BIRD WATCHING IN KENYA
Birding
in Central Kenya - 14 Days/ 13 Nights
Highlights
This birding tour
will give you a great opportunity to explore a region
part of Kenya that is neglected yet is an orthinological
paradise that hosts some endemic birds among other
birds. You will drive through this highland terrain from
hills to mountain valleys including the plains with a
4x4 wheeled vehicle to explore these Important Birding
Areas (IBA)
Itinerary
Birding
in KenyaDay 1: Arrival
On arrival at
Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport you will
be met by our tour manager who will welcome you and
brief you on your birding activity. Then, you will be
transferred to your hotel Norfolk or any other similar
one. Dinner is at Ibis Grill. Dinner and overnight at
Norfolk or Nairobi Serena
Day 2:
Nairobi Area
After breakfast,
depart for your birding activity starting point from
Nairobi Museum. Bird watch in this beautiful city until
mid morning, you will be picked and be driven to Nairobi
National park for more birding activities. Have your
picnic lunch at observation point as you observe game or
at Makoyeti Gorge observation point. Continue your
birding activity in the park including the adjacent
Nairobi Safari Walk.
Nairobi National
Park is a park within the periphery of Nairobi city,
Kenya's capital city only 7 km from the city centre. Has
a wide variety of birds as well as game as its have
different habitats such as Grassland, woodland,
thickets, dams and ponds and upland dry forest. Look out
for the globally threatened species such as Madagascar
Squacco Heron, Corncrake Lesser Kestrel, Red-throated
Tit and Jackson's Widowbird among other common birds
such as the largest bird on earth, the ostrich, and
black headed weaver among other birds. In Nairobi Safari
walk areas look out for the little bee eater, weavers
among other birds around the walk especially at the
forest trail section.
Return to your
hotel for dinner and overnight.
Birds of
NairobiDay 3: Nairobi - Embu
After an early
breakfast drive past the third largest pineapple
plantation in the world owned by Delmonte firm to Embu
for your birding activity at Irangi Forest. Lunch is
enroute.
Irangi Forest
situated along the Meru road from Embu. About 6 km
travel will bring you to the small village of Mutindori.
On the left a well defined murram road leads to St.
Marks Teacher Training College. Follow this road towards
the mountain, passing the college, Manyatta and
Mianjakoma Tea Factories and finally reaching the Irangi
Forest barrier. You can explore this forest by foot or
by vehicle as the numerous tracks and trails in the
forest itself merit investigation. Interesting bird
watching can be guaranteed, but interesting sightings
can be slow and few and far between until one comes
across mixed bird parties. The forest holds and
excellent selection of highland forest and stream-side
birds, including Ayre's Hawk-Eagle, African Crowned
Eagle, Mountain Buzzard, Rufous-breasted Sparrow hawk,
Bronze-napped Pigeon, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo,
White-headed Wood-hoopoe, Bar-tailed Trogon, Fine-banded
Woodpecker, Mountain Wagtail, Mountain Greenbul, African
Hill Babbler, hunter’s Cisticola, Purple-throated
Cuckoo-shrike, Black-fronted Bush-shrike, Montane
Oriole, Kendrick’s Starling, Waller's Starling, Olive
Sunbird, Brown-capped Weaver, White-tailed
Crested Flycatcher, Black-throated Apalis, Black-headed
Apalis, Brown Woodland Warbler, Yellow-bellied Waxbill,
Abyssinian Crimson-wing, thick-billed seed eater and
Grey-headed Negro-finch.
Dinner and
overnight at Izaak Walton Inn
The
HamerkopDay 4: Mount Kenya National Park
After an early
breakfast drive further north to Mount Kenya National
Park birding enroute. Arrive at Mountain lodge in good
time for lunch. Have your afternoon at leisure as you
view the game such as buffaloes, forest hogs, and bush
pigs and luckily enough you might spot lions too as they
come to drink water near the natural salt lick. Dinner
and overnight at Mountain Serena Lodge
Day 5: Mount
Kenya National Park
After breakfast
have you birding activities at the forest trails the
better part of the morning. The different habitats, that
is, the montane forest, the montane grassland, the
bamboo and the moorland, Look out for globally threaten
species such as lesser Kestrel, Sharpe's Long claw,
Abbott's Starling, Jackson's Widowbird
In this Mount
Kenya national park
other birds to see
include Hartlaub’s Turaco, Brown-Hooded
Kingfisher, Giant Kingfisher, Grey-olive Greenbul, Zanzibar
Sombre Greenbul, Brown-backed Scrub-Robin,
Black-Throated Wattle-eye, Singing, Red faced, Winding,
Rattling, Croaking Cisiticolas, Mountain Yellow Warbler,
African-moustached
Warbler, Broad-tailed Warbler,
African Golden Weaver, Yellow-crowned Bishop, African
Fire finch, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, and Abyssinian
Crimson wing.
IbisGreen Ibis,
Long-crested Eagle, Mountain and Augur Buzzards,
Rofous-breasted Sparrow hawk, Red-fronted Parrot,
Red-throated Wryneck, Common Stone-chat, Kenrick's and
Waller’s Starlings, Oriole Finch, Montane White-eye,
African Hill Babbler, Montane Greenbul, White-headed
Hoopoe, Grey
, Black-throated, Black-headed, Chestnut-throated
Apalises, Green, Olive, and Eastern Bronze-naped
Pigeons, Lemon,
and Tambourine Doves, Moustached Green Tinker bird,
White-headed and White-eared Barbets, Scarce and Alpine
Swifts, Eastern
and Northern Double-collared sunbirds, Green Headed,
Golden- winged and Tacazze
sunbirds among more common species.
