ML626211698

Behaketaren xehetasunak

While doing my usual birding at Katotoi Hills on 12th June, 2024, I heard the call that was unfamiliar to me and recorded it for the first time in Kenya. I shared it with a few birding experts who zeroed into the species but I had to wait until 12th October 2024 precisely 4 months down the line for a proper identification. This time, I was birding on the BIG Day with Doctor Victor Ikawa when we heard the bird calling again and managed track it. It didn't respond to the call on the app and this made me to record its call due to our close proximity. We played the same call without the aid of an external speaker and the birds showed up just a few meters from us. Unfortunately, we had wrong lenses for photograpy. But we were more than convinced about the finding. On 14th and 15th October, we were birding with Timothy Sneider, another respected birder and we chose to give the bird another trial having missed it on our first day. We returned early enough and took our position for any calls. The bird called about a half an hour later prompting us to ta track it for possible sightings and photos. The birds are very creepy and secretive but a pair and some individuals turned curious around us giving us good opportunities for photography. This was our best moment as we also managed to record better quality calls. We were once again convinced that this was a new species for Kenya! What a finding!