3 Days Forest Birding

The 3-day Kenya  forest birding tour starts early from Nairobi at 6 am, arriving at Castle Forest (Mount Kenya) around 0900hrs check-in, and birding in the lodge’s compound until lunch. After lunch we shall continue further, walking far in the forest birding and searching for more bird species and stunning forest specialists. 

On this day the Kenya forest birding tour will commence early in the morning, We shall follow the established nature trail to look for bird species that we may need or missed on our previous walk,  relying more on bird calls because forest birds tend to be shy and skulking. We shall move unhurriedly looking and searching for mixed feeding flocks in which during the non-breeding congregates. Tall dead trees are also favorite stopover points for birds  moving in the canopy

Grey, Chestnut-throated, Black-throated, and Black Collared Apalises will be heard calling in intervals, other interesting birds to see on the trails include the Kandt’s and Yellow-bellied Waxbills, Mountain Yellow Warbler, and Moustached Tinkerbird will also be heard calling high up in the tree canopy.  After lunch, the birding tour will proceed to Nyeri to look for the Cape Eagle Owl and the endemic Hinde’s Babbler. The birding here entails walking on private farms, a local community guide will accompany the group, and the guide is knowledgeable about the sites where the birds roost and feed. In the evening in the lodge which is nestled on a picturesque location between verdant hills and coffee farms we may be lucky to see the Montane Nightjar or hear the African Wood Owl hooting

We shall continue with the Kenya forest birding tour driving through the Aberdare National Park looking for the endemic Aberdare Cisticola and the Jackson’s Spurfowl, other bird species of interest are Moorland Chat, and Striped Flufftail, Kandt’s Waxbill, White-headed Woodhoopoe, Elgon Francolin Red-tufted Malachite Sunbird.

We shall also watch for the Cassin Hawk Eagle– a real forest raptor with very few confirmed records in Kenya that hunt through the canopy using the leafage and dark light of the forest to get its prey. The Cassin Hawk Eagle is mostly affiliated with the rainforests of the Congo Basin from Nigeria to western Uganda, Liberia to Togo, and more lately in western Tanzania The landscapes in the Aberdare National Park made it the inspiration behind The Lion King movie. Aberdare Park has lately been in the news; an Elephant was spotted suckling twins in one of the waterholes.

We shall exit through Mutubio Gate, driving down to Ndunyu Njeru town, to Kinangop Plateau, in search of another endemic Sharpe’s Longclaw, African Hobby, Long-tailed Widowbird, Jackson’s Widowbird, African Snipe, Lesser Jacana, and many more.
Expected time to be back in Nairobi by 0600hrs.