Kenya (1 Viewer)

Hi, I've found the bird list that we put together last August (1st Aug '15) when we went on our (my wife and I) walk for 4 hours with John Atsongo (who came from the local town Kakamega on a roda roda motor bike), to show us the special birds of this forest, and extension of the tropical rain forests of central africa. We actually didn't walk far, out of Rondo Retreat, then a kilometre or so along the main road (its a clear 'gap' of about 10 metres so you can see birds fly across), then into denser forest along paths, and back via and open area, and along a field of tea.
More soon. Thanks Alan.
Bee eater Blue headed
Bush Shrike Ludhers *
Bush Shrike Bocage's or Grey-Green *
Cisticola Chubbs
Finch Grey headed negro
Flycatcher Northern Black
Flycatcher African Blue
Flycatcher African Shrike *
Greenbul Ansorges
Greenbul Joyfull
Greenbul Little
Greenbul Yellow wiskered
Greenbul Yellow Throated
Gromela Turners
Hornbill Black and White casked
Illadopsis Scaly-breasted
Prinia White-chinned
Puffback Pink footed
Robin-Chat Snowy headed
Saw-wing White headed
Sparrowhawk Grey
Starling Stuhlmann's
Sunbird Northern double collared
Sunbird Olive bellied
Sunbird Green headed
Thrush African
Tinkerbird Yellow rumped
Tit Dusky
Trogan Bar tailed
Warbler Black-faced rufus
Wattle-eye Brown throated
Waxbill Brown crowned
Weaver Grosbeak
Weaver Black Billed
Weaver Brown capped
Weaver Northern Brown throated
Weaver Grosbeak
Weaver Dark backed
Weaver Red-Headed Malimbe

Apalis Black collared heard
Barbet Yellow billed heard
Barbet Grey throated heard
Broadbill African heard
Cuckoo African Emerald heard
Robin-Chat Blue shouldered heard imitating bar-tailed trogan
Warbler Grey capped heard
Warbler Ugandan Woodland heard
* Very special birds to us
John Atsongo 0726591277 bird guide

MacNara,

Firstly my apologies for not copying the part of your response in my reply, but I am operating on an iPad on the last day of my latest holiday in South Africa ( my partner lives here, so visits are regular).

I have to take issue with your comment about the proximity of Johannesburg to Kruger National Park. The Park is a four hour drive (minimum) from the city, how can you describe that as "next door" ?

Kruger is an amazing natural wilderness with an incredible bird and mammal list, as has been said elsewhere the cost of visiting here is much less and an annual wild card which permits you to visit all 80 National Parks for a foreign national (me) is R2300, whilst my girlfriend as a South African pays only R500 per annum.

Yes trips are self guided, any self respecting birder is more than happy to do the research in advance and then search for the birds, yes we do pay for bush walks as they are an exceptional experience and night drives as they are the only way to move around the Park after dark.

For those who are not aware, Kruger is larger than Israel or Wales so there is lots to explore. We spent nine days there earlier in the month, finding all of the big five fairly easily (leopards are getting easier, but lions harder to find it seems) and 175 bird species, which considering that all of the summer migrants have left (Kruger has next to no Winter migrants), maybe ten at most that move down to the Park from higher altitudes. On that basis we consider that an excellent return, this time we were at Letaba (just into Northern half of the Park) and Skukuza the admin centre of the Park in the South (great for nature but the Park is for us too large and commercial). There was the bonus however of a Lesser Jacana nearby that Miena photographed and had published by SA rare bird news.

In October we will return to the very North in Pafuri and Punda Maria where there are very few people at any time of the year and the nature is just incredible.

Ian

MacNara,

For the record I do agree that Kenya is an excellent birding location, I also visited there for the first time in 2008 and saw 380 species in just two weeks, five days on safari and then nine at Malindi, this was a package tour and we hired a local guide in Malindi for a day in Sabuko Forest and then a day trip to Tsavo East.

So for balance both places provide an excellent experience and introduction to African birding.

