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American Food in American Literature
May 29th
The months between the cherries and the peaches
Are brimming cornucopias which spill
Fruits red and purple, somber-bloomed and black;
Then, down rich fields and frosty river beaches
We’ll trample bright persimmons, while you kill
Bronze partridge, speckled quail, and canvasback.
—Elinor Wylie1
I ate another apple pie and ice cream; that’s practically all I ate all the way across the country, I knew it was nutritious and it was delicious, of course.
—Jack Kerouac2
In October of 1998, Jiao-Tong, the literary editor of the China Times in Taipei, Taiwan, invited me to write an essay on American food in American literature for presentation at the first International Conference on Food and Literature that was held in Taipei in May of 1999. I thought that I would find many secondary source books on this topic. After extensive searches of the net and communications with several professors of American literature at universities in the United States and Canada, I was quite surprised to find no book in print on the topic. Not only was there no book about it there was also no single article that directly addressed my topic. The absence of secondary sources explains why most of the references in this essay are to primary sources. The limitations on time and space for this writing further explain why I have limited my survey of American literature to novels, short stories and poetry. I have tried to make a representative selection among novelists, short story writers and poets including writers from almost two hundred years of American literature, both genders and a variety of ethnic groups. Because there are so many versions of primary works that I cite, I have limited those citations to author’s name, title of work and internal part such as verse, chapter, or section and omitted page numbers of the particular versions that I used. Less well-known works, collections and anthologies receive standard citation format.
To bring some order to this vast quantity of material, I have created three themes around which I can weave what I have found about American food in American literature: continuity and discontinuity; purity and impurity; and, abundance and scarcity. These three themes allow several important truths about the American experience through time to appear as preoccupations of its writers as well. For example, the great changes wrought on the land and the indigenous peoples were accompanied by profound and lasting attachments to European food habits. Also, the tremendous abundance of natural resources and artificial wealth in America has long coexisted with devastated land and utter poverty. The greatest American writers, such as Melville, Faulkner, Hemingway and Steinbeck, have repeatedly recognized and embodied these extremes in their plots and in their characters, much as they are embodied in the every day lives and personalities of Americans.
As an introductory frame for my presentation, I would like to offer some possible explanations for the lack of secondary sources. First, I think that most of the famous and popular American foods, such as pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers and ice cream are derivative from European foods. The pizza came from Italy. The hot dog is a version of the German sausage. Hamburgers are reformed meatballs joined with bread that is as old as agricultural civilization itself. And ice cream also has its counterparts in the cuisine of European nations. So the first reason for the lack of secondary sources is that most American foods are derivative and not original to America.
An ironic counterexample in this context is the Chinese fortune cookie. As a food item, it has very little nutrition, but as a part of the American idea of Chinese food it has become a necessity at American Chinese restaurants. However, I have asked several owners, waiters and waitresses in American Chinese restaurants whether Chinese fortune cookies came from China. All of them have told me that they did not. They were invented in America and most likely, according to this oral history, in San Francisco. This seems to me to be a credible history. San Francisco grew as a city on the money generated by high-risk professions such as whaling, shipping, gold mining and offshore ocean fishing. We can easily imagine an enterprising Chinese person noting how concerned the Americans in these professions were with their future good luck or bad luck, putting this understanding together with a well-established American liking for sweet desserts, and creating a sweet dessert that looked different and contained words of wisdom about the consumer’s fate.
Second, until the last few decades, American literature and literary criticism were dominated by males whose worldview connected food with women and put them both in the kitchen and out of sight. Most of the male writers whom I read for this essay used food and activities around food to highlight aspects of character or plot. They did not present food gathering and preparation, cooking, serving, eating, drinking and cleaning up as activities that substantially reinforced aspects of their main characters, most of whom are men, or as events that substantially advanced the plot, story-line or themes of their writing.
Indeed, a related topic could be included in this kind of study that has to do with care of the body generally. For example, it is extremely rare for any American writer to mention such bodily functions as excretion or urination. Different kinds of breathing are certainly associated with different kinds of emotional and physical conditions, such as fear, sorrow, fatigue, exertion or contemplation. But like food, other bodily processes are usually ignored, taken for granted or glossed. I mention this topic only in passing, and do not have the time or space here to dwell on it, but simply to point out that focusing on food as a topic in relation to literature is an important innovation that signifies a range of human activities whose presence or silence in literature would be an interesting expansion of this focus.
Third, as an American, I feel that most Americans take food for granted. We tend to view it as an unavoidable burden placed on our freedom of activity by the condition of having a physical body. We tend, especially in the last decade of the 20th century, to try to minimize as much as possible the time and energy required for all phases of life connected with physical nourishment of our bodies. The growth, popularity and power of the fast food industry in America reflect this disdain for the necessities of physical nourishment.
After the Allied victory in World War II, the US experienced unprecedented prosperity while applications of new technology allowed older tasks to be done with increasing speed. The complete acceptance of free market competition, in an ideological, political and economic opposition to centralized, planned economies and societies, the tremendous success of rapid, large-scale mass production in support of military forces during the war, and the increasingly tense and complicated struggle between capitalism and communism began to change the values of American society from the slower, simpler values of agricultural life and rural living to the faster, more complicated values of industrial production and urban living. Speed began its emergence as a paramount American value. For example, in 1955, shortly before the experiences recorded in Kerouac’s On the Road, the two fast food companies that are now the largest in America—McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken—were founded. “By the early 1980s there were about 440 food franchising companies with a combined total of more than 70,000 retail outlets in the United States.”3 Americans from smaller, more congested living situations in Europe slowly adjusted to the scope of the American land and its resources. Size, especially bigness, became a common value in all areas of American life. With the advent of speed as a value, the American ideology for the remainder of the 20th century gained its primary outlines—the bigger the better, the faster the better. From automobiles to hamburgers, this ideology began increasingly to govern how Americans thought about everything they did. Both values play significant and signifying roles in the relationship between American food and American literature.
Besides the social environment of European derivation, male dominance and indifference toward food, there is the traditional character of the successful American writer. Most of America’s most famous writers were and continue to be male. Most of these male writers, such as Hawthorne, Twain, Faulkner, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Poe, and Miller, continually placed their leading characters, most of whom were males, in positions that required the creation of a stable and meaningful life. Like the first colonists, like the pioneers, like the immigrants, their characters are continually faced with challenges to their survival, their ability and their manhood where the latter is defined in terms of overt verbal and physical superiority rather than mutual, cooperative care or nurturing. An ironic counter-example is Ayn Rand, a female writer who totally accepted the values of competition, personal power and rugged individualism. Her powerful male characters, such as the nearly godlike architect in Atlas Shrugged, are faced with problems and situations that demand forceful, individual creation and production on large scales.
The fact that creation and production also consumed energy, resources, time and money was not a central concern until the beginnings of the environmental movement in the late 50’s and early 60’s. The fact that creation and production often resulted in the emotional and physical deprivation of less independent beings, such as children, animals, women, the poor, and members of minority ethnic groups was also not a central concern of American writers or critics until the late 50’s and early 60’s. The earlier writers felt driven to produce and reproduce the feelings, drives, imagery and characters of male-oriented, individualistic creation and production in their writings. As a consequence, many of the facts of life, such as eating, drinking, digesting, excreting and nurturing were consistently absent, implied, glossed or ignored.
These are at least four reasons why there is such a scarcity of secondary sources on the topic of American food in American literature. It is, in effect, a book waiting to be written.
Fortunately, however, there are many instances of food in American literature and they do show some interesting patterns and features. I have created three themes to focus these patterns and features: continuity and discontinuity; purity and impurity; and, abundance and scarcity. First I am going to briefly described the substance and justification of each theme and then proceed with the literary material that especially illustrates and is illuminated by each theme.
A. Continuity and Discontinuity. The first European colonists on the East Coast of America experienced several discontinuities and began creating others. From crowded European cities and farmlands they came to vast, sparsely inhabited forests, mountains and valleys. From the rigidly intolerant societies of many 16th and 17th century European countries they came to a land whose societies, those of the indigenous peoples, were completely strange and closed to them. From lives of poverty and scarcity they came to a land that gradually disclosed resources and riches beyond their wildest dreams. From old, settled areas in Europe that had long ago been tamed by the sword, the plow, the cross and the crown they came to wilderness that seemed indifferent to the grandeur and traditions of European civilization.
Within these discontinuities they also created discontinuities in the lives of the indigenous peoples, by war, trade and intermarriage. In the natural life cycles of the new land, they also began creating discontinuities by the invasive activities of logging, farming, mining, urbanization, hunting and fishing. The cultivation of extremes that have
become fixtures of American life began at this time. There were Americans who loved the wilderness and the indigenous ways and shed as many of their European ways as possible. There were Americans who loathed the wilderness and the native ways and strove either to change them or destroy them. These latter among the early colonists insisted on the continuation of European religions and languages, official protocols, social forms and manners and whatever foods they could make in the new world, such as bread, or have shipped from Europe without spoilage, such as tea.
The indigenous people fell before the larger and larger waves of Europeans most of whom firmly believed that the best Indian was a dead Indian. For example, it is estimated that in 1600 there were approximately 10,000,000 indigenous people living in many different groups, or tribes, across the American continent. By 1900, under an official US government policy of extermination, that total had fallen to approximately 500,000. The impact of the new inhabitants on the land has been no less powerful. In 1600, most of the land east of the Mississippi River and west of the Rocky Mountains was covered with mixed hardwood and deciduous forests. By 1990, less than 3% of the original trees remained standing.
Besides the clash of Europeans and indigenous peoples, the growing population of Americans cultivating land for crops, especially cotton and tobacco, sold to a growing population of consumers in Europe provided a market for human labor—slaves. The slave trade, initiated by the Dutch and pursued by almost every Western European country with seafaring expertise, created extreme discontinuities in many aspects of African life that are beyond the scope of this essay. But the importation of Africans as slaves created an entirely new stream of Americans, subjected for two hundred years to plantation conditions of near starvation, who invented and innovated with the meager edible material accessible to them. Their creativity has contributed many different kinds of distinctively American foods, such as chitlins, greens, and an entire range of foods centered in the bayou area of Louisiana known as Cajun food. Along with original contributions made by the indigenous peoples to the first colonists’ and pioneers’ diets such as corn, some of these food items that have lasted longer than the institution of slavery itself have also found places in American literature.
B. Purity and Impurity. The early colonists on the American East Coast brought with them a deep fear of hell and a deep desire to purify their lives of any elements that prevented the practice of true Christianity. True Christianity meant for them a literal reading of the bible and a literal construction of human social life around the teachings and tenets of the bible. Red, for them, was the color of the devil, the color of evil and the color of the indigenous people. Pure black and pure white were their colors of choice.
Those Americans who loved the wilderness, however, quickly adopted the use of multi-colored animal skins for clothing and natural dyes for coloring cloth or their skin. It was therefore no mere historical accident that the American cultural revolution of the 60’s adopted wildly colored clothing, vehicles, hair and language as an obvious and dramatic signifier against the dark suits, white shirts, dark ties and dark shoes of establishment figures. It was no historical accident that the beatniks and hippies both reached out for foods that differed greatly in flavor, color, smell, taste and texture from white bread, roast beef, boiled potatoes, oatmeal, milk and tea. It was also no historical accident that some of the most influential writers of this era, such as Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder, found deep and lasting inspiration from the literature and the food of lands and peoples far beyond the American shores.
C. Abundance and Scarcity. From 1895 to 1915, approximately 23,000,000 immigrants moved from Europe to the United States. These people came from all parts of Europe. They left living conditions characterized by poverty, political turmoil and oppression and lack of any kind of opportunity for improvement. America was a land that promised to make their dreams of prosperity, wealth, abundance and freedom come true. Many of those immigrants made their fortunes in America then returned with them to their families in Europe. But many others stayed in America, had their families there and began contributing tastes, colors and flavors to an increasingly heterogeneous American scene. This period of intense migration saw the beginnings of neighborhoods in major cities, such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago. These were ethnic enclaves for Italians, Poles, Germans, Jews, as well as Blacks trying to find an alternative to the militarily defeated but still powerful racism of their former southern masters, or others whose strong sense of group identity always brought with it special foods that were amplified by the increasingly large scales of American life.
At the same time, the rapid growth of large-scale manufacturing, in factories employing tens of thousands of immigrants who were poorly paid and allowed only a minimal education beyond the background of their European origins, turned some of these neighborhoods into the first American slums and ghettos. Extremely low wages, non-existent social services, waves of unemployment and the increasing pressure of large families and new arrivals frequently put many of these new Americans on the edges of malnutrition, hunger and even starvation. Abundance and scarcity began to appear as poles of a socioeconomic oscillation driven not by such obvious institutions as slavery but by beliefs, prejudices and attitudes about the superiority and inferiority of different kinds of peoples coupled with firmly established patterns of access and lack of access to resources. The negative shock of World War I was followed by the positive euphoria of the roaring 20’s. That decade of unprecedented prosperity and national expansion was followed by the great depression of the 30’s. America was clearly moving into the vanguard of a world order whose extremes ranged from genocide to population explosion, from starvation to rotting surpluses and from worn feet in foul mud to toenail polish in satin slippers on polished marble.
