Northern Tanzania Birding Safaris

The celebrated game-viewing circuit also happens to encompass as good a microcosm of East African birding habitats as you could reasonably hope to encounter in a week or so.

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It wouldn't be wildly contentious to describe Tanzania's northern safari circuit - the Serengeti and three other national parks as well as the Ngorongoro Conservation Area - as Africa's ultimate game-viewing destination. Many would argue that the Serengeti National Park alone justifies this assertion, situated as it is at the core of a migratory ecosystem that supports the world's greatest concentration of large mammals: an estimated 2.5 million ungulates and a corresponding abundance of well-fed predators.

Then there is the scenic marvel that is the Ngorongoro Crater, not only the world's largest intact volcanic caldera, but also a spectacular wildlife sanctuary in its own right. And while Manyara, Tarangire and Arusha national parks haven't acquired the household-name status of Serengeti and Ngorongoro, they are all fine reserves with ecological elements that complement those of their more famous neighbours.

Tanzania's northern safari circuit is strongly associated with plains open and treeless traversed by beasts large and furry. Possibly because of this, it tends to be underrated as a birding destination. True, the open Serengeti plains support a relatively monotonous avi-fauna, but in fact a far greater portion of the Serengeti National Park is covered in wooded habitats rather than true grassland. And the northern circuit as a whole encompasses montane and lowland forest, shallow soda lakes and lushly wooded streams, tangled acacia woodland and baobab-clad hills, moist grassland and cracked floodplains. So, ironically, this celebrated game-viewing circuit also happens to encompass as good a microcosm of East African birding habitats as you could reasonably hope to encounter in a week or so.

Most safaris loop out of the town of Arusha, which is overlooked by the craggy volcanic peak of Mount Meru, the fifth-highest mountain in Africa, an important breeding site for the Bearded Vulture, and the dominant feature of Arusha National Park. Excluded from most itineraries because it is relatively short of big game, this small national park makes a worthwhile day-trip prior to the main leg of a northern safari.

Habitats that are of particular interest to birders are the Momella Lakes in the north of the park, and the forested slopes of Ngurdoto Crater in the south. The former, aside from holding periodic concentrations of both Greater and Lesser flamingos, is a good spot for migrant waders and waterfowl, notably Northern Shoveler, Pintail and Garganey, while a resident population of Maccoa Duck is the only one in northern Tanzania. There is a more hit-and-miss approach to birding on the slopes of Ngurdoto, but among 50 or so resident forest-dwellers, White-eared Barbet and Hartlaub's Turaco are reasonably easy to see, while both species of trogon, half a dozen greenbuls and a similar number of forest-associated estrildids are present.

Arusha National Park's considerable assets notwithstanding, the real sense of being 'on safari' begins when you drive south from Arusha into a more open landscape, leading after some two hours to Tarangire National Park. The developed northern sector of this 2 600-square-kilometre park supports a semi-arid savanna environment of Acacia tortilis woodland and gentle, park-like slopes distinguished by a liberal scattering of gargantuan baobab trees. In common with the Serengeti, Tarangire forms the hub of a migratory ecosystem that extends for hundreds of kilometres beyond the park's boundaries, with up to 4 000 elephants converging on the perennial Tarangire River between July and November. Although the Rift Valley escarpment on the western horizon might lead one to think otherwise, Tarangire's geology and ecology fall outside the Rift Valley system. Instead, this region has stronger links to the arid Masai steppe that stretches eastward almost to the coast.

Had a definitive checklist ever been compiled for Tarangire, it would certainly exceed 450 and, quite possibly, 500 species. A wide variety of resident raptors includes the Palmnut Vulture, while other characteristic birds include Orange-bellied Parrot, Yellow-necked Spurfowl, Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Red-fronted Barbet and Silverbird. A personal favourite is the Red-and-yellow Barbet, whose quaint clockwork-like duet is typically performed on termite mounds. Tarangire lies at the western limit of the normal range of several species associated with drier parts of the Somali-Masai biome, for instance Donaldson-Smith's Nightjar, Vulturine Guineafowl, Pink-breasted Lark, Northern Pied Babbler and Mouse-coloured Penduline Tit. This is also the easiest place to observe a pair of birds endemic to the dry heartland of central Tanzania: the lovely Yellow-collared Sunbird and rather drab Ashy Starling.

