$3,300 pp (USD)
2 travelers on Start dateArrival
Arrival
Day 1
Nairobi to Tsavo West National Park
Nairobi to Tsavo West National Park
Our Kenya coastal birding tour begins with a transfer to Tsavo West National Park with an en route birding where the habitat is a relatively denser thicket of savannah dominated by acacia-Commiphora bushland with baobab, grassy plains, riverine woodland. The park is also famous for the autumn bird ringing at the Ngulia Safari Lodge with thousands of European and Asian Palearctic migrants on their way south.
- Main Destination:
- Tsavo West National Park
- Accommodation:
- Ngulia Safari Lodge
Wildlife in Tsavo West NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 2
Tsavo West National Park Birding
Tsavo West National Park Birding
Depending on the time of your visit, Tsavo West National Park may be the site for the enigmatic Friedmann’s lark, red-naped bush shrike, and scaly chatter which would be some of the star birds of this Kenya birding tour. Other birds may include singing bush lark, bare-eyed thrush, rufous chatterer, black-headed plover, quail-plover, red-naped bush-shrike, Somali courser, African scops owl, pringle’s puff back, olive-tree, Basra reed warbler, violet wood-hoopoe, southern black, spot-flanked, red & yellow, D’Arnaud’s, black-throated, white-headed barbet, greater, scaly-throated, yellow-billed oxpecker, vulturine guineafowl, etc.
- Main Destination:
- Tsavo West National Park
- Accommodation:
- Ngulia Safari Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 3
Transfer to Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary
Transfer to Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary
You will bird in the Ngulia area en route to Lake Jipe in search of Taveta golden weaver and Hartlaub’s bustard. You will retire on the Taita Hills late in the evening. You'll enjoy en route birding with several stops to scan around for more interesting birds and mammals like Taita white-eye, Taita thrush, and a few more.
- Main Destination:
- Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary
- Accommodation:
- Lake Jipe Eco Camp
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 4
Taita Hills Birding and Rukinga Onward
Taita Hills Birding and Rukinga Onward
Today, you will drive to Taita Hills Forests and spend most of the day birding up the hills. If lucky enough, these hills and patches of bits of forest, rising abruptly to 2200m are home to 3 Kenyan endemics “the Taita three” namely the Taita apalis, Taita thrush, and Taita white-eye. It’s the only site on our Kenya birding tour that gives you a chance to see 3 Kenya endemic birds. Also look for striped-cheeked greenbul, yellow-throated woodland warbler, and striped pipit. Hopefully after locating them, you will drive back making several stops for other birds. In the late afternoon, you'll experience birding in Rukinga Wildlife Sanctuary bordering Tsavo East National Park. Here you have (though very limited) walking space in search of birds unlike in the park and you will take a nocturnal birding drive. Birds may include Friedmann’s lark, in cases where it is still wet, bare-eyed thrush, scaly and rufous chatterers, etc.
- Main Destination:
- Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary
- Accommodation:
- Kivuli Camp
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 5
Rukinga Birding, add Simba Hills National Reserve Onwards
Rukinga Birding, add Simba Hills National Reserve Onwards
Today, the Kenya coastal birding tour takes you to Shimba Hills National Reserve. It’s the only site in Kenya for the green-headed oriole and Uluguru violet-backed sunbird. Also, you may see Fischer’s turaco, green, brown-breasted, black-breasted, and white-eared barbets.
- Main Destination:
- Shimba Hills National Reserve
- Accommodation:
- Shimba Hills Lodge
Wildlife in Shimba Hills NR
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 6
Shimba Hills Birding and Evening Transfer to Malindi
Shimba Hills Birding and Evening Transfer to Malindi
The targets here include among others; green-headed oriole, white-eared barbet, Usambara double-collared sunbird, and green Malkoha. Also, the little yellow flycatcher, the bearded scrub robin, the eastern nicator, the fasciated snake eagle, and the chestnut-fronted helmet shrike.
- Main Destination:
- Shimba Hills National Reserve
- Accommodation:
-
Turtle Bay Beach Club
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 7
Arabuko Sokoke Forest Reserve
Arabuko Sokoke Forest Reserve
Our Kenya coastal birding tour takes you into the famous Arabuko Sokoke Forest, which is the largest remnant of the East African Coastal Forest. We hope to see the rarely seen Kenyan endemic Clarke’s weaver among the rich diversity of other bird species. These may include near endemic Amani sunbird, Sokoke pipit and Malindi pipit, East Coast akalat, scaly babbler, and Mombasa woodpecker. Other birds may include the little yellow flycatcher, a localized collared palm thrush, four-colored bushshrike, Fischer’s turaco, mangrove kingfisher, scaly-throated and pallid honeyguides, Eastern green tinkerbird and green barbet, Mombasa and green-backed woodpecker amongst many others. This is also the home to near-endemic golden-rumped elephant shrew. Depending on the time, you will either visit Mida Creek or the forest fringed by the mangrove forest. The creek has a large area that fills with saline water during high tides.
