Photo Gallery
Photos by Brian Finch unless otherwise noted
Not long after our arrival in Nairobi will we be seeing our first birds, probably including Superb Starlings. If only European Starling looked so good…
Nairobi Park, right next to the bustle of the capital and our first afternoon’s destination, has recorded over 500 species of birds including one of the most striking birds of the plains, the stately Secretarybird, ever watchful for a luckless snake which would make a tasty meal.
Nairobi Park still has all three big cats in residence although they’re not easy to see; here three Cheetahs scatter a flock of vultures.
We’ll leave Nairobi bound for the dry country of Tsavo National Park. Unlike many of the world’s dry regions, the East Africa semi-desert holds both an impressive diversity of bird species and a very large numbers of individuals. One of the many handsome birds in this hot and dry environment is Somali Golden-breasted Bunting…
…and another is Paradise Whydah which look like dull, streaky sparrows most of the year but when the rains begin, males acquire extravgant dress and the females, brood parasites on Green-winged Pytilias, deposit their eggs.
During the non-breeding season Golden Pipit is a yellowish-washed pipit, but come the time for singing and display, he is one of the more stunningly colored birds of the dry bushland. During bouts of singing the males launch themselves into the air (inset top right), and glide towards another perch or the ground looking like large black and golden butterflies..
Even the dry areas have some water and most freshwater habitats with overhanging vegetation will attract that brilliant jewel, Malachite Kingfisher,…
…and Hippopotamus. While hippos look benign, they account for more human fatalities than all of the other African animals combined, especially when canoes enter into the domain of a territorial bull, or cow with a calf.
Mt Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and on clear days can be very clear and the dominant feature of Amboseli National Park.
The dry country supports more than just birds and mammals. Butterflies are abundant as well; here a Magenta Tip warms itself in the early morning sun.
Like the whydahs, the onset of rains triggers breeding activity in Long-tailed Widowbird in their marshy homes in the highlands of central Kenya. Resembling Red-winged Blackbirds, their displays involve fluttering out of the grass to display their incredibly long tails like so many badly flown kites.
In the highlands, we stay at two very different and delightful lodges. Here, looking out the window of one of our rooms at Mountain Lodge to the waterhole below, we might see…
Photo: David Fisher
…the local and handsome Bronze-naped Pigeon and…
…the equally handsome Bushbuck.
Naro Moru River Lodge is a haven for sunbirds attracted to the many plantings and we could see 10 species including…
Photo: Photo David Fisher
…the brilliant and rare Tacazze Sunbird.
The waters of Lake Baringo have some of the largest crocodiles in Africa but the region has wonderful birds too, such as…
…Vereaux’s Eagles which nest on near by cliffs and…
…the newly described Greyish Eagle-Owl which sometimes sits on the roof of our cabins at Lake Baringo Lodge.
Lake Nakuru’s briny waters are ideal for the production of blue-green algae in great abundance. It is this quantity of the plant that is so important for the Lesser Flamingo, and up to a million of these roseate birds may be found in a ribbon around the edge of the lake. Roger Tory Peterson considered this the greatest bird spectacle in the world.
Lake Nakuru is full of fish too but because the water of the lake is so caustic many birds enjoy bathing in the freshwater streams that flow in. At times these narrow waterways become congested, as thousands upon thousands of White Pelicans fly in for their ritual bathing.
Lake Nakuru is also a superb place for mammals and perhaps the best place to see wild Leopards, and the only place on our tour to see…
…the magnificent White Rhino.
For many, our visit to the Mara Game Reserve is the highlight of the trip. The Mara River, here being crossed by a herd of elephants, provides a reliable source of water…
…and the vast grasslands provide food for herd of ungulates, like these Impala, and…
…and attendant predators like this pride of Lions.
The Mara has wonderful birds as well and often a surprise or two like the discovery of a small population of Karamoja Apalis in the eastern Mara, living in a stand of Whistling Thorn acacia. Known only from very small areas of north-eastern Uganda and north-central Tanzania, this species has until now, been so far off the beaten track that no bird tour has ever seen it!