25 Sep 2019: Lark Plains

“It was the lark, the herald of the morn,

No nightingale. Look, love, what envious streaks

Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east.

Night’s candles are burnt out, and jocund day

Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops.

I must be gone and live, or stay and die.”

Romeo and Juliet Act 3 Scene 5

William Shakespeare

Early the next morning we drove east from Arusha to the Engikaret Lark Plains,

close to the Kenyan border. Mount Kilimanjaro, which a much younger self had

climbed some two decades ago, remained hidden in a blanket of clouds. Martin Joho

and Abdulrahman Adam, two very clued-up local bird guides, accompanied Per and

myself. We were looking for the three rare larks that occur on these desolate plains:

Beesley’s-, Athi Short-toed-, and Short-tailed Lark. Beesley’s Lark is a very localised

endemic with a total population of only about 200 birds. A community project has

been set up where locals conserve the habitat and find the birds for visiting birders,

also providing income to the local Masai community.

We were travelling in Per’s rather elderly but (mostly) very reliable Land Rover

Defender. At one of the sudden stops to id a lark we heard a bang and felt a sudden

lurch. One of the front shock absorbers had torn from its mounting and this provided

a rather bumpy ride for the rest of the day. That evening two local fundis (mechanics)

came to Per’s home, removed the offending parts, purchased new parts in Arusha

and by sunrise the next morning the shock absorber mounting was replaced and the

Defender fully serviced. The labour cost for this whole exercise amounted to US$40.

When we arrived at Lark Plains two Masai men had already found a pair of Beesley’s

Larks to show us, and the other two larks were found shortly thereafter by Martin and

Abdul. The rest of the morning was spent birding around the local bomas where we

found Kenya Rufous Sparrow, Schalow’s Wheatear, Taita Fiscal, Foxy Lark, Tiny

Cisticola, Banded Parisoma, Red-faced Prinia, Grey-headed Social Weaver and

Red-throated Tit. The afternoon was spent birding a gulley and a dumpsite behind

the village of Oldonyosambu where we found both the Red-and-yellow Barbet and

the Red-fronted Barbet. Sunset found me unsuccessfully trying to photograph

Slender-tailed Nightjars on the fairways of the Kilimanjaro Golf Estate. All in all the

day delivered 22 new birds for the Big Year and we celebrated by making a dent in

Per’s single malt.

The Vagrant Twitcher