

Introduction:
While today was actually scheduled as an
arrival day rather than a birding day, many of us had gotten to
Leaving the grassland we made our way to
the montane forest at Guatamaya. While being extremely close to
May
27: TsavoLeaving
Rising from the open savannah of Tsavo, the Taita Hills seem like a world unto themselves. The humidity is a shock after the dryness of Tsavo and the disconnectedness of this montane forest provides the chance to see some excellent species. Two of the most prized species here are the Taita White-eye and Taita Thrush. While the Taita White-eye is fairly common and was easily found, the thrush can be a bit trickier. We were lucky enough to see this bird as it scavenged along the ground about ten meters from the road. While these endemics were clearly the most sought after species, other notable species include Orange Ground-Thrush, Stripe-cheeked Bulbul, and Moustached Tinkerbird.
Arriving back in Tsavo, our leisurely
dinner was soon interrupted by an amazing spectacle at the lodges’ waterhole.
With our focus on a Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, we almost missed the pride of lions
approaching. Rather than coming all the way to the waterhole, they sat off at a
distance while two adults and a baby elephant were drinking. The elephants
didn’t however think the lions had chosen a spot far enough away and immediately
charged them. This happened quite a few times with the young calf deciding to
get in on the fun and charging along behind the two adults. On the final charge
the calf took it upon itself to ensure the lions departures and ran off in
front of the adults! After proving its worth, the calf stomped triumphantly
back to the waterhole to quench its thirst in peace. It was amazing to see this
interaction between some of
Leaving the lodge in the early morning we
headed for the far eastern gate of Tsavo. This allowed us to spend the morning
further exploring Tsavo and as we made our way into the less frequently visited
regions of this massive park. This section of Tsavo turned out to be
spectacular for ground dwelling species. The open plains were inhabited by
thousands of Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark and excellent views of side-by-side
Somali and Temminck’s Coursers allowed us to compare these often-illusive
species. The sheer size of the Southern Ground Hornbill makes it a highlight of
any trip and we were lucky enough to see quite a few of these together. As we
left the park we were thrilled to see another very special bird. Found in very
few regions of
As one of the last remaining tracts of
coastal rainforest in
The afternoon was spent further exploring
the forest. Highlights included Narina Trogon, Mangrove Kingfisher, and our
final species of Kenyan guineafowl: the Crested Guineafowl. Those of us feeling
especially intrepid also managed to get excellent looks at one of Arabuko-Sokoke Forests most prized species. While amusing
ourselves with Black-bellied Starling and Fischer’s Greenbul, we patiently
awaited dusk and the beginning of our adventure. Then we heard it; the call
we’d been waiting for. Forcing our way through the extremely dense undergrowth
(occasionally almost down on hands and knees) we pursued the call. Every time
we felt ourselves to be close the bird seemed to sense our excitement and fly
further a field. After five attempts, we decided to give it one more try before
admitting defeat. As stealthily as humanly possible while crawling through
tangles in the blackness of night, we made our way towards the bird. Just as we
thought it might fly, we stopped, waiting for it to call again. Just as we
began to feel the first tinges of desperation it called again. The torch was
turned on and with amazing accuracy was shined directly on the bird. Less than
five meters away and completely unobscured we had found it: the Sokoke
Scops-Owl. This extremely endangered species is thought to have been extirpated
from
May
31: Sokoke, Mida Creek, Ken Salt Farm, and After the previous nights excitement we
felt on top of the world and were ready to tackle just about anything. The
morning began with another visit to the forest in search of some more specialty
species. The highlight of these were East Coast Akalat
and Amani Sunbird. We were also lucky enough to get good looks at
We next made our way to the Ken Salt farm. While the rain poured down on us, we wandered through a couple inches of mud and water in search of another near-endemic specialty: Malindi Pipit. We were lucky enough to get a couple good looks at this species as well as flushing a few Greater Painted-snipe before seeking the shelter of the vans and heading to the Sabaki River Mouth. Luckily by the time we arrived the rain had subsided and we could enjoy birding as dusk approached. Zanzibar Red Bishop could be seen in the reed beds as hordes of White-cheeked and White-winged Terns flew overhead. However, the highlight was the masses of Madagascar Pratincole that flew in to roost just before dusk.
With the first week of our Kenyan
experience over, we made our way back to
June 2:
With over 600 species recorded within the
city limits,
June 3:
Starting early, we made our way to
Having had an amazing start to our day, we
continued to our main destination.
