The variation in habitat across Kenya means that  different areas of the country have very different bird lists, making it a fascinating part of the world
for birders to visit. Since so much of the country is
open grassland or bush the birds are also relatively
easy to see. Some specialist tours reckon on
100-600 species in a two week tour.
For birdwatchers we have plenty of birds in our
different kenyan parks and game reserves.
There are a number of different types of organised
tours available in Kenya. Mostly the most
common
tours are classic wildlife safari. This offers a good
chance to see a number of different
parks and
habitats. It can however be very frustrating for birders when they are along with
tourists whose
aim
is to see "the big 5" (Lion, Elephant, Cape
Buffalo,
Leopard and Rhino).
This means in search of the wild the guide may
drive past a tree full of interesting looking birds
but with an experienced guide they always stop
when they sport birds and tell the clients about
them. Its usually very hard to persuade five or
six non-birders that it's worth spending 20
minutes watching and identifying an insignificant
looking little brown bird that its really a worthy
cause. That why EASAFAS wants to give a special safari with clients who love birding adventures
so they can share their interests without having conflicting interests when they are mixed with tourists who are interested in the game only.
That is not to say that such tours are a waste of time- they're not. Many of the guides are quite knowledgeable and quite happy to point out interesting looking birds and many of the lodges
are themselves home to lots of species and often have their own bird walks through the grounds.
You will still see plenty of species but it is more likely to miss out on a few good opportunities.
We do special bird tours; its most interesting watching the birds sometimes they vary from tours
where people actually stop and watch the birds in a fairly leisurely manner. Bird tours are special
where the apparent aim is to rack up as many species as possible in the shortest possible time.
You can succeed in sporting as lists in excess of 500 birds in a couple of weeks.
We offer a variation on the standard safari where you pay extra and have the safari-bus or car
plus driver/guide to yourself and even draw up your own itinerary. This can be fairly expensive,
but has the great advantage that on game drives you stop when you want, watch what you want
and with only a few people in a safari-bus you can always get to a window on both sides.
Alternatively take one of the standard tours, but book with a group of birders. It should then be possible to get all the birders on the same bus.
When to Bird?
The best time is between October and April when more than 120 migrant species have arrived
from the Northern hemisphere, mostly from the Palaearctic but with some African migrants such
as Forbes-Watson's Swift; there is also the chance of finding one of the passage migrants such as
the Sooty Falcon in March-April and October-December. If you are interested in bird-ringing, the
latter period is when there is a large bird ringing exercise at Ngulia in Tsavo National Park.
The coast is particularly good during this period with large flocks of water birds congregating at
Mida Creek and Sabaki Estuary, while The Rift Valley lakes and Amboseli attract a lot of northern
waterfowl.
From April to October the northern migrants are replaced by birds from the southern hemisphere
and Madagascar, but these are much fewer, no more than 10 or 12 species. It is however the
time when many of the birds are in breeding plumage following the long rains, which makes
species such as the various weavers much easier as well as much more colourful.
This is also the best time of year for big game. In July and August the huge herds of wildebeest
and zebra enter the Maasai Mara and provide spectacular game watching. This also makes
vultures much easier to find because of the numbers of animals that don not survive the migration.
The Mara River regularly collects mixed flocks of vultures and Marabou feeding on the animals
that failed to cross the river. There's usually a fair number of crocs as well!
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