2011 Tour Narrative
Considering it is located right next to one of Africa’s most populous cities, Nairobi National Park offers a wonderful selection of mammals and birds and provided the perfect place to start our tour with birds ranging from Abdim’s Storks, Hartlaub’s Bustards and Dusky Nightjars to migrants such as Lesser Kestrels. There was a fine selection of mammals present as well including a couple of young male Lions. The Magadi road provided a change of scenery as we dropped down from the Ngong Hills, pausing to find the scarce Lyne’s Cisticola and Short-tailed Larks, into hot, dry thorn scrub. Our eventual destination was the parched landscape of Lake Magadi with its attendant Chestnut-banded Plovers, but along the way we saw a variety of birds typical of the habitat including Banded Parisoma.
It was a relief to leave the congested roads of Nairobi behind as we set out on the long circular route that was to take us first into the central highlands. The old colonial watering hole of the Blue Post Hotel provided a useful break with Purple-crested Turaco, Brown-hooded Kingfisher and fly-over Trumpeter Hornbills. At Mountain Lodge, the roof-top was the perfect vantage point to watch the African Elephants and other animals coming to drink at the waterhole, as well as putting us at eye-level with a number of canopy species from a mighty African Crowned Eagle to a group of noisy Black-throated Apalis, and of course giving us wonderful views of Mt Kenya at dawn. Naru Moru’s beautiful gardens were a delight to wander through, and provided a variety of birds including stunning Tcazze Sunbirds and Montane Orioles. Just above Naru Moru, the wide-open grassland of Solio Ranch was alive with birds from a distant Denham’s Bustard to full plumaged Long-tailed Widowbirds and flocks of Caspian Plovers. We also caught sight of a distant Aardwolf here and venturing into the Abedare Mountains birds ranged from obliging Jackson’s Francolins to Abedare Cisticola. From these heights we travelled down to the Rift Valley, pausing on the way to see Mackinder’s Eagle Owl, unusually perched in a tree close to its nest.
Lake Nakuru was simply teeming with birds, including tens of thousands of Great White Pelicans and Lesser Flamingos while a Bat Hawk zipping through the tree tops was a surprise. There were more Lions to be seen here – and heard with one lone male roaring through the night right very close to our rooms. At Hells Gate gorge we watched the amazing spectacle of thousands of Mottled and Nyanza Swifts screaming above our heads, as well as a roadside Spotted Eagle Owl on our way home. Baringo birding was a good as ever with Northern Carmine and Blue-cheeked Bee Eaters along the lake edge, African Scops and Northern White-faced Scops Owls in the hotel grounds, and Heuglin’s Courser and Star-spotted Nightjar in the surrounding scrub. The drive to Kakamega Forest took us through the spectacular Kerio Valley where we found White-crested Turaco, Gambaga Flycatcher, Black-headed Batis and Chestnut-headed Sparrow Weaver before reaching the verdant calm of the Rondo Retreat. This was the perfect base from which to explore Kakamega Forest and our list of birds here included such gems as Great Blue Turaco, Bar-tailed Trogon, White-spotted Flufftail, Blue-headed Bee-eater, Yellow-billed Barbet, Yellow-crested Woodpecker, and Jameson’s and Chestnut Wattle-eyes.
The final leg of the main tour took us via Lake Victoria with masses of tame Hamerkops, Eastern Grey Plantain-eaters and Black-headed Gonoleks to the wide-open plains of the Masai Mara. Here there were of course plenty of mammals to entertain us from big herds of African Elephants to stately Giraffes and sleek Cheetahs. The birds of the Mara were varied. We added Ross’s and Schalow’s to our Turaco list and African Wood to our Owl list, all within our lodge grounds or very close. Out on the plains there was a huge variety of birds waiting for us ranging from Rufous-bellied Herons, displaying Kori Bustard, elegant Grey-crowned Cranes and powerful Martial Eagles, to Temminck’s Coursers, Rosy-breasted Longclaw, White-tailed lark, Fan-tailed and Yellow-mantled Widowbirds, and Parasitic Weaver. We found Magpie Shrikes amongst the extensive thorn scrub close to Sianna Springs and also had a fantastic encounter with a lone Cheetah here. Heading back to Nairobi we found Double-banded Coursers and Sharpe’s Longclaw before we reached the bustling city once more.
The extension began with a journey along the Mombassa road and a stop at Hunter’s Lodge where we found Giant Kingfishers in attendance as usual. There were plenty of new species waiting for us as we drove through Tsavo East. Black-faced Sandgrouse were numerous around our lodge as were Pink-breasted Larks. There were Grasshopper Buzzards perched up, gangs of Vulturine Guineafowl along the roadside, male Eastern Paradise Whydah in full, bizarre plumage, and flocks of Chestnut-backed and Chestnut-headed Finchlarks. At Aruba Dam there were two Black-winged Pratincoles at the waters edge, obligingly taking to flight for a short while, and some very large groups of African Elephants for which this area is famous.
Reaching the coast, we put ourselves in the very capable hands of David Ngala who proceeded to show us the specialities of the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest that he knows so well. These included the famous Sokoke Scops Owls, seen in daylight, and the beautifully marked Sokoke Pipit creeping along the forest floor. Other highlights that David put our way included Fischer’s Turaco, Fiery-necked and Plain Nightjars, Mombasa Woodpecker, Pallid Honeyguide, East Coast Akalat, Red-tailed Ant Thrush, Eastern Bearded Scrub Robin, Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher, Forest and Pale Batis, Retz’s and Chestnut-fronted Helmet Shrikes, Amani Sunbird and Peter’s Twinspot. Elsewhere the beaches and tidal creeks held some special birds of the coast such as Sooty Gull, Crested and Lesser Crested Terns and smart Crab Plovers. We travelled back into Tsavo on our way back to Nairobi, this time visiting the western side where we enjoyed some dry-country birding where some of the highlights included wintering Barred and Upcher’s Warblers, White-throated Robin, and Bare-eyed Thrush. The views from the Taita Hills of the surrounding Tsavo plains with the distant Mt Kilimanjaro breaking through the clouds were impressive, and with the help of local guides we were able to see the special birds we had come for, namely the eponymous White-eye, Apalis and Thrush before we retraced our steps to the Mombassa Road and made the drive back to Nairobi to connect with homeward flights. - Steve Rooke
Updated: March 2011