20 DAYS KENYA BIRDING SAFARI

Tour Summary
This 20 day bird-watching tour features visits to Nairobi National Park, two fresh water lakes - Lakes Baringo and Victoria, two alkaline lakes - Lakes Bogoria and Nakuru, the tropical Kakamega Forest, and the Masai Mara portion of the northern Serengeti. This will provide us with an extremely diverse group of habitats to explore. The extension travels to Tsavo West and Amboseli National Parks. In addition to many breeding birds, Tsavo West is particularly known for its autumn migration of birds arriving from Europe. Amboseli lies close to spectacular Mount Kilmanjaro, and is especially know for its large Elephant herds.

Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrival Nairobi
On your arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, you are met by African Voyages representative  then transfer to the Hotel Boulevard. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 2: Nairobi National Park
This will be a day to relax and wear off jet lag, but not without an introduction to Kenyan birds! A walk in the garden of our hotel will give us our first view of African birds, including Northern Pied Babbler, Holub's Golden Weaver, Speckled Mousebird, Dusky Turtle Doves and numerous Sunbirds.

After breakfast we will visit the Nairobi National Park, which despite being only a few kilometers from the city, is home to abundant wildlife. In the open grasslands scattered with acacia trees, we will see our first gazelles, zebras, giraffes and maybe even some of the cats. The birds expected here are: Common Ostrich, Secretary Bird, several Vulture species, Cattle and Great Egrets, Tawny Eagle, and a herd of Cape Buffalo with Red-billed Oxpeckers perched on their backs. Jackson's Widowbird, Black Kite, Marabou Stork, Pied Crow and African Palm Swift are also found in the park. Dinner and overnight at Hotel Boulevard.

Day 3: Drive Nairobi to Lake Baringo
After breakfast we'll leave Nairobi via the Nakuru road and head to the Rift valley. En route, we will stop at the Limuru Swamp for some morning birding. Residents of this swamp include: Little Grebe, African Jacana, Yellow-billed and Maccoa Duck, Pelicans, Sacred, Glossy and Hadada Ibis, Red-knobbed Coot, Yellow-billed and Little Egret, Grey and Black-headed Heron, Hamerkop, Blacksmith and Spur-winged Plover, Whiskered and Gull-billed Tern, Red-rumped Swallow, and African Harrier-hawk.

We'll then proceed to Lake Baringo, which is a fresh water lake, but with a slight degree of alkalinity. The climate in this region is dry and the surrounding cliffs are home to a variety of bird life. Over 400 species of birds have been recorded in this region. Since this is a very hot region, birding excursions away from the lodge will be early in the morning and late in the afternoon.

After lunch  we'll bird in the garden of the lodge, where we should easily see White-browed Sparrow-Weavers, Jackson's and Red-billed Hornbills, Bristle-crowned Starlings, the rare Northern Masked Weaver, Grey Kestrel, Little and Dwarf Bittern, Squacco Heron, Red-fronted, d'Arnaud's, Black-throated and Red and Yellow Barbets, Red-fronted Tinkerbird, Nubian and Cardinal Woodpeckers and the Lesser Striped Swallow. There will be time to relax, enjoy the swimming pool, and bird the grounds of the lodge for the resident Spotted Eagle-owl, and Sunbirds such as Beautiful, Hunter's and Violet-backed. At night, Nightjars are common on the lakeshores, and hippos graze freely on the lodge's lawn.  Dinner and overnight at Lake Baringo Country Club.

Day 4: Day in Lake Baringo
Before breakfast  we will bird the nearby escarpment and surrounding countryside for Hemprich's and Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill, White-crested Turaco, Madagascar Bee-eater, Rufous-crowned Roller, Gabar Goshawk, Cliff Chat, and Verreaux's Eagle, which feeds on the Rock Hyrax.

Later on in the day we'll take a boat ride on Lake Baringo, always on the lookout for new bird species. Hopefully, we will get close looks at Goliath Heron, African Fish Eagle, and Malachite Kingfisher, as well as hippos and crocodiles.   Dinner and overnight Lake Baringo Country Club.

Day 5: Lake Bogoria
On day 5 we will make a day visit to the RAMSAR site of Lake Bogoria. The lake, known for its hot springs and thousands of Greater and Lesser Flamingoes, is a haven for bird watchers. We'll enjoy a picnic in the park, and add more species to our list!

