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This Blue-headed Bee-eater was one of the highlights of our time in Kakamega Forest in Kenya. We were able to watch as it prepared to eat small butterfly. Photo by participant Craig Caldwell.

Our January 2018 East Africa Highlights tour was a tour of great contrasts - Tanzania was receiving good rains, with lush grass and flowering trees throughout much of the region. The Wildebeest had arrived in the Serengeti in huge numbers, which together with other plains game attracted the big cat predators - lion, leopard and cheetah were all seen. Due to the presence of dangerous mammals much of the Tanzania portion of our tour was done from a specially adapted Safari Landcruiser. Kenya by contrast was dry as a bone, with lakes and small water bodies attracting both waterbirds and passerines. To add to the overall number of habitats, in Kenya we largely kept away from the big game areas, instead concentrating on Rift Valley lakes, the famous Kakamega Forest, and Mt. Kenya. It was indeed a pleasure to be out walking, where picking up flighty warblers, or undergrowth skulkers, is far easier than from vehicles. Overall it was a very successful tour, with 465 species of birds and almost 50 large mammals.

Not far from our Nairobi hotel we spent the first afternoon in the Nairobi National Park where birds included Common Ostrich, Helmeted Guineafowl, Secretarybird, Black Crake, Blacksmith, Spur-winged and Long-toed lapwings, Speckled Mousebird, Little Bee-eater, Long-tailed Fiscal, Common Bulbul, the endemic Northern Pied-Babbler, Superb Starling, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, and a very tame Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu. While mammals included Black-faced Vervet Monkey and Bushbuck in the more wooded areas, and Burchell's Zebra, Common Giraffe, African Buffalo and a whole array of antelopes and gazelles on the plains. Best of all though was a rare Black Rhino, which we watched as it ambled along through dry grasslands interspersed with small acacia bushes.

The following morning we flew to Kilimanjaro International Airport and then drove to the delightful Gibb's Farm on the slopes of the Crater Highlands. It was largely a travel day, but we were now in place for some excellent forest birding and only two hours away from the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater. Birds seen in the forest included Ayres's Hawk-Eagle, Klaas's Cuckoo, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Tropical Boubou, Gray Cuckooshrike, African Paradise-Flycatcher, White-tailed Blue-Flycatcher, Brown-headed Apalis, Gray-capped Warbler, African Hill Babbler and Variable Sunbird. We finished our stay here with a delicious lunch - Gibb's is a working farm and many of the fruits, vegetables, and even their own brand of coffee is grown right on site in the garden.

Then, we were soon on our way to Ngorongoro Crater and a two night stay at our lodge perfectly placed at the upper edge of the rim. For many, a full day in the Crater is a highlight of the tour and we were not disappointed as we drove the tracks in our open-top Landcruiser watching and photographing Black-backed and Common jackals, Spotted Hyaena (some looking rather fat after a good nights feast), at least 14 Lion, some big bull Elephants, several thousand Burchell's Zebra, Blue Wildebeest and Thomson's Gazelle, plus lesser numbers of Warthog, Hippo, Common Eland and Grant's Gazelles. The birding was also excellent as we came across Hildebrandt's Francolin (right by the track), Abdim's Stork (about 2000 together with a few White Storks), Tawny Eagle, Kori and Black-bellied bustards, Yellow-throated Sandgrouse, Woodland Kingfisher, several hundred migrating Eurasian Kestrels, Fischer's Sparrow-Lark, Red-capped Lark, Banded Martin, Winding Cisticola, Red-backed Scrub-Robin, Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush, Capped Wheatear, Wattled Starling (some in strange breeding plumage), Hildebrandt's Starling, both Red-billed and Yellow-billed oxpeckers, striking Rosy-throated Longclaws, and the endemic Rufous-tailed Weaver - sole member of the genus 'Histurgops'.

From Ngorongoro we continued west to the vast plains of the Serengeti, but not without two short stops along the way. First at a Masai Village, where we were able to hear a little about their way of life and see inside one of their flat-roofed cow dung houses. And then, only a short drive away, see 'The Cradle of Mankind' - Oldupai Gorge. This is this site made famous by the Leakey family and we spent our time here listening to a short explanatory talk and then visiting the newly opened museum.

