TURACO TANGO!

Bateleur Camp at Kichwa Tembo is nothing short of a sensational birding hotspot, you will find it very difficult to peal yourself away from the camp even if the beckoning hummm of thousands of Wildebeest is willing you closer.

The tall Forest Canopy and thick understory at the base of the Rift valley are like homing beacons to a large variety of species. The melodious call of the White-browed Robin- Chat is heard throughout the day as Brown Throated Wattle Eyes glean the leaves for insects. A flutter of wings gave its presence away, a Narina Trogon was hawking insects from the trees, it then sat quietly waiting and watching for its next unsuspecting victim, its stunning bright crimson breast and belly protruding in the sunlight, its metallic green back camouflaged in the bushes.

I was enjoy this tranquil scene from my “Out of Africa tent” in the same view of my binoculars behind this very sought after bird, was a couple of Buffalo bulls, Thompsons and Grants Gazelle, Topi, Burchell’s Zebra, Warthog and a small herd of Elephant, the East African sun turned the landscape into a painting….. I glanced back at the Trogon as it swooped and landed, posing in the light for a photograph but in a flash, another bigger bird swooped into the scene and chased the Trogon off. WOW! A Ross’s Turaco, this time a dark metallic blue with a bright crimson crest, we had been looking for this species all week, could it get better? Yes a second species of Turaco glided over like an Archaeopteryx it was a Schalows!

What a rainbow of colours and a good start to our day.

Posted: Kichwa Tembo Masai Mara by Daryl Dell, Date: 11 November 2011

 
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