A first glimpse of the theme of continuity and discontinuity can be seen by comparing the two citations at the beginning of this essay. Elinor Wylie lived from 1885 to 1928. Jack Kerouac lived from 1922 to 1969. Ripe fruit appears as an edible food from the tree in Wylie’s poem and as an ingredient of pie in Kerouac’s novel. Wylie’s cherries and peaches are closer to unprocessed nature than Kerouac’s baked apple pie. Wylie’s poem signifies the rootedness of the early European colonists in a land that provided ample foodstuffs. Kerouac’s novel signifies the restlessness of urban Americans for whom food had become an uninteresting necessity.
Wylie’s poem signifies abundance and therefore the value of bigness without the addition of speed that played such an important role in the life of Kerouac’s main character, Dean Moriarty.
In fact, Dean Moriarty was based on the real man, Neal Cassady. In 1964, I was living in Palo Alto, California, having dropped out of Stanford University to try my hand at writing fiction and poetry. I met a lovely young woman who was a first year student at Stanford and invited her to a party. The party was in a house in the east side of Palo Alto that was increasingly known as a suitable place for non-conformists and beatniks. The party featured many people whom neither my friend nor I knew along with much wine. It also featured some very unusual people. At one point during the party we were drinking wine in the small, brightly-lit kitchen. In a commotion of laughing, talking people, a young man with a brilliant smile and ringing laughter, whose feet seemed barely able to stay on the floor, floated and flew through the room while the man who had invited me to the party introduced him to me as Neal Cassady. He acknowledged me and disappeared out another door. I never saw him again but retain to this day the vivid impression of light and speed that he also seems to have given to Kerouac.
The continuity between Wylie’s poem and Kerouac’s novel is indicated by the American saying, “It’s as American as apple pie!” Another kind of continuity appears, moreover, when the verse after the one quoted above from Wylie’s poem is considered:
Down to the Puritan marrow of my bones
There’s something in this richness that I hate.
I love the look, austere, immaculate,
Of landscapes drawn in pearly monotones.
There’s something in my very blood that owns
Bare hills, cold silver on a sky of slate,
A thread of water, churned to milky spate
Streaming through slanted pastures fenced with stones.4
Taken together, this verse and the one quoted at the beginning of this essay dramatically display all three themes. There is continuity and discontinuity between the doctrines of a European religious heritage, Puritanism, that emphasized great worldly achievements but as little worldly display as possible. One of Max Weber’s most important contributions to our understanding of the modern Protestant viewpoint is his clear delineation of the conflict in early Protestantism between acquiring great wealth to signify being in god’s favor and displaying only humility to the rest of the world without the material ostentation that the Pietists, the Puritans, the Luddites and many other Protestant groups found so distasteful in Catholicism.
Weber argues, convincingly, I think, that the “Puritan, like every rational type of asceticism, tried to enable a man [sic] to maintain and act upon his constant motives, especially those which it taught himself itself, against the emotions.”5 The goal of this action was to lead a certain kind of life “freed from all the temptations of the world and in all its details dictated by God’s will, and thus to be made certain of their own rebirth [in heaven after the last judgment] by external signs manifested in their daily conduct.”6 From the Bible as well as from all other religious literature, success in difficult tasks is a clear sign of God’s favor. For Protestants, such signs do not guarantee salvation but they are the closest to a guarantee that a Protestant can get. Indeed, that “God Himself blessed his chosen ones through the success of their labours was…undeniable…to the Puritans.”7 This doctrine that combined asceticism with success in worldly endeavors positioned Protestantism to be the driving religious force behind capitalism and the great creations and accumulations of material wealth that have occurred in modernity. But it is no less true that this combination can be a rhythm, an oscillation, a confusion or conflict. This combination clearly provides much of the historical substance for our themes of abundance and scarcity and purity and impurity.
A condensed example of the oscillation between abundance and the austerity of American Puritanism can be seen in a brief passage from the short story, The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether, by Edgar Allen Poe (1809-49). This passage also underlines the way in which food and the activities surrounding food have been treated by many of America’s greatest male writers—as unavoidable but uninteresting necessities, even in a fictional setting: “The table was superbly set out. It was loaded with plate, and more than loaded with delicacies. The profusion was absolutely barbaric. There were enough meats to have feasted the Anakim. Never, in all my life, had I witnessed so lavish, so wasteful an expenditure of the good things of life.”8
The tension between the narrator and his hosts in Poe’s tale is echoed by the tension between the narrator and the main character in On the Road. The quote from Jack Kerouac is part of the first-person narration of the novel by Sal Paradise, the supporting, secondary character that is based on Kerouac himself. For the duration of his cross-country hitchhiking trip, he lives on apple pie and ice cream. This diet reflects not only Sal’s poverty, but also clearly situates the novel in a continuous American tradition that de-emphasizes the bodily, physical or material world. A discontinuity, however, occurs between the naturalness of the fruits in Wylie’s poem and the impersonal, processed food that Sal Paradise ate. A further discontinuity appears in the fact that Sal is taking his food on the road, on the run, at high speed, while Wylie is painting a picture of humans relating to trees that by their nature cannot move from where they are.
Wylie’s poetic picture is drawn from her life in New England. Many of the first colonists stayed on or close to the coast because it allowed them to continue the seafaring lives and occupations they had practiced in Europe and because it provided an abundance of food. However, their Puritan ideology often resulted in lives that were lived as far from that abundance as Wylie’s “cold silver on a sky of slate.” Another American poetess, Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979), was born in Massachusetts and raised by her grandparents in Nova Scotia, the eastern, seafaring Province of Canada. Her life partly overlapped Wylie’s and she also paints the spirit of that area specifically in terms of food but with an emphasis on the austerity of their diet:
From narrow provinces
of fish and bread and tea,
home of the long tides
where the bay leaves the sea
twice a day and takes
the herrings long rides,9
Moreover, the abundance that Wylie hates is also rejected by Kerouac in an off-hand, casual way as though the less time a man spent on something as mundane as food the better or higher quality a person he was. However, the oscillation between abundance and scarcity appears in Kerouac’s novel in the contrast between Sal Paradise and the main character of On the Road, Dean Moriarty.
“…but Dean just raced in society, eager for bread and love; he didn’t care one way or the other, ‘so long’s I can get that lil ole gal with that lil sumpin down there tween her legs, boy,’ and ‘so long’s we can eat, son, y’ear me? I’m hungry, I’m starving, let’s eat right now!”—and off we’d rush to eat, whereof, as saith Ecclesiastes, ‘It is your portion in the sun.’” (Ch. 1 (italics in original))
It is also certainly worth noticing in passing that in both writers, differentiated by gender, by background, and by time, there is a strong connection between religion and food. This commonality and this continuity clearly occur in the traditional American feast days of Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. All three feature unusually large and lengthy meals as well as strong connections with the Christian, Protestant backgrounds of the early American colonists, settlers and pioneers. As with the bodily functions mentioned before, bringing the topic of food and literature into the foreground also illuminates the strong presence of Judeo-Christianity in American life and literature. Again, this innovative topic proves to be a powerful lens for viewing a wide range of signifiers that occur repeatedly and pervasively in American literature.
Indeed, the theological basis of Wylie’s hatred of “this richness” is the Puritan soul struggling for release from all of its attachments, involvements, entanglements and preoccupations to, with and in the material world. Metaphysical battles are fought on empirical battlefields. In this case, the metaphysical battle between the ontological powers of good and evil is fought on the empirical battlefield of the relationship between a poetess and edible, natural fruit. The apple signifies the fall of man at the hand of woman. The hatred of “this richness” is therefore a self-hatred that drives the woman farther from impure nature and closer to the immaterial purity of the austere, unadorned Protestant soul. The continuity of the human body with nature is displaced by the discontinuity of the immaterial soul with the body. The abundance of human bodies and souls is displaced by the scarcity of the elect, those in Protestant doctrine chosen by God from the foundations of the world to survive the last judgment and live eternally in heaven.
Serious reflection on the relationship between food and literature brings us to a range of signifiers that underpins all literature, namely, religion. Why? Because writing originally served the purpose of passing on what is most valuable in the viewpoint and experience of the group. The most valuable possession of all is that which most certainly promotes the survival of the group. All human groups discovered long ago that humans are dependent on greater powers for survival. All humans need air, water, food, warmth and sleep. The fear of, respect for, worship of and sacrifice to the powers that govern life, both visible and invisible, is the ancient substance of all religions. The ancient truth and pervasive message of all religions is the dependency of humans on those powers, including the power of reproduction that is represented in ancestor worship. Religion embodies, ritualizes and carries forward that fundamental truth of human dependency. The denial of that dependency can lead to greatly innovative creativity and profoundly transformative spirituality as well as to self-destruction and madness. Humans can imagine absolute freedom but to try to live it, as Nietzsche showed, leads only to self-destruction and madness.
Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) struggled with madness all her life and eventually ended her life by committing suicide. The following poem opens with the kind of paean to natural abundance that we saw in Wylie’s poem and closes with a similar feeling of empty space and cold silver. The contrast between the terms “nothing” and “blackberries” in the first line signifies the tension between abundance and emptiness. This signifier in turn connects with the tension between purity and impurity through the signifier of nothingness as a desirable and advanced spiritual state and as the material condition of spiritual devotees on earth. In this poem, these themes are again carried by concrete, local wild food and abstract, created imagery that moves the reader away from an abundant present to an absent but implied purity above or beyond the physical earth:
Blackberrying
Nobody in the lane, and nothing, nothing but blackberries
Blackberries on either side, though on the right mainly,
A blackberry alley, going down in hooks, and a sea
Somewhere at the end of it, heaving. Blackberries
Big as the ball of my thumb, and dumb as eyes
Ebon in the hedges, fat
With blue-red juices. These they squander on my fingers.
I had not asked for such a blood sisterhood; they must love me.
They accommodate themselves to my milkbottle, flattening their sides.
Overhead go the choughs in black, cacophonous flocks—
Bits of burnt paper wheeling in a blown sky.
Theirs is the only voice, protesting, protesting.
I do not think the sea will appear at all.
The high, green meadows are glowing, as if lit from within.
I come to one bush of berries so ripe it is a bush of flies,
Hanging their bluegreen bellies and their wing panes in a Chinese screen.
The honey-feast of the berries has stunned them; they believe in heaven.
One more hook, and the berries and bushes end.
The only thing to come now is the sea.
From between two hills a sudden wind funnels at me,
Slapping its phantom laundry in my face.
These hills are too green and sweet to have tasted salt.
I follow the sheep path between them. A last hook brings me
To the hills’ northern face, and the face is orange rock
That looks out on nothing, nothing but a great space
Of white and pewter lights, and a din like silversmiths
Beating and beating at an intractable metal.10
It is no accident, in this perspective, that Neal Cassady, the living person behind Kerouac’s character Dean Moriarty, died of a drug overdose on the hot, shining steel rails of a railroad track in central Mexico. The use of drugs in all groups has traditionally been associated with personal and group alignment to the greater powers for the purpose of amplifying the ability of the group to survive. Cut from their traditional moorings in religion, drugs have become a way to experiment with the physical, psychic and spiritual dimensions of absolute freedom. The fact that many drugs, such as LSD, cocaine, methamphetamine and opium, make the user feel that they need no food or other natural supports for their existence, shows precisely how they fit into the attempt to deny dependency and achieve absolute freedom. The discontinuity of the American experience in relation to older traditions, the abundance of material wealth and the usually unacknowledged background ideal of a pure, immaterial soul have worked together to produce in its literature characters like Dean Moriarty who make a life—and a death—of treading the edge between innovation and self-destruction.
