Lake Nakuru National Park is full of surprises for a first time visitor.

“Wandering the rift takes you through ancient times, travelling into unfamilar places which open your sense to timelessness and wonder.” ~ Mike Haworth

We saw lion and a leopard in Lake Nakuru National Park. We never saw hyaena or even heard them. The forest environment seems to be ideal for servals, civets and genets, but being nocturnal and having to be back in camp by 18h00 we never got to see any of these species.

“There’s a sunrise and a sunset every day, and they’re absolute free. Don’t miss any of them.” ~ Jo Walton

There is an abundance of grazers varying from buffalo, Rothchild’s giraffe to Debussa waterbuck, eland and zebra. There are also the smaller antelope such as bushbuck and impala but we never saw any duiker. The next image is of two old buffalo bulls, we call them “dagga boys” because they are often covered in mud and their bosses are caked with mud after a good wallow in a mud pool. These two old boys were lying down under the shade of a tree in the late morning.

We found a lioness with her three cubs near a buffalo kill on our first morning on the southbound section of the ring road south of the lake. The next day we found two male lions in the south west section of the park. They were traversing an open grassland to find shade under a small tree, much like the buffaloes.

“Wherever you go becomes part of you somehow.” ~ Anita Desai

When one lion is walking up to another one, either it is moving in to greet the other lion or there will be a fight. On this occasion, the first male lion lying in the shade of a small tree was greeted with head rubbing by the approaching male. Many of the cats were collared in the park- a sign of the times. There is much research underway and it certainly makes it easier to find them in this well forested park.

After the initial greeting the second male lay down in the shade next to his coalition partner. The male on the left of the image looked to be older than the male on the right judging from the darkness of his mane. Interestingly, both males were not “flat cats” but remained alert and sitting up while we were watching them in mid-morning. Something must have had their attention which we had not seen, heard or smelt.

The first male to lie down in the shade looked to be around five years old judging from the length and colour of his mane and the condition of his teeth. He had flies all over him which did not seem to bother him much – and they were probably the stinging type!

You can see from the condition of his ears that he must have been in some tangles but his teeth were in good condition.

” Life is etched in that face. A male lion’s journey is etched with scars and torn ears. His eyes remain steady, his heart strong. He has earned his place”~ Mike Haworth

We travelled along the same road the next day only to find this scene. A male and female lion together, probably in their mating phase, then, buffalo emerged from the gloom of the forest and began chasing them into the grassland. The lions seemed to prefer to operate along the edge of the forest during the day, probably because of the abundance of shade.

This buffalo bull was not going to tolerate the mating pair anywhere near his herd and continued to push them away from the herd which was just inside the edge of the forest.

“Choose you battles wisely. After all, life is not measured by how many times you stood up to fight. Life is too short to spend it on warring. Fight only the most, most important ones and let the rest go.” ~ C. Joybell

There are many buffalo in Lake Nakuru National Park. They seem to enjoy the forest and the wet conditions around the lake.

The next image is of two adult but young buffalo bulls mock fighting. They were just pushing each other around with their bosses, nothing serious. When their bosses connected it made quite a cracking sound.

“The main difference between play and playfulness is that play is an activity while playfulness is an attitude.” ~ Miguel Sicart

On our last day in the park, it was early morning and we were travelling along the southern ring road when we came upon this lioness walking along the road. As she wandered along the road she would sometimes stop and listen and at other times detour to the embankment next to the road to investigate a sound or a smell. After about five minutes of following her she heard buffalo on the Lion Hill ridge. Immediately she crossed the road and started to work her way up the ridge to get into a better position to assess the meal potential. As time passed the herd moved down the ridge and in doing so began to split up. This calf was separated from its mother, an opportunity which was not missed by the lioness. For some inexplicable reason she did not immediately attack the calf despite getting within approximately 20 metres of it.

The calf stopped, seeming to sense that the lioness was close by. We held our breath thinking we were about to witness an ambush. A few seconds passed the the calf moved on down the ridge and to our surprise the lioness just sat and watched the calf walk away.

The lioness did not attack the buffalo calf. We did not expect her to abandon the hunt but we did not also see what she saw and could not possible judge whether the odds were in her favour. The calf lived to see another day and we were left with a little magic.

Nakuru was not a place I expected to see such interactions with buffalo and lion. I am reminded every time I go into the bush to leave my perceived ideas back in camp. Our limited ideas about the dynamics in the bush only serve to remind us of how much we still have to learn and understand.

“Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand.” ~ Neil Armstrong

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Lake Nakuru is a most unusual place in Africa. Eclectic in every way. Its character starts with a town directly on the outskirts of the national park. Then paradoxically, it is sanctuary to several endangered mammal species. It is located in one of the most unusual geological structures in Africa and its forest is home to giants.

“Most things seem to whisper in a forest. It is as if there are beings watching and listening. It is moody and alive. Giants stand as sentinels and guardians of the sanctity of the wildlife at their feet and in their arms. “ ~ Mike Haworth

The forest is moody, misty and has a blue hue in the early morning affected by the moisture during the long rains. The forest is home to wonderful array of birdlife.

“In wilderness is the preservation of the world.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

I was surprised to see a few pairs of Southern Ground Hornbills in the fever tree forest. This pair were initially calling quietly to each other, not the booming pre-dawn calls you hear across the African bushveld,  but gentle dulcet tones. After a period of gentle calling they mated, not on the ground but high up in a large fever tree. Each time the female called the male’s neck feathers rose as you can see in the next image.

