March 1-21, 2025 with Terry Stevenson
As usual we began this very popular tour in Nairobi where a Hartlaub's Turaco in the grounds of our lodge was a great beginning. We then made an afternoon visit to Nairobi National Park, where most of the birds and mammals were concentrating around the waterholes. Slowly crossing the plains between the scattered pools of water, we all enjoyed our first Common Ostrich, Helmeted Guineafowl, Gray-crowned Crane, Black-winged Kite, White-backed Vulture, Long-tailed Fiscal, Sentinel Lark (a newly described species), Lesser Striped Swallow, and Red-billed and Yellow-billed oxpeckers. While at the waterholes themselves, we saw Black-winged Stilt, Three-banded Plover, Long-toed, Blacksmith and Spur-winged lapwings, a flock of almost 300 Marabou Storks, Yellow-billed Stork, Reed Cormorant, African Sacred Ibis, and African Spoonbill. We also saw our first mammals, which varied from a rare Black Rhinoceros to more common species like Plains Zebra, Cape Buffalo, Hartebeest, and Impala.
The following day was mainly a travel day as we flew from Nairobi to Arusha (near Kilimanjaro), met our Tanzanian driver Nuru, and then drove south and west to the outer slopes of Ngorongoro Crater. However, the day was not without birding as we picked up Speckled and Blue-naped mousebirds, Hildebrandt's and Superb starlings, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Speckle-fronted Weaver, Vitelline Masked-Weaver, Cut-throat, Blue-capped Cordonbleu, and Swahili Sparrow. We closed the day with a walk in the grounds of our lodge, adding Tambourine Dove, Black Goshawk, Black Cuckooshrike, African Black-headed Oriole, Black-backed Puffback, African Paradise-flycatcher, and Arrow-marked Babbler.
We then had two days to bird Ngorongoro Crater, first in the forests on the outer slopes and then a day in the spectacular crater itself. The combination of birds and mammals here is truly amazing, and just some of our highlights were Kori Bustard, White-browed Coucal, Chestnut-banded Plover, Collared Pratincole, at least 5000 Greater and Lesser flamingos, Abdim's and Saddle-billed storks, Hamerkop, Lappet-faced Vulture, Crowned Eagle, Black-throated Wattle-eye, Tropical Boubou, White-necked Raven, White-tailed Blue-flycatcher, Brown-headed Apalis, Black-headed Mountain Greenbul, Eastern Double-collared Sunbird, Rufous-tailed Weaver, Southern Red Bishop, and Fan-tailed Widowbird. The mammals were, of course, a major highlight with Olive Baboon, Black-backed Jackal, Spotted Hyena, 8 Lions, African Savanna Elephant, 5 more Black Rhinos, super close looks at Hippo, Northern Giraffe, and large numbers of Zebra, Buffalo, Blue Wildebeest, and Thomson's and Grant's gazelles.
Continuing still further west we then had three days in the Serengeti -- for many visitors the major highlight of the tour. As usual, we stopped along the way at Olduvai Gorge (also known as the Cradle of Mankind), where we were given a short talk on the fascinating work done by the Leakey family and other famous paleontologists. Then during three full days in the Serengeti, we added a wealth of new species including: Gray-breasted Spurfowl, Chestnut-bellied and Yellow-throated sandgrouse, White-bellied and Black-bellied bustards, Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Sombre Nightjar, Spotted Thick-knee, Double-banded Courser, Secretarybird, White-headed and Hooded vultures, Bateleur, Black-chested Snake-Eagle, Long-crested Eagle, Dark Chanting-Goshawk, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Von der Decken's Hornbill, Lilac-breasted Roller, Northern Red-fronted Tinkerbird, Pygmy Falcon, Fischer's Lovebird, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Magpie Shrike, Croaking Cisticola, Banded Parisoma, Silverbird, Mocking Cliff-Chat, Marico Sunbird, Gray-capped Social-Weaver, Red-headed Weaver, Gray-headed Silverbill, Purple Grenadier, and Eastern Paradise-Whydah. Of course, the mammals were fantastic too, with good looks at Spotted Hyena, two young Leopards, daily encounters with Lion, a Cheetah, super close looks at herds of Elephants, and the amazing mixed herds of Zebra, Eland, Tsessebe, Hartebeest, Blue Wildebeest, Impala, and Thomson's and Grant's Gazelles.
