Bird Watching In Kenya
With a staggering bird count of around 1 100 species, Kenya represents one of Africa’s, if not the world’s best birding destinations – a 2-week trip should easily yield around 600 species. Of Kenya’s bird list, some 230 are migrants (170 Palaearctic, 60 intra-African) and the country boasts around 10 endemics and depending which source you use, between 40 and 75 near-endemics.
Straddling the Equator, Kenya geography is dominated by the Great Rift Valley that runs through the centre of the country. This portion of the 6 000km rupture in the Earth’s crust has created in Kenya numerous large grassy or wooded valleys, fresh or soda water lakes and the mountainous region of the Central Highlands, home to some good areas of montane forest and Afro-alpine moorland.
The Rift Valley separates another 2 geographical zones: the hot and humid coastal plains, with patches of coastal and mangrove forest and the hilly, fertile Lake Victoria basin. There are remnants of the once extensive rainforest in the west, in stark contrast to the semi-arid acacia scrub and woodland of the dry north.
Kenya is home to, or at least has portions of 5 Endemic Bird Areas and has 60 IBAs covering 5.7 million hectares. Of particular importance are Kenya’s forest birds which number around 230 species.
When to go:
Kenya is a land of different geographical regions and thus varied climatic zones.
The coast is hot and humid all year round and you can expect rain just about anytime, but particularly during the monsoons of October to April.
The north and eastern semi-arid region see temperatures swing wildly from 40 degrees centigrade to less than 20 at night. Rainfall is low, usually in the form of violent storms, and usually at its highest in November, lowest in June and July.
Kenya’s Central Highlands, Rift Valley and Lake Victoria region see 2 rainy seasons: the long rains from March to June, and the short rains from October to December. The temperatures are probably the most agreeable in Kenya.
The western highlands are fairly hot and humid with rain all year but the wettest months are from March to September.
Kenya’s Palaearctic migrant species arrive from October/November onwards and leave March/April.
Where to go:
Aberdare National Park – Southern Kenya. There are literally hundreds of bird species in this forested mountain park. Only 180km from the capital Nairobi, the birder will get a great opportunity to explore the montane forests, bamboo forests and Afro-alpine moorland of this mountain range.
Amboseli National Park – Northern Kenya. An area of wooded savannah, open grasslands, broken hill country and large rivers with wetland habitats, Amboseli is home to over 400 bird species, including bee-eaters, kingfishers, African fish eagle, marital eagle and pygmy falcon.
Lake Baringo – Rift Valley. Of Kenya’s 1 200 different species of birds, more than 450 species have been sighted here; the lake is the bird-watching centre of the country and it is possible to go on bird-watching walks with a resident ornithologist.
Lake Nakuru – Western Kenya. The soda lake is one of the Rift Valley lakes that attracts millions of flamingos; though numbers have decreased over recent years, it is hoped they will increase again.
Lake Bogoria – Western Kenya. Recently, Lake Bogoria has become the place to view flamingos in East Africa – where the population is around one to two million birds, mostly staying around the southern end of the lake.
Mount Kenya and Meru National Park – Central Highlands. Both parks offer excellent opportunities for spotting both forest and moorland-dwelling birds.
Kakamega Forest Reserve – Rift Valley. A superb slice of protected virgin tropical rainforest and a remnant of the much larger blanket of Central African Congolean rainforest that once covered the region, Kakamega boasts over 330 bird species and a number of primates.
