Ethical Luxury Birding With Oluokos
Top Kenya Bird Watching Sites
Luxury Bird Watching Safaris in Nairobi
Trip Overview
Discover Kenya's Top Bird Watching Hotspots...
Immersive Kenya Luxury Bird Watching Safaris...
Our luxury Kenya bird watching safaris can be tailored to match your luxury bird watching safari expectations where we use exclusive high-end camps and expert bird guides. All these are perfectly located in diverse birding hotspots like the Great Rift Valley lakes, the Maasai Mara, Lake Victoria, Kakamega Forest, Taita Hills, Arabuko Sokoke Forest, Lewa Conservancy, Mount Kenya, Northern Kenya, and Amboseli, offering exceptional ornithological experiences with optional extra activities such as night game drives, balloon flights, walking safaris, horse riding, camel back safaris and cultural experiences.
With over 1,100 species recorded and even with the Bamboo Warbler, a new species being added on its checklist, Kenya is one of Africa’s premier birding safari destinations.
- Best for: Spectacular migratory bird gatherings, especially the famous flamingos at Lake Nakuru. It also offers a huge variety of raptors and endemics.
- Kenya Luxury Birding Experience: Stay at exclusive conservancies adjoining the Maasai Mara, such as Mara Naboisho or Mara North Conservancies, further afield you discover high-end facilities around the Great Rift Valley lakes or explore the northern regions around Mount Kenya, Laikipia and Samburu for world-class service and outstanding photography opportunities.
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Seasoned Ornithological Guides: Our hand-crafted selection of Kenya luxury birdwatching holidays designed are not only with keen birders in mind, but with focus on prime habitats both within and outside protected areas, knowledgeable bird guides, and the best times of year for migration and breeding activity. Experienced guides with a deep knowledge of local bird species, habitats and behaviors are crucial for a successful African luxury birding safari.
Tailor-made Bird Watching Itineraries: For passionate luxury birding safari guests, Oluokos offer well-planned luxury Kenya birding safaris that turn to be unforgettable experiences, offering the chance to spot rare and endemic species in some of the Africa’s most spectacular and diverse landscapes. Our luxury birding trips are customized to your specific birding interests, pacing, and desired comfort level, rather than following a rigid schedule or the birding traditions.
Private Vehicles and Flights: Traveling in private vehicles to ensures flexibility and minimizes the time we spent in transit. On our Kenya luxury birding safaris, we offer high-end accommodations, exclusive use of a private safari vehicle, and expert guidance from seasoned bird guides to spot a wide variety of Kenya bird species.
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Inspirational Kenya Bird Watching Safaris with Oluokos Signature
Why Book Your Kenya Birding Tours
With Oluokos...
Our guests tend to ask what the perfect Kenya birding safari itinerary looks like and to be honest, we don’t have a straight-forward answer.
To answer you in brief, each guest has a unique taste when it comes to enquiring about a Kenya birding safari and this could be based on personality that’s strongly influenced by expectations. We have given a few good to check itineraries to serve as bird watching travel inspirations.
We don’t offer Kenya as a bucket list destination, but a rich birding experience with diversity, meaningful purpose to travel, cultural mosaic and of course, unmatched habitats that have given room to birds and wildlife. We have identified Kenya’s most intriguing bird watching safari destinations that you should consider during your bird watching holiday planning when you’re around Africa.
Our Hand-picked Kenya Birding Destinations
The Taita Hills have been the subject of many years of research. As part of the Eastern Arc Mountains where there is a high level of endemism, three species of birds call this particular mountain home and are found nowhere else in the world. Owing to its great conservation effort, this forest has now become a reserve where it is managed and protected.
The Taita Hills lie in south-eastern Kenya, south and west of Voi town, and rise abruptly above the semi-arid plains of Tsavo West National Park. These plains, at around 600-700 m altitude, isolate the hills from other mountains and highland blocks.
The closest of these are the Chyulu Hills and North Pares, about 70 km away, and Mount Kilimanjaro, Chawia, Ngangao and Mbololo (though managed by the Forest Department). The West Usambara mountains, with which the Taita Hills have some botanical affinities, are around 120 km distant.
The Taita Hills are divided into three main blocks. Sagalla Hill (peak 1,450 m), directly south of Voi, is separated from the rest of the hills by the Voi River on the plains. The main body of the hills, Dabida, lies 25 km north-west of Voi, including the high peaks
of Gangao (2,149 m) and Vuria (2,225 m). To the north-east of this range lies the massif of Mbololo (2,209 m), separated from the main block by a valley at about 900 m. Some 50 km to the south-east, and not included within this IBA, lies Mount Kasigau. The forest on this isolated peak has biogeographical affinities with the Taita Hills, but its fauna and flora are as vet little studied.
Notable Taita Hills Bird Species – For Taita Apalis, Taita White-eye and Taita Thrush, Black-headed Mountain (usambarae) and Olive-headed (striifacies) Greenbuls, Abbott’s Starling and Usambara Double-collared Sunbird, as well as Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler (minullus), Evergreen Forest Warbler (usambarae), Black-headed Apalis (moschi), Orange Ground Thrush (ESS raineyi), African Dusky Flycatcher (murina), White-starred Robin (helleri), Olive Sunbird (changamwensis) and Striped Pipit, also Scarce Swift, Lemon Dove, Hartlaub’s Turaco, Mountain Buzzard, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Moustached Tinkerbird, Brown-breasted Barbet, Black-fronted Bushshrike, Eastern Nicator, Yellow-bellied and Cabanis’s (placidus) Greenbuls, Yellow-breasted Apalis (golzi), Sharpe’s Starling, Bearded Scrub Robin, Cape and Rüppell’s Robin-Chats, African Stonechat, Collared Sunbird, Baglafecht Weaver, Yellow-bellied Waxbill and Black-and-white Mannikin (nigriceps)
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The Kenyan coast is a world-class birdwatching destination, globally renowned for its high concentration of rare, endemic, and globally threatened bird species. Spanning dense coastal rainforests, pristine woodlands, wetlands, and remote northern riverine systems, this region forms an essential corridor for both resident avifauna and international migrants.
Notable Bird Species – For Clarke’s Weaver, Fischer’s Turaco, Sokoke Scops Owl, Violet Wood Hoopoe (granti), Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird (fischeri), Forest Batis, Amani Sunbird, Red Weaver and Sokoke Pipit, Eastern Crested Guineafowl, Crested Francolin (rovuma), Forbes-Watson’s Swift, African Barred Owlet (scheffleri), Mangrove Kingfisher, Green Tinkerbird, Mombasa Woodpecker, Eastern Black-headed Batis (suahelica), Three-streaked Tchagra (ESS mandanus), Black-backed Puffback (affinis), East Coast Boubou, Chestnut-fronted Helmetshrike (kirki), Long-tailed Fiscal, Fischer’s and Lowland Tiny Greenbuls, Little Yellow Flycatcher, Coastal Cisticola, Scaly Babbler, Fischer’s and Magpie Starlings, Pale Flycatcher (subalaris), East Coast Akalat (sokokensis), Plain-backed (yokanae), Uluguru Violet-backed, Grey (fischeri) and Violet-breasted Sunbirds, Golden Palm Weaver, Zanzibar Red Bishop, Pangani Longclaw and Malindi Pipit, as well as African Pygmy Goose, Coqui Francolin (coqui), Red-necked Spurfowl (leucoparaeus), Fiery-necked (shelleyi) and Square-tailed Nightjars, Mottled and Böhm’s Spinetails, Black Coucal, Green Malkoha, Thick-billed and Lesser Cuckoos, Allen’s Gallinule, Palm-nut Vulture, African Cuckoo-Hawk, Southern Banded Snake Eagle, Lizard Buzzard, Spotted Eagle-Owl (ESS tanae), Silvery-cheeked and Trumpeter Hornbills, Brown-hooded Kingfisher (orientalis), Northern Carmine Bee-eater, White-eared, Green (olivacea), Black-collared and Brown-breasted Barbets, Pallid and Scaly-throated Honeyguides, Little Spotted Woodpecker (cailliautii), Brown-headed Parrot, African Broadbill (suahelicus), Pale Batis, Gorgeous (nigricauda) and Red-naped (kismayensis) Bushshrikes, Retz’s Helmetshrike, Green-headed (amani) and African Golden Orioles, Square-tailed Drongo, Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Nicator, Flappet Lark (fischeri), Sombre (insularis), Yellow-bellied (centralis) and Little (zombensis) Greenbuls, Terrestrial (suahelicus) and Northern Brownbuls, Black Saw-wing, Lesser Swamp Warbler (leptorhynchus), Little Rush Warbler (tongensis), Short-winged Cisticola (reichenowi), Yellow-breasted (neglecta) and Black-headed (melanocephala) Apalises, Green-backed Camaroptera (pileata), Green-capped Eremomela (scotops), Scaly Chatterer (keniana), Red-tailed Ant Thrush (rufus), Spotted Ground Thrush (fischeri), Grey Tit-Flycatcher (orientalis), Black-bellied and Shelley’s Starlings, Bearded Scrub Robin, Ashy Flycatcher (cinereola), Red-capped Robin-Chat (intensa), Spotted Palm Thrush (rufipennis), Collared (elachior), Olive (changamwensis) and Purple-banded (microrhynchus) Sunbirds, Dark-backed Weaver (kersteni), Red-headed Quelea, Black-winged Red Bishop (hordeaceus), Fan-tailed Widowbird (zanzibaricus), Black-and-white Mannikin (nigriceps), Green Twinspot, Golden Pipit and Yellow-fronted Canary (mozambica), also Mascarene Martin, Lesser Blue-eared Starling (elisabeth), Collared Palm Thrush and Red-throated Twinspot and, at least formerly, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo (patulus), Grey Penduline Tit (robertsi) and Magpie Mannikin.
