12-Day Kenya Endemics Birding trip - itinerary details

Day 1: Arrivals at Malindi or Mombasa International Airport

Depending on the choice of flights, you will be picked from the Airport by your guide and driven straight to your Hotel in Watamu for refreshments and overnight stay. For Mombasa early arrivals will give a chance to bird along Haller Park; Taveta Golden Weaver and Golden Palm Weavers, Narina Trogon are present here. The drive from the Airport to Haller Park is about 45minutes.

Overnight: Seven Islands Resort, Watamu B&B

Day 2: Visit Dakatcha Woodland Forest

Also known as the Kilifi Weaver, the Clarke’s Weaver localized a small marsh in Dakatcha Woodland where it nests. January and July are the best times to find these weavers nesting. There are several other species that we are likely to encounter in this area including the vagrant Dwarf Bittern, Violet-breasted Sunbird, and many others. We spend the whole morning here and afternoon drive back to Watamu. We shall visit the Sabaki River Mouth famous for waders.

Overnight: Seven Islands Resort, Watamu FB

Day 3: Birding to Arabuko Sokoke Forest in the morning, afternoon visit the Mida Creek

Targets at Arabuko Sokoke include the Sokoke Scops Owl, Sokoke Pipit, Amani Sunbird, Sokoke Batis or Short-tailed Batis and the Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew. There are ofcourse a good selection of other interesting birds like the Blue-headed Crested Flycatcher, Little Yellow Flycatcher, Eastern nicator, Four-coloured Bushshrike, Retz’s Helemtshrike, Chestnut Crowned Helmet Shrike, Bearded Scrub-robin, and Green Twinspot.

Overnight: Seven Islands Resort, Watamu FB

Day 4: Drive to Taveta

Start early and leave this part of the country and drive to Taveta. We shall stay at Taita hills resort and spa. We spent the rest of the day birding along the lodge gardens. Alternatively, we can spend another morning in Arabuko Sokoke and later drive to Taita hills in the Afternoon

Overnight: Taita Hills Resort and Spa FB

Day 5: Birding to Ngangao Forest

The particular endemics we look for here are Taita Thrush, Taita Apalis and Taita White-eye. They occupy a very small, encroached forest section of about 1,390 hectares. The other locations in total occupy just over 3,000hectares putting these species at verge of extinction.

Overnight: Taita Hills Resort & Spa FB

Day 6: Drive from Taita Hills – Taveta to Nairobi

This a long journey that will take us most the day. Normal traffic flow driving time is about 5.6hours. We pass via Voi. The Nairobi – Mombasa Highway is a busy road but with chances of making several stops to look at birds. We reach our lodge late this afternoon and refresh ready to start again the next day. When we get time, we can spend the rest of the day at Ngong forest. Situated in the outskirts of Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, Ngong Nature Reserve covers an area of 1,224 hectares. There are 113 species of birds recorded in this forest and quite a number of mammals including the duikers, bush bucks, bush pigs, genets, civets, bush babies, porcupines, sykes monkeys, squirrels, hares, epauletted fruit bats and clawless otters, hyenas, dik diks, leopards, olive baboons, mongooses, aardvarks and warthogs.

Overnight: Fairview Hotel, Nairobi FB

Day 7: Birding in Nairobi National Park

This is Kenya’s oldest National Park, located just 7 kilometres from the edge of the Nairobi city. It boosts 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.

Overnight: Fairview Hotel Nairobi FB

Day 8: Birding to Gatamaiyu Forest, Kikuyu Escarpment and Kinangop Plateau grasslands

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: Dove Nest Hotel, FB

Day 9: Drive to Samburu with a brief stopover at Sagana for Hinde’s Babbler

The Globally vulnerable and Kenyan endemic, Hinde’s Babbler (Turdoides hindei) is found on the fertile southern slopes of Mt Kenya. We shall divert to look for this species before continuing to Samburu.

Samburu National Reserve is semi-desert habitat and rich woodlands along the Ewaso Ng’iro River, and it is a wildlife spectacle! Here we look for William’s Lark.

Overnight: Lion’s Cave Camp FB

Day 10: Birding whole day in Samburu National Reserve

Besides the William’s Lark, there are several other spectacular birds to look for here including, among others Somali Ostrich, African Hawk-Eagle, Crested Francolin, Yellow-necked Spurfowl, Vulturine Guineafowl, Kori Bustard, Buff-crested Bustard, White-bellied Bustard, Black-faced Sandgrouse and Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse, Red-bellied Parrot, Somali Bee-eater, Von der Decken’s Hornbill, Red-and-yellow Barbet, Pink-breasted Lark, Rosy-patched Bushshrike, Hunter’s Sunbird, Black-bellied Sunbirds, Golden-breasted Starling, Fischer’s Starling, Donaldson and Smith’s Sparrow-Weaver, and Cut-throat Finch. The beautiful Beisa Oryx, the Grevy’s Zebra, Generuk, Reticulated Giraffe are also found here.

Besides Shaba Reserve, there is a new /alternative sight for the Williams Lark, in Ndomoru, near Isiolo.

Overnight: Lion’s Cave Camp FB

Day 11: Birding from Samburu to Mt Kenya

This is just a 3 hours’ drive.

Castle Forest Lodge is located deep in the thick forest on the slopes to the south of Mount Kenya. It is set in natural surroundings of rainforest, freshwater rivers with falls, a fabulous view of the valley on one side of the lodge, and the impressive peaks of Mount Kenya on the other. We shall have time to bird around the lodge for the rest of the day.

Overnight: Castle Forest Lodge FB

Day 12: Bird Mt Kenya for Jackson’s Francolin and later drive to Nairobi for your flight

Today we start early to look for the Jackson’s Francolin, lunch at the Lodge and later travel to Nairobi for your departure.