Birding in Kenya

Birding Safaris in Kenya bar none, vacationtechnician.com

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If it's bird species you're after, put Kenya on your shopping list. It's a veritable avian emporium

Kenya is at once among the most tantalizing and daunting of birding destinations. The statistics speak for themselves: a national checklist of 1 080 birds (and rising) exceeds that for any African country other than the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is four times larger than Kenya. Closer to home, we are talking about a checklist that is 13 per cent longer than that for the whole of southern Africa, but for an area one-fifth of the size.

Statistics lies and damn lies? The reality is that even these figures fail to convey the leap between birding in southern Africa and first exposure to East Africa. The prime reason for this is that while for many important groups - water birds and raptors, for instance - the difference between the eastern and southern avifauna is comparatively minor, there are other groups where that gap is exponential. You think you've got your weaver and greenbul identification sussed? Well, it's back to the drawing-board when you arrive in Kenya, with 34 Ploceus weavers and 24 greenbul species recorded, against 11 and 10 respectively in southern Africa. And the less said about cisticolas the better.

For anybody planning a birding trip to Kenya, the first obstacle will be narrowing down which parts of the country to visit. You cannot reasonably expect to cover all the main birding habitats in the space of a couple of weeks, and wherever you go there will be lots of exciting and unfamiliar species. Even so, a well-planned itinerary will allow you to maximize birding opportunities in this extraordinarily diverse country.

Most international flights to Kenya land at Nairobi, a factor that enforces a night or two in the capital on many visitors. And, provided that you are booked into an out-of-town hotel, this oft-maligned city has far more going for it bird-wise than you might expect. Central highland specials such as the magnificent Hartlaub's Turaco and outsized Silvery-cheeked Hornbill are common garden birds, likely to be encountered in any wooded hotel ground, while Nairobi National Park, only seven kilometers from the city centre, is as good a place as any in Kenya to tick a wide selection of savanna and grassland species.

The central highlands immediately north of Nairobi form one of Kenya's finest birding safaris, centered on the forested slopes of the Aberdares and Mount Kenya massifs. The fauna and flora of this scenic region show affiliations with coastal, central African and Ethiopian forest habitats, and include several endemic species, one of which is the scarce and elusive Hinde's Babbler. The list of interesting forest birds resident on Mount Kenya and the Aberdares is mind-boggling. Relatively easy ticks include Augur Buzzard, Scaly Francolin, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Red-fronted Parrot, White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Grey Apalis, Rüppell's Robin-chat, Hunter's Cisticola, Montane Oriole, Mountain Greenbul, Streaky Seedeater, Black Sunbird, African Citril and Oriole Finch. Chance will play a large part in which of the myriad forest interior birds you encounter: on a recent trip our list included Rufous-breasted and Great sparrowhawks, Crowned Eagle, Doherty's Bush-shrike, Starred Robin-chat, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Black-throated and Chestnut-throated apalises, Thick-billed Seedeater, Brown-capped Weaver and a long list of greenbuls.

The best base for exploring the central highland forest are the upmarket mountain lodge on Mount Kenya - where walking is permitted despite the presence of elephants and buffaloes. By comparison with the forest, the higher alpine moorland of Mount Kenya - accessible only on foot - supports an impoverished fauna, compensated for by such habitat-specific species as Moorland Francolin and Scarlet-tufted Malachite Sunbird. The truly optimistic might want to look closely at any owls they come across - an African Long-eared Owl captured at 3 350 metres on Mount Kenya in 1961 remains the only confirmed Kenyan record of this essentially Ethiopian species.
The game reserves along Kenya's southern border are the first port of call on many safaris and although better known for game-viewing, they have a great deal to offer birders. Amboseli National Park, aside from its magnificent setting below Kilimanjaro, is particularly strong for waterbirds, boasting several permanent marshes which host concentrations of jacana, Long-toed Plover, Glossy Ibis and a variety of herons and waders. The sparse ground cover away from the swamps makes Amboseli a good reserve for open-country birds; among some of the more interesting species we noted regularly on a recent visit were Hartlaub's and White-bellied bustards, Yellow-necked Spurfowl, Pangani Longclaw, Long-tailed Fiscal, Steel-blue Whydah, Purple Grenadier, and Red-and-yellow and d'Arnaud's barbets, the former notable for its clockwork-like display while duetting.

Almost 550 species have been record-ed in and around the relatively small Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya's most popular wildlife sanctuary. Savanna species predominate, and our overall impression was that a high proportion of the more common birds will be familiar to South Africans, at least in comparison with Amboseli. From a less parochial perspective, however, the Mara offers a fine introduction to Africa's avifauna, particularly large terrestrial birds and raptors - and the wildlife viewing is so good that many birders would place it on their itinerary for that reason alone. A few tips if you do head this way: look out for the localised Grey Kestrel (probably the most common resident falcon), for Ross's and Schalow's turacos in the riparian woodland along the Mara River, for Rufous-bellied Heron in the Musaria Swamp, and for Rüppell's Griffon Vulture at kills. And do take a second look at anything your guide dismisses as a young Kori Bustard - it could well be a Stanley's Bustard.