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Mida Creek, Whale Island, Sabaki River Mouth, and Offshore Waters form an interconnected coastal and marine ecosystem along Kenya’s Malindi-Watamu coast, recognized globally as a vital Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) and part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
Notable Mida Creek, Whale Island, Sabaki River Mouth and Offshore Waters Bird Species – Madagascar Pratincole, waders/shorebirds including Eurasian Oystercatcher (longipes), Tibetan and Greater Sand Plovers, White-fronted Plover, Eurasian Curlew (orientalis), Terek and Broad-billed Sandpipers, and Crab-plover, as well as for Greater and Lesser Flamingos, Red-necked Phalarope, African Skimmer, Brown and Lesser Noddys, Sooty, Bridled, Saunders’s, Gull-billed, Caspian, Common, White-cheeked, Roseate, Sandwich, Lesser Crested and Greater Crested Terns, Pallas’s, Sooty and Lesser Black-backed (heuglini) Gulls, Pomarine Jaeger, White-tailed Tropicbird, Wilson’s Storm Petrel, Tropical Shearwater, African Woolly-necked Stork, Lesser Frigatebird, Brown and Masked Boobys, Black Heron, Dimorphic Egret, Western Reef Heron and Malagasy Pond Heron
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Collectively, Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba National Reserves are situated just north of the frontier town of Isiolo within Kenya’s hot and arid northern region. The three reserves are separated by the Ewaso Ng’iro River which acts as a life line in this semi-desert region. Around the edges of the river, acacia and doum palms dominate, being replaced by dusty scrubland outside the flood plain.
This dry, inhospitable environment hosts several bird and mammal species which are restricted to this habitat, notably the Grevy’s Zebra, Reticulated Giraffe, Long-necked Gerenuk and Beisa Oryx. This macro-environmental transition marks a speciation boundary with several bird species only occurring or being replaced, namely the Somali Ostrich replacing the Common Ostrich and Taita Fiscal replacing Common Fiscal.
Notable Shaba, Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserves Bird Species – For Williams’s Lark, Violet Wood Hoopoe (granti), Pink-breasted, Friedmann’s and Masked (ESS intensa) Larks and Donaldson-Smith’s Sparrow-Weaver, as well as Somali Ostrich, Vulturine Guineafowl, Stone Partridge, Donaldson-Smith’s Nightjar, Heuglin’s Bustard, Chestnut-bellied (olivascens), Black-faced (ellenbecki) and Lichtenstein’s (sukensis) Sandgrouse, Somali Courser, White-headed Mousebird (ESS turneri), Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Somali Bee-eater, Pygmy Batis, Rosy-patched Bushshrike (hilgerti), Three-streaked Tchagra (jamesi), Pringle’s Puffback, Taita and Somali Fiscals, Fan-tailed Raven, Mouse-colored Penduline Tit, Northern (leucopsis) and Somali Crombecs, Chestnut-headed Sparrow-Lark, Red-winged Lark, Singing Bush Lark (marginata), Ashy and Tiny Cisticolas, Pale (erlangeri) and Red-fronted (smithi) Prinias, Grey Wren-Warbler, Yellow-vented Eremomela, Banded Parisoma (ESS marsabit), Fischer’s, Bristle-crowned and Magpie Starlings, Spotted Palm Thrush (intercalans), Brown-tailed Rock Chat, Hunter’s, Black-bellied (erlangeri) and Shining (turkanae) Sunbirds, Black-capped Social Weaver, Golden Palm Weaver, Black-cheeked Waxbill (charmosyna) and Golden Pipit
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Sitting in the heart of Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, and roughly 285 kilometers north of Nairobi, Baringo is one of only two freshwater lakes in the entire Rift Valley system, the other being Lake Naivasha, far to the south. It is a place where you can drift within a few meters of hippos in an open motorboat, where more than 480 bird species have been recorded, and where the Ilchamus people, also known as the Njemps, continue to fish a lake that has been steadily rising around them.
Lake Baringo is a real birding heaven that never fails to impress birders for its easily seen birds. Several birding sites are available for exploration and have proven to be very productive in the past, they include: Lake Baringo Club, Tumbili Lodge, Robert’s Camp compound, Lake Baringo trachyte cliffs and West Bay and above it all a boat excursion around will be rewarding to any birder.
Notable Lake Baringo Bird Species – For Northern Masked Weaver and Northern Red Bishop as well as Nubian (torridus) and Slender-tailed Nightjars, Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse, Allen’s Gallinule, Senegal Thick-knee, Black-headed Lapwing (tectus), Three-banded Courser, Gull-billed, Whiskered and White-winged Terns, Pink-backed Pelican, Verreaux’s Eagle, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Northern White-faced Owl, Greyish Eagle-Owl, Jackson’s and Hemprich’s Hornbills, Olive Bee-eater, Pygmy Batis, Fan-tailed Raven, Mouse-colored Penduline Tit, Pink-breasted Lark, Northern Crombec (leucopsis), Lesser Swamp Warbler, Pale and Red-fronted Prinias, Brown-tailed Apalis (flavocincta), Grey Wren-Warbler, Brown Babbler, Red-winged, Bristle-crowned and Magpie Starlings, Spotted Palm Thrush (guttata), Mocking Cliff Chat, Brown-tailed Rock Chat, Hunter’s and Beautiful Sunbirds, White-billed Buffalo Weaver, Little Weaver (luteolus), Lesser and Vitelline Masked Weavers, Golden-backed Weaver, Yellow-crowned Bishop, Grey-headed Silverbill, Black-cheeked Waxbill and Blue-capped Cordon-bleu
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Occupying an area of 870 sq.km to the north-east of Mount Kenya, Meru National Park is popularly portrayed in Joy Adamson’s books and the famous location still retains much of its attraction as an unspoiled wilderness despite being opened up to tourists in recent years.
The higher northern part of the park, essentially the foothills of the Nyambene is mainly scattered-trees and open grassland with odd patches of acacia woodland along the Murera river; the lower side area to the south being predominantly commiphora-acacia dry bush, while palm trees are a prominent feature along the main rivers, and in the north of the lodges. In addition, there are several seasonal swamps situated in the middle of the park.
Notable Meru National Park Bird Species – For Hinde’s Babbler, Violet Wood Hoopoe (granti), Pink-breasted Lark and Donaldson-Smith’s Sparrow-Weaver, many arid savanna species as well as Eastern Crested Guineafowl, Mottled Spinetail, African Finfoot, Scissor-tailed Kite, Palm-nut Vulture, Western Banded Snake Eagle, Lizard Buzzard, Grasshopper Buzzard, Pel’s Fishing Owl, Trumpeter Hornbill, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, White-eared Barbet, Retz’s and Chestnut-fronted (ESS keniensis) Helmetshrikes, Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher, Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Nicator, Yellow-bellied Greenbul, Black-bellied Sunbird, Golden Palm Weaver and Orange-winged Pytilia
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Laikipia is fortunate enough to have five distinctive habitats for birds and a diverse range of flora and fauna making birdwatching a rewarding engagement. For avid ornithologists and casual amateurs alike, the expansive wilderness of Laikipia offer an exceptional canvas for guided bird watching safaris at the foothills of Mount Kenya as explore the region’s incredible avian diversity.
Here are the Laikipia birding destination highlights; the vast grassy plains are a great place to find many birds such as Kori and the White-bellied Bustard, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Namaqua Dove and Crowned Lapwing. The Long-tailed Widowbird are wonderful to spot after the first rains as they spend hours displaying to females with a magnificent long tail and bright red shoulders.
The Acacia woodland makes up a large part of Laikipia. Here you would expect to see the Eastern Chanting-Goshawk, Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, Steppe Eagle, Northern White-crowned Shrike and Nubian Woodpecker.
The riverine vegetation is interesting for water birds like African Fish Eagle, Egyptian Goose, Pied Kingfisher, Knob-billed Duck and Common Sandpiper.
The rocky lava escarpments are home to the beautiful D’Arnaud’s Barbet, Fan-tailed Raven, Klaas’s Cuckoo, European Roller and the Pearl-spotted Owlet.
Finally, you can spot many birds just sitting in the comfort of your lodge or camp. Such as Vitelline Masked-Weaver, Von der Decken’s Hornbill, White-bellied Go-away-bird, Wire-tailed Swallow, White-headed Mousebird and Lesser Blue-eared Starling.
Notable Laikipia Plateau Bird Species – For Hildebrandt’s Starling and Jackson’s Widowbird as well as Common and Somali Ostriches, Stone Partridge, Shelley’s Francolin, Denham’s Bustard, Black-winged Lapwing, Secretarybird, Rosy-patched Bushshrike, Taita Fiscal, Fan-tailed Raven, White-bellied Tit, Fischer’s Sparrow-Lark, Fawn-colored (intercedens), White-tailed and Red-capped (ESS williamsi) Larks, Boran, Short-winged and Pectoral-patch Cisticolas, Banded Parisoma, Rufous and Scaly Chatterers, Brown and Black-lored (ESS vepres) Babblers, African (centralis) and Abyssinian Thrushes, Little Rock Thrush, Anteater Chat, Hunter’s Sunbird, Grey-capped (arnaudi) and Black-capped Social Weavers, Orange-winged Pytilia and Stripe-breasted Seedeater
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Together, Tsavo West and Tsavo East National Parks offer an endless wilderness experience that very few Africa destination can match up to, as they form part of the world’s largest wildlife conservation area. They also make up one of the largest national parks on the continent.
Located between the two main metropolis of Kenya (Nairobi and Mombasa), the Tsavo ecosystem consists of vast open plains, volcanic terrain, rivers, forests, and savannahs teeming with wildlife. In addition to being a popular and desirable safari destination throughout Kenya for guests seeking adventure, great scenic beauty, and less crowded conditions for enjoying the sights, the Tsavo parks collectively provide some of the very best safari experiences available anywhere in the world.
Explore the rich birdlife of Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks on this exciting 3-day bird watching safari with Tsavo Kenya. With over 500 bird species, both endemic and migratory, Tsavo offers one of Kenya’s best birding experiences.
The diversity of habitats across the two parks—ranging from open savannahs to rivers and wetlands—ensures a rich variety of bird species, including some of Africa’s most sought-after birds. This safari is designed for both novice and experienced birdwatchers who want to immerse themselves in the avian wonders of Tsavo while enjoying the scenic beauty and wildlife that these parks are famous for.
