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This endearing Northern White-faced Owl is one of six owl species that we saw on the tour. Our local guide found this rather uncommon species at Lake Baringo. Photo by participant Joshua Horner.

Our July 2018 Wild Kenya: A Tented Camp Safari, took place with lovely clear sunny days throughout. Visiting the Mt. Kenya area, the arid lands of Samburu, Rift Valley lakes at Baringo and Nakuru, and the open savanna of the incredible Masai Mara, we recorded over 380 birds and almost 50 large mammals. Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Elephant and Rhino were high on everyone's mammal list, while birds varied from the huge Somali Ostrich to tiny Mouse-colored Penduline-tits. Many many others filled the gaps between, with just a few favorites including Secretarybird, Kori Bustard, Gray Crowned-Crane, Three-banded Courser, Hartlaub's Turaco, all 6 species of owls, Lilac-breasted Roller, Gray-headed Bushshrike and Golden-breasted Starling.

Beginning in Nairobi, we drove north through the central highlands as we headed to Mountain Lodge on the south-west flank of Mt. Kenya. A stop near Thika gave us nice scope views of a totally unexpected Crowned Eagle, and then at some fish ponds we saw our first waterbirds, including Hamerkop, Black Crake and African Jacana. Several Silvery-cheeked Hornbills in the middle of Karatina town was another unexpected sighting, but we kept moving as we wanted to have time in the forest surrounding Mountain Lodge. Our one night here brought us our first mammals, including Mantled Guereza, Spotted Hyaena, Tree Hyrax, Bushbuck and Suni. Without doubt though, the highlight was a huge male Leopard which appeared in the salt lick clearing right below our roof top viewing platform. Birds included Scaly Francolin, Delegorgue's Pigeon, the secretive Lemon Dove, a gorgeous preening Hartlaub's Turaco, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Moustached Tinkerbird, Red-fronted Parrot, Tropical Boubou, Black-tailed Oriole, Yellow-whiskered Greenbul, Black-throated Apalis, and Eastern Double-collared Sunbird.

We then continued further north, climbing to over 8000ft before dropping to the lowlands of Samburuland. Here, amongst the rocky outcrops, acacia bush, and doum palms along the Ewaso Nyiro River, we spent three days based at Samburu Intrepids Camp. The spacious tents, each with its own private bathroom and erected on individual wooden platforms, are all spread along the river bank, giving access to some great birding during our afternoon breaks. With such a different habitat to Mt. Kenya, almost every was new and we particularly enjoyed Vulturine Guineafowl, Palmnut Vulture, Bateleur, Somali Courser, Chestnut-bellied and Black-faced sandgrouse, White-bellied Go-away-bird, White-headed Mousebird, Eastern Yellow-billed and Von der Decken's hornbills, Somali Bee-eater, Red-and-yellow Barbet, Pygmy Falcon, Rosy-patched Bushshrike, Somali Tit, Yellow-vented Eremomela, Kenya Violet-backed Sunbird, White-headed Buffalo-Weaver, and Purple Grenadier. Mammals were also outstanding, with good looks at the 'four northern specials'-- Grevy's Zebra, Reticulated Giraffe, Beisa Oryx and Gerenuk,-- plus many elephants, a variety of antelopes, and a mother and four young Cheetah which had just killed an Impala.

We now made a return journey to near Mt. Kenya, and spent a night at Naro Moru. Highlights in this area were Black-breasted Snake-Eagle, Common Scimitarbill, Purple-throated Cuckooshrike, White-bellied Tit, Gray-capped Warbler, and 9 species of sunbirds (with many right in our lodge garden).

Lake Nakuru was our next stop. Lying in the Great Rift Valley, this national park is most famous for the large numbers of flamingos that sometimes gather there. This year however, the lake was very high and had largely changed from alkaline to fresh, resulting in far fewer birds than when the lake is concentrated and shallow. However, we still enjoyed our stay here, with Yellow-billed Duck, Cape Teal, Saddle-billed Stork, African Darter, Great White and Pink-backed pelicans, a variety of heron, egrets, ibis and African Spoonbill, White-winged and Whiskered terns, African Skimmer, Green Woodhoopoe, Southern Ground-hornbill, Chinspot Batis, Little Rock-Thrush, Mocking Cliff-Chat, and spectacular Long-tailed Widowbirds in full breeding plumage. Mammals were good too, with our first Common Eland and the only Rothschild's Giraffes of the tour.

We then continued north within the Great Rift Valley to one of Kenya's top birding hot spots - Lake Baringo. Here, we based ourselves at Island Camp, a lovely quiet retreat on an island. It was great to see the very localized Hemprich's Hornbill as we approached the landing dock, and then things then continued just perfectly as we worked with our local guide, walked the nearby cliffs, and took a leisurely boat tour. We added a wonderful mix of both land and water birds, with 9 species of herons, including Goliath (the world's largest), a breeding colony of darters, cormorants and egrets, at least 15 African Fish-Eagles, Senegal Thick-knee, Three-banded Courser, Red-chested Cuckoo, 4 species of owls in a single morning - with Northern White-faced being the most uncommon, African Scops the most cryptic, Grayish Eagle-Owl, a great find by our local guide, and Verreaux's Eagle-Owl - just huge! Other 'special' birds during our stay here were Jackson's Hornbill, African Pygmy and Woodland kingfishers, Rufous-crowned Roller, Greater Honeyguide, Northern Crombec, Red-fronted Warbler, Gray Tit-Flycatcher, Bristle-crowned Starling, Beautiful Sunbird, and Little, Northern Masked and Golden-backed weavers. Mating hippos were an unusual sighting too!

