Site Report: Lake Nakuru National Park

Flooded Lake Nakuru

Nakuru Waterfall

Stay in the tent, baboons

Stay in the tent, buffalo

Gray-headed Kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala)

White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum)

Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)

African Buffalo (Syncerus caffer)

Lion (Panthera leo)

Lesser Flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor)

Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor)

Ring-necked Dove (Streptopelia capicola)

Gray Crowned-Crane (Balearica regulorum)

Superb Starling (Lamprotornis superbus)

Burchell's Zebra (Equus burchellii) - Battle!

Crowned Lapwing (Vanellus coronatus)

Plain-backed Pipit (Anthus leucophrys)

Spotted Eagle-Owl (Bubo africanus)

Augur Buzzard (Buteo augur)

Leopard (Panthera pardus)

Hadada Ibis (Bostrychia hagedash)

Mountain Wagtail (Motacilla clara)

Hunter's Cisticola (Cisticola hunteri)

Black-crowned Tchagra (Tchagra senegalus)

Arrow-marked Babbler (Turdoides jardineii)

Common Scimitar-bill (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas)

White-bellied Tit (Melaniparus albiventris)

Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

Long-crested Eagle (Lophaetus occipitalis)

Lilac-breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus)

Gray-backed Fiscal (Lanius excubitoroides)

Impala (Aepyceros melampus)

Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

Ruff (Calidris pugnax)

Pale Flycatcher (Agricola pallidus)

Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica)

Green-backed Camaroptera (Camaroptera brachyura)

Nyanza Swift (Apus niansae)






































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Flooded Lake Nakuru

Nakuru Waterfall

Stay in the tent, baboons

Stay in the tent, buffalo

Gray-headed Kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala)

White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum)

Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)

African Buffalo (Syncerus caffer)

Lion (Panthera leo)

Lesser Flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor)

Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor)

Ring-necked Dove (Streptopelia capicola)

Gray Crowned-Crane (Balearica regulorum)

Superb Starling (Lamprotornis superbus)

Burchell's Zebra (Equus burchellii) - Battle!

Crowned Lapwing (Vanellus coronatus)

Plain-backed Pipit (Anthus leucophrys)

Spotted Eagle-Owl (Bubo africanus)

Augur Buzzard (Buteo augur)

Leopard (Panthera pardus)

Hadada Ibis (Bostrychia hagedash)

Mountain Wagtail (Motacilla clara)

Hunter's Cisticola (Cisticola hunteri)

Black-crowned Tchagra (Tchagra senegalus)

Arrow-marked Babbler (Turdoides jardineii)

Common Scimitar-bill (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas)

White-bellied Tit (Melaniparus albiventris)

Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)

Long-crested Eagle (Lophaetus occipitalis)

Lilac-breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus)

Gray-backed Fiscal (Lanius excubitoroides)

Impala (Aepyceros melampus)

Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

Ruff (Calidris pugnax)

Pale Flycatcher (Agricola pallidus)

Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica)

Green-backed Camaroptera (Camaroptera brachyura)

