Embarking on a bird-watching safari in Kenya might not be the most widely recognized activity, but little-known to many, Kenya is a haven for bird watchers.
It can be likened to Mecca for those passionate about observing birds.
With an impressive avifauna, Kenya boasts an astounding count of nearly 1100 known bird species, making it one of the finest bird-watching destinations in Africa.
A bird-watching safari in Kenya will bring you home to about eight national endemic bird species, plus the unique thing about Kenya is that when you are here for bird watching, you will get to see over 170 species that are Palearctic migrants from the northern hemisphere and other parts of Africa, some of which migrate here for breeding.
Most bird watchers who have been on a bird-watching safari will tell you that it’s easy to spot over 100 species of bird in a day. The birds are brightly colored and exotic, making them easy to spot on the open savannah grasslands of equatorial Kenya.
Popular Bird-watching places
One of the most popular birding-watching safari points is Lake Nakuru and Lake Bogoria, home to millions of pink flamingos joined together in a single flock that forms a uniformly shifting pink blanket over the shores of the lake, plus pelicans, fishing eagles, herons, kingfishers, and grebes are also forbidden in on the mix.
Lake Nakuru is always busy with lots of tourists. Even those who are not bird watchers cannot resist the beauty of these magnificent flock.
Birds in Kenya enjoy a wide range of habitats; some want the forest and mountains like Mt Kenya and the Aberdare ranges, which are popular with birds like the Green Ibis, Ayres’s Hawk and Crowned Eagle, African Grass, and Cape Owls, Long-tailed Widowbird, Cisticola, and the Stripped Flufftail plus a host of other mountains birds that always play near the mountain streams.
Bird watching Safari
When on a bird-watching stroll and interested in seeing the big birds, they can easily be spotted on the open savannahs where the big game graze, the Ground Hornbill, Secretary bird, and ostrich can be spotted.
Bird watching in Kenya
The meat-eating Eagles and vultures are also spotted frequently scavenging the sky above the big game, looking for a carcass to feast on; smaller birds like the ox-pecker and bee-eaters are also known to be fond of the grasslands and the forest alike.
A bird-watching safari in Kenya is a two-season, wet or dry season. Still, the best is during the wet season when most of the Palearctic species from the northern hemisphere can be spotted in flocks, between, March-April & October-December. The dry season is when migrants from the southern hemisphere and Madagascar can be spotted, but they are usually smaller in numbers.