Top birding locations in the Tsavo include; the Galana River in Tsavo East, and the Mzima Springs and the Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary both in the Tsavo West. The best time for birding in the Tsavo being in November and April, when migratory birds are present, although year-round birdwatching is excellent.
Notable Tsavo East & West National Parks Bird Species – For Violet Wood Hoopoe (granti), Pink-breasted and Friedmann’s Larks, Hildebrandt’s Starling, Tsavo Sunbird and Fire-fronted Bishop, as well as Common and Somali Ostriches, Vulturine Guineafowl, Nubian and Donaldson-Smith’s Nightjars, Mottled Spinetail, Hartlaub’s Bustard, Chestnut-bellied and Black-faced (decoratus) Sandgrouse, Black-headed Lapwing (latifrons), Somali Courser, Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Somali Bee-eater, Eastern Black-headed and Pygmy Batises, Rosy-patched Bushshrike (cathemagmenus), Three-streaked Tchagra, Pringle’s Puffback, Red-naped Bushshrike (rufinuchalis), Long-tailed and Taita Fiscals, Mouse-colored Penduline Tit, Chestnut-headed and Fischer’s Sparrow-Larks, Fawn-colored, Red-winged, Flappet (torrida) and Singing Bush Larks, Sombre Greenbul, Northern (leucopsis) and Somali Crombecs, Ashy and Tiny Cisticolas, Pale and Red-fronted (ESS rufidorsalis) Prinias, Brown-tailed Apalis, Grey Wren-Warbler, Yellow-vented Eremomela, Banded Parisoma (boehmi), Scaly Chatterer (keniana), Arrow-marked Babbler (kirkii), Fischer’s, Shelley’s and Magpie Starlings, Spotted Palm Thrush (intercalans), Hunter’s and Black-bellied (nectarinioides) Sunbirds, Black-capped Social Weaver, Grey-headed Silverbill, Black-cheeked Waxbill, Blue-capped Cordon-bleu, Jameson’s Firefinch, Purple Indigobird, Steel-blue Whydah, Pangani Longclaw and Golden Pipit
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Chyullu Hills, tucked away between Tsavo West National Park and Amboseli National Park, Chyulu Hills National Park boasts striking and diverse landscapes. Chyulu Hills National Park is found in the eastern region of Kenya that is adjacent to Tsavo National Park and the Voi just 190 kilometers driving from Nairobi, 30 driving kilometers from the southwest of the Kibwezi. Chyulu Hills National Park covers an area of 741 square kilometers and it was declared as the national park in 1983 spreading to the most raised hill in the park called Chyuli hill and because of this, the park was called the green hills of Africa.
It’s rugged wilderness terrain still show signs of its volcanic origins – and boasting some of the best views of Mount Kilimanjaro that gives the park rugged wilderness signature jumble of ancient volcanic cones and craters, as well as the longest lava tube in the world.
In addition to the breathtaking landscapes and views, Chyulu is home to a wonderful selection of game, including buffalo, antelope, elephant, leopard, wildebeest and zebra. The bird watchers’ paradise of Lake Jipe lies in the south-west corner of the reserve.
The park is home to a good number of bird species that are unique and interesting to watch or photograph. There are over 172 species of birds recorded in the Chyulu Hills National Park
Notable Chyullu Hills Bird Species – For Mbulu White-eye and Grey Penduline Tit (sylviella/rothschildi) as well as Shelley’s Francolin (ESS macarthuri), Olive-headed Greenbul, Brown Woodland Warbler (dorcadichroa), Bar-throated Apalis (griseiceps), White-starred Robin (ESS macarthuri) and Southern Citril (hyposticta)
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Lake Jipe is an inter-territorial lake straddling the borders of Kenya and Tanzania. On the Kenyan side, it is located south of the village of Nghonji while on the Tanzanian side, it is situated within Mwanga District, in Kilimanjaro Region.
Lake Jipe water mainly comes the Lumi River, which descends from the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, as well as streams from the North Pare Mountains, being on the leeward side. The lake’s outlet forms the Ruvu River.
Kenya’s unfenced Tsavo West National Park protects part of the lake’s northern shore, while on the Tanzania side Mkomazi Game Reserve is nearby. Lake Jipe is a small but ecologically important lake on the border between Tanzania and Kenya. The lake is a haven for birdlife, including hippos and crocodiles, and offers excellent bird watching opportunities. The lake is known for its endemic fish, as well as water birds, mammals, wetland plants and lake-edge swamps, which can extend 2 kilometers from Lake Jipe’s shore
Notable Lake Jipe Bird Species – For Taveta Weaver as well as Common Reed (cinnamomeus) and Lesser Swamp (leptorhynchus) Warblers, Zanzibar Red Bishop and waterbirds including African Skimmer and Black Heron
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You can also find yourself in Tanzania from Kenya through the Loitokitok border and it is popularly for visitors traveling from Amboseli National Park to Moshi and Marangu in Tanzania. It is found on the foothills of the famous mountain Kilimanjaro and therefore as you’re crossing the border, you will get views of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Even when going to hike the Kilimanjaro mountains using the Northern circuit trail. Visitors will have to use this border pint to access this trail on the Kilimanjaro Mountains. The cultural settlements are also near the border especially the Masai cultural people of the Kenyan side and the Chagga people from the side of Tanzania.
Notable Loitokitok Bird Species – For Black-headed Mountain and Olive-headed Greenbuls, Mbulu and Broad-ringed White-eyes, Kenrick’s Starling (kenricki), Tsavo Sunbird, Taveta Weaver and Southern Grosbeak-Canary, as well as Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, White-fronted Bee-eater, White-eared (kilimensis) and Brown-breasted Barbets, Sombre and Grey-olive Greenbuls, Bar-throated Apalis, White-starred Robin (guttifer), Zanzibar, Black-winged and Southern Red Bishops, Abyssinian Crimsonwing, Red-throated Twinspot, Southern Citril and Thick-billed Seedeater (kilimensis)
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Beyond the Big 5, Amboseli’s bird diversity comes from habitat compression. In a relatively small area, the park brings together permanent water, seasonal flood zones, dry plains, alkaline soils, woodland shade, grassland, thorn bush, and open skies. Kenya Wildlife Service identifies five main wildlife habitats in Amboseli namely: the savanna grassland, acacia woodland, rocky thorn bush, swamps, and marshland, and notes that temporary Lake Amboseli floods during heavy rains and can attract flamingos.
This habitat mosaic allows birders to move from one ecological guild to another within a single game drive. Birds are concentrated not because the whole landscape is uniformly productive, but because water and vegetation occur unevenly.
Notable Amboseli National Park Bird Species – For Sentinel Lark (ESS harterti), Hildebrandt’s Starling and Taveta Weaver, as well as Common Ostrich, Hartlaub’s Bustard, Chestnut-bellied, Yellow-throated and Black-faced Sandgrouse, Caspian Plover, Double-banded Courser, Secretarybird, Southern White-faced Owl, White-headed Mousebird (leucocephalus), Greater Kestrel, Rosy-patched Bushshrike (cathemagmenus), Long-tailed and Taita Fiscals, Fischer’s Sparrow-Lark, Pink-breasted, Singing Bush, Short-tailed (delamerei) and Red-capped Larks, Northern Crombec (leucopsis), Ashy Cisticola, Banded Parisoma (boehmi), Fischer’s Starling, Gorgeous Sunbird, Grey-capped Social Weaver, Golden-backed Weaver, Southern Red Bishop, Crimson-rumped Waxbill and Pangani Longclaw, also Dickinson’s Kestrel and waterbirds including Cape Teal, Lesser Flamingo, Pied Avocet, Long-toed Lapwing, Chestnut-banded Plover, Saddle-billed Stork and Black Heron
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The Ol Donyo Orok Mountain Forest Reserve is a government gazetted area, 117.84 square kilometers large. A large part of it consists of elevated cloud forest (above 1,700 meters. Being one of the few remaining patches in Kenya, it contains a large variety of plants, herbs and also several animal species not found in the surrounding semi-arid lowlands. In the mountain valleys there are natural water catchments created by the high-altitude rains and the high humid climate. These provide the surrounding Maasai communities with water and pasture even during the dry seasons.
The mountain wildlife has been under a lot of stress due to traditional hunting, which has wiped out many of the large mammals and predators. But there are still a small population of leopards to be found. Other large animals include buffaloes (in rapidly decreasing number due to poaching), bushbucks, olive baboons, vervet monkeys, rock hyraxes, etc. There are also a large variety of migratory and endemic birds in the area.
Very little research has been taken place on the mountain ecology and no scientific animal count has been made on the large animals. The bush savanna vegetation in the surrounding lowlands is also home to animals like giraffes, zebras, gazelles, eland antelopes, warthogs, ostriches, African wild dogs and hyenas, etc.
Notable Ol Doinyo Orok Bird Species – For Tanzanian Illadopsis (at least formerly) as well as Abyssinian Thrush (deckeni) and Oriole Finch (kilimensis)
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Magadi Road is one of the famous routes used while driving through Nairobi city, the route is 115 kilometers leading to Lake Magadi and it is in good tarmac conditions throughout making it great for driving.
After leaving Nairobi uplands, the route crosses at the end of the Ngong Hills before dropping down the side of the Great Rift Valley – the upland grassland habitats of the Ngong Hills transcending into the semi – arid bush country below.
As you drive on this route, you will have frequent stopovers to enjoy sights of an incredible selection of birds such as large numbers of weavers, whydahs and finches at the seasonal waterholes.
Olorgesailie Archaeological site situated approximately 65 kilometers from Nairobi city, left after Oltepesi, after from being an interesting archaeological site, it is also an incredible birding site while in Nairobi.
This site hosts a good number of birds including large flocks of weavers and finches which are attracted to the water bath situated next to the rest area and a trail around the perimeter of the site.
Olorgesailie Archaeological Site is an incredible site for spotting coursers, larks and Ashy Cisticola.
Lake Magadi is a classic birding site around Nairobi City as well as Kenya, the site is a Rift Valley Soda Lake situated in the Great Rift Valley escarpment which is close to Nairobi city.
