kenya MAY,,, (1 Viewer)

wee kayso · Jan 6, 2009

I have booked up a family holiday to kenya on the 15th of may for one week,the first three days will be on safari ,i know a good bit about brittish and european birds but the birds in kenya are a totaly different ball game to me and would like to know the best field guide for the area,,i have got the HELM FIELD GUIDE for kenya and northern tanzania,,is this a good book,? i was also wondering if there are any good dvds of the birds of kenya too,i shall be staying at the SOUTHERN PALMS beach hotel ,south coast mombasa for the later part of the holiday and was also looking for good places to see birds,

mike davidson · Jan 26, 2009

best book

Hi Jim

most of us think you have the best guide , although some consider Birds of East Africa by Stepenson as good . The layout is better .

Re birding on the South Coast , Shimba Hills inland is good , and some coastal beaches . A few years ago we took a canoe up the Tiwi river from the river mouth and it was fantastic .

Further south towards the Tanzanian border , there are good birding areas but I have never been .

If you get a visit to the North Coast , go into Haller Park ,10kms past mombasa town , a reclaimed mining area ; its great for birds and other animals .

Hope you have a good trip

Mike Davidson in Nairobi

Alf King · Feb 5, 2009

Your best birding opportunities will undoubtedly be on safari (Tsavo?). Unfortunately most of the guides have no idea about the birds other than the obvious ones and will concentrate upon the mammals, which are great, but you may become frustrated by fleeting glances of interesting birds. You should get to see bustards (white-bellied, buff-crested and Kori are all possible) as well as various raptors (notably Eastern Chanting Goshawk) and vultures. Barbets are particularly attractive and highly visible.

Coastal birding is generally disappointing unless you go to specific areas, usually creeks and estuaries. If you look at the map it might seem that such as Kotu Creek (Kilifi) or even Aruboko Sokoke are fairly close but distances in Kenya can be deceptive. On the coast around Mombassa security can be a real issue and I would strongly advise against going out birding on your own in this area.

I prefer the Stevenson and Fanshawe book but do also have the Zimmerman. Both are good and it is simply a matter of preference.

You will undoubtedly be hooked and want to go back for more. If so check out the trip reports (including a couple of mine) on the various sites to further whet your appetite.

Nicky mwangi · Feb 12, 2009

Tour guides

Alf King said:
Your best birding opportunities will undoubtedly be on safari (Tsavo?). Unfortunately most of the guides have no idea about the birds other than the obvious ones and will concentrate upon the mammals, which are great, but you may become frustrated by fleeting glances of interesting birds. You should get to see bustards (white-bellied, buff-crested and Kori are all possible) as well as various raptors (notably Eastern Chanting Goshawk) and vultures. Barbets are particularly attractive and highly visible.

Coastal birding is generally disappointing unless you go to specific areas, usually creeks and estuaries. If you look at the map it might seem that such as Kotu Creek (Kilifi) or even Aruboko Sokoke are fairly close but distances in Kenya can be deceptive. On the coast around Mombassa security can be a real issue and I would strongly advise against going out birding on your own in this area.

I prefer the Stevenson and Fanshawe book but do also have the Zimmerman. Both are good and it is simply a matter of preference.

You will undoubtedly be hooked and want to go back for more. If so check out the trip reports (including a couple of mine) on the various sites to further whet your appetite.

King,
I disagree to agree with you on tour guides.Lack of communication with the tour operators brings frustrations.As a client one is supposed to make the operator understand his interest.A good operator should also consider that, We have the best local wisdom [Ornithological guide's] in Kenya, I chair Kenya bird guide association and would like to assure you that Kenya bird guides are great:t:

Alf King · Feb 13, 2009

Nicky mwangi said:
King,
I disagree to agree with you on tour guides.Lack of communication with the tour operators brings frustrations.As a client one is supposed to make the operator understand his interest.A good operator should also consider that, We have the best local wisdom [Ornithological guide's] in Kenya, I chair Kenya bird guide association and would like to assure you that Kenya bird guides are great:t:

Hi Nicky,

I'm sorry if I caused confusion by my comments. What I meant was that the safari guides that are used by tour groups in the parks are generally not good on birds, concentrating on the mammals that most of the groups are interested in. British package tour operators are generally completely unaware of ornithological interests of their clients, unlike the specialist bird tour operators.

