Cycads "Living fossil"

The Cycads are primitive woody plants which flourished over 200 million years ago,Among the oldest plants still living on the planet sometimes called the living fossils now widely scattered throughout the world.mostly in dry areas.Growing extremely slowly some are  hundred of years old,considered,There are five indigenous Encephalartos in Kenya but only Encephalartos hildebrandtii is common,widely distributed along the Kenya coastal forests.The rest are inland,restricted to drier areas

Leaves are compound to 2.5m long,in whorls from stem:about 80 pairs of leaflets stiff and tough,often with spiny teeth at the tip and 1 -9 along each margin and parallel veins

Cones ripen brown and are pollinated by insects probably  flying beetles,seeds have a soft outer layer,the inner nut to 3cm long

The hard seed is boiled and ground to flour by  the Boni people in Lamu ,during famine season,the starchy stem centre can be chopped,fermented then dried to make uji porridge or ugali,seeds and suckerd may be used for propagation

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  The North Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between Great

Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands,
Belgium, and France. It connects to the ocean through the English
Channel in the south and the Norwegian
Sea in the north. It is more than 970 kilometres
(600 mi) long and 580 kilometres (360 miles) wide, with an area of
around 570,000 square kilometres (220,000 sq miles)

Birding with Nature Kenya (EANHS)

Nature Kenya is the Africa's oldest environment society,established in 1909 to promote the study and conservation of Nature in Eastern Africa,Nature Kenya organizes Bird walks every Wednesday and third Sunday of every month,meeting point is at Nairobi National Museum near the Fisheries,transport is normally shared and different sites are visited within Nairobi and its outskirts,The walk are for  the Organization's members but temporary day membership is available for Non members,meeting time 8:30 am and leave by 9,the walks on Wednesday goes upto to noon,But for Sunday outing it's a whole day exercise
 you can visit their website for more details http://www.naturekenya.org/

Yesterday bird walk was around the Michuki garden which adjacent to the Nairobi National Museum,the group which mainly consisted of students doing  tourism related courses, was led by Fleur Ng'weno (who have done these for more than 40 years and still counting),they braved the morning cold which is being witnessed here in Nairobi for the last few days

African black Duck in Nairobi River

A total of 52 Bird species were recorded 

Birding in Uhuru Gardens

Ten minutes drive from the City Centre on Langata road, Uhuru gardens is the largest memorial park.

It was declared a National monument back in the year 1966,It was where Kenyan flag was first raised  during independence on 12th Dec 1963

The park has over 100 recorded bird species both residents and also migratory ones,due to its close proximity  to Nairobi National Park,there are a lot of interesting birds,

Wire tailed Swallow collecting  mud for nest building

Red tailed Shrike-a migrant bird preparing for the journey back to Europe and Asia

Wasp's nest

The park offers a perfect weekend get away to families living adjacently,also school from up country have to include the garden's in their program.

Professional athletes frequent Uhuru gardens to do their daily jogging

Fishing Lodge Aberdares National Park

These two cabins are nestled inside Aberdare National Park,three hours drive from Nairobi through the Kinangop plateau, they provide a secluded haven for trout fishing, walking safaris, hiking and a chance to see spectacular Karuru waterfalls, moorland scenery and diverse wildlife including buffaloes, elephants, genets, leopard, bushbuck, reedbuck, and several bird species including East African endemic Jackson's Francolin,Aberdares Cisticola,Mountain Buzzard,Alpine Chat

Each of the two identical lodges has three rooms, two doubles and a single, and two bathrooms. There is a small kitchen with a gas burner and a lounge with a great fireplace and a terrace with a wonderful view. There is running water, which is heated by a wood burner (lit by the caretaker) in the early morning and in the evening. There is no electricity, lighting is by paraffin lamp (supplied). Bring warm clothes - its close to the Equator but is still at 3000 metres (9800 feet) altitude.

