Day 1: Nairobi (arrival)
Arrive at the JKI Airport to be met by your guide.
Birding starts right away from the stairs off the plane
as the Little, African Palm Swifts and the Superb
Starling appears common while the Red-winged Starling
whistles to remind you to have your binoculars ready.
Transfer to the hotel for a rest, followed by a visit to
the Nairobi National Museum’s birds, ethnography,
geology, prehistory galleries (among others) as well as
the Snake Park. This is the right place to learn and see
many of the Kenya's multifacets of culture, pre-history
and it's natural resources. Birding continues around the
museum’s botanical garden or elsewhere depending on the
time.
Overnight in Nairobi.
Day 2: Olorgesaille
We'll drive down the escarpment towards this dry, arid,
scrub country about 75 km south of Nairobi (towards Lake
Magadi). Makes an excellent whole day birding trip. All
the way down the rift valley, stops along the way shows
ta distinctive change of habitat and species.
Recorded species includes the Cut Throat, Blue-capped
Cordonbleu, Northen Crombec, Banded Parisoma,
White-bellied Canary, Crimson-rumped Waxbill, Grey Wren
Warbler, Taita Fiscal, Von der Decken's Hornbill,
Fischer's Sparrow-Lark, Grey-headed Silverbill,
Grey-capped Social-Weaver, Red-fronted Tinkerbird,
Straw-tailed Wydah, Tiny Cisticola etc.
We'll also spend some hours at the Olorgesaille
prehistoric Site, a museum displaying many hand tools by
man. Picnic lunch at the Museum.
Overnight in Nairobi
Day 3: Lake Nakuru National Park via Gatamaiyu Forest
Leave early for the Gatamaiyu forest, located about
50-km n.w. of Nairobi stretches through the Kieni forest
(part of the central highland) and boost many montane
species includes the Chestnut-throated, Grey,
Black-collared, Black-throated Apalis, Montane Oriole,
Narina & Bar-tailed Trogon, Black-fronted Bush-shrike,
Yellow-rumped, Mustached Green Tinkerbird, Scarce Swift,
White-browed Crombec, while Abbott's Starling and the
Sharpe's Starling have been recorded, among others.
While Manguo Ponds makes an excellent birding spot
en-route to the forest. It boost a wide variety of
waterfowls such as the Yellow-billed Ducks, Little
Grebe, Red-billed Teal, Red-knobbed Coot, while Maccoa
Ducks are regularly recorded, Grey, Black-headed Heron,
African Spoonbill, White-faced Whistling Duck, Hottentot
Teal, while sometimes waders may occur in large numbers
such as the Greenshanks, Sandpipers, Plovers etc.
Leave late afternoon for Lake Nakuru National park
passing by the Kinangop plateau in search of Sharpe's
Longclaw, one of the Kenya's endemic.
Overnight at Lake Nakuru.
Day 4: Lake Nakuru National Park
Lake Nakuru National Park is referred to as the "the
greatest ornithological spectacle in the world" with
both Lesser and the Greater Flamingoes sometimes
exceeding 1.5 million individuals. The alkaline habitat
supports thousands of resident and migratory waterfowl.
The alkaline lake, acacia woodland, grassland, rivers
and inlets with marshes hold over the 450 species.
Some of the common birds includes the Little Grebe,
Great White Pelican, Black-winged Stilt, Gull-billed,
Whiskered Tern, Grey-headed Gull, Cape and Red-billed
Teal, Southern Pochard, Long-crested, and African
Crowned Eagle, White-fronted Bee-eater, Arrow-Marked
Babbler, Little Rock Thrush, Wailing Cisticola,
Ruppell's Long-tailed Starling, Lilac-breasted Roller,
Cliff Chat and many species of waders.
In
addition, the park is rich in big games that includes
the Giraffe, Buffalo, Waterbuck, Eland, Hippo, both
Black and White Rhino, Lion, Leopard, Spotted Hyena
among many small mammals.