We spent three nights in the Serengeti ecosystem, two in the Serengeti itself and then one on the border with the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. It was a wonderful experience as huge herds of the Wildebeest come here at this time of year to give birth. Driving off road (yes, you can do this in this area) we meandered through hundreds of thousands of these strange looking creatures, grazing along side yet more thousands of zebra, Thomson's gazelles and other antelopes. Spotted Hyaena were plentiful (and always on the lookout for a weakened animal, or someone else's kill). Our largest big-maned Lion of the tour was found in this region, as were two close Cheetah feeding on a half grown Wildebeest they'd just taken down. Birds varied from Common Ostrich, Secretarybird, White-bellied Bustard, Double-banded Courser and Southern Ground-hornbill on the plains, to Gray-breasted Francolin, Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Red-fronted Tinkerbird, Fischer's Lovebird, Magpie Shrike, Red-throated Tit, Silverbird, Cut-throat and Gray-headed Silverbill in the woodlands. Bateleur, Martial Eagle, and migrating kestrels crossed the open skies. We even found five species of vultures (several of them now critically endangered) at a single carcass.

The final part of our Tanzania tour was further east to Tarangire National Park - here amongst a mix of marshland, grassland, palm trees, acacias and giant Baobabs, we found many new birds, with just a few highlights being Yellow-necked and Red-necked francolins, Saddle-billed Stork, Brown Snake-Eagle, Green Woodhoopoe, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Red-and-yellow Barbet (gorgeous), Greater Honeyguide, Yellow-collared Lovebird (endemic) and Ashy Starling (another Tanzanian endemic). While mammal highlights included our only Bat-eared Fox and Common Waterbuck of the tour, and great looks again at lions, elephants, warthogs, buffalos, dikdik, impala, and Grant's gazelles.

Our flight back to Kenya went smoothly, before we spent another night at our hotel overlooking Nairobi National Park and then drove north and into the Great Rift Valley for a one night stay at the alkaline Lake Nakuru. The exceptionally dry conditions meant many birds had gathered at the south end of the lake (where a fresh water inlet also attracted mammals for drinking). A very pleasant few hours here allowed us a chance to get out of our vehicle, set up a scope, and just watch the comings and goings of all the life around us. Most memorable was just the endless motion of feeding, flying, and calling birds; seven species of waterfowl were seen, a flock of Lesser Flamingo, storks, cormorants, pelicans, herons and egrets, ibis spoonbills, migrant shorebirds, gulls and terns. While landbirds included Common Scimitarbill, White-fronted Bee-eater, White-headed Barbet, White-bellied Tit, Little Rock-Thrush and Mocking Cliffchat to name but a few. We saw many mammals that were now familiar, and good looks at introduced White Rhino were enjoyed, however most spectacular was watching three lions stalking a Defassa Waterbuck, and then taking down her young one, which none of us had even noticed until a blur of motion and a cloud of rising dust.

Changing the pace we then headed west to Kakamega Forest and based ourselves at the delightful Rondo Retreat. During three nights here virtually all the birding was done on foot, and with the habitat so totally different, almost every bird was new; Crowned Eagle, Great Blue Turaco, Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Blue-headed Bee-eater, Gray-throated, Yellow-billed, Yellow-spotted and Hairy-breasted barbets, Golden-crowned Woodpecker, Luehder's Bushshrike, Joyful, Ansorge's and Yellow-whiskered greenbuls, Dusky Tit, Green Hylia, Black-faced Rufous-Warbler, Banded Prinia, Gray-chested Babbler, Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat, White-tailed Ant-Thrush, Red-headed Malimbe and White-breasted Nigrita - these were just some of the wonderful new species we saw.

Leaving Kakamega behind we then drove east and back to the Great Rift Valley, but this time to the north of Nakuru in the Baringo-Bogoria area. Along the way we stopped for lunch and added Double-toothed Barbet and Black-headed Gonolek - both striking in their black and scarlet plumages. But now in the lowlands new species came thick and fast, and even better, with the help of our local guide we added several staked-out nocturnal species, these included Three-banded Courser, African Scops-Owl, Northern White-faced Owl, Grayish and Verreaux's eagle-owls, and Slender-tailed Nightjar. Other birds we particularly enjoyed in this area were African Fish-Eagle, White-bellied Go-away-bird, Blue-naped Mousebird, Jackson's Hornbill, Giant Kingfisher, Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Somali Tit, Northern Crombec, Red-fronted Warbler, Brown-tailed Chat, Bristle-crowned Starling, Kenya Violet-backed and Beautiful sunbirds, White-billed Buffalo-Weaver, Northern Masked-Weaver, and Green-winged Pytilia.

