14 days Birding in Kenya the top birding route
Overview:This trip will start and end in Kenya capital Nairobi,we will focus on the great riftvalley lakes and birds of the western side then down to the famous maasai mara
Location visited:Nairobi Np,karura and ngong hills,eburru forest,Lake Naivasha,Nakuru and Baringo,kinangop and aberdares Np,Kakamega forest,Busia grasslands,dunga and kusa swamps,Maasai mara
Day 1: Pick up from jomo kenyatta international airport and bird in karura forest.Overnight in a hotel
Day 2: Nairobi Np-The only national park in the city it the world with a checklist of over 530 birds, we will bird for pringles puffback,wood pipit,african water rail,red rumped swallow,athi short toed and short tail lark,foxy and rufous naped lark,golden and yellow bishops,sombre greenbul,lesser spotted,tawny,steppe,booted,wahbergs and verreaux's eagle,hartlubs turaco,east africa endemics such as long tailed fiscal, northern pied babblers and foxy larks,superb and hildebrandt' starlings,10 species of cisticolas,pale white-eye, Shelley's francolin, harlequin and common quils, different species of egrets and herons,kingfishers and many more
Day 3: Eburru and Lake Naivasha-we will leave the bustling city of Nairobi very early in the morning then take a stop at manguo ponds in limuru for maccoa ducks and little grebe,we will continue with our journey upto eburru forest for black billed weaver,chestnut throated apalis,yellow whiskered greenbul,brown chested alethe ,leivaillants cisticola and many more,then we will head to lake Naivasha after lunch for an evening boat ride at crescent island for waterbirds:overnight in a lodge in lake Naivasha
Day 4: Aberdares Np and Kinangop grasslands-we will bird the early morning in the Aberdares for the endemic aberdare cisticola,kandt's waxbill,Nyanza swift,narina trogon, mackinders eagle owl,african wood owl,placid greenbul and later drive to Kinangop for the endemic Sharpe's longclaw,later in the evening we will head to lake nakuru to overnight there
Day 5: We will do a full day birding in Lake nakuru then in the evening we will leave and overnight at Lake Baringo
Day 6: Lake Baringo:we will do a full game drive searching for the rare northern masked weaver, Jackson's and hemprich's hornbills,gambaga flycatcher,aftican blue flycatcher, Western and african marsh harriers,lesser flamingos,palmnut vulture,egyptian and bearded vultures.overnight in a lodge or camp
Day 7: Birding enroute to kakamega.overnight at rondo tetreat
Day 8-9: Kakamega Forest reserve-This is the only true rainforest remaining in kenya which was formerly a continuation of the guinea-congolian forest which host species that are not found anywhere else in Kenya.Birds here are little and ansorges greenbuls,black faced rufous warblers,grey chested kakamega,brown breasted and fire crested illadopsis,green tailed bristle bill,white tail ant thrush, white and buff spotted flufftails,thick billed honeyguide,honeyguide greenbul,Jameson's and chestnut bellied wattle eye,blu bee eaters,eastern yellowbilled barbet and many others.over night at rondo tetreat
Day 10: Busia grasslands to kisumu-After breakfast we will head to Busia with our lunch boxes birding arriving in Kisumu late in the evening.overnight in a hotel in kisumu
Day 11: Kisumu Dinga and Kusa swamp-we will bird for white winged swamp warbler,papyrus canary,papyrus and black headed gonoleks,greater swamp,african and lesser swamp warblers,red chested sun bird,swamp flycatcher,northern brown throated weaver, carruther's cisticola and many more.overnight at a camp or lodge in maasai mara
Day 12-13: Maasai mara National reserve-we will bird for red tailed chst,african blue flycatcher,black backed cisticola,tiny and tabora cisticolas,yellow bellied hyliota,ross and schalow's turaco,yellow bellied hyliota,martial eagle,greater and rock kestrels,sooty ,lanner and peregrine falcons,lesser,village,rufous tailed, vitellines and spectacle weaver,superb , Hildebrandt,wattled and fischers starlings.overnight in a camp or lodge
Day 14: Early morning birding and drive back to Nairobi to catch a plain back home
