If this trip had a theme, it would be "not holding back."
I had 3 days between our triumphant return from the epic Samburu-Meru-Mt Kenya-Mukuruwe-ini expedition, it was just barely enough time to insert a quick trip to Baringo with the legendary Wilson Tiren.
Wilson is just about as epic a character as Baringo itself. Growing up beside the "big brown lake," Wilson knows every single bird and every character in down. This includes all the cute girls obviously.
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| Chillin' at the "choma zone" |
I met Wilson in nearby Bogoria where we did whatever any Kenyan does before doing anything worth doing - drank some chai. After enjoying our traditional refreshment, Wilson told me to wait while he arranged transportation. Seconds later he pulled up on a sweet new motorbike. Apparently it was at our disposal for the entire weekend, for a price to be determined upon return. "It won't be alot" he assured.
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| Baringo high street |
Our first of two mornings called for an amphibious assault. We would charter a boat on the lake for Allen's Gallinule, Saddle-billed Stork and Madagascar Bee-eater et al., then while the morning was still young (hopefully), we'd rip up into the hills for the stunning White-crested Turaco.
The boat ride failed to yield my nemesis the Saddle-bill, but did compensate with an epic sunrise decorated with African Darter silhouettes. We turned up the Bee-eater and the Gallinule, along with a bonus Greater Flamingo fly-over and the usual suspects (bellow).
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| African Darter and Great Cormorant |
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| Goliath Heron |
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| Madagascar Bee-eaters |
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| Northern Masked Weavers |
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| Senegal Thick-knee |
Birds everywhere, we were mesmerized. Then I checked my watch. Crap! We'd gone past the 2 hour mark on our boat ride. Although Willy had gotten us a discount (2000 per hour instead of 3000), 6,000 bob was still a hefty blow to my Baringo budget. I ended up having to mPESA the guy the money when I got back to Nairobi...woops.
Not only had our little boat ride taken me overboard on the budget, but the morning was pretty much spent. This meant we'd be hard-pressed finding the White-crested Turaco, which was almost an hour's ride up into the hills. That did not stop us from buying a couple of fish from a dude in a little bamboo punt and feeding them to the Fish Eagles (finally I know how people get those awesome pics of them swooping down on fish!). Mine were blurry.
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| African Fish Eagle |
We hustled up to Kipcherere, a tiny hamlet up in the hills inhabited by Kalenjin folks. Always curious to see a mzungu, they were eager to offer us some advice. Some old-timers emphasized how hard-pressed we'd be this late in the morning, but bragged that they had seen "a whole bunch" earlier in the morning. Defying these nay-sayers, we started up into the hills by way of a stream. The forest was lush and full of birds and butterflies, but no White-crested Turaco. We returned to the village empty-handed. The old-timers were still there sipping chai, eager to confirm that we would not have seen any this late in the morning. But they clearly did not know Wilson Tiren fully. He has never missed them with any of his clients and was determined not to spoil his perfect record!
Not long after, we heard two Turacos calling up another hill! To make a long story shorter, we bush-whacked until we tracked it down. Wilson strategically startled it up right in front of me for a PERFECT view. What a STUNNER! Only too bad all I managed was a shot was this one bellow. Evidently the key field mark is obscured...
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| White-crested you-know-it |
That night we celebrated our victory with a well-earned beer and nyama choma. This local joint was tended by a friend of Wilson's (who happened to also be a cute girl), who apparently had no problems with him manning the bar while she cooked us up some nyama choma in the kitchen. Several customers came in while he served their various drinks and collected the money in the cash box which he seemed to already know the location of.
The second morning consisted of rounding up as many Baringo birds as possible along the lake shore and cliffs. A couple Verreaux's Eagle Owls were hooting their super-creepy hoot all morning, their version of romance, while bristle-crowned starlings frolicked on the lawn. Love was in the air.
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| Bristle-crowned Starlings |
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| Verreaux's Eagle-owl |
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| Verreaux's at the height of breeding season |
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| African Scops Owl |
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| Jackson's Hornbill |
One last trip to the cliffs was still in order, not because we wanted to, but because we had to. We were birders, after all, and I didn't come all this way to sip chai and look at cute girls. When else am I gonna get another chance to see a Familiar Chat, anyway? So, despite being knackered, we worked the cliff until our time was up, because I had to get to Nairobi before dark (note this mom, I am very safety-conscious when I travel). We came up empty handed, but as we started to drive away, I twisted my body around for one last scan, and, spotting a small brown passerine lifting its tail atop a shrub. Stop! I said. I raised my binoculars. It was a Familiar Chat! Now we could leave, knowing we'd lived life to the fullest.
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| Familiar Chat |