Overnight at Lake Nakuru
Day 5: Lake Baringo
We
take a morning game and bird-drive in the park before
leaving for the Lake Baringo Conservation Area, another
Kenya's birding hotspots. Afternoon, visit the cliffs
not far from the lake, a good site for Hemprich’s &
Jackson’s Hornbills, White-faced Scops Owl,
Bristle-crowned Starling, Brown-tailed Rock Chat,
Green-winged Pytilia, and Red & Yellow Barbet, Bat Hawk,
Three Banded Courser, Slender-tailed Nightjar (among
many others). Birding along the camp site and
the hotel could yield the Verreaux's Eagle-Owl, African
Pigmy kingfisher, Black Headed Plover,
Overnight at Lake Baringo Country Club
Day 6: Kapedo
We
drive north of Lake Baringo about 75km to Kapedo lying
on a semi-desert and the specialties around this area
includes the Magpie Starling, Chestnut-headed
Sparrow-Lark, Pigmy Batis, Somali Sparrow, Somali
Fiscal, Pale Prinia, Mouse-Coloured Penduline-Tit, among
others.
Overnight at Lake Baringo Country Club
Day 7: Kitale
Today we take an early morning boat ride before going
back to the cliff and the bush around hoping to see the
Goliath, Grey Heron, Great White Pelicans among many
waterbirds. Before lunch we leave for Kitale where we
spend the night looking forward for tomorrow birding day
down the Kongelai Escarpment.
Overnight in Kitale
Day 8: Kongelai Escarpment
We
drive down the Kongelai escarpment on the west of
Makutano (Kitale - Turkana Road). This is yet another
excellent birding area where we expect localized birds
such as the Yellow-billed Shrike, Lesser Blue-eared
Starling, White Crested Turaco, Chestnut Crowned
Sparrow-weaver, Dark Chanting Goshawk among many other
interesting species.
Late afternoon we leave heading for the Kakamega Forest.
Overnight in Kakamega
Day 9 / 10: Kakamega Forest
2
Days long around the forest trails in the northern
circiut. The Kakamega Forest, the only rain forest
remaining in Kenya, was once a continuation of the
Guinea-Congolian rainforest, rich in species nowhere
else to be seen in Kenya. Spending a few days here we
hope to see a good number of these forest species that
could include the Blue-headed Bee-Eater, Red-headed
Malimbe, Green Sunbird, Grey-winged Robin, Yellow
Spotted, Yellow-bellied Barbets, African Blue
Flycatcher, African Shrike-Flycatcher, Snowy-headed
Robin, Common, Jamesson's, Chestnut and with much luck
the Yellow-bellied Wattle-Eyes and may be the
Blue-shouldered Robin Chat among many others.
Overnight in Kakamega
Day 11: Kisumu (Lake Victoria)
Birding before breakfast and after, later drive to
Kisumu City just-by the second largest fresh-water lake
in the world. Visit Impala Sanctuary and the Sewerage
Works that could yield a Southern Red Bishop,
Black-billed Barbet.
Overnight at Kisumu
Day 12: Masai Mara Game Reserve
Today we take an early morning boat ride along the
Papyrus vegetation at the Dunga Beach (a fishing
village/jet) with expectation to see some the
specialties like the Papyrus Canary, Papyrus Gonolek,
Swamp Flycatcher, Slender-billed, Northern
Brown-throated, Jackson's Golden-backed, Yellow-backed
Weavers, Greater Swamp Warbler e.t.c.
After this we leave for the world famous Masai Mara Game
Reserve for the next 3 days.
Overnight in Mara
Day 13: Masai Mara Game Reserve
Masai Mara Game Reserve is a plain of rolling grassland
dotted with a mixture of acacia trees and the plain game
which includes large herds of Elephants, Zebras, Topis,
Hartebeests, gazelles, Impala’s not forgetting the well
known Mara/ Serengeti Wildebeest’s migration, Lions,
Cheetah among other cats.
We'll stay on the western part of the reserve along the
Olololo Escarpments blended by river, swampy, grassy and
forested habitats. Specialties could include the Tabora,
Rock Loving Cisticola, Wattled Plover, Penduline Tit,
Pale Wren Warbler, among others. Those interested with
Balloon Safari- this is the place to view Mara and her
wildlife by air.
We'll spend sometime in the afternoon to visit the Masai
Village for a cultural dance and experience their way of
life.
Overnight in Mara
Day 14: Nairobi
En
route game drive on our way to Nairobi while searching
for more bird species especially the Magpie Shrike and
others on the eastern part of the reserve. While on the
way to Nairobi we'll stop in search of the
Swallow-tailed Kite.
Return to Nairobi where our tour ends with a dinner
before the transfer to the airport.
