Amazing 7-Day Kenya Birding Tour

After clearing airport customs, meet your expert guide for a pre-tour briefing before heading directly to Nairobi National Park—the world’s only national park within a capital city and home to an impressive 500+ bird species.

Key Birds: Common Ostrich, Saddle-billed Stork, African Spoonbill, Secretary Bird, Black-shouldered Kite, Lappet-faced Vulture, Black-chested Snake-Eagle, Martial Eagle, Shelley’s & Yellow-necked Spurfowls, African Finfoot, Black-bellied & Hartlaub’s Bustards, Emerald-spotted Wood Dove, Laughing Dove, Hartlaub’s Turaco, White-bellied Go-away-bird, and numerous swallows, larks, and longclaws.

Mammals: Cape Buffalo, Burchell’s Zebra, Hippo, Masai Giraffe, Coke’s Hartebeest, Black and White Rhinos, Lion, Cheetah, Leopard, and various antelope species.

Overnight: Kariminu River Camp

Begin with early morning birding around camp targeting the endemic Hinde’s Pied Babbler alongside Grey-Olive Greenbul, Blue-headed Coucal, Northern Pied Babbler, multiple sunbird species, and Black-throated Wattle-eye.

After breakfast, journey to Mount Kenya Forest Reserve through picturesque pineapple and coffee plantations. Afternoon birding in this highland forest offers opportunities to spot:

Key Birds: African Crowned Eagle, Hartlaub’s Turaco, Sharpe’s Starling, Purple-throated Cuckooshrike, Kikuyu White-eye (Kenyan endemic), Eastern & Northern Double-collared Sunbirds, Rameron Pigeon, Red-fronted Parrot, White-headed Woodhoopoe, African Emerald Cuckoo, and Grey Cuckooshrike. Watch for Olive Ibises flying to their roosting sites in the evening.

Overnight: Castle Forest

After breakfast on this Kenya Birding Tour, we depart for Samburu National Reserve with strategic birding stops en route. Arrive for a late lunch followed by afternoon game drives through this iconic arid bush country with beautiful riverine forest along the Ewaso Nyiro River.

Mammals: Reticulated Giraffe, endangered Grevy’s Zebra, Dwarf Mongoose, Kirk’s & Günther’s Dik-dik, Common Waterbuck, Gerenuk, Beisa Oryx, African Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, and possibly the fascinating Naked Mole Rat.

Overnight: Ashnil Samburu Camp

Enjoy comprehensive morning and afternoon birding sessions with game viewing throughout this remarkable reserve.

Key Birds: Somali Ostrich, Bateleur, Palm-nut Vulture, African Hawk-eagle, Pygmy Falcon, Martial Eagle, Vulturine Guineafowl, Buff-crested Bustard, Black-faced, Chestnut-bellied & Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse, Rosy-patched Bushshrike, African Orange-bellied Parrot, African Scops-owl, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Von der Decken’s Hornbill, Red-and-yellow Barbet, Bearded Woodpecker, Somali Bee-eater, Rufous-crowned Roller, Pink-breasted Lark, African Bare-eyed Thrush, and various sunbirds and starlings.

Overnight: Ashnil Samburu Camp

Following breakfast, transfer to Lake Nakuru National Park with specialized stops along the way:

• Visit a large cliff wall for the highly sought-after Mackinder’s (Cape) Eagle-Owl, Little Rock Thrush, Red-winged Starling, Pale Flycatcher, and Long-billed Pipit
• Additional strategic stops for Lesser Jacana and Levaillant’s Cisticola

Lake Nakuru National Park, once described as “the greatest ornithological spectacle in the world,” is famous for its flamingo populations. Though numbers have fluctuated in recent years, the diverse habitats including alkaline lake, acacia woodland, grassland, and marsh areas support an impressive variety of resident and migratory species.

Key Birds: Lesser and Greater Flamingoes, numerous waterbirds, Long-crested Eagle, Tawny Eagle, Black-shouldered Kite, Augur Buzzard, White-fronted Bee-eater, Lilac-breasted Roller, and various forest and woodland species.

Mammals: Rothschild’s Giraffe, Cape Buffalo, Waterbuck, Common Eland, Hippo, Black and White Rhinos, Lion, Leopard, and Spotted Hyena.

Overnight: Nakuru Lodge

Continue birding in Lake Nakuru National Park until lunchtime before transferring toward Nairobi. Weather permitting, enjoy a boat ride on Lake Naivasha.

Make a special stop at the Kinangop Plateau to search for:

• Sharpe’s Longclaw (Kenyan endemic)
• Wing-snapping Cisticola
• Levaillant’s Cisticola
• Long-tailed Widowbird

Overnight: Kariminu River Camp

We end the Kenya Birding Tour with an early morning transfer to Nairobi airport for your departure flight.