Possible sightings here include: Black-necked Grebe, Eastern Pale Chanting Goshawk, Tawny, Long-crested, Steppe and African Fish Eagle, Pygmy Falcon, Kittlitz's, Black-headed, Senegal and Three-banded Plover, Namaqua Dove, Brown Parrot, Red-chested, Diederik and Klaas's Cuckoo, and African Pygmy and Woodland Kingfishers.  Dinner and overnight Lake Baringo Country Club.

Day 6: Drive Lake Baringo to Kakamega Forest
We plan to arrive at the Kakamega Forest in time for a late lunch. This forest, in the heart of an intensively cultivated agricultural area, is a superb remnant of the virgin tropical rainforest that once stretched to the Congo. The forest is the home to a wide range of specialty birds, many which are not found anywhere else in Kenya, and it is also home to the rare De Brazza's monkey (only found in Kakamega Forest), the Hammer-headed Fruit Bat, Flying Squirrel, 400 species of butterflies and no less than 330 species of birds. Dinner and overnight Rondo Retreat.

Day 7: Kakamega Forest
While birding in a forest can be difficult, as compared to the savannah, this will easily be forgotten when, after two great days of exploring different areas of the forest, we should have impressive sightings of Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Ross' and the Great Blue Turaco, White-browed Coucal, Striped Kingfisher, White-headed Hoopoe, Grey-throated Barbet, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, and Yellow-spotted Barbet. Other notables are the Grey-headed Negro-finch, Red-headed Bluebill, Chestnut Wattle-eye, and Mackinnon's Shrike.  Dinner and overnight Rondo Retreat.

Day 8: Lake Victoria
On day 8 we'll visit Lake Victoria to search for species that are rarely seen anywhere else in Kenya such as the Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Blue Swallow, Swamp Flycatcher, Greater Swamp-warbler, White-winged Warbler, Papyrus Yellow Warbler, Carruthers' Cisticola, Papyrus Gonolek, Red-chested Sunbird, Red-headed Quelea, Slender-billed, Yellow-backed, and Northern Brown-throated Weaver, Black-throated Seedeater, and the Papyrus Canary.  Dinner and overnight Rondo Retreat.

Day 9: Drive Kakamega Forest – Lake Nakuru
We head southeast to Lake Nakuru, which is famous for its thousands of Lesser Flamingos - the Greater Flamingoes will be easily distinguishable by their height. Great White and Pink-backed Pelicans, and Black-winged Stilt are also found there. Dinner and overnight Flamingo Hill Tented camp.

Day 10: Lake Nakuru
Since the lake has low concentration of salt it supports fish that attract other water birds such as Avocets, Storks, Ibises, Ducks, Cormorants, Herons, and Terns. In the grasslands and acacia forests there will be a chance to see Broad-billed Roller, Arrow-marked Babbler, Narina Trogon, Yellow Bishop, Red-collared and Long-tailed Widowbird, Speke's Weaver, Rüppel's, Long-tailed and Greater Blue-eared Starling, Black-headed Oriole, Black-backed Puffback, Chin-spot Batis, White-shouldered Cliff Chat, White-browed Scrub Robin, Common and Little Rock Thrush, and Hunter's and Bronze Sunbird. Dinner and overnight Flamingo Hill Tented Camp.

Day 11: Drive Lake Nakuru to Maasai Mara
We'll head to the famous Masai Mara National Reserve, which borders Serengeti in Tanzania. Mara is the gem of wildlife viewing and bird watching in Kenya with 450 species recorded. We will drive through Masai land, home to one of the most fascinating cultures in Africa. We'll overnight at the Mara Simba Lodge, which is built in a great natural setting.

In the vast grasslands we expect to see African Elephants; the large cats - Lion, Leopard, and Cheetah; the herd animals - Burchell's Zebra, Wildebeest, Thompson's and Grant's Gazelles; and specialties like the Hartebeest and Topi. Dinner and overnight at Mara Simba Lodge.

Day 12 and 13: Days in Maasai Mara
Expected bird species are the highly conspicuous Common Ostrich, the small but still conspicuous Cardinal Quelea, Sooty Chat, Ground Hornbill, Open-billed Stork, Temminck's Courser, Yellow-throated Sandgrouse, White-bellied, Black-bellied and Denham's Bustard, Northern Anteater Chat, Red-faced Cisticola, White-Bellied Tit, Common Wattle-eye, Grey Cuckoo-shrike and Lilac-breasted Roller. If we find a "kill", we may see six species of vultures all dining together: Egyptian, Hooded, Griffon, Lappet-faced, White-backed and White-headed. It will be a double reward should a Hyena or a Jackal join in the scramble.

