East Africa Highlights: Kenya & Tanzania I 2019
Field Guides Tour Report East Africa Highlights: Kenya & Tanzania I 2019 Mar 1, 2019 to Mar 21, 2019 Terry Stevenson For our tour description, itinerary, past triplists, dates, fees, and more, please VISIT OUR TOUR PAGE. This Gray Crowned-Crane perched atop a tree, giving us a wonderful view of this impressive bird. Photo by participant Ken Havard. Our March 2019 East Africa Highlights tour was one of total contrasts, with Tanzania being lush, wet, and green, while Kenya was dry to the extreme. All this made for some unusual and interesting bird and mammals sightings, as we traveled from Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti, to Tarangire, Lake Nakuru, Kakamega Forest, Baringo and Mt. Kenya. Beginning in Nairobi, we made an afternoon visit to the nearby national park where our first lions were lying right beside the road. Giraffe, Burchell's Zebra, African Buffalo, Warthog, and a variety of the more common gazelles were all part of a truly African scene as we meandered across the plains and through the acacia scrub. The birding also got off to a great start with everyone enjoying Common Ostrich (our first of many), Helmeted Guineafowl, White-bellied Go-away-bird, Black Crake, Long-toed Lapwing, Saddle-billed Stork, African Darter, Hamerkop, Goliath Heron, Black- winged Kite, Speckled Mousebird, African Gray Hornbill, Long-tailed Shrike, Northern Pied-Babbler, Red-billed Oxpecker, and Variable Sunbird. We then flew to Kilimanjaro airport and began our journey west to Ngorongoro and the Serengeti. Highlights began with a walk in the forest above Gibb's Farm where we found Schalow's Turaco, African Emerald Cuckoo, Crowned Eagle, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Scaly-throated Honeyguide, African Broadbill, Black-throated Wattle-eye, White-tailed Blue-Flycatcher, Brown-headed Apalis, Gray-capped Warbler, and Thick-billed Seedeater.
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