13 Days Bird Haven Safari

 After landing at the city’s international airport, bird watching begins. Urban birds can easily be spotted and photographed like the weaver birds. The largest families of birds are however concentrated in the Great Rift Valley lake habitats while sizable number of preying birds can be spotted in the wild.

Lake birds include pink flamingos, pelicans, hammerkops, iridescent kingfishers, plovers, herons, storks, geese, cranes, grebes, jacanas and of course the magnificent African fish eagle. In certain places along the Kenyan coast, there are breeding pairs of osprey as well.

From there we journey to the west to Kenya’s tropical rainforest. Some only species of birds in the whole  of East African region can be spotted here. Tour will climax in the great Masai Mara and return to Nairobi where the tour ends.

11 Days Nairobi National Park, Lake Nakuru, Lake Bogoria, Saiwa Swamp, Kakamega Forest, Lake Naivasha, Masai Mara Birding Tour

Itinerary

Day 1: Nairobi National Park

Serious bird watching begins here. Likely birds to watch include, Northern Pied Babbler, Holub’s Golden Weaver, Speckled Mousebird, Dusky Turtle Doves and numerous Sunbirds.

In this Kenya bird watching safari we will further spot and photograth some other birds like the Ostrich, Secretary Bird, Crowned Crane, Vulture, Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Tawny Eagle and a herd of Buffaloes should provide Red-billed Oxpecker perched on their backs. Black Kite, Marabou Stork, Pied Crow and African Palm Swift are also available in the park. We will equally be treated to a variety of wildlife found in the park.

A walk around the Hippo pools should give us our first sighting of the Nile Crocodiles and the Helmeted Guineafowl. In the Yellow-backed Acacia, look out for Grey Crowned Crane, Red-throated Tit and Chestnut-banded Plover. Dinner and overnight stay at selected hotel or lodge.

Day 2: Lake Nakuru National Park

Leave Nairobi early in the morning and drive by the scenic and spectacular Rift Valley. Stop over at Limuru Swamp to see resident birds species such as Little Grebe, Yellow-billed and Maccoa Duck, Pelicans, Coots, Egrets and Herons. Soaring are Black Kite, Augur Buzzard and Pied Crow. Later arrive in Lake Nakuru for lunch and late afternoon game drive. Our bird watching encounter to the ‘Pink Lake’ famous for its thousands of Lesser Flamingos - the Greater Flamingoes will be easily distinguishable by their height. The Great White and Pink-backed Pelican and Black-winged Stilt. Others include Avocets, Storks, Ibises, Ducks, Cormorants, Herons, and Terns. In the wooded acacias there is a chance to see the White-browed Coucal, Broad-billed Roller, Arrow-marked Babbler and the Narina Trogon. Dinner and overnight stay at selected hotel or lodge.

Day 3 & 4: Lake Bogoria & the Hot Springs

After breakfast we head further north to Lake Baringo which without doubt is a one of the most interesting places for bird watching in Kenya because of the different habitats that are found with-in a small radius. There is the fresh water lake with a slight degree of alkalinity, cliffs, open grasslands as well as scattered bushes.

Over 400 species of birds have been recorded. The woodlands by the lake are alive with White-browed Sparrow-Weavers, Jackson's and Red-billed Hornbills, Bristle-crowned Starlings, and the rare Northern Masked Weavers, there are several Hamerkops along the lakeshore and with luck we should be able to see their nest, which a pair of Grey Kestrels have adopted as a home. There will be time to relax, enjoy the pool, and bird the grounds of the lodge for the resident Spotted Eagle-owls, and Sunbirds such as the Beautiful, Hunter's and the Violet-breasted. Nightjars are common on the lakeshores at night and the Hippos graze freely on the lodge's lawn. Dinner and overnight at Lake Baringo Country Club. Other activities include boat rides and hiking by the nearby slopes and bush country for more species.

On Day 5 we depart early for the long drive to Cherengani hills via the Kerio valley escarpment. The landscape is panoramic with undulating hills. The atmosphere is cool. Picnic lunches will be provided. Arrive in Saiwa swamp in time for evening birding.

Day 5: Saiwa Swamp
Covering only 3 sq km, Saiwa is the smallest national park in Kenya. Walking trails shirt the swamp, which is home to selection of marsh birds through riverine and savannah woodlands inhabited by monkeys. Look out for the Sitatungas, shy Antelope that remains submerged in the water better part of the day. Observation towers along the banks make ideal platforms from which to scan the reed beds of Sitatungas and birds. Throughout the swamp, ibises, ducks, and herons feed in open patches of water.

DAY 6 & 7: Kakamega Forest

A Kenyan bird watching tour is nearly incomplete without birding in Kakamega forest. This forest, in the heart of an intensively cultivated agricultural area, is a superb remainder of virgin tropical rainforest and is of course the home to a wide range of specialty birds, many which are not found anywhere else in Kenya. The forest is not only home to the rare De Brazza's monkey (only found in Kakamega Forest), but also to the Hammer-headed Fruit Bat, Flying Squirrel, 400 species of butterflies and no less than 330 species of birds.

Yes, birding in a forest has its fair share of difficulties but this is easily forgotten when our count increases with hopeful sightings of the impressive Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Ross' and the Great Blue Turaco. Other notables are the Grey-headed Negro-finch, Red-headed Bluebill, Chestnut Wattle-eye, Mackinnon’s Shrike and many more.

Dinner and overnight in the Rondo Retreat in the forest.

Day 8:  Lake Naivasha
After early breakfast, leave Victoria for lake Naivasha, another Great Rift Valley lake. Highlights are water birds, African fish, eagles, pied kingfishers, yellow-billed storks flamingos and waterfowls. Optional visit to the nearby Hells gate national park or boat ride to crescent highland. Nesting birds are a highlight.

Day 9: Lake Naivasha / Masai Mara National Reserve
After early breakfast, depart for Maasai Mara game reserve. Arrive in time for lunch. Full afternoon game viewing. Mara is by all accounts the best park in Kenya. All the big five roam lazily in the plains.

Day 10: Masai Mara
Full day bird viewing at Masai Mara. The Mara boast of 540 species including 57 raptors. Birds of prey range from the snappy little grey Kestrels and other species hovering above the grasslands to large eagles and six species of Vultures scrambling at kills.


Day 11: Masai Mara / Nairobi
After breakfast, enjoy your last game run as we depart for the return journey back to Nairobi. A stop-over will be provided to view the Great Rift Valley Picnic lunches on the way. Safari ends in Nairobi in the late afternoon hours.

Kindly contact us for pricing and tour variations / activities.