These reserves are in the north of Kenya, about 200
miles from Nairobi. The three are fairly small; Samburu and Buffalo springs
which started life as one park are adjacent to each other
and Shaba is a few miles east of them. The area is very dry
(semi-arid officially) with a lot of scrub and some acacia trees, except along
the banks of the Uaso Nyiro river where there’s a narrow band of doum palms
which quite often contain groups of Orange-bellied Parrots.
 |
| The orange-billed Parrots |
The parrots are
noisy but sometimes quite shy so you usually hear them before you can see them.
Brown or Meyer’s parrot can also be seen. Samburu is noted for the presence of
both the Common Zebra and the far rarer Grevy’s Zebra. It’s also home to
Gerenuk, BeisaOryx, Reticulated Giraffe and crocodiles. With all these wildlife
makes your Kenya safari holiday
real and lifetime experience.
The three areas do differ slightly in
character. Shaba is the dryest, almost barren seeming in except in
the North along the river, Buffalo Springs is the least arid seeming and is
mostly rolling plains while Samburu is more rugged with a number of rocky
outcrops. The reserves are on the southern end of the range for birds of the
arid northern bush thus make your photography safaris fantastic.
The Uaso Nyiro river runs through all three reserves and in
parts is the border between the Samburu and Buffalo Springs;
 |
| The Reticulated giraffes |
there’s usually
plenty of bird life in the Acacias and Doum Palms along the river banks. The
shade provided by the trees also makes them a favorite place for elephants in
the middle of the day. The river is generally wide and shallow but vanishes completely
in very dry seasons while it raises high enough to flood both banks after
especially heavy rains. In drought or very dry spells the weavers which
normally nest along the banks seem to become less common, while birds such as
the Yellow-billed Hornbill seem to move down closer to the river.
 |
| The yellow-billed hornbill |
The
Isiolo river which runs mainly through Buffalo Springs keeps flowing after the
Uaso Nyiro has dried up. When that happens the meeting point of the two rivers
(confluence is too grand a name for it) is a good place to find snipe and other
waders while stretches of the Isiolo with overhanging grass are good for small
herons.
The following are Birds commonly seen in Samburu, Bristle-crowned
Starling, Verreaux’s Eagle-owl, Night Heron, Palm-Nut Vulture and Pygmy
Falcon; Verreaux’s Eagle can be seen soaring over the hills in the park and
Samburu/Buffalo Springs is also one of the best places to see Donaldson-Smith’s
Sparrow Weaver which is fairly common in some locations.
 |
| The red-headed weaver bird |
At Samburu
Intrepids Camp you may even get to see the somewhat uncommon Red-headed
Weaver which has been nesting in the grounds for the last couple of years.
Shaba’s birdlife is fairly similar to Samburu/Buffalo Springs bit
it also
includes the rare and endemic Williams’ Lark about which very little is known.
All these birds with many wild animals in the nature gives you a true meaning
of adventuring in Kenya birding safaris.
Sharon C
No comments:
Post a Comment