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KENYA: Coastal Extension

This extension offers a nice variety of different habitats, some specialty birds and the only chance to see the gorgeous Sable Antelope amongst the grassy plains of Shimba Hills National Park. Birds are well represented at Shimba with such coastal specialties as the stunning Crested Guineafowl, Palm-nut Vulture, Lizard Buzzard, African Cuckoo Hawk, Green Coucal, Fischer’s Turaco, African Wood Owl, Silvery-cheeked and Trumpeter Hornbills, Eastern Green Tinker bird, White-eared and Green Barbets, Flappet Lark, Red-tailed Ant-thrush, Siffling Cisticola, African Golden and Green-headed Orioles, and possibly the rare Orange-winged Pytilia.

Arabuko-Sokoke Forest is the largest natural coastal forest left in East Africa with three major habitats of Brachystegia woodland, Cynometra forest with thickets and mixed forest. The forest has a very high biodiversity and we will be looking for many endemic and restricted species of birds, butterflies and mammals recorded here. Among the wealth of birds the three near-endemics: Sokoke Scops Owl, Sokoke Pipit and with some luck, Clarke's Weaver. Other globally threatened species include Southern Banded Snake Eagles, Retz's and Chestnut-fronted Helmet shrikes, East Coast Akalat, Amani and Plain-backed Sunbirds.

Along the coast Mida Creek’s 10km of unspoiled, mangrove-lined swamps and mudflats are the winter homes for the spectacular Crab Plover. Other species here include White-Fronted and Lesser Sand Plovers, Terek Sandpiper, Sooty Gulls, Black Herons, Crested and Lesser-Crested Terns, among a host of other waders. At Sabaki River Mouth there is a variety of habitats from sandbanks and dunes, mudflats, freshwater pools to marshes and mangrove swamps. In winter it hosts visiting flocks of Madagascar Pratincoles, African Skimmers, Whimbrels, Grey Plovers, Pacific Golden Plover, Zanzibar Red Bishop, Zanzibar Sombre Greenbul, Northern Carmine Bee-Eaters, Yellowbill and the rare Broad-Billed Sandpiper among an incredible number of other water birds.

For a complete change of habitat we climb into the dwindling evergreen forest of the Taita Hills to look for three endemic subspecies only found here. These are the Taita (Olive) Thrush that is quite rare, Taita (Bar-throated) Apalis that is uncommon at best, and Taita (Montane) White-eye that is fairly common. Also watch for Great Sparrowhawk, African Crowned Eagle, Lemon Dove, Silvery-cheeked, Trumpeter Hornbills, Stripe-cheeked and Placid Greenbul.

Finally at Tsavo East National Park the red soil dominates the attractive scenic landscape along with its large herds of elephants. The arid bush means a different set of birds that include Crested Francolin, Yellow-necked Spurfowl, Spotted and Water Thick-knees, Chestnut-bellied, Liechtenstein's and Black-faced Sandgrouse, Namaqua Dove, Orange-bellied Parrot, Black-and-white, Great Spotted, Red-chested, African and Diederik Cuckoos, White-browed Coucal, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Palm Swift, Blue-naped Mousebird, Grey-headed and Striped Kingfishers, White-throated Bee-eaters, Rufous-crowned Rollers, Abyssinian Scimitarbill, Eastern Yellow-billed and Von der Decken's Hornbills, D'Arnaud's Barbet, Fischer’s and Chestnut-headed Sparrow-Larks, Ashy and Desert Cisticolas, Pale Prinia, Grey Wren-Warbler, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Banded Parisoma, Northern Crombec, Yellow-bellied and Yellow-vented Eremomelas, Northern Grey Tit, Mouse-coloured Penduline Tit, Pygmy Batis and Northern White-crowned Shrikes just to name a few.

ITINERARY outline:
Day 1 – Tsavo West
Day 2 – Tsavo West / Tsavo East
Day 3 – Tsavo East
Day 4 – Taita Hills / Mida Creek
Day 5 – Arabuko-Sokoke Forest & Sabaki Estuary
Day 6 – Arabuko-Sokoke
Day 7 – Arabuko-Sokoke; fly to Nairobi for late evening flight