Ian

Selsey Birder said:

MacNara,

I have to take issue with your comment about the proximity of Johannesburg to Kruger National Park. The Park is a four hour drive (minimum) from the city, how can you describe that as "next door" ?

Kruger is an amazing natural wilderness with an incredible bird and mammal list, as has been said elsewhere the cost of visiting here is much less...

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Thank you for commenting. I'm sorry if my earlier comment sounded as if I was running Kruger down as a place.

All I was trying to say is that the park is very near a huge city (metro population 4.5 million) in a country with a mean pp GDP of US$13,000 (surely much higher in Johannesburg). Nairobi may have a metro population of over 6 million, but the national pp GDP is only US$3,200. And culturally, I think a lot more South Africans are likely to be regular visitors to Kruger than Kenyans are to their national parks - and how many regular Kenyans have personal cars?.

What I meant was that with a large and fairly wealthy population nearby to provide a steady 'base load' of customers, the economics of Kruger are quite different to the National Parks of a place like Kenya where the overwhelming proportion of visitors comes from abroad.

You yourself say, the south of [Kruger NP] is 'too commercial' - but this is the local financial base load I mean (a kind of guaranteed minimum income on which you can rely) which Kenya doesn't have (yet - I hope and pray for the people of Kenya, and we have seen more local Africans recently than on our first trip).

Having an annual pass is another example of what I mean by base load. Even if Kenyans visit their parks, how many do you think can afford to do so often enough to make an annual pass worthwhile?

Four hours is fairly 'next door' to me, in the sense that it's not uncommon to drive three hours (four is admittedly at the borderline) each way on a day's birding here in Japan. But if Kruger were 4 hours' drive from me, I'd be there every second weekend for a couple of days. And I'm guessing the roads to Kruger from Johannesburg are paved so the driving is comfortable, which is not the case with a lot of parks in Kenya.

And on the self-guided element of your comment: if you live in (or if your partner is someone who is native to) Africa you may feel more confident about driving and guiding yourself. And you may be familiar with driving a four-wheel drive and know what to do if you get stuck. But if you have a maximum of eight nights in the country, sometimes after forty hours economy-class flight and airport lounging, you don't want to drive for at least a couple of days (dangerous with that amount of jetlag), and you don't want to go to places without someone who has a reasonable grasp of the geography of the places.

I am sure Kruger is wonderful, and it's absolutely our list of places to visit. One reason we haven't yet is that one of our two possible annual holidays is over the end-year & new-year, and people say that because of the holidays, this is not a great time to visit SA. Another reason is that we would like to visit the Cape and a couple of other places on the same holiday. Until my wife retires, our holidays are never long enough (ten, maybe eleven days, including travel to and from Africa) to do this.

And a third reason is that we think SA may be a more relaxing and easier place to have a longer holiday than East Africa when we are older (cities as well as nature) and so we are putting it aside.

Selsey Birder said:

MacNara,


In October we will return to the very North in Pafuri and Punda Maria where there are very few people at any time of the year and the nature is just incredible.

Ian

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Just to say that having done Pafuri and Punda Maria, there are few chances to see much other than Elephants? The best Mammal viewing, as stated in the literature, is much further South and this is what we found.

For your info, we found a pair of Western Nicator in territory around the top of the small entrance Road to the 'Tented Camp' at Pund Maria.

Andy

Selsey Birder said:

MacNara,

For the record I do agree that Kenya is an excellent birding location, I also visited there for the first time in 2008 and saw 380 species in just two weeks, five days on safari and then nine at Malindi, this was a package tour and we hired a local guide in Malindi for a day in Sabuko Forest and then a day trip to Tsavo East.

So for balance both places provide an excellent experience and introduction to African birding.

Ian

Click to expand...

The 'excellence' of Kenya was never questioned and could never be, the cost was.

