ShotsByShema | Through A Birder's Lens | A blog about birds and bird watching, with a major focus on Kenya

NDEGE WETU: A Tribute to the Birds of Kenya (Part 5 – Visitors from Far and Wide)

Of Kenya’s 1100 or so species of birds, over 200 are migrants – birds that are only in Kenya for part of the year and spend other months somewhere else. Migrants live some very fascinating lives. They are born in a certain part of the world, and then travel huge...

Through My Lens #3 – Some Birds from Olooseos

Here’s a look through my lens at a few of the sightings from this past Saturday (25th August), when I was birding just south of the Ngong Hills at PEC Nature Camp (Olooseos Camp) and its surroundings, with some friends from Youth Africa Birding – Kenya. The light conditions were quite...

Birds That Help Forest Restoration (Birding From Home #5)

This coming Friday (June 5th) is World Environment Day, with the theme for this year being ‘Time for Nature’. The focus is on the role that nature plays in providing the essential infrastructure for life on earth and human well-being. For this reason, today’s Birding From Home post is about...

NDEGE WETU: A Tribute to the Birds of Kenya (Part 11 – The Forest Dwellers)

The reason for Kenya’s exceptionally rich diversity of birds, and wildlife in general, is the extreme variety of landscapes that the country has. From sandy beaches to snow-capped mountains, fresh water lakes to alkaline (salty) lakes, scorching deserts to freezing moorlands, rugged cliffs to flat plains, and everything in-between. Kenya...

NDEGE WETU: A Tribute to the Birds of Kenya (Part 12 – Unconventional Parents)

When you think of birds raising their young, you probably think of something like this: parents build a nest, they lay their eggs, the eggs hatch, chicks are fed until they grow up and they finally leave their parents to make their own way in the world. That’s true for...

NDEGE WETU: A Tribute to the Birds of Kenya (Part 1 – Your Everyday Birds)

There are birds that you see everyday. They’re a normal part of your everyday life. For anyone interested in bird watching and learning how to identify birds, these are the ones you should start with. Even if you don’t know their names, you are familiar with them because you see...

A Couple Of Hours Bird Atlassing At The Museum (Birding From Home #7)

Sidney Shema 21st June 2020 21st June 2020Bird Atlassing, Birding From Home 0

Yesterday (20th June) I found myself with a free Saturday morning after my original plan for the day backfired. So I decided to go to the Nairobi Museum for two hours of solo bird atlassing (bird mapping) to see what was around. It was rather quiet, which is expected at…

Why The Nairobi National Park Bird List Is One Of The Longest In Africa

Sidney Shema 14th June 2020 14th June 2020Biodiversity 0

In my previous blog post, I described a day of birding in Nairobi National Park in which a few friends and I jointly recorded 213 bird species in the park. I also mentioned that, despite it being a great number, it is fairly average by the park’s standards. This is…

Birding Nairobi National Park During The Lockdown (Birding From Home #6)

Sidney Shema 7th June 2020 14th June 2020Birding From Home, Through My Lens 8

The coronavirus may have put a stop to many things but birding is not one of them. I spent this past Thursday (June 4th) birding Nairobi National Park with two fellow birders (and a few others met with briefly inside the park). Birds were not super abundant but it was…

Birds That Help Forest Restoration (Birding From Home #5)

Sidney Shema 31st May 2020 31st May 2020Birding From Home, Conservation 0

Birding From Home – Surprise Interaction Between A Parasitic Weaver And Its Host

Sidney Shema 24th May 2020 24th May 2020Birding From Home 2

This past Friday, I joined a few friends in Lang’ata, Nairobi, for a leisurely few hours of birding (with masks on!). The birding was great and we ended up with 80 species on our list. We had several very nice sightings, but the day’s highlight was a sighting that involved…

Birding From Home – The Melodious Robin Chats

Sidney Shema 17th May 2020 17th May 2020Birding From Home 0

Everyone knows that birds sing. But not all birds are singers and not all singers are equal. There are a few birds in particular that are exceptional in the art of singing. One group of birds that is well-known for their brilliant vocals are the robin chats (Cossypha). In addition…

ShotsByShema | Through A Birder's Lens

NDEGE WETU: A Tribute to the Birds of Kenya (Part 5 – Visitors from Far and Wide)

Birding From Home – The Eccentric African Harrier-Hawk

Through My Lens #3 – Some Birds from Olooseos

Birds That Help Forest Restoration (Birding From Home #5)

NDEGE WETU: A Tribute to the Birds of Kenya (Part 11 – The Forest Dwellers)

Through My Lens – January and February 2018

NDEGE WETU: A Tribute to the Birds of Kenya (Part 12 – Unconventional Parents)

NDEGE WETU: A Tribute to the Birds of Kenya (Part 1 – Your Everyday Birds)

A Couple Of Hours Bird Atlassing At The Museum (Birding From Home #7)

Why The Nairobi National Park Bird List Is One Of The Longest In Africa

Birding Nairobi National Park During The Lockdown (Birding From Home #6)

Birds That Help Forest Restoration (Birding From Home #5)

Birding From Home – Surprise Interaction Between A Parasitic Weaver And Its Host

Birding From Home – The Melodious Robin Chats