Home » Experiences » 14 Day Kenya Birding Safari
Arrive at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to be met and transferred to Nairobi National Park for a day of birding. Picnic lunch served in the park. Only 10km from the cosmopolitan city is one for the greatest avifauna with a record of over 515 species in an area of only 117km².
Birds in the park include the newly-almost-described Nairobi Pipit, Saddle-billed Stork, Secretary Bird, Black-shouldered Kite, Lappet-faced Vulture, Jackson’s Widowbird, and Yellow-billed Oxpecker, among others.
The park has big game such as the Cape buffalo, Burchell’s Zebra, Hippo, Masai Giraffe, Coke’s hartebeest, Vervet and Syke’s Monkey, both Black and White Rhinos.
OVERNIGHT AT OLE SERENI NAIROBI HOTEL,
{BED AND BREAKFAST}
We will drive down the Rift Valley to Olorgesaille. Typically hot country, you may be rewarded with sights of like Cut Throat, Blue-capped Cordon-Bleu, Northern Crombec, Banded Parisoma, Southern Grosbeak Canary, Crimson-rumped Waxbill, Grey Wren Warbler, Taita Fiscal, among many more.
Overnight at Ole Sereni Nairobi Hotel BB
Today we head for Gatamaiyu Forest, a central highlands montane forest. It boasts many montane species including the Montane Oriole, Bar-tailed Trogons, Black-fronted Bush-shrike, Mustached Green Tinkerbird, White-browed Crombec while Manguo Ponds a good birding spot en-route to the forest and has a wide variety of waterfowls.
In the afternoon we’ll head to Naivasha en-route via Kinangop in search of Sharpe’s Longclaw a Kenya’s endemic later leaving for Lake Naivasha. A boat ride along the papyrus shore of the Lake Naivasha may produce Little Grebe, Great White Pelican, Great, Long-tailed Cormorant, Great Egret, Purple, Goliath Heron, Hamerkop.
Overnight at Elsamere Centre – George and Joy Adamson’s House, FB
After an early morning breakfast we leave for the Highland Grassland birding in search of two Kenyan endemics Aberdare Cisticola and Sharpe’s Longclaw we will also look for more specialties like Wing-snapping, Hunter’s, Levaillant’s Cisticolas, Great Crested Grebe, Maccoa & African White-backed Ducks, Lesser Jacana among many others.
Overnigiht at Nakuru Lion Hill Lodge, FB
Today we will spend the most part of the day in Lake Nakuru National Park birding in most of the habitats such us the alkaline shores, acacia woodland, grassland, rivers and inlets with marshes which holds resident as well as migratory species. They include White-fronted Bee-eater, Arrow-Marked Babbler, Little Rock Thrush, Wailing & Rattling Cisticolas, Rüppell’s Long-tailed Starling, among many others.
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. And in the early afternoon we will transfer to Lake Baringo Conservation Area.
Overnight at Soi Safari Lodge, FB
Birding around Lake Baringo Conservation Area is interesting in the fact that we spend most of the day outside the car. And if lucky with the help of the local guides we hope to see some the specialties such as the Hemprich’s, Jackson’s Hornbills, Northern White-faced Scops Owl, Bristle-crowned Starling while birding along the camp site and the hotel grounds could yield the Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, African Pigmy Kingfisher, Black-headed Plover.
Overnight at Soi Safari Lodge, FB
After breakfast we leave for Kakamega Forest Reserve. Enjoy birding en-route to the Forest. The few stops along the way may produce Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, Gambaga Flycatcher, Long-billed Pipit, Boran Cisticola, White-crested Turaco, Double-toothed Barbet, among others. We shall arrive at our lodge late in the afternoon.
Overnight at Rondo Retreat Centre, FB
This is the only true rain forest remaining in Kenya and 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, Grey-winged Robin, Yellow Spotted, Yellow-billed Barbet, Shelly’s, Joyful, Toro olive, Cabanis’ Greenbul, African Blue Flycatcher, African Shrike-Flycatcher, Snowy-headed Robin Chat, Common, Jameson’s, Chestnut Wattle-eye, Olive Green Camaroptera, Green, Cooper Sunbird.
Overnight at Rondo Retreat Centre, FB
After an early morning breakfast we head on the west in search of the localized Rock Pratincole along the river while birding the whole morning in the villages, farmland and the Busia Grasslands. We hope to find a few more localized birds such as the Bar-breasted Firefinch, Yellow-throated Leaflove, Senegal Coucal, White-crested Turaco, Copper’s Sunbird, among others. Arriving in Kisumu later in the late afternoon.
Overnight at Victoria Comfort Hotel,
A morning birding on the shores of the second largest fresh-water lake in the world. Along the Papyrus vegetation at an old fishing village we expect to see some of the specialties like the Papyrus Gonolek, Swamp Flycatcher, Greater Swamp Warbler, White-winged Warbler, Red-chested, Copper Sunbirds, Slender-billed, Northern Brown-throated, Yellow-backed, Jackson’s Golden-backed Weavers, Southern Red Bishop, Black-billed Barbet.
After this we leave for the world famous Masai Mara National Reserve, 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.
We’ll stay on the western part of the reserve along the Olololoo Escarpments blended by river, swampy, grassy and forested habitats. Specialties include the Long-tailed, Rock Cisticolas, Wattled Plover, Rufous-bellied Heron, Pale Wren Warbler. Woolly-necked Stork, Yellow-fronted Canary among many others.
Overnight at Mara Serena Lodge, FB
We’ll take a bird walk along the escarpment in search of the Red-tailed Chat, Long-tailed & Rock Cisticolas, Yellow-bellied Hyliota, Schalow’s Turaco, Pale Wren Warbler while a bonus of the Mwanza Flat-headed Agama is almost guaranteed.