Lunch, dinner and
overnight at Mountain Serena Lodge
Day 6 -
9: Mount Kenya National Park - Samburu Game Reserve
After breakfast
travel further north passing the equator and arrive in
this prestigious park. Check in at Samburu Serena Lodge
and, later in the afternoon have a game viewing drive as
you bird watch. You may also have a chance to spot the
special five that is beisa oryx, grevy zebra, gerenuk,
Somali ostrich and reticulated giraffe.
Guinea Fowl The
Samburu Game Reserve, Shaba Game Reserve and Buffalo
Springs are watered by the Uaso Nyiro River (meaning the
brown river) which runs through all these three reserves
and in parts is the border between the Samburu and
Buffalo Springs; there's usually plenty of bird life in
the Acacias and Doum Palms along the river banks. The
river is generally wide and shallow but vanishes
completely in very dry seasons while it raises high
enough to flood both banks after especially heavy rains.
In drought or very dry spells the weavers which normally
nest along the banks seem to become less common, while
birds such as the yellow billed hornbill tend to move
down closer to the river. The shade provided by the
acacia and doum palm trees also makes them a favorite
place for elephants in the middle of the day. Look out
for bristle-crowned starling, night heron, vereaux’s
eagle-owl (also known as the South African Fish-Eagle),
pigmy falcon, Donaldson-Smith’s sparrow weaver and the
red- headed weaver.
All meals at
Samburu Serena lodge or similar lodge
Day 10:
Mount Kenya Safari Club
After breakfast
bid farewell to samburu and drive to the elegant Mount
Kenya Safari Club for a leisure stay. Enjoy the facility
of this club as once was a colonial establishment. You
can also opt to visit the adjacent sanctuary whereby you
can see the chimpanzee at an additional fee. Lunch,
dinner NOTE: dressing for dinner is strictly casual. Can
hire one in the club if you do not have one.
Day
11-12: Aberdare National Park
After breakfast
drive to Aberdare national park via Outspan hotel in
Nyeri to be transferred by lodge vehicle to tree tops
located in the Aberdare national park after lunch. at
treetops lodge's water hole look out for many water
birds and wading birds which may include familiar and
common species such as the black-headed heron,
hammerkop, yellow-billed stork, African green ibis and
the hadada ibis
OstrichAberdare
National Park forest and moorlands shelter and nourish a
diverse avian fauna. You can encounter birds such as
silvery-cheeked hornbill, Hartlaub's turaco, Narina and
bar-tailed trogons, green pigeons, tambourine dove and
purple-crested cuckoo-shrike. birds of prey may include
the African crowned eagle which preys on monkeys,
guineafowls, francolins and even known to take duickers.
black and white colobus monkeys are a favorite prey.
Other birds of prey may include the mountain buzzard and
aguar buzzard, long crested eagle, owls, the rare Ayre's
eagle and the palearctic birds such as Montagu harrier
and steppe buzzard. Other forest birds include the
cinnamon-chested bee eater, African paradise fly
catcher, and white headed hoopoe. At the bamboo area
look out for the white-starred robin, Jackson's
francolin and in the moorland region expect to see the
cisticolas- the Aberdare cisticolas, hunter's cisticolas
and the Levaillant and wing - snaping cistocola.
sunbirds include the Tacazze sunbird and the malachite
sunbird. The Kinangop grasslands which are on the
plateau west of Aberdares are home of the Sharpe's long
craw found nowhere else in the world.
Lunch, dinner and
overnight at treetops
Day 13:
Outspan - Nairobi
After breakfast
drive to Outspan hotel and collect your excess luggage
left at the hotel and drive back to Nairobi. Have a stop
over at fourteen falls. Have your lunch at Thika. Drive
to Nairobi and check in your hotel. You will be
transferred to carnivore restaurant for dinner. After
dinner you will be transferred back to your hotel for
overnight. Overnight at Norfolk or a similar hotel
Day 14:
Departure
After breakfast
bid farewell to Kenya as you will be transferred to Jomo
Kenyatta International Airport for your outbound flight.
Cost:-
Please request
for the safari cost by filling in your details after
clicking on the Reservations Button below. The price
depends on season of travel, class of accommodation and
the size of the group. Children are offered Special
Rates based on their ages.
Cost
Includes:
Transfers
from Nairobi hotel or Jomo Kenyatta International
Airport.
Drive
to carnivore restaurant for any meal stated in the
itinerary
Use
of a 4x4 wheel vehicle with a photographic roof during
your.
Park
entry fee for all parks that are stated in the itinerary
All
meals as per the Itinerary.
Service
of experienced English - Speaking driver guide and a
professional birding guide.
Game
drives as per the Itinerary
Driver
allowances and park fees for vehicle and driver
Government
taxes
Excludes:
Optional
activities:
Nairobi
city tour
Visit
to Sweet waters and Ol Pejeta conservancy at an
additional fee
Visit the Samburu homesteads while in Samburu at an additional cost
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