KENYA!

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gina@sunrisebirding.com    203.453.6724

Featuring:

• Samburu Game Reserve
• Masai Mara Game Reserve
• Lakes Baringo, Nakuru & Naivasha
• Mount Kenya
• A night at Elsamere Center, the former home of George and Joy Adamson!

Most wildlife enthusiasts dream of going on a safari in Kenya. Witnessing the spectacle of great concentrations of wildlife roaming the open African savannah is surely a life experience and for birders, Kenya just may be one of the best places in the world to go birdwatching. With more than 1100 species in a country that is smaller than Texas, Kenya is indeed a birdwatcher's dream. This tour focuses on the incredible bird life of Kenya and while enjoying all the game-watching of a genuine African Safari. It is indeed, the best of both worlds!

There will be no roughing it on our tour as we will be staying in comfortable scenic lodges that provide fine dining in the heart of the African wilderness. By visiting so many varied and exciting habitats we are sure to see an incredible diversity of wildlife.

We are particularly pleased to offer this tour at an excellent value of $4895.00 per person double occupancy from Nairobi. This is the best price we have seen for a similar tour staying at the same lodges with the same kinds of vehicles and a window seat for each passenger.

If you’ve ever wanted to visit Kenya and enjoy its bird life and mammals, this is THE once-in-a-lifetime trip that should not be missed! Join us!

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ITINERARY
Travel Day - July 6
Plan to travel on July 6 for a morning arrival in Nairobi on July 7.

Days 1 & 2 - July 7 & 8
Arrive Nairobi / Samburu Game Reserve
On arrival in Nairobi in the morning, we will meet our local guide and drivers and set off for the Samburu Game Reserve. Our journey will offer wonderful scenery and among the grasslands we will look for our first Kenyan birds to get us rolling including Hadada Ibis, African Green-pigeon, Speckled Mousebird, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Holub’s Golden-weaver, Baglafecht Weaver, and Variable, Collared and Scarlet-chested Sunbirds.

Later in the day we will reach Samburu Game Reserve, one of the most exciting reserves in East Africa. This arid, hilly region is filled with incredible birds and fantastic mammals and it is one of the best places to look for Leopard. Our game drives will be spent looking for such specialties as Palm-nut and Hooded Vultures, Bateleur, Martial Eagle, African Hawk-eagle, Red-necked Falcon, Somali Courser, Crested and Yellow-necked Francolin, Vulturine Guineafowl, Black-faced and Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse, Buff-crested, White-bellied and Kori Bustards, African Scops-owl, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Bearded Woodpecker, Pink-breasted Lark, Somali Bee-eater, Somali Ostrich, Rosy-patched Bush-Shrike, Red-and-yellow Barbet, Somali Long-billed Crombec, Golden Pipit, Donaldson-Smith’s Sparrow-weaver, Somali Golden-breasted Bunting, Fisher’s and the beautiful Golden-breasted Starling, This park is fantastic for mammals and here you experience authentic Africa with species such as Lion, Cheetah, Leopard, Spotted Hyena, Silver-backed Jackal, Reticulated Giraffe, Elephant, Grevy’s Zebra, Kirk’s Dikdik, Gerenuk, Beisa Oryx, and Cape Buffalo. Two nights Samburu Sopa Lodge.

Day 3 - July 9 Samburu / Mount Kenya
After some early morning birding from the lodge balcony, we continue today toward Mount Kenya, an extinct volcano and the second highest peak in Kenya.

Stops along the way will give us the chance to look for Moustached Grass-warbler, African Golden-weaver, Yellow Bishop and Brown-backed Mannikins, while another stop will be specifically for the endemic Hinde’s Pied-babbler. As we approach our unique Mountain Lodge set at an elevation of 7,200 ft, we will pass through areas of excellent woodland where we may encounter Spot-flanked and White-headed Barbets, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Mountain Wagtail, Black-throated Wattle-eye and Gray-capped Warbler.

As we ascend in elevation, cooler temps and change in vegetation to a a mix of rain forest, bamboo, open woodland, scrub, and moorland. This important area holds a number of globally and regionally threatened species and we will look for the spectacular Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Red-fronted Parrot, Olive and Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeons, Hartlaub’s Turaco, Moustached Tinkerbird, Mosque Swallow, Black Sawwing, Cape Wagtail, both Waller’s and Sharpe’s Starlings, Purple-throated Cuckoo-shrike, African Paradise-flycatcher, Cape Robin-chat and Eastern Double-collared Sunbird. Night Serena Mountain Lodge or Naro Moro River Lodge.