Or, to condense our themes in the pithy and quintessentially American poetic language of William Carlos Williams: “the pure products of America go mad” (from “On The Road To The Mental Hospital”)
Apple pie and ice cream, moreover, also provide Kerouac with an opportunity to make a statement of value that clearly displays abundance as bigness: “I ate apple pie and ice cream—it was getting better as I got deeper into Iowa, the pie bigger, the ice cream richer.” (Ch. 3) “Better,” “deeper,” “bigger,” and “richer,” work together to define a system of values that was both American—bigger is better—and Romantic—depth and richness.11
The theme of abundance can be found in all periods of American literature. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, Scarlet Letter, for example, a character who is the “father of the Custom House—the patriarch, not only of his little squad of officials, but, I am bold to say, of the respectable body of tide-waiters all over the United States—was a certain permanent Inspector.”12 The Custom-House was the official federal government office responsible for inspecting all cargo coming into the country by ship and determining what if any duties had to be paid. In the novel, this particular Custom-House is located on a wharf in the harbor of Salem, Massachusetts. In this particular character, Hawthorne signifies one of the most important aspects of the American diet that also repeatedly appears in its literature—the consumption of large quantities of meat. The Inspector had the unusual ability to remember in great detail
“the good dinners which it had made no small portion of the happiness of his life to eat….to hear him talk of roast meat was as appetizing as a pickle or an oyster….it always satisfied me to hear him expatiate on fish, poultry, and butcher’s meat, and the most eligible methods of preparing them for the table. His reminiscences of good cheer, however ancient the date of the actual banquet, seemed to bring the savor of pig or turkey under one’s very nostrils….A tenderloin of beef, a hindquarter of veal, a sparerib of pork, a particular chicken, or a remarkably praiseworthy turkey, which had perhaps adorned his board…would be remembered….”13
The dominance of meat in the American diet can be seen in several ways. One is the following chart of specialty foods in the individual franchises of the top thirty fast-food companies in the US:
Type of Food Number of Franchises
Chicken 8,683
Hamburger/Hot Dog/Roast Beef 29,600
Pizza [usually served with a
meat topping] 11,593
Tacos [usually served with a
meat filler] 3,620
Seafood 2,630
Pancakes/Waffles [usually eaten
with bacon,
sausage or ham] 1,63014
Another view of this American food habit comes from considering the quantities of meat consumption and production in the United States. For example,
“Americans spend about 25 percent of their food budget on red meat. The per capita consumption of beef in the United States has increased steadily, while that of pork has declined….Only in Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina is per capita consumption higher than in the United States. The United States normally produces about 27 percent of the world’s meat.” (Ibid., (13) 190)
From the United States Chamber of Commerce, the source of these statistics in Compton’s Encyclopedia and from the 19th century work of Hawthorne, we can move to the late 20th century. In the late 1980’s, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, by a California writer, Fannie Flagg, was published. In the first section of the novel, a reproduction of an article from the weekly newspaper in her fictional southern US town of Weems, Flagg describes the basic menu of the newly opened Whistle Stop Cafe:
…the breakfast hours are from 5:30 to 7:30, and you can get eggs, grits, biscuits, bacon, sausage, ham and red-eye gravy, and coffee….
For lunch and supper you can have: fried chicken; pork chops and gravy; catfish, chicken and dumplings; or a barbecue plate; and your choice of three vegetables, biscuits or cornbread, and your drink and dessert….
…the vegetables are: creamed corn; fried green tomatoes; fried okra; collard or turnip greens; black-eyed peas; candied yams; butter beans or lima beans.15
Later in the novel, the items in a particular meal served to a customer are described as “fried chicken, black-eyed peas, turnip greens, fried green tomatoes, cornbread, and iced tea.”16
The fatness, abundance and purity of meat in the American diet have also been used by some writers as a counterfoil to other kinds of scarcity and impurity. Sylvia Plath uses the tradition of a large meat meal on Sunday, as a once a week special gathering for American families, that often features a large, oven-roasted turkey, to give stark contrast to another kind of oven:
Mary’s Song
The Sunday lamb cracks in its fat.
The fat
Sacrifices its opacity…
A window, holy gold.
The fire makes it precious,
The same fire
Melting the tallow heretics,
Ousting the Jews.
Their thick palls float
Over the cicatrix of Poland, burnt-out
Germany,
They do not die.
Grey birds obsess my heart,
Mouth ash, ash of eye.
They settle. On the high
Precipice
That emptied one man into space
The ovens glowed like heavens, incandescent.
It is a heart,
This holocaust I walk in,
O golden child the world will kill and eat.17
One of America’s most gifted and enigmatic of contemporary poets, the Pulitzer Prize winner John Ashbery (1927-), turns America’s abundance into a counterfoil not of impurity but of scarcity as a lack of certainty:
Hardly anything grows here,
Yet the granaries are bursting with meal,
The sacks of meal piled to the rafters.
The streams run with sweetness, fattening fish;
Birds darken the sky. Is it enough
That the dish of milk is set out at night,
That we think of him sometimes,
Sometimes and always, with mixed feelings?18
Besides the prominence and priority of meat, the Plath poem and the lists from Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café foreground an important continuity and discontinuity in American food. The important continuity stems from the fact that the early colonists and pioneers, trying to live in a strange land before it had been developed for agriculture, made their bread primarily from locally available grains, especially corn. Wheat and other related grains were too hard to grind by hand and required a heavy, complicated mill that the early settlers could not carry with them. Corn became a staple food as important to the early European colonizers as it already was to the indigenous people:
Young, ripe corn was eaten as roasting ears. In winter the husks of the kernels were soaked off with lye to make hominy. For breakfast and supper there was boiled corn-meal mush. Sometimes the mush was fried and served with butter or pork drippings. The most common dish, however, was hot corn bread. Baked on a hoe blade before the fire, this was called hoecake. Mixed with water into a stiff batter and covered with hot ashes, it was ash cake. From the Dutch oven it emerged as corn pone or corn loaf. Small cakes of corn pone were called corn dodgers.19
In the passage from Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter both fish and turkey are mentioned along with pork and chicken. The fish and turkey were most likely caught and shot in their natural habitats. The pork and chicken were most likely raised and butchered in a domestic animal keep. This combination of wild and domestic meat began with the first colonists and continues to the present day. Indeed, the pioneers who traveled by foot, wagon and horse from the east westward on the American continent found a great abundance of wild game for meat. Still they tried to carry enough familiar, nutritious foodstuffs to last them for the journey to their new homestead and to carry them through periods when wild game was unavailable. A typical load for one adult traveling by oxen-drawn wagon westward was:
“…200 pounds of flour, 30 pounds of pilot bread, 75 pounds of bacon, 10 pounds of rice, 5 pounds of coffee, 2 pounds of tea, 25 pounds of sugar, half bushel of dried beans, one bushel dried fruit, 2 pounds of baking soda, 10 pounds salt, half a bushel of cornmeal. And it is well to have a half bushel of corn, parched and ground. A small keg of vinegar should also be taken.”20
In many rural or sparsely inhabited parts of America the mixing of wild and domestic meats continues to this day. In Alaska, for example, where I have lived for many years and which is one-third the area of the entire contiguous forty-eight states of the US, many people still rely on hunting for a large portion of their meat supply. John Haines, past Poet Laureate of the State of Alaska and Alaska’s best known poet, began homesteading near Fairbanks, Alaska in the 1950’s. I have known him personally for many years and read poetry with him on the stage of the Loussac Library in Anchorage in 1986. His poetry clearly reflects how the dependence on wild meat can crystallize the themes of abundance and purity in an identification with the predator:
If the Owl Calls Again
at dusk
from the island in the river,
and it’s not too cold,
I’ll wait for the moon
to rise,
then take wing and glide
to meet him
We will not speak,
but hooded against the frost
soar above
the alder flats, searching.
with tawny eyes
And then we’ll sit
in the shadowy spruce and
pick the bones
of careless mice,
while the long moon drifts
toward Asia
and the river mutters
in its icy bed.
And when morning climbs
the limbs
we’ll part without a sound,
fulfilled, floating
homeward as
the cold world awakens.21
Long before Haines or any other European settled in Alaska, however, the indigenous people had long lived on whatever meat animals they could kill and prepare. In fact, when the first French explorers met and spent time with the indigenous people in the north of what is now Canada, they were so impressed by the predominance of uncooked meat in their diets that they called them “Esquimeaux,” which is French for “eaters of raw meat.” Further down the coasts of Canada and Alaska, however, salmon run by the millions up the great rivers and are caught and used by the local people. These Americans now eat their salmon after it has been smoked or cooked, as told in the following poem, “Subsistence #2” by Andrew Hope, III (1949-), of Sitka, Alaska:
Dog salmon colors
Glistening
Evening sun
Incoming tide
Washing the beach
Dog salmon shine
Silver purple flash
Reaching
Lifting a big one
By the tail
Incoming tide
Washing the beach
Time to eat
Fried dog salmon
For dinner22
There are five kinds of salmon that migrate into Alaskan fresh waters and are used there for food. Each kind has its own name and some kinds have different names in different areas of Alaska. Thus, discontinuities through time in preparation—from raw to cooked—have occurred along with discontinuities in time among practices of naming the same foodstuff. Dog salmon are so-called because they were once used by the thousands to feed the many dogs upon which the indigenous Alaskan people relied for transportation during the long winters. This kind of salmon, however, is perfectly fit for human consumption and now that many indigenous people in Alaska travel only by motorized vehicles in all seasons, dog salmon have become a staple of human nutrition.
These discontinuities connect with the discontinuity signified by the meal ingredients in the first and second quotes from Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café which is variation in regional foods. Grits, for example, is a kind of cereal or mush made from corn or wheat that is coarsely ground. Grits is considered by most Americans to be a food characteristic of the American South. Its public presence in northern cities is usually the result of southerners moving north and opening restaurants that feature American Southern cuisine. Other typical regional American foods are codfish associated with the northeastern seafood cuisine, key lime pie associated with the cuisine of the Florida Keys, tortillas and red beans associated with the southwest cuisine derived from America’s Hispanic heritage, and salmon associated with the northwest and Alaskan cuisines.
One of Alaska’s Native American poets, Charlie Blatchford, a Yupik Eskimo whom I knew personally and who is now deceased, stated the case for meat very simply in one of his few published poems:
Forgotten Words
Our language, of what I know,
has been prepared
with wisdom and grace.
The fine skin has been fleshed
and lies to one side.
The innards have carefully
been exposed.
Their sweet flesh
ready for feast.
Meat, the staple of life,
is consumed with satisfaction…
Sedating our need
for new words.23
In the hands of more contemporary poets who are not Native American, as Charlie Blatchford was, meat continues to signify substantial food and is often joined by a kind of substance that could serve as a separate topic alongside food—intoxicants such as alcohol and drugs. In Whitman, Kerouac, Burroughs, Ginsberg and many other writers, wine, beer and other kinds of mind-altering substances often accompany food and especially meat. This range of consumable signifiers has a history in all literatures that is as ancient, as interesting and as important as that of meat and other foods. Indeed, putting the light of interest on food has again brought into focus an important stream in the lives of all peoples that could well serve as a topic for extensive further research, discussion and writing. In many poets, the connection between meat and wine is briefly made, as in the fourth verse of “Asylum” by Herman Fong (1963-):
At meals they barely feed her,
give her the smallest cuts of meat,
mostly fat, and a few red drops of wine.24
A concentration on the details of ordinary life characterizes the style of many American writers, both older and younger. John Steinbeck, a Nobel laureate and one of the pre-eminent American literary voices of the 20th century, frequently drew for his characters and settings from the everyday lives of people in California. Some of his best and most popular writings, novels such as Cannery Row, Grapes of Wrath, and Of Mice and Men, and the short story collection, The Long Valley, feature characters and settings in coastal, southern and central California. Tortilla Flats features the lives of “paisanos” who lived near the central California coastal town of Monterey. According to Steinbeck, a paisano was a “mixture of Spanish, Indian, Mexican and assorted Caucasian bloods” (Ch. 1). The main character, Danny, and his friends hear about a ship that has been wrecked on the nearby coast. They go to the beach and salvage flotsam from the wreck then sell it. The sale puts five dollars into Danny’s possession, an unusually large amount of money:
The five dollars from the salvage had lain like fire in Danny’s pocket, but now he knew what to do with it. He and Pilon went to the market and bought seven pounds of hamburger and a bag of onions and bread and a big paper of candy. Pablo and Jesus Maria went to Torrelli’s for two gallons of wine, and not a drop did they drink on the way home, either. (Ch. 5)
Part of Steinbeck’s genius as a writer and one of the aspects of his stories that set them apart from other American writings is the deliberate use of food items and activities for characterization and plot development. Tortilla Flats provides an example of his style as well as continuing to demonstrate the importance of meat in the American diet across all geographic regions and ethnic groups:
Danny’s business was fairly direct. He went to the back door of a restaurant. “Got any old bread I can give my dog?” he asked the cook. And while that gullible man was wrapping up the food, Danny stole two slices of ham, four eggs, a lamb chop and a fly swatter.
“I will pay you sometime,” he said.
“No need to pay for scraps. I throw them away if you don’t take them.”
Danny felt better about the theft then. If that was the way they felt, on the surface he was guiltless. He went back to Torelli’s [the wine merchant], traded the four eggs, the lamb chop and the fly swatter for a water glass of grappa and retired toward the woods to cook his supper. (Ch.1)
The particular food item of onions appears in the first passage from Tortilla Flats as a small detail that signifies a range of regional foods in an American southwest first colonized by European settlers from Spain not from England. Between hamburger and onions are both the continuity of easily prepared and consumed meat and the discontinuity of regional American cuisines. Another great American literary voice, that of William Carlos Williams, also picked out this range of southwestern signifiers on his one and only trip to that part of America. Besides a fine ear for the peculiarities that distinguish American English from all other kinds of English, Williams also had a keen eye for the small details of place that brought the reader in close to the object of Williams’ writing. The following passage is from “The Desert Music” which was based on Williams’ trip to the American southwest and his sojourning in towns that, at that time, were far more Hispanic than Caucasian:
–paper flowers (para los santos)
baked red-clay utensils, daubed
with blue, silverware,
dried peppers, onions, print goods, children’s
clothing . the place deserted all but
for a few Indians squatted in the
booths, unnoticing (don’t you think it)
as though they slept there .25
The use of activities around food to develop plot and character is also part of the style of another American novelist who received a Nobel Prize for literature, William Faulkner (1897-1962). From the deserts and sparse valleys of the southwest to the lush forests, swamps and meadows of the deep south, American literature, like the perduring literature of every language, has consistently insisted that the physical place and its features are part of the story. In the following passage from Light in August, Faulkner uses Mrs. McEachern’s attempt to nourish Joe as a reflector for both characters:
He was lying so, on his back, his hands crossed on his breast like a tomb effigy, when he heard again feet on the cramped stairs….
