Birding safaris – species lists

Introduction

Kenya is a small country (586,600km2) that is 4½ times larger than England and slightly smaller than the State of Texas, USA. Despite her size, it is one of bird watcher’s paradise where habitats and birds change rapidly as does wildlife, culture and landscapes. Lying astride the equator on the eastern coast of Africa, Kenya has one of the most diverse topographical diversity in the world: glaciated mountains with snow-capped peaks e.g. Mt Kenya standing an elevation of 5,199 meters (17,057 feet); the Great Rift Valley with her scarps, volcanoes and both alkaline and freshwater Lakes; flat deserts landscapes covered in scrub vegetation and stones; a 550km coastline with coral reefs, white sand beaches, coral cliffs, creeks; and a series of ancient granitic mountains whose formation is as diverse as is their life forms.

Birding and Bird life Conservation in the Wetlands of Kenya
The inland wetlands covers an approximate 10,700km2 and comes in all different varieties such as swamps, salt marshes, open water, rivers, streams, falls, seasonal and permanent flood plains, alpine moorlands, constructed wetlands and waste water treatment areas, not forgetting irrigation schemes. Bird conservation in the country is also at its height especially with the coming of BirdLife International’s Important Bird Areas program that not only aims at conserving birds and their habitats but also other biodiversity. Kenya has sixty such sites of global bird conservation significance. You’ll be visiting most of these sites during your safari where our guide will be more than passionate to tell you more about them.

Birds in the Midst of Beauty
Many people have attempted to describe the beauty of this country in different styles. In our own words and style, Kenya is beautiful country that one can think of anywhere on the eastern Africa coastline astride the equator.

Kenya has 8 national endemics some of which you are bound to see. Seven (7) of the endemic families in Africa are represented.

… and why consider Vindicate Tours and Travel as your Safari Company.

Birding Safaris

Vindicate Tours and Travel offers highly specialized bird watching safaris lead by our professional bird guide and ecologist, Wanyoike Wamiti. His arrival at our company has tremendously improved our services. The following are our options from which you can choose a safari that suits you most. They have been prepared with your needs, whether an amateur or professional birdwatcher, in mind to ensure you get the most out of your safari. With us, you are not only assured of watching birds but also other wildlife and learning bits of their natural history and conservation issues.

At Vindicate Tours and Travel, we offer from a one-day birding excursion i.e. to Kinangop Grasslands, Kikuyu Escarpment Forest, Manguo Ponds, Nairobi National Park, Nairobi Arboretum, National Museums of Kenya grounds, Olorgesailie e.t.c. to a 30 days safari traversing the biologically, culturally and geographically diverse homeland of Kenya. Trips to Uganda and Tanzania are also available on request.

Our trip takes you not only to major birding hotspots but also to unpopular but ornithological important sites in Kenya. Some of these areas have less traffic allowing a feel of birding freedom, something that we treasure on. Due to their fewer visitations, there is more wildlife too as a result of little disturbance.