Lake Magadi is incredible hosts for a large number of water birds seen congregating around the southern edges of the lake, most of the common bird species to spot at Lake Magadi are the pink flamingos.
Notable Magadi Road Bird Species – For Red-throated Tit, Swahili Sparrow, Hildebrandt’s Starling and Southern Grosbeak-Canary as well as Black-faced Sandgrouse, Double-banded Courser, Southern White-faced Owl, Rosy-patched Bushshrike, Pringle’s Puffback, Taita Fiscal, Mouse-colored Penduline Tit, Fischer’s Sparrow-Lark, Fawn-colored, Singing Bush and Short-tailed Larks, Northern Crombec (leucopsis), Lynes’s, Ashy and Tiny Cisticolas, Red-fronted Prinia (smithi), Grey Wren-Warbler, Banded Parisoma (boehmi), Spotted Palm Thrush, Little Rock Thrush, Anteater Chat, Abyssinian Wheatear (schalowi), Gorgeous Sunbird, Grey-capped Social Weaver, Black Bishop (friederichseni), Grey-headed and African Silverbills, Black-cheeked Waxbill (ESS kiwanukae), Blue-capped Cordon-bleu, Steel-blue Whydah and Bushveld Pipit (blayneyi)
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Nairobi National Park stretches over an area of 117 square kilometers comprising of a variety of habitants which act a home to a huge population of wildlife as well as birdlife, these habitats are categorized into natural and man-made habitats and they include man made dams, open grasslands, bush country, rock gorges, riverine woodland and highland forest.
Nairobi national park is listed among the Important Birding Areas in Kenya and is an incredible bird watcher’s haven with over 520 bird species of birds including resident species and migratory species, an incredible birding site.
Birding in Nairobi national park is done with a good resident ornithologist (bird guide) who knows where to find the birds and will explain them to you in details, birds to lookout for in the park include the globally threatened Corncrake, Madagascar Pond-Heron, Lesser Kestrel, Corncrake, Jackson’s Widowbird, Red-throated Tit and Basra Reed Warbler has both been spotted.
Notable Nairobi National Park Bird Species – For over 500 recorded species including Violet Wood Hoopoe (granti), White-headed Barbet (ESS senex), Red-throated Tit, Sentinel Lark (athi), Somali Short-toed Lark (athensis), Northern Pied Babbler, Hildebrandt’s Starling, Jackson’s Widowbird, Pangani Longclaw, Long-billed Pipit (chyuluensis) and African Citril (ESS kikuyuensis), also Common Ostrich (massaicus), Shelley’s Francolin (uluensis), Harlequin Quail, Hartlaub’s Bustard, Yellow-throated Sandgrouse, African Finfoot, African Rail, Temminck’s Courser, Malagasy Pond Heron, Secretarybird, Green-backed Honeybird (ellenbecki), Lesser Honeyguide, Brown-backed Woodpecker (ingens), Long-tailed Fiscal, White-bellied Tit, Fischer’s Sparrow-Lark, Fawn-colored, White-tailed, Short-tailed and Red-capped Larks, Banded Martin, Moustached Grass Warbler, Highland Rush Warbler (elgonensis), Stout (nuchalis), Short-winged (katonae) and Pectoral-patch (hindii) Cisticolas, Yellow-breasted Apalis (ESS pugnax), Banded and Brown (jacksoni) Parisomas, Pale White-eye (flavilateralis), Yellow-crowned Bishop, Red-cowled Widowbird (suahelicus), Black-faced Waxbill (delamerei), Quailfinch (muelleri), Orange-breasted Waxbill, Cuckoo-finch and Rosy-throated Longclaw
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Nestled within Kenya’s spectacular Great Rift Valley, Lakes Naivasha, Oloiden and Nakuru offer three of the country’s most enchanting bird watching safari destinations. Combine this with the Hells Gate National Park where you can bird while biking or on foot in its alluring dramatic valley of gorges and cliffs…
Located just 90 minutes from Nairobi, these pristine ecosystems provide a perfect escape into nature, combining world-class bird watching, unique wildlife encounters, and breathtaking landscapes that have captivated guests and nature lovers for generations.
Whether you’re seeking the tranquil boat safaris on Lakes Naivasha and Oloiden the immersive flamingo spectacles at Lake Nakuru or the easy birding at Hells Gate National Park, these destinations promise serene birding adventures that blend relaxation with exhilarating wildlife experiences.
Notable Lakes Nakuru, Naivasha, Oloiden and Hell’s Gate National Parks Bird Species – For Grey-crested Helmetshrike, waterbirds including Cape Teal, Lesser Moorhen, Black-necked Grebe, Greater and Lesser Flamingos, Long-toed Lapwing, Pied Avocet, African Skimmer, Slender-billed, Black-headed, Grey-headed and Lesser Black-backed (fuscus) Gulls, Gull-billed, Whiskered and White-winged Terns and Pink-backed Pelican, as well as Coqui Francolin (hubbardi), Hildebrandt’s Spurfowl, Mottled, Nyanza, African Black and Horus Swifts, Secretarybird, Verreaux’s Eagle, White-fronted Bee-eater, Brown-backed Honeybird, Scaly-throated and Greater Honeyguides, Red-throated Wryneck, White-bellied Tit, Fischer’s Sparrow-Lark, Red-capped Lark, Grey-rumped Swallow, Lesser Swamp Warbler (parvus), Highland Rush Warbler, Lynes’s, Stout and Pectoral-patch (nakuruensis) Cisticolas, Brown Parisoma, Arrow-marked (emini) and Black-lored (sharpei) Babblers, African and Abyssinian Thrushes, Little Rock Thrush, African Stonechat, Mocking Cliff Chat, Anteater Chat, Capped and Abyssinian (schalowi) Wheatears, Red-cowled and Long-tailed Widowbirds, Crimson-rumped Waxbill, Long-billed (hararensis) and Plain-backed (goodsoni) Pipits
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An extensive area of montane grassland along the crest of the Mau Escarpment, which forms the western wall of the central Rift Valley in Kenya. This high, open plateau runs for around 80 km south-east to north-west, and is bounded on each side (and partially interrupted) by the forests of the Mau Forest complex (IBA 51).
Rainfall is around 1,000 mm per year, and the original vegetation is short grassland, with some heather and scrub on the ridges where the soil is deeper. The area has high potential for agriculture, and has gradually been settled and cultivated since the 1950s; it is now heavily populated, with a landscape severely modified by cultivation. Cereals are the major crops, and much grassland has been converted by ploughing and reseeding with exotic species to provide better grazing for sheep.
Notable Mau Narok and the Molo Grasslands Bird Species – For Aberdare Cisticola and Sharpe’s Longclaw as well as Jackson’s Widowbird, also Maccoa Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Common Quail, Black-winged Lapwing, African Snipe, Red-capped Lark, Hunter’s, Levaillant’s and Wing-snapping Cisticolas, African Stonechat, Anteater Chat, Malachite and Golden-winged Sunbirds, Cape Wagtail and Yellow-crowned Canary, and, at least formerly, Elgon Francolin
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This forest complex covers a substantial area of the south-western highlands of Kenya, and probably represents the largest remaining near-continuous block of montane indigenous forest in East Africa, the forests cloak the western slopes, and part of the crest, of the Mau Escarpment, a block of raised land that forms the western wall of the Gregory Rift Valley, rising steeply from the floor and sloping away more gradually to the west.
There are five main Forest Reserves: Eastern, Western and South-western Mau (66,000, 22,700 and 84,000 ha respectively), Trans-Mara (34,400 ha) and Ol Pusimoru (17,200 ha). A sixth large block, the Maasai Mau (46,000 ha) is as vet ungazetted. The forest lies across four administrative districts: Narok, Nakuru, Bomet and Kericho.
The Mau has deep, fertile, volcanic soils, and rainfall in places is among the highest in Kenya. Annual precipitation ranges from around 1,000 mm in the east, with a seasonal regime, to 2,000 mm in the west, where it is more-or-less continuous around the year.
Numerous streams drain the forests west of the scarp crest, forming part of the Sondu and Mara River systems, which flow into Lake Victoria, and the Southern Ewaso Ng’iro system, which flows
into Lake Natron. The Eastern Mau is the main watershed for Lake Nakuru, through the Njoro, Makalia and Enderit Rivers. The surrounding areas are intensively farmed, with human population densities about twice as high on the western side of the forest as on the east.
Notable Mau Complex Bird Species – For Tanzanian Illadopsis (at least formerly) as well as Western Crested Guineafowl, Ross’s Turaco, Red-chested Owlet, Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Grey-throated (cinereiceps), Yellow-spotted (duchaillui) and Eastern Yellow-billed (elgonensis) Barbets, Least Honeyguide (pachyrhynchus), Lühder’s Bushshrike, Joyful, Kakamega and Cabanis’s (sucosus) Greenbuls, Chubb’s Cisticola, Black-faced (melanops) and White-chinned (reichenowi) Prinias, Black-faced Rufous Warbler (vulpinus), Mountain Illadopsis, Stuhlmann’s Starling, Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat (melanonota), Equatorial Akalat, Black-billed Weaver, Black-crowned Waxbill and Red-headed Bluebill, also Jackson’s and Scaly Spurfowls, Montane Nightjar, Scarce Swift, African Olive and Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeons, Lemon and Dusky Turtle Doves, Hartlaub’s Turaco, Mountain Buzzard, Bar-tailed Trogon, White-headed Wood Hoopoe, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Moustached Tinkerbird, Fine-banded Woodpecker, Red-fronted Parrot, Black-fronted and Doherty’s Bushshrikes, Grey and Purple-throated Cuckooshrikes, Mountain Oriole, White-tailed Crested Flycatcher, Slender-billed, Kikuyu Mountain and Yellow-whiskered Greenbuls, Black and White-headed Saw-wings, White-browed Crombec, Brown Woodland, Mountain Yellow, Evergreen Forest and Cinnamon Bracken Warblers, Hunter’s Cisticola, Black-collared, Black-throated, Chestnut-throated and Grey Apalises, African Hill Babbler, Slender-billed, Waller’s and Sharpe’s Starlings, Abyssinian Ground Thrush (piaggiae), Abyssinian Thrush, Brown-backed Scrub Robin, White-eyed Slaty and African Dusky Flycatchers, White-starred Robin, Brown-chested Alethe (carruthersi), Cape Robin-Chat, Collared, Green-headed, Olive, Tacazze, Bronze and Northern and Eastern Double-collared Sunbirds, Baglafecht and Brown-capped Weavers, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, Grey-headed Nigrita (schistaceus), Abyssinian Crimsonwing, Oriole Finch, African Citril, Thick-billed (kilimensis) and Streaky Seedeaters
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The Taita Hills have been the subject of many years of research. As part of the Eastern Arc Mountains where there is a high level of endemism, three species of birds call this particular mountain home and are found nowhere else in the world. Owing to its great conservation effort, this forest has now become a reserve where it is managed and protected.