We concluded the Tanzanian part of our tour with two days in Tarangire National Park, a wonderful area of grassland and bush country -- scattered throughout with palms, giant baobab trees, the Tarangire River, and a huge marsh. This new habitat did, of course, bring us new birds, and we all enjoyed Crested Francolin, Yellow-necked and Red-necked spurfowl, Black-faced Sandgrouse, White-bellied Go-away-bird, Black Coucal, Water Thick-knee, African Openbill, Rufous-bellied Heron, Southern Ground-Hornbill, Northern Red-billed Hornbill, Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Gray-headed Kingfisher, Yellow-collared Lovebird, Meyer's and Red-bellied parrots, Gorgeous Sunbird, flocks of Red-billed Quelea, Crimson-rumped Waxbill, Pangani Longclaw, and Cinnamon-breasted Bunting. We added some new mammals too, including Banded and Common Dwarf mongoose, Bush Hyrax, but perhaps best of all was a big Leopard not far from the road and lounging in a tree.
Nuru, who had so skillfully driven us throughout the tour, then dropped us at Arusha airport for the short flight back to Nairobi and a whole new series of adventures awaiting us on the Kenya section of our tour.
After a good night's sleep in Nairobi, we headed north to the Great Rift Valley with stops at Limuru Pond and Lake Naivasha (a freshwater lake). Highlights this morning were White-backed, Yellow-billed and Red-billed ducks, African Swamphen, African Jacana, Great-White and Pink-backed pelicans, African Fish-Eagle and Pied Kingfisher -- with the Naivasha boat trip being great for the photographers. On to the alkaline Lake Nakuru, we then started to see more mammals -- including another Lion, our first Rock Hyrax, three more Black Rhino, White Rhino, the rare 'Rothschild's' Giraffe (now lumped with Northern), Waterbuck, Wildebeest, Impala and Thomson's Gazelle. New birds included Garganey, Common Ringed Plover, Little Grebe, a magnificent adult Martial Eagle, Southern White-faced Owl, White-fronted Bee-eater, Banded Martin, Pale White-eye, and Greater Blue-eared Starling.
From Nakuru, we headed west for a three-night stay at the famous Kakamega Forest with a stop on the shores of Lake Victoria along the way. The lake gave us such varied species as Eastern Plantain-eater, Purple Heron, Malachite Kingfisher, Black-headed Gonolek, Angola Swallow, Swamp Flycatcher, Red-chested Sunbird, and Slender-billed, Northern Brown-throated, Black-headed, and Golden-backed weavers. The forest brought us daily treats including Black-billed and Ross's turacos, Red-chested Cuckoo, White-headed Woodhoopoe, Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, African Pygmy Kingfisher, Eastern Yellow-billed, Gray-throated, and Yellow-spotted barbets, African Broadbill, Brown-throated and Jameson's wattle-eyes, Ludher's Bushshrike, Sharpe's Drongo, African Blue-flycatcher, Black-collared Apalis, White-headed Sawwing, Honeyguide, Little, Plain and Ansorge's greenbuls, Green Hylia, Brown-chested Alethe, Dark-backed, Brown-capped and Vieillot's Black weavers, and Black-crowned Waxbill.
Continuing on, we now headed east and back to the Great Rift Valley where we had two nights based at the Bogoria Spa Resort, birding both here and at nearby Lake Baringo. As always, we were joined by our two local guides, Francis and William, who helped us tremendously and especially with some of the night birds that we saw on day roosts. Just a few of the highlights were, Slender-tailed Nightjar, Senegal Thick-knee, Three-banded Courser, Shikra, African Scops-Owl, Northern White-faced Owl, Grayish Eagle-Owl, Jackson's Hornbill, D'Arnaud's, Red-fronted, Spot-flanked and Black-throated barbets, Northern Red-fronted Tinkerbird, Pygmy Batis, Northern Puffback, Somali Tit, Mouse-colored Penduline-tit, Yellow-bellied Eremomela, Red-fronted Prinia, Rufous Chatterer, Violet-backed, Bristle-crowned and Magpie starlings, Gambaga Flycatcher, Brown-tailed Chat, Eastern Violet-backed, Hunter's and Abyssinian sunbirds, White-billed Buffalo-Weaver, and Northern Masked-Weaver.
The final part of our tour was to drive back to Nairobi with a night along the way at The Ark in the Aberdare Mountains. Highlights included Scaly Spurfowl, Cape Eagle-Owl, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Red-fronted Parrot, White-bellied Tit, Gray-capped Warbler, Hunter's Cisticola, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Kikuyu Mountain Greenbul, Cape and Rueppell's robin-chats, Little Rock-Thrush, Golden-winged Sunbird, African Citril and Yellow-crowned Canary, while new mammals included Giant Forest Hog, and Suni.
