10 Day Kenya Birding Safari: Tracking Kenya’s Most Stunning Birds on Safari

Kenya is a destination of avian wonder with rich birding sites, amazing trails and a great number of Important Bird Areas (IBAs). This 10 Day birding package is one of our top birding safaris in Kenya as it takes you on a journey through key birding hots spots, for the keen birder you can expect to leave with a rich Kenya bird list. Below you will find an itinerary with details on what you will do on each day and birds that you can expect to see while on this 10 Day Kenya Birding safari;

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival and Transfer to Nairobi National Park

You start your 10 Days Safari with pick up from the Airport on arrival. At the Airport you will exchange greetings with your driver guide after which you start the journey to Nairobi National Park. Nairobi National Park is easily accessible from the Central Business District and is known as “The World’s Only Wildlife Capital”, the park is a few minutes away from Central Nairobi and is the go to destination for bird watching in Nairobi. As you approach the national park you will start birding along the way before finally heading to your lodge for overnight and dinner.

Meal Plan: Dinner

Journey time: 45 minutes

Accommodation Options

Luxury – Ololo Safari Lodge & Farm

Mid-range – The Emakoko

Day 2: Birding in Nairobi National Park

After an early morning breakfast at the lodge you head out for early morning birding in Nairobi National Park. It’s important to be up early so that you start to look out for the bird species as they start their day. The entire day will be spent birding – you will have the early morning birding session, then head to the lodge have lunch and then continue birding in the afternoon. You will then end the day with some evening birding to tick off more species. About 500 species of birds have been recorded at Nairobi National Park making Kenya one of the countries in the world with a capital city that has the longest bird lists.

Birds to look out for today;

Tawny Eagle, Blacksmith Lapwing, Ruppell’s Vulture, Black Kite, Long-tailed Fiscal, Red-billed Oxpeckers, Black Crake, Egyptian Goose, Yellow-billed Stork, Red-billed Teal, Wood Sandpiper, Three-banded Plover, Common Moorhen, Speckled Pigeon, Secretary Bird, Cattle Egret, African Plain Martins, Black-winged Stilt, Long-tailed Fiscal, Common Ostrich, Winding Cisticola, African Fish Eagle, Grey Crowned Cranes, Malachite Kingfisher, Winding Cisticola, Grey-capped Warbler, African Dusky Flycatcher, Madagascar Pond-heron, Lappet-faced Vulture, Greater Spotted Eagle, Kori Bustard, Martial Eagle, White-backed Vulture.etc. You can expect to see most common birds in Kenya in the park on this day with your professional bird guide.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 3: Transfer to Kinangop Plateau

A Red-billed Firefinch. Photo credit -@Kenyanbirder

After having breakfast at the lodge, we start the journey to Kinangop Grasslands – an Important Bird Area (IBA) situated in Central Kenyan Highlands. Birding in Kinangop offers the best birding in Kenya as we get to explore the marshes for wetland birds and the grasslands for grassland species. The landscape at Kinangop is generally flat but separated by valleys bearing streams that drain into the Karati and Malewa rivers, the plateau slopes gradually upwards to the base of the Aberdare Mountains.

Our bird of interest on this day:

• Sharpe’s Longclaw which is endemic to Kenya.

Other birds that we will look out for today;

Black-headed Heron, Egyptian Geese, Great Sparrow Hawk, African Spoonbills, Common Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, Three-banded Plover, Grey Heron, African Citril, Augur Buzzard, Kikuyu White-eye which is endemic to Kenya, Red-billed Teal, Little Grebe, Red-knobbed Coot, Hunter’s Cisticola, Kenya Rufus Sparrow, Streaky Seed eater, Bronze Sunbirds, Brown Woodland warbler, African Dusky, African Stonechat, African Quail Finch, Cape Wagtail, Jackson’s Widowbird, Black-winged Kite also known as the Black-shouldered Kite, African Pitpit, Levaillant’s Cisticola, Northern Anteater-chat, Long-tailed Widowbird, Hadada Ibis, Yellow-billed Duck, Cattle Egret, Sacred Ibis, Yellow-billed Stork, African Snipe, Long-tailed Cormorant, Flycatcher and the Mountain Night Jar which takes one to have a keen eye in order to see it as it has great abilities to camouflage. After a long day of birding you will retire to Naivasha for overnight.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Journey time: 2 hours