The final part of our tour was to return to Nairobi for an overnight stay, and then fly to Kichwa Tembo Camp in Masai Mara. 'The Mara' as it is locally called, is actually the northern part of the Serengeti, with just a different name depending on which side of the Kenya-Tanzania border you are. Here, in this classic African savanna landscape, we spent 3 days making drives across the grassy plains, along the Mara River, and to the nearby Oloololo Escarpment. For many visitors, the major highlight is the herds of buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and of course the famed big cats. Lions were particularly great this tour with almost 30, including a pride of 14, and 2 big-maned males. African Elephants were also plentiful, as were Warthogs, Topi, and Thomson's Gazelle; Hippos were common in the river. Bird life was also very varied with Common Ostrich, Red-necked and Coqui francolins, Black-bellied Bustard, Temminck's Courser, Gray Kestrel, Rufous-naped Lark, Stout Cisticola, and Yellow-throated Longclaw in the open grasslands. Vultures gathered there too, with Lappet-faced, White-backed and Rueppell's Griffon all gathering at kills. Bare-faced Go-away-bird and Silverbird preferred the acacia bush, while in the wetlands we watched Gray Crowned Crane, Water Thick-knee and Long-toed Lapwing. In the more forested areas around our camp we found Blue-spotted Wood-Dove, Ross's Turaco, the massive Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Rufous-necked Wryneck, Meyer's Parrot, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, African Blue Flycatcher, and Violet-backed Starling. African Wood-Owl showed itself well at night.

Thanks to all for coming along on this adventure!

Our next Wild Kenya: A Tented Camp Safari with Terry Stevenson runs 13-28 July 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 Cheetahs provided one of the highlights of the tour. Not only were we lucky enough to simply see them, but they had just made a kill, and we were able to see five in all-- four large cubs and their mother. Photo by participant Joshua Horner.

Here is a classic scene we observed in the Masai Mara. This group of scavengers includes Rueppell's Griffon, White-backed and Lappet-faced vultures, with a Marabou Stork hoping to get in on the action. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

A gorgeous African Fish-Eagle was captured in flight by participant Joshua Horner.

Lake Baringo was the setting for some memorable sightings, including this lovely and cryptic Double-banded Courser, one of three that we saw there. Photo by participant Joshua Horner.

We saw many African Elephants, including this group crossing the river in Samburuland. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

We found this cryptic African Scops-Owl at Lake Baringo. Photo by participant Joshua Horner.

Bronze Sunbirds were common and widespread, but they are gorgeous birds, so we didn't mind seeing them repeatedly. Photo by participant Joshua Horner.

One of the mammalian highlights was seeing a number of rare Grevy's Zebras at Samburu. This handsome duo posed nicely for guide Terry Stevenson.

Participant Joshua Horner got this nice portrait of one of the Black-faced Sandgrouse we found in Samburuland.

This group of Banded Mongooses were a few of the 35 or so we saw at Masai Mara. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

We had some great close looks at the odd Vulturine Guineafowl at Samburu. Photo by participant Joshua Horner.

Blue Wildebeest were just beginning their migration when we saw this herd at the Tanzanian border. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

A White-browed Coucal posed well for participant Joshua Horner.

One of the pair of Verreaux's Eagle-Owls we saw at Lake Baringo. We did very well for owls on this tour, seeing six species in all, and we had great looks at them. Photo by participant Joshua Horner.

The accomodations on this tour are wonderful! Here is part of our group as we took the boat ride on Lake Baringo to the lovely Island Camp. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

This beautiful Red-and-Yellow Barbet was one of two we saw at Samburu. Photo by participant Joshua Horner.

We saw a few Long-crested Eagles during the tour. Participant Joshua Horner captured this regal-looking individual in a lovely portrait.

Goliath Heron is the world's largest heron species. We only saw this one at Lake Baringo, but we got a great view of it. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

These two impressive male Lions were seen at Masai Mara. Photo by participant Joshua Horner.

This Kori Bustard allowed us to approach closely and get a real good view. Photo by participant Joshua Horner.

We found about a dozen White Rhinoceros at Lake Nakuru. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

This Coqui Francolin was one of the birds we saw while driving in Masai Mara. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

Here is one of the lovely tents we stayed in at the Island Camp on Lake Baringo. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

Lappet-faced, White-backed and Rueppell's Griffon vultures were seen together in Masai Mara. Many vulture species are in serious trouble, so it was nice to see them. Photo by participant Joshua Horner.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Reptiles seen on the tour included;

Savanna Monitor; 1 at Samburu.

Water Monitor; singles at Samburu and Nakuru, and 3 at Baringo.

Nile Crocodile; about 10 at Samburu, 3 at Baringo, and 6 at Masai Mara.

Boomslang; some of the group saw 1 at Baringo.

Tropical House Gecko; we saw a total of about 12 at Samburu, Baringo and Masai Mara.

Red-headed Rock Agama; about 6 at Samburu, and 2 at Baringo.

Mwanza Rock Agama; 2 at Masai Mara.

Leopard Tortoise; singles on the way to Baringo and at Masai Mara.

Totals for the tour: 382 bird taxa and 49 mammal taxa