After our mind-boggling visit to Masai Mara, it was time to move on. On July 21st we drove up to arrive in Naivasha right on time for an afternoon boat trip on the lake, towards Crescent Island.
The boat trip actually exceeded my birding expectations, with some great birds seen. Some sections of the habitat are good, and it's interesting to see the close proximity between people and wildlife there. I can't say if this is 'coexistence', cynical me, but at least it looked peaceful. From a birding POV, I really enjoyed the combination of large numbers, high variety (eBird checklist here), good quality species and photo opps! I highly recommend doing this boat trip - there are many operators in Naivasha.
Pink-backed Pelican
Goliath Heron
Yellow-billed (Intermediate) Egret
Giant Kingfisher
Black Crake
African Jacana
Lots of noisy African Fish-Eagles
Long-toed Lapwing was a welcome lifer
Fishcer's Lovebird - eBird treats all lovebird records in Kenya as Fischer's X Yellow-collared, exotic. I don't see any physical signs of hybridization here, but what do I know.
ON (Occupied Nest)
Black Heron was another lifer, and what a fantastic bird it was. The umbrella maneuver is truly spectacular.
Normal bird
Transformation
Alien
White-faced Whistling-Duck - cool that it's the same taxon as in South America (e.g. here in the Pantanal):
Back at Sopa Lodge, birding was great, (eBird checklist here) and lots of mammals were walking the lodge grounds, including Zebra, Waterbuck and one Rogue Hippo that walked outside our room at night.
Defassa Waterbuck
I was pleased to find a Wahlberg's Honeyguide foraging in the tree canopy outside our room, not a bird that was on my radar, and not an easy one to ID (thanks Itai for your help). A birder's bird...
Brimstone Canary
White-eyed Slaty-Flycatcher
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