The Taita Hills lie in south-eastern Kenya, south and west of Voi town, and rise abruptly above the semi-arid plains of Tsavo West National Park. These plains, at around 600-700 m altitude, isolate the hills from other mountains and highland blocks.
The closest of these are the Chyulu Hills and North Pares, about 70 km away, and Mount Kilimanjaro, Chawia, Ngangao and Mbololo (though managed by the Forest Department). The West Usambara mountains, with which the Taita Hills have some botanical affinities, are around 120 km distant.
The Taita Hills are divided into three main blocks. Sagalla Hill (peak 1,450 m), directly south of Voi, is separated from the rest of the hills by the Voi River on the plains. The main body of the hills, Dabida, lies 25 km north-west of Voi, including the high peaks
of Gangao (2,149 m) and Vuria (2,225 m). To the north-east of this range lies the massif of Mbololo (2,209 m), separated from the main block by a valley at about 900 m. Some 50 km to the south-east, and not included within this IBA, lies Mount Kasigau. The forest on this isolated peak has biogeographical affinities with the Taita Hills, but its fauna and flora are as vet little studied.
Notable Taita Hills Bird Species – For Taita Apalis, Taita White-eye and Taita Thrush, Black-headed Mountain (usambarae) and Olive-headed (striifacies) Greenbuls, Abbott’s Starling and Usambara Double-collared Sunbird, as well as Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler (minullus), Evergreen Forest Warbler (usambarae), Black-headed Apalis (moschi), Orange Ground Thrush (ESS raineyi), African Dusky Flycatcher (murina), White-starred Robin (helleri), Olive Sunbird (changamwensis) and Striped Pipit, also Scarce Swift, Lemon Dove, Hartlaub’s Turaco, Mountain Buzzard, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Moustached Tinkerbird, Brown-breasted Barbet, Black-fronted Bushshrike, Eastern Nicator, Yellow-bellied and Cabanis’s (placidus) Greenbuls, Yellow-breasted Apalis (golzi), Sharpe’s Starling, Bearded Scrub Robin, Cape and Rüppell’s Robin-Chats, African Stonechat, Collared Sunbird, Baglafecht Weaver, Yellow-bellied Waxbill and Black-and-white Mannikin (nigriceps)
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The Nguruman Escarpment forms the western wall of the Rift Valley in southernmost Kenya, some 150 km south-west of Nairobi. The scarp rises steeply in a series of stepped, rocky faults from the floodplain of the Southern Ewaso Ng’iro River on the valley floor at around 900 m to some 2,300 m on the escarpment crest. From here the land falls more gently away to the Loita Plains and the Masai Mara (IBA 50), The vegetation changes from open Acacia
fortilis woodland on the plain, to dense Acacia-Commiphora bush on the lower slopes, to Tarchonanthus thicket and grassland and, finally, sub-montane forest. Clear, fast-running, rocky streams flow down the escarpment, fringed on their’ lower reaches with tall oy riparian forest of figs.* Ficus spp. Beyond the escarpment crest, the general rolling country is a mosaic of grassland, scrub and forest,
Grey-crested Helmet-shrike with Podocarpus falcatus, P. latifolius and Diospyros abyssinica among the trees. Rainfall at the base of the eastern scarp is around 400 mm per year, rising to 750 mm on the forested ridges and peaks. Mist and dew can be heavy in the highest areas.
Land on the escarpment and hills is communally owned by several Maasai Group Ranches. One section of the escarpment has been leased to a private company for the development of luxury tourism.
Notable Nguruman Escarpment Bird Species – For many of the same taxa occurring in the Mau Forest Complex as well as Black-headed Mountain Greenbul (nigriceps), Cabanis’s Greenbul (ESS ngurumanensis), Abyssinian Ground Thrush (rowei) and Southern Citril (hyposticta)
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The Maasai Mara National Reserve is a world-class avian paradise hosting over 470 to 550 recorded bird species, including 47 specialized species of birds of prey. While globally famous for its big mammal migrations, the reserve features a diverse, hyper-rich savanna ecosystem that supports a massive variety of resident and migratory species.
This IBA includes the Maasai Mara National Reserve and the surrounding wildlife dispersal areas in south-western Kenya. (Collectively, the Reserve and its surrounds are often called the Greater Mara; here, Maasai Mara refers to the entire IBA.) The site adjoins the Serengeti National Park along the Kenva—Tanzania border, and is considered part of the same ecosystem.
The Maasai National Reserve is Kenya’s most-visited protected area, world famous for its high density of herbivores and predators, and the annual migrations of Wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus.
To the north, east and west, large parcels of land demarcated as group ranches, owned and inhabited by the semi-nomadic pastoral Maasai people. This communal land forms an extensive wildlife dispersal area for the reserve, comprising the group ranches of Siana (152,000 ha), Koivaki (94,000 ha}, Olkinyei (80,000 ha), Lemek (66,000 ha),
Kimindet (37,000 ha), Olorien (26,000 ha), Olchorro Ouirwa (11,500 ha), Kerinkani (8,100 ha) and Angata Baragoi (7,900 ha).
Habitats in the Maasai Mara are varied, including open rolling grassland, riverine forest, Acacia woodland, swamps, non-deciduous — thickets, boulder-strewn escarpments, and Acacia, Croton and Tarchonanthus scrub, The permanent Mara and Talek Rivers, and their tributaries, flow through the reserve and approximately trisect it. There is a pronounced rainfall gradient from the drier east (with c. 800 mm rain per vear) to the wetter west (with c. 1,200 mm per year).
Notable Maasai Mara National Reserve Bird Species – For Usambiro Barbet, Red-throated Tit, Grey Penduline Tit (sylviella), Maasai Apalis, Hildebrandt’s Starling, Rufous-tailed Weaver and Jackson’s Widowbird as well as Common Ostrich, Coqui (hubbardi) and Red-winged (kikuyuensis) Francolins, Red-necked Spurfowl (cranchii), Swamp and Square-tailed Nightjars, Bare-faced Go-away-bird (leopoldi), Ross’s and Schalow’s (ESS loitanus) Turacos, Denham’s Bustard, Black Coucal, Yellow-throated Sandgrouse, Black-winged and African Wattled Lapwings, Caspian Plover, Temminck’s Courser, Saddle-billed Stork, Rufous-bellied Heron, Secretarybird, White-headed Vulture, Ovambo Sparrowhawk, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Marsh Owl, Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Grey-throated, White-headed (albicauda) and Double-toothed (aequatorialis) Barbets, Golden-tailed (kavirondensis) and Little Spotted (nyansae) Woodpeckers, Grey Kestrel, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Magpie Shrike, African Blue Flycatcher, Fischer’s Sparrow-Lark, Rufous-naped (tropicalis), Flappet (kawirondensis) and Melodious Larks, Black and White-headed Saw-wings, Red-breasted Swallow, Moustached Grass Warbler, Fan-tailed Grassbird, Trilling, Rock-loving (emini), Stout, Long-tailed, Black-backed and Pectoral-patch Cisticolas, Miombo Wren-Warbler, Green-capped Eremomela (citriniceps), Arrow-marked Babbler, Yellow-bellied Hyliota, Ashy (brevicauda), Northern Black (lugubris) and African Dusky Flycatchers, Silverbird, Sooty and Familiar (falkensteini) Chats, Swahili Sparrow, Grey-capped Social Weaver (dorsalis), Yellow-mantled Widowbird (macroura), Black-rumped Waxbill, Rosy-throated Longclaw, Plain-backed (goodsoni) and Bushveld Pipits
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Ruma National Park was first gazetted in 1966, as Lambwe Valley Game Reserve, and acquired National Park status in 1983. It is situated 10 km east of Lake Victoria in western Kenya, south-west of Homa Bay and east of the Gembe and Gwasi Hills. It lies on the flat floor of the Lambwe valley, bordered by the Kanyamwa escarpment (and including a section of Lambwe Hills Forest Reserve) to the south-east.
The terrain is mainly rolling grassland, with tracts of open woodland and_ thickets dominated by species of Acacia and Balanites. The soils are largely ‘black cotton’ clay. The surrounding area is settled, with a mix of small-scale cultivation and grassy pasture-land.
Notable Ruma National Park Bird Species – For Blue Swallow and Shelley’s Sparrow, also Red-necked Spurfowl (cranchii), Bare-faced Go-away-bird (leopoldi), Black Coucal, African Wattled Lapwing, Western Banded Snake Eagle, Ovambo Sparrowhawk, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Double-toothed Barbet, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Rufous-naped and Flappet Larks, Red-breasted Swallow, Fan-tailed Grassbird, Trilling Cisticola, African Thrush, Northern Black Flycatcher, Silverbird, Copper Sunbird, Little Weaver (kavirondensis), Black (ansorgei) and Black-winged Red (craspedopterus) Bishops
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Kisumu and Lake Victoria’s waterfront offers the finest birding destination. This is a complex of wetlands Dunga, Koguta nd Kusa Swamps before moving to expansive delta of the Yala river, on the north-east shore of Lake Victoria. The site has three main components: the Yala swamp itself (currently c.6,500 ha after drainage of the eastern 20%); Lake Kanyaboli in the north-eastern corner, a 3-m deep lake of c.1,000 ha; and Lake Sare, the most southerly of several outlets of the Yala river into Lake Victoria, c.5 m deep and 500 ha in area. Formerly, the Yala river flowed through the eastern swamp (now ‘reclaimed’) into Lake Kanyaboli, then into the main swamp, and finally into Lake Victoria via a small gulf.
