Bird Watching Safari Tours in Kenya & Tanzania

Mar 19, 2025 Safari Trips to Kenya No Comments 27 Views

Bird Watching Safari Tours in Kenya & Tanzania, Discover Thousands of Beautiful Bird Species in East Africa.

Everything about Africa is different, surprising, and comes in large numbers and a wide range of types. This is especially true for the wide range of birds you can see on safari in Kenya and Tanzania. First-time visitors to Africa may be amazed by the beautiful birds that live in the sky, in the trees, along the lakes, and in large groups on the fields.

Imagine seeing a hundred different kinds of birds in one day, from beautiful ibis and herons to vultures and raptor eagles and great white pelicans and storks. Birds of prey like starlings, doves, blue turacos, and guineafowl fill the air with their coos, calls, and light tunes when they are moving around.

Africa, especially Kenya and Tanzania, is a great place to watch birds because it has savannahs, grasslands, forests, and wetlands. Different types of birds, like bee-eaters, sunbirds, parrots, cranes, and fish eagles, live in each environment. You will see a lot of different bird species on your African tour because both countries have more than 1000 species.

Seeing birds in Kenya

Wow, look at this number: About 11% of the world’s bird species live in Kenya. That’s about 1100 different kinds of bird life. Safari-goers have seen more than 500 different kinds of birds on some trips.

Kenya has a lot of different landscapes and temperatures, which are home to many different kinds of birds. Many migrant species, like swallows and shorebirds, come to the lakes and shores from February to October, adding to the diversity of the area. From June to October, when it’s dry, it’s also a great time to see birds because they gather near water, which makes them easier to spot.

Lakes & Parks For Perfect Bird Safaris in Kenya

Aberdare National Park

Amboseli National Park

Amboseli is a small but busy park near the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. It is famous for its many elephants that roam freely and its more than 420 kinds of birds. Birds like egrets, herons, Egyptian geese, pelicans, and crowned cranes live in these waters. This is most likely to happen during the wet seasons, which are March through May and October through December.

Arabuko Sokoke National Park

One of the few jungle-like environments left in East Africa is this large coastal forest. There are lots of birds and butterflies in the forest above. The Sokoke scops owl, the bee-easter, the Amani sunbird, and the crested guineafowl are some of the 230 species that live here.

Kakamega Forest Reserve

The Kenyan tropical rainforest may be the last one left. It is a lush place where over 300 kinds of birds, butterflies, monkeys, baboons, and frogs live. You can look out for parrots, the giant kingfisher, the great blue turaco, the African green cuckoo, and the red-headed bluebill as you walk through the thick primeval forest.

Lake Baringo

People who like to watch birds know that there are over 500 kinds that live in this freshwater lake in northern Kenya. There are thousands of water birds here, but the bright pink flamingos make this area stand out. Other birds that live there are the Verreaux’s eagle, hornbills, chats, and owls.

Lake Bogoria

There are geysers and hot springs in this area, which will make you feel very hot. But if you look through the hot mist, you’ll see a beautiful world full of up to two million pink flamingos, as well as buzzards, goshawks, starlings, herons, ibises, and ostriches.

Lake Naivasha

Lake Naivasha is a peaceful place where we can go on a boat tour and look for the white egret, black-headed gull, spotted redshank, and purple swamp hen that live in the area.

Lake Nakuru National Park

This park welcomes us with acacia forests, waterfalls, and the alkaline lake itself, which is home to a beautiful pink blanket of Lesser and Greater flamingos that eat algae from the lake. There are also the African Fish Eagle, the Helmet Shrike, the Black Tern, and the Spotted Crake that live here.

Masai Mara National Reserve

A lot of animals, both hunters and grazers, live in the king of Kenya’s parks. But the birds that live there are just as amazing. The Masai Mara has a lot of different environments that are home to a lot of different birds. Jackson’s widowbird and corn crake live in its rolling hills. We will look for magpie shrikes, white storks, and Caspian plovers in the bush and woods. There are also interesting birds here, like the red-tailed chat, the pale wren warbler, and the Denham’s bustard.

Mida Creek Park

This area is different because it is made up of over 100 hectares of mangrove forest that has been fixed up. This coastal protected area will get a million mangrove sea trees planted in it over time. Birds that come from Europe and Asia make this their home. The Grey Plover, the Terek sandpiper, sand lovers, and terns are some of the birds that live here.

