Nairobi national park is the closest to the country’s capital and all you need are a few hours as there are lots of attractions as for the bird lovers, the sky was filled with hundreds of large birds flying and landing at the Athi dam. And if you drive down to the dam and you can find that there are lots of marabou storks. These are fun to watch because of their different and interesting behavior.
Usually, they are seen in big numbers and they seem to get a bit mad /agitated and in most cases this results into serious-looking peck fights with their long sword-like beaks as they compete for food and dominance. Some times, they even go after the bigger animals like the zebras, giraffes.
Marabou storks are very peculiar-looking birds with very large sharp beaks, pinkish/purple naked necks, long legs and a huge wingspan which is the widest wing span compared to any land bird. In the park, the normally nest in the large thorn trees and try to clean up some of the city rubbish which some times kills them if it is poisonous.
Unfortunately, there are so many other birds that also die due to eating harmful substances like the plastics. Nevertheless the Marabou storks’ natural role in “cleaning up’ places is similar to vultures in that they eat mostly off dead carcasses. Yet strangely even amongst the “mass of marabou madness” there seemed to be an order that only marabous would best understand. The best place to watch them is at the dam that is one good spot to watch different bird species and animals when they need to take some water. You may be surprised by what you might see, your luck.
