most important site Galana River?

[mvecht]

We are now back from a brilliant trip to Kenya. A trip report will follow soon onve I have sorted the 9,5k pictures 

As Galana suggested we have been to some good birding spots and we have seen a lot of waders.

I am normally not that good with waders and especially not with waders in non breeding plumage. I will therefor start by posting a lot of pictures where I am not 100% sure of ID in order to not mess up my counting. Some of the shots are less than perfect due to the haze.

All pictures from the Malindi area in Kenya.

Here we go:

1,  Little Stint?

 

 

2. Little Stint?

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Little Stint?

 

4. Greater Sand Plover?

 

5. Greater Sand Plover?

 

 

6. Greater Sandplover?

 

7. Greater Sand Plover?

 

 

 

8 Lesser Sand Plover

 

 

9. Greater Sand Plover?

 

Edited March 5, 2023 by mvecht

[mvecht]

Some more questionmarks from Malindi.

 

10. Kentish Plover?

 

11. Sanderling?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12/13/14 Common Ringed Plover?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15. Curlew Sandpiper?

 

16 Whitefronted Plover?

 

17 Curlew Sandpiper

 

18. Kentish Plover?

 

19. Curlew Sandpiper?

[mvecht]

And the last lot of waders.

20/21/22/23 Black Bellied Plover?

 

 

 

 

 

24. Terek Sandpiper to the right. Curlew Sandpiper to the left?

 

25?

 

26/27/28 Caspian Terns and Flamingoes. At this site they are all expected to be Lesser Flamingo. I do see mainly Greater Flamingo. Are there any Lesser in the pictures?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

[Galana]

You don't make it easy, do you?

All I would suggest is that #6 is Lesser Sand Plover but it won't affect your count as you have them later.

Can't help with Terek Sandpiper as the 'best bit' is missing.

[PeterHG]

I think your #18 ( flight shot) is also a Curlew Sandpiper. The bill is too long, in my view for a Kentish Plover. And as far as I can tell the Flamingo on the left is a lesser Flamingo as you probably suspect. That, of course, is mainly based on the colour of the bill. There may be other causes for a dark bill, like mud, but the feeding habits of the Flamingo makes that less likely. Looking forward to more from Kenya. 

[mvecht]

@Galana and @PeterHGThank you for your input on bird ID.

I will post most of my birds here and make a specific trip report for the more classic safari part.

This will be a slow report as I am having eye surgery on Friday and will not be allowed to use a PC for a couple of weeks :-(

The trip was as follows 

12 - 15th of February Porini Rhino Camp, Ol Pejeta

15 - 19th of February Porini Cheetah Camp, Ol Kinyei

19 - 25th Malindi

As Galana has indicated Malindi is one of the better birding spots in Kenya.

I had booked the Ocean Beach Resort in Malindi which is the Northernmost hotel in Malindi and a 3 km walk to Sabaki River estuary (aka Galana River)

Our hotel advised us not to walk there on our own but did provide a "guide" for one walk.

We had also booked a half day trip to Mida Creek and a full day tour to Arabuko Sokoke Forest and Sabaki River with a reputable birding company. Unfortunately the guide they provided was very poor and ruined that experience!

I will number all birds as Kenya birds and then sum up at the end of the report.

Lesser Black-backed Gulls were abundant!

KE 01 Lesser Black-backed Gull

 

 

 

[Peter Connan]

Great capture!

[PeterHG]

Good luck with the eye surgery! I hope you’ll recover soon

[TonyQ]

Best wishes with your eye surgery 

[Galana]

Hope all goes well with the surgery on Friday.

Sorry to learn that te guide was not god for Mida and Arubuko Sokoke as they should be highlights of any trip.

The river I do not know at the Estuary. It stinks bad enough up in Nairobi

 and is not good as it drops over Lugard Falls near Tsavo so I cannot imagine what it is like around Malindi.

 

For the record my name is only indirectly linked with that murky stream. It is the name I share with a large grey lady who dwells near DSWT Ithumba orphan release stockades who I have adopted since we first met in 2008. She is now a grandmother several times over.

[michael-ibk]

All the best for your surgery. Shame about the guide. 

[BRACQUENE]

Good luck with the eye surgery and      thanks for sharing your pictures !