Mount Kenya National Park

5199m (17,058 ft) of course The park is dominated by Mt. Kenya, which has tall, snowy slopes. But at its base is a tropical forest where the African crowned eagle, the scarlet-tufted sunbird, and, at 3,000 meters, the Jackson’s widowbird live. It is possible to see the Abbot’s starling and the Lesser Kestral on the high moorlands.

Taita Hills Forest

is a tropical cloud forest that rises 2,200 meters and gets its clouds from the Indian Ocean. Three types of birds that can only be found in this area live there: the Taita apalis, the Taita thrush, and the Taita white-eye. Also keep an eye out for the flamingo, the African pygmy goose, the whistling duck, and the Somali ostrich.

Tsavo East National Park

This is one of Kenya’s largest reserves and a legacy park. It is home to lions, elephants, and more than 500 different bird types. You can aim for many birds, such as the red-winged lark, the martial eagle, the golden-breasted starling, and the Somali bee-eater.

Seeing birds in Tanzania

Tanzania, like Kenya, has more than a thousand kinds of birds—over 1,100!—many of which are native to East Africa and live in the country’s beautiful landscapes. Some of these are migratory birds, waterfowl, birds of prey, and rare or unusual types. Tanzania is, without a doubt, a wildlife paradise. There are thousands of big cats and millions of grazers, so you can see even more birds.

Lakes & Parks For Perfect Bird Safaris in Tanzania

Lake Manyara National Park

Along with the beautiful acacia forest, the park is mostly made up of the lake, which is home to many of the 400 species that live here. It’s possible to see up to 100 different kinds of birds in a single day. You can see a lot of lesser flamingos, pink-backed pelicans, crested guinea fowl, hornbills, turacos, weavers, bee-eaters, herons, ibis, and green cuckoos at the lake. The forest is home to the African Hawke-eagle.

Lake Victoria

It is the second-biggest lake in the world and the largest lake in Africa. It is bigger than some countries. The lake is home to many birds and is famous for its beautiful green islands. Watch out for the ostrich, the cormorant, the Egyptian goose, the yellow-billed duck, the greater flamingo, the sparrows, the fire finches, and the canaries, among more than 300 other species.

Ngorongoro Crater / Conservation Area

This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a strange volcanic crater that looks like it’s all by itself. It’s a blue-green world full of animals. Over 500 different kinds of birds live in this huge wildlife bowl. Some of these birds are the white-eyed flycatcher, Hildebrandt’s spurfowl, black kite, black-winged lapwing, and lesser flamingo.

Serengeti National Park

The park is famous as the place where the Great Wildebeest Migration happens. You can watch over 500 different kinds of birds there. The black-headed heron, the secretary bird, the grey-headed sparrow, the white-crowned shrike, the red-backed robin, and the Kori bustard are the birds you need to look for.

Tarangire National Park

This off-the-beaten-path area is a great place to watch birds. These months, April through November, are the best for seeing all of its bird forms. Birds like the tawny eagle, the African grey flycatcher, lovebirds, larks, and shrikes can be found here. Pelicans and ostriches are examples of bigger birds. Where else can you find a real bird with wings called a bare-faced go-away bird?

What to Bring on Your Safari to Watch Birds

One of the fun parts of a trip is getting ready for it, whether you’re looking for a lion or a black-headed heron. You should always wear clothes that are cool, don’t show too much skin, and don’t show jungle dust.

But here are some important things you should bring on your birding trip to get the most out of it:

Binoculars: Bring your own pair, though, you’ll always have the immediate pleasure that makes birdwatching fun.

Identification Book—Even though our guides know a lot about the different kinds of birds you can see on the ground, in the trees, in the air, and near the lakes, it’s still helpful to have a book with pictures of the birds you see to help you learn more about them.

A camera, preferably one with a zoom or long lens, is a great way to see birds and make memories at the same time. A fun way to do this is to match what you saw with the pictures in your identification book.

Voice Recorder: This is helpful for figuring out what birds are calling when you don’t know their calls right away. Another great thing about it is that it helps you remember the beautiful sounds of your trip.

For some people, bug spray might be the most important thing to bring on vacation. You’ll probably be going over savannahs as well as woods and grasslands, which are great places for mosquitoes and other bugs to lay their eggs. A little bug spray will go a long way toward making sure you have a great trip.

Pack snacks and water. Since you’ll be in the bush, make sure you have a lot of water with you. Also, eat snacks because you’ll need to keep your energy up.