I would agree with you wholeheartedly that the specialist bird guides in Kenya are very good indeed, and I can personally attest to the amzing skills of Benson Mugambe who I have been priveleged to accompany on a couple of occasions.

If Kayso was to use a local bird guide then I'm sure that he wouldn't be disappointed.

Regards,

Nicky mwangi · Feb 13, 2009

King,
I 100% agree with you now.
Big game safari are more famous hence higher chances of getting a non birding guide.Ben Mugambi is my birding friend having started chasing the birds at the same time.KEBGA is trying to upgrade the Bird guide skills.How is your Kenyan check List?

Regards,[/QUOTE]

Alf King · Feb 13, 2009

Nicky,

My Kenya list is just at 550, but I have not yet visited the Masai Mara so it could increase when I eventually make my next trip.

Regards

Nicky mwangi · Feb 15, 2009

Alf King said:
Nicky,

My Kenya list is just at 550, but I have not yet visited the Masai Mara so it could increase when I eventually make my next trip.

Regards

King,
You are good on the Kenyan checklist.At least you have seen 50% of our birds.
Nightingale thrush [sprousser] marked my 1012 bird.I need to put more migrants in my checklist.Am so poor in identifying parliarctic migrants warblers.I spent last Thursday doing bird ringing, am totally lost with differentiating Marsh warbler from the Eurasian reed warbler.I will be sending you the pix for identification.

Cheers.

Alf King · Feb 23, 2009

Nicky mwangi said:
King,
You are good on the Kenyan checklist.At least you have seen 50% of our birds.
Nightingale thrush [sprousser] marked my 1012 bird.I need to put more migrants in my checklist.Am so poor in identifying parliarctic migrants warblers.I spent last Thursday doing bird ringing, am totally lost with differentiating Marsh warbler from the Eurasian reed warbler.I will be sending you the pix for identification.

Cheers.

I'm not an expert by any means Nicky but I believe that these can be more difficult to separate in the hand than in the field where they oblige by singing. A key differential, I understand, is the claw colour. Maybe you should ask on the id forum.

{Sorry for this divergence Kayso - Kenya is still a great birding destination and you will surely get hooked.}

wee kayso · Apr 13, 2009

does any one know of any local guides that could probably take me out for birds,i will be around the mombasa area,,,cheers

joseph mwangi · Apr 17, 2009

Hi Jim,
My name is Joseph bird guide in Kenya but based in Nairobi, I would recommend you contact David Ngala or Willy Kombe and they are excellent guide especially with Arabuko Sokoke forest they will find you key species for the area. The have a company by the name Spinetail Safaris and can be reached by Cell phone +254734652610 for David he is a "Fundi" Expert in the forest.

If you cannot get hold of them then I could be willing to come down there and guide you.
Regards
Joseph

wee kayso · Apr 19, 2009

cheers joseph,i will look them up,,,

wee kayso · May 13, 2009

cheers for the help,xx..i will post a trip report,

kenya MAY,,, (1 Viewer)

More options

wee kayso

Well-known member

mike davidson

Well-known member

Alf King

Well-known member

Nicky mwangi

Nicky mwangi

Alf King

Well-known member

Nicky mwangi

Nicky mwangi

Alf King

Well-known member

Nicky mwangi

Nicky mwangi

Alf King

Well-known member

wee kayso

Well-known member

joseph mwangi

Active member

wee kayso

Well-known member

wee kayso

Well-known member

Similar threads

Users who are viewing this thread