Andy

long topic short: Kenya is, together with Tanazania, expensive.

from my Lonely Planet guide, entrance fee only (no food / accommodation):
Sokoke, Mt Kenya and most of the smaller parks: 20$/day
Tsavo, Nakuru, Aberdare, Meru, Mara: 40$/day
Ngorongoro, Serengeti: 50$/day
Mt Kilimanjaro: 60$/day

My traveling budget, when in e.g. Ghana was approx. 80$ a day, and in Ethiopia, it was around 45$ a day (⅓ for food / lodging / park entrance, ⅔ for private transportation). So Kenya would be approx. 50$/day transportation, 50$/day entrance fee, 30-50$ a day food and lodging, together130-150$ a day, and that is still on the cheap side of things.
With park fees about ⅓ of the budget, it is for sure keeping me away until I am old and grey and very, very wealthy

temmie said:

My traveling budget, when in e.g. Ghana was approx. 80$ a day, and in Ethiopia, it was around 45$ a day (⅓ for food / lodging / park entrance, ⅔ for private transportation). So Kenya would be approx. 50$/day transportation, 50$/day entrance fee, 30-50$ a day food and lodging, together130-150$ a day, and that is still on the cheap side of things.
With park fees about ⅓ of the budget, it is for sure keeping me away until I am old and grey and very, very wealthy

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Or you should visit the slightly off the beaten track locations as Ruaha, Mikumi, Udzunwa and others are "only" 30 USD and places like the Amani nature reserve are only 10 USD

I haven't done my homework on Kenya, but I guess that while you can skip some of the flagship parks and still see all the birds, you have at least to visit some.
Ofcourse you get somehow what you pay for: besides the birds, you get the landscapes and the big mammals. But from a birdwatcher's point of view, if you are not looking for the big mammals but for that little brown job, you pay a lot of money for that little brown job.

I started all this !

I think a tailor made tour can be put together , by Alan Dixson , and Joseph/ Brian Finch . Depends what you want to do /see .
For returning visitors like me , I need to see rarities , so expert guides are really necessary .

let me know your requirements and I am sure we can make a tour totally enjoyable in a great [greatest birdiing place

Mike D

temmie said:

I haven't done my homework on Kenya, but I guess that while you can skip some of the flagship parks and still see all the birds, you have at least to visit some.
Ofcourse you get somehow what you pay for: besides the birds, you get the landscapes and the big mammals. But from a birdwatcher's point of view, if you are not looking for the big mammals but for that little brown job, you pay a lot of money for that little brown job.

Click to expand...

Dear All,
There are so many good birding areas in Kenya; I'm slowly working on a couple of itineraries where we keep people largely outside the Parks or Conservation areas because of park fees, and yes other places where entrance fees are lower.
As Ian of Selsey Birder says above, Arubuko Sokoki Forest ( http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=6397) is good for some endemic species to the area, but it is a Reserve and charges fees for entry. Birdlife rank it "as the second most important forest for bird conservation on mainland Africa".Nearby on the coast is Mida Creek board walk (just some pics of the local area - not great, but gives an idea http://bit.ly/1WIBsdF) , across mangroves and sand flats, and at half tides at the right times of the year its a great spectacle of thousands of migratory coast birds; even at other times there are the resident species.
Just north of here is the town of Malindi (15 or so kms away), and just north of there is an area where threatened Clarke's Weaver has been discovered - Mike Davidson (who started this Forum thread) I think has been there.
Again more to come! Thanks, Alan.

I had done a long reply about Arabuko Sokoki Forest and how special it is on the kenya coast near Malindi/Watamu, but sadly it did post, don't know why.
Anyway take a look at this report http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=6397 .
Also there in Mid Creek board walk, which is great for viewing water birds on the sand flats at half tides in the creek. This is also at Watamu, and quite easy to get to.
Both places will charge some form of entrance fees.
I'm still working on the bird trips trying to keep out of Parks and Conservancies that charge entrance fees! More soon. (but frustrated in loosing my last quite long posting, so trying this one!)

