Kenya & Tanzania: All of Africa in a Single Safari A Tropical Birding Custom Tour May 28 – June 22, 2015 Guide: Ken Behrens All photos taken by Ken Behrens during this trip TOUR SUMMARY This was a custom trip for a group of friends, one of the things that Tropical Birding does best. The Kenya portion of the itinerary was very similar to our set-departure tour. At the end of the trip, we visited the Usambara Mountains of northern Tanzania. This is something that we normally offer as an extension to our northern Tanzania tour, but which worked well as an addition to a Kenya tour. The main aim of this tour was to see as many bird and mammal species as possible, but without maintaining an exhausting pace. On the majority of days, we had some time off at mid-day. With the exception of one simple camp in Tanzania, all the lodges on this tour ranged from fairly nice to ridiculously luxurious. East Africa has a complex and varied geography, and as a result, a high diversity of birds. Not only are there lots of birds, but most of them are quite easy to see; approachable, and in open habitats. Although East Africa is lower in absolute diversity than some places such as South America, it offers a bounty of easy-to-see birds (and mammals) which is unmatched anywhere Kenya & Tanzania May 28 – June 22, 2015 else on Earth. Our bird list certainly reflected the region’s mega bird diversity. Despite visiting at a season without any Eurasian migrants, and not doing any birding on the coast, we racked up 628 species of birds. These represented an astounding 88 families of birds, meaning that we saw representatives of 40% of the world’s bird families! We saw 29 species of hawks and eagles, 5 bustards, 8 turacos (an African endemic family), 10 owls, 8 kingfishers, 6 bee-eaters, 9 hornbills, 18 hornbills, 17 bush- shrikes (another continental endemic family), 21 greenbuls, an astounding 46 members of the cisticola family, 14 starlings, 27 sunbirds, 44 weavers, and 22 waxbills. Without a doubt, East Africa is THE place on the continent to visit if you’re only White-throated Bee-eater, one of 6 species of bee-eaters seen during this safari. making a single trip to Africa. You can take in a rich cross-section of the continent’s birds and other wildlife, and most of its major biomes, all while staying in very good lodges. East Africa’s mammal diversity is just as impressive as its bird diversity. We racked up 66 species of mammals, ranging from African Elephant, to Cheetah, to a bounty of antelope, and smaller quarry like squirrels and mongoose. There is nowhere else on earth where a casual naturalist can see so many mammals in such a short time. There were stately herds of giraffes striding across the Masai Mara, a snarling pair of mating Lions, the rarely seen African Palm Civet, ponds full of hulking Hippos, and many other highlights. At Tropical Birding, we don’t ignore reptiles either, and we compiled a list of 22 species on this trip, from massive Nile Crocodiles to the diminutive Usambara Pitted Pygmy Chameleon, which is endemic to one mountain range in Tanzania. Kenya & Tanzania May 28 – June 22, 2015 Our trip kicked off in Nairobi, which boasts the longest bird list of any urban area. The first day was spent in the remarkable Nairobi National Park, right on the outskirts of the city. This park is always good, but recent rains made it absolutely incredible for our visit. The whole park was pumping with birds, and there was not a dull moment throughout a day where we racked A nest greeting ritual from a pair of Secretarybirds in Nairobi National Park. up well over 100 species, including stately Gray Crowned Cranes, loads of waterbirds, a bounty of breeding Widowbirds, Cardinal Queleas, and bishops, and some uncommon prizes like Brown Warbler (Parisoma), Saddle-billed Stork, Moustached Grass-Warbler, Martial Eagle, Hartlaub’s Bustard, and Crimson-rumped Waxbill. This first day also held abundant mammals, such as oddly angular Coke’s Hartebeest, sleek Impala, and our first Lion and White Rhino. Our second day while based in Nairobi was spent on the Lake Magadi Road, which heads into the arid southern part of the Great Rift Valley. Here too, the landscape was green and pumping with birds, including teeming colonies of Chestnut Weaver and Chestnut Sparrow. Working the surprisingly lush scrub turned up a bounty of special birds like Harlequin Quail, White-throated Bee-eater, Red- fronted Warbler, Somali Bunting, Beautiful Sunbird, White-bellied Go-away-bird, Northern Grosbeak-Canary, White-bellied Hinde’s Babbler is a rare Kenya endemic. Kenya & Tanzania May 28 – June 22, 2015 Canary, and Cardinal Woodpecker. Nairobi had been very good to us, but we were excited to strike north, to the slopes of the hulking Mount Kenya. Along the way, we had lots of birding to do. Our first stop was in