After a relaxing lunch marveling at the
flamingoes, we decided to make our way back to
Having had an excellent day, we decided to
pick up a bit of Kenyan history as we continued our search for more birds. We
came to the archaeological site of Olorgesailie with Chestnut-bellied
Sandgrouse flying overhead. Olorgesailie dates back to almost one million years
ago and was first examined by the famous archaeological duo of Louis and Mary
Leakey. The area is extremely rich in hand axes as well as evidence of extinct
types of baboon,
hippo, elephant, zebra, and giraffe. While looking into the open excavations,
Ashy Cisticola began singing and was soon cooperative enough to sit out in the
open for all to see. We headed back to
June
4: At 5,199 meters,
One of the highlights of the lodge at
Having had an amazing start to our day, we
decided to head off to Met Station. At
around 3050 meters this is the base camp for people wishing to climb the
mountain and offers the most accessible high elevation birding on
Exiting the vans while taking care of entry
permits, we encountered our first two specialty species: Kenrick’s and Waller’s
Starlings. Kenrick’s is an East African endemic restricted in
Descending the mountain, we figured that
with all the special birds we had already seen, we might as well try for one
more East African endemic (is it ever possible to have enough amazing birds in
one day?) Driving through the open fields of grain, we stopped to scan the
flocks of Red-collared Widowbird for the even more astounding
June 6:
While looking forward to getting to the
Aberdares, we couldn’t help but try to pick up a few more species as we drove.
Stopping at a small patch of forest we got excellent views of Red-chested
Cuckoo and Black Cuckoo-Shrike. The highlight of this patch though was the
Abyssinian Crimson-wing that came out to sit in the open. This otherwise boring
brown bird is made striking by its bright red wings and back. Continuing up the
road a little further we stopped after the forest had cleared out and were
thrilled with the Golden-winged Sunbird. With its bright gold wings and long
golden tail, this is one of the most striking of
Treetops Lodge in the Aberdares was made famous as the place where the then Princess Elizabeth went up one night only to come down the next day as a Queen. While this may have been its original claim to fame, the amazing bird and animal life have kept this a top destination ever since. The waterholes on two sides of the building attract huge numbers of elephants and the hides on the lower levels allow the chance to see these massive beasts from mere feet away. The waterholes also provided one of our first chances at wetland species and we were thrilled to see Black Crake, Yellow-billed Duck, and Red-billed Teal to name just a few.
The highlight of the afternoon came just at
the end of our drive. Just as we decided to turn around and return to the
lodge, we were stopped in our tracks by one of
With an early morning start, we managed to
have just enough time at the waterhole to see Rameron Pigeon and African
Bush-Warbler before beginning our drive through the park on our way to
Upon leaving the park we made our way to
the “owl spot”. This site is possibly the best known site for Mackinder’s
Eagle-Owl, a quite likely split from the more widespread
Continuing on from the eagle-owl site we
were struck by amazing panoramic views of the
June
8: Hell’s Gate NP to Located very close to
Leaving Hell’s Gate we made the journey to
Starting early in the morning we went off
in search of one of
No trip to
Saying goodbye to
Arriving at Kakamega, we had just enough time to see roosting African Green Pigeon before settling in for dinner and sleep after another exciting day.
June
11: KakamegaWaking up early to the sounds of the forest
is a far cry from the open savannahs where we had recently been spending our
time and it took all our self-restraint not to rush out searching for birds
before it was even light enough to see them. Kakamega is the last remnant patch
of Congolese Rainforest in
Located about an hour from Kakamega forest, this river is very close to the Ugandan border and offers the chance to see some more specialty species not found in the rest of the country. The rural community around this river is by no means as used to birders as people in the more traveled areas and it was great to get off the beaten track a bit. The children in the area were especially excited to have a chance to see through the scopes; although they weren’t quite as excited with Winding Cisticola as they were with stunning species like Red-chested and Copper Sunbirds. Other highlights, for us at least, included Black-headed and Slender-billed Weavers, Blue-spotted Wood-Dove, and stunning views of Blue-headed Coucal. Returning to Kakamega, a brief walk around the lodge provided breathtaking views of Red-headed Malimbe, Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat and a chance to relax on the balcony and take in the splendor around us.
Leaving Kakamega, we worked our way down to
The vast open plains dotted with acacias
and an amazing abundance of wildlife is one of the most enduring images of
After hearing all the stories of vehicles getting stuck in the mud, we were rather disappointed at it being our last day and never having really gotten stuck. We set off to fix this oversight as fast as possible and quickly accomplished our goal to the amusement of everyone involved. Luckily another vehicle was nearby and after a couple attempts managed to pull us out of the mud. This, accompanied by excellent views of Kori Bustard along the roadside, convinced us that we had truly gotten the full Kenyan experience. After an amazing dinner at the world-renowned Carnivore Restaurant it was time for us to all part ways and head back to our home countries. Luckily the memories of this amazing trip will keep us all going till we have a chance for another birding adventure!
