8 Days Rift Valley and Western Kenya Birding Trip
This 8 days safari takes you to Kenya’s best bird spots. Arrival in Nairobi and transfer to Lake Nakuru a remarkable birding spot, the park is a home to over 500 bird species inclusive of the endemic and globally threatened species such as the Rueppell’s Griffon, Abyssinian Thrush, White-headed Vulture, Lappet-faced Vulture, Gray Crowned-Crane, Sooty Falcon and Gray-crested Helmetshrike, White-backed Vulture and Greater Spotted Eagle and Imperial Eagle, Maccoa Duck, Lesser Flamingo, Bateleur, Crowned Eagle, Pallid Harrier, Black-tailed Godwit, Great Snipe, European Roller among other.
We bird Lake Naivasha national park which is the spectacular avian life of over 350 species is supported by the flourishing cover of dense vegetation at the lake edge. This park also hosts both the east African endemic and a number of globally threatened species such as the Basra Reed Warbler, Lesser Flamingo, Red-knobbed Coot, Grey-crested Helmeted-shrike, African Spoonbill, and Little Grebe, and many more.
This tour also takes us to Lake Baringo and lake Bongoria which are rift valley lakes with a number of fascinating bird species not to miss the African Jacana, Black Crake, Goliath Heron, Greater Flamingo, Lesser Flamingo, African Fish Eagle, Little Bittern, Spotted Eagle-Owl, Northern White-faced Scops Owl, Purple Heron, and White-faced Whistling Duck, Slender-tailed Nightjar, Heuglin’s Courser, Shikra, Dark Chanting-Goshawk, Verreaux’s Eagle, Black-throated Barbet, Brubru, Hemprich’s Hornbill, Northern Red Bishop, Grey-headed Bushshrike, Blue-capped cordon-bleu, D’Arnaud’s Barbet, White-billed Buffalo-Weaver, Beautiful Sunbird, Jackson’s Golden-backed Weaver, Northern Masked Weaver, Jackson’s Hornbill, Yellow-billed Hornbill, Brown-tailed Rock Chat, Mocking Cliff-Chat and Bristle-crowned Starling.
Our holiday will end with Birding Kakamega forest which is home to 350 bird species and about 36 species are endemic to this forest and over 80 species are endemic to East Africa. We shall have a day at the Dunga beach. This tour is available throughout the year.
Tour highlights
Birding Transfer To lake Nakuru and Naivasha.
Birding whole Day at Lake Nakuru National park
Birding transfer to Lake Baringo and Lake Bogoria
Full Day Birding Excursion at Lake Baringo.
Travel to Kakamega, sightseeing en route.
Full Day Birding Kakamega Forest
Birding Kakamega forest and Transfer to Dunga beach via Kericho
Birding Nairobi Airport Transfer
Price Includes:
- Transport based on a tourist vehicle with pop up roof for game viewing.
- Park entry fee where applicable
- Accommodation and all meals as stated in the itinerary
- Service of an English-speaking driver
- Guarantee of going for this trip.
- Game viewing drives as per the Itinerary
- Driver allowances and park fees for vehicle and driver
- Government taxes
Price Excludes:
- Tips to driver guide, porters, and hotel staff.
- Extras at the lodges – tips, drinks, telephone bills, alcoholic
- Kenyan Visa
Itinary in details
- Day1Birding Transfer To lake Nakuru and Naivasha.Met at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta international airport by our tour manager, briefed on your safari and then drive to Naivasha and Nakuru having a stopover at the viewpoint to view the magnificent Gregory Rift Valley. View birds that inhabit Lake Naivasha, the highest rift valley lake in Kenya. The lake has over 350 species of birds. Look for flocks of cormorants, kingfishers, and pelicans among other species of birds. As a better option, take a boat ride as you watch the birds. Lunch enroute. Proceed to Lake Nakuru National Park. Lake Nakuru Game Drive Lake Nakuru on the Floor of the Rift-Valley; here we will see the spectacular gathering of lesser Flamingoes in there hundreds of thousand together with an abundance of other water birds like the Western Reef Heron, Lesser Jacana, and black-headed Gull. We will also look for Acacia forest species, including Green-wood Hoopoe, Hildebrandt’s and Coqui Francolins, Rufous-naped and Fawn-colored Larks, scarce Grey-crowned Helmet-shrike, Arrow-marked Babbler, Bearded Woodpecker, Mottled swift and White-shouldered Cliff Chat. On the baboon cliff we shall be on the lookout for fox Kestrels and other species of falcons.