Nyanza Swift (Apus niansae)
A national park with a big lake.
Visits
- 2013-10-25: We arrived to Nakuru to find that the lake was flooded and the flamingos had relocated. It was getting later in the day, so we decided to camp at the south end of the park. On the way in, we did some game drive activities which included checking in on a lion kill. Fortunately, we hired the guide or I doubt if we would have ever found the campsite. We arranged special permission to drive in the park during the night so that we could eat in the restaurant. I asked our guide about finding owls, but he was pretty sure that there were none. He had not seen one in four years of guiding. Of course, twenty minutes into our drive to the lodge, I spotted an owl on the top of a tree. Shortly after that, we encountered a leopard on the road. We dropped the guide off at the lodge, and then we spent an hour lost in the savanna looking for the campsite. The next morning, I woke up to find a lone male buffalo just outside my tent! It chose not to trample me, however.
Species Seen
Kingdom: Animals (83 records)
Phylum: Chordates
(83 records)
Class: Birds
(69 records)
- Order: Anseriformes
(2 records)
- Family: Swans, Geese, and Ducks
- Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca)
- Yellow-billed Duck (Anas undulata)
- Order: Bucerotiformes
(2 records)
- Family: Hoopoes
- Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
- Family: Scimitarbills
- Common Scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas)
- Order: Coliiformes
(1 record)
- Family: Mousebirds
- Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus)
- Order: Cranes, Rails, and Allies
(3 records)
- Family: Cranes
- Gray Crowned-Crane (Balearica regulorum)
- Family: Rails, Gallinules, and Allies
- Eurasian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
- Red-knobbed Coot (Fulica cristata)
- Order: Doves and Pigeons
(2 records)
- Family: Pigeons and Doves
- Ring-necked Dove (Streptopelia capicola)
- Red-eyed Dove (Streptopelia semitorquata)
- Order: Hawks, Eagles, Kites, and Allies (5 records)
- Order: Hummingbirds and Swifts
(1 record)
- Family: Swifts
- Nyanza Swift (Apus niansae)
- Order: Kingfishers, Bee-eaters, Motmots
(3 records)
- Family: Bee-eaters
- Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater (Merops oreobates)
- Family: Kingfishers
- Gray-headed Kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala)
- Family: Rollers
- Lilac-breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus)
- Order: Owls And Nightjars
(1 record)
- Family: Typical Owls
- Spotted Eagle-Owl (Bubo africanus)
- Order: Pelicans (21 records)
- Family: Grebes
- Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
- Family: Herons
- Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
- Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea)
- Black-headed Heron (Ardea melanocephala)
- Great Egret (Ardea alba)
- Western Cattle Egret (Ardea ibis)
- Family: Ibises and Spoonbills
- Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)
- Hadada Ibis (Bostrychia hagedash)
- African Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus)
- Family: Pelicans
- Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus)
- Family: Sandpipers and Allies
- Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
- Little Stint (Calidris minuta)
- Ruff (Calidris pugnax)
- Family: Stilts and Avocets
- Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
- Family: Storks
- Yellow-billed Stork (Mycteria ibis)
- Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)
- Marabou Stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer)
- Order: Perching Birds
(23 records)
- Family: Chickadees and Titmice
- White-bellied Tit (Melaniparus albiventris)
- Family: Drongos
- Fork-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis)
- Family: Gonoleks
- Tropical Boubou (Laniarius major)
- Family: Jays and Crows
- Pied Crow (Corvus albus)
- Black-crowned Tchagra (Tchagra senegalus)
- Family: Old World Sparrows
- Baglafecht Weaver (Ploceus baglafecht)
- Family: Old World Warblers and Gnatcatchers
- Arrow-marked Babbler (Turdoides jardineii)
- Family: Oxpeckers
- Red-billed Oxpecker (Buphagus erythroryncha)
- Family: Paradise-flycatcher
- African Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone viridis)
- Family: Prinias and Apalis
- Hunter's Cisticola (Cisticola hunteri)
- Green-backed Camaroptera (Camaroptera brachyura)
- Family: Shrikes
- Gray-backed Fiscal (Lanius excubitoroides)
- Family: Starlings and Mynas
- Greater Blue-eared Starling (Lamprotornis chalybaeus)
- Superb Starling (Lamprotornis superbus)
- Wattled Starling (Creatophora cinerea)
- Family: Thrushes and Allies
- Pale Flycatcher (Agricola pallidus)
- Cape Robin-Chat (Dessonornis caffer)
- Northern Anteater-Chat (Myrmecocichla aethiops)
- Family: Wagtails and Pipits
- Western Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava)
- Mountain Wagtail (Motacilla clara)
- Plain-backed Pipit (Anthus leucophrys)
- Order: Shorebirds and Allies
(5 records)
- Family: Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers
- Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica)
Class: Mammals
(14 records)
- Order: Carnivorans
(2 records)
- Family: Felidae
- Lion (Panthera leo)
- Leopard (Panthera pardus)
- Order: Even-toed Ungalates and Cetacean (5 records)
- Family: Giraffidae
- Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)
- Order: Lagomorpha
(1 record)
- Family: Leporidae
- Cape Hare (Lepus capensis)
- Order: Perissodactyla
(3 records)
- Family: Equidae
- Burchell's Zebra (Equus burchellii)
- Family: Rhinocerotidae
- White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum)
- Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)
- Order: Primates
(2 records)
- Family: Old World Monkeys
- Anubis Baboon (Papio anubis)
- Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus)
- Order: Rodents
(1 record)
- Family: Old World Porcupines
- Crested Porcupine (Hystrix cristata)