Manguo swamp Kenya is a fresh wetland that is located on the Nairobi-Naivasha road, close to the Limuru town and its only 40 minutes from Nairobi’s central business district, this is a tourism Kenya safari destination in that the swamp is a destination that was famous for the hippos where the various tourists could come to visit the swamp, but however the hippos must have fled some decades ago as the surrounding environment become more urban, the wetland attract more domestic and foreign tourists to visit the Manguo swamp.
Manguo swamp is such important in that it is a seasonal and instrumental in regulating water which controls floods in the area, water flows through the ground to refill the ground. Wetlands supply the clean water, safeguard from the floods, drought, acts like a sponge by retaining some water in their bodies and then it supplies that water during the dry season, it also provides food to the millions of people.
Manguo swamp supports rich biodiversity that is the fauna and flora, the swamp holds more carbon than any other ecosystem on the planet they do not bring out famine disruption because it’s a great wetland that is seasonal and instrumental in the regulation of the water thus controlling the water flow through the ground to refill it, that is they help and so important in the climate adaptation and the building of the resilience.
On the other side the Manguo swamp has got the fresh water which is a magnet for attraction for mostly the water bird and as well other animal species that cannot survive in the saltwater. Manguo swamp is such vital in that it has got the bright green grass at the water’s edge where young farmers cut fodder for their livestock. It is a unique scene without much disruptions just the little by passing vehicles on the nearby highway.
Manguo swamp is a birding safari destination, where the bird lovers who visit the swamp can be able to spot the fresh water birds like the Maccoa duck, localized duck and among others, the beautiful chestnut-colored males and the duller grey female keep to their edge of the swamp. These African stiff tail ducks that can be observed around the Manguo swamp and they rarely leave the water because their legs are set far back making wadding on the land uncomfortable, also there are other bird species that are only be spotted in Manguo swamp like thee rare Palearctic ducks like the Gadwall, Ferruginous. Other interesting and beautiful bird species to be spotted includes the Golden-winged sunbird, Eastern and Northern sunbirds.
Other common bird species to be spotted from the Manguo swamp by the travelers on a safari includes the Egyptian goose, Yellow-billed duck, Little grebe, Eurasian Moorhen, Black-winged Stilt, African Jacana, Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper, Black- headed Heron, Hamerkop, Cattle Egret, Pied Crow, Hunter’s Cisticola, Lesser Swamp Warbler, Plain Martin, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Rock Martin, Kikuyu White-eye, Abyssinian Thrush, Cape Robin-Chat, Bronze Sunbird, Variable sunbird, Speke’s Weaver, Village weaver, Common Waxbill, House Sparrow, Kenya Rufous Sparrow, Cape Wagtail, African Pipit, Cape Wagtail, Streaky Seedeater and many others. So the Manguo swamp is such a habitat protection is in the long run much less costly that the habitat rehabilitation or restoration and thus protecting the current status of the Manguo from the further degradation very critical.
On a Kenya safari to the Manguo swamp the visitors can as well spot the various raptors such as the Augur Buzzard that are normally seen looking a above while searching for food like the rats below. Bird watching in the Manguo swamp is best done during the early morning which is the best time to visit the swamp and you observe and watch exciting bird species.
