Best Locations for Incredible Birding Experiences
Introduction
Kenya's Great Rift Valley is renowned for its biodiversity and with over 400 species of bird known to frequent its skies, this is one of the best places in the country to enjoy a successful birdwatching holiday. There are also several excellent birding areas around Lake Victoria.
Best Locations for Incredible Birding Experiences:
Where:
Lake Nakuru National Park (Rift Valley)
Lake Baringo (Rift Valley): Over one-third of Kenya’s species have been recorded here.
Lake Bogoria National Park (Rift Valley): Bird watching in a unique natural environment with geysers and hot springs.
Lake Naivasha (Rift Valley)
Kakamega Forest (Western Kenya)
Lake Victoria & respective islands e.g. Ndere Island (Western Kenya) for Birding, Fishing, and lake expeditions.
Some other areas including the forest “islands” at the top of the Taita Hills, near Voi, are home to the beautiful but critically endangered Taita Thrush and Taita Apalis, as well as the endangered Taita White-eye.
Sharpe’s Longclaw and Aberdare Cisticola, native and endangered, live in the highland grasslands near the Aberdare mountain range. In western Kenya, Kakamega Forest is a little patch of Guineo-Congolian rainforest in Kenya. Among the many rainforest species found are spectacular Turacos and Hornbills, and the tiny, endangered Turner’s Eremomela.
The scarce and threatened Papyrus Yellow Warbler is found in papyrus swamps on the shores of Lake Victoria, alongside the Papyrus Gonolek, White-winged Warbler, and Papyrus Canary, all papyrus endemics.
Local bird guides are available at numerous sites and are your best aid for locating and identifying the many species. They live at or near these sites and their birding interest is nurtured by that association with visiting scientists, birders, and added to by some formal training. It is advisable to contact the local guides association if you will be spending time at a specific site. By using local guides, you increase your bird citing success. More importantly, you will be supporting the conservation of that site by the involvement of the local community in sustaining the area's ornithology.
Professional bird guides and Tour Operators who can accompany you on safari also provide additional guiding services that will broaden your birding experience. One can also purchase “50 Top Birding Sites in Kenya” book from Nature Kenya which details everything you need to know about birding in Kenya.
Did you know Kenya has a National Bird? The most common guess around is that it is the rooster but no; Kenya’s unofficial national bird is the beautifully coloured Lilac Breasted Roller. Its Swahili name is ‘Kambu’ or ‘Chole’.
The bird's plumage consists of about eight colours boasting lilac and turquoise that most men would have trouble identifying. These wide arrays of colours are supposed to represent the diversity in Kenya in terms of cultures, sceneries, attractions, and the country’s uniqueness. The bird is also found in most regions of the country.
Interestingly, unlike most other birds where males are the most attractive, for the Lilac Breasted Roller both females and males are equally dazzling. You cannot tell the difference by the looks. They are not dimorphic.