10 Days Kenya Eastern Coastal Forests and Woodlands Birding tour Itinerary

Day 1: Arrivals at Moi International Airport

Arrivals at Moi International Airport, Mombasa. Meet your guide and transfer to your hotel for refreshments / get over jetlag, dinner and overnight stay. Early arrivals will give chance for optional birding to the Haller Park or Nguuni nature Sanctuary

Overnight: Severin Sea Lodge B&B

Day 2: Birding to Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary

The sanctuary is an integral part of the Eastern Arc forests. The topography is generally mountainous that offers breathtaking landscape views of the Kilimanjaro, Pare, Uluguru Mountains and the clusters of Taita Hills with a seasonal river dividing the sanctuary into valleys and lowland plains. Our visit here is mainly to look for the endemics in the hills at Ngangao forest. Early arrivals will give a chance to bird around the lodge or optional drive into the wildlife sanctuary this evening.

Overnight: Taita Hills Safari Resort and Spa FB

Day 3: Birding to Taita hills – Ngangao Forest

We carry picnic lunch and drive uphill to Ngangao Forest. Our main targets are three endemics here: the Taita Apalis, Taita thrush, and Taita white-eye. These three endemics occupy a very small, and heavily encroached section of the forest of about 1,390 hectares. The other locations in totality occupy just over 3,000 hectares. There are several other species we are likely going to see here including Placid Greenbul, Evergreen Forest Warbler, African Emeral Cuckoo, Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler, Black-headed Apalis, Stripe-cheeked Greenbul etc.

Overnight: Taita Hills Safari Resort & Spa FB

Day 4: Transfer to Shimba Hills National Reserve

Famously known as the home for sable antelope, this reserve is very well known for coastal endemic birds and many other small mammals like the the Golden-rumped Sengi or Elephant Shrew, bush-tailed mongoose, etc. There are several other common species like the Eastern Nicator, brown-hooded Kingfisher, Zanzibar red bishop, Coastal cisticola, etc. There are also big mammals like elephants, giraffes, leopards, etc.

Overnight: Shimba Hills Lodge FB

Day 5: Whole day birding in Shimba hills Reserve

Our main targets of the day include among others; the green-headed Oriole, white-eared barbet, green-backed Twinspot, Usambara double-collared sunbird, green Malkoha, little yellow flycatcher, the bearded scrub robin, the eastern nicator, Southern Banded Snake-eagle, chestnut-fronted helmet shrike, Fischer’s Turaco, Retz’s helmet-shrike, Sombre greenbul, Eastern nicator, etc. We shall bird the whole morning, come back to the lodge for a hot lunch and continue later in the afternoon.

Overnight: Shimba Hills FB

Day 6: Transfer to Malindi

We have time to do a couple of hours birding here before transferring to Malindi via the Mombasa Ferry. We shall have an early lunch in Mombasa. upon arrival in Malindi, this afternoon, we shall visit the Sabaki River Estuary. The mudflats and the seashore are very rich with Sooty gulls, Mongolian sand plover, sanderling, broad-billed sandpiper, little-ringed plover, lesser and great crested terns, curlew sandpiper, Caspian tern, whimbrel, crab plover, white-fronted plover, and many others.

Overnight: Lion’s Luxury Resort and Spa HB

Day 7: Birding to Dakatcha Woodland forest for the endemic Clarke’s Weaver

The Clarke’s Weaver is an endangered species due to continuous loss of its breeding habitats. These birds are forest weavers but breed in small wetlands. Today we shall visit the breeding site of the bird. There are other birds to expect; African barred owlet, violet-breasted sunbird, thick-billed cuckoo, Miombo starlings, Allen’s gallinule, Dwarf bittern, green woodhoopoe, martial eagle, black cuckoo-shrike, golden palm weaver etc.

Overnight: Lion’s Luxury Resort and Spa HB

Day 8: Birding to Lake Jilore

You’ll enjoy early morning birding in the Lake Jilore area. Later in the afternoon, we bird to the Mida Creek before the tide – a place for waders; lots of sand plovers, and sandpipers. The bush along the lake escarpment is famous for the scaly babbler, the African Golden Oriole, the emerald-spotted wood dove, etc. Mida Creek is famous for crab plovers.

Overnight: Seven Islands Resort Watamu HB

Day 9: Birding in Arabuko Sokoke Forest

We start at the visitors’ center. Very interesting coastal forest and easy birding. Species include Sokoke scops owl, Amani sunbird, East Coast Akalat, Sokoke Pipit, Malindi Pipit, tiny greenbul, gorgeous bushshrike, scaly-throated honeyguide, Forest Batis, Eastern green tinkerbird, Peters’ twinspot, pale Batis, plain-backed sunbird, Amani sunbird, Narina Trogon, little-yellow flycatcher, and blue-mantled crested flycatcher, bat hawk, tiny greenbul, Fischer’s greenbul.

Overnight: Seven Islands Resort Watamu HB

Day 10: Birding in Arabuko Sokoke Forest and later departure

You’ll enjoy morning birding in Arabuko Sokoke Forest again and later in the afternoon end the trip to prepare for departure via the Malindi Airport or Moi. Today, you will go through the forest again to comb the forest and possible chances of those missed the previous day. The golden-rumped elephant shrew is a common resident here.