Early-morning birding from the lodge grounds is always  productive and may include Marabou Stork, Black Goshawk, Delegourge’s  (Eastern Bronze Naped) Pigeon, Fine-banded Woodpecker, Cape Wagtail,  Slender-billed and Mountain Greenbuls, Rüppell’s Robin-chat, Hunter’s  Cisticola, Grey and Black-throated Apalis, Grey-headed Negrofinch and  Yellow-crowned Canary. We will also take a short walk from the lodge  along the entrance road in search of the more secretive species of the  area such as Scaly Francolin, African Hill Babbler, White-starred Robin,  Chestnut-throated Apalis, Mountain Yellow Warbler, White-browed  Crombec, Yellow-bellied Waxbill and Oriole Finch. Mid-morning, we will  leave the cool climate of Mt Kenya for more arid country in the north,  specifically the Samburu Game Reserve.

The drive will offer spectacular scenery, and the grasslands along  the roadside are a great place for Black-winged Plover, Black-shouldered  Kite, Dusky Turtle-dove, Angola Swallow, Greater Blue-eared  Glossy-starling, Cape Rook, Boran Cisticola, Tacazze Sunbird,  Red-collared and Long-tailed Widowbirds (seasonal) and Speke’s Weaver.  Samburu is one of the most exciting reserves in East Africa. The  semi-desert habitat and the rich woodlands along the Ewaso Nyiro River  are teeming with wildlife. Exploration of the fantastic reserve will  produce an almost overwhelming array of bird species: Palm-nut and  Hooded Vultures, Bateleur, Martial Eagle, African Hawk-eagle, Crested  and Yellow-necked Francolins, Vulturine Guineafowl, Buff-crested and  White-bellied Bustards, Black-faced and Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse,  Red-bellied Parrot, African Scops-Owl, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Somali  Bee-eater, Rufous-crowned Roller, Von der Decken’s Hornbill,  Red-and-yellow Barbet, Bearded Woodpecker, Pink-breasted Lark, African  Bare-eyed Thrush, Rosy-patched Bush-shrike, Hunter’s and Black-bellied  Sunbirds, Golden-breasted and Fischer’s Starlings, Donaldson-Smith’s  Sparrow-weaver, Cut-throat and the stunning Somali Bunting. Mammal life  is also prolific, with many species not seen elsewhere on our tour. Just  a few of the many possibilities are Olive Baboon, Black-faced Vervet  Monkey, Dwarf Mongoose, Striped Hyena, Grevy’s Zebra, Reticulated  Giraffe, Kirk’s Dikdik, Common Waterbuck, Gerenuk and the magnificent  Beisa Oryx. Two nights stay at the Samburu Lodge.

On our last morning in Samburu we will visit the nearby  Buffalo Springs Game Reserve. The slightly different habitat is home to  many specialities: Somali Ostrich, Lappet-faced Vulture, Rüppell’s  Griffon- vulture, Eastern Chanting-goshawk, Pygmy Falcon, Cream-coloured  (Somali) Courser, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, White-headed Mouse-bird,  Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Nubian and Cardinal Woodpeckers,  Fischer’s and Chestnut-headed Sparrow-larks, Yellow-vented Eremomela,  Spotted Morning-thrush, Marico Sunbird, Taita Fiscal, Golden Palm  Weaver, Black-capped Social Weaver and African Silverbill. We then have a  mid-morning departure for the Naro Moro River Lodge located on the  northern edge of Mt Kenya. En route we will make a stop at the Meru  Forest, where many unique species can be found.

Leaving early, we will make an ascent onto Mt Kenya  entering the vast and pristine montane forest of Mt Kenya National Park.  We will be leaving mid-day and transferring to Lake Nakuru National  Park allowing time to search for several key species along the way. A  large rocky escarpment en-route is a favourite roosting spot for the  Mackinder’s Eagle-Owl and with some luck we should be able to locate  this highly sought-after species.

The Acacia scrub by a nearby lake is a favourite haunt for Little  Grebe, Yellow-billed Duck, Red-winged Starling, Little Rock-thrush, Pale  Flycatcher, and Purple Grenadier. In the afternoon we will arrive at  Lake Nakuru National Park, which is called by some, the greatest birding  spectacle on earth! Huge numbers of Lesser Flamingos feed in the  shallow alkaline water, sometimes up to a million, with smaller numbers  of Greater Flamingos.

Exploring the Acacia woodland and the lakeside marshes we will no  doubt encounter many wonderful avian delights: Great White Pelican,  Great Cormorant, African Spoonbill, African Fish-eagle, African  Harrier-hawk, Hildebrandt’s Francolin, Grey-headed Gull, Broad-billed  Roller, Levaillant’s Cuckoo, White-browed Coucal, Green Wood-hoopoe,  Rufous-necked Wryneck, Grey Woodpecker, Black Cuckoo-shrike, Northern  Anteater-chat, Grey-backed Fiscal, Brown-crowned Tchagra and African  Firefinch. Mammals are also quite common in the park and it is one of  the few places in East Africa where the endangered White Rhino can be  found. Some of the other mammals we hope to find include Rothchild’s  Giraffe and Reedbuck. One night stays at the Lake Nakuru Lodge.

