A survey of the birds of Ol Donyo Sabuk National Park, Kenya

Abstract

A survey of bird species of the Ol Donyo Sabuk National Park was carried out between 24 October and 2 November 2007. From 14 1-km transects distributed across the three habitat categories―forest, woodland and grassland―dominant in this park, 913 individual birds comprising 72 species were recorded. An additional 53 species were recorded from opportunistic observations bringing the total to 125 species from 48 families. Besides the Grey Crowned Crane Balearica regulorum, which is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red Data List, seven Palaearctic migrants and five Afrotropical migrants were recorded. There were clear differences amongst transects in the three habitat categories in terms of species richness but not abundance. The proximity of the park to Nairobi, being only 65 km away, as well as its considerable avian diversity, makes it a close-to-ideal weekend getaway and great bird watching spot.