We enjoyed another morning in the Samburu National Park, driving to a different part of the reserve and again encountering a good number of new birds and other wildlife. We passed close to the river where we found a Grey-headed Kingfisher, with huge red bill, and an African Fish Eagle.
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| African Fish-Eagle |
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| Grey-headed Kingfisher |
Just a short distance further on we stopped again to admire a Rosy Bush-shrike, although this was at some distance, then a few White-throated Bee-eaters, with striking head markings and long, thin tail feathers, flew in and settled alongside the van giving superb views.
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| White-throated Bee-eater |
Continuing on, both Yellow-throated and Crested Francolin were spotted scurrying though the undergrowth, and an Emerald Wood-Dove pecked at the bare ground. A flock of bizarre looking Vulturine Guineafowl gleamed in the brilliant sunshine and as we rounded a corner we stumbled on a Water Thick-knee sat on a scrappy nest just feet from the track. Nearby a Namaqua Dove alighted atop a bush and then we were pleased to find a Lilac-breasted Roller, the National bird of Kenya.
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Vulturine Guineafowl
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| Lilac-breasted Roller |
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| Emerald Wood-Dove |
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| Crested Francolin |
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| Water Thick-knee |
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| Namaqua Dove |
We drove past a group of Giraffes and enjoyed watching their interactions and elegance, then, with time disappearing fast, accelerated to make a little more progress through the park. As we drove past a clump of trees the loud call of a raptor caught our attention, so we reversed back to take a look. The call was in fact from another Eastern Chanting Goshawk, but a possible cause of its alarm was a stunning Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl roosting on a branch just above the road, giving incredible views. Apart from its impressive size, the most striking feature was its gorgeous pink eyelids, as if it had smeared on the make up for a special night!
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| Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl |
We were all blown away by this sighting, but time was short, so before long we continued on our way in search of an endemic species that could only be found in this area - the Somali Bee-eater. The other bus found this first, and we then spent some time trawling the nearby area in search of this sedentary species. Suddenly I spotted a bee-eater perched on a branch beside the road. Again we reversed the vehicle and everyone was delighted to see this was our target bird, not far from the road and also posing well for some photos. Mission accomplished, we set out back to the hotel for lunch, before departing for our afternoon transfer to our next accommodation at Nano Moru.
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| Somali Bee-eater |
Mission accomplished we set off back to the hotel for lunch, but another unexpected but fabulous encounter delayed us yet again, when we stumbled upon this beautiful Lion, resting just feet from the road and looking decidedly relaxed despite the vehicles stopping alongside for a good look.
A delightful end to our time at the incredible Samburu national park, with us departing for our next accommodation in Nano Moru after lunch.
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