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Bird List |
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|
1 |
(Common)
Ostrich |
Struthio camelus |
|
2 |
[Somali
Ostrich] |
[Struthio molybdophanes] |
|
3 |
Little
Grebe (Dabchick) |
Tachybaptus ruficollis |
|
4 |
Great
White Pelican |
Pelecanus onocrotalus |
|
5 |
Pink-backed
Pelican |
Pelecanus rufescens |
|
6 |
Great
(White-breasted) Cormorant |
Phalacrocorax carbo |
|
7 |
Long-tailed
(Reed) Cormorant |
Phalacrocorax africanus |
|
8 |
Gray
Heron |
Ardea cinerea |
|
9 |
Black-headed
Heron |
Ardea melanocephala |
|
10 |
Goliath
Heron |
Ardea goliath |
|
11 |
Purple
Heron |
Ardea purpurea |
|
12 |
Great
Egret (Egret) |
Ardea alba |
|
13 |
Intermediate
Egret |
Egretta intermedia |
|
14 |
Little
Egret |
Egretta garzetta |
|
15 |
[Dimorphic
Egret] |
[Egretta dimorpha] |
|
16 |
Squacco
Heron |
Ardeola ralloides |
|
17 |
Madagascar
Pond-Heron |
Ardeola idae |
|
18 |
Cattle
Egret |
Bubulcus ibis |
|
19 |
Black-crowned
Night-Heron |
Nycticorax nycticorax |
|
20 |
Little
Bittern |
Ixobrychus minutus |
|
21 |
Hamerkop |
Scopus umbretta |
|
22 |
Yellow-billed
Stork |
Mycteria ibis |
|
23 |
African
Openbill |
Anastomus lamelligerus |
|
24 |
Abdim's
Stork |
Ciconia abdimii |
|
25 |
Woolly-necked
Stork |
Ciconia episcopus |
|
26 |
White
Stork |
Ciconia ciconia |
|
27 |
Marabou
Stork |
Leptoptilos crumeniferus |
|
28 |
Sacred
Ibis |
Threskiornis aethiopicus |
|
29 |
Hadada
Ibis |
Bostrychia hagedash |
|
30 |
African
Spoonbill |
Platalea alba |
|
31 |
Greater
Flamingo |
Phoenicopterus roseus |
|
32 |
Lesser
Flamingo |
Phoenicopterus minor |
|
33 |
Fulvous
Whistling-Duck |
Dendrocygna bicolor |
|
34 |
White-faced
Whistling-Duck |
Dendrocygna viduata |
|
35 |
White-backed
Duck |
Thalassornis leuconotus |
|
36 |
Egyptian
Goose |
Alopochen aegyptiacus |
|
37 |
Comb
(Knob-billed) Duck |
Sarkidiornis melanotos |
|
38 |
African
Black Duck |
Anas sparsa |
|
39 |
Cape
Teal |
Anas capensis |
|
40 |
Yellow-billed
Duck |
Anas undulata |
|
41 |
Red-billed
Duck |
Anas erythrorhyncha |
|
42 |
Southern
Pochard |
Netta erythrophthalma |
|
43 |
Maccoa
Duck |
Oxyura maccoa |
|
44 |
African
Cuckoo-Hawk |
Aviceda cuculoides |
|
45 |
Black-shouldered
Kite |
Elanus caeruleus |
|
46 |
[Yellow-billed
Kite] |
[Milvus aigyptius] |
|
47 |
African
Fish-Eagle |
Haliaeetus vocifer |
|
48 |
White-backed
Vulture |
Gyps africanus |
|
49 |
Rueppell's
Griffon |
Gyps rueppellii |
|
50 |
Lappet-faced
Vulture |
Torgos tracheliotus |
|
51 |
White-headed
Vulture |
Trigonoceps occipitalis |
|
52 |
Black-breasted
Snake-Eagle |
Circaetus pectoralis |
|
53 |
Brown
Snake-Eagle |
Circaetus cinereus |
|
54 |
Bateleur |
Terathopius ecaudatus |
|
55 |
African
Marsh-Harrier |
Circus ranivorus |
|
56 |
African
Harrier-Hawk (Gymnogene) |
Polyboroides typus |
|
57 |
Lizard
Buzzard |
Kaupifalco monogrammicus |
|
58 |
Dark
Chanting-Goshawk |
Melierax metabates |
|
59 |
Eastern
Chanting-Goshawk |
Melierax poliopterus |
|
60 |
Gabar
Goshawk |
Micronisus gabar |
|
61 |
African
Goshawk |
Accipiter tachiro |
|
62 |
Little
Sparrowhawk |
Accipiter minullus |
|
63 |
Rufous-chested
Sparrowhawk |
Accipiter rufiventris |
|
64 |
Black
Goshawk |
Accipiter melanoleucus |
|
65 |
Eurasian
(Steppe) Buzzard |
Buteo buteo |
|
66 |
Augur
Buzzard |