Mid-range: Lahai Cottages, Naivasha

Day 4: Transfer to Masai Mara as you bird along the way

After a relaxing night you continue birding to Masai Mara National Reserve, one of Kenya’s top birding destinations. Masai Mara National Reserve is an Important Bird Area (IBA) and home to over 450 species of birds including 12 species of cisticola and 54 raptors. You expect to see savanna specials, endemic, mid-elevation species and Palearctic species while here. The reserve is located in Narok, Kenya and adjoins with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, Maasai Mara is well known as a top destination for Kenya wildlife safaris (home to the Big 5) and has even been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A Scarlet-chested Sun bird. Photo credit-@Kenyanbirder

Here is what we look out for today:

Grey-crowned Cranes, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, African Fish Eagle which is one of the big birds in Kenya, Superb Starling, Hamerkop and Bateleur among others. You will bird along the way and also go on a game drive on arrival at the reserve where you will look out for birds and wildlife in Maasai Mara like Lions, Elephants, Buffaloes, Giraffes, Thomson’s gazelle, Zebras, Impalas, and Wildebeest etc. You retire to the lodge later in the day, check in and the have dinner.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Journey time: 4.5 hours

Accommodation Options

Luxury – Governors’ II Moran Camp

Mid-range – Sarova Mara Game Camp

Day 5: Full Day Birding in Maasai Mara National Reserve

Today will be spent birding and extensively exploring Maasai Mara National Reserve which is a top birding destination in Kenya. It will be a mix of game drives and walking to look out for different birds, birding begins right at the lodge so be sure to look out for some species while at the lodge.

Today we look out for:

Southern Ground Hornbill, Hooded Vulture, Grey headed Kingfisher, Rosy breasted Longclaw, Crowned Lapwing, African Wattled Lapwing, African White-backed Vulture, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Helmeted Guneafowl, Speckled Mousebird, Red-knecked Spurfowl, Blac-winged Lapwing, Hamerkop, Red-billed Oxpecker, Yellow Bishop, Caspian Plover, Kori Bustard, Southern Masked Weaver, Purple Grenadier, Little Bee-eater, Plain-backed Pipit, Bateleur, Water Thick-knee, Saddle billed Stork, African Paradise Flycatcher, Gull-billed Tern, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Temminck’s Courser, Lappet-faced Vulture, Familiar Chat, African Darter, Superb Starling, Green wood Hoopoe, Rufous-naped Lark, Usambiro Barbet, Grey Kestrel, Ostrich, Ruppell’s Vulture, Secretary Bird, Schalow’s Turaco among others.

In addition to birding you look out for wildlife in the reserve like Lions, Elephants, Buffaloes, Thomson’s gazelle, Leopard, Giraffes, Impalas, Zebras, Wildebeest,  Common Eland, Buffaloes, Topis, Elephants, Cheetah, Bat-eared fox, Spotted Hyenas, Black-backed jackal, Coke’s Hartebeest, Grant’s gazelles, Kirk’s dik-diks, Hippos, Water Buck, Aardwolf, Red tailed monkey, Olive baboons, Side-striped jackal, Slender mongoose, Vervet monkeys, Warthogs, Klip springer, Oribi etc. You retire to the lodge later in the day after a fulfilling day of birding.

Lions seen while on a game drive in The Mara

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 6: Birding to Kisumu

Today we continue birding to Kisumu with stop overs along the way to look out for any birds of interest. Our main bird of interest as we bird along the way will be the Usambiro Barbet. On arrival to Kisumu we will then head south of Kisumu town to Dunga swamp which is an Important Bird Area (IBA) situated on the shores of Lake Victoria. Birds to look out for at Dunga Swamp include the Papyrus Yellow Warbler (this is one of the best places in Kenya to see this specie), Papyrus Gonolek, White-winged Swamp Warbler, Papyrus Canary among other papyrus endemics.

Dunga Swamp is a worthwhile birding site as all but one of Kenya’s nine Lake Victoria Basin biome species have been recorded at the wetland. Other species to look out for today include Mountain Grey Woodpecker, Hadada Ibis, Swahili Sparrow, Carruther’s Cisticola, Great Egret, Broad billed Rollers, Bare-faced Go-away bird, Speckled Pigeon, Nothern Brown-throated Weaver, Lesser Swamp Warbler, Spectacled Weaver, Blue-headed Coucal, White-browed Coucal, African Palm Swift among others. After this you will end the day relaxing at your lodge where you will also have dinner.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Journey time: 5 hours

Accommodation Options

Luxury – Sarova Imperial Hotel Kisumu

Mid-range – The Vic Hotel, Kisumu

Day 7: Transfer to Kakamega Forest

On this day we transfer to Kakamega Forest, a top birding site in Kenya. On arrival we shall do some birding in the forest. Kakamega Forest lies in the Lake Victoria catchment and is a mid-altitude tropical rainforest with presence of forest birds, moist-grassland species, endemics and forest specials.

