Meru, Samburu, Lake Nakuru, Kenya — October, 2014

[CDL111]

Yes, nice to see you back. You have been away long enough to walk the wall!

[pomkiwi]

@Tom Kellie Nice revival of this report! Welcome back 

[Tom Kellie]

When mother decides it's enough,

Her calf turns away to follow.

Life in Samburu may seem tough,

For kudu, lizard and swallow.

 

 

 

Eye-level

 

 

Samburu Salad Bar

 

 

Corkscrew-style

 

 

By Extension

 

 

Mother Walks Away, Calf to Follow

 

 

Farewell, Friend

 

[offshorebirder]

Wonderful Kudu series @Tom Kellie.   They must have been remarkably confiding to allow such a lengthy + close photo session.

[Tom Kellie]

Game drive over, dusk calls us back.

Carnelian clouds throb with fire.

Anthony wants to hit the sack,

I'll stargaze before I retire.

 

 

 

Samburu Sunset Silhouette

 

 

Crimson Band

 

 

Carnelian Dusk

 

 

Organic Struggle

 

 

Darkened Mound

 

 

Acacia Kabuki

 

 

[Tom Kellie]

Acryllium vulturinum,

Is a wretched mouthful to say,

Vulturine Guineafowl for some,

The birding highlight of their day.

 

 

 

Acryllium vulturinum

 

 

Lines and Speckles

 

 

Compact Target

 

 

Plumed Cavalier

 

 

Flock Crier

 

[Tom Kellie]

Such shocking bright blue stands out here,

No one misses guineafowl flocks.

They're feeding surprisingly near,

Pecking soil between sticks and rocks.

 

 

 

Morning Preening

 

 

Prominent Branch

 

 

Vulturine Guineafowl Flock

 

 

Performance Art

 

 

Bright and Early

 

 

Venetian Carnival Performers

 

 

After Wading

 

 

[Tom Kellie]

Sesamothamnus bloom in white,

Their frilly blossoms among spikes,

A typical Samburu sight,

A small flower everyone likes.

 

 

 

Sesamothamnus Flower

 

 

Frills and Thorns

 

 

Arid Land Petticoat

 

 

Shy Floral Beauty

 

[Tom Kellie]

Samburu Sopa Lodge has birds,

Which nest and perch above the ground.

Far from grazing animal herds,

The feathered wildlife may be found.

 

 

 

Passer gongonensis

 

 

Double Nest of Passer eminibey

 

 

Pinnacle Perch

 

 

Dovecote for Streptopelia capicola

 

 

Corvus rhipidurus with Columba guinea

 

 

Juvenile Petronia pyrgita

 

 

Sharp Spikes Require Caution

 

 

[Tom Kellie]

It's China Africa Travel,

Serving an emerging market.

East Asians now come to marvel,

On jets, not be magic carpet.

 

 

 

中非旅行社  China Africa Travel Agency

[CDL111]

We were in Samburu with Anthony in January 2017, and was surprised when he said that sightings of Kudu was not common, pleasing to see your photographs of them.

Never appreciated the coloring of the guineafowl before, probably because guides just drive past them as there so many.

[Tom Kellie]

Flowers come in white, red, and blue,

Yet Caralluma blooms in black.

Darker blossoms are seen by few,

Lovely, though bright colors they lack.

 

 

 

At the Samburu Sopa

 

 

Caralluma russeliana

 

[offshorebirder]

What a striking flower Caralluma russeliana is!   

 

I Googled it and learned its genus name is "derived from the Arabic word qahr al-luhum, meaning 'wound in the flesh' or 'abscess,' referring to the floral odour."     -- Sort of a pre-Corpse Flower.  I wonder if the odor is to attract flies as pollinators?

 

 

Edited August 24, 2018 by offshorebirder

[Tom Kellie]

Below the open dining room,

Small bird species seek small tidbits.

There's no need for any vacuum,

They swiftly clean up — it’s a blitz!

 

 

 

Pseudonigrita cabanisi on a Lighting Pillar

 

 

Sporopipes frontalis with Pseudonigrita cabanisi

 

 

Perching on an Aloe

 

 

Passer eminibey with Sporopipes frontalis

 

[Tom Kellie]

An acacia branch is enough,

To support a Social Weaver,

Whose daily grind is fairly tough.

A perch is a stress reliever.

 

 

 

Don't Turn Back

 

 

Pseudonigrita cabanisi

 

 

Black-capped Social Weaver on a Blooming Acacia

 

 

Downdraft

 

[Tom Kellie]

Xeriscaping plants are robust,

Tolerating dry conditions.

Raising Sodom Apple one must,

Be aware of growth restrictions.

 

 

 

Calotropis procera  (Sodom Apple)

 

[CDL111]

@Tom Kellie, is the Caralluma local to that area or is it common throughout Kenya?

[Tom Kellie]

16 minutes ago, CDL111 said:

@Tom Kellie, is the Caralluma local to that area or is it common throughout Kenya?

 

~  http://www.tucsoncactus.org/html/growing_succulents_in_the_desert_column_May_2012.html

 

 

[CDL111]

Thanks for the information, cannot recollect seeing this plant, mores the pity. Can only assume we were the wrong time of year as they only flower for about a week at a time.

[Tom Kellie]

What's a day without a bulbul?

Yellow-rumped beauties perch above,

Having feasted they both feel full.

Pert bulbuls are easy to love.

 

 

 

Pycnonotus barbatus Pair

 

 

Yikes! Spikes!

 

 

Samburu Bulbuls

 

[Tom Kellie]

Agama agama, where's your mama?

Trundling around a stucco wall,

In search of your long-lost papa,

Hanging tight, not wanting to fall.

 

 

 

Purchase with Traction

 

 

Wallflowers

 

 

Agama agama Female and Male

 

[Peter Connan]

Lovely new photos @Tom Kellie!

[offshorebirder]

@Tom Kellie - if you want to get hyper-specific, the Bulbuls in Samburu and other dry parts of northern Kenya are Pycnonotus barbatus dodsoni.

 

Their different vocalizations to Pycnonotus barbatus tricolor are striking even to non-birders.  But I much prefer tricolor's vocalizations - more perky and endearing to my ear.

 

 

 

[CDL111]

Were the agamas on the balcony wall at your room? Never seen male and female together before.

[Tom Kellie]

Every snap, each rustle, a click,

They might mean trouble, or might not.

Tiny hooves step over each stick,

To survive these matter a lot.

 

 

 

Madoqua kirkii in Shadow

 

 

Caution As a Lifestyle

 

 

Samburu Madoqua kirkii