Without turning his head the boy heard Mrs. McEachern toil slowly up the stairs. He heard her approach across the floor. He did not look, though after a time her shadow came and fell upon the wall where he could see it, and he saw that she was carrying something. It was a tray of food. She set the tray on the bed. He had not once looked at her. He had not moved. “Joe,” she said. He didn’t move. “Joe,” she said. She could see that his eyes were open. She did not touch him.
“I aint hungry,” he said.
She didn’t move. She stood, her hands folded into her apron. She didn’t seem to be looking at him, either. She seemed to be speaking to the wall beyond the bed. “I know what you think. It aint that. He never told me to bring it to you. It was me that thought to do it. He dont know. It aint any food he sent you.” He didn’t move. His was calm as a graven face, looking up at the steep pitch of the plank ceiling. “You haven’t eaten today. Sit up and eat. It wasn’t him that told me to bring it to you. He dont know it. I waited until he was gone and then I fixed it myself.”
He sat up then. While she watched him he rose from the bed and took the tray and carried it to the corner and turned it upside down, dumping the dishes and the food and all onto the floor. Then he returned to the bed, carrying the empty tray as though it were a monstrance and he the bearer, his surplice the cut down undergarment which had been bought for a man to wear. She was watching him now, though she had not moved. Her hands were still rolled into her apron. He got back into bed and lay again on his back, his eyes wide and still upon the ceiling. He could see her motionless shadow, shapeless, a little hunched. Then it went away. He did not look, but he could hear her kneel in the corner, gathering the broken dishes back into the tray. Then she left the room. It was quite still then.26
Faulkner lived and wrote in the Bible Belt. The Bible Belt signified the fact that most people in the south were fundamentalist Christian Protestants who girded themselves with the spirit of austerity and yearning for an otherworldly paradise of simplicity and peace articulated so strongly by New England writers such as Wylie and Bishop. Although food occurs frequently in Faulkner’s work, it is rarely ample, elaborate or wasted. Usually it serves to highlight the physical scarcity and tenuous moral condition of people who live on the edge of a society whose abundance seldom appears in his work:
And Judith. She lived alone now. Perhaps she had lived alone ever since that Christmas day last year and then year before last and then three years and then four years ago, since though Sutpen was gone now…she lived in anything but solitude, what with Ellen in bed in the shuttered room, requiring the unremitting attention of a child while she waited with that amazed and passive uncomprehension to die; and she (Judith) and Clytie making and keeping a kitchen garden of sorts to keep them alive; and Wash Jones, living in the abandoned and rotting fishing camp in the river bottom which Sutpen had built after the first woman—Ellen—entered his house and the last deer and bear hunter went out of it, where he now permitted Wash and his daughter and infant granddaughter to live, performing the heavy garden work and supplying Ellen and Judith and then Judith with fish and game now and then, even entering the house now, who until Sutpen went away, had never approached nearer than the scuppernong arbor behind the kitchen where on Sunday afternoons he and Sutpen would drink from the demi-john and the bucket of spring water which Wash fetched from almost a mile away….”27
Another indication of Faulkner’s genius is his ability to see in an event as ordinary as a young man ordering pie and coffee from a waitress with whom he secretly wants some kind of relationship the potential for fine, deep drama. Faulkner’s preference for scant food and small food items continues to display the themes of scarcity and purity that were inescapable in his social and historical environment. In the following passage, Faulkner describes Joe, the boy in the passage just presented, who has come to a restaurant to be served by the waitress, in terms that transparently bring into play the signifiers of purity as immaterial dimension and food as binding, burdensome material necessity:
He believed that the men at the back…were laughing at him. So he sat quite still on the stool, looking down, the dime clutched in his palm. He did not see the waitress until the two overlarge hands appeared upon the counter opposite him and into sight. He could see the figured pattern of her dress and the bib of an apron and the two bigknuckled hands lying on the edge of the counter as completely immobile as if they were something she had fetched in from the kitchen. “Coffee and pie,” he said.
Her voice sounded downcast, quite empty. “Lemon coconut chocolate.”
In proportion to the height from which her voice came, the hands could not be her hands at all. “Yes,” Joe said.
The hands did not move. The voice did not move. “Lemon coconut chocolate. Which kind.” To the others they must have looked quite strange. Facing one another across the dark, stained, greasecrusted and frictionsmooth counter, they must have looked a little like they were praying: the youth countryfaced, in clean Spartan clothing, with an awkwardness which invested him with a quality unworldly and innocent; and the woman opposite him, downcast, still, waiting, who because of her smallness partook likewise of that quality of his, of something beyond flesh. Her face was highboned, gaunt. The flesh was taut across her
Facts About Convection Microwave Ovens
May 29th
If you would like to have shining crusts and browning effects on food, convection microwave ovens are the perfect choice. The device uses a principle that is the combination of two separate functioning modes. Using microwaves, the atoms of surrounding medium are superheated first. Then the fan is blown which leads to circulation of these energized atoms. This helps to create effects that are possible only in a conventional oven. Now one can cook many more food types that are not achievable in a simple oven.
Considerations And Choices
There can be different criteria for choice of convection microwave ovens. The big ones have been covered below.
• Usage- Earlier microwaves were considered as merely the replacement of food heaters. Not only has heating of food undergone huge improvisation, now almost every form of cooking is possible with this device. We can cook, boil, bake, roast, heat and grill food items quite easily. Practically, different persons desire different features. Some people, mostly singles and students, like to just heat the leftovers. Big families may go for combination of roasting and cooking. Likewise commercial food joints tend to use all the three modes of this gadget.
• Types- The size of convection microwave ovens ranges from small, medium and large. The smaller sized oven is termed as a countertop oven. This oven is the most popular one among people. It is omnipresent with students, small food centers, families that go for boating and camping, and single individuals, among many others. The medium sized oven finds use in families where one has to cater to needs of kids like making cakes and pizzas. Large sized units are mostly used for commercial purposes like in restaurants. Yet another type is a built-in unit that is fitted like a cabinet in the kitchen, along with the chimney.
• Design- The growing market of convection microwave ovens and resulting competition works in favor of the customer. Now it is hard to find faults in the functionality for any brand. This is mainly due to the fact that no company compromises on quality anymore. This shifts the focus of customer to its appearance. Now these gadgets belong to the designer category. Looks and color play a great role in selection of a particular unit.
• Budget- Everyone may want to buy the moon but unfortunately we are bound by financial constraints. The price ranges from 70 to 80 dollars to 2000 dollars. Lower priced models offer basic functioning while high end designs are more fashionable and multipurpose. Depending on money, we can buy the most suitable product.
More and more families every year are buying ovens to carry out cooking jobs and add ease to life. It keeps things in order. We can cook food in bulk, keep it in cold storage and then heat it in the oven at time of consumption. Now things easily fall in place. We need not run like crazy to satisfy our hunger attacks. It has given a huge boost to concept of self sufficiency. There is indeed great liberty and comfort to be found in convection microwave ovens.
Mr.Allen Coller has been a hobbyist writer for the past years. During this free time, he contributes informative articles time to time on various topics like health, health cooking, insurance and finance for websites. You can find microwave ovens, as well as tips and advice on remodeling your kitchen at Convection Microwave Oven. For more information log on http://www.tiddee.com/shopping/microwave-ovens
15 Days/14 Nights Kenya Birding Wilderness Safari
May 29th
DAY 01:
You will board your night flight bound for Nairobi, Kenya from Europe
DAY 02: NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK
A smooth flight will see you arrive at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport JKIA Nairobi at about 8.30 am and once through the formalities of immigration we collected our luggage and met our guides and good friends Joseph & Nico. Once outside the airport we introduce to you our drivers who will skilfully load your luggage’s into the vehicles. With most of us still trying to get our binoculars out of our hand luggage a Black-chested Snake Eagle flew over and several Red-winged Starlings and Little Swifts were spotted. No time to mess around we were straight into our great African safari. A short drive took us to the entrance to Nairobi National Park and the birding began. We will soon introduce ourselves to some of the commoner species such as Rufous Sparrow and Yellow-rumped Seedeater and as some of the group spotted their first Masai Giraffe from the washrooms the rest of us watched close Lesser Striped and Red-rumped Swallows. We will all took our positions in our respective vehicles, the roofs will be raised and into the park we head. Several Masai Giraffe towered over the open bush and our first Coke’s Hartebeest and Masai Ostrich will be seen. Huge Banded Martins put in an appearance and groups of Long-tailed Fiscals started to be seen everywhere. An enormous Lappet-faced Vulture set the raptor list rolling and then a pair of White-bellied Bustards. Continue on we soon notch up a few more Cisticolas with good views of Stout and Croaking. A group of Grant’s Gazelles paid no attention to us while nearby we all got good views of a pair of Short-tailed Larks. Our first Yellow-necked Spurfowl were seen right beside the track and groups of Northern Pied Babblers were noted. We worked our way along the dusty tracks towards our lunch time picnic spot. White-backed Vultures were easily seen as was Red-billed Quelea and then a Long-billed Pipit and a beautiful pair of Hildebrandt’s Starlings showing their stunning bright red eyes. Augar Buzzards soon to be common were found, Cape Buffalo were plentiful and an Olive Baboon was watched sat in a treetop. Along the roadside we found two Zebra Waxbills a Bronze Sunbird and reasonable views of a Quail-finch, while at our Picnic stop we were treated to a great meal and several new birds which could be watched in between bites. A male Cardinal Quelea posed for us as did a White-browed Scrub Robin and another Yellow-necked Spurfowl. With our lunch over we were on our way again. A nearby pool found us Black Crakes, a Malachite Kingfisher and a breeding male Holub’s Golden Weaver. In the scrub we watched a superb African Moustached Warbler amongst a group of Bronze Mannikins that also contained Common and Crimson-rumped Waxbills. On a distant tree a huge Grosbeak Weaver was found and as we moved on a nice adult Bateleur put in a brief appearance. Beside a reed bed we saw very close Grey-crowned Cranes and a Little Rush Warbler was enticed to show itself. Here on a small lake an African Darter was seen roosting beside Black-crowned Night Herons and nearby Black-headed Herons and a Hadada were spotted. Several Masai Giraffe gave us excellent close views and while watching these a few Red-billed Oxpeckers were found feeding on their backs. Continuing on through the park we arrived at a grassy mound where a pride of eight Lions sat just twenty feet in front of us. After admiring these ‘pussy cats’ we proceed to find more Cape Buffalo, smaller Thompson’s Gazelle, and some huge Eland. Amongst the birds that became to numerous to remember we found a Shelley’s Francolin and then a very good bird for the park, which was a Red-and-yellow Barbet, plus we had excellent views of a perched Eastern Pale-chanting Goshawk. On a tiny pond we found a Madagascar Squacco Heron as well as a gorgeous Three-banded Plover, Red-billed Teal and some Fischer’s Sparrow-larks. On another lake there were hundreds of Marabou Stork towering over the twelve Kittlitz’s Plovers at their feet. While other birds here included White-faced Whistling Ducks, Blacksmith Plovers, African Spoonbill, Long-tailed Cormorants and another Three-banded Plover. Raptors by now had included many Black-shouldered Kites, and a few Tawny Eagles. Speckled Mousebirds had become a common sight; two Striped Kingfishers were spotted as well as good numbers of Little Bee-eaters. On yet another pond we saw Wire-tailed Swallows and Black Saw-wings while a large tree held a couple of Helmeted Guineafowl. Amongst the Longclaws we saw a Pair of Yellow-throated and a single Rosy-throated. A close pair of Superb Starlings were then seen as was Red-cheeked Cordon Bleu, Red-billed Firefinch, and a Cinnamon-breasted Bunting. It was now getting late so we made our way back towards one of the gates in the park but not before looking at the first two of five Marsh Owls hunting over the grasslands. Dusty and tired it wasn’t long before we reached our accommodation where we cleaned up ready for our evening meal and first roll call of the tour.