The Yala flow is now diverted directly into the main swamp, and a silt-clay dike cuts off Lake Kanyaboli, which receives its water from the surrounding catchment and through back-seepage from the swamp. A culvert across the mouth of the Yala, some metres above the level of Lake Victoria, has cut off the gulf on the lake and, through back-flooding, created Lake Sare. Water in the main channels and lakes is well oxygenated, but oxygen levels in the stagnant parts of the swamp are low.
The predominant vegetation is papyrus Cyperus papyrus, with Phragmites mauritianus in shallower areas and swamp grasses around the periphery. A thick fringe of papyrus surrounds both Lake Kanyaboli and Lake Sare; in the case of Lake Sare, this merges with the main swamp. The Yala swamp complex is by far the largest papyrus swamp in the Kenyan sector of Lake Victoria, making up more than 90% of the total area of papyrus.
The swamp acts as a natural filter for a variety of biocides and other agricultural pollutants from the surrounding catchment, and also effectively removes silt before the water enters Lake Victoria. The site supports an important local fishery for the Luo and Luhya people who live to its south and north, respectively.
Notable Lake Victoria and Swamps Bird Species – For Swamp Nightjar, Eastern Plantain-eater, Blue-headed Coucal (fischeri), Brown-chested Lapwing, African Skimmer, Grey-headed Gull, Gull-billed, Whiskered and White-winged Terns, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Double-toothed and Black-billed Barbets, Speckle-breasted Woodpecker, Marsh Tchagra, Black-headed and Papyrus Gonoleks, Pale-throated Greenbul (flavicola), African Blue Flycatcher, Common Reed Warbler (cinnamomeus), Papyrus Yellow Warbler, Greater (ansorgei) and Lesser (jacksoni) Swamp Warblers, White-winged Swamp and Highland Rush Warblers, Carruthers’s Cisticola, Red-winged Prinia (rhodoptera), Yellow-breasted Apalis (caniceps), Black-lored Babbler, African Thrush, Swamp Flycatcher, Red-chested and Copper Sunbirds, Slender-billed, Northern Brown-throated, Black-headed (fischeri) and Golden-backed Weavers, Red-headed Quelea, Southern Red Bishop, Fan-tailed (phoeniceus) and Yellow-mantled (macrocercus) Widowbirds, and Papyrus Canary
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Kakamega Forest is a mid-altitude tropical rainforest, the easternmost outlier of the Congo Basin forests. Its West African affinities are unique in Kenya, and the forest contains many species found nowhere else in the country.
The forest lies in the Lake Victoria catchment, about 40 km north of Kisumu, and just east of the Nandi Escarpment that forms the edge of the central highlands. It was first gazette as Trust Forest in 1933, and two small Nature Reserves, Yala and Isecheno (totalling about 700 ha), were established within the Forest Reserve in 1967. In 1986, nearly 4,000 ha of the northern portion of the forest, along with the adjacent 457 ha Kisere Forest were gazette as a National Reserve, managed by the Kenya Wildlife Service.
Only an estimated 10,000 ha of the overall gazetted area is still closed-canopy indigenous forest of which some 3,200 ha is in the National Reserve. The remaining area consists of grassy and bushed glades (some natural, some maintained by fire or grazing), tea, cultivation and 1,700 ha of plantations (some more than 50 years old) Kakamega Forest is an important water catchment; the Isiukhu and Yala Rivers flow through the forest and gather tributaries from it. The terrain is undulating, with often steep-sided river valleys.
Notable Kakamega Forest Bird Species – For Jameson’s Wattle-eye, Joyful and Toro Olive Greenbuls, Uganda Woodland Warbler, Turner’s Eremomela (ESS turneri), Chapin’s Flycatcher (lendu) and Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat as well as Sabine’s Spinetail, Great Blue and Black-billed (emini) Turacos, White-spotted Flufftail, Red-chested Owlet, Blue-headed Bee-eater, Grey-throated, Yellow-spotted, Hairy-breasted (ansorgii) and Eastern Yellow-billed Barbets, Cassin’s Honeybird, Least Honeyguide, Buff-spotted, Brown-eared and Yellow-crowned Woodpeckers, Grey Parrot, Chestnut and Yellow-bellied Wattle-eyes, Bocage’s and Lühder’s Bushshrikes, African Shrike-flycatcher, Petit’s Cuckooshrike, Western Oriole, Velvet-mantled and Sharpe’s Drongos, Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher, Dusky Crested Flycatcher, Dusky Tit, Red-tailed Bristlebill, Honeyguide, Plain, Little Grey and Ansorge’s Greenbuls, Green Hylia, White-chinned Prinia, Buff-throated Apalis (nigrescens), Black-faced Rufous Warbler, Olive-green Camaroptera (toroensis), Brown, Pale-breasted and Scaly-breasted Illadopsises, White-tailed Ant Thrush, Little Green, Grey-chinned and Green-throated Sunbirds, Vieillot’s Black Weaver, Red-headed Malimbe and White-breasted Nigrita, also Western Crested Guineafowl, Scaly Spurfowl, Ross’s Turaco, Blue Malkoha, Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon, Bar-tailed Trogon, White-headed Wood Hoopoe, Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Brown-backed Honeybird, Lesser (conirostris) Honeyguide, African Broadbill (meinertzhageni), Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Pink-footed Puffback, Purple-throated Cuckooshrike, Mackinnon’s Shrike, Slender-billed (gracilirostris), Kakamega, Little (virens), Yellow-whiskered and Cabanis’s (sucosus/ESS nandensis) Greenbuls, Black and White-headed Saw-wings, Chubb’s Cisticola, Banded Prinia (melanops), Black-collared and Black-throated Apalises, Mountain Illadopsis, Grey-chested Babbler, Southern Hyliota (slatini), Stuhlmann’s Starling, African Thrush, Brown-backed Scrub Robin, Ashy (brevicauda), White-eyed Slaty and African Dusky Flycatchers, Brown-chested Alethe (carruthersi), Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat, Equatorial Akalat, Grey-winged Robin-Chat, African Stonechat, Collared, Green-headed, Olive (ragazzii), Bronze and Northern Double-collared Sunbirds, Baglafecht, Black-billed, Dark-backed (mentalis) and Brown-capped Weavers, Yellow-mantled Widowbird, Black-and-white Mannikin (poensis), Grey-headed Nigrita (schistaceus), Black-crowned Waxbill, Red-headed Bluebill, Southern Citril (brittoni), Cape Wagtail, Plain-backed Pipit (zenkeri), Oriole Finch and Streaky Seedeater
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Seasonal grasslands, rocky outcrops, indigenous woodland patches, wetlands, river valleys, agricultural mosaics, hidden escarpments and the Iteso community-managed landscapes that hold together fragments of this vital biodiversity that are disappearing elsewhere across the region.
For birders willing to move beyond Kenya’s conventional birding and wildlife tourist circuits, Katotoi Hills reveal one of Western Kenya’s most rewarding frontier habitats.
Birding along the rocky sections and woodland edges continues to produce remarkable records, including species that remain highly localized or difficult to encounter elsewhere in Kenya. The hills and surrounding habitats have drawn increasing interest precisely because they continue revealing species distributions that are still poorly documented scientifically.
A chain of small grassland patches (some seasonally (some seasonally flooded) in western Kenya, including Mungatsi (36 ha, 0°27°67″N, 34°19’69″E), Matayo (210 ha, 0°23’01″N, 34°08’73″E), Sikoma (1 ha, 0°24’03°N, 34°11’03″E), and Malanga (3 ha, 0°25°96″N, 34°18’44″E).
All the patches are surrounded by intensive agriculture, mainly maize and sugarcane, and are grazed by livestock. The most important of them is Mungatsi, located 2 km from Mungatsi
market along the Mungatsi-Munami road, this privately-owned site lies on either side of a small stream (a tributary of the river Sio), which is fringed by riverine forest and scrub.
Notable Busia Grasslands Bird Species – Seasonal grasslands, rocky outcrops, indigenous For Fiery-necked Nightjar (nigriscapularis), the recently discovered Bamboo Warbler, Eastern Plantain-eater, Senegal Coucal, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, African Wattled Lapwing, Beaudouin’s and Western Banded Snake Eagles, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, White-headed (leucocephalus) and Black-billed Barbets, Speckle-breasted and African Grey (centralis) Woodpeckers, Grey Kestrel, Red-headed Lovebird, Western Black-headed Batis, Marsh Tchagra, Black-headed Gonolek, Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike, Piapiac, African Blue Flycatcher, Northern (carnapi) and Green Crombecs, Whistling Cisticola, White-chinned Prinia, Brown Babbler, Splendid and Purple Starlings, African Thrush, Silverbird, Olive-bellied (orphogaster), Orange-tufted, Purple-banded (bifasciatus), Superb (buvuma) and Copper Sunbirds, Compact Weaver, Red-headed Quelea, Black (ansorgei) and Black-winged Red (craspedopterus) Bishops, Fan-tailed and Marsh (humeralis) Widowbirds, Magpie Mannikin, Black-faced, Black-crowned, Fawn-breasted and Black-rumped Waxbills, Quailfinch (ugandae), Locust Finch, Orange-breasted Waxbill, Black-bellied Seedcracker, Brown Twinspot, Black-bellied and Bar-breasted Firefinches, Cuckoo-finch, Western Citril, Black-throated (somereni) and Yellow-fronted (barbata) Canaries
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Montane forest, wooded grassland, bamboo and alpine moorland on the eastern slopes of Mount Elgon, Kenya’s second-highest mountain. Mount Elgon lies about 140 km north-east of Lake Victoria and is bisected by the Kenya—Uganda border. It is an ancient, eroded volcano with a huge caldera and, on its summit, the spectacular flat-topped basalt column known as Koitobos. Another unique feature of the mountain is the ‘lava tube’ caves, some over 60 m wide and frequented by elephants (and other animals) digging for natural salts.