                       From the Lodge, you can hike to Karuru Falls

                                                   Karuru Falls

                                      Waterfall viewing tower

Day Birding in Nairobi National Park

Nairobi National Park is the oldest Park in Kenya over 60 years old and only 10km from the Capital City, with a size of 117 kilometers squared, 1500 to 1700 meters above  sea level, The  habitats are  as follows;( a)Acacia dominated woodland, Riverine& Scrub ,(b)Dams, Rivers and Wetlands,(c) Evergreen Forest (d)Gorges (e)Open Grasslands, 

Secretary Bird

More than 500 Bird species have been recorded in the park, Nairobi National Park has many different Habitats, and each habitat contains various species of Birds

African Darter

Montane Nightjar

Superb Starling

Nairobi National Park  has four of the Big Five, Also the Herbivores have their own migration to plains adjacent to the Park, the Athi Kapiti plans, Swara Plains formerly Hopcraft Ranch

Lion

Wildebeest/Gnu

The Park  gates open at 6:30 in the Morning, and the roads inside the park are well-signposted and motorable throughout the year, 

Forest Mother of Pearl

Salamis parhassus-50mm
Among Africa's loveliest and most memorable butterflies,these large insects have a wingspan of 80-95mm.The upper sides of the wings are a shining greenish-white,with oily violet reflections.The undersides are more muted

At rest,clinging to underside of foliage in the shade,they look like leaves

Habits &Habitat:Fairly common in forest and woodland habitats,

Can be very abundant seasonally,they fly with a sailing motion,often noticed in flight on sunny days,when their moving wings provide bursts of colour,

They frequently settle on the ground to mud -puddle.

Common Teal Sightings in Thika Sewage Treatment Ponds

Yesterday 17th January 2016 during the Water Bird counts organized by National Museums of Kenya,Ornithology Department and other lead agencies, we spotted  Common Teal(green-winged Teal) in one of the ponds,a small dabbling duck little larger than a Hottentot Teal,with a rather steep forehead and a short bill,

A Male Common Teal 

Male in breeding plumage has chestnut head with a buff -boarded iridescent green band from lores to nape:body greyish with white horizontal line along side and a creamy under tail coverts noticeable at a distance 

Habits- singles or small groups associate with other waterfowl,they feed waterside vegetation.Regular paleartic migrant in small numbers November to March mainly above 1400m on small ponds,streams and lakeshores in and west of Rift valley, including Lake Turkana

Together with Yellow-billed Ducks

In the exercise other water birds were also seen and recorded

   

Northern Pintail

Ruff

White faced whistling Duck

Sacred Ibis

Photos credit  @Mwangi wa Gitau

Oryx Antelope Facts

The elegant Oryx belongs to the group one of the uncommon mammals on earth. The Oryx is so much adapted to the arid and harshly hot landscape that its ability to go on without water for a prolonged period can only be rivaled by that of the camel. Oryx is among the four antelope species of the genus Oryx. Out of the four Oryx species, three can be found in the arid regions of Africa and the fourth species is a resident of the Arabian Peninsula. Oryx has amazing long spiky horns with a neck and mane resembling that of a horse. They have a very supple muscular body structure with distinct black outlines against the white face. Their long horns are almost straight dark markings on the legs During the ritualistic display of dominance, these antelopes show their distinctive features to exhibit their long ringed horns that can reach up to 1500 mm in length.

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Elephants behaviours

Elephants form deep family bonds and live in tight matriarchal family groups of related females called a herd. The herd is led by the oldest and often largest female in the herd, called a matriarch. Herds consist of 8-100 individuals depending on topography and family size. When a calf is born, it's

raised and protected by the whole matriarchal herd. Males leave the family unit between the ages of 12-15 and may lead lonely lives or live temporarily with other males.

Elephants are extremely intelligent animals and have memories that span many years. It is this memory that serves matriarchs well during dry seasons when they need to guide their herds, sometimes for tens of miles, to watering holes that they remember from the past. They also display signs of grief, joy, anger, and play.

Recent research has shown that elephants can communicate over long distances by producing a sub-sonic rumble that can travel over the ground faster than sound through air. Other elephants receive the messages through the sensitive skin on their feet and trunks. It is believed that this is how potential mates and social groups communicate.

African Premier Adventures Ltd-Bakiga/Batooro Traditional Dancers Uganda/Kibale Forest

Ugandan Bakiga/Batooro  traditional dances have
adopted the upper body and waist basics and the intricate footwork and usage of
the head to augment the dances. At many dances performances, especially social
gatherings where traditional dance is part of the entertainment the head, waist,
neck and ankles are highlighted for the dance by use of bandanas, ankle bells,
bracelets and beads. It is also a mode of beautifying the dancers

How many teeth does a Hippopotamus Have?

Adult hippopotamus have thirty six teeth including two incisors, one canine, three premolars and three molars on each half of the jaw on both sides.

Adult hippos may retain some of their milk teeth for some years after developing their adult teeth meaning some hippos can have as many as forty teeth for a few years

The largest teeth are commonly referred to as tusks. These are the canines.

The front incisors are commonly referred to as fighting tusks as they are primarily responsible for inflicting wounds during fights.