All morning will be spent in Lake Nakuru National Park.  More bird possibilities include Hamerkop, Cape and Hottentot Teals,  Tawny Eagle, Kittlitz’s Plover, Red-chested and Klaas’ Cuckoos, Nyanza  Swift, Greater Honeyguide, White-browed Robin-chat, Arrow-marked  Babbler, Grey-crested Helmet-shrike, Rüppell’s Glossy-starling, and  Golden-breasted Bunting.

Our next destination is a fresh-water lake in the north called Lake  Baringo. Here the combination of a large lake in semi-desert country and  the nearby Baringo cliffs provide the perfect habitat for a great  diversity of bird life. Specialties in this area are Dark  Chanting-goshawk, Heuglin’s Courser, Northern White-faced Owl, Greyish  Eagle-owl, Slender-tailed Nightjar, Jackson’s and Hemprich’s Hornbills,  Black-throated Barbet, Red-fronted Warbler, Brown-tailed Chat, Somali  Tit, Beautiful Sunbird, Bristle-crowned Starling, Golden-backed and  Little Weavers, Northern Masked-weaver and Northern Red Bishop.

Other possibilities in the area include Lanner Falcon, Verreaux’s  Eagle, Blue-naped Mousebird, Madagascar Bee-eater, Red-fronted Barbet,  Northern Crombec, Pygmy Batis, Cardinal Quelea and Eastern  Paradise-whydah. Two nights stay at the Lake Nakuru Lodge.

Birding in Lake Nakuru National Park: Lake Nakuru National Park  better known as the paradise of birds was first gazetted as a bird  sanctuary to protect and conserve the birdlife that was blooming on Lake  Nakuru in 1960; before the park was expanded to National park status in  1968. 

Lake  Nakuru is popular both locally and internationally for harboring  millions of flamingos on its shores all throughout the year.  Though  because of climate change and change in the lake’s water levels the  flamingo numbers have dropped from millions to thousands but still, they  still cover the lake’s shores pink any day.

Lake  Nakuru is a soda lake with a great deal of blue-green algae that is food  for the flamingos and that’s one of the main reasons flamingos flock  the lake; the other bird that feeds endemically on the lake is the great  White Pelican together with other wading birds. 

Birding in Lake Nakuru National Park  is a great adventure and experience all together; you will be blown  away by the numerous birds that live in this 118km2 park. Lake Nakuru  National Park is home of over 450 bird species that are both endemic and  migratory to the park. 

Though  famously Known for the pink flamingos that cover the Lake Nakuru’s  shores pink all through the year, the park is home to other endemic bird  species like the pelican bird and four threatened bird species that  are:-  the Madagascar pond-heron, the Pallid Harrier, the Greater Spotted Eagle and the Grey-crested Helmet-shrike.

After some final birding around the Lake Baringo area  we will depart for the Kakamega Rainforest in the western highlands, en  route stopping for special interest birds in the Kerio Valley. These may  include Black-headed Lapwing, Meyer’s Parrot, White-crested Turaco,  African Black and Horus Swifts, African Pygmy-kingfisher, Double-toothed  Barbet, Long-billed Pipit, Silverbird, Brown Babbler, White-crested  Helmet-shrike, Black-headed Gonolek, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-weaver and  Reichard’s Seedeater. Kakamega Rainforest is the eastern most extension  of the Congo Rainforest and is without doubt the best birding  destination in the entire country. Many of the species here are found  nowhere else in Kenya and the list of possibilities is seemingly  endless.

 Such avian gems as White-spotted Flufftail, Great Blue Turaco,  Bar-tailed Trogon, Blue-headed Bee-eater, Black-and-white-casqued  Hornbill, Grey-throated, Yellow-spotted and Yellow-billed Barbets,  Golden-crowned and Brown-eared Woodpeckers, African Broadbill, 13  species of greenbul, Brown-chested Alethe, Banded and White-chinned  Prinias, Black-faced Rufous-warbler, Equatorial Akalat, Snowy-crowned  Robin-chat, African Shrike-flycatcher, Chestnut, Jameson’s,  Brown-throated and Yellow-bellied Wattle-eyes, African Blue Flycatcher,  Dusky Tit, Green-throated, Green and Northern Double-collared Sunbirds,  Western Black-headed Oriole, Mackinnon’s Fiscal, Pink-footed Puffback,  Grey-green and Luehder’s Bush-shrikes, Stuhlmann’s Starling,  Black-billed and Vieillot’s Weavers, Red-headed Malimbe, Red-headed  Bluebill, and Black-and-white Mannikin. Rainforest mammals to be  expected are: Eastern Black-and-white Colubus, Gentle and Red-tailed  Monkeys and the very active Red-legged Sun-squirrel. Three nights stay  at Rondo Retreat Centre