Lunch at the camp later in the afternoon heading for with a game drive in the park and back late in the afternoon.
Overnight at Mara Serena Lodge, FB
After breakfast you will be transferred to the airstrip for your flight back to Wilson Airport in Nairobi. Upon arrival in Nairobi you will be met and drivien to the Hemingway’s Nairobi Hotel where a day room has been reserved for you. Later you will be transferred to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your flight back home.
Day Room at Ole Sereni Nairobi Hotel, Lunch or dinner
Located along Magadi road, an hour’s drive and 70kms away from Nairobi, Olorgesailie pre-historic site is world renown as the “factory of stone tools” and the only place in the world with the largest number of hand axes and representing some of the first camping places of early man.
The prominence and accumulation of human tools represents actual camping places of early men and evidence that human species had a tropical origin. The site is in a lake basin that existed about 100,000 to 200’000 years ago.
Researchers, Dr. and Mrs. Leakey, started investigations on the site in 1942 where they found important evidence that concerns the habits and activities of early prehistoric peoples of the Acheuleus or “Hand axe” culture.
Olorgesailie has excellently preserved biological and cultural evidence about the evolution of man.
This was made possible by heavy falls of alkaline volcanic ash from the nearby Mt. Suswa and Mt. Longonot, which might have contributed much to the accumulated ash in the lake basin. There is evidence of humid climate during part of the middle Pleistocene that is given by temporary lakes and swamps that exist in the area today. The sediments left by the lake cover an area of 80 km2.
Country:
Kenya
City/Location:
Magadi Road
On the floor of the Great Rift Valley, surrounded by wooded and bushy grassland, lies the beautiful Lake Nakuru National Park. Visitors can enjoy the wide ecological diversity and varied habitats that range from Lake Nakuru itself to the surrounding escarpment and picturesque ridges. Lake Nakuru National Park is ideal for bird watching, hiking,picnic and game drives.
Country:
Kenya
City/Location:
Nakuru
The Samburu National Reserve is a game reserve on the banks of the Ewaso Ng’iro river in Kenya. On the other side of the river is the Buffalo Springs National Reserve. The park is 165 km² in size and is situated 350 kilometers from Nairobi. It ranges in altitude from 800 to 1230 m above sea level.[1] Geographically, it is located in Samburu County.
In the middle of the reserve, the Ewaso Ng’iro flows through doum palm groves and thick riverine forests. It provides water, without which the game in this arid region could not survive.
Samburu National Reserve can be entered via the Ngare Mare and Buffalo Springs gates. Once inside the reserve, there are two mountains visible: Koitogor and Ololokwe. Samburu National Reserve is very peaceful and attracts animals because of the Ewaso Ng’iro river (meaning “brown water” and pronounced U-aa-so-Nyee-ro) that runs through it and the mixture of acacia, riverine forest, thorn trees and grassland vegetation. The Ewaso Ng’iro flows from the Kenyan highlands and empties into the famous Lorian Swamp. The natural serenity that is evident here is due to its distance from industry and the inaccessibility of the reserve for many years.
Country:
Kenya
City/Location:
Samburu
Elephant Bedroom Camp offers luxury in a setting of breathtaking beauty. It is set along the banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River and shaded by doum palms and other trees that make up this green belt of riverine forest in Samburu National Reserve. The surrounding Samburu National Reserve is an area of spectacular scenery; its dry plains bisected by the meandering river, with the backdrop of Africa’s dramatic mountains, including Mt Kenya.
Country:
Kenya
City/Location:
Nairobi
Once a holiday home and later to be a retirement home for the Adamsons, Elsamere remains a unique destination in Naivasha.
Delicious meals are served here and the traditional style high teas remain the best in Kenya!
At Elsamere history connects with the future as conservation is our main objective. Re-kindle the memories of Born Free by watching the documentary, The Joy Adamson Story and visiting the museum.
Country:
Kenya
City/Location:
Naivasha
Situated at the heart of the Rift Valley, the Lake Nakuru national park is home to one of the most amazing ornithological spectacles in the world – the flight of the flamingos! Aside from the flamingos, the park has over 450 species of birds – a heaven for any avid bird watchers. The park is also a sanctuary to the highly-endangered black Rhino and abounds with other game such as buffalos, lions and the elusive leopard. Just two hour’s drive from Nairobi; Sarova Lion Hill is one of only two lodges situated within the premises of the park.
Country:
Kenya
City/Location:
Nakuru
Soi Safari Lodge is located on the Western shores of Lake Baringo in the Rift Valley in Kenya, where it commands spectacular views of Lake Baringo, nestling in a bushy acacia with the compound partially patched with rocks to portray the lodge’s originality. We welcome our guests with cool fruit juices in the comfy, rugged lounge at the reception area. The rooms are spacious and air-conditioned. The Lodge has 74 standard rooms, 4 accessible rooms (for disabled persons), 2 interconnecting rooms and 6 deluxe en-suites.
Country:
Kenya
City/Location:
Baringo
The tranquil Rondo Retreat Centre in the Kakamega Rainforest welcomes you to make it your home for some memorable days, pursuing your hobbies as a butterfly collector, beetle specialist, frog fancier, spider hunter, tourist or bird watcher.
Country:
Kenya
City/Location:
Baringo
A boutique hotel, well suited for a business traveller, five minutes drive away drive from the city centre, and seven minutes drive away the Kisumu International Airport, the environment is serene, peaceful, quiet, and clean.
Mara Serena Safari Lodge, set on a saddle of a hill, overlooks the 1,800 square km of rolling plains at an altitude of 1625 meters at the Masai Mara Triangle, one of the world’s richest wildlife sanctuaries.