The mountain soils are red laterite, and rainfall is around 1,200 mm on the mid-slopes. The vegetation is zoned by altitude, with wet montane forest dominated by Olea capensis and Aningeria adolfi-friedericii grading into Olea—Podocarpus faleatis forest, a zone of mixed Podocarpus and bamboo Arundinaria alpina, and the Hagenia abyssinica zone with Giant Heath Frica arborea and E.. trimera elgonensis.
Afro-alpine moorlands occupy the highest parts of the mountain, with tussock grasses such as Festuca pilgeri, bogs of Carex ruussoroensis, giant groundsels and = giant lobelias. Open wooded grassland with Erythrina and Combretum covers part of the lower, drier north-eastern slopes, extending along the Uganda border towards Kongelai to the north-east.
Mount Elgon National Park (16,900 ha, gazetted in 1968) covers a narrow transect up the north-eastern slopes of the mountain, from lower montane forest to the caldera edge. The remaining forest and moorland (73,000 ha) are part of Mount Elgon Forest Reserve. The north-eastern wooded grassland, which is of unknown area, is unprotected. The Ugandan side of the mountain, above about 2,000 m, is protected within Uganda’s Mount Elgon National Park.
Mount Elgon is.an important water catchment for the Nzoia River, which flows into Lake Victoria, and for the Turkwel River, which flows into Lake Turkana.
Notable Mount Elgon National Park Bird Species – For Elgon Francolin and Jackson’s Spurfowl, Western Crested Guineafowl, Ross’s and Hartlaub’s Turacos, Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Red-chested Owlet, Cape Eagle-Owl, Grey-throated and Eastern Yellow-billed Barbets, Doherty’s and Lühder’s Bushshrikes, Grey Penduline Tit (roccattii), Joyful and Kikuyu Mountain Greenbuls, Hunter’s and Chubb’s Cisticolas, Buff-throated Apalis, Mountain Illadopsis, Abyssinian Ground (piaggiae), African and Abyssinian Thrushes, Grey-winged Robin-Chat, Moorland and Anteater Chats, Malachite and Golden-winged Sunbirds, Baglafecht, Black-billed and Brown-capped Weavers, Black-crowned and Kandt’s Waxbills, also Common Quail, Scaly Spurfowl, Montane Nightjar, Scarce Swift, African Olive and Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeons, Lemon and Dusky Turtle Doves, Mountain Buzzard, Bar-tailed Trogon, White-headed Wood Hoopoe, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Moustached Tinkerbird, Fine-banded Woodpecker (taeniolaema), Red-fronted Parrot, Black-fronted Bushshrike, Grey and Purple-throated Cuckooshrikes, Mountain Oriole, White-tailed Crested Flycatcher, Slender-billed, Yellow-whiskered and Cabanis’s Greenbuls, Black and White-headed Saw-wings, White-browed Crombec, Brown Woodland, Mountain Yellow, Evergreen Forest and Cinnamon Bracken Warblers, Black-collared, Black-throated, Chestnut-throated and Grey Apalises, African Hill Babbler, Brown Parisoma, Slender-billed, Waller’s and Sharpe’s Starlings, White-eyed Slaty and African Dusky Flycatchers, White-starred Robin (elgonensis), Cape Robin-Chat, African Stonechat, Collared, Green-headed, Olive, Tacazze, Bronze and Northern Double-collared Sunbirds, Black-and-white Mannikin (poensis), Yellow-bellied Waxbill, Abyssinian Crimsonwing, Grey-headed Nigrita (schistaceus), Oriole Finch, Thick-billed (kilimensis) and Streaky Seedeaters, and Yellow-crowned Canary, and, at least formerly, Forest Scimitarbill, Yellow-crested Woodpecker, Kakamega Greenbul, Equatorial Akalat and Sharpe’s Longclaw
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The Cherangani Hills, an old fault-block formation of non-volcanic origin, form an undulating upland plateau on the western edge of the Rift Valley. To the east, the Elgevo Escarpment drops abruptly to the floor of the Kerio Valley, while westwards the land falls away gently to the plains of Trans-Nzoia District. The hills reach 3,365 m at Cheptoket Peak in the north-central section.
The hills are largely covered by a series of Forest Reserves. These are made up of thirteen administrative blocks, totalling 95,600 ha in gazetted area. Of this, around 60,500 ha is closed-canopy forest, the remainder being formations of bamboo, scrub, rock, grassland, moorland or heath, with about 4,000 ha of cultivation and plantations. Kapkanyar, Kapolet and Kiptaberr Forest Reserves together form a large western block of forest, totalling about 20,000 ha.
To the east, the Forest Reserves of Lelan, Embotut, Kerrer, Kaisungor, Toropket, Chemurokoi, Kupkunurr, Cheboit, Sogotio and Kapchemutwa are less well connected, apart from a large south-eastern block along the escarpment crest, the forests here are fragmented and separated by extensive natural grasslands, scrub and (especially in the central part) farmland.
The hills are composed of metamorphic rocks, with conspicuous quartzite ridges and occasional veins of marble. The soils are well drained and moderately fertile, and annual rainfall varies from around 1,200 mm in the east to at least 1,500 mm in the wetter west, which catches the moist prevailing winds from Lake Victoria.
The forests are of several different types. The lower western parts of Kiptaberr-Kapkanvar are clothed in Amingeria—Strombosia-Drypetes forest, with a large area of mixed Podocarpus latifolius forest on the higher slopes. The southern slopes hold Juniperus—Nuxia—Podocarpus falcatits forest, with heavily disturbed Podocarpus falcatus forest on the eastern slopes. Valleys in the upper peaks area shelter sizeable remnants of Junperus—Maytenus undata—Rapanea—Hagenia forest.
Notable Cherangani Hills Bird Species –
For many of the same taxa occurring on Mount Elgon as well as Bearded Vulture, African Spotted Creeper and Stripe-breasted Seedeater
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Saiwa Swamp is home to the rare and endangered semi-aquatic sitatunga antelope and the elusive De Brazza’s monkey, offering rewarding wildlife encounters in a uniquely serene setting. Within its mosaic of tropical wetland, riverine forest, sedges, and acacia woodland, visitors can enjoy guided nature walks, gentle hikes, birdwatching, and mindful outdoor activities ideal for small-group experiences and wellness retreats.
A true birdwatchers’ paradise, Saiwa boasts over 372 recorded bird species with its rich botanical diversity showcased through labeled tree species along forest trails, including the famous Meru oak tree, making every walk both educational and immersive.
Beyond leisure and birding, Saiwa Swamp provides a conducive environment for academic research and environmental learning. With its extraordinary plant habitats and calm natural atmosphere, the park also supports nature-based outdoor experiences, small intimate events, and organized group activities—blending conservation, wellness, and discovery in one remarkable wetland landscape
Notable Saiwa Swamp Bird Species – For Eastern Plantain-eater, Ross’s Turaco, Blue-headed Coucal, African Olive Pigeon, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Double-toothed and Eastern Yellow-billed Barbets, Brown-backed Woodpecker, Lühder’s Bushshrike, Grey and Purple-throated Cuckooshrikes, African Blue Flycatcher, Slender-billed, Pale-throated, Joyful, Yellow-whiskered and Cabanis’s Greenbuls, White-headed Saw-wing, White-browed Crombec, Lesser Swamp and Highland Rush Warblers, Chubb’s and Levaillant’s Cisticolas, Black-collared and Grey Apalises, Mountain Illadopsis, Splendid Starling, African and Abyssinian Thrushes, White-eyed Slaty and African Dusky Flycatchers, Snowy-crowned and Grey-winged Robin-Chats, Olive and Northern Double-collared Sunbirds, Baglafecht, Black-billed and Brown-capped Weavers, Fan-tailed, Yellow-mantled and Marsh Widowbirds, Black-and-white Mannikin, Black-crowned Waxbill and Streaky Seedeater
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Tucked away in the outskirts of Kapenguria, Kongelai Escarpment is a hidden birding haven with more than 200 bird species having been recorded. The list ncludes the rare and endangered specialties, this little-known destination is a must for keen birders while they are birding in Western Kenya.
Kongelai, also known as the Kanyarkwat escarpment’s variety of habitats makes birding here highly rewarding and an experience of great value a change of species reflecting the changes of landscape. Although many birders will only come for a day, we would strongly suggest 4-5 days to enable you cover all hotspots.
Notable Kongelai Escarpment and Keringet Swamp Bird Species – For Stone Partridge, Eastern Plantain-eater, Ross’s and White-crested Turacos, Blue-headed Coucal, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, African Wattled Lapwing, Jackson’s and Hemprich’s Hornbills, White-headed (leucocephalus), Black-billed and Double-toothed Barbets, Brown-backed Woodpecker, Western Black-headed Batis, Black-headed Gonolek, White-breasted Cuckooshrike, Yellow-billed Shrike, African Blue Flycatcher, Grey Penduline Tit (roccattii), Pale-throated Greenbul, Lesser Swamp and Highland Rush Warblers, Chubb’s, Boran, Stout and Foxy Cisticolas, Black-collared Apalis, Green-backed Eremomela (ESS elgonensis), Brown Babbler, Yellow-bellied Hyliota, Lesser Blue-eared, Bronze-tailed, Splendid and Slender-billed Starlings, African Thrush, Little Rock Thrush, Familiar Chat (omoensis), Western Violet-backed, Shining and Copper Sunbirds, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, Heuglin’s Masked, Black-headed and Golden-backed Weavers, Fan-tailed and Marsh Widowbirds, Cape Wagtail, Southern Citril (brittoni) and Stripe-breasted Seedeater, also, at least formerly, Ring-necked Francolin, White-shouldered Black Tit, West African Seedeater and Brown-rumped Bunting
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Stretching majestically between the Elgeyo Escarpment and the Tugen Hills, the Kerio Valley National Reserve captures the raw beauty and geological wonder of Kenya’s Great Rift Valley like few other places can. This 80-kilometre-long valley floor, lying at an elevation of around 1,000 meters, is a dramatic landscape of rolling plains, rugged cliffs, and the winding Kerio River, which carves its way through the heart of the valley.