- Day2Birding whole Day at Lake Nakuru National parkEarly morning breakfast, followed by full day game viewing and bird-watching .Lake Nakuru national park is a world well known habitat for birds as flamingoes flock here in thousands feeding on crustaceans and small animals that inhabit the lake as well as the algae. The flamingoes are accompanied by other species of birds including the gregarious white pelicans ‘fishing’, geese, jacanas, secretary birds, fish eagles and the vulturine fowls found in the bushy and forest parts of the park among other birds.
- Day3Birding transfer to Lake Baringo and Lake BogoriaHave an early game viewing, followed breakfast. Mid morning at leisure. Have lunch and drive to Lake Baringo. Lake Baringo is one of the flesh water lakes on the floor of Kenya Rift Valley. Watch out for the red bishop, the solitary pink backed pelicans, fish eagles among other bird. From Lake Nakuru we head North-west towards the freshwater Lake Baringo, with a stopover near the Menengai crater and here, we find the Brown Parisoma and Brown Snake-Eagle in these farmlands. At Lake Baringo and its environs, we search for rare species restricted to the north-western part of the country including Hemprich’s and Jackson’s Hornbills, Heuglin’s Courser, Nubian Nightjar, Brown-tailed Rock Chat, Northern Grey Tit, Gambaga flycatcher, Mouse-coloured Penduline Tit, Beautiful Sunbird, Bristle-crowned Starling, Jackson’s Golden-backed, Little and Northern Masked Weavers. In the evening we visit several sites looking for Verreaux’s and Spotted-Eagle Owls, as well as the White-faced Scops Owl.
- Day4Full Day Birding Excursion at Lake Baringo.After breakfast, have a full day birding activities as Lake Baringo has a multitude of birds. 400 species have been recorded here. Have an experience of bird watching on foot or by boat. Have lunch at the country club.
- Day5Travel to Kakamega, sightseeing en route.Travel to Kakamega after breakfast and sightsee enroute. Lunch enroute. Check in at Rondo Retreat in Kakamega forest.
- Day6Full Day Birding Kakamega ForestAfter breakfast, have full day birding activity at Kakamega forest with a picnic lunch. The forest is well known for diversity of birds. There are 367 species of birds that have been recorded here. In this Western part of Kenya, the remnant Congolese rainforest has species which are found nowhere else in Kenya. This includes Blue-headed Bee-eater, African Broadbill Toro Olive, and Shelley’s Greenbuls, Grey-throated Barbet, Chapin’s flycatcher, Black-faced Rofous Warbler, Veillot’s Black Weaver, Uganda Woodland Warbler Mackinnon’s Fiscal, Chubb’s Cisticola, Brown-throated Wattle-eye among others. We will venture further field outside the forest for some more western specialties like Rock Pratincole, White-chinned Prinia, Marsh Widowbird, Black Bishop, Red-headed Lovebird, Green Crombec, Red-chested Sunbird, Purple Starling, Locust Finch, Zebra Waxbill, Brown Twinspot, Bar-breasted Firefinch, and be on the lookout for rare Speckled-breasted Woodpecker and Bedouin Snake-eagle.
- Day7Birding Kakamega forest and Transfer to Dunga beach via KerichoAfter breakfast do the last bird watch at Kakamega forest. Have lunch and do birding at Dunga Beach on Lake Victoria. Bird species found around Lake Victoria but rarely if ever seen anywhere else in Kenya include the Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Blue Swallow, Swamp Flycatcher, Greater Swamp-warbler, White-winged Warbler, Papyrus Yellow Warbler, Caruthers’ Cisticola, Papyrus Gonolek, Red-chested Sunbird, Red-headed Quelea, Slender-billed Weaver, Yellow-backed Weaver, Northern Brown-throated Weaver, Black-throated Seedeater and the Papyrus Canary.
- Day8Birding Nairobi Airport TransferEarly morning birding at the arboretum, drive to Nairobi after lunch. Check in Nairobi a Nairobi hotel for your Day room. Dinner at carnivore. Depart for JKIA for your outbound flight.