The 2022 Africa Journals, Chapter 28, A Great Day for Everything, Part One

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Chapter 28:

A Great Day for Everything

Part One

A bird does not sing because it has an answer.   It sings because it has a song.--African Proverb

Today was a fabulous birding day, a terrific lion day, a surprising cheetah day, and an amazing leopard day.  There was far too much activity to describe in one post,  and more than 1900 photos, so I'll start Part One with birds and some information. 

I photographed about two dozen birds with multiple shots of similar species but in different areas.    Ten of those birds were "lifers" for me, meaning I had never  identified them before.

So, while I post photos of these birds, I'll tell you a few things about our camp, its location, and the conservancies in Kenya.

This little sweetie is a rose-breasted longclaw.  Lifer.

Great Plains Expedition camp is located on about 150 acres of private land abutting The Maasai Mara and the Olare Motorogi Conservancy.   Situated in a grove of East African acacia threes, it has six tents for guests. We took up all of them so we had the camp to ourselves.

Yes, there were seven of us, but Cory and Shelly shared one tent.   The rest of us basked in private luxury.

Auger buzzard, dark morph.   I've seen auger buzzards before but not this dark morph.  Photo was taken late in the day under a heavy overcast.   Lifer.

This  private land abuts OMC, as I said, but we aren't allowed to go within the conservancy's boundaries.    This has to do with one of the ways the conservancies were set up.

Our guide's finger is pointing at OMC.  Our camp is somewhere along its lower border.   Mara North is the lavender-colored conservancy.

OMC was established in 2006 by native landowners and tourism partners.  At that time, the land was severely over-grazed.   The local Maasai agreed to a different kind of pastoralism, a system of rotational grazing that would allow the land to rejuvenate.   Naturally, there are two sides to that conversation.  The pastoralists depend on grass for their herds.   Wildlife enthusiasts claim the herds eat grass necessary for the wildlife.

Portion of a Maasai herd.

European bee-eater

The Maasai also agreed to move their homes and villages and allow the land to recover.   The safari industry benefited, as more and more animals began to move into the vacant areas.

The plan also limited the number of camps and the number of beds in those camps.  That had the intended effect of limiting tourism.   Unless you stayed in one of those camps, you could not travel there.   I have stayed in a couple of those camps within conservancies and I did appreciate the lack of dozens of safari vehicles at sightings.

The land was leased from the Maasai, which provided them with an income, and the camps and safari customers contributed to their income and provided jobs. Plus, there are monies paid to the herdsmen for any of their stock killed by wild predators.

The conservancies practice environmentally friendly and select conservation methods.   Most, if not all, use solar energy exclusively for the camp facilities.

In a nutshell, that is why we could not tour the OMC conservancy--our camp was outside the boundaries.

Black-chested snake eagle.

Farther west, abutting OMC on its east side, and Maasai Mara National Reserve on the south, is the Mara North Conservancy and we were allowed to go there.  It was a forty minute drive from our camp, at least an hour away with stopping for birds, animals, etc.,  and there was a lot to see in those forty minutes.

We  skirted the OMC on its southern border to reach Mara North.

Sooty chat.

Stout cisticola.   Lifer.

On this particular day, we were each escorted by spear-carrying security staff to the common area.  The camp might be fenced, but lions, etc., can still enter the area.   Awaiting us was an array of fruit, yoghurt, cereals, etc.   This was going to be a long day in the field so I ate some fruit and a pastry.

The stunning gray-crowned crane.

The gray-crowned crane is the bird that will make your jaw drop in amazement.  It is the national bird of Uganda, stands up to four feet tall and has a wing span of six and a half feet.    They are monogamous omnivores.

I attempted to research how many varieties of eagles are found in Africa.   It was a fruitless search.   I can find the info for South Africa, but not Kenya.   My little bird book, Pocket Guides to Birds of Southern Africa, shows 11, but I suspect there might be more. 

I have seen perhaps eight of those, though there is some question about tawny and Wahlberg's as they look a lot alike.   And, the tawny eagles have a wide range of color from brown to almost gold.

There is no mistaking the martial eagle below.   It has a distinct look as an adult though not so distinctive as a juvenile.

The martial eagle is the largest eagle in Africa, and the strongest.   Though sources say it is difficult to find, I have seen a plethora of them on this trip.

Martial eagle.

And the well-fed tawny eagle with its crop visible.

Tawny eagle with a full crop.

Tawny eagle.

Breakfast was in a lovely little spot next to a small stream and lots of birds around.

Virginia, Marg and Sylvia.

Once again, I took a photo too late.   The wrapped white packages at right are sandwiches.  Then there are two kinds of bacon--pork and beef, with fruit and croissants above.   I don't know what was in the empty tin.   Then, sausages, hard-cooked eggs.   Above is yoghurt with a bunch of things to add to it.   Are we well-fed, or what?

Because we were out in the field all day, we also had lunch at around 1 o'clock.   On this trip, we had two people who needed special dietary items.   One was a vegetarian and the other had dairy allergies.   All the camps went out of their way to furnish delicious food for them.

The bread has sun-dried tomatoes in it.   There are two salads above that, one with a vinaigrette.   Then ziti and some kebabs above that.   Of course, there was coffee, tea, and soft drinks.

A table, no less.

My plate.  Meat kebabs, sun-dried tomato bread, ziti, a potato wedge, and ...?  

A stormy sky in the distance during lunch.

African Hobby falcon.    A hobby is a fairly small, very swift falcon with long, narrow wings.  Lifer.

African Hobby falcon.

This colorful little bird is called a Purple Grenadier.

Helmeted guineafowl.   Chunky birds hunted for food and similar in size to grouse.

Lilac-breasted roller, the national bird of Kenya.

Lilac-breasted roller and a Superb starling.

Rufous-naped lark on a bad hair day.

Hildebrandt's starling on a bad hair day.

Northern wheatear.   Lifer.

Yellow-spotted petronia. Lifer.

Yellow-spotted petronia.   Lifer.

Red-billed quela male in breeding colors.   Lifer.

The awesome Secretary bird, so-called because of its white "clerks coat" and "pencils" stuck in its hair.     At  four feet tall and with a wing span of more than six feet, this birds are capable of flight and build nests on top of acacia trees that are more than six feet wide.   They also have eyelashes to die for.

Red-necked spurfowl.

Violet-backed starling.

Yellow wagtail.   Lifer.