The forest is an Important Bird Area (IBA) that hosts 33 of Kenya’s 70 Afrotropical Highlands biome species as well as Kenya’s Guinea-Congo Forests biome species. After birding we will transfer to the hotel in Kisumu for overnight as we look forward to exploring more of Kakamega Forest.

Day 8: Full Day Birding at Kakamega Forest

In order to extensively bird Kakamega Forest, we spend the entire day birding and exploring the forest trails. We shall leave the hotel with a packed lunch. On arrival we immediately start birding.

Birds to look out for in Kakamega Forest;

Great Blue Turaco, Mountain Wagtail, Hadada Ibis, African Crowned Eagle, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Spot-flanked Barbet, Common Moorhen, Black-and-white Casqued Hornbill, Cinnammon-chested Bee-eater, Collared Sunbird, Mackinon’s Shrike, Stuhlmann’s Starling, Grey Wagtail, Grey Parrot, Red-knobbed Coot, Grey-capped Social weaver, White Crested Turaco, Western banded Snake Eagle, Ayres’s Hawk-eagle, Crowned Eagle, Least Honeyguide, Baumann’s Olive Greenbul, Grey-winged Robin-chat, Yellow-billed Wattle-eye and Marsh Widow bird.

Other birds of interest to look out for;

Chapin’s Flycatcher, Common Buzzard, African Open-billed Stork, Chubb’s Cisticola, African Green Pigeon, Yellow-billed Duck, Rock Martin, Pale-bellied Forest Flycatcher, Turner’s Eremomela, Laughing Dove, White-headed Buffalo Weaver, Wolly-necked Stork, and Black-headed Gonolek. After a rewarding day of birding we transfer to Kisumu for overnight.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 9: Birding to Lake Baringo

Today we transfer to Lake Baringo, an Important Bird Area (IBA) with an abundance of birdlife located north of Nakuru town. The shallow fresh water lake is a bird watcher’s paradise, about 500 species of birds have been recorded here. Today we bird along the way, by the ponds and the fields. Birds of interest today will include the White-crested Turaco, Jackson’s Widowbird, Lesser Moorhen, Boran Cisticola, Little Rock-Thrush, White-billed Buffalo-weaver, Black-throated Barbet and Northern Brownbul.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Journey time: 4.5 hours

Accommodation Options

Mid-range – Tumbili Cliff Lodge

Day 10: Birding at Lake Baringo

After an early breakfast at the lodge, we head out for birding around Lake Baringo. While at Lake Baringo one can expect to see lots of water birds as well as some of the Somali-Masai biome species. We will explore the entire area, go on a boat ride to look out for water species and papyus endemics as well as explore the nearby thickets.

Birds to look out for today;

Northern Masked Weaver, Reed Cormorant, Pied Kingfisher, Hamerkop, Lesser Masked Weaver, Cattle Egrets, African Fish Eagle, Common Sandpiper, Goliath Heron, Speckled Pigeon, Little Egret, Giant Kingfisher, Ruppell’s Long-tailed Starling, African Darter, Namaqua Dove, Striated Heron,Hemprich’s Hornbill, Blacksmith Lapwing, Long-tailed Paradise, White-bellied Go-away bird, D’Arnaud’s Barbet, Common Waxbill, Northern Red Bishop, Chin-spot Batis, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, Bronze Sunbird, Yellow-fronted Canary, Jackson’s Hornbill etc.

African fish eagle. Photo Credit-@Kenyanbirder

After birding at Lake Baringo we start the journey back to Nairobi as we end our 10 Day Kenya birding safari with drop off at the airport for your outbound flight.

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch

Journey time: 5 hours

This Safari Includes

• Birding Fees at the national parks and birding sites
• Park entrances
• 4WD Safari Car with popup roof
• Fuel
• English Speaking Professional Birding Guide
• Full Board accommodation as mentioned in the itinerary
• Drinking water in the car

This Safari does NOT include

• Optional activities
• International flights
• Porter fees
• Tips
• Insurance and visa charges
• Other personal expenses while on safari

Our birding safaris in Kenya are expertly planned and the itineraries carefully curated, as lovers of birds we always commit to planning the best birding safaris for our clients!