Kenya Birding outside Parks

Here's an itinerary, not costed yet, but largely using places outside the National Parks and Reserves so keeps costs down:

KENYA BIRD SAFARI

Day 1 – Nairobi
UNIGLOBE Lets Go Travel representative will meet you on arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Clear with immigration and customs and transfer to Sentrim Boulevard for overnight on bed and breakfast basis. The Nairobi river is over looked by Setrim Boulevard, and if in Nairobi with an extra day being a Wednesday then participate in the Nature Kenya (www.naturekenya.org) bird walk from the very close National Museum at 08.00am with world renowned ornithologist Fleur Ngweno, who usually leads these morning walks. Other options for staying in Nairobi, where are there good gardens for birding are Fairview Hotel, close to the city centre, or Karen Blixen Coffee Garden in the residential suburbs of Karen.

Day 2 – Nairobi
After breakfast, drive to behind the Ngong Hills (more convenient from Karen) for a full day exploring the area for many species of birds that are found in these huge altitude changes down the Rift Valley wall to Olorgsaile or nearby; because of the change in altitudes there are many different bird species. Also good day for migratory birds. Picnic lunches provide. (optional - Olorgesailie Pre-historic site entrance fees extra - Kshs 600 pp). Return to Sentrim Boulevard or similar for overnight on bed and breakfast basis.

Day 3 – Nairobi – Naro Moru
Depart after breakfast and drive north to Naro Moru River Lodge. Lunch and in the afternoon drive to the boundary of Mount Kenya National Park (optional - entrance fees extra - US$ 60 pp) for birding along the edge of the montane forests on the lower slopes of Mount Kenya (highest point 5199m).
Return for dinner and overnight.

Day 4 – Naro Moru
After breakfast, drive along the Tharuwa road to the Laikipia plains near Solio and towards Mweiga for a day of bird watching. Picnic lunches provide. Return for dinner and overnight at Naro Moru River Lodge.

Day 5 – Naro Moru – Nanyuki
This morning leave Naro Moru with picnic lunches and drive further north across the Equator at Nanyuki, and drop down in altitude to Isiolo, the more arid northern parts of Kenya. Birding along the road towards Archers Post (entrance to optional Samburu Game Reserve -park entrance fees extra $60? pp) and continue up to Ol Olokwe mountain. Return to Nanyuki for dinner and overnight at Sportsman Arms.

Day 6 – Nanyuki – Lake Baringo/Lake Bogoria
Depart after an early breakfast for Lake Baringo with a stop at Thompson Falls, Nyahururu. Proceed on by road into the Great Rift Valley and onto Lake Bogoria National Park (optional - park entrance fees extra $60? pp) with picnic lunches. View the shore birds around this soda lake. Continue onto Lake Baringo and Roberts Camp for overnight. Dinner.

Day 7 – Lake Baringo
Full day at Baringo. Early morning birding along the steep granite cliffs just back from the fresh water lake. Later a boat trip on the lake birding (Paula include cost of a boat trip). All meals and overnight at Roberts Camp.

Day 8 – Lake Baringo – Kakamega Forest
Today we climb from Lake Baringo upto Kabinet then down into the dry Kerio Valley, out of the Rift Valley upto Iten, into Eldoret and onto Kakamega forest. Picnic lunch at the Iten view point with birding along the route. Birding in the compounds of Rondo, before dinner and overnight at Rondo Retreat.

Day 9 – Kakamega Forest
Full day birding with local specialist guide (a guide for full day - about Kshs 3 or 4,000?) . All meals and overnight at Rondo Retreat.

Day 10 – Kakamega - Naivasha
Drive via Nakuru and onto Naivasha. Dinner and overnight on the shores of Lake Naivasha.
There is the option of flying back from Eldoret airport to Nairobi and connect onto onward flight.

