Kongelai Escarpment

Birding in Kongelai Escarpment ordinarily takes the whole day, but for you to cover all the birding hotspots within Kongelai it is advisable to have 3 days. Kongelai Escarpment is hidden away in a quiet outskirts of the fast growing Makutano town with over 200 different  birds have been spotted including rare and endangered species . It falls under the Western Kenya birding circuit, which includes: Mount Elgon, Saiwa National Park, Lake Victoria, Busia Grasslands, Ruma National Park, Mount Mtelo, and  Cherangany Hills. The Kongelai Escarpment hilly landscapes, gorges, cliffs and dry scrub and wetlands creates an engrossing environment for any birding enthusiasts. The upland forest remnants around Kapenguria give way to trees and scrub more characteristics of the bird population. As you drive down there are farmlands on either side of the road, where a brief stop-over is allowed to look for birds, Black-billed Barbets, and Lesser Blue-eared Starlings feeding in the huge fig trees on the farms. The inhabitants of Kongelai Escarpment are subsistence farmers who mainly grow maize/corn on their farms. The landscape in Kongelai changes in about four kilometers, becoming dry with scattered bush, the temperatures also rise as you drive down towards the Suam River, this makes birding interesting as you keep seeing new and different bird species. These hidden treasures of Kongelai or Kanyarkwat Escarpment have recently produced a rare and amazing White-breasted Cuckooshrike– a bird that used to be common in the area more than 30 years ago. Birding in Kongelai is always productive from dawn to 11 am when the birds are  most active with the early morning singing and  feeding being the most amazing, birds will be seen on the ground, mid-canopy and on treetops. Plenty of short birding walks awaits you in Kongelai, along with the chance to spot something special. This is the best place in Kenya to see the elusive African Spotted Creeper.

For wildlife lovers the rare and critically endangered Patas Monkey may be seen in Kongelai Escarpment.

Kongelai Escarpment Bird Highlights; Spotted Creeper, Black-billed Firefinch, West African Seedeater, Rock Pratincole, Familiar Chat, Southern Hyliota, White-crested Turaco, Eastern Plantain-eater, Fan-tailed Raven, Lesser Blue-eared Glossy-Starling, Bronze-tailed Glossy-Starling, Uganda Woodpecker, Yellow-billed Shrike, Hartlaub’s Marsh Widowbird, Heuglin’s Masked Weaver, Western Citril, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow Weaver, Pale  White-eye, Stone Partridge, Boran Cisticola, Green-backed Eremomela, Foxy Cisticola, Western Black-headed Batis, Northern Grey-headed Sparrow, Mocking Cliff Chat, Gambaga Flycatcher, Jameson’s Firefinch, Fawn-breasted Waxbill, Freckled Nightjar, Short-winged Cisticola, Rameron Pigeon, Black-billed Barbet, Red-throated Wryneck, Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk, Black-bellied Seedcracker.

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