Tarangire Safari Camp, with its fine cliff top setting above a sweeping bend in the river, is the one lodge on the northern circuit that any birder ought to insist is on their itinerary, since the compact grounds are likely to yield something like 70 bird species in the space of a couple of hours. Among the more brazen camp residents are the Superb and Ashy starlings, White-headed Buffalo-weaver, Von der Decken's Hornbill, Slate-coloured Boubou and Northern White-crowned Shrike. More secretive birds, many not easily observed from a vehicle, include Greater and Lesser honeyguides, Banded Parisoma, Speckle-fronted Weaver, Sulphur-breasted Bush-shrike, Yellow-breasted Apalis and Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird. On the river below, African Spoonbill and Saddle-billed Stork keep company with various egrets, herons and waders, while any of the park's large raptors might be seen flying overhead. Careful perusal of the swifts and martins that flock en masse above the camp (and draw the attention of the occasional falcon or kestrel) is likely to throw up Alpine Swift and the baobab-associated Mottled Spinetail.

A short distance from Tarangire, Lake Manyara National Park is a relatively small reserve, and two-thirds of its 330-square-kilometre area consists of open water. For many, the main attraction of Manyara is its spectacular setting at the base of the 900-metre-high Rift Valley escarpment. But it is also a fantastic birding destination, with a compact game-drive circuit that passes through a diversity of habitats in which 490 bird species have been recorded.

The groundwater forest that lies immediately inside Manyara's entrance gate warrants exploration. Characteristic birds of this fig forest include the outlandish Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Purple-crested Turaco, Crowned Guineafowl, Emerald Cuckoo, African Broadbill, Grey Cuckoo-shrike and Peters's Twinspot, while a series of small streams are the favoured haunt of Mountain Wagtail and Green Sandpiper, as well as various kingfishers. Birding on foot is prohibited within the park, for which reason it is worth stretching your legs at the entrance gate and adjacent campsite, both of which are encircled by tall forest.

Lake Manyara is an important breeding site for Yellow-billed Stork and Pink-backed Pelican, but better known for its concentrations of Lesser Flamingo. Two million flamingos were counted on the lake in 1991, and I'd estimate a comparable number were present when I visited in 1996. The flamingos vanished entirely after the lake level rose and salinity dropped due to the El Niño floods of 1997/98, but small numbers were present again in 2001. The lake supports abundant shorebirds, with the more numerous residents being Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Little Stint and Spur-winged Plover, supplemented by migrant Caspian Plover, Northern Shoveler and Spotted Crake during the European winter.

South of the fig forest and west of the lakeshore, Manyara divides into two ecological zones: a grassy floodplain studded with the spectral trunks left behind by El Niño, and thick acacia woodland at the base of the Rift Valley escarpment. Stop almost anywhere in the woodland below the escarpment and you can expect the bush to be rattling with typical acacia-associated birds. The floodplain, by contrast, hosts a relatively limited selection - look out for Pangani Longclaw and Fischer's Sparrow-Lark - but a series of marshy pools where the Mto Wa Mbu River opens on to the floodplain are worth scanning closely for Painted and African snipes and migrant waders. Having explored the park, most safaris retire to one of the lodges perched on the escarpment, where a variety of higher altitude species such as Mocking Chat, Baglafecht Weaver, Abyssinian Black Wheatear and Variable Sunbird are common.

Anybody whose expectations of northern Tanzania are dominated by images of the Serengeti plains will be in for a chilly but otherwise pleasant surprise when they arrive at the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater, about two hours' drive west of Manyara. Rising to above 3 000 metres, the crater rim supports a mixture of montane forest and grassland. The lodges' gardens offer an excellent opportunity to observe common East African highland specials such as Dusky Turtle Dove, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Rüppell's Robin-Chat, White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Thick-billed and Streaky seedeaters, and the dazzling and conspicuous trio of Tacazze, Bronze and Golden-winged sunbirds. In areas of montane grassland, Scaly Francolin, Jackson's Widowbird, Alpine Chat and Hunter's Cisticola are fairly conspicuous. It will, however, require greater effort to track down the likes of Brown-backed Woodpecker, Orange Ground Thrush, African Hill Babbler and Abyssinian Crimsonwing - though Bar-tailed Trogon is regularly encountered on the 'up-road' from the crater floor to the rim.
Much has been written about the immense scenery and fabulous Big Five game viewing of the Ngorongoro Crater, and I'm content to let readers pick their own superlatives before descending to the crater floor and a selection of birds very different to that of the forested rim. A variety of bustards, plovers and smaller ground birds, including the Rosy-breasted Longclaw, haunt the open plains of the crater floor, along with flocks of Grey Crowned Crane and seasonal influxes of Abdim's and Black storks. Lake Magadi in the centre of the crater frequently hosts hundreds of thousands of Lesser Flamingos, a dramatic sight below the tall crater wall. The yellow fever trees of Lerai forest harbour various acacia-associated birds, with the late Hildebrandt - or at least the starling and francolin that bear his name - particularly conspicuous.