Days 4 & 5 - July 10 & 11 Mount Kenya / Lake Baringo
Today we will set off early and drive to Mount Kenya National Park. From the entrance gate, we will search for species such as Mountain Yellow Warbler, Hunter’s Cisticola, Red-fronted Parrot, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, and the impressive Martial and African Crowned Eagles. Then, winding our way up the road to the Meteorological Station, we will keep an eye out for Mountain Buzzard, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Rameron Pigeon, African Emerald Cuckoo, White-headed Woodhoopoe, Gray Cuckoo-shrike, Brown Woodland-warbler, Waller’s Starling, Abyssinian Crimson-wing, and Black-headed Waxbill. As we reach our highest point, there are fewer birds and we concentrate our efforts on finding the beautiful Abyssinian Ground-thrush, Alpine Chat, Olive Thrush, Cinnamon Bracken-warbler, and Jackson’s Francolin.

Moving on, we head toward Lake Baringo a fresh water lake that holds a profusion of species. Once at our lodge we should have enough time to familiarize ourselves with some of the garden birds which include the huge Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, Woodland Kingfisher, Nubian and Bearded Woodpeckers, Jackson’s Golden-backed and Little Weavers, Spotted Morning Thrush and Northern White-crowned Shrike.

Some of the specialties around the lake and in the nearby Baringo cliffs include Verreaux’s Eagle, Lanner Falcon, Dark Chanting-goshawk, Northern White-faced Owl, Grayish Eagle-owl, Jackson’s and Hemprich’s Hornbills, African Pygmy Kingfisher, Madagascar Bee-eater, Pygmy Batis, Red-fronted and Black-throated Barbet, Red-fronted Warbler, Brown-tailed Chat, Somali Tit, Beautiful Sunbird, Bristle-crowned Starling, Blue-naped Mousebird, Northern Masked-weaver, Northern Red Bishop and Eastern Paradise-whydah. Nearby, our local contacts should have the stunning Heuglin’s Courser and Slender-tailed Nightjar staked-out. Two nights at the Lake Baringo Country Club.

Day 6 - July 12 Lake Baringo / Lake Nakuru  
After some final birding in the Lake Baringo area we will drive to Lake Nakuru National Park, one of the world's greatest birding spectacles! Along the way we could see Black-bellied or Kori Bustards and at a designated stop, where one of our local contacts awaits us, we will look for the rare Mackinder’s Eagle Owl on its daytime roost. Other species we will look out for include Little Rock-thrush, Pale Flycatcher, Red-winged Starling, and Purple Grenadier.

Arriving in the afternoon, we will visit this huge alkaline which appears pink at a distance.  Closer inspection reveals millions of Lesser Flamingos and fewer Greater Flamingos which will vie for countless photographs. Among this haze of pink and groups of White Pelicans, we will search for Kittlitz‘s Plover, dark phase Dimorphic Egret, and shorebirds around the soda encrusted edge of the lake. In the forest along the edge of the lake, we will watch for African Harrier-Hawk, African Fish-eagle, Hildebrandt’s and Coqui Francolins, Tambourine Dove, Red-throated Wryneck, Striped Kingfisher, Black Cuckoo-shrike, Rufous-crowned and Broad-billed Rollers, Greater Honeyguide, Arrow-marked Babbler, Mocking Cliff-Chat, Northern Anteater Chat, and with luck the local Gray-crested Helmet-Shrike.

Mammals here often take the spotlight, with Lion, the huge and endangered White Rhino, Rothschild’s Giraffe, DeFasso Waterbuck and hopefully Leopard, which tend to rest in trees sleeping off their previous night’s meal. Night at Lake Nakuru Lodge.

Days 7 & 8 - July 13 & 14 Nakuru - Masai Mara Game Reserve - west side
After some morning birding, we will drive to the Masai Mara Game Reserve in south-western Kenya. The ‘Mara’ as it is usually referred to is the northern extension of the famous Serengeti plains. The Masai Mara is without doubt Kenya’s finest wildlife reserve and offers dramatic scenery comprising of endless tracts of grassland, acacia savannah, and thorn-bush broken up by patches of lush riverine woodland. Here we will be surrounded by countless birds and mammals and we hope to see Common Ostrich, Wahlberg’s Eagle, Saddle-billed Stork, Rufous-bellied Heron, Red-necked and Coqui Francolins, Gray Crowned-crane, White and Black-bellied Bustards, Temminck’s Courser, Black-winged Plover, Wattled Lapwing, Ross’s and Schalow’s Turacos, Woodland Kingfisher, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Rufous-chested Swallow, White-tailed Lark, Familiar Chat, Red-faced, Trilling, and Tabora Cisticolas, Black-crowned Tchagra, Green-capped Eremomela, Violet-backed Starlings, Yellow-fronted Canary, and Cinnamon-breasted Bunting.