DAY 03: NAIROBI – LAKE NAVAISHA
Everyone met at dawn for a couple of hours pre breakfast birding. We wandered slowly around the grounds of the academy and soon amassed a good list of birds. A family of Thompson’s Gazelles fed on the grass around the dining room and just outside we watched an immature Gabar Goshawk sat in a close tree while nearby a couple Spotted Thick-knees stood in the garden quite unconcerned by our presence. Following the path around the academy’s grounds we came across lots of Superb and a few Greater Blue-eared Starlings while in a grassy field sat a pair of Crowned Plovers and Hadadas had become commonplace. In the trees were Common Drongo and lots of nesting White-browed Sparrow-weavers while above us flew Rock Martins, Lesser-striped and Wire-tailed Swallows. A dead tree beside the path held a very confiding Grey Woodpecker at its nest hole and as we watched a pair of Brown Parrots came out of the same tree and promptly flew away. Down towards a small pond a Long-crested Eagle showed well as did a group of Dusky Turtle Doves. On the pond we watched a Malachite Kingfisher and Plain Martins before searching the small patch of trees behind. Here we tracked down a singing Dark-capped Yellow Warbler and after a bit of chasing around we all eventually got to see it. Moving on we found Pin-tailed Whydah, a better view of the warbler, a couple of Red-cheeked Cordon Bleus and Chinspot Batis. Nearby we had to work a little harder but soon everyone saw Brown Parisoma. As we carried on we walked a grassy track into a small area of scrub and open wood, here we saw a lot of birds with the best being Red-chested Cuckoo and a Red-throated Tit. Back outside the dining room while looking at three Spotted Thick-knees we then saw a Banded Parisoma, Cape Robin-chat, African Grey Flycatcher and a pair of Hildebrandt’s Starlings. The feeders around the building attracted lots of Scarlet-chested Sunbirds and looking at these little gems with the sunlight reflecting the intense red of their throat and upper breast almost made a few of us late for breakfast. After a delicious and varied start to the day we loaded the minibuses and set off towards Limuru our first designated stop. Once here we were soon out of the vehicles and setting our telescopes up to overlook a large shallow pond. There were several target species we needed to look for and it didn’t long to find both Maccoa and White-backed Ducks. A little more searching and we added Yellow-billed Duck, Southern Pochard, Hottentot Teal, lots of Red-knobbed Coots and Little Grebes. Below us on the waters edge we had good views of Lesser Swamp Warbler and some of the group saw single Striated and Madagascar Squacco Herons. A close African Stonechat looked really nice and behind us on a bank were a Hunter’s Cisticola, and Baglafecht Weaver. Leaving this productive pond behind us we continued on our way. A couple of roadside stops found us a very confiding Mountain Buzzard and then a Cape Wagtail.
Our next proper stop miles off the beaten track was a lovely area of mid elevation mountain forest. We parked in a clearing, which soon became a hive of activity. On the grass in front of us we watched Olive Thrushes and then we found Montane White-eyes, Black-backed Puffback and a family of White-eyed Slaty Flycatchers. A little more work and we notched up Montane Oriole, Brown-capped Weaver, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, a pair of Fine-banded Woodpeckers, a Cardinal Woodpecker and a pair of Black-throated Apalis. This area was just great for birds! African Hill Babblers showed well as did Tropical Boubou and a Chestnut-throated Apalis. A stunning White-starred Robin posed nicely for us just before we stopped and ate our picnic lunches. After lunch we went onto a track and soon had excellent views of a pair of Black-collared Apalis, a Brown Woodland Warbler and two Ruppell’s Robin Chats. Further along an African Dusky Flycatcher was found as well as a Thick-billed Seedeater, Yellow-whiskered Greenbul, Grey Apalis, and Northern Double-collared Sunbirds. We carried on walking along the track and into the forest where a group of noisy Black-and-white Colobus Monkeys were found before we tracked down a pair of Black-fronted Bush-shrikes with both red and yellow phase birds being seen. Nearby a White-tailed Crested Flycatcher was eventually seen well, after which we slowly made our way back towards the vehicles. Here we tried several times to see a singing Evergreen Forest Warbler and only at our third attempt did we get views for most of the group. What a skulker! Leaving here we set off towards Lake Navaisha. A short diversion along the way found us Mountain Wagtail and then on an area of farmland we had a Capped Wheatear and some less impressive Cape Rooks. We tried to access an area of grassland but recent rains made the road impassable, it was like a muddy ice-ring. We had to turn around and made the best of it by searching an area of similar habitat where we found up to thirty Black-winged Plovers and both Grassland and Plain-backed pipit. It was time to leave so we headed to Lake Navaisha and the Lake Navaisha Country Club Hotel arriving here in the dark.
DAY 04: LAKE NAVAISHA
We were woken this morning by the wonderful call of African Fish Eagles echoing from the nearby lake. On the way to breakfast as we crossed the lush grounds of the lodge, noisy Hadadas flew down from the trees and Black-lored Babblers hoped around outside the cabins. A Common Zebra was also spotted and looked somewhat out of place at the back of the grounds. After breakfast we met up and made our way to the jetty ready for our morning boat trip on Lake Navaisha. As we walked across the lodges grounds Defassa Waterbuck came onto the lawns to feed. From the jetty a fine collection of birds were soon notched up including Giant, Malachite and lots of Pied Kingfishers, Great and Long-tailed Cormorants, Spur-winged Plovers and African Spoonbills.
A pair of African Fish Eagles looked at us from their close perch and elegant looking African Pied Wagtails ran around the jetty. Several Grey-backed Fiscals then posed for us before we boarded our two boats and set off around the edges of the lake. A close Yellow-billed Stork was the first of many as was the Pink-backed Pelican floating in the water beside it. As we slowly cruised beside the reed beds, heron and duck species were seen everywhere. Several waders were new for the trip and these including Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit and Ruff. There were lots of Lesser Swamp Warblers flitting around and then the giant of all herons a Goliath was spotted. Purple and Squacco Herons became common place and Whiskered and a single Gull-billed Tern were found. Above us, we had to work through the many swifts to find Little, Nyanza and Horus. A Purple Swamphen was seen while many White-bearded Gnu, Common Waterbuck, Common Zebra and Impala fed in the distance. A large rounded Hippo was spotted feeding out of the water and nearby a huge Saddle-billed Stork showed to us better than a very distant one seen earlier. On an area of mud we got excellent close views of three Long-toed Plovers and a single Kittlitz’s Plover before it was time to turn around and head back to the lodge. Back on the jetty and we enjoyed superb close views of four Grey-rumped Swallows that Martin had just spotted, while nearby on the scrubby bushes were several beautiful looking White-fronted Bee-eaters. Returning to our cabins we collected our luggage together and met up at the minibuses to find that one had got some electrical problems that needed fixing.
An extended look around the lodge grounds helped pass the time. A calling Black Cuckoo was the first bird we tracked down and although easily heard it took some spotting! A Klaas’s Cuckoo then gave us the run around until we finally got it scoped at the top of a tree. Just outside the front of reception we watched Green Wood-hoopoes another Black Cuckoo and later a Red-chested Cuckoo. Spectacled Weaver and White-browed Robin-Chat were found as well as a pair of Amethyst Sunbirds, Red-headed Weaver, Black Cuckoo-shrike and African Black-headed Oriole. With our minibus now fixed we set off and drove to a small rocky gorge. A roadside stop just before here produced a couple of Pale Flycatchers, a stunning male Red-headed Weaver and a Golden Breasted Bunting.
Moving on we got to the gorge and soon located our target species of Schalow’s Wheatear followed by a pair of Wailing Cisticolas. Our stomachs told us it must be time for our picnic lunch and as we ate, both Tawny-flanked Prinia and Grey-backed Camaroptera were spotted. Back on board the buses it was now time to set off on the drive towards Lake Baringo. We passed by wonderful views of the Great Rift Valley and a significant change in habitat took us into dry thorn scrub. A roadside stop soon made us realise that the outside temperature had increased somewhat. While stretching our legs we found a pair of Brown Parrots and a smart little Red-faced Crombec. Continuing on our first Kirk’s Dikdik was seen running across the road followed by a large Leopard Tortoise which did the same but slower. Nearly to our lodge and we made a quick stop beside some open scrub where Black-headed Plovers were easily seen, a Silverbird showed well sat on a wire and our first Red-billed Hornbill’s and White-bellied Go-away Birds were spotted. A Beautiful Sunbird was then seen as we finished the last part of the journey soon arriving at the Lake Baringo Country Club. After a welcome drink we were all shown to our cabins. We also spotted a huge Verreaux’s Eagle-owls at in a tree just twenty feet away. What views! When everyone had settled in we met up and went straight to the tree where all of us enjoyed excellent views of a pair of these magnificent owls, including one bird which was watched eating a hedgehog. Woodland Kingfisher and a variety of weavers including Jackson’s Golden-backed and Little. A group of Rufous Chatterers played around in a tangled bush as we walked out towards the lake where a nice looking Nubian Woodpecker worked its way around a dead tree. Beside the lake we searched the reed beds and found two Goliath Herons, a flying Little Bittern and several Bishops that included Orange and Yellow-crowned. An excellent day over we returned to our rooms and then met for a superb meal set out in the gardens of the lodge.
DAY 05: LAKE BARINGO
This morning we were up at dawn for some pre-breakfast birding. As we made our way to the minibuses we passed by lots of birds in and around the gardens. There were now three Verreaux’s Eagle Owls sat in a tree and lovely Northern White-crowned Shrikes and Woodland Kingfishers to be seen while a white morph African Paradise Flycatcher flew elegantly around the buses parked beside the entrance to the lodge. We then set off towards the nearby cliffs. The first stop just outside the lodge was for a Hunter’s Sunbird feeding in a bush with two Beautiful Sunbirds. Along the way we stopped again as two Abyssinian Scimitar-bills flew across the road and while looking for these we found a Red-fronted Warbler and several Madagascar Bee-eaters, Blue-naped Mousebirds, a lovely pair of Dark-chanting Goshawks and a little further along a pair of African Pygmy Falcons and a single Ethiopian Swallow. Parking near to the cliffs we got out and had a good walk around. A Hemprich’s Hornbill showed well soon followed by our first Jackson’s Hornbill. Fan-tailed Ravens flew above us and White-rumped Swifts were also seen. Several Black-throated Barbets then put in an appearance and a Lanner Falcon showed particularly well sat on a branch sticking out from the cliff face.
Amongst the boulders strewn around at the base of the cliff we found a Brown-tailed Rock-Chat and then another of our sought after target birds a very attractive Cliff-Chat. Up to four Eastern Violet-backed Sunbirds showed well and excellent views were had of Bristle-crowned Starlings. We returned back to the lodge for breakfast after which we met by the jetty for a boat trip along the lake edge. A Crocodile lying on the end of the jetty smiled at us and invited us to enter its territory. This we did cruising slowly along the reedy edge of this immense lake. A Little Bittern flew by and huge Goliath Herons were easily seen. Both Yellow-crowned and Orange Bishop showed themselves in full breeding colours while our target species, a couple of Allen’s Gallinules were eventually seen by everyone. Moving to another area of the lake birds seen included plenty of Madagascar Bee-eaters, a very confiding Goliath Heron and a few Yellow-billed Storks. As we got back towards the jetty we drifted closely past a group of Hippos that sniffed and snorted while keeping a close eye on us. A short siesta was taken before lunch after which we set off towards the cliffs again. A roadside stop soon had us walking around the dry open scrub where we watched a couple of Plain Prinia’s, Yellow-vented Eremomela, White-bellied Canaries, a Brubru, African Grey Flycatchers and two Somali Tits. Moving on we stopped when three raptors were spotted. We got out and enjoyed fabulous views as these Brown Snake-eagles circled overhead. Our next stop was for one of the specialities we were hoping to find this afternoon and after following our local guide into the scrub we were soon enjoying the most fantastic views of a pair of Heuglin’s Coursers.
Nearby an African Hoopoe was seen before we drove along a track to a small and very out of way gorge. Here we took a short walk to the top where we got temporarily distracted by a female Violet-backed Starling and a Blue-capped Cordon Bleu. Looking down into the gorge we were soon rewarded with views of a roosting Spotted Eagle-owl. Fantastic! Wonderful scenic views from here were then made better with excellent views of Little Bee-eater, Pygmy Falcon and a Speckle-fronted Weaver. Moving on we stopped as a Verreaux’s Eagle flew along the cliff top beside us and then in another non descript scrubby area we followed our guide who then showed us two different Slender-tailed Nightjars roosting on the ground. A Pygmy Batis flew in and was seen well before we made our way to the next stop. A short walk here had us overlook a muddy pool where we saw Hammerkops and a Grey-headed Kingfisher. Nearby a Bee-hive in a tree proved excellent as we watched two Scaly-throated Honeyguides and both Lesser and Greater Honeyguide all beside each other.
Further along we had fabulous views of our third owl species for the day a pair of roosting Northern White-faced Scops-owls. Another Cliff-Chat was seen as well as several Jackson’s Hornbills and then a very confiding pair of Red-fronted Tinkerbirds. We got back to the minibuses and then drove back to the lodge where we finished off the day with a look at a pair of nesting Red-fronted Barbets. A Nubian Woodpecker was also seen and then the half of the group that were left got to see a pair of Bearded Woodpeckers. After our evening meal and check list we watched as several Hippos walking through the hotel grounds. A little less intimidating though was the White-winged Tomb Bats that frequented the trees around our cabins.