Eventually after mating and continuing to call quietly to each other for quite a while they relaxed and started preening.

We saw many Long Crested Eagles. They are perch hunters and feed mainly on rodents. We never saw a Long Crested Eagle flying in the forest but it would have been easily recognisable with the white windows near its, wing tips which are diagnostic. When flying you will often see the tail spread which also reveals the white barring on the tail.

In April, we saw numerous Augur Buzzards in the forest. The next image is of a dark morph Augur Buzzard. An adult Augur Buzzard has dark back feathers which vary from black to dark brown with flecks of white and a white belly and it has characteristic rustic coloured tail feathers. Like all buzzards its legs are not feathered below the elbow and are yellow.

Lake Nakuru is known for its Lesser Flamingoes. Although we saw many Lesser Flamingoes we did not see the vast numbers which everyone talks about. Flamingoes are itinerant and will move to the best feed waters wherever they are. What we did find was flotillas of Pink-backed Pelicans. These birds are pack hunters.

Being pack hunters these pelicans swam in a formation in the shape of buffalo horns. The flotilla swam towards the shore corralling the fish into the shallower waters and then began feasting. It comes very apparent when you sit and watch for a while that is there vast natural intelligence at work there.

There is no apparent communication, from a human perspective, but they all swim in unison, they work as one and all feed well.

Pink-backed Pelicans pack hunting. It is intriguing that as soon as a group of these pelicans form a pack, Pelicans from afar fly in to join the group. Intriguing that the Pelican’s behaved somewhat like vultures. They watch each other and as soon a group find a fish bait ball, Pelicans from all over Lake Nakuru fly in to join the feeding frenzy.

Away from the lake shore there were open patches in the fever tree forest which allowed the sun to caress the forest floor.

“Trees give peace to the souls of men.”~ Nora Waln

Amongst all the greens and browns was this startling Red Blood Lily. We were watching lion cubs playing around the base of a large fever tree, and inevitably your eye wanders around the scene just assimilating context when this red colour caught my eye. Mother nature does like to flirt with colour.

We found several Long Crested Eagles in the fever tree forest. This is a large, chunky, dark brown to blackish eagle with a towering, floppy crest. It is often found in woodlands, plantations, and open forest. This eagle perches for long periods, and obviously in a forest has little opportunity to soar which it only does at the fringes of the forest.

A view down the road through the fever tree forest. Oh, that early morning blue hue, giant fever trees with the escarpment looming in the background. This was the second loop road south of the lake.

“Deep in the forest I stroll…. to hear the wisdom of my soul.” ~ Angie Weiland-Crosby

Close to the edge of the lake in amongst the brush and fallen branches was this White-Browed Coucal. We heard it calling and only then saw it. The adult’s underparts and back are streaked, and it has a distinctive white eyebrow. This coucal has rufous wings and a long, broad tail. It has a barred rump and upper tail coverts, differentiating it from other coucals. It sings a deep descending bubbling series, “bu-bu-bu bu bu bu bu”, whilst changing pitch.

Back at LionHill Lodge, the staff had built a bird feeder which they filled with fruit and crumbs at midday every day. The birds learnt when lunch was served and arrived from all around. It got quite busy with weavers, starlings mousebirds, babblers, shrikes and waxbills all coming into feast. The next image is of a Lesser Masked Weaver with its characteristic beige eye and golden forehead which almost reaches its beak.

Kenya is fortunate to have a vast selection of starlings. This was an adult Superb Starling which was very happy to partake in the feast. Size counts when you are feasting and this was one of the larger avians at the feast.

A smaller one was this Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu. To us from southern Africa, this looked like a blue waxbill with a red cheek.

A Greater Blue-eared Starling. There are ten species of glossy starlings in east Africa but the Greater Blue-eared is the most ubiquitous. Many birds species tend to be region specific.

Not sure whether this male Coqui Francolin was hen pecked or has been in a serious territorial fight. The male Coqui Francolin has a rufous coloured head and an entirely white and black barred back and underparts while the belly is usually white to buff coloured. It is a beautifully coloured bird when it has not been in a tangle.

This was a fledged young Tawny Eagle. It had its wings open because a Vervet Monkey was threatening it from an adjacent branch. If that was not enough, an adult Augur Buzzard decided that this youngster was in its turf and attacked it. Interestingly, the Augur Buzzard was smaller than the Tawny Eagle.

Not a great photo as my focal length was too long for the scene, but an interesting interaction nevertheless. I was focused on the Vervet monkey when this Augur Buzzard came out of the gloom of the forest. Judging from the loss of one of its talons, this Augur Buzzard must have been a fighter.

Once out of the dappled shade and moody light of the forest, we drove to the lake shore. The lake is rising, so many of the shoreline fever trees had their feet in water. Interestingly, they did not seem to be the worse for the flooding. The flamingoes took full advantage of all the algae blooms in amongst the roots.

Again, the vista was very unusual. Huge fever trees standing in water while flamingoes filter fed around their feet.

“Forests are living historians. They have felt, smelt and seen all the comings and goings, some for centuries. They record their history. They offer great peace, solace and shelter. They reach for the sun and dance and sing in the wind.” ~ Mike Haworth

I hope this post has given you an idea of what avian species you might see in and around the fever tree forest of Lake Nakuru. It is by no means comprehensive, rather just a sample of what we were privileged to see in a few days.

“Once upon a time, forests were repositories for magic in the human race.”~ John Burnside

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike