A January morning on the Kinangop Plateau

The Kinangop wakes cold. In January the grass is still standing from the short rains, the widowbirds are on territory, and if the light comes up clean the plateau shows you something very specific: highland grassland birds you will not see in this configuration anywhere else in Africa.

We were out at the fence line by six-fifteen. Sharpe's Longclaw came in low across the grass and dropped in, exactly where we've been finding them since November. Two males, one female. A minute later a Wing-snapping Cisticola dropped its wing over the tussock behind them. Aberdare Cisticola calling from the shrubs to the east. Three species of widowbird in view before the sun cleared the ridge.

The plateau's habitat has been changing under agricultural pressure for years, and every visit I make I check the same paddocks against the same reference points. The Longclaws' patch is still intact. The Widowbirds' displaying grass is still there. That is not a given, and it is why Friends of Kinangop Plateau matters, the reason these fields still hold the species they hold is that a small local group has fought to keep them the way they are.

If you are birding Kenya with any serious interest in the endemics, you need this plateau on the itinerary. Late October through April is the window. January and February peak for the widowbird displays. Come cold, even at 5° above the equator, 2,500 metres is 2,500 metres at dawn.