Further north, Samburu National Reserve ranks as one of my favourite Kenyan birding sites. This is the most accessible place to seek out an impressive list of dry-country birds, many of which are almost exclusively associated with the dry badlands that stretch northwards from Mount Kenya to the Ethiopian border. The Somali Ostrich and spectacular Vulturine Guineafowl are, quite literally, the heavyweights on the long list of Samburu specials. Many of the smaller dry-country birds are essentially variations on familiar moist-savanna species, but there are a number of very distinctive birds that I associate with Samburu: White-headed Mousebird, Somali Bee-eater, Golden Pipit, Rufous Chatterer, Rosy-patched Bush-shrike, Bare-eyed Thrush, Golden-breasted Starling, Bristle-crowned Starling and Black-capped Social Weaver for starters. A final if uncertain attraction is that Samburu offers a fair chance of seeing the Egyptian Vulture.

Away from the larger game reserves, any of the string of lakes that runs along the Rift Valley floor east of Nairobi might be cited as a contender for that contentious list of Kenya's top birding spots. I've always had immense affection for Lake Naivasha, a papyrus-fringed, hippo-infested body of water encircled by low mountains and ghostly fever trees, which somehow seems to be the scenic embodiment of East Africa. Only 80 kilometres from Nairobi, Naivasha is not a national park, and its shore is lined with everything from upmarket hotels to affordable camping sites, which makes it very easy to explore on foot on any budget.

Masses of waterbirds can be taken for granted at Naivasha - the lake supports what is reputedly Africa's densest fish eagle population, as well as abundant flotillas of pelicans, and waders in force - but the surrounding scrub is, if anything, more rewarding than the lake itself. Dedicated Kenyan birders count on picking up 100 species at Naivasha before breakfast, which makes any shortlist of what you may see here look pretty arbitrary. Nevertheless, look out for Grey-backed Fiscal, Grey-capped Warbler, Blue-headed Coucal and a variety of waxbills and weavers. Oddly, the most characteristic woodland birds of Naivasha are Fischer's and Yellow-collared lovebirds, feral populations of Tanzanian endemics that frequently hybridise in their adopted home.

Better even than Naivasha is Lake Baringo, another pedestrian-friendly lake that lies outside of the national park system. More than 400 bird species have been recorded on and around Baringo, a list which reflects the lake's location in an area transitional to the dry northern savanna and moister south. The lakeshore grounds of the Lake Baringo Hotel and adjacent Robert's Campsite support a number of striking birds, including the White-bellied Go-away-bird, Black-headed Gonolek, Slate-coloured Boubou, Northern Masked Weaver, White-billed Buffalo Weaver, Northern Red Bishop and a host of water-associated species. Another excellent spot is the low escarpment about 30 minutes' walk from the hotel. Best-known for its resident Black Eagle, it is also home to a broad spectrum of savanna birds, notably the localised Hemprich's and Jackson's hornbills, White-crested Turaco and Brown-tailed Rock Chat.

Also in the Rift Valley, one or other of Lakes Nakuru and Bogoria can usually be relied upon to harbour flocks of flamingos, measurable in their hundreds of thousands. This is a marvellous spectacle, not to be missed, and both lakes support a rich variety of other birds too. Because they are protected within the national park system, however, walking is not usually permitted, which in my opinion makes them inferior to Baringo or Naivasha as general birding sites.

The part of Kenya that lies west of the Rift Valley lakes is ignored by package tours, and sees few other foreign visitors for that matter. It is also sublime birding territory, with the bonus that its major birding sites are readily accessible to independent travellers, very low-key, and very affordable. The centrepiece of the western circuit is Kakamega Forest Reserve, effectively an isolated easterly extension of the rainforest belt that stretches from Central Africa into Uganda. Kakamega is a veritable avian emporium, with 320 mostly forest-associated species recorded, including about 20 species unknown elsewhere in Kenya, and a few dozen shared only with the relatively inaccessible Nandi Forest. Add to this the presence of knowledgeable local bird guides, and - at the risk of being dogmatic - the only circumstance under which you might think seriously about excluding Kakamega from a birding itinerary to Kenya is if you have already spent considerable time in the forests of Uganda.

