Go gunners

Some pictures of our new home and from the special education school. 

 The view from our 4th floor balcony.

 Martin being Martin in our living room.

Fellow Arsenal teammate.

 Dorm room that the kids sleep in.

 Once the room where the Autism class took place. Now condemned and is about to fall apart. Notice the giant crack just above the door. If you were to slightly push on the wall the whole building would collapse. Now the Autism class is held in the dorm room, where they push the beds back to create a learning space.

 Some of the boys pose for the camera.

 Learning tools being used in the Autism class. Tools wonderfully donated by the Autism Spectrum Consultants of San Diego.

 George!

 Classroom block.

 More posing for the camera

 More classroom space for the children. This place also doubles as the eating area.


        On Monday I went out with some of the children to play football in the yard. One of the kids with limited English gave me the choice of either playing on the side "Manchester United" or on the other side "Arsenal." Thinking that a team named after weaponry was considerably more fun sounding then a team named after a united front of some English city I have never been to. I chose Arsenal. We began play and very quickly it became obvious how stacked the other team was against us. They had three of the big boys with fine motor skills.
        Despite our best attempts to strategize and one of my team mates borrowing a rain boot to play in, leaving the other foot bare. We lost by 16 goals. Maybe we should have pulled out our goalie at some point. He is shown below.

It probably did not help that I am completely inept at football.

Species List updated

Last time I posted this I only had 58 species of bird and 34 mammals - so there is some improvement.  Bennett and I are taking a trip next week, stopping in the Abederes mountain range, then Thompson's Falls in Nyahururu, and then on to camp in Rumuruti for Wild Camel Day.  By the conclusion, I expect that my list of birds to well exceed 100!