There are numerous raptors in Mara such as Bateleur, Martial and Tawny Eagles, as well as Pale Chanting Goshawk, Augur Buzzard and Black-chested Snake Eagle.

Along the Mara River we'll watch for African Finfoot, Egyptian Goose, Schalow's Turaco, Crested Guineafowl, Woodland Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Barbet, Black-billed Weaver, Violet-backed Starling, and perhaps with luck, Pel's Fishing Owl. Any tapping noise on the trees may be indicative of the relatively uncommon Golden-tailed and the Fine-banded Woodpeckers. Hopefully we will be lucky enough to see some of the more difficult to see mammals such as Bat-eared Fox, Hunting Dog, Serval and the delightful Banded Mongoose.

Every day we'll take an early morning wildlife drive before a late breakfast and an afternoon wildlife drive until sunset. On day 13, after breakfast, we walk to a Masai village, still on the look out for various birds. The Masai people who accompany us will give us more info about the medicinal use of the plants and about their culture. In the village we enter one of their houses so that we can see how the Masai live today, which has changed little from the way their ancestors did hundreds of years ago.

Day 14: Drive Maasai Mara to Nairobi
We'll transfer back to Nairobi in time for lunch.  Overnight at the Hotel Boulevard in Nairobi.

Day 15: Drive Nairobi to Tsavo West National Park
After an early breakfast we'll drive south of Nairobi towards Tsavo. We'll stop at Hunter's Lodge where we expect to see a colony of Palm and Golden Weavers, and Giant and Grey-headed Kingfishers. We will then enter the park looking for species typical of dry acacia country such as Golden breasted Starling, Crested Francolin, Helmeted Guineafowl, White-bellied Go-away-bird, Blue-naped Mousebird, White -headed Mousebird, Red -billed Hornbill, Von Der Decken's Hornbill. The beautiful Red-and -Yellow Barbet can sometimes be seen foraging on termite mounds. Dinner and overnight at Severin Safari Camp.

Day 16 and 17: Tsavo West
At the water fountain of the exclusive Severin Safari Camp, which is going to be our home for the next 3 nights, we will likely see the Grey-headed Silverbill, Spotted Morning Thrush, and Sparrows.

Our days in Tsavo will be spent with wildlife drives and birding. On day 17 we will drive to Lake Jipe which is on the Kenya Tanzania border. The lake is bird rich and easy to see species here are Taveta Golden Weaver, African Skimmer, and Water Thick-knee.

Day 18: Drive Tsavo West to Amboseli
On day 18 we cross over to Amboseli National Park, where we will stay in the Ol Tukai Lodge for 2 nights. Amboseli would be considered a dry park but it has a lot of swamps that are fed by underground rivers flowing from Mt. Kilimanjaro. There is abundant wildlife, and elephants are present in the hundreds, with the snowcapped Kilimanjaro in the background making the park a great place for photographic opportunities. Dinner and overnight at Kibo Safari Camp.

Day 19: Amboseli
Our 2 days of birding here should give a good mixture of water birds, dry-savannah birds, and many raptors. We'll look for Purple and Goliath Heron, African Spoonbill, Red-billed Teal, Black-chested Snake Eagle, Eurasian Marsh, African Marsh, Pallid and Montagu's Harrier, Little Sparrowhawk, Martial Eagle, Crested Francolin, Yellow-necked Spurfowl, Allen's Gallinule, Two-banded Courser, Collared Pratincole, Long-toed Plover, Marsh and Common Sandpiper, Ruff, Chestnut-bellied and Yellow-throated Sandgrouse, Levaillant's Cuckoo, Scarce and African Black Swift, Southern Ground Hornbill, Speckle-breasted Woodpecker, Fischer's Sparrow-lark, Banded Martin, Pangani Longclaw, Rufous Chatterer, White-starred Robin, Pied and Isabelline Wheatear, Brown-tailed Rock Chat, Pale and Spotted Flycatcher, Olivaceous and Willow Warbler, Winding Cisticola, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Red-tailed Shrike, Taita Fiscal, Brubru, and White-naped Raven.

Day 20: Drive Amboseli to Nairobi and Depart
We'll transfer back to Nairobi in time for lunch. There will be a free afternoon to relax and pack for the return flight.

End of Safari - Kwaheri !

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