Tag: nature kenya

Urban Crowns

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Meeting the Apex Hunter in Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary

Above: African crowned eagle at nest Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary copyright Washington Wachira

Published: 3 November 2018

“Listen,” said Fleur Ng’weno of Nature Kenya.

A piercing shrill drifted through the trees in the forest.

“It’s the African crowned eagle.”

african crowned eagle Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary copyright Washington Wachira (800x542)
african crowned eagle Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary copyright Washington Wachira

It was what we were hoping for but like any creature on the wild, nothing is guaranteed.

Quietly we walked along the path and there in the tall croton tree, was perched Africa’s mightiest raptor by its nest.

An OMG moment!

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Ngong Race Course that is in Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary Copyright Rupi Mangat

Here we were at the Ngong Race Course that is in Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary, in one of the busiest part of a city of four million people – and in its midst we’re in a natural forest that’s home to some of the rarest creatures including the Jackson tree snake.

Urban Crowns

I’ve borrowed the title from a short film by Washington Wachira, a young ornithologist studying the African crowned eagle.

nest of african crowned eagle Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary copyright Washington Wachira (800x600)
Nest of African crowned eagle Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary copyright Washington Wachira (800×600)

Continue reading “Urban Crowns” →

Uhuru in June

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Published: Saturday Nation newspaper magazine 28 June 2018

It was the coldest of days in Nairobi. A June Sunday with a sky pasted in white cloud dropping a fine drizzle on the earthlings. But being the third Sunday of the month it could not be wasted because that’s the day when we, the Nature Kenya members, set out to discover all the intrigues of nature in and around Nairobi. For me personally, it’s also a work-out in the wild, fresh air.

Uhuru Gardens monument copyright rupi mangat (800x450)
Uhuru Monument at Uhuru Gardens – Copyright Rupi Mangat

So in the drizzle we stood brainstorming where to go, donned in layers of sweaters and jackets.

Continue reading “Uhuru in June” →

Swallowtail at rest wth wings open in Ngong Road Forest. Copyright Rupi Mangat

Forest Fragrances

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In Ngong Road Forest

Above: Swallowtail at rest wth wings open in Ngong Road Forest. Copyright Rupi MangatIt’s a drop-dead scent.

Pale lilac forest flowers, the Pentas whose roots have traditionally been boiled as a tea. Copyright Rupi Mangat
Ngong Road Forest is a dry upland forest typical of Nairobi.. Copyright Rupi Mangat

Stopping in my tracks, I sniff the air and look around, all the time inhaling the fragrance deeper. It’s from the tiny white flowers in bloom on the gorgeous tree in front of me, the Schrebera alata.

The rains have brought a burst of scents, colours and flowers in the forest that is the first time for most of us to enter, a part of the Ngong Road Forest. It’s a chilly Sunday morning. The track ahead is laden with local trees including another show stealer with lilac-pinkish flowers, the Cape chestnut. “The tree has flowered earlier than usual,” comments Fleur Ng’weno the eminent naturalist. Continue reading “Forest Fragrances” →

Mt Olorgesailie decked in cloud and wild flowers - copyright Rupi Mangat 5 May 2018

Time travelling through Olorgesailie

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The fascinating metropolis of ancient ancestors

Above: Mt Olorgesailie decked in cloud and wild flowers – copyright Rupi Mangat 5 May 2018

Published: Saturday magazine Nation newspaper 5 May 2018

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Dry weather in November 2017 – Mt Esakut from Olorgesailie – copyright Rupi Mangat 5 May 2018

I’m alone walking between two ancient volcanoes on sands that have weathered the times and bleached white by the relentless sun with volcanic rubble strewn around. Tiny white flowers and petals of yellow on skeletal green stalks that otherwise are so brittle during the dry season carpet the ground.

I’m at Olorgesailie, home of our ancestors, the upright human or Homo erectus who walked out of Africa and into the bigger world a million years ago.

In my aloneness my mind begins to wander. Continue reading “Time travelling through Olorgesailie” →

Grey Crowned Crane on its nest Copyright: International Crane Foundation / Endangered Wildlife Trust Partnership

The Happy Herons of Manguo Swamp

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Above: Grey Crowned Crane on its nest (not in Manguo Swamp because they don’t nest there)
Copyright: International Crane Foundation / Endangered Wildlife Trust Partnership

Published: Saturday magazine, Nation newspaper 31 March 2018

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Fleur Ng’weno in green jacket who has started bird walks in Nairobi in February 1971 and still at it – Manguo Swamp March 2018 Copyright Rupi Mangat

It’s a cold and rainy March morning but some of us need to escape the dull city skies. So meeting the Nature Kenya friends for the regular third Sunday of the month (including Wednesday mornings) that have gone on uninterrupted since the eminent Fleur Ng’weno started them in February 1971, we settle on Manguo Swamp.

There are two reasons for this.

Continue reading “The Happy Herons of Manguo Swamp” →