10-day custom bird watching tour in Tsavo East and West, Amboseli, Nakuru and Nairobi National Park in Kenya

Itinerary details

Day 1: Arrivals at Malindi International Airport or Mombasa International Airport

Meet your guide and transfer to your hotel for refreshments/get over jetlag, dinner, and an overnight stay. Early arrivals will give a chance for optional birding to the Mida Creek before the tide—a place for waders, lots of sand plovers, and sandpipers. Mida Creek is famous for crab plovers. Another nearby birding site is at Lake Jilore. The bush along the lake escarpment is famous for the scaly babbler, the African Golden Oriole, Didric cuckoo, the emerald-spotted wood dove, etc.

Overnight: Watamu Lala Salama B&B

Day 2: Birding to Tsavo East National Park

We start very early and drive to Tsavo East National Park for an hour or so. Tsavo is excellent for mammals like elephants and gerenuks, plus a diverse range of dry scrub birds. We shall go birding along the river in the National Park. Picnic lunch will be in the park. Arrival at the lodge in Voi will be late this evening. Highlights: Lesser Gray Shrike, Taita Fiscal, Chestnut-headed Sparrow-Lark, Pink-breasted Lark, Gray Wren-Warbler, Red-billed Oxpecker, Wattled Starling, Superb Starling, Isabelline Wheatear, Red-billed Buffalo-Weaver, White-headed Buffalo-Weaver, Vitelline Masked-Weaver, Speke’s Weaver, Chestnut Weaver, Red-billed Quelea, Black-rumped Waxbill, Crimson-rumped Waxbill, Cut-throat, Eastern Paradise-Whydah, Golden Pipit, etc

Overnight: Oasis Hotel, Voi B&B

Day 3: Whole-day birding drive in Tsavo East National Park

We do an early morning drive in the park before breakfast. Rest of the day birding & big game viewing in the park. Look out for Common Ostrich, Somali Ostrich, African Spoonbill, Secretary Bird, Brown Snake-eagle, Bateleur, Eastern Pale Chanting Goshawk, Black-headed Heron, Tawny Eagle, Wahlberg’s Eagle, Martial Eagle, Crested Francolin, Yellow-necked Spurfowl, Crested Guineafowl, Vulturine Guineafowl, Black-bellied Bustard, and Somali Courser.

Overnight: Oasis Hotel, Voi B&B

Day 4: Birding to Tsavo West National Park

We drive to the southern sector of the park, closer to Lake Jipe.

We look out for D’arnaud’s Barbet, Von der Decken’s Hornbill, African Hawk-Eagle, Black Smith Lapwing, Pygmy Falcon, Parrot-billed Sparrow, Eastern Paradise Whydah, etc.

Overnight: Lake Jipe Safari Lodge B&B

Day 5: Birding from Tsavo West to Amboseli

Morning birding in the park and later transfer to Amboseli in the afternoon

During our exploration of Tsavo West Park’s open plains, swamps, and lakes, we will once again have the opportunity to enjoy superb game viewing. Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Yellow-throated Sandgrouse, Black-faced Sandgrouse, Pangani Longclaw, Taveta Golden Weaver, Fischer’s Sparrow-lark, Banded Parisoma, Taita Fiscal, etc. are some of the highlights of this park.

Overnight: Amboseli Eco Camp B&B

Day 6: Full day Birding in Amboseli National Park and sleeping in Nairobi

There is a favorable combination of arid and moist habitats in Amboseli. Dry-country specials we will look for include Buff-crested Bustard, Pink-breasted Lark, Tiny Cisticola, Mouse-colored Penduline Tit, Rosy-patched Bushshrike, Fischer’s Starling, and Grey-headed Silverbill. The moist grasslands of the park are good for Hartlaub’s Bustard and Pangani Longclaw. We should also find a good selection of waterbirds, including numerous waders, Greater Painted- Snipe, several ducks, and numerous species of herons and storks.

After here, we drive to Nairobi City

Overnight: Hotel Troy B&B

Day 7: Birding to Gatamaiyu Forest, Kikuyu Escarpment, and Kinangop Plateau grasslands if time allows, and later driving to Nakuru National Park. We stay in Nakuru City.

Gatamaiyu Forest is a tropical montane forest at the foothills of the Aberdare range. We look for Abbott’s Starling, Jackson’s Spurfowl and Hunter’s Cisticola, Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk, Crowned Eagle, African Hill Babbler, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Mountain Greenbul, Hartlaub’s Turaco, and Slender-billed Greenbul, among many others. Later birding in Kinangop grasslands for Sharpe’s Longclaw and Kikuyu White eye, Jackson’s Widowbird, Long-tailed Widowbird, Pangani Longclaw, Kori Bustard, etc.

Overnight: Eagle Palace Hotel HB for 2nights

Day 8: Spend the entire day birding in Nakuru National Park, renowned for its Flamingos.

Return to the lodge later in the evening.

Besides the flamingos, other water birds include African Great White Perican, cormorants, egrets, herons, ibises, ducks, African Spoonbill, and African Fish Eagle. Other species we may encounter include Coqui and Hildebrandt’s Francolins, White-fronted Bee-eater, Green Wood Hoopoe, Red-throated Wryneck, Red-rumped and Mosque Swallows, Mocking Cliff Chat, Little Rock Thrush, Arrow-marked Babbler, the scarce Grey-crested Helmetshrike, Rüppell’s Starling, and Speke’s Weaver.

Day 9: We will be birding our way to Nairobi through Naivasha. We may do another stop at Kinango grasslands depending on the previous visit’s experience. On this particular day, Katherine could dedicate some time to visiting various locations within Nakuru city.

Overnight: hotel Troy B&B

Day 10: Whole day at Nairobi National Park.

This is Kenya’s oldest national park, located just 7 kilometres from the edge of Nairobi city. It consists of over 500 bird species, and the big five. It is home of the endemic Snowy (Brown-and-White) Barbet and Kikuyu White-eye, Red-throated Tit, Nairobi Pipit (Anthus chyuluensis), and the Northern Pied Babbler. Yellow-throated Sandgrouse are also found here. Others include, among others, the Secretary Bird, Black-winged Plover, Pangani Longclaw, Jackson’s Widowbird, Kori Bustard, Hartlaub’s Bustard, Common Nightingale, White-tailed Lark, Somali Short-toed Lark, Speke’s Weaver, Martial Eagle, African Quail-finch, Zebra Waxbill, and Harlequin Quail.

Return back to your hotel for dinner and overnight stay