Some of us decided to take the early morning safari at 6:30 and we were richly rewarded for it. We saw a male lion walking around through the brush. Followed it for a while before losing it in the bushes. Soon after that we were rewarded by spotting a leopard we were able to follow for quite some time. We had trouble crossing the river valley back but Martin managed to figure a way to trace his way back!!

We returned to some cold tusker and while Murthy, Sundar and I decided to go on a bird walk with the local Samburu guide, Nagu decided to sleep in till lunch while the women and Rags decided to go visit the local Samburu village.

The bird walk was very rewarding and we cited ~18 different species of birds just around the lodge. The village visit was equally rewarding and they learned a lot to appreciate their way of life.

We had cold tusker on return. Later we showered, had a good lunch and rested for a while before heading out on our afternoon safari at four. We were rewarded right away with a number of vultures waiting on top of branches clearly indicating there was a kill near by. We spotted a lion slowly ambling to the river to drink water. We then moved closer to where the other vehicles had stopped and there a lioness was devouring what was left of the Oryx they had killed. Another lioness was sleeping after an obvious full meal. Clearly the male had eaten his fill and was keeping the vultures at bay!!

We got back to the lodge fully satisfied and it was time for some rest & relaxation with good drinks and sumptuous Indian dinner.

Here is a list of birds and animals we saw today.

Early morning safari:
Lion
Kirk’s Dik-dik
Yellow-throated Spurfowl
Reticulted giraffe
Leopard
White-headed buffalo weaver
Von der Decken’s Hornbills (male and female)
Elephant
African white-backed vulture

Bird walk:
Rock agama – lizard
Superb starling
White-browned sparrow weaver
Green wood hopoe
Eastern yellow-billed hornbill
Red-billed hornbill
Cardinal woodpecker
Nubian woodpecker
Common drongo
African paradise flycatcher
White-headed buffalo weaver
Common bulbul
Grey-headed kingfisher
White-headed mousebird (speckled?)
Ring-necked dove
Emerald-spotted wood dove
White-bellied go-away bird
Grey-headed sparrow
African white-backed vulture

After noon safari:
Greater Kudu
Grey-headed kingfisher
Yellow-necked Spurfowl
The crested Francolin
Water buck
African white-backed vulture
Lionesses eating their kill while lion keeps watch after drinking water in the river
Secretary bird
Eurasian bee-eater
Grey-headed kingfisher
Oryx
Somali ostrich with infants
Samba
Cheetah preparing to hunt
Zebra