Seen from above—especially from Iten’s famed viewpoints—the Kerio Valley unfurls as a vast, sunlit canvas of contrasts: golden lowlands merging into green escarpments, and shimmering heat giving way to endless horizons. Though not teeming with wildlife like Kenya’s better-known reserves, it compensates with sheer scenic grandeur. The reserve shelters baboons, monkeys, small antelopes, and a dazzling array of birds, including eagles, kingfishers, and bee-eaters that thrive along the riverbanks.
The Kerio River is the valley’s lifeline, nourishing both the ecosystem and the local communities who depend on it for irrigation, fishing, and domestic use. It has sculpted a deep gorge through the valley, creating a unique geological wonder that reflects the immense forces shaping the East African Rift. The surrounding slopes are clothed in semi-tropical vegetation, while the sun-soaked valley floor hosts dry acacia bushland, forming a beautiful ecological contrast.
Notable Kerio Valley Bird Species – For Ross’s and White-crested Turacos, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Jackson’s, Hemprich’s and Black-and-white-casqued Hornbills, White-fronted Bee-eater, White-headed (leucocephalus) and Double-toothed Barbets, Pallid Honeyguide, African Grey Woodpecker, Western Black-headed Batis, Black-headed Gonolek, Fan-tailed Raven, Boran Cisticola, Green-backed Eremomela, Brown Babbler, Red-winged Starling, Grey Tit-Flycatcher (plumbea), Silverbird, Gambaga Flycatcher, Little Rock Thrush, Mocking Cliff and Anteater Chats, Hunter’s Sunbird, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, Little and Golden-backed Weavers, Dusky Indigobird, Long-billed Pipit and Stripe-breasted Seedeater
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Located in the far northwestern corner of Turkana County near the South Sudan border, its combination of dramatic mountain landscapes, dry bushlands, and the seasonal Lotikipi Plains creates an exceptional habitat for birders looking to step off the beaten path.
Lokichogio is one of Kenya’s ultimate remote bird-watching frontiers, offering a unique chance to spot highly sought-after semi-arid and Sahelian species that are rarely seen in the rest of the country.
The keys to this decent diversity of birds are primarily due to the disparity of habitats found, from extremely dry lava outcrops to wetlands on the shores of Lake Turkana. Moreover, the local birds get a boost with migrants thanks to the geostrategic location of the national park, in the middle of the bird migration highway that follows the Great Rift Valley.
Notable Lokchogio Bird Species – For Plain, Long-tailed and Standard-winged Nightjars, Arabian Bustard, Four-banded Sandgrouse, Vinaceous and Black-billed Wood Doves, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Black-headed Lapwing, Grasshopper Buzzard, Eurasian Hoopoe (waibeli), Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Jackson’s Hornbill, Abyssinian Roller, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Fox Kestrel, Red-pate Cisticola, River Prinia, Brown-tailed Rock Chat, Heuglin’s Wheatear, Pygmy and Beautiful Sunbirds, White-billed Buffalo Weaver and Little Weaver
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A very large, isolated, chloro-carbonate alkaline lake, the northernmost and by far the largest of the chain of Rift Valley lakes in Kenva. The Omo River delta at the extreme northern end of the lake lies within Ethiopia.
Lake Turkana’s water is brackish, with a pH of 9.5-9,7, but drinkable, and the lake holds freshwater fish, The 290 km long, the lake shore vary greatly in substrate, from rock (most of the southern sector, the central eastern shore, and North, Central and South Islands) to pebble, sand (most of the north-western shore, and patches elsewhere) and mud (at Loiyengalani, El Molo and Allia Bays, the Omo delta and the inlets of the Turkwel and Kerio Rivers).
Beds of the submerged plant Potamogeton pectinatus occur in the most sheltered muddy bays. The country surrounding the lake is semi-desert with sparse vegetation: annual rainfall averages less than 250 mm (substantially less in some places), and it may not rain for several vears at a stretch. South and Central Islands are National Parks, and part of the north-east shore is protected within Sibiloi National Park.
Notable Lake Turkana Bird Species – For waterbirds including Cape Teal, Greater and Lesser Flamingos, Senegal Thick-knee, Pied Avocet, African Skimmer, Little, Gull-billed and Caspian Terns, Slender-billed, Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed (fuscus) Gulls, Black and Western Reef Herons, and Pink-backed Pelican, also, at least formerly, Black Crowned Crane
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This is a vast expanse of arid, inhospitable black lava desert, stretching from around 20 km north of Marsabit town for at least 60 km on either side of the main Marsabit-Moyale road. The distributional limits of the special birds, and therefore the limits of the IBA, are unknown. Rainfall is erratic and unpredictable, averaging less than 200 mm per year.
The area is inhabited by the nomadic Gabbra people, but there are no permanent settlements in this harsh, waterless terrain. The desert’s southern fringe is just within the Marsabit National Reserve, but it is otherwise unprotected.
Marsabit national park is both a national park and a nature reserve located at Mount Marsabit in the northern Kenya near the town called Marsabit. It is located 560 km north of Nairobi in Marsabit county in the former Eastern Province and its reserve is noted for its zebra population and bird sanctuary. The park is involved with densely forested mountain and three crater lakes that harbor a great number of wildlife.
Notable Marsabit Bird Species – For Williams’s Lark and Kafa White-eye (ESS kulalensis), Masked Lark (yavelloensis/ESS mcchesneyi) and Donaldson-Smith’s Sparrow-Weaver, as well as Crested (spilogaster) and Orange River (archeri) Francolins, Chestnut-naped Spurfowl (atrifrons), Bare-faced Go-away-bird (personatus), Heuglin’s Bustard, Chestnut-bellied and Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Somali Courser, Scissor-tailed Kite, Egyptian Vulture, Greyish Eagle-Owl, White-headed Mousebird (ESS turneri), Black-billed Wood Hoopoe (somaliensis), Greater Kestrel, Taita Falcon, Lilac-breasted Roller (lorti), Ethiopian, Somali and Northern Carmine Bee-eaters, Grey-headed and Pygmy Batises, Northern Puffback (erythreae), Ethiopian Boubou, Fork-tailed Drongo (lugubris), Taita and Somali Fiscals, Somali Crow, Acacia Tit (thruppi), Chestnut-headed Sparrow-Lark, Short-tailed (megaensis), Thekla’s (huriensis), Crested (somaliensis) and Somali Short-toed (megaensis) Larks, Boran Cisticola, Banded Parisoma (ESS marsabit), Pale White-eye (jubaensis), Scaly Chatterer (boranensis), White-crowned (horrensis) and Magpie Starlings, Northern Black (schistaceus) and African Dusky (ESS marsabit) Flycatchers, Rüppell’s Robin-Chat (semirufa), Brown-tailed Rock Chat, Swainson’s and Somali (fulgens) Sparrows, Northern Grosbeak Canary and Striolated Bunting
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Boni and Dodori lie on the extreme north-east coast of Kenya, between Kiunga Marine National Reserve (IBA 15) and the Kenya—Somalia border. Two national reserves were gazetted here in 1976, Boni National Reserve (133,900 ha) abuts the international border. Dodori (87,700 ha) is to the south-west, lying parallel to Kiunga Marine National Reserve. Between these reserves, and connecting them, lies the proposed Boni Forest Reserve (originally 18,500 ha). South-west of Dodori NR is the proposed Lunghi Forest Reserve (originally 9,500 ha).
Although proposed as Forest Reserves in 1950, neither site has been demarcated for gazettement. The area is mainly flat coastal plain, with a braided drainage system separated by marine sands and clay ridges, Rainfall ranges from about 500 to 800 mm per year, and is highest in the south-west. Towards the coast, several parallel fossilized sand dunes run south-west to north-east, the highest (the Mundane Range) reaching 100 m. Dodori National Reserve contains dense lowland dry forest, dominated by species of Manilkara and Cynometra, and surrounded by dry bushland.
There are occasional grass flood meadows in the alluvial valley of the Dodori River, and groundwater forests along its course. Elsewhere is a mix of bushland, grassland, woodland and groundwater forest. The forest occurs in patches, occupying slightly raised land in areas that are subject to seasonal flooding. Mangrove swamps occur along the Dodori creek. It is unclear how much coastal forest is present altogether, but it is only one of a number of habitats in these reserves.
Notable Boni and Dodori Bird Species – Very little is known about the birds in these forests, but recent expedition funded by 2026 Ornis Birding x Lost Birds Expedition Grants recipient, James Apollo Omenya that uncovered the discovery of the Red Weaver, a bird that was last seen in Kenya in 2014.
As examples of East African coastal forest, Boni and Dodori are likely to hold species characteristic of the East African Coast biome, possibly including globally-threatened species such as Sokoke Pipit. The Cheyney Expedition in the early 1970s (Anon., 1973) recorded the restricted-range Fischer’s Turaco, and four East African Coast biome species (Mombasa Woodpecker, Fischer’s Greenbul, Chestnut-fronted Helmet-shrike and Black-bellied Starling).
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Rhamu, known to the locals as “shantooley”, is a town in the Mandera County of Kenya situated in the northeastern part of Kenya, along the river Dawa. The town lies within a semi-arid region characterized by dry and hot conditions, with limited rainfall and sparse vegetation. It is largely populated by the Garre and Degodia tribes, which forms majority of the Mandera north constituents.
Bird watching in Rhamu is a highly specialized, off-the-beaten-path experience that targets rare, arid-country specialties found nowhere else in Kenya. Situated in extreme northeastern Kenya along the Dawa River and the Ethiopian border, Rhamu serves as a vital corridor for Horn of Africa endemics and dry-country species.
Rhamu is famous among serious birders for harboring highly localized species, many of which cross over from the Somali-Masai biome.
Notable Rhamu Bird Species – For White-winged Collared Dove, Eurasian Hoopoe (senegalensis), Gillett’s Lark, White-crowned Starling (albicapillus) and Juba Weaver
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