Day 11 - Kinagop above Naivasha, and environs near Hells Gate
Drive a few kilometres up onto the Kinagop plateau above Naivasha to find the endangered Sharpe’s Longclaw. Afternoon birding at the KWS sanctuary, or around the Hells Gate entrance. (optional - KWS sanctuary $25pp + Hells Gate park entrance fees extra $30 pp)

Day 12 - Depart
Morning drive back to Nairobi and drop off Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for onward flight.

EXTENSION:
Day 12 – Nairobi – Watamu
Fly to Malindi. Afternoon drive to the boundary of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest (optional - entrance fees extra $25?? pp + recommended to use a local guide extra Kshs 2000??) for bird viewing in the area. A number of endemic birds found here. Dinner and overnight at Turtle Bay Beach Club.

Day 13 - Watamu
Visit the Mida Creek board-walk, and view shore birds preferably at half tide on the beach flats in the creek. Further birding in the Watamu area, and along the beach on the sea front. Overnight in Watamu at Turtle Bay Beach Club.

Day 14 – Watamu
Drive north of Malindi to the Sabaki River, good for more shore birds, then on for sighting the rare Clarke’s Weaver only found in the Dakatcha woodland (recommended to use a local guide extra Kshs 2000?). Dinner and overnight at Turtle Bay Beach Club.

Day 15 – Depart
Check out by 1000hrs. Transfer to Malindi Airport for flight to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, where you will connect onto your international flight.

Here's an itinerary that I've put together for birding largely outside National Parks or Reserves, but they can be added in, at additional cost. In fact the whole itinerary still needs costing, but it gives you a good idea of areas covered.

KENYA BIRD SAFARI outside Parks

Day 1 – Nairobi
UNIGLOBE Lets Go Travel representative will meet you on arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi. Clear with immigration and customs and transfer to Sentrim Boulevard for overnight on bed and breakfast basis. The Nairobi river is over looked by Setrim Boulevard, and if in Nairobi with an extra day being a Wednesday then participate in the Nature Kenya (www.naturekenya.org) bird walk from the very close National Museum at 08.00am with world renowned ornithologist Fleur Ngweno, who usually leads these morning walks. Other options for staying in Nairobi, where are there good gardens for birding are Fairview Hotel, close to the city centre, or Karen Blixen Coffee Garden in the residential suburbs of Karen.

Day 2 – Nairobi
After breakfast, drive to behind the Ngong Hills (more convenient from Karen) for a full day exploring the area for many species of birds that are found in these huge altitude changes down the Rift Valley wall to Olorgsaile or nearby; because of the change in altitudes there are many different bird species. Also good day for migratory birds. Picnic lunches provide. (optional - Olorgesailie Pre-historic site entrance fees extra - Kshs 600 pp). Return to Sentrim Boulevard or similar for overnight on bed and breakfast basis.

Day 3 – Nairobi – Naro Moru
Depart after breakfast and drive north to Naro Moru River Lodge. Lunch and in the afternoon drive to the boundary of Mount Kenya National Park (optional - entrance fees extra - US$ 60 pp) for birding along the edge of the montane forests on the lower slopes of Mount Kenya (top 5199m).
Return for dinner and overnight.

Day 4 – Naro Moru
After breakfast, drive along the Tharuwa road to the Laikipia plains near Solio and towards Mweiga for a day of bird watching. Picnic lunches provide. Return for dinner and overnight at Naro Moru River Lodge.

Day 5 – Naro Moru – Nanyuki
This morning leave Naro Moru with picnic lunches and drive further north across the Equator at Nanyuki, and drop down in altitude to Isiolo, the more arid northern parts of Kenya. Birding along the road towards Archers Post (entrance to optional Samburu Game Reserve -park entrance fees extra $60? pp) and continue up to Ol Olokwe mountain. Return to Nanyuki for dinner and overnight at Sportsman Arms.

Day 6 – Nanyuki – Lake Baringo/Lake Bogoria
Depart after an early breakfast for Lake Baringo with a stop at Thompson Falls, Nyahururu. Proceed on by road into the Great Rift Valley and onto Lake Bogoria National Park (optional - park entrance fees extra $60? pp) with picnic lunches. View the shore birds around this soda lake. Continue onto Lake Baringo and Roberts Camp for overnight. Dinner.

