KWALE’S A BIRDING HUB
by Jepkemei Faith
Everything was set; departure time, meeting point and even a place to stay. What I wasn’t sure of however, was what to expect. Never been to the south coast and the furthest I had gone was merely across Likoni and back. It happened way back during a school trip when it was a must to go across merely to get the experience. I am scared of heights and water as well and this combination gave me unforgettable experience. I was scared to death and I swore never to do it again. That was a few years ago. Technically, I have grown out of my fears and I was excited to venture into a world unknown to me.
Located 30 kilometers south west of Mombasa, Shimba Hills National Reserve is the Kenya’s only place to see sable antelope. Sable antelopes are the most beautiful and iconic of all antelopes. The females are small-sized with reddish coat and shorter horns compared to large sized males with backward curved horns and glossy-black coat with white markings on the face.
They occupy the open woodlands within this park. Shimba Hills National Reserve has considerable diversity in both flora and fauna. This is attributed to its varied habitat ranging from steep valleys, open grasslands and impenetrable coastal rainforest. In addition, it’s classified as an important bird area.
Early Saturday morning, as the cold and misty air gradually got driven away by the rising sun, we were on the move. Having spent the night at Golden Guest House Kwale, we were just 5 minutes drive to the main gate. We accessed the park after making payment. Before we could proceed onto the deep engulf of trees, a Green Headed Oriole hoped on a tree.Spotted at the gate were Green Barbet and Retz Helmetshrike, Yellow Wagtail on the ground while Eastern Nicator called on a nearby bush. The murram road into the reserve is well maintained and a Grey-headed Kingfisher perched on a dry branch on the edge of the road. Our first right turn got us sandwich by trees. A Eurasian Golden Oriole perched on a leafless tree branch. Not quite far, distinct calls of Eastern Green Tinkerbird and Red-fronted Tinkerbird called. Mottle Spinetail flew by and in a flush, it was out of sight. Crowned Hornbill and Sooty Falcon disappeared behind the trees. About 10 meters a head, Tambourine Dove walked on the ground. As we got back to on to the main road, about 20 Violet-backed Starling assembled on a tree.
We decided to head to sable bandas area ignoring the tall trees and everything hidden in it. We emerged to an open grassland area with a few scattered shrubs. We never stopped. We were at the bandas within a short time and the first bird we sighted was an Amethyst Sunbird that disappeared immediately to a nest hanging on a tree branch. Birds here varied among little yellow Flycatcher, Black- backed Puffback, Green Barbet and Grey-backed Camaroptera. A call got our attention when we were leaving. After more than 10 minutes search, we got to see it hidden on a tiny branch. In an instant change of position, it was definitely Mombasa Woodpecker. In the afternoon, we drove slowly heading to Sheldrick Falls. The gentle sloping scenery far beyond with few distant trees portrayed a magnificent feature. It’s roughly 2 kilometers walk down the slope to the waterfall. With limited time, we turned back. Even though we had no time to get to the fall, at least we enjoyed the cool breeze. We had somewhere else to prospect; Marere river.
Out of the park at the main gate, we turned left on to the dusty road to Kinango. Past Shimba Hills Lodge, we were on a gentle dropping landscape. With no human settlement, pristine landscape unveiled. We stopped before the bridge. Palmnut Vulture flew bye and joined another on acacia tree. White-rumped Swift went under the bridge. Common Sandpaper, Grey
Heron and Black-crowned Tchagra were also recorded. As the bright day faded away, we headed back.
Kwale town is quite small but in close proximity to the reserve. It’s one of the towns that come to life at dusk. Following an old tradition shaped through ages among the coastal communities, every evening, food vendors station themselves to sell variety of food. The sellers mostly women always friendly and ready to serve and for the 2 nights we were in Kwale, this is where we were served dinner. The taste of a coastal delicacy of ‘una’ and ‘ugali’ was amazing. These communities still hold on to their traditions and value. They have a rich culture and traditions captivating to learn. It was quite a drive from Nairobi to the Kenya’s south coast. We enjoyed the scenery, wildlife, learnt a bit of coastal people and so much appreciated the nature.