29th July:
The view over the Milgis lugga early in the morning, with the Ndoto hills in the background
We started walking knowing we had to walk an enormous distance to have any chance of getting to Sarara in four days time, and it started well, with us pushing on up the hill behind where we had camped and onto the lava flow on top. There, we saw a black-shouldered kite almost immediately. There were also several shrikes, with Somali fiscal being a new species for me. Two shrikes looked like nothing in the book, and we had to settle for leaving them unidentified, however it is very possible that they were an undiscovered species, as with a sunbird we saw later that day, in this wild and unexplored area. There were also several African grey hornbills on the lava flow and the bones of a dead ostrich. Remarkably, a Montagu's Harrier, a migrant from Europe normally only recorded between October and April glided overhead, creating extreme excitement. Coming down from the lava flow, there were a pair of Wahlberg's Eagles gliding in the sky, as well as a flock of wattled starlings. Several African grey flycatchers were feeding, alongside a red-fronted warbler and there was a tree full of black-capped social weaver nests. We pushed on, having taken a brief break for breakfast, and entered a dried up lugga. In the lugga were good numbers of namaqua doves as well as a grey-headed bush-shrike and rufous-crowned roller.
The camels having a drink
Beyond the lugga, I found a Somali bee-eater, a real north Kenyan speciality and a stunning bird as well. On the opposite side of the lugga, another of my favourite birds, the Egyptian vulture, which is now endangered worldwide, was perched in a tree offering great views. After several hours more walking, we eventually set up camp in a small lugga, having walked about 23 kilometres in the day. I once again put my trail camera out, and got this caracal and injured spotted hyena on it...
Very worryingly, there have been rumours of poachers putting poisoned nails out on elephant trails in the area, and it must be hoped that this hyena did not stand on one. We also later found the footprints of an elephant dragging a foot and four or five elephants have appeared in the Sarara area with swollen or injured feet recently. This appears to be the poachers' latest tactic as numbers of poached elephants has increased by such a great amount. Poaching levels in the area are extremely worrying and the Milgis Trust is doing a great deal of fantastic work to reduce it, as well as help preserve this magnificent and wild area of northern Kenya. More information here: milgistrust.wildlifedirect.org
30th July:
We set out today knowing we had to walk a very long way to stand a chance of reaching Sarara. After about two hours, we came across a mixed flock birds. I picked out both d'Arnaud's and red-and-yellow barbets, yellow-vented eremomela, yellow-breasted apalis, mouse-coloured penduline tit, brubru and black-cheeked waxbill. A little further on, and we came across a flock of speckle-fronted weavers. As we progressed, we headed into drier country, which was home to good numbers of pink-breasted larks, as well as a cardinal woodpecker and several pygmy baptises. As we pushed through the afternoon sun, bird numbers decreased, but we did find a tree of blue-capped and red-cheeked cordon-bleux, as well as a pair of pygmy falcons. With nowhere obvious to set up camp, we walked for hours until reaching a decent-looking clearing in the bush. There were several northern white-crowned shrikes present, as well as some green wood-hoopoes and some unidentifiable weavers in non-breeding plumage. I put my camera out again and got just this one picture of a striped hyena's tail.
In the mean time, one of the guides, Lamogas, had also been putting his camera out, with even better results:
Striped Hyena
Porcupine
African Civet
31st July:
At the start of the day we felt that there was no chance of reaching Sarara. It was about 75 kilometres to Sarara as the crow flies, and most of that was through thick bush. That, added to the fact that the clouds had disappeared and it was estimated that it may be as hot as 35 degrees celsius by midday, hindered our optimism. We set out very early and racked up the miles as the sun rose. I added Dodson's bulbul, pale prinia and grey-backed camaroptera to my list. I also saw a magnificent black-chested snake-eagle perched in a tree top, as well as more pygmy falcons. As we pushed on, there was scarcely time to bird watch, but I did pick up green-winged pytilia, a stunningly colourful little finch and saw more of the resplendent golden-breasted starling. We continued walking through the midday sun, with temperatures at one stage hitting 40 degrees celsius. Surprisingly large numbers of chestnut-bellied sandgrouse passed overhead and a buff-crested bustard took flight from in front of us. We continued walking until half past four, meaning we had walked 9 and a half hours for around 35 kilometres through thick bush in extremely high temperatures. After a well-deserved sprite, I put my camera out once more, and captured this inquisitive black-backed jackal and genet...
Black-backed Jackal
Genet cat
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