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This imposing Somali Ostrich is one of two that we saw at Samburu. The landscape here is open, and we got some great views of birds such as Vulturine Guineafowl, Secretarybird, and a variety of others. We also saw some wonderful mammals, including Grevy's Zebra and Beisa Oryx. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

Our June 2018 Kenya Safari Spectacular tour took place after what were the best rains the country had experienced for many years. The exceptional rains throughout March, April and May filled the rivers and lakes, and turned virtually every habitat lush and green. Even Samburu and Baringo - normally two of the driest areas we visit, were covered with green grass and many fruiting or flowering trees. As a result, we saw many of Africa's most spectacular birds in breeding plumage with just a few of the highlights being a stunning variety of sunbirds, weavers, bishops and widowbirds.

Starting from Nairobi, we drove north through the central highlands for a one night stay on the south-west flank of Mt. Kenya, at Mountain Lodge. With almost every bird being new, we couldn't fail to have a wonderful start to the tour, and just a few of the highlights were African Darter (uncommon in Kenya these days), Hamerkop (great for those on a first tour to Africa and collecting families), Grey Crowned-Crane, African Jacana, Speckled Mousebird, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Malachite Kingfisher, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Red-fronted Parrot, Tropical Boubou, Mosque Swallow, Black-collared Apalis, White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Red-billed Oxpecker, Eastern Double-collared Sunbird, Yellow-crowned Canary, Yellow-crowned Bishop, and Pin-tailed Whydah. The area was not without mammals, too, and we had good looks at Spotted Hyaena, Bushbuck, African Buffalo, Suni (a tiny antelope), Giant Forest Hog, and for some of the group, Bush Pig.

Heading further north we then spent two nights in the acacia bush country at Samburu. As always the birding was spectacular with some of the group favorites being Somali Ostrich, Vulturine Guineafowl, Secretarybird, Martial Eagle, Kori Bustard, Chestnut-bellied and Black-faced sandgrouse, White-headed Mousebird, Violet Woodhoopoe, Eastern Yellow-billed and Von der Decken's hornbills, Somali Bee-eater, Red-and-Yellow Barbet, Pygmy Falcon, Rosy-patched Bushshrike, Golden-breasted Starling, and White-headed Buffalo-Weaver. Mammals were great too, with both Lion and Cheetah, African Elephants (including bulls and females with young), the rare Grevy's Zebra, Reticulated Giraffe, Beisa Oryx, and Gerenuk.

We returned to Mt. Kenya for a two night stay at Naro Moru near the western slope. This enabled us to drive to 10,000 feet where we were able to bird a mix of Podocarpus and Hygenia forest, bamboo, and even a few clumps of Giant Heather. Birds at these high altitudes are not numerous, but the ones we saw were in truly spectacular scenery and we all enjoyed Jackson's Francolin, Mountain Buzzard, White-headed Woodhoopoe, Brown-backed Woodpecker, Grey Cuckooshrike, White-bellied Tit, Brown Woodland-Warbler, Mountain Yellow-Warbler, Cinnamon Bracken-Warbler, Grey-capped Warbler, Broad-ringed White-eye, Abyssinian Ground-Thrush, and Tacazze, Golden-winged, and Eastern Double-collared sunbirds.

Our next destination was the Bogoria-Baringo area in the Great Rift Valley, but first we stopped at a quarry near Kiawara for super scope looks at a roosting Cape (Mackinder's) Eagle-Owl. With the help of a local guide, Baringo was, as always, superb, and especially for day roosting owls - with five species (including Pearl-spotted Owlet, African Scops-Owl, Northern White-faced Owl, and Verreaux's and Grayish eagle-owls) all seen well. Other memorable birds here included Spotted Thick-knee, Three-banded Courser, Slender-tailed Nightjar, Hemprich's and Jackson's hornbills, Rufous-crowned Roller, Pygmy Batis, Somali Tit, Mocking Cliff-Chat, Bristle-crowned Starling, Northern Masked-Weaver, and Northern Red Bishop.

We then drove to the west, crossing the Tugen Hills, dropping in to the Kerio Valley, and then climbing the Great Rift Valley's western wall before a two night stay in the old Kitale Club. This somewhat ramshackle establishment is full of history, and gave us a chance to chat with the locals, or take a breather beside the still well maintained golf course. The birding, though, was our main reason for staying here, as it gave us access to the Kongelai Escarpment, Kerenget, and Saiwa Swamp NP. Many new species were added, and just a choice few were Banded Snake-Eagle, Verreaux's Eagle, Ross's Turaco, African Emerald Cuckoo, Double-toothed and White-headed barbets, Yellow-billed Shrike, African Blue-Flycatcher, Mountain Illadopsis, Lesser Blue-eared Starling, Golden-breasted Bunting, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver and Heuglin's Masked-Weaver, while new mammals included the rare and localized De Brazza's Monkey and Sitatunga.

