July 26-August 10, 2025 with Terry Stevenson
Our 2025 Wild Kenya Tented Camp Safari took place as usual at the end of July into August – prime time for visiting Masai Mara and seeing the spectacular migration of hundreds of thousands of Blue Wildebeest. We also made visits to Nairobi National Park a great introduction to birds and mammals of the central highlands and only 20 minutes from our hotel, lakes Naivasha and Elementaita, two prime spots within the Great Rift Valley, the arid north at Samburu, and the gorgeous Aberdare Mountains.
Beginning in Nairobi, we went to Nairobi National Park where just a few of the highlights were our first Common Ostrich, Helmeted Guineafowl, Yellow-necked Spurfowl, White-bellied Go-away-bird, Blacksmith and Spur-winged lapwings, Yellow-billed Stork, African Darter, African Sacred Ibis, African Spoonbill, Black-winged Kite, Little Bee-eater, Striped Kingfisher, Long-tailed Fiscal, Northern Pied Babbler, Red-billed Oxpecker, Hildebrandt’s Starling, Rueppell’s Robin-Chat, Holub’s Golden-Weaver, and Purple Grenadier. And of course, we also saw our first mammals, which varied from Wahlberg’s Epauletted Fruit Bats at the park gate, to Vervet Monkey, Olive Baboon and Northern Giraffe around the Yellow-barked Acacia trees, Hippos in the picturesque pools, and White Rhino, Plains Zebra, Common Eland and Hartebeest on the open grasslands.
It was a great way to start the tour, and we returned to our hotel in the grounds of the famous Karen Country Club in time to do an afternoon walk – quickly finding a pair of spectacular Hartlaub’s Turacos, and then Black Crake, Hadada Ibis, the very localized Brown-backed Woodpecker, Black-backed Puffback, Abyssinian Thrush, White-eyed Slaty-Flycatcher, Amethyst, Scarlet-chested, Bronze and Variable sunbirds, Baglafecht Weaver, and Bronze Manakin – what a great first day!
The following morning, we headed north and into the Great Rift Valley, stopping for a few hours at Lake Naivasha (a freshwater lake). A boat trip here was fantastic for the photographers, with great close looks at Long-toed Lapwing, African Jacana, a large gathering of Marabou Storks at the fish market, six species of herons, some very tame Hamerkops, Great White and Pink-backed pelicans, Long-crested Eagle, African Fish-Eagle, and Giant and Pied kingfishers. Along the wooded shore, we found Mountain Gray Woodpecker, African Black-headed Oriole, Tropical Boubou, and African Paradise-flycatcher, to name but a few. After our picnic lunch we continued a little further north to the alkaline Lake Elementaita – our base for the next two nights.
The great thing about the camp here is firstly, it’s small and extremely comfortable, and perhaps even more appealing is it’s on a private concession, with none of the mass tourism found in some of the more popular large national parks. Just some of the highlights we enjoyed here were Cape Teal, Dusky Turtle-Dove, Klaas’s Cuckoo, Montane Nightjar, Crowned Lapwing, Greater and Lesser flamingos along the dazzling lake shore, African Harrier-Hawk, Green Woodhoopoe, simply huge Southern Ground-hornbills, White-fronted Bee-eater, Lilac-breasted and Purple rollers, Northern Red-fronted Tinkerbird, Scaly-throated Honeyguide, a fabulous close perched African Hobby, Black Cuckooshrike, Gray-backed Fiscal, White-bellied Tit, Buff-bellied Warbler, Arrow-marked and Black-lored babblers, Violet-backed Starling, and Speke’s Weaver. We also added a few mammals, including Cape Buffalo and Kirk’s Dikdik, plus the rare Rothchild’s Giraffe (sadly recently subsumed in to a whole complex now called Northern Giraffe).
Leaving the Rift Valley behind, we then headed east and spent one night at Naro Moru, an old lodge on the banks of the Naro Moru River and an interesting place to stay and break what would otherwise be a very long drive to Samburu. Highlights this day included Secretarybird (in the Solio grasslands), Cape Eagle-Owl (at the Kiawara Quarry), Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Gray-headed Bushshrike, Red-faced Crombec, Yellow-whiskered Greenbul, and Collared, Green-headed and Tacazze sunbirds. And without doubt the mammal of the day was a family of striking Guereza – a gorgeous black-and-white monkey formerly known as Colobus!
Heading further north, we then spent three nights at Samburu, a semi-arid desert-land in the north, with totally different birds and some localized neat mammals, too! Grevy’s Zebra now totals less than 2800 and we had excellent close looks at about 45. We also saw the three other ‘specials’, including Reticulated Giraffe, Beisa Oryx, and Gerenuk. African Savannah Elephants were in good numbers, and we had close looks at a female lion with a young cub. But perhaps most impressive, was spending 30 minutes watching a Leopard hunting an African Wild Cat – really tense and dramatic – but when it came to the chase (and to the relief of some of the group) the wild cat got away! New and memorable bird sightings included Somali Ostrich, Chestnut-bellied and Black-faced sandgrouse, White-bellied, Buff-crested and Hartlaub’s bustards, Water Thick-knee, Somali Courser, Goliath Heron, Hooded Vulture, Bateleur, Martial Eagle, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Blue-naped Mousebird, Violet Woodhoopoe, Eastern Yellow-billed, Von der Decken’s and Northern Red-billed hornbills, White-throated Bee-eater, African Pygmy Kingfisher, the striking Red-and-yellow Barbet, Pygmy Falcon, Red-bellied Parrot, Pygmy Batis, Rosy-patched Bushshrike, Taita Fiscal, Somali Tit, Pink-breasted Lark, Northern Crombec, Pale Prinia, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Spotted Morning-Thrush, Hunter’s Sunbird, White-headed Buffalo-Weaver, Donaldson Smith’s Sparrow-Weaver, Red-headed and Golden Palm weavers, and Red-billed Quelea (seasonally the world’s most numerous bird).