Augur Buzzard is common, though possibly outnumbered during the European winter by Montagu's Harrier, while the Egyptian Vulture is sometimes found in the vicinity of Mungwe Stream. It isn't often that the ubiquitous Black Kite finds its way on to lists of raptorial highlights, but if you take a picnic lunch into the crater, you can expect to enjoy close-up views of these powerful opportunists swooping to within inches of your face.

To the west of the Ngorongoro Crater, the rutted road towards Serengeti National Park climbs downhill to the edge of that vast expanse of open grassland known to the Maasai as 'serengit', meaning endless plain. Split evenly between the eastern Serengeti National Park and the western Ngorongoro Conservation Area, this plain is the crucial rainy season breeding ground for a million or more wildebeest. The larger grassland birds are also present in full force - Secretarybird, Ostrich, Kori Bustard and suchlike - but all things considered it isn't a fantastic stretch for birders. One notable exception is the short side-trip to Olduvai Gorge, the renowned hominid archaeological site on the edge of a steep, shrub-lined gorge. Olduvai - with water on tap and a reliable supply of scraps provided by picnickers - also serves as an arti-ficial oasis for a superb selection of dry-country birds. Regular lunchtime visitors include Red-and-yellow Barbet, Silverbird, Rufous Chatterer, Slaty-coloured Boubou, Black-cheeked Waxbill, Purple Grenadier, Rufous Sparrow, Cut-throat Finch, White-bellied Canary and the Speckle-fronted Weaver.

Ecologically, Serengeti National Park has more variety than many people realise. The west consists of broken savanna interspersed with impenetrable stands of whistling thorns and other acacias, and run through by the perennial Grumeti River and an attendant ribbon of riparian forest. The north, abutting Kenya's Masai Mara Reserve, is unexpectedly hilly, particularly around Lobo, and it supports a variety of more-or-less wooded savanna habitats. So, while the actual Serengeti plains do support the relatively limited avifauna one tends to associate with open grassland, the synonymous national park ranks with the best of them in terms of avian variety. The working Serengeti checklist compiled by Schmidt tallied 505 species, and a further 30 species have been added since 1990.
The Serengeti-Mara ecosystem is one of Africa's Endemic Bird Areas (EBAs), hosting six bird species found nowhere else, and half of which are confined to the Tanzanian part of the ecosystem. The Serengeti specials are easy to locate and identify within their restricted range. The Grey-breasted Spurfowl, a common roadside bird around the park headquarters at Seronera, is easily distinguished from the similar Red-necked Spurfowl by the white stripe below its red mask. In areas of woodland, parties of Fischer's Lovebird draw attention to themselves by their incessant screeching and squawking as they flap energetically between trees. If the endemic spurfowl and lovebird are essentially local variations on a more widespread generic type, not so the Rufous-tailed Weaver, a fascinating bird placed in its own genus, but with nesting habits that indicate an affinity to the sparrow-weavers. This weaver is significantly larger and more sturdily built than most African ploceids, and its pale eyes, scaly feathering and habit of bouncing around boisterously in small flocks could lead to it being mistaken for a babbler, albeit one with an unusually large bill.

Of the three other Serengeti-Mara EBA endemics, the most visible and widespread is the Usambiro Barbet, a close relative of the slightly smaller d'Arnaud's Barbet, with which it is sometimes considered conspecific. The Sooty Chat, a plain black bird with a white shoulder flash, is apparently absent from the southern Serengeti, but it is easily observed around the Lobo Hills. Altogether more elusive is the Grey-crested Helmet-shrike, which strongly resembles the White-crested Helmet-shrike but is larger, has a more upright grey crest, and lacks an eye wattle. A striking bird, it indulges in typically conspicuous helmet-shrike behaviour, with small parties streaming noisily from one tree to the next. It is absent from the southern Serengeti and thinly distributed in the north, where it is often associated with stands of whistling thorns.

