![]() Get a Sabaki bird list which is an essential tool for birders because it tells you what birds to look for, and also gives information on the habitats, local guides and so on. At Watamu visit Mida Creek, the turtle center and the fascinating Arabuko-Sokoke forest, Checklist of the Birds of Sabaki Estuary. Hell’s Kitchen(Marafa) in the Dakatcha woodlands and Gede ruins, Vasco da Gama’s pillar and the museums. ![]() The best thing is that you are in the company of the naturalists who you can hire to guide you on your outings, which makes it more fun. In Watamu, stay at A Rocha’s Mwamba Field Study Centre.īoth offer great accommodation, food and the beach front is a delight. Near Sabaki, check in at the beautiful Barefoot Beach Camp and enjoy the blue bay by the sand dunes. ![]() These are found within a 30 km radius of Malindi. Malindi District is home to some of the richest and most diverse habitats in the whole of Kenya including 10% of Kenya’s Important Bird Areas, considered internationally important for bird conservation. Sabaki River Mouth is five kilometers north of Malindi and a two hour drive north of Mombasa. It was a truly amazing sight,” estimates Colin. “Overall, on that Saturday night, there were almost 500,000 birds roosting at Sabaki River Mouth. Every now and then a section of the flock would take off – and it would look like smoke swirling around in the moonlight. They were packed in and stretching right along in front of the mangroves, clearly sheltering from the strong wind, and the flocks just went on and on and on. “As we went further out on the mud the immenseness of the number of birds started to hit home. Copyright Washington Wachira of Cisticola Tours Ltd In that one flock we estimated 35,000 birds. “As we reached the edge of the flats where the mangroves have started to grow along the bank we saw our first ‘flock’ of Saunders’ Terns. Sabaki River Mouth for a night bird walk. “As we walked along the river bank we could hear some 500-600 metres from the mud flats this intense chattering. “This time numbers exceeded anything I’ve seen before by a looooong way – except perhaps the very first time we discovered the tern roost a few years ago,” gushes Colin. It’s done every full moon to take advantage of the maximum light at night. “On 30 January we did the monthly night time count of roosting terns on Sabaki River Mouth,” writes Colin. Colin Jackson of A Rocha Kenya, a Christian nature-based organization based in Watamu narrates a recent full moon night walk on the estuary. The best time to see the flocks is during a full moon count. They feed out at sea during the day, so only a few are seen during a morning or afternoon visit,” explains Fleur. “Although the Saunders’s Tern is not threatened at the moment, it is important to note that ALL seabirds are threatened, because of loss of seashore habitat and pollution of the oceans.” “At times, Sabaki hosts more than 50% of the biogeographic population of Saunders’s Tern,” continues Fleur. Kenya is without doubt a global hotspot for birding. This is what makes Sabaki an Important Bird Area.” African Open-bill Stork at Sabaki estuary. These include the Sooty Gull, Saunders’s Tern, Lesser Crested Tern and Madagascar Pratincole (a migrant from the South, and is usually seen from May to Sept). “For birders it’s even more of a must to do because it hosts more than 1% of the biogeographic population of several bird species. “Sabaki is a “must do” for birders for many reasons,” says Fleur, “It’s a place to see many water birds, shore birds and sea birds. L ask Fleur Ng’weno, Kenya’s leading birder about the Sabaki river mouth. Colours and forms fill the natural scape with flocks of birds on the waters edge. Standing on the shores of the river that starts as Athi near Nairobi and joins the Tsavo to flow into the Indian Ocean, the landscape is a visual delight of shifting sand dunes, green mangroves and golden sands against a canvas of the bluest of skies and waters. On the bridge above, cars and matatus speed over the estuary – Kenya’s biggest – unaware of the stunning vistas below and of its importance as an IBA or an Important Bird Area. On the mudflats of the Sabaki, a strong sun beats down so fierce that it makes the water over the sand sparkle.
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