This morning we went to do the monthly bird count at Mida Creek. From Mwamba, we had to drive back to the Gede road and through some small roads to the main Malindi-Mombasa road to get round to the visitor centre at Mida Creek. They have a small office, a restaurant and a boardwalk above the mangroves to a bird hide.
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| Barbecued fish and crabs at Mida Creek |
We walked across the mudflats to the hide, counting the birds as the rising tide pushed them closer together. Among the birds we saw were Whimbrels, which look like Curlews, Crab Plovers, which are the symbol of A Rocha Kenya, Grey Plovers, Terek Sandpipers, Curlew Sandpipers, two Blacksmith Plovers, Greater and Lesser Crested Terns, Sacred Ibises, a Hadada Ibis, African Spoonbills, Yellow-billed Storks, Woolly-necked Storks, Black Kites, a Pied Kingfisher, Drongos, a Yellow-fronted Canary and Ethiopian Swallows - wow! Here are some pictures:
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| Spoonbill chorus line |
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| Sacred Ibis |
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| Dimorphic Egret |
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| Blacksmith Plovers (centre right, towards the back) |
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| Mangroves |
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| Yellow-billed Storks - the one front right is resting. Which bit of its leg is it using? |
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| More Yellow-billed Storks - the one at the back is sunbathing with its wings spread |
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| Fiddler crab - they have one big front pincer claw, and some are left- and others right-clawed |
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| Yellow-fronted Canary |
We arrived back at the visitor centre to find the crabs ready for eating - the kitten gets the small claws and vegetarians get fresh coconut!
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| Lucky kitty! |
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| The veggie option - coconut milk straight from the nut |
In the afternoon, I was working on the booklets again in the office, and stopped just in time to go for a swim, but the heavens opened as I opened my door to go to the beach - so no swim today!
Good to hear you are well and settled down now. You really are in your element aren't you. Veggie food, birds, sea sand batheing and even rain!! Keeping up to date.
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