We will visit the prime spots in the Mara to see big game up close and we hope to connect with Spotted Hyena, Black-backed Jackal, Bat-eared Fox, Banded Mongoose, Serval Cat, African Lion, Leopard, the famous ‘Mara’ Cheetahs, Bush Hyrax, African Elephant, Common Zebra, Hippopotamus, Common Warthog, Masai Giraffe, African Buffalo, Eland, Steinbuck, Bohor Reedbuck, Thomson’s and Grant’s Gazelles, Impala, Topi, Coke’s Hartebeest and Wildebeest. Make sure your cameras are charged and ready! Two nights at Mara West Camp.

Day 9 - July 15 Masai Mara Game Reserve
Leaving early we will travel across the vast open grasslands of the ‘Mara’, and then across the Mara River where we can see wallowing Hippos and huge Crocodiles. We will see many Masai with their cattle herds – an evocative sight that will become an integral part of the scenery.

Birding here is delightfully easy, with many open and bird-rich habitats including degraded plains. Here we will look for Two-banded and Temminck’s Coursers and Yellow-throated Sandgrouse. The dry thorn-scrub and acacia covered hills should yield Secretarybird, White-headed and Lappet-faced Vultures, Black-breasted and Brown Snake-eagles, Gray Kestrel, the superb Southern Ground-hornbill, Little Bee-eater, Rosy-breasted Longclaw, Flappet and Rufous-naped Larks, Sooty Chat, Red-billed and Yellow-billed Oxpeckers, Cardinal Quelea, Yellow-shouldered Widowbird, and African Quail-finch. Night at Mara Sentrim Tented Camp.

Day 10 - July 16 Masai Mara Game Reserve / Lake Naivasha / Elsamere Center
Early this morning, we will bird the flat-topped Acacia woodland in the Siana Springs area of the southern Mara. This area holds several species found nowhere else in the country and we will look for Rueppell’s Griffon, Gabar Goshawk, Lanner Falcon, Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Spotted Thick-knee, Magpie Shrike, African Penduline-tit, African Scimitarbill, Croaking Cisticola, Red-throated Tit, Flappet Lark, Red-headed Weaver, Miombo Camaroptera, Green-winged Pytilia, Black-throated Canary, and Golden-breasted Bunting.

Mid-morning we will depart for Lake Naivasha, traversing the Great Rift Valley. As we travel, the scenery will be nothing short of breathtaking scenery and we hope to encounter Bateleur, Egyptian Vulture, Greater Kestrel, Kori Bustard, Gray-capped Social Weaver, Southern Grosbeak-Canary, Gray-rumped Swallow, Mottled Swift, Capped and Schalow’s Wheatears, and Red-billed Quelea.

Late in the day we will arrive at Elsamere Center, the former house of George and Joy Adamson overlooking Lake Naivasha in the Rift Valley. A haven for wildlife, the Center plays host for more than 260 species of birds. Zebra, Hippos and even Eland are here even grazing on the lawns at night! The walls of the main house display Joy Adamson's paintings and the there is small museum here commemorating the important conservation work of this famous couple. This is an unforgetable place to spend the last overnight of our tour! Night Elsamere Center.

Day 11 - July 17 Lake Naivasha / Gatamaiyu Forest / Nairobi for evening departures
The morning will begin with an exciting boat trip on Lake Naivasha. Special birds we will be looking for on the lake include Pink-backed Pelican, Goliath and Purple Herons, Southern Pochard, African Marsh-harrier, Purple Swamphen, Lesser Moorhen, Three-banded Plover, and Lesser Swamp-warbler.

Mid-morning we will depart for Nairobi, visiting Gatamaiyu Forest enroute. Gatamaiyu Forest is a small patch of the afrotropical highland forest that is part of the Kikuyu Escarpment Forest that once stretched to the Aberdare Ranges. The forest stand at an altitude of 2,700 meters hence a great birding spot for the montane species. The Kikuyu Escarpment forest is also an Important Bird Area which
expansively comprises of the Kereita, Kieni and Gatamaiyu Forests. It's home to endemic and range restricted species such as Abbott's and Sharpe's Starling respectively.

There are many montane species possible here including the Chestnut-throated, Gray, Black-collared, Black-throated Apalis, Montane Oriole, Narina & Bar-tailed Trogon, Black-fronted Bush-shrike, Yellow-rumped, Mustached Green Tinkerbird, Scarce Swift, and White-browed Crombec.

Late in the day we will arrive in Nairobi for evening flights out. 
  
Leaders: Steve Bird, Gina Nichol & Local Kenyan Guide