20 Days Birding

Arrive at Jomo Kenyatta airport transfer to Hotel

Overnight Nairobi

Depart to Maasai Mara Game Reserve early morning, with a brief stopover at the viewpoint Great Rift Valley, which is one of the wonders of the world, stretching from Syria, down through Africa, to Mozambique.

The compelling sight, as you approach from Nairobi, Kenya is inconceivable,

Proceed to Maasai Mara Reserve via Narok town through the endless savannah plains dotted with acacias, arrive in time for lunch, and an afternoon birding/game drive.

After sumptuous breakfast, we head to the Reserve with pack picnic lunches for a whole day birding/mammal viewing.

Maasai Mara Game Reserve is famous for its black mane lions and the annual wildebeest migration. This is probably one of Kenya’s most visited Reserves, with an astonishing mass of animals including the Big five and other arrays of plain game.

The Mara River cuts through the Mara and Serengeti ecosystems giving life to both reserves before finally pouring out into the Lake Victoria.
The most notable is the wildebeest, zebra and gazelle instinct led the migration from the Serengeti in Tanzania to the Mara in Kenya. This journey is coupled with various impediments which makes it even more outstanding

Leave for Lake Naivasha a freshwater lake, 130km2 located in the Great Rift Valley, Birdlife here is prolific both the water-birds and the terrestrials.

Do a morning boat ride in the main Lake.

Later in the afternoon visit Lake Oloidien which is slightly saline and adjacent to Lake Naivasha, or visit the Kinangop plateau for the endemic Sharpe’s Longclaw, and other localized bird species

Travel to Lake Baringo, check in the hotel, refresh for few minutes, then do an evening walk around the hotel looking for the area specialties

Morning cliff walk later evening go for the nocturnal species

Early morning boat ride and then depart to Kakamega through Kerio valley, We shall have several stop overs along the scenic Kerio Valley in search of some localized bird species found in the area

Lunch will be also in a establishment,where birding is usually rewarding due to its location, at the top cliff, where during the bird migration, you may be lucky to see  hundreds of different raptors taking advantage of the thermals from the valley to soar high

Morning and afternoon walk in the forest  Kakamega forest is a rain forest eastern most remnant of once continuous forest spreading from Congo basin to East Africa and Central Africa, the forest has 380 tree species, 410 bird different species of which 194 species are forest dependent, two globally threatened bird species are known to occur in Kakamega forest; Chapin’s Flycatcher and Turner’s Eremomela

After Breakfast, then leave for Lake Nakuru National Park

Game drive/Birding as we check out of the park/Stopover along the way looking for special owls in Mweiga. Solio Ranch is located in the valley between the dramatic, snow-capped peak of Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Mountains.

Morning Bird walks, later drive to Samburu Game Reserve, located just north of the equator in the rain-shadow of Mt. Kenya three separate reserves, Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba protect a combined 40km² of mountains, plains, savannah and scrub desert. Set along the banks of the Ewaso Ng’iro River this stunning wilderness area is not as well-known as other reserves, which offers the perfect opportunity to enjoy the Kenyan wilderness away from the crowds

Early Morning birding looking for North of Equator specialties namely:

• Vulturine Guinea-fowl
• Somali Ostrich
• Somali Bee-eater
• Denham’s Bustard
• Stone Partridge
• William’s Lark, an endemic bird in Kenya
• Donald-Smith’s Sparrow Weaver
• Singing Bush Lark
• Pink breasted Lark

Drive to Nairobi arrival check in hotel, if time allows do urban birding at Nairobi Museum Grounds, its rich with birdlife

We shall continue with 20 Days Birding tour leaving early from Nairobi, heading to Tsavo west National Park, with stopover along the way, the first one at Lukenya hills, some 30km from Nairobi.

Interesting Bird species expected are:

• Red throated Tit( Endemic to Kenya and Tanzania)
• Brubru
• d’Arnaud’s Barbet
• Von der Decken’s Hornbill
• Abyssinian Scimitarbill
• African Hoopoe
• Lilac breasted Roller

Also some sighting of Mammals that migrate from Nairobi National Park;

• Giraffes
• Impalas
• Gazelles
• Monkeys

Proceed with the safari towards Hunter’s Lodge where lunch will be served, a nice and amazing area to do birding before the lunch is ready.

