Africa Wild

My job involves a lot of travelling and one of the benefits about this is that on a spare day I can get to do some sight seeing. Lake Nakuru National Park is 140km from Nairobi on the edge of the Rift Valley. I arranged a taxi for the day and set of dawn on a Saturday expecting to see plenty of birds as this Park is known for the flamingos and pelicans.





I was pleasantly surprised at what I got to see in about 5 hours in the Park. The downside is I only carry a point and shoot compact camera on these trips so not the best photos.

So, what can be seen at Lake Nakuru. Just as we entered the Park, a tour guide told us to drive for 2km on the road to the left as there is a leopard . It was gone by the time we got there. First sighting was a long cresred eagle



followed by a hamerkop -O



Grey crowned cranes



baboons

Thanks Bushcraft, Toko, Bushveld Jock, Jillinflorida, Pumbaa, Sprocky, Mel, Flutterby.

It was great to see the long crested eagle and crowned cranes but I am not sure if they are common in Lake Nakuru.

So hardly 45 minutes after entering the park we saw 3 lionesses



and the waterbuck did not see them at first but quickly stopped to have a look too -O



Zebra







and then a Grants Gazelle

It is a drive from the entrance to the Lake and the sightings just did not stop

Impala


Buffalo


Rhino


Another two lionesses


and then we were at the Lake

Eland

Toko wrote:-O -O -O great wildlife, how about tourist/visitor numbers?

Not sute Toko and difficult to judge on a half day trip. It was very quiet when I was there. I spent about two hours by the lake itself and for most of that two hours we were the only car there.

Is it OK if I/we put up maps and satpics of the Park, Duke?

Then one can start a topic under "Kenya Parks"?


Didn't know there were rhino there!

Sure Rp re satmaps.

I was expecting only to see flamingos and pelicans but all the big 5 except ellies are in the Park and cheetah too I believe

From Wikipedia (My Bold)

Lake Nakuru National Park (188 km², 73 mi²), created in 1961 around Lake Nakuru, near Nakuru Town. It is best known for its thousands, sometimes millions of flamingos nesting along the shores. The surface of the shallow lake is often hardly recognizable due to the continually shifting mass of pink. The number of flamingos on the lake varies with water and food conditions and the best vantage point is from Baboon Cliff. Also of interest is an area of 188 km (116 mi) around the lake fenced off as a sanctuary to protect Rothschild giraffes, black rhinos and white rhinos.

The park has recently been enlarged partly to provide the sanctuary for the black rhino. This undertaking has necessitated a fence - to keep out poachers rather than to restrict the movement of wildlife. The park marches for 12.1 km on the south eastern boundary with the Soysambu conservancy which represents a possible future expansion of habitat for the rhinos and the only remaining wildlife corridor to Lake Naivasha.

The park now (2009) has more than 25 black rhinoceros, one of the largest concentrations in the country, plus around 70 white rhinos. There are also a number of Rothschild's giraffe, again relocated for safety from western Kenya beginning in 1977. Waterbuck are very common and both the Kenyan species are found here. Among the predators are lion, cheetah and leopard, the latter being seen much more frequently in recent times. The park also has large sized pythons that inhabit the dense woodlands, and can often be seen crossing the roads or dangling from trees.

As well as flamingos, there are myriad other bird species that inhabit the lake and the area surrounding it, such as African fish eagle, goliath heron, hamerkop, pied kingfisher and verreaux eagle.

there are myriad other bird species that inhabit the lake and the area surrounding it

I was curious and checked it: there are some very cool species, here a link to a checklist.

Amoli wrote:The information given here is very interesting - thanks Duke.

Your pictures are so good.... so good that I also want one of your 'Mik and Druks'

Kenya has always been known as the capital animal world - in my mind -O

Thanks Amoli Kenya is very expensive though. Just the entrance fee for Lake Nakuru (foreigners) was USD80. For the Mara it can cost about 200-500 USD per person per day depending on type of accommodation/vehicle/guide

And then it was the Birds











Wooly necked stock


a dagga boy -O