Birds and bugs of Bogoria

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It was a case of deja vu as, through the steaming mist from the hot springs of Lake Bogoria, I watched the pink lesser flamingoes parading up and down along the shoreline. Two years ago I stood here just as I was starting my round the world journey and it brought back memories. This beautiful lush green valley in the heart of Kenya is a birders paradise and the tallest and smallest antelopes of Kenya ( Greater kudu and dik dik) are also easy to spot along the road. It is easy to visualise the stereotype Kenya as wide open savannas with herds of wildebeest, zebra and giraffe with glimpses of the big five however there are many other landscapes in the country and the Bogoria and Baringo area offer a rewarding alternative to the visitor.

I have connections from Leicester University here, David Harper, a biologist who has worked in Kenya for many years with Earthwatch and William Kimosop who studied GIS at Leicester a few years ago and is now Senior Conservation Officer for the Bogoria District. Both were helping me meet people in the region with whom I may work. I was staying at the Earthwatch camp on the shores of the lake and was made very welcome by the multinational HSBC corporate team who were training to be 'climate change champions' for the bank. They were helping local scientists from England and Kenya in their research, monitoring birds, beetles, caterpillars and plants. Until my own itinery was arranged I had fun going out with the Earthwatch bird and beetle teams on their surveys even if it did mean a 6 am start. It was fascinating to see Kenyan birds in close up as we set up mist nets to capture them and then Dominic, our researcher, ringed and measured them. Catching beetles, on the other hand was a little less gentle as we thrashed the acacia trees with sticks and caught whatever we dislodged, bugs, beetles, spiders and crickets, in large nets.

I was really looking forward to visiting an area north of Bogoria where William is establishing a new national reserve along with three local tribal communities: Pokot, Tugen and Njemps. However the evening before we set off I received a message to say that the Pokot, traditional cattle rustlers, had had a dispute with guns so unfortunately our trip was cancelled as I didn’t want to get in the firing line!

Instead I joined Jackson and Simon from the local Tugen people and visited the Sandai community. The Tugen were once pastorialists but, like many other tribal groups, they settled and changed to agriculture although they still maintained communal grazing areas for their livestock. They are also bee-keepers and the roads are lined with stalls selling honey in recycled bottles. Above Sandai village was a sheer escarpment, like a lost world, on top of which the local community is in the process of establishing Chuine Community Sanctuary where kudu, eland and the occasional lion or cheetah could be found. Established parks and reserves in Kenya contribute only a small percentage of their revenue to local people. Now many communities are trying to establish their own reserves and sanctuaries to generate new income but need initial support to set up tourist facilities such as sponsors to help provide a campsite or lodge and improve the access roads.

I also had two more leasurely trips with the Earthwatch team, firstly to Lake Baringo and secondly to Nakuru National Park. Baringo is nearly always an adventure to get to as the road deteriorates and a river crossing makes getting there, and back difficult. The first time we travelled there the river was quite high and already a matatu was stuck in the crossing. Local boys were earning a few shillings guiding vehicles across but Reuben and James were experts and took our landcruisers across with ease. Nakuru is always a joy to visit with its mix of big mammals and flamingoes on the lake. True to form though the baboons made every effort to steal our sandwiches and we had to resort to warfare as we tried to eat our lunch.

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Photos

spider
Ladybird, no a spider using mimicry

Lake Bogoria
Lake Bogoria famous for hot springs and flamingoes

birding
Dominic gently handles and rings a bird during Earthwatch research at Bogoria

kudu
Greater kudu

hsbc
The HSBC team on corporate training organised by Earthwatch

barraza
Village meeting at Leboi