The most erudite testament to Kakamega's stature is a simple list of some of its more alluring residents: Black-billed and Great Blue turacos; Green Coucal; Sabine's Spinetail; Bar-tailed Trogon; Blue-headed Bee-eater; White-headed Wood-hoopoe; Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill; Hairy-breasted, Grey-throated, Yellow-spotted and Yellow-billed barbets; Speckled Tinkerbird; Least Honeyguide and Cassin's Honeybird; Buff-spotted, Yellow-crested, Fine-banded, Brown-eared and Brown-backed woodpeckers; African Broadbill... do you really need to know about the passerines to be convinced? One word of warning: like most forests, Kakamega needs time, and it is probably not worth visiting unless you can give it two or preferably three nights.

Another excellent site in western Kenya, although somewhat more far flung, is Saiwa Swamp, the country's smallest national park. Saiwa consists of a forest-fringed marsh encircled by a footpath which connects a series of rickety platforms designed to allow visitors a glimpse of the elusive sitatunga antelope. In addition to a litany of species also found at Kakamega, including Blue Flycatcher, Buff-bellied Warbler, Grey-headed Negrofinch, Black-billed Weaver and Red-headed Bluebill, Saiwa is probably the most reliable place in the country for ticking Ross's Turaco, Eastern Grey Plantain-eater, Double-toothed Barbet and Marsh Tchagra.

Lake Victoria is the world's second largest freshwater body, shared by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, and yet another part of western Kenya neglected by the tourist industry but highly rewarding to birders. In addition to the usual water- and savanna birds, the area between Kisumu (the largest port on the lake) and Kendu Bay hosts a number of species which in Kenya are essentially restricted to the Victoria basin - for instance Yellow-throated Leaf-love and Swamp Flycatcher. In papyrus beds around Kisumu may be found the stunning Papyrus Gonolek and the drabber but equally habitat-specific White-winged Warbler, Papyrus Canary, and Carruthers's Cisticola.

The coast is the one accessible part of the country that I've not explored much from a birding point of view. In part this is due to many of the best sites being relatively inaccessible without private transport, in part due to a rather low personal interest in shorebirds, and perhaps most of all because of the energy-sapping heat and humidity by comparison to upcountry Kenya. Within the constraints imposed by a normal-length birding holiday, I would personally forsake a visit to the coast in favour of more extended exploration of the Rift Valley lakes and central and western forests. However, I'm sure there are some who would disagree (and there must be many birders whose less-enthralled spouses or children would revolt were the fine Indian Ocean beaches to be omitted from their itinerary).

If it is a twitching-cum-beach-resort that you're after, try Watamu, a splendid beach with wonderful snorkelling opportunities that also happens to lie within a few kilometres of two very fine and totally different birding locations. Mida Creek is a wader-fanatic's paradise, and a good place to pick up marine birds such as Western Reef Heron, along with the very localised Malindi Pipit and a variety of coastal woodland specials. Equally alluring is the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, where competent local guides can help locate Clarke's Weaver and Sokoke Scops Owl, both endemic to this one forest, along with such local specials as Amani Sun-bird, Sokoke Pipit and Chestnut-fronted Helmet-shrike.

Diani Beach, situated some 50 kilometres south of Mombasa port, is Kenya's 'golden mile', an endless stretch of picture postcard perfection lined with plush resorts and hotels. Birding around Diani is limited by extensive local deforestation, as well as the real risk of being mugged if you stray too far from the crowds. But a marvellous birding retreat, only an hour's drive inland of the sunbathing masses, can be found at Shimba Hills National Reserve: here, you can leave the vehicle at the upmarket lodge, or at one of several camping and picnic sites, to search for the likes of Palmnut Vulture, Fischer's Turaco, Green and White-eared barbets, Forest Batis and Green-headed Oriole.

Kenya is unquestionably one of Africa's best birding destinations, arguably the finest when one takes into account factors such as tourist infrastructure and accessibility of major habitats. The sites discussed above merely skim the surface of this marvellous country's ornithological highlights - no mention of Tsavo or Meru national parks, the Marsabit Highlands, the Taita Hills, Lake Turkana, or the mighty Tana River for starters. The same goes for my abbreviated and often subjective listings of local specials: among other things, I have concentrated on birds which are absent or very rare in southern Africa, and I've failed to mention some of Kenya's most striking birds simply because they are so common (let us pause here to praise the ubiquitous and beautiful Superb Starling, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, Variable Sunbird, Baglafecht Weaver et al).

In my experience, there is virtually nowhere in Kenya that lacks for avian interest, no itinerary that could truly be termed a birding disaster. Sit for 10 minutes in the garden of any hotel, anywhere in the country, and something memorable is bound to hop, flap or creep into view. Furthermore, whichever sites are included on an introductory trip to Kenya, be warned that it will take immense dedication and skill to identify any more than a third of the country's 1 080 species in the duration of a normal holiday. You'll want to go back!

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