Day 7 – Lake Baringo
Full day at Baringo. Early morning birding along the steep granite cliffs just back from the fresh water lake. Later a boat trip on the lake birding. All meals and overnight at Roberts Camp.

Day 8 – Lake Baringo – Kakamega Forest
Today we climb from Lake Baringo upto Kabinet then down into the dry Kerio Valley, out of the Rift Valley upto Iten, into Eldoret and onto Kakamega forest. Picnic lunch at the Iten view point with birding along the route. Birding in the compounds of Rondo, before dinner and overnight at Rondo Retreat.

Day 9 – Kakamega Forest
Full day birding with local specialist guide (a guide for full day - about Kshs 3 or 4,000?) . All meals and overnight at Rondo Retreat.

Day 10 – Kakamega - Naivasha
Drive via Nakuru and onto Naivasha. Dinner and overnight on the shores of Lake Naivasha.
There is the option of flying back from Eldoret airport to Nairobi and connect onto onward flight.

Day 11 - Kinagop above Naivasha, and environs near Hells Gate
Drive a few kilometres up onto the Kinagop plateau above Naivasha to find the endangered Sharpe’s Longclaw. Afternoon birding at the KWS sanctuary, or around the Hells Gate entrance. (optional - KWS sanctuary + Hells Gate park entrance fees extra $40 + $25pp)

Day 12 - Depart
Morning drive back to Nairobi and drop off Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for onward flight.

Extension
Day 12 – Nairobi – Watamu
Fly to Malindi. Afternoon drive to the boundary of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest (optional - entrance fees extra $25? pp + recommended to use a local guide extra Kshs 2000?) for bird viewing in the area. A number of endemic birds found here. Dinner and overnight at Turtle Bay Beach Club.

Day 13 - Watamu
Visit the Mida Creek board-walk, and view shore birds preferably at half tide on the beach flats in the creek. Further birding in the Watamu area, and along the beach on the sea front. Overnight in Watamu at Turtle Bay Beach Club.

Day 14 – Watamu
Drive north of Malindi to the Sabaki River, good for more shore birds, then on for sighting the rare Clarke’s Weaver only found in the Dakatcha woodland (recommended to use a local guide extra Kshs 2000?). Dinner and overnight at Turtle Bay Beach Club.

Day 15 – Depart
Check out by 1000hrs. Transfer to Malindi Airport for flight to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport where you will connect onto your international flight.

This thread has been invaluable in preparing for an upcoming three-week trip to Kenya in a couple of weeks time.

I'm fortunate that I will be staying with long-term residetns who are organising various activities in a range of great locations (Nairobi, Nakuru, The Ark, Masai Mara, Mombasa) but I will make my own plans for a couple of days in the Malindi area.

I have received a swift response from Jonathan Baya for the birding side up there, but I'd be interested in any recommendations for "compromise days" that combine birding and other wildlife, general tourism and great food as my wife is not a birder.

Cheers
Mike

MKinHK said:

This thread has been invaluable in preparing for an upcoming three-week trip to Kenya in a couple of weeks time.

I'm fortunate that I will be staying with long-term residetns who are organising various activities in a range of great locations (Nairobi, Nakuru, The Ark, Masai Mara, Mombasa) but I will make my own plans for a couple of days in the Malindi area.

I have received a swift response from Jonathan Baya for the birding side up there, but I'd be interested in any recommendations for "compromise days" that combine birding and other wildlife, general tourism and great food as my wife is not a birder.

Cheers
Mike

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I haven't been Mike but have looked in to it a few times. Malindi on the coast will be a nice option for a few days, I think it's convenient for Sokoke from memory?

Andy

andyadcock said:

I haven't been Mike but have looked in to it a few times. Malindi on the coast will be a nice option for a few days, I think it's convenient for Sokoke from memory?

Andy

Click to expand...

It is.