some lush middle-elevation woodland where we had Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, White-browed Robin-Chat, Black-backed Puffback, and glimpses of Gray-olive Greenbul. Next, we searched for the endangered Hinde’s Babbler, and were rewarded by prolonged views of this oddly attractive Kenyan endemic bird. We finally arrived at our lodge for a very late lunch, and just in time to see the start of a heavy rain that would last the rest of the afternoon. Despite a valiant attempt to do some birding, we were eventually driven back by thick mist, drizzling rain, and mud. The next morning, the weather was still misty and rainy, but much better for birding. An easy walk through beautiful forest turned up Mountain Greenbul, Hunter’s Cisticola, White-tailed Crested Flycatcher, Tullberg’s Woodpecker, Brown Woodland-Warbler, Tacazze Sunbird, Brown-capped Weaver, and several species of Apalis. Eastern Chanting-Goshawk in Samburu Reserve. It was a time for one of the dramatic changes of scene that characterizes an East African birding trip. We wrapped around Mount Kenya, and then dropped into the dry savannah that lies to Kenya & Tanzania May 28 – June 22, 2015 its north. Our destination was the twin reserves of Samburu and Buffalo Springs, a beautiful stretch of wild country that is rich in birds and mammals. We spent three nights in a beautiful lodge in Samburu, which allowed us to slowly explore and savor this landscape. The mammals were superb. This area holds some species that have small African ranges, including Beisa Oryx, Gerenuk, and Grevy’s Zebra. It also holds plenty of well-known characters like African Elephant, Lion, Grant’s and Thompson’s Gazelles, and Common Zebra. Some of our avian prizes included the plains-stalking Secretarybird, Black-faced and Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Kori and Buff- crested Bustards, Red-and-yellow Barbet, and several species of sunbirds. Samburu is a great place to find several bird species with very limited African ranges, and we were very happy to encounter Violet Woodhoopoe, White-headed Mousebird, Blue-capped Cordonbleu, Golden Palm Weaver, and hundreds of Donaldson-Smith’s Sparrow-Weavers. Arid country species in Samburu: “Dodson’s” Common Bulbul (left) and Gerenuk (right). After reversing back to the south, we did some miscellaneous birding around Naro Moru. Lush woodland held species like Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater and Red-fronted Parrot, while nearby plains had Black-winged Lapwing, Red-capped Lark, multiple species of Pipits, and Ethiopian Swallow. While crossing a band of riparian forest, we enjoyed close and prolonged views of a huge African Hawk-Eagle, one of the continent’s most impressive raptors. We spent one night in the one-of-a-kind Ark Lodge in the Aberdare Mountains. The main attraction of this lodge is a magnificent floodlit waterhole that acts as a magnet for mammals and Kenya & Tanzania May 28 – June 22, 2015 birds. During our visit, we saw Giant Forest Hog, Spotted Hyaena, African Elephant, African Buffalo, Bushbuck, and lots of birds including Gray Crowned-Crane, Scaly Francolin, African Black Duck, African Hill Babbler, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, and Black-collared Apalis. It’s always nice to bird on a terrace with a cup of coffee in your hand! From the foothills where The Ark lies, we climbed to well over 10,000 feet in the high Aberdares. Cold and rainy weather kept bird activity down, but we still managed to locate Jackson’s Francolin, Malachite Sunbird, the endemic Aberdare Cisticola, and Moorland Chat. After dropping out of Prolonged perched views of a Crowned Hawk-Eagle were one of the overall tour highlights. the high Aberdares, we made a brief but highly productive stop for the rare endemic Sharpe’s Longclaw, which also gave us Long-tailed Widowbird and Horus Swift. We ended the day on the shores of Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley. A full morning was spent exploring the lush Fever Tree woodland and rich wetlands that ring Lake Naivasha. Kenya is a birdy place in general, but Naivasha still stands out as an exceptionally birdy place even in Kenya! The woodlands held Red-chested and Black Cuckoos, White-headed Barbet, African Hoopoe, Fischer’s Lovebird, and Green Woodhoopoe. The wetlands were loaded with birds, ranging Variable Sunbird at Lake Naivasha, just one of from the tiny, jewel-like Malachite Kingfisher to 27 sunbird species for the tour! Kenya & Tanzania May 28 – June 22, 2015 the huge Giant Kingfisher, to a range of storks, herons, ducks, and other waterbirds. African Jacanas stepped daintily, while terns danced over the water, squadrons of Great White and Pink-backed Pelicans hunted for fish, and sleek-backed Long- tailed and Great Cormorants dried themselves on dead snags.