"THE BIGGEST BIRD SHOW IN THE WORLD". "A paradise for bird watchers". "Serengeti from a bird watcher". How to resist the opportunity to visit such a region? The location is Lake Nakuru, which stretches 65 square kilometers in the East African Rift Valley. This shallow alkaline lake is internationally known for its flamingos, sometimes in the millions. It really is a "show"!
A friend of mine in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, offered my family a day of bird watching at Lake Nakuru. We left early and soon the 160 km drive took us to the lake. Birds are already floating in the warm air currents that rise from the sunny land.
We went to a lookout on the west side of the lake. From there we could see the entire stream. It seemed incredible that a shallow sinkhole no larger than three feet could hold such a large collection of birds.
In addition to the 1,125,000 flamingos recorded at one time (and around 2,000,000), there are hundreds of other bird species near Nakuru. Although there is a chain of soda lakes in the Rift Valley, Lake Nakuru has specific physical and chemical properties that preferentially produce the blue-green algae that flamingos and fish feed on. Combined with a complex combination of alkali and salinity, suspended nutrients, influx of fresh water, solar radiation, and evaporation, Lake Nakuru is best suited to preserve this 'bird watcher's paradise'. The lake can also be considered essential for the survival of migratory species native to remote places such as the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Some of these world travelers spend more time at the lake each year than at their remote nesting sites.
Although we cannot claim to be bird watchers, it was not difficult to identify an eagle falcon perched on a perch in the sea. Seen through binoculars, the bird appeared to be 51 cm long from the tip. in the queue. Like eagles, raptors are absolutely appealing for their charm or dramatic escape.
As soon as we settled in to continue our journey through Lake Nakuru National Park, another bird from the eagle family appeared. An osprey stood on the stump of a dead tree. The white head, breasts, back and tail, brown belly and black wings made her look stunning. The call of the osprey is one of the distinctive sounds of Lake Nakuru. This bird's unusual practice of throwing its head back when calling seems to amplify its wild gull call. Ospreys dive into water about 30 feet high to feed or hunt other fish-eating birds in hopes of sharing their prey. In an alkaline lake like this, ospreys can use other waterfowl as a staple, and flamingos are easy to catch. But the osprey is essentially a fish eater. The limes on the legs allow the bird to catch slippery fish in the water.
As we watched the lake from our elevated vantage point, it was a pleasure to see so many crowds of waterfowl along the shore and wade through the water. For example, we were able to identify the Marabu “Burial” dryer with the naked eye. Like an undertaker, he stood between flamingos larger and smaller like white pelicans.
If we look through binoculars, several of the thirty species of wading birds that were common in the lake have appeared. They range from long spider legs to tiny 13cm tall shadows. Small stents nest in Scandinavia and Siberia. We hear these little intercontinental travelers gurgling and tweeting as we bask in the African sun.
Above my head I counted thirty birds in a cloud of white pelicans flying in flight. Including a Verreaux eagle, which is characterized by its graceful flight and black plumage with white spots on the body and wings. Another ornithologist stated that this large bird limits its food interests primarily to hyrax, the Bible's badger. (Leviticus 11: 5) Hyrax has many western cliffs rising from the lake. Shortly after seeing this hunter fly, two rock badgers were seen attacking a vulture in a tree on the beach, probably because this predator came dangerously close to the nest. Another remarkable feature of this eagle is that it nests at altitudes of 3,353 to 4,114 meters (11,000 to 13,500 feet) in Kenya.
Throughout the morning we could not wait to get a closer look at the birds by the lake. So we drove up the west coast and were rewarded with close-ups of the African arrow. This bird differs from the cormorant by its longer neck with a characteristic "bay". Here and there an African spatula appeared.
Our view of Pelican's Corner
In time, we reached Pelican's Corner. Well named indeed! Hundreds of white pelicans were seen. It was a pleasure to see them paddle majestically along the lake, usually in the raft. We count twelve in a row. There seem to be countless takeoffs and landings at this "water airport".
Throwing a pelican is surprisingly effective, even if it seems a little strange. This heavy bird emerges from the water that strikes with its large wings. The legs are always sprayed three, four, five or six times with the surface water before it actually rises into the air. His appearance in flight with a sunken head is a symbol of grace and greatness. When they landed, these birds reminded us of yesterday's seaplane.
Pelicans exhibit instinctive fishing skills. Sometimes they fish in groups and gather in a semicircle to shoot a fish school in the shallow water.
At Pelican's Corner, we were also rewarded with the sight of several hundred flamingos. The little flamingos with their pink plumage dominated many. Flamingos are about 1.2 meters long. For the most part, they have whiter plumage with bright black and red wings. When the flamingos fly, they stretch their long necks forward and their stilts back. Their diet consists mainly of algae in mineral-rich waters. The beaks of these birds have a network of thin, stiff bristles that pump water through the tongue and cause the captured algae to swallow.
Flamingo is truly the glory of Lake Nakuru. If the birds are grouped in an area that is several hundred meters wide and possibly 0.8 km long, a single launch is not possible and a mass formation maneuver must be performed to fly. After eating all day, the birds fly to another part of the lake or to a water source near night. This event is the spectacle that has attracted bird lovers from all over the world.
More candy awaits us
As we left Pelican's Corner, we reluctantly found that we had only covered half of Lake Nakuru. Other sweets awaited us on the south coast. A steppe eagle stood in a row of trees. When we looked at it through a telescope, we noticed that the bird's blue-purple beak was accented by bright yellow spots on either side that curled around the bottom of the eyes. Other than that, the bird was dark brown. As its name suggests, the Steppe Eagle nests in the steppes of Asia.
I was in pursuit of a secretary bird, but unable to cope with its leggy walk in the meadow, I raised my camera to photograph another perched in a tree. At that time two hairdryers appeared and instead I took a picture of them. These are the common surprises when birding at Lake Nakuru.
We continue to drive along the east side of the lake, leaving the water's edge and passing through forests and bushes. We stopped once to take four Jackson Francolins across the street. In a hollow near Lion's Hill, we saw a family of three ground horns. Their red fur markings on their face and neck made it look like a local turkey.
No bird sanctuary is complete without a hidden place called "skin". This accommodation is also offered to visitors to Lake Nakuru. What a pleasure for us to see the charming kingfisher a few meters away! Float on the water before falling like a rock to catch a fish. There were also the "sacred" ibises and the Egyptian goose. The image framed by the "skin" coating was beautifully enhanced by the presence of a small herd of docile antelopes hovering through the green spaces near the water.
This ended our day among the birds of Lake Nakuru. We had identified around thirty different species. Bird watchers would have little difficulty
locating around 120 species of birds in this area on a good day of observation.