We now headed south and back towards Nairobi, but with a stop along the way in the Aberdare Mountains at The Ark. Again, a totally different habitat, montane forest with a lodge over-looking a flood-lit waterhole and mineral-lick. The special mammal to look for here is the Giant Forest Hog – and we did well with great looks at about 10. We also saw our first Spotted Hyena, Rusty-spotted Genet, and Suni, while new birds included African Black Duck, Jackson’s and Scaly spurfowls, Blue-headed Coucal, the massive Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Moustached Tinkerbird, Red-throated Wryneck, Red-fronted Parrot, Hunter’s Cisticola, Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, Kikuyu White-eye, and Golden-winged Sunbird.
The final part of our tour took us back to Nairobi for an overnight stay, and then on a flight to the world-famous Masa Mara Game Reserve, where we spent three nights at Little Governors’ Camp. This wonderful old-style camp is the perfect place to finish our tour, with a wealth of birds and mammals all around. But don’t be fooled thinking it’s exactly like being in a wildlife documentary, as we discovered when making an all-day drive to see the wildebeest migration – absolutely fabulous, but shows just how vast these grasslands are. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of wildebeest, we saw other memorable mammal sightings, included group of playful Banded Mongoose, a mother hyena with a tiny inquisitive baby, herds of elephant of all ages, two male, a female and a young lion, but perhaps most impressive is just being out there in an open-sided Landcruiser watching the mixed herds of zebra, buffalo, eland, waterbuck, tsessebe, hartebeest, impala, and Thomson’s gazelles – with the savanna and wandering Oloololo Escarpment as a stunning backdrop!
Our next Wild Kenya: A Tented Camp Safari runs July 25 to August 9, 2026.
Mammals seen:
Wahlberg’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus wahlbergi) About 15 at the gate to Nairobi National Park.
Blue Monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) Four at Little Governors’ Camp.
Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythus) Common and widespread with a total of about 340.
Olive Baboon (Papio anubis) Another widespread primate; in all we saw about 600.
Guereza (Colobus guereza) Great looks at 8 in the forest along the river at Naro Moru River Lodge.
Scrub Hare (Lepus saxatalis) Two at Elementaita, and 3 at Samburu.
Unstriped Ground Squirrel (Xerus rutilus) About 30 at Samburu.
Black-backed Jackal (Lupulella mesomelas) Two pairs at Samburu, and a single at Masai Mara.
Rusty-spotted Genet (Genetta fieldiana) Also known as Large-spotted Genet, we saw 1 at The Ark.
Common Slender Mongoose (Herpestes sanguineus) Two at The Ark.
Banded Mongoose (Mungos mungo) We saw several groups in Masai Mara; with a total of about 40.
Common Dwarf Mongoose (Helogale parvula) Ten and then 4 at Samburu; often around termite hills.
Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) Six at The Ark, and a mother and baby at Masai Mara.
African Wildcat (Felis lybica) Quite uncommon in Kenya, so we were lucky to see 2 singles at Samburu.
Leopard (Panthera pardus) Great looks at one hunting an African Wildcat at Samburu.
Lion (Panthera leo) A female and a young one at Samburu, and then 2 big males and another female and young at Masai Mara.
African Savanna Elephant (Loxodonta africana) Very common at Samburu (160) and Masai Mara (500), and also about 20 at The Ark.
Southern Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus) Heard at Naro Moru River Lodge.
Grevy’s Zebra (Equus grevyi) We saw about 45 of these very rare zebras at Samburu.
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 2300.
White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) Introduced (but long established) in Kenya, we saw 5 at Nairobi NP and 10 at Solio Game Ranch.
Desert Warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus) Newly split from Common Warthog, we saw about 25 at Samburu.
Common Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) Widespread away from the arid country at Samburu with a total of about 160.
Giant Forest Hog (Hylochoerus meinertzhageni) About 10 in The Ark area.
Common Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) Forty in Nairobi NP, and about 400 in the river at Masai Mara.
Northern Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) We saw about 15 at Nairobi NP, a dozen ‘Rothschild’s Giraffe’ (often given species status) at Elementaita, and about 90 ‘Masai Giraffe’ at Masai Mara.
Southern Bushbuck (Tragelaphus sylvaticus) About 10 at The Ark.
Common Eland (Tragelaphus oryx) Twenty at Nairobi NP, 1 at Elementaita, and 35 at Masai Mara.
Cape Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) Widespread, on open plains and the edges of bushland; in all we saw about 600.
Waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) Common and widespread with a total of about 250.
Bohor Reedbuck (Redunca redunca) We saw a single male at Masai Mara.
Tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus) Also known at Topi, we saw about 100 at Masai Mara.
Hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus) Thirty in Nairobi NP, and about a dozen at Masai Mara.
Blue Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) Hundreds of thousands in Masai Mara near the Tanzania border.
Suni (Neotragus moschatus) Nice looks at 1 from the walkway at The Ark.
Kirk's Dik-dik (Modoqua kirki) Three at Elementaita, 40 at Samburu, and 2 at Masai Mara.
Impala (Aepyceros malampus) Very common and widespread, with a total of about 1100.
Gerenuk (Litocranius walleri) Nice looks at about 30 of this rather localized species at Samburu.
Thomson's Gazelle (Eudorcas thomsoni) About 120 at Elementaita, and 100 at Masai Mara.
Grant's Gazelle (Nanger granti) Prefers dry country; we saw about 170 at Samburu.
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/426366
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/ket25TRIPLIST.pdf
-- Terry Stevenson