- Main Destination:
- Arabuko Sokoke Forest Reserve
- Accommodation:
- Turtle Bay Beach Club
Wildlife in Arabuko Sokoke FR
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 8
Sabaki River Mouth Estuary
Sabaki River Mouth Estuary
You will visit Sabaki River Estuary an area characterized by sandbanks, mudflats, mud banks, sand dunes, fresh pools, and marshes. The site is important for both intra-African and Palearctic migrants for roosting, resting, and feeding grounds for gulls and terns. It is a good site for Madagascar pratincole and African skimmers. Also, dimorphic and little egrets, great and lesser flamingos, water thick-knee, ruddy turnstone, heuglin’s, sooty and lesser black-backed gulls, gull-billed, Caspian, greater-crested, lesser-crested and common terns. Also, the southern carmine bee-eater, Ethiopian swallow, Zanzibar red bishop, and nearby Malindi pipit.
- Main Destination:
- Sabaki River Mouth
- Accommodation:
- Turtle Bay Beach Club
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 9
Araboko Sokoke in the Morning and Lumu Island in the Afternoon
Araboko Sokoke in the Morning and Lumu Island in the Afternoon
You will enjoy birding in Arabuko Sokoke Forest. Later in the afternoon, our Kenya bird tour will finally take you to Lamu Island and particularly birding on Manda Island in search of the near-endemic manda boubou. Also, mouse-colored sunbirds, purple-banded sunbirds, etc.
- Main Destination:
- Lamu (Town & Beach)
- Accommodation:
- Banana House
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 10
Birding at the Highland and Tsavo East National Park Onwards
Birding at the Highland and Tsavo East National Park Onwards
You will have morning birding in search of birds we may have missed in the forest like the African skimmer. Also, dimorphic and little egrets, great and lesser flamingos, water thick-knee, ruddy turnstone, Heuglin’s, sooty and lesser black-backed gulls, gull-billed, Caspian, greater-crested, lesser-crested and common terns. Later, you will transfer to Tsavo East National Park. In the afternoon, you'll enjoy birding en-route to your lodge arriving in the dusk.
- Main Destination:
- Tsavo East National Park
- Accommodation:
- Ashnil Aruba Lodge
Wildlife in Tsavo East NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 11
Tsavo East National Park Limited Birding and Transfer to Nairobi National Park
Tsavo East National Park Limited Birding and Transfer to Nairobi National Park
Today, you will bird in the park for bare-eyed thrush, rufous chatterer, black-headed plover, quail-plover, red-naped bush-shrike, red-naped bush-shrike, Somali courser, African scops owl, pringle’s puffback, olive-tree, Basra reed warbler, violet wood-hoopoe, southern black, spot-flanked, red and yellow, D’Arnaud’s, black-throated, white-headed barbet, greater, scaly-throated, yellow-billed oxpecker, vulturine guineafowl. In the afternoon, you will drive to Nairobi.
- Main Destination:
- Tsavo East National Park
- Accommodation:
-
Swara Acacia Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 12
Birding in Nairobi National Park and Evening Outbound Flight
Birding in Nairobi National Park and Evening Outbound Flight
Our Kenya coastal birding tour ends with a day in Nairobi National Park. Only 10km off the cosmopolitan city, it has one of the greatest avifauna with a record of over 520 species in an area of only 117km². Birds may include the newly-almost-described Nairobi pipit, common ostrich, saddle-billed stork, African spoonbill, saddle-billed stork, African spoonbill, secretary bird, black-shouldered kite, lappet-faced vulture, black-chested snake-eagle, martial eagle, shelly’s and yellow-necked spurfowls, African finfoot, black-bellied, hartlaub’s bustards, emerald spotted wood, laughing doves, hartlaub’s turaco, white-bellied go-away-bird, white-browed coucal, African palm swift, blue-napped mousebird, little and cinnamon-chested bee-eaters etc. In the evening, if time allows, you will visit a Nairobi restaurant for dinner before transferring to the Nairobi Airport for your outgoing flight.
- Main Destination:
- Nairobi (City)
- Accommodation:
- No accommodation (End of tour)
- Meals & Drinks:
