3 Day Birding Trip around Nairobi

Nairobi National Park

Located only 7km off the cosmopolitan city of Nairobi, the park has one of the greatest avifauna with a record of over 515 species over an area of 117km². Interesting birds to watch include: Nairobi Pipit, Black-headed and Grey Herons, African Spoonbill, White-faced Whistling, Singing Bush, Short-tailed, Rufous-naped Lark, Yellow-throated, Pangani, Rosy-breasted Longclaw, Jacksons Widowbird, Saddle-billed Stork, Martial Eagle, and Yellow-billed Oxpecker, among hundreds of other birds. The park is full of big game such as the Lions, Buffalo, Burchells Zebra, hippo, Masai Giraffe, Cokes Hartebeest, Vervet and the Sykes Monkey, both Black and White Rhino.

Olorgesaille

This is a dry, arid, scrub country south of Nairobi (on the way to Lake Magadi) and makes an excellent whole day birding. All the way down the rift valley, stops along the way are a distinctive change in habitat and species. Recorded species includes the Crested Francolin, Cut Throat, Blue-capped Cordon-bleu, Northern Crombec, Banded Parisoma, Crimson-rumped Waxbill, Grey Wren Warbler, Taita Fiscal, Von der Deckens Hornbill, Fischers Sparrow-Lark, Grey-headed and African Silverbill, Red-fronted Tinkerbird, Spot-flanked, Black-throated Barbet, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Eastern Violet-backed, Beautiful, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Straw-tailed Wydah, Secretary Bird, Somali Golden-breasted Bunting, etc.

Gatamaiyu Forest

The forest stretches through the Kieni forest (part of the central highland) and boasts of many montane species including the Chestnut-throated, Grey, Black-collared, Black-throated Apalis, Montane Oriole, Narina & Bar-tailed Trogon, Black-fronted Bush-shrike, Yellow-rumped, Mustached Green Tinkerbird, Scarce Swift, White-browed Crombec, while Abbotts Starling and the Sharpes Starling are rarely sighted. While Manguo Ponds makes an excellent birding spot en-route to the forest and has a wide variety of waterfowls such as the Yellow-billed Duck, Little Grebe, Red-billed Teal, Red-knobbed Coot, while Maccoa Duck are regularly recorded, Grey, Black-headed Heron, African Spoonbill, White-faced Whistling Duck, Hottentot Teal, Northern Shoveler, Long-tailed Cormorant, also waders such as Black-winged Stilt, Blacksmith Plover, Ringed Plover, Three-banded Plover, Marsh, Wood Sandpiper, Common Greenshank