Mt. Kenya Forest Birding Day Tour
MT. KENYA FOREST BIRDING DAY TOUR
Trip duration
1 day
DAY 1: MT. KENYA FOREST
We shall start the Mt. Kenya Forest Birding Day Tour from your hotel or house. Our guide shall pick you up and drive to the forest entrance gate. You may spot some few roadside birds during the drive to the forest. Enjoy the culture and rhythm of Nairobi City, as you drive along.
Our main birdwatching adventure will then commence as we sample the various habitats within and around the forest. Most of the birding will be done on foot, which allows for a great birdwatching experience. We shall also do some drives along the forest roads, seeking more habitats.
During our birdwatching tour, we shall sample different habitats in and around the forest. These include rivers, natural forest, plantation forest, bushland, swamps, ponds, farmlands and grasslands. We shall also stop at the famous Thiba River, a spot that is quite popular on our Mt. Kenya Forest Birding Day Tours.
Mt. Kenya Forest is one of the largest forests Kenya. It is located North of Nairobi, near the famous Equator line. This makes it a pristine highland moist forest, with many species linked to the Central Highlands of Kenya. On the forest edges, many productive farms provide extra habitat – coffee farms, tea plantations, vegetables and maize.
In the afternoon, we shall make a roadside stop at the famous Mwea Rice Scheme. Here we shall enjoy some great waterbirds.
We shall then drop you off back to your hotel or other desired spot within the city. This marks the end to our exciting Mt. Kenya Forest Birding Day Tour.
Highlight birds
Grey-headed Nigrita, Bar-tailed Trogon, Hartlaub’s Turaco, Mountain Oriole/ Black-tailed Oriole, Abyssinian Crimsonwing, Black-and-white Mannikin, Kikuyu White-eye, African Goshawk, Crowned Eagle, Cassin’s Hawk-Eagle, Mountain Buzzard, Fine-banded Woodpecker, African Black Duck, White-faced Whistling Duck, Fulvous Whistling Duck, Grey Crowned Crane, African Jacana, Giant Kingfisher, Malachite Kingfisher, White-tailed Crested Flycatcher, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Moustached Green Tinkerbird, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, White-browed Crombec, African Hill Babbler, Evergreen-Forest Warbler, Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, Lesser Swamp Warbler, Grey-capped Warbler, Brown Woodland Warbler, Hunter’s Cisticola, Chestnut-throated Apalis, Grey Apalis, Black-collared Apalis, Black-throated Apalis, Tacazze Sunbird, Eastern Double-collared Sunbird, Northern Double-collared Sunbird, Brown-capped Weaver, Tropical Boubou, Doherty’s Bush-shrike, Black-fronted Bush-shrike, Grey Cuckoo-shrike, White-winged Widowbird, Red-cowled Widowbird, Yellow Bishop, Yellow-crowned Bishop, Hamerkop, African Emerald Cuckoo, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, Red-chested Cuckoo, Klaas’s Cuckoo, Green-backed Honeybird, White-bellied Tit, Thick-billed Seedeater, Streaky Seedeater, Yellow-crowned Canary, Kenya Rufous Sparrow, Kikuyu Mountain Greenbul/ Olive-breasted Greenbul, Yellow-whiskered Greenbul, Cabanis’s Greenbul/ Placid Greenbul, Slender-billed Greenbul, Crowned Hornbill, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Brown-chested Alethe, African Stonechat, Ruppell’s Robin-Chat, White-starred Robin, Abyssinian Ground Thrush, Orange Ground Thrush, Mountain Wagtail, Cape Wagtail, Black Saw-wing, African Olive Pigeon/ Rameron Pigeon, Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon/ Delegorgue’s Pigeon, Olive Ibis, Red-fronted Parrot, Kandt’s Waxbill, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, Abbott’s Starling, Waller’s Starling, Scaly Spurfowl/ Scaly Francolin, White-headed Wood-Hoopoe, Alpine Swift, Scarce Swift
Highlight mammals
Harvey’s Red Duiker, Suni, Mt. Kenya Guereza Colobus Monkey, Mt. Kenya Kolb’s Monkey/ Sykes’s Monkey, Southern Tree Hyrax, Ochre Bush Squirrel, Slender Mongoose
Highlight reptiles and amphibians
Kilimanjaro Forest Lizard, Common Striped Skink, Jackson’s Chameleon, Meru Tree Snake, Battersby’s Green Snake, Nile Rocket Frog, Mahnert’s Rocket Frog, Kerinyaga Toad, Senegal Kassina, Northern Clawed Frog, Kenya Puddle Frog, Peter’s Reed Frog, Montane Reed Frog, Nutt’s River Frog
Habitats covered
Highland Forest, Grasslands, Wetlands
Photographic opportunities
Excellent
Special moments
Kenya’s endemic birds, Thiba River, Mwea Rice Scheme, forest mammals