Mammals seen on the tour:
Blue Monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) About 40 at Kakamega Forest.
Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythus) Common and widespread with a total of about 320.
Olive Baboon (Papio anubis) Another widespread primate; in all we saw about 300.
Guereza (Colobus guereza) First seen at Naivasha (3) and then about 25 at Kakamega Forest.
Cape Hare (Lepus capensis) One in the Serengeti.
Forest Giant Squirrel (Protoxerus stangeri) One at Kakamega Forest.
Ochre Bush Squirrel (Paraxerus ochraceus) Small numbers around our lodge at Tarangire, Bogoria, and in the Aberdare Mountains.
Red-legged Sun Squirrel (Heliosciurus rufobrachium) Two singles at Kakamega.
Black-backed Jackal (Lupulella mesomelas) Four in Ngorongoro Crater, and 2 on the Serengeti plains.
Common Genet (Genetta genetta) Singles in the Serengeti and at Tarangire.
Rusty-spotted Genet (Genetta fieldiana) Also known as Large-spotted Genet, we saw 1 at The Ark.
Common Slender Mongoose (Herpestes sanguineus) One in the Serengeti, and 2 at The Ark.
Banded Mongoose (Mungos mungo) We saw several groups; with a total of about 60 at Tarangire.
Common Dwarf Mongoose (Helogale parvula) Eight at Tarangire.
Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) At least 15 in Ngorongoro Crater, and 5 at Serengeti.
Leopard (Panthera pardus) We saw 2 separate young ones in Serengeti, and then a fabulous adult resting in a tree at Tarangire.
Serval (Leptailurus serval) One in the grasslands on the way to Ndutu.
Lion (Panthera leo) Great looks this tour, with big-maned males, females and young; in all we saw 39, at Ngorongoro, the Serengeti and Tarangire in Tanzania, and then 1 at Nakuru, Kenya.
Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) Nice looks at 1 in the Serengeti.
African Savanna Elephant (Loxodonta africana) We saw a total of about 120 in the Ngorongoro-Serengeti-Tarangire area, and then 18 at The Ark.
Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis) Six at Nakuru, and 15 at Baringo.
Bush Hyrax (Heterohyrax brucei) About 30 in the grounds of our lodge at Tarangire.
Plains Zebra (Equus quagga) Formerly known as Burchell's Zebra, they were very common and widespread across the open grassy plains; in all we saw about 2000.
Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) Very lucky this tour, with 1 at Nairobi NP, 5 in Ngorongoro Crater, and 3 at Lake Nakuru.
White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) Introduced (but long established) in Kenya, we saw 3 at Nairobi NP and 2 at Lake Nakuru.
Common Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) Widespread throughout the tour, with a total of about 90.
Giant Forest Hog (Hylochoerus meinertzhageni) At least a dozen in The Ark area.
Common Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) Twenty in Nairobi NP, then a total of about 350 in Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti, and 20 at Lake Naivasha.
Northern Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) We saw about 60 in the Serengeti, 25 at Tarangire, and then a single 'Rothschild's Giraffe' (often given species status) at Nakuru.
Northern Bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) Four in the Karatu to Ngorongoro area, and 6 at The Ark.
Common Eland (Tragelaphus oryx) Twenty in Ngorongoro Crater.
Cape Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) Widespread, on open plains and the edges of bushland, with by far the highest number being 650 in Ngorongoro Crater.
Waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) Two singles at Ngorongoro, 6 at Tarangire, 50 at Naivasha, and 10 near The Ark.
Tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus) Also known at Topi, we saw 17 in the Serengeti.
Hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus) Twenty in Nairobi NP, 25 in the Serengeti, and a dozen at Tarangire.
Blue Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) At least 3000 were in Ngorongoro Crater, perhaps another 5000 on the Serengeti Plains, at 40 at Naivasha.
Suni (Neotragus moschatus) Nice looks at 2 from the walkway at The Ark.
Kirk's Dik-dik (Modoqua kirki) We saw a total of about 100, mostly in the Serengeti woodlands, but also a few at Tarangire.
Impala (Aepyceros malampus) Very common and widespread with a total of about 800.
Thomson's Gazelle (Eudorcas thomsoni) One thousand five hundred in Ngorongoro Crater, at least 6000 on the Serengeti plains, and 40 at Naivasha.
Grant's Gazelle (Nanger granti) About 250 in Ngorongoro Crater, 200 at Serengeti, and 30 at Tarangire.
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/388663
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/afs25TRIPLIST.pdf
-- Terry Stevenson