From Kitale, we made the short journey south to Kakamega Forest and three nights at the lovely Rondo Retreat. Crowned Eagle nesting in the garden was fabulous, but we also enjoyed just walking the forest trails while picking up Great Blue Turaco (difficult this year but we eventually all got good looks), Bar-tailed Trogon (a gorgeous male), Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Blue-headed Bee-eater, Yellow-billed Barbet, Brown-eared Woodpecker, African Broadbill (displaying), Jameson's and Chestnut wattle-eyes, Pink-footed Puffback, Dusky Tit, 8 species of greenbuls, Green Hylia, Black-faced Rufous-Warbler, Turner's Eremomela, Equatorial Akalat, White-tailed Ant-Thrush, Green-throated Sunbird, and Red-headed Malimbe.

We then made a loop west to Mungatsi and Busia before heading south to Kisumu on the shores of Lake Victoria. New birds along this route included Long-crested Eagle, Lizard Buzzard, Rock Pratincole, Broad-billed Roller, Black-billed Barbet, Red-headed Lovebird, Marsh Tchagra, Papyrus Gonolek, Swamp Flycatcher, and Red-chested Sunbird.

Heading back to Nairobi, we broke the journey with a one night stay at Lake Nakuru, where both Lesser and Greater flamingos were seen (though due to the rising fresh water lake levels, both in the hundreds, rather than hundreds of thousands). Other birds we enjoyed here included Saddle-billed Stork, Great White and Pink-backed pelicans, African Spoonbill, Eurasian (African) Hoopoe, Lilac-breasted Roller, and Long-tailed Widowbird, while mammals included Black-backed Jackal, Lion, White-Rhino, and Rothschild's Giraffe.

From Nairobi, we took a flight to Masai Mara, where we spent our time driving across the open grasslands, meandering through the riverine woodland, and visiting view points along the Mara River. Birds varied from Common Ostrich, Red-necked and Coqui francolins, Secretarybird, White-bellied Bustard, Temminck's Courser, Southern Ground-hornbill, Grey Kestrel and Jackson's Widowbird in the grasslands, to Rameron Pigeon, Klaas's Cuckoo, African Pygmy-Kingfisher and Violet-backed Starling in the woodland. Dwarf Bittern and Long-toed Lapwing were two highlights in the wetlands, while White-backed Vulture and Bateleur crossed the open skies. Mammals are, of course, a major attraction in the Masai Mara, and we were all able to watch and photograph Spotted Hyaena, more Lions (including two big maned males), a fabulous Cheetah (close and in the open), more African Elephants, Warthog, Hippo, and a variety of antelopes including Defassa Waterbuck, Topi, Hartebeest, Blue Wildebeest, Klipspringer, Impala, and Thomson's Gazelle.

The final leg of our tour was taking a flight to the coast and then spending four nights at Watamu, before another flight from Mombasa back to Nairobi. Along the way, a chance stop at Amboseli (dropping off two passengers) gave us a pair of Greater Kestrels (with four juveniles) right by the runway. Our stay at the coast added Brown Snake-Eagle, Greater and Lesser sandplovers, White-fronted Plover, Eurasian Curlew, Terek Sandpiper, Crab-Plover, Saunder's and Lesser Crested terns, Tambourine Dove, Fischer's Turaco (eventually great looks), Green Malkoha, Mottled and Bat-like spinetails, Forbes-Watson's Swift (rare), Trumpeter Hornbill (one of 10 species of hornbills we saw), Mangrove Kingfisher, Green Barbet, Great Honeyguide, Short-tailed and Pale batises, Chestnut-fronted Helmetshrike, African Golden Oriole, Terrestrial Brownbul, Tiny Greenbul, Yellow Flycatcher, Black-headed Apalis, Scaly Babbler (a skulker), East Coast Akalat, Red-tailed Ant-Thrush, Plain-backed Sunbird, Malindi Pipit, and the striking orange-red and black Zanzibar Bishop. Perhaps most exciting, though, was fabulous close looks at a pair of cuddled-up Sokoke Scops-Owls - for many the star attraction of the Sokoke-Arabuko Forest.

Thanks to each of you for joining me on this great survey of Kenya!