DAY 06: KAKEMEGA
We had an early breakfast and then set off on our journey towards the Kakemega rain forest. We hadn’t gone more than a couple of miles when an African Cuckoo was spotted sat on a telegraph wire. Further on a short stop was made beside a river bridge where we saw Black-and-white Cuckoo, good comparisons of Little and Horus Swifts and then excellent views of both Pearl-spotted Owlet and White-crested Helmet-shrikes. Continuing on, a few more inevitable roadside stops produced birds such as Crowned Hornbill’s, a Little Rock Thrush and Purple Grenadier. Stopping on top of a high valley we searched around finding several Long-billed Pipits, Cinnamon-breasted Bunting and very good looks at Stripe-breasted Seedeater and Boran Cisticola. A few African Black Swifts flew over after which we tried another area a bit further along the road. Another Stripe-breasted Seedeater, which is a really difficult species to find, was seen, and then some of the group saw Brown Snake-eagle, and Violet-backed Starling, while we all saw Black-crowned Tchagra. Our first real stop after passing through some very impressive scenery was a superb well forested valley. Here we took a short walk and were soon finding new species. An incredibly bright Sulphur-breasted Bush-shrike showed well soon followed by Red-faced Crombec and the stunning Black-headed Gonolek. A group of White-bellied Tits were found along with d’Arnaud’s Barbet and then a Western Banded Snake-eagle sat in a tree being mobbed by a White-headed Barbet. Moving along we followed the call of one of our target birds and were eventually rewarded with excellent views of two White-crested Turacos. A Double-toothed Barbet then showed on the same tree and nearby we watched White-fronted Bee-eaters and an African Grey Hornbill fly over. As we returned we checked some field edges and came up with Spot-flanked Barbet, an African Pygmy Kingfisher, Village Indigobird, Black-winged Red Bishop and several White-headed Saw-wings. Still not quite back to the minibuses we added a few more species including a Common Scimitar-bill, Lead-coloured Flycatcher, White-headed Buffalo-weavers and some Brown Babblers. Once aboard our buses we continued on our journey. Our next stop beside a reedy overgrown pool didn’t look very special, but it soon proved to be very special indeed! Without moving more than fifty feet we saw a couple of Ross’s Turacos, Cinnamon-breasted Bee-eaters and then Double-toothed Barbet, excellent views of Red-faced Cisticola and a pair of Purple-throated Cuckoo-shrikes. After glimpsing some honeyguides we moved around and got to see two Lesser Honeyguides and with them a Pallid Honeyguide. A pair of Grosbeak Weavers showed well as did Grey-capped Warbler, Black-crowned Waxbills and several Black-and-white Mannikins. Along with Thick-billed Seedeater, Tropical Boubou and Blue-spotted Wood-dove this proved to be yet another marvellous stop. Continuing on we pulled over to look at a pair of White-naped Ravens feeding beside the road. What enormous bills they had! As we got nearer to the Rondo Retreat Centre set in the Kakemega rain forest the first minibus were lucky to see a Great Sparrowhawk sat in the middle of the road. We then pulled in to our fabulous lodgings set amongst some beautiful gardens. What perfect timing! We settled into our rooms and then met in the dining room where we all enjoyed our first Rondo meal which proved to be delicious and well presented.
DAY 07: KAKEMEGA
We were up at dawn for an early breakfast after which couldn’t resist looking for a few species within the gardens. We must have counted around thirty huge Black-and-white-casqued Hornbills flying noisily overhead and then on a large sunlight tree in the gardens we scoped African Green Pigeons and a Green-throated Sunbird. In a closer tree we all got excellent scope views of a Southern Hyliota, a Grey-headed Negrofinch and then a few Bronze Sunbirds. We then jumped into the minibuses and drove just five minutes from our lodge. Stopping for a Red-headed Bluebill which was in the road, Joseph heard an illadopsis so we all got out and enjoyed some great birding. A Brown Illadopsis was soon tracked down and everyone got some sort of view of it. Other birds found included a Buff-spotted Woodpecker, followed by a pair of Pink-footed Puffbacks, Square-tailed Drongos, Dark-backed Weavers, Luhder’s Bush-shrike, Chestnut Wattle-eye and a selection of greenbul’s which included Yellow-whiskered, Cameroon Sombre and Joyful. Excellent scope views were then had of two really good canopy species, a rare Hairy-breasted Barbet and a tiny Turner’s Eremomela. A couple of Banded Prinia’s showed very well and a few other species from our roadside stop included Black Cuckoo, Least Honeyguide, Olive Sunbird, Yellow White-eye and Black-billed Weaver. Moving on from here we stopped at the house of Wilberforce a local guide and expert on the Kakemega rain forest. Outside of his house we were soon watching a pair of Petit’s Cuckoo-shrikes and a very energetic African Blue Flycatcher. David found a showy Brown-crowned Tchagra while several White-chinned Prinia’s flitted about and then three White-headed Wood-hoopoes flew over. Slender-billed Greenbul was then added to our ever growing greenbul list, soon followed by Little Greenbul, a hybrid Paradise Flycatcher and good looks of both Equatorial Akalat and Snowy-headed Robin-chat. A Uganda Woodland Warbler was found singing and a side track found us African Thrush and Brown-chested Alethe feeding in the grass. From here we took a walk to an area know as the pump house. As soon as we entered this part of the forest we found Green Hylia, Cabanis’s Greenbul and a Grey-throated Barbet which showed off its strange erect tufts at the base of its bill. Carefully walking the narrow muddy trails of this excellent forest a Red-tailed Monkey was spotted and then we got good views of one of the hardest greenbuls the Toro Olive. High in the canopy a couple Stuhlmann’s Starlings were found and then again high up were two very attractive Yellow-spotted Barbets. A few Unstriped Ground Squirrels diverted our attention, but not for long as a Buff-throated Apalis and Little Grey Greenbul were spotted and posed nicely for us. A little further along we got neck ache looking at a pair of Red-headed Malimbes in a tree top above us. As we watched it became apparent that they actually had a nest. Not far from here we all scoped an African Shrike-flycatcher and then walking back out of the wood to a clearing Nico in our group found a superb immature Emerald Cuckoo which showed very close. As we made our way to the buses a Western Banded Snake-eagle was seen perched on a dead tree. It was time for lunch so we returned to our tranquil retreat. Once we had eaten, several of the group took a look around the gardens which being midday were rather quiet. A Great Blue Turaco was sat on its nest but we could only manage views of its tail and its beak. Once assembled for the afternoons birding and just before getting ourselves back onto the buses we all managed to see a Grey-green Bush-shrike. Driving back to the forest and parking by the research centre it was only a few minutes before we were watching a Honeyguide Greenbul high in the canopy.
Following Wilberforce into the forest we soon located a couple of Chestnut Wattle-eyes and then I spotted a White-tailed Antthrush sunning itself right out in the open. In a clearing we could see a group of Scarce Swifts flying above us while a little further along was a Blue-headed Bee-eater flycatching from a dead branch. As the clouds darkened and spits of rain began to fall we found and scoped a Chapin’s Flycatcher high in the canopy and a Western Black-headed Oriole was then seen in the same spot while lower down near the ground a couple of Red-tailed Bristlebills surprised us by allowing good views. We walked back to the buses but the rain never seemed to really get going so we decided to walk out to the pump house area again. In a small field we saw an African Pygmy Kingfisher which posed nicely for us on a small bush.
Back in the wood a Dusky Crested-flycatcher showed briefly while deeper in the wood we all got excellent looks at a very smart Yellow-billed Barbet. In another area of forest we found a Shelley’s Greenbul and then watched it singing. Nico then got a recording of it, because as far as we knew it had never been heard before and was thought to be silent. Leaving the forest we headed back and tried to look for a Mackinnon’s Fiscal which had been seen by a couple of the group earlier. As we unsuccessfully searched, compensation was had as a Great Sparrowhawk was seen by a few to fly past.
DAY 08: LAKE VICTORIA- KAKEMEGA
Today we had to be up early so as to get to Lake Victoria before the sun got up. A picnic breakfast and lunch was taken with us and after a long drive we arrived at our first stop which was a small fishing village. Three boats were organised and we were soon paddled out together along the edge of the Papyrus where Northern Brown-throated and Slender-billed Weavers were easily seen along with our first views of a Papyrus Gonolek. A Little Bittern was also found and then a few Greater and Lesser Swamp Warblers. We managed to see a couple of Carruthers’s Cisticolas before being paddled out to an area of lilly pads. Here were lots of African Jacanas and hundreds of Whiskered Terns with just a few White-winged and Gull-billed amongst them. Returning along the edge of the lake we got better views of Papyrus Gonoleks, but frustratingly we only got to hear White-winged Warbler. Back on the jetty an African Openbill Stork was seen with a small Nile Monitor sat on a rock in front of it. We then drove to some nearby washrooms and while here we had good views of Black-billed Barbet, Red-chested Sunbirds, a Village Indigobird and both White-browed and Blue-headed Coucals. Just a short distance from here in a scrubby roadside area we got fantastic close views of more Red-chested Sunbirds and a gorgeous pair of Golden-winged Sunbirds. A few of the group saw a Papyrus Canary, but we all got onto a Fan-tailed Widowbird and in a more open area a confiding Water Thick-knee.
A nightjar was then flushed and after landing just a short distance away we relocated it and identified it as a Slender-tailed, apparently way out of its normal range. Above us we watched a Shikra and then an Abdim’s Stork. Back to the washrooms, which were actually a lakeside café; we had our picnic lunches and a few cool drinks. In the grounds were two Eastern Grey Plantain-eaters and a good selection of previously seen birds that including an African Fish Eagle and Black-headed Gonolek.
After a relaxed lunch we found a Black-billed Barbet and then returned to the nearby area of scrub where everyone got good views of Yellow-backed Weavers and the race of White-bellied Canary (S. d. dorsostriatus) without the white belly! Moving on we drove to a nearby hotel and after gaining permission we searched their gardens and eventually saw a Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird and a Little Purple-banded Sunbird. Leaving here our next stop was on the main road overlooking an area with a few paddyfields and stands of corn. Near to a group of Hadada and an Open-billed Stork we found three Wattled Plovers and a Copper Sunbird which flew in and showed well although only briefly. Over the next forty five minutes we found a male Yellow-mantled Widowbird of the Yellow-shouldered race and then we had Southern Red Bishops, Black-winged Red Bishop and the larger Black Bishop. We decide it was time to get out of the heat and headed back to the cooler temperature of Kakemega. Along the way we stopped for a pair of Northern Black Flycatchers and even saw one bird go to its nest. Driving along the road towards Rondo Retreat a stop was made so as we could walk a nice section within the rain forest. Quiet at first it soon picked up with Collared Sunbird, Yellow White-eye, Pink-legged and Luhder’s Bush-shrikes, Least Honeyguide and a Common Wattle-eye. It took us a little time to get everyone to see a male Jameson’s Wattle-eye, but it was worth it as it was a fabulous little bird. Nearby Michael found an immature Emerald Cuckoo and shortly after we had close views of an adult. Next were a Toro Olive Greenbul and then a male Buff-throated Apalis and a flighty group of Dusky Tits. It then started to rain which was actually rather pleasant.
Continuing a little further in the minibuses we then got out and enjoyed fabulous close views of a pair of Chubb’s Cisticolas. The rain then got harder so we got into our vehicles and drove on. Only a short distance from Rondo the rain stopped and we got out to look at a puddle in the road. An Equatorial Akalat was bathing and then as we watched a mythical bird appeared, it was a skulking Grey-chested Illidopsis that came out of the forest and bathed in the same puddle allowing everyone to scope this incredibly difficult and seldom seen bird. Several Brown-chested Alethes joined it while above us Black and White-headed Saw-wings flew around. An excellent end to another good day we returned to our lodge in time for another superb evening meal.
DAY 09: KAKAMEGA
After an early breakfast we took a stroll around the gardens. In the tall trees were Southern Hyliota and four Turners Eremomelas as well as three Black and white Colobus Monkeys and sunbirds that included Green and Green-throated. A look at the Great Blue Turacos nest gave us no better views than before with just the tail visible. Moving on to one of the short woodland trails we walked into the forest and here beside a small rocky stream Kevin in our group spotted a superb Grey-winged Robin which after initially keeping well hidden showed to us all. There was a Brown Illidopsis working its way through the leaf litter on the far bank and just a little further along some of the group managed to see a much more elusive Scaly-breasted Illidopsis. Our next challenge was to locate a calling White-spotted Flufftail so we walked back to the small stream and tried to entice it in. We never saw it but above us a Great Blue Turaco showed very well. We then tried another two areas for the flufftail and were eventually rewarded with fantastic views of a male bird sat fifteen feet in front of us in full view on a muddy bank; Fantastic!