Endemic-chasing will be a priority of any birding visit to the Serengeti, but the mixed woodland and grassland of the north and west produce consistently good birdwatching. Highlights are inevitably subjective, but memorable sightings on our most recent trip included Abyssinian Scimitarbill, Spot-flanked Barbet and Pygmy Falcon, and a breeding colony of Jackson's Golden-backed Weaver at Grumeti River Camp. Others were a magnificent Black Eagle soaring above the cliffs at Lobo, and six different vulture species squabbling over a kill in the Western Corridor. And there is always the chance of an exciting 'first': recent additions to the Tanzanian bird list from Serengeti include European Turtle Dove (1997), Short-eared Owl (1998) and Long-tailed Nightjar, Black-backed Cisticola and African Swallow-tailed Kite (2000). In 2001, close to Grumeti River Camp, we were fortunate to see the first Golden Pipit ever recorded in the national park!

It may come as a surprise that a national park as well known as Serengeti throws up new species with such regularity. But while Tanzania has through the years hosted numerous mammalian research programmes, it had until recently received little attention from ornithologists. The past two decades have seen an explosion in ornithological knowledge of Tanzania, best gauged by the expansion of the national checklist from slightly fewer than 1 000 species in 1980 to 1 112 according to a new working checklist compiled by Neil and Liz Baker of the Tanzania Bird Atlas Project.

This astonishing gain (more than 10 per cent over a period of two decades) is exaggerated by the Bakers' admitted bias towards splitting controversial species, but it also reflects an unparalleled accumulation of genuine new records. Even if one discounts the controversial splits that are included in the working checklist, Tanzania is poised to overtake Kenya (1 080 species) as the African country with the second most varied avifauna.

Tanzania also lies second - to South Africa - in its wealth of endemic birds. At present, 32 endemic species are recognised, including three discovered and described in the 1990s and four that still await formal description. Five of the national endemics are readily observed on the northern safari circuit, but a greater number are restricted to the Eastern Arc mountains.

Like a necklace of inselbergs and massifs, the Eastern Arc mountains stretch from Kilimanjaro to Lake Malawi. In addition to the endemics, they harbour about 20 eastern forest and woodland species whose core range lies within Tanzania. Birders looking for a destination to tag on to the conventional eight- to 10-day northern safari might thus choose to forsake the standard Zanzibar package in favour of the recently gazetted Amani Nature Reserve, the most accessible and organised major birding site in the Eastern Arc.

Situated in the Eastern Usambara, some five hours' drive from Arusha, Amani is 'lifer' country par excellence. It's difficult to know where to begin, but the Green-headed Oriole, Long-billed Tailorbird and Amani Sunbird head a tantalising list of birds resident in the resthouse gardens, while more elusive species found in the surrounding forest include Usambara Eagle-Owl, White-chested Alethe, Sharpe's Akalat, Red-tailed Ant Thrush and Dappled Mountain Robin. In all, 340 species have been identified at Amani, half of which qualify as knee-wobblers in anybody's book.

A fortnight dedicated to the northern safari circuit and Amani visited in combination (with a possible diversion to the nearby Tanga-Pangani coastline) should yield a trip-list as substantial and rich as would a comparable period in any other part of Africa.

WHEN TO VISIT
There's no bad time to visit, but the European winter is when one is most likely to encounter migrants that are rare or unrecorded in southern Africa. The best big-game viewing is between December and April, when the wildebeest amass in the southern Serengeti. The most spectacular part of the migration - the river crossing - typically occurs in July.

HOW TO GET THERE
Air Tanzania flies three times a week between Johannesburg and Arusha's Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA). The only European airline to fly direct to KIA is KLM; with most other airlines you'll need to fly to Arusha from Dar es Salaam or Nairobi.

GETTING AROUND
The only practical option is to go on an organized safari. Road safaris are cheaper than fly-around safaris, and provide better access to the full variety of ecosystems. Many safari operators gear their tours towards the misconception that a busy itinerary equates to value for money, when in reality it can just entail an excess of pointless driving from place to place. The minimum period that is normally recommended for a road safari to the four main reserves west of Arusha is six days; eight days is far more realistic and relaxing.

A lesser book, but far cheaper, more compact and still comprehensive, is Van Perlo's Collins' Illustrated Checklist to the Birds of East Africa.

Safari guides in Tanzania seldom take around clients with a strong interest in birds, and are thus prone to misidentify small, uncommon or confusing species. On the plus side, every local guide I've traveled with in Tanzania has been delighted at the opportunity to hone his identification skills, which makes for a fun and interactive safari.

TanzaniaReading
The forgotten corners of the Serengeti
Kilimanjaro
Serengeti-Mara
Meeting the Maasai
Northern Tanzania Endemic Overload
Largest Game Park in Africa: Selous

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