Our next Kenya Safari Spectacular tour with Terry Stevenson to runs May 31 to June 24, 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

These endearing Sokoke Scops-Owls were probably the "birds of the trip"! Participant George Sims got this lovely portrait of the two, and included the following: " Since it rained overnight, we were very concerned that we would miss the Sokoke Scops-Owl. We waited quietly in the forest for about 1/2 hour and then the local guide came to say he had found a pair. Sure enough they were settled in together for the day in a very secluded spot. They are only about 16 to 17 cm tall and weigh about 60 gms. What a treat it was to see these small endangered scops-owls!"

The lovely Lilac-breasted Roller was especially abundant at Masai Mara, where we saw 30 of them. Photo by participant George Sims.

We found a pair of Three-banded Coursers at Baringo. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

Participant George Sims took this photo of guide Terry Stevenson with a small friend-- a von Hoehnel's Chameleon that we found on Mt Kenya.

Secretarybird was a favorite, and rightly so! This one, and two more, were seen at Samburu, and we also saw one at Masai Mara. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

This Yellow-throated Longclaw strongly resembles a North American meadowlark, but it is actually in the group with wagtails and pipits. We saw a good number of these striking birds at Masai Mara, and a few more at the coast. Photo by participant George Sims.

The Great Blue Turaco "played hard to get", but we all eventually got good looks at this colorful bird at Kakamega. Photo by participant George Sims.

African Harrier-hawk was seen in a few places along our route. Photo by participant George Sims.

This Lioness at Samburu looks very relaxed as she surveys from her perch. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

We saw several families of Vulturine Guineafowl at Samburu. Here is an adult with a few tiny chicks in tow. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

Participant George Sims snapped this photo of a Spotted Hyaena. In his words, "It marched right up the road towards our vehicle like it owned the whole place (and maybe it does)."

This lovely Rosy-patched Bushshrike was one of four that we saw at Samburu. Photo by participant George Sims.

We saw three species of Giraffes on the tour. This Rothschild's Giraffe was photographed at Nakuru by participant George Sims.

One of the many Yellow-necked Francolins that we saw at Samburu posed nicely for this portrait by guide Terry Stevenson.

We saw quite a few Gray Crowned-cranes, including this one sitting on a nest. Photo by participant George Sims.

Taita Fiscal was seen at Samburu. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

We heard the Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill first at Tugen Hills, then got good looks at Kakamega. Photo by participant George Sims.

Grevy's Zebra are rare, so we were pleased to see eight of them at Samburu. Photo by participant George Sims.

This Hippopotamus was one of 40 or so that we saw along the Mara River. Photo by participant George Sims.

This Southern Ground-hornbill was one of the amazing birds we saw in the Masai Mara grasslands, where we saw 12 of these marvelous creatures. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

A pair of Coqui Francolins came right next to our vehicle in Masai Mara. Participant George Sims got this nice image of one of them.

These gorgeous Beisa Oryx on the plains at Samburu are just a few of the ones we saw. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

We found Eurasian (African) Hoopoe at Samburu and at Nakuru. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

Here are two Black Rhinos and a White Rhino, photographed by participant George Sims.

We found a number of Bateleurs at various points along our route, including this immature. Photo by participant George Sims.

This Spotted Thick-knee blends in well to the background of soil and dry grass. Photo by participant George Sims.

Here is our group at Mount Kenya, with our driver John Ngigi. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

This big bull African Elephant posed in front of several smaller ones at Masai Mara. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

We found a few African Golden-Weavers at the coast. Photo by participant George Sims.

This Cheetah came very close as it walked to a nearby waterhole. Photo by participant George Sims.

A Black-backed Jackal, photographed by participant George Sims.

During the tour, we traveled through some amazing landscapes, and saw many incredible birds, mammals and other creatures. Kenya had a wonderful rainy season prior to our tour, so the grasslands were green and lush. The Oloololo Escarpment at Masai Mara, photographed by guide Terry Stevenson, is just one example of the beauty of Kenya that we experienced.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Reptiles on the tour included;

Nile Crocodile: about a dozen at Samburu, 3 at Baringo, and 10 at Masai Mara.

Water Monitor: 2 at Samburu, and 1 near Mungatsi.

Red-headed Rock Agama: about a dozen at Samburu and Baringo.

Elementaita Rock Agama: 1 at Kiawara.

Mwanza Rock Agama: 3 at Masai Mara.

Von Hoehnel's Chameleon: 1 at over 10,000 ft. on Mt. Kenya.

Tropical House Gecko: seen in several buildings throughout the tour.

Leopard Tortoise: 1 at Samburu, and 2 in the Baringo-Bogoria area.

Totals for the tour: 524 bird taxa and 58 mammal taxa