After watching this stunning little bird we headed back to the minibuses and set off to another area of this wonderful rain forest. The track that we had to drive down got muddier the further we went, until eventually the buses became stuck. While Simon and John put on some mud chains we birded the track. Several Collared Sunbirds were found soon followed by Little and Black-billed Weavers, Luhder’s Bush-shrike, Equatorial Akalat, Olive-green Camaroptera and Grey-throated Barbet. We had to work a little harder before everyone got to see a Blue-shouldered Robin-chat and later three Chubb’s Cisticolas performed well. With the vehicles now out of the mud and fitted with tyre chains we turned around and drove back to an area of forest called the ‘Zimmerman plot’. With Wilberforce leading we entered the forests maze of trails. It wasn’t long before a group of Dusky Tits were found and while watching these we got excellent views of another ery rare Hairy-breasted Barbet. A Red-headed Malimbe showed particularly well as did Green-headed Sunbird. On another narrow trail we watched a Dusky-crested Flycatcher while some of the group got there second chance to see Scaly-breasted Illidopsis. It was time to complete the forests list of greenbuls and this we did in style with good views of Ansorge’s, followed later by Cabanis’s Greenbul. A Jameson’s Wattle-eye was then spotted by a few and then another bird heard calling way into the forest was tracked until excellent views were had of West Kenya’s rarest wattle-eye the Yellow-bellied Wattle-eye. We then searched everywhere trying to find Bar-tailed Trogon but were unsuccessful. Another Yellow-bellied Wattle-eye was found though! Both Blue and Red-tailed Monkeys were seen before we left the forest to check the nearby gardens around the environmental resource centre buildings where a pair of Grey-green Bush-shrikes were found and we got stunning views of a Mackinnon’s Fiscal.
It was now time for lunch so we returned to Rondo. Afterwards we met up and enjoyed watching one of the Great Blue Turacos sat in a tall tree. A Vieillot’s Black Weaver was then spotted singing, and after watching this we boarded our minibuses and set off towards Busia. An African Harrier-hawk was seen from the bus and shortly after we stopped at a river bridge where numerous Little Swifts could be seen and heard swirling around just below us. The target bird here was a pair of Angola Swallows which were then seen nesting under an open roof. After another drive we arrived at our second river bridge and after walking down to view the rocks in this fast flowing river we enjoyed super looks at three Rock Pratincoles, a superb bird! A Bar-breasted Firefinch was then seen as well as good numbers of Angola Swallows. Continuing on another 20km we stopped beside a smaller river this time. A couple of Black-shouldered Kites sat in a tree as a flock of Cardinal Quelea and some very good views of Copper Sunbirds were had. An adult and an immature Senegal Coucal showed reasonably well as did several Olive-bellied Sunbirds. Joseph then found us a very scarce bird, an Orange-tufted Sunbird which we all saw just ten feet away, but only briefly. Just a short distance up the road we checked another area and here David found a pair of Red-headed Lovebirds which everyone got to see well. With huge black clouds moving towards us we finished of the day with a couple of Yellow-throated Longclaws and an African Pygmy Kingfisher. The rains came and we ran back to the minibuses and set off back to Rondo and a very welcome evening meal.
DAY 10: KAKAMEGA – L. NAKURU.
This mornings early breakfast was followed by a quick look around the gardens which produced Southern Hyliota again! There were a couple of Mosque Swallows on a dead tree, the Great Blue Turaco was seen and we had excellent looks at an Olive Pigeon. Driving a short distance to where the road passed through the rain forest we got out of our vehicles and were greeted by the call of a Pale-breasted Illadopsis. By walking a narrow trail into the forest we managed to see two of these little skulkers. A Black-faced Rufous Warbler was then found by David and most of the group saw it well. Those that never caught up with it were lucky when another two showed better on the other side of the road. A few other birds were also seen but we had specific targets this morning so we moved on. A quick stop was made in an open area where a pair of Yellow-throated Leaf-loves were seen very well sat in the sunlight. After quite some time we located a pair of Bar-tailed Trogons deep in the forest, here I set the scope up for everyone to enjoy the stunning male bird. Leaving this magical forest we made our way back to Rondo where we packed everything together, and set off on the long drive to Nakuru. A short stop beside a stream where numerous butterflies were coming down to the muddy edges managed to get us excellent views of a Green Sunbird which can often be difficult as it is a Canopy species.
A roadside stop just after lunch time at a marshy lake then found us two new species including the very localised Levaillant’s Cisticola and a Tacazze Sunbird. containing hundreds of Speckled Pigeons also had two Tawny Eagles in it and then a Lanner shot through and tried to take out one of the pigeons. We were soon at the entrance gate to Nakuru National Park and while some of us made use of the washrooms several new species were found. A group of Arrow-marked Babblers were first followed by Green Wood-hoopoes, Common Scimitar-bill, a nice Diederik Cuckoo and a Speke’s Weaver. Black-faced Vervet Monkeys were common and as we drove into the park a troop of Olive Baboons were passed.
With our roofs up and everyone positioned for action we slowly made our way through the woodland. Amongst the first birds we saw were a pair of Hildebrandt’s Francolins walking along the road in front of us. Barry then spotted a fantastic looking Red-throated Wryneck which gave us great views and then amazingly was joined by a second bird which it displayed to and then mated with. A little further along we came across a group of the threatened and near endemic Grey-crested Helmet-shrikes. After superb views of these we moved on to a more open area. Here we saw lots of Northern Anteater Chats and then a Long-crested Eagle followed by a group of Cut-throats, Pin-tailed Whydah and the display flights of several tiny Pectoral-patch Cisticolas. Nico then found a couple of Red-capped Larks which we all saw alongside a Plain-backed Pipit. From here we drove to the edge of Lake Nakuru and in front of us was what has been described as one of nature’s greatest spectacles.
Over a million Lesser Flamingos made the edges of the lake look an int ense pink as far as the eye could see. It’s just a pity that photos cannot do it justice. Amongst the Lesser Flamingos were a few Greater, while along the lake edges we saw an African Fish Eagle and lots of dainty Kittlitz’s Plovers. Great White Pelicans and Marabou Storks were numerous and looked magnificent flying over the mass of noisy flamingos. Further along we got out of the buses, set up the scopes and proceeded to search through the groups of wading birds. Curlew Sandpipers were fairly numerous and a few little Stints were found hiding amongst them. We then had Ruff, Greenshanks and Black-winged Stilts but pride of place went to David when he found a full breeding plumage Dunlin the fifth record ever for Kenya and only the sixth record for the whole of East Africa. Amongst the other birds we spotted were Sacred Ibis, Yellow-billed Storks, African Spoonbills and a lovely pair of Cape Teal. Mammals were well represented and included Defassa Waterbuck, Common Zebra, Grant’s and Thompson’s Gazelle’s and Impala. Leaving the lake we drove back into the forest and along a narrow road we watched as a single Lioness crossed and then disappeared into thick cover. With the light beginning to fade a Martial Eagle was spotted perched in a close tree, we all had excellent views of this bird before driving to our lodge which overlooked the lake. After our meal and log call we all set off to our cabins. Kathy then managed to find a few of us and took us to see a superb Little Rock Thrush roosting under the roof of their cabin.
DAY 11: LAKE NAKURU – MT KENYA
After an early breakfast we set off on a drive through the park. It was a surprisingly chilly to start with but the sun was coming up. As we drove along we passed through an area of tall trees and here we found one of our target species a pair of Levaillant’s Cuckoos. A little further on amongst the long grass we counted up to 30 Jackson’s Widowbirds along with a few Long-tailed Widowbirds several Yellow Bishops and then a couple of Masai Ostrich. Down beside a small pool we found a pair of Striped Kingfishers and on a distant bush another male Long-tailed Widowbird was seen. Another small pool held some distant waders that included Marsh Sandpipers and a Spotted Redshank. As we went out onto the open grasslands mammals became more obvious with lots of Cape Buffalo, Impala, Grant’s and Thompson’s Gazelles.
We had fabulous close looks at a family group of White Rhino and also saw a few Warthogs. Northern Anteater-chats were seen everywhere and while stopping to look at several very close individuals we then spotted a pair of beautiful Rosy-throated Longclaws while above the cliff top a Verreaux’s Eagle was being mobbed by an African Hawk-eagle. Passing through an area of forest we found a pair of White-tailed Barbets and then on the road we saw an African Firefinch and then a Tambourine Dove. As we drove past some more cliffs two Black-chested Snake-eagles were seen and in the grass beside us were three Chandler’s Reedbucks. We watched as a procession of Common Zebra walked past and a little further along a couple of Lions were seen including one which was sat up a tree.
Continuing our journey our next find was a magnificent looking Secretary Bird feeding its young on a nest and nearby both Broad-billed and Lilac-breasted Rollers were seen in perfect sunlight. In the open grasslands we came across a group of four Southern Ground-hornbills with a line of Rothschild’s Giraffes walking behind them. A fantastic sight! It was time for lunch so we hastily returned to our lodge. In the grounds most people saw Little Rock Thrush and Speke’s Weaver while White-rumped Swifts patrolled overhead. After lunch we packed our bags and moved out. A last visit was made to the lake shore to refresh our memories with the incredible spectacle of million’s of Lesser Flamingos.
On the ground sat a huge immature Martial Eagle which then, flew off and circled the forest only to be joined by an adult. Amongst the waterbirds were hundreds of White Pelicans, Yellow-billed Storks, Sacred and Glossy Ibis, African Spoonbills, Marabou, terns, gulls and commoner shorebirds. Two white-phase Dimorphic Egrets caused a little debate and then we said farewell to one of the most amazing scenes on Earth. Setting off towards Mt Kenya a stop was made along the way at the famous Thomson Falls where we hoped to see Sharpe’s Starling. It was really too early in the day for them, but compensation for not seeing them was had when two huge African Crowned Eagles came soaring out of the wooded valley below and rose up to give some great views of this very impressive bird. We continued our drive with another roadside stop made when Joseph spotted a Black-bellied Bustard stood on a grassy mound. Our next stop was a small quarry where we searched the entire rock face to try and find our next target species but only saw Red-winged Starlings and Little Rock Thrush. We then set our telescopes on a fantastic Mackinder’s Eagle-owl in full view on the rock face.
After taking a few record photos we completed the last leg of our journey to the Naro Moru River Lodge. Yet another great location we enjoyed a super evening meal and then after our regular log-call we retired to our cabins. During the night the sounds of Tree Hyrax outside our cabins sounded like something from a horror movie!!
DAY 12: MT KENYA – SAMBURU.
After breakfast we met up in the lodge grounds where it didn’t take too long before we were looking at a fabulous male Narina Trogon. Taking a short walk along the river we located a couple of Mountain Wagtails, a Long-crested Eagle and a superb Hartlaub’s Turaco just a few feet away. After seeing a few other species such as Eastern Double-collared Sunbird, Tacazze Sunbird, Tropical Boubou and Cape Robin-chat, we then loaded the minibuses and moved out. As we drove towards the impressive peak of Mt Kenya an impromptu roadside stop found us the difficult white-throated race of Black-lored Babbler. Continuing on we got to the entrance gate of Mt Kenya National Park and birded the woodland edge here. A Red-fronted Parrot sat in the top of a tree and an adult Martial Eagle soared overhead. There were lots of Hunter’s Cisticolas around and a pair of Yellow-bellied Waxbills were much appreciated, as was our first Mountain Yellow Warbler. We then drove into the park and started to make our way up and through the forest. Our first stop was for Abyssinian Crimsonwings, shortly followed by a Jackson’s Francolin and then a Mountain Buzzard. We continued driving up to 10,000ft where we stopped at the Met Station. The weather was now decidedly cooler, but this was soon forgotten as we got out of the buses and immediately found the two species we were looking for. Very tame Alpine Chats sat around on the short plants and several gorgeous Abyssinian Ground Thrushes came out of the bamboo and fed
Hartlaub’s Turacos were seen and most of the group got to see a Cinnamon Bracken Warbler. A couple of Cape Canaries were then added to our list while Montane White-eye, Olive Thrush and Tacazze Sunbird showed well. We then headed back down towards the gate for our picnic lunch. Along the way we had the inevitable stops which this time included three Silvery-cheeked Hornbills and then a pair of Grey Cuckoo-shrikes. Back at the gate we had our picnic lunch and while eating Michael spotted a raptor in the distance; it eventually appeared very close right above our heads and was a magnificent adult African Crowned Eagle. This excellent bird was so close that every single bit of detail could be seen. Wow! After lunch we set off on our drive to Samburu.
Not too much was seen along the way but the temperature changed from cool to hot. As we neared the park gate a stop was made beside some very short grass and here we watched a pair of Somali Coursers with a juvenile close beside them. A couple of White-eared Mousebirds were then spotted before finally arriving at the gate. As our entrance passes were being sorted we got out and watched hundreds of Little Swifts which were flying to and fro from their nests under the gate buildings. Our first Von der Decken’s Hornbill’s posed for the scopes but an adult Gabar Goshawk was much less showy. Driving through this park was typical of all the wildlife films you see on TV; Dry open thorn scrub with a backdrop of mountains, it was truly beautiful scenery. We soon started seeing birds such as White-headed and Red-billed Buffalo-weavers, Northern White-crowned Shrikes, Superb Starlings, more hornbills and then a nice Pink-breasted Lark. White-bellied Bustards were quite common and we enjoyed excellent views including a family of four right in front of our bus. In all we reckon we must have seen 12 on our journey to the lodge. Our first Gerenuks, Grevy’s Zebras and Besia Oryx were seen well and then a pair of Black-faced Sandgrouse allowed us to drive right along side.
