birding Tsavo and Amboseli

A 7-day tour birding Tsavo East, Tsavo West and Amboseli National Parks in Kenya

Itinerary Details

Day 0: Arrivals at Malindi or Moi International Airport in Mombasa.

Transfer to your hotel for refreshments / get over jetlag, dinner and overnight stay

Day 1: We start our tour "Birding to Tsavo and Amboseli" today

Your guide will Pick you up from a hotel in Mombasa or Malindi and bird to the Mida Creek – a place for waders and shorebirds; lots of sand plovers, and sandpipers. Mida Creek is famous for crab plovers.

Sabaki River Mouth is also a very good site for shorebirds and waders along the Indian Ocean shores. Another nearby birding site is at lake Jilore. The bush along the lake escarpment is famous for the scaly babbler, the African Golden Oriole, the emerald-spotted wood dove, etc.

Overnight: Turtle Bay Resort, Watamu 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 elephant and gerenuk, 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 will be late this afternoon.

Overnight: Voi Safari Lodge HB

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, Somali Courser.

Overnight: Voi Safari Lodge FB

Day 4: Transfer to Tsavo West National Park

The highlight of this visit will be at our lodge during the Leopard feeding time – a culture that has been practiced for decades.

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: Ngulia Safari Lodge FB

Day 5: Early morning birding in the park and later transfer to Amboseli

During our exploration of the 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: Penety Amboseli Resort FB

Day 6: Full day Birding in Amboseli National Park

There is a good 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.

Overnight: Penety Amboseli Resort

Day 7: From Amboseli to Nairobi for departure

We shall have a brief birding / game drive in the park before driving go to Nairobi city for departure at Jomo Kinyatta International Airport.

~ end of Birding Tsavo and Amboseli ~