Big Bird Lecture In The Nairobi National Park

Very early one morning I drove towards the Hyena dam. Just then I saw a pair of grey crowned cranes standing on top of a tall acacia tree. Their shapes were profiled against the skyline in the pre-dawn haze. So I stopped and watched them for a while. Then I thought about possibly waiting for the sunrise moments and getting a photo of the cranes profiled on top of the tree. So I sat quietly and waited as the light slowly increased.

Then suddenly another large bird flew towards the tall acacia tree and attempted to land virtually on top of the grey crested cranes. It was a Secretary bird (a very large raptor), however, the cranes had a bit of a flap and then stood firm and would not move off “their tree”.

Then something strange happened, one of the grey crowned cranes began to seemingly vocally express how it felt, and amazingly the secretary bird turned away and hung its head as it stood there passively and looking almost shameful. I imagined the crane was “lecturing” the secretary bird on the “basics of big bird etiquette”, in that Rule No1) no big bird should have its feathers ruffled if first on top of a tree, especially if the aggressive act was in front of his life partner. Rule No2 ) Big birds should behave in a regal manner showing respect for other big birds. Then seemingly reciting Rule No 3,4,5,6,7 etc…. maybe it recited the entire rule book? The crane seemed to be really upset, continuously expressing distaste of the secretary bird’s behaviour. It really amused me to watch this “ big bird lecture”. Eventually, the secretary bird did fly away and left the cranes in peace.

Grey Crowned Cranes and Secretary birds are both resident and breeding in the park. Why not spend some time in the park? Go “birdwatching”, you will be surprised how many other animals can also be seen! Just slow down to the pace of nature. God has created so much to appreciate and enjoy, no matter how many times people visit the park there is always something new or maybe something unusual to observe, like the “big bird lecture”.

The park is open daily from 06h00 to 19h00

Big bird lecture on H&S Magazine Kenya. H&S Magazine Kenya is the top Magazine in Kenya