Moving on we next found several pairs of Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse and a group of Donaldson-smith’s Sparrow-weavers. A lone African Elephant was our first, and it was very much appreciated. It was now getting late in the day and Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse started to appear on the tracks. We got really close views of these excellent birds and then we found five more Somali Coursers! A Verreaux’s Eagle-owl was spotted looking down on us as we crossed a small stream and shortly after we arrived at the Samburu Serena River Lodge. We settled into our cabins and later met for the evening meal. As we sat down to eat I casually mentioned that I could see a Leopard on the other side of the river, it had come down to some meat that had been put out by the lodge staff. Eventually someone else looked and I was believed! We quickly collected a couple of scopes and set them up to get good views. In between courses we took turns at having great views of this impressive mammal, in fact everyone in the hotel seemed to leave their meals as well and have a look!
DAY 13: SAMBURU.
After an early breakfast it was time for a quick look around the lodge grounds. Beside the river were a group of surprisingly beautiful Vulturine Guineafowl while in a tree above us was a Bearded Woodpecker. Taking a walk out to the front of the lodge we tried to find a Grey-headed Bush-shrike. We never saw or heard one but we did see Spotted Mourning Thrush, Northern Brownbuls and excellent views of a Bare-eyed Thrush. Just as we were about to leave John spotted a raptor flying over; we ran to an open area to get better views and were rewarded with an excellent sighting of a Bat Hawk. We then got into our minibuses and set off into the park. Almost immediately a Palm-nut Vulture was spotted flying on our left, lots of Slate-coloured Boubous were seen and heard and we found a Grey Wren-warbler, Chestnut Sparrows, Southern Black Flycatcher and Chestnut Weavers.
Moving on through an area of grassland near to the river we were very pleased to find a superb Leopard lying down just 20ft away. While watching and photographing this, one of our most sought after mammals it then sat up and looked at us for a while before lying back down. What a magnificent animal and close enough for everyone to get a memorable photo. Moving on from here we slowly followed the river and saw Three-striped Tchagra, Orange-bellied Parrots, African Hoopoe, a superb Grey-headed Bush-shrike and Black-bellied Sunbird.
Nearby were a small herd of African Elephants including several that were very young and here in the bushes we got to see several Black-faced Waxbills. There was a small Nile Crocodile on the shallow river bed and further along on the other side a pride of Lions relaxed together. We continued around the park seeing more Impala, Gerenuks and tiny Kirk’s Dikdiks. A tree full of Red-billed Hornbills also held two Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbills while above us flew both African Harrier-hawk and a Bateleur. We found another good area and watched Somali Bee-eaters and a Taita Fiscal together, while nearby Ashy Prinia and a Fawn-coloured Lark were found. Barbets included both Black-throated and d’Arnaud’s while White-headed and Blue-naped Mousebirds showed well. In the understory we had fabulous views of good numbers of Crested Francolin and Yellow-necked Spurfowl while half hidden under a tree was a Somali Ostrich. At a road bridge we got good views of two huge Mottled Swifts amongst the many Little Swifts. Returning to the lodge for lunch we then took a short siesta. In the lodge grounds before we left for our afternoon drive there was a pair of Northern Puffbacks, several Dodson’s Bulbuls which are a distinct race of Common Bulbul and two Golden Palm Weavers. In the park we took a different route and soon caught up with Rosy-patched Bush-shrike, yet another beautiful bird! More Pink-breasted Larks were seen, lots of Black-capped Social Weavers and then our first of three Somali Long-billed Crombecs and extremely local and scarce species. Moving on, apart from the regular White-backed Vultures, we saw a huge Lappet-faced and then a Verreaux’s Eagle.
We then stopped when a Buff-crested Bustard was heard calling and after some intense scanning and almost at the point of giving up we found it and got some super views as walked about the grass with all its’ crest raised. A long drive around got us very close to the pride of Lions that we saw in the morning but we only managed distant views of a group of Reticulated Giraffes. A White-winged Scrub-robin showed well, but a real highlight was a Kori Bustard which slowly walked between our two buses followed by two little chicks. As we headed back towards the lodge our last stop had us look at two Ruppell’s Griffon Vultures sat with a group of White-back’s, while below there was a tree filled with White-throated Bee-eaters. Back at the lodge we enjoyed another good evening meal and later that night after looking for African Scops-owl some of us saw a Striped Hyena under the lights of the baited Leopard tree.
DAY 14: SAMBURU – MT KENYA.
Today we had a quick coffee and then went out before breakfast on a drive into the park. There’s nothing quite like the atmosphere of early morning and this morning we hadn’t gone far when a Leopard was spotted walking through the scrub. Continuing on we crisscrossed the grasslands soon finding an adult and a young Buff-crested Bustard. We later had excellent views of another male which walked right past the buses. All the regular mammals were easily seen and a nice find were three Golden Pipits which showed well with a full adult being particularly handsome. Other birds seen included Black-chested Snake-eagle, two Heuglin’s Coursers, Chestnut-bellied, Black-faced and Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse and then a small flock of Fischer’s Starlings. As we returned we stopped and watched a young Lion which had its sights fixed on an Impala. It carefully stalked it and then sprinted towards its victim, but the Impala spotted it and was too quick! Back towards the lodge we saw White-backed, Ruppell’s and three very close Lappet-faced Vultures sat in some low trees.
A group of Reticulated Giraffes were then spotted and we got wonderful views of these animals feeding together. As we returned for breakfast a male Black-necked Weaver was seen, ending a very productive start to the day. Afterwards we loaded the minibuses and set off out of the park. Continuing on we drove through a low grassy area and got good views of Fischer’s Sparrow-larks and then nine Somali Coursers and a family of Chestnut-headed Sparrow-larks with the male seen very well. Leaving this spot we went to Buffalo Springs lodge and while enjoying a cool drink we watched several Diederik Cuckoos, Bristle-crowned Starlings, White-fronted Bee-eaters and an excellent look at a Marico Sunbird. As we left the lodge and its group of Olive Baboons, a roadside stop found us Somali Golden-breasted Bunting and then a huge Red-winged Lark later followed by Blue-capped Cordon Bleu, and Yellow-vented Eremomela. We then drove out of the gate and on towards the cooler climbs of Mt Kenya. Along the way at a petrol and picnic stop, we found several Red-collared Widowbirds. Our next stop was in the lower forest a few kilometres from Mountain Lodge where we were going to stay. A noisy group of White-headed Hoopoes were easily seen then found a pair of White-eared Barbets and we got excellent views of two Little Sparrowhawks displaying and then perching in a tree top in bright sunlight.
Moving on a little a stop was made to view and photograph Mt Kenya, just a short distance further and we arrived at the lodge. This fantastic lodge was built overlooking a natural salt lick and all of our rooms had perfect views of this animal magnet. As night fell, then spotlights strategically positioned lit up the area and as we watched wildlife started to come out of the forest. Common Bushbucks were first and then several Grey Mongoose. Our five star evening meal was pleasantly interrupted when a herd of Cape Buffalo appeared, a couple of Spotted Hyenas came in and then a wonderful Black Rhino. What a place this was! Continuing to watch after the meal added White-tailed Mongoose and two beautifully marked Common Genets, as well as two African Snipe. During the night we were all on alarm call if a Giant Bush Pig turned up, it never, so apart from Hyena and Tree Hyrax calling we got a good nights sleep.
DAY 15: MT KENYA – NAIROBI VIA WANJEE CAMP.
This morning we had a quick coffee and then a look from the roof of the lodge which not only overlooked the salt lick but all directions of the forest and superb views of Mt Kenya. Scanning the tree tops soon produced a perched Augur buzzard and then a Great Sparrowhawk. On another distant tree a Sharpe’s Starling was spotted but closer and better were a small group of Abbot’s Starlings. On a forest track below us we could see a couple of Tambourine Doves while over the forest canopy Bronze-naped Pigeons seemed reluctant to land anywhere. We then took a walk with an armed guard outside the lodge and along the approach road. An Oriole Finch was only seen well by Joseph, but everyone saw Eastern Double-collared Sunbirds, Ruppell’s and Cape Robin-chat, a juvenile White-starred Robin and a Black-throated Barbet. Moving on we caught up with several Moustached Green Tinkerbirds and then after seeing Mosque Swallow and a brief Cinnamon Bracken Warbler we got fantastic views of an adult African Crowned Eagle flying off through the forest, only to return and perch in a tree where we set the scopes on it. Brilliant! Scaly Francolin eluded us although several were heard, but the finale of our walk was a superb White-browed Crombec called in by Nico. We returned for breakfast and then packed our luggage and set off towards Nairobi.
A roadside stop for a group of Mottled Spinetails was later followed by a stop for a Brown-hooded Kingfisher perched nicely on a telegraph wire. We had now arrived at the Wajee Nature Park and once we had located the local guide we followed him into the forest and were shown a pair of African Wood Owls on their daytime roost. Further into the wood and after a lot of hard work we were eventually rewarded with great views of up to five Hinde’s Babblers a localized and threatened Kenya endemic. Very pleased we continued our journey and next called in to a hydro-electric station were we searched nearby scrub and fields. A Grey-headed Kingfisher was seen as well as Bronze Mannikins and then our target species of at least one male and a female African Golden Weaver. It was now hot so we got back into the buses and continued on. Our last stop of the day was at the Blue Post Hotel near Nairobi. A cool drink was followed by a search of the grounds. Several of the white-tailed race of White-headed Barbets were seen but the gardens were generally very quiet.
We decided to walk along the river and at the furthest point we could go, we found Cinnamon-breasted Bee-eaters, a Pygmy Kingfisher and a brief Golden-winged Sunbird. A Grey-olive Greenbul proved itself to be very elusive but a couple of Black-throated Wattle-eyes showed very well and completed our full list of Kenyan wattle-eyes! It was time to go so a quick photo of the group then saw us fight our way through the city traffic to arrive at a hotel restaurant where we had our last meal of the holiday together. With this over we went to the nearby Nairobi Airport. We said our thank you’s to the drivers Simon and John who were exceptional throughout. Their superb driving skills, friendliness and keen interest in wildlife were an asset to the trip. As for Joseph & Nico they proved yet again what professionals and experts they were in all aspects of this fabulous Kenya tour. We came to see and enjoy wildlife and this is exactly what we did. The skills of these two guides were as good as it gets and there hard work and bird finding abilities were appreciated fully by everyone that wanted the best of Kenyan wildlife watching
The author is a Tour Consultant for Skyview of Africa Tours & Safaris Ltd
Certification Assistance
May 29th
IT Certification Assistance
There are many different ways to prepare for IT certification exams. However; I would simply like to discuss two ways a person can go about it. Obviously, each person learns differently so one way might be better than the other. So here we go:
1. IT certification Boot Camps. They are not kidding when they say boot camps. These courses are designed to help students blast through the required information and objectives covered on certification exams. Boot camps can last anywhere from a week to two weeks in length, depending upon the course examinations which are covered. Companies which offer boot camps will have a qualified course instructor who will be in charge of covering the material and assisting students with questions. Some courses will have one on one course instructors who are trained to give students the best possible chances of passing exams. Upon registration for boot camps, some will offer hotel, flight, and food for the duration of the camp, while others might require students to provide for themselves.
So what are the risks of boot camps? As mentioned earlier, boot camps are designed to move very quickly. If this learning environment doesnt suit your fancy, be careful. Of course the risk anyone runs in a boot camp is not passing their certification exams. However, some companies will offer some sort of guarantee to cover this risk. Do your homework on what the boot camp offers before signing up.
2. Computer Based Training. This is a different route than boot camps. Computer based training is designed to fit the needs of those who either dont have time to devote to boot camps, or do not like the upbeat pace of boot camps. Computer based training software provides students with the opportunity to learn at their own pace and study from where they feel most comfortable. TestOut offers simulation software which allows users to simulate hardware, operation systems, and network configurations without having to purchase extra software and hardware. They provide the user with an interactive learning lab.
The risk of using a CBT course depends upon the guarantees. When shopping around for the right software to use in preparation for your certification exam, be sure to read what the company offers. If you fail the tests, will they pay for your exam? Can you return the software if you are not pleased with the course material? These are things to consider when shopping for the right program.
Each method is meant to give the individual the highest chances of earning certifications. Each person learns in a unique manner, so it depends upon your personal preference. Boot Camps are designed to go very quickly, while a software programs are built to help those who feel more comfortable taking time into their own hands.
About the Author: Mike Allen is an avid sports fan and enjoys internet marketing. If you are interested in an MCSE certification course, TestOut can provide you with an MCSE practice test for your MCSE exam prep.
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