Bird species likely to be seen:

• Giant Kingfisher
• Malachite Kingfisher
• Pied Kingfisher
• Striped Kingfisher
• Grey Heron
• Black-headed Heron
• Retz’s Helmet shrike
• African Grey Hornbill
• Crowned Hornbill
• African Golden Weaver
• Grey-headed Kingfisher
• Golden Palm Weaver
• Later heads to Tsavo West National Park

Have early breakfast; with packed Lunch slowly do birding in the Park, area worthy visiting Mzima springs, where walking/birding on foot is allowed.

• Bird Checklist:
• Taita Falcon
• Black-bellied Sunbird
• Red-billed Buffalo Weaver
• Speckle-fronted Weaver
• Chestnut Sparrow
• Wattled Starling
• White-naped Raven
• White crested Helmet Shrike
• Rosy patched Bush Shrike
• Slate-coloured Boubou
• Taita Fiscal
• Beautiful Sunbird
• Hunter’s Sunbird
• Rofous Chatterer
• Verreaux’s Eagle Owl

Spend the early morning looking for the Taita Endemics
namely;

The Taita Hills cover an area of 1000 km2 and they form the northernmost part of the Eastern Arc Mountains. They are isolated from other mountainous areas to the southeast (Shimba Hills), south (Pare and Usambara Mountains), southwest (Mt. Kilimanjaro), west (Ngulia and Chyulu Hills) and northwest (Kenyan highlands) by the vast plains of Tsavo National Park

• Taita Thrush
• Taita Apalis
• Taita White Eye
• Stripe Cheeked Greenbul
• Narina Trogon
• Silvery cheeked Hornbill
• Mustached Green Tinkerbird
• Pale Flycatcher
• Yellowbill
• Striped Pipit
• Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher
• Evergreen forest Warbler
• Golden-tailed Woodpecker

Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve is a 420 km sq coastal forest in Kenya. It is the largest and most intact coastal forest in East Africa, with 20% of Kenya’s bird species, 30% butterfly species and at least 24 rare and endemic bird, mammal and butterfly species

Mammals:

• The forest has 40 recorded mammal species including;
• African Elephant
• African Buffalo
• African Civet
• Caracal
• Syke’s Monkeys
• Yellow Baboons
• Lesser Galago (or bushbaby).

Some of Kenya’s rarest mammals are found here, including the

• Golden-rumped Elephant-shrew
• Sokoke bushy-tailed Mongoose
• Ader’s Duiker.

Birds species

There are over 270 species of birds recorded in the forest including several rare and endemic species in Arabuko Sokoke Forest

The Clarke’s Weaver is only found in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest and another area 30 km2 further north of Arabuko-Sokoke in the whole world.

Other globally threatened bird species found in Arabuko Sokoke forest includes:

• Amani Sunbird
• East Coast Akalat
• Sokoke Scops Owl
• Sokoke Pipit
• Spotted Ground Thrush

Other birds restricted to Kenyan coastal forests are found the most easily in Arabuko-Sokoke, making it a great place to visit

Morning /Afternoon Bird walks

Morning/afternoon Bird walks

Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve is the largest stretch of coastal dry forest, the ecosystem comprises of three forest types, mixed forest, Brachystegia Woodland and Cynometra, each containing different rare species of Birds, Mammals, Butterflies, and Plants. There are 270 birds, 261 butterflies, 79 amphibians, 52 mammals and 600 plants species. The Clarke’s Weaver an endemic bird breeds in the forest,  other unique and rare bird Sokoke Scops Owl, Sokoke Pipit, East coast Akalat, Amani Sunbird and Spotted Ground Thrush, Three mammals which are endemic species: – Ader’s duiker, Sokoke Bush- tailed Mongoose, and Golden rumped elephant shrew

End of the 20 day Kenya birding tour, morning breakfast, later check out, travel to Mombasa International Airport for a flight back