The final part of our tour was to Mountain Lodge in the highland forest on the south-west flank of Mt. Kenya. Again in contrast to the places we'd visited so far, Mountain Lodge has a flat viewing roof over-looking a flood-lit waterhole and salt-lick. Mammals here included Sykes's Monkey, and for some a Suni (tiny antelope) by day, and Spotted Hyaenas, Bushbuck and Defassa Waterbuck by night. While new birds included Delegorgue's Pigeon (together with some spectacular African Green-Pigeons), Abyssinian Nightjar (for one of the group who stayed up late), Alpine and Scarce swifts, a large flock of huge Silvery-cheeked Hornbills, Red-fronted Parrot, Mosque Swallow, Black-throated, Gray, and Chestnut-throated apalises, Rueppell's Robin-Chat and Abyssinian Thrush.

We returned to Nairobi and the luxury of private day rooms before a farewell dinner and transfer to the airport for our flights home. All in all a wonderful tour, witnessing both the dry and wet seasons in just over two weeks, and an amazing variety of East Africa's most spectacular birds and mammals.

Our next East Africa Highlights tour runs March 2-22, 2019.

KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

The unusual Hamerkop is a quintessentially African bird. We saw about a dozen at various points on the tour. Photo by participant Craig Caldwell.

Participant Craig Caldwell got this lovely close-up of one of the Verreaux's Eagle-owls we saw at Baringo.

Vitelline Masked-Weaver was seen in Tanzania. Photo by participant Craig Caldwell.

Secretarybird was one of the first birds we saw on the tour. We found them at Nairobi National Park, as well as in the Serengeti, Ngorongoro and elsewhere. Photo by participant Craig Caldwell.

Some of our group birding along the shore at Lake Baringo where the dead trees provide perches for Northern Carmine Bee-eater - like the one pictured below. Photo by participant Phoebe Fowler.

This beautiful little Pygmy Falcon posed nicely for us in the Serengeti. Photo by participant Craig Caldwell.

We didn't expect to see the Northern Carmine Bee-eater on this tour, but we had a great view as this one gulped down a large dragonfly at Lake Baringo. Photo by participant Craig Caldwell.

This sub-adult Martial Eagle was a nice find at Tarangire. Photo by participant Craig Caldwell.

Yellow-collared Lovebirds were common in Tarangire, where participant Craig Caldwell got this nice portrait.

Checking out the extensive herb and vegetable garden at Gibb’s Farm - one of our favourite lodges - Gibb’s prides itself on its homegrown organic produce. Photo by participant Phoebe Fowler.

Oxpeckers were common in areas with big game; these two Yellow-billed Oxpeckers are hitching a ride on a giraffe. Photo by participant Craig Caldwell.

One of the specialties of Kakamega Forest is the Great Blue Turaco; we had a wonderful view of this one in the garden at Rondo Retreat. Photo by participant Craig Caldwell.

We saw Eastern Double-collared Sunbird on several occasions; these were one of 10 sunbird species that we found on the tour. Photo by participant Craig Caldwell.

We had some nice views of Blue-cheeked Bee-eater in Tarangire National Park in Tanzania. Photo by participant Craig Caldwell.

While some starling species are very common, we only saw 12 of the Greater Blue-eared Starling at Nakuru. Photo by participant Craig Caldwell.

Red-cheeked Cordonbleu is a very pretty little finch! Photo by participant Craig Caldwell.

We found a few Black-bellied Bustards on the plains in Ngorongoro and the Serengeti. Photo by participant Craig Caldwell.

The attractive Hildebrandt's Starling was rather common in Tanzania. Photo by participant Craig Caldwell.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Reptiles seen on the tour included;

Nile Crocodile; 2 in Nairobi NP,

Leopard Tortoise; 2 at Tarangire,

Mwanza Rock Agama; several in rocky areas of the Serengeti.

Red-headed Rock Agama; about 6 at Tarangire, and 4 at Baringo.

Totals for the tour: 465 bird taxa and 48 mammal taxa