Maria

SPECIES LIST

Birds

1. White-bellied go away bird: Criniferoides leucogaster

2. Von der Decken’s hornbill: Tockus deckeni

3. Red-billed hornbill: Tockus e. erythrorhyncus

4. Superb starling: Lamptotorns superbus 

5. Pied crow: Corvus albus

6. Wood warbler: Phylloscopus ibikatrix

7. Grey-capped social weaver: Pseudonigrita arnaudi

8. Red-billed quelea: Quelea quelea aethipica 

9. Somali ostrich: Stuthio (camelus) molybdophanes

10. Vulture guinea fowl: Acryllium vulturinum 

12. Ring-necked dove: Streptopelia capicola semalica

13. White-browed scrub robin: Cercotrichas leurophrys

14. Speckled mousebird: Colius striatus kikuyuensis

15. Greater blue-eared starling: Lamprotornis c. chloropterus 

16. Purple grenadier: Uraeginthus ianthinogasta

17. Marico sunbird: Nectarinia mariquensis snarelica 

18. D’Arnaud’s barbet: Trachyphorus darnaudii

19. Hadada ibis: Bostrychia hagedash brevivostis 

20. Cardinal woodpecker: Dendropicos fuscescens

21. Sprosser (or thrush) nightingale: Luscinia luscinia

22. Yellow-necked spurfowl: Francolinus leucoscepus 

23. Green-capped Eremomela: Eremomela scotops kikuyensis

24. Grey headed sparrow: Passer griseus 

25. Common bulbul: Pycnonotus barbatus tricolor 

26. Grey-wren warbler: Calamonastes simplex 

27. Slate-coloured bou bou: Laniarius funebris 

28. Grey-backed camaroptera: Camaroptera brachyura tincta 

29. Black-capped social weaver Pseudonigrita cabanisi

30. Wire-tailed swallow: Hirundo r. rustica

31. Southern black flycatcher: Melaenornis pammelaina

32. Fan-tailed raven: Corvus rhipidurus 

33. Common drongo: Dicrurus a. adsimilis

34. Lappet-faced vulture: Torgos t. tracheliotus

35. Laughing dove: Streptopelia s. senegalensis

36. Emerald –spotted wood dove: Turtur chalcospilos   

37. Speckle-fronted weaver: Sporopipes frontalis emini

38. Vitelline masked weaver: Ploceus velatus uluensis

39. Kori bustard: Ardeotis kori struthinunculus  

40. Speckled pigeon: Columba g. guinea (Daraja Academy, Nanyuki)

41. Rufous Chatterer: 

42. Long-toed lapwing (plover): Vanellus crassirostris 

43. Crowned lapwing (plover): Vanellus conronatus 

44. Helmeted guineafowl: Guttera pucherani

45. Pied wheatear: Oeanthe p. pleschanka 

46. Spotted morning thrush: Chichladusa g. guttata 

47. Marabou stork: Leptoptilus crumeniferus (Nairobi and Watamu)

48. Egyptian goose: Alopochen aegyptiacus

49. Grey-crowned crane: Balearica regulorum gibbericeps (Mt. Kenya Safari Club)

50. Red-winged starling: Onychognathus morio (Daraja Academy, Nanyuki)

51. Lilac-breasted roller: Coracias caudata

52. White-bellied bustard: Eupodotis senegalensis canicollis

53. Three banded plover: Charadrius t. tricollaris (Watamu)

54. Whimbrel: Numenius p. phaeopus (Watamu)

55. Angola swallow: Hirundo s. splendes (Daraja Academy, Nanyuki)

56. House crow: Covus s. splendes (Shanzu)

57. Black saw-wing or rough wing: Psalidoprocne a. albiceps

58. African firefinch: Lagonosticta rubricata hildebrandti

59. Lesser striped swallow: Hirundo semirufa gordoni (Daraja Academy, Nanyuki)

60. White-browed sparrow weaver: Plocepasser mahali melanorhynchus

61. Barn swallow: Hirundo r. rustica (Daraja)

62. Common house martin: Delichon u. urbica (Mpala)

63. Arrow-marked babbler: Turdoides jardineii emini (Daraja)

64. Ruppell’s griffon vulture: Gyps r. rueppellii (Mpala)

65. Eastern pale chanting goshawk: Melierax poliopterus

66. Chestnut sparrow: Passer eminibey 

67. Rufous sparrow: Passer r. rufocinctus

68. Baglafect weaver: Ploceus baglafecht

69. Hildebrandt’s starling: Lamprotornis hildebrandti

70. Grey heron: Ardea cinerea (Coast and Daraja in June)

71. Cattle egret: Bubulcus ibis

72. Buff-crested bustard: Eupodotis gindiana (Mpala Conservancy area)

73. Northern white-bellied bustard: Eupodotis senegalensis

74. Black-headed lapwing (plover): Vanellus tectus

75. Blacksmith lapwing (plover): Vanellus armatus (Ol Pejeta Conservancy)

76. Black-fronted bush shrike: Malaconotus nigrifrons

77. Red-billed oxpecker: Buphagus erythrorhyncus

78. Black-shouldered kite: Elanus c. caeruleus (Dol Dol Rd. before Daraja)

79. Black kite: Milvus m. migrans (Nairobi)

80. Northern white-crowned shrike: Eurocephalus rueppelli

81. Tropical bou bou: Laniarius aethiopicus (Lake Naivasha)

82. Sacred ibis: Threskiornis a. aethiopicus  (Ngong Hills)

83. Cattle egret: Bulbulcus i. ibis

84. Black-headed oriole: Oriolus larvatus rolleti (Daraja)

85. Green wood-hoopoe: Phoeniculus prupureus (Daraja)

86. Red-bellied firefinch: Lagonosticta senegala ruberrima (Daraja)

87. African orange-bellied parrot: Poicephalus r. rufiventris (Daraja)

88. Bronze sunbird: Nectarinia k. kilimensis (Daraja)

89. Lesser blue-eared starling: Lamprotornis c. chloropterus

90. Red-rumped swallow: Hirundo daurica emini (Daraja)

Reptiles & Amphibians

1. Striped skink: Mabuya striata

2. Red-headed rock agama: Agama agama

3. Rainbow skink: Mabuya margaritifer

4. Great plated lizard: Gerrhosaurus major

5. Leopard tortoise: Geochelone pardalis (SNC and Daraja)

6. Sharp nosed rocket frog or Mascarene rocket frog: Ptychadena oxyrhynchus or Ptychadena mascareniensis

7. Tropical house gecko: Hemidactylus maboula

8. Nile monitor: Varanus niloticus

9. Galapagos tortoise: (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage. Native only to the Galapagos.)

Mammals

1. Dwarf mongoose: Helogale parvula

2. Impala: Aepyceros melampus

5. Giraffe: Giraffa camelopardalis

6. Vervet monkey: Cercopithecus aethiops

7. Olive baboon: Papio anubis

8. Grevy’s zebra: Equus grevyi

9. Burchell’s zebra: Equus burchelli

10. Kirk’s dik dik: Madoqua kirkii

11. Rock hyrax: Procavia capensis

12. Thomson’s gazelle: Gazella thomsoni

13. Warthog: Phacochoerus aethiopicus

14. Spotted hyena: Crocuta crocuta

15. Elephant: Loxodonta Africana

16. Black-backed jackal: Canis mesomelas

17. Scrub hare: Lexus saxatilis

18. Squirrel: Xerus sp.

19. Gerenuk: Litocranius walleri

20. Bush buck: Tragelaphus scriptus (spotted a solitary one across river – seemed a deep reddish color, rounded rump, short tail)

21. Blue/sykes monkey: Cercopithecus mitis (Gedi)

22. Patas monkey: Erythrocebus patas (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage. Native to Kenya.)

23. Guereza black and white colobus: Colobus guereza (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage. Native to Kenya.)

24. Bongo: Tragelaphus (Boocercus) euryceros (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage and Breeding Center. Native to Kenya.)

25. Pigmy hippopotamus: Hexoprotodon liberiensis (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage – not native to Kenya or Eastern Africa. Found only in Western Africa coastal areas)

26. Cape or savanna buffalo: Syncerus c. caffer (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage, Soita Nyiro Conservancy, Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Native to Kenya.)

27. Lichtenstein’s hartebeest: Sigmoceros (Alcelaphus) lichtensteini (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage. Not native to Kenya but found in Tanzania and south.)

28. Blue wildebeest (brindled gnu): Connochaetes taurinus (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage. Native to Kenya.)

29. Cheetah: Acinonyx jubatus (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage and Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Native to Kenya.)

30. Caracal: Caracal caracal (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage. Native to Kenya.)

31. North African porcupine: Hystrix cristata (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage)

32. Oryx: Oryx gazella beisa

33. Grant’s gazelle: Gazella granti

34. Camel

35. Black Rhino: Diceros bicornis (Ol Pejeta Conservancy).

36. White Rhino: Ceratotherium simum (Ol Pejeta Conservancy).

37. Common eland: Tragelaphus (Taurotragus) oryx (Ol Pejeta Conservancy).

38. Blue Duiker: Cephalophus monticola (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage. Native to South western Kenya).

39. Bat-eared fox: Otocyon megalotis 

40. Klipspringer: Oreotragus oreotragus: (Il Polei)

New neighbor

Leopard tortoise: Geochelone pardalis 

A little shy at first

Ok, very shy

What a nice outfit

And then we made friends, ok not really, but I did fool him into revealing himself