Here is the second instalment of the ‘Birding in Africa’ series. If you missed the first one, you can read it here – Birding in Africa – Part I
As mentioned in the previous instalment, Africa is an amazingly diverse continent, very rich in its flora and fauna. It is home to more than 2300 species of bird life. In these posts, I try to focus on the Eastern part of Africa which is constituted of these countries – “Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi”. Close to 1800 species of birds can be found in this region.
Though there are many birding specific locations in Africa, a lot of these lovely, winged friends can be spotted along the major and the most popular African safari routes across Kenya and Tanzania. The picnic spots in most of the National parks, where people on safaris, stop-over for breakfast and lunch are great places to do some quick birding.
D’Arnaud’s barbet – Central Serengeti
Masked weaver ( I think, have to confirm ) – Central Serengeti
Tanzania is home to parks like the Lake Manyara NP, Tarangire NP, Lake Chala, the vast expanses of the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Bio-Reserve among many others. The forest patches of Lake Manyara is very good for birding. It is estimated that close to 400 species of birds call this place their home. Tarangire NP is one of those underrated parks which is very good for birding as well as for other game.
Red-and-yellow barbet – Tarangire NP, Tanzania
Red-billed hornbill – Tarangire NP
Silver-cheeked hornbill – Lake Manyara NP, Tanzania
White-bellied go-away bird – Lake Chala, Tanzania
The Southern circuit of Serengeti, known as Ndutu is particularly rich in bird life owing to a wide variety of habitats it supports like the woodlands, marshes, lakes and the open grassland.
Long-crested eagle – Ndutu
Black-winged lapwing ( adult ) – Ndutu
Black-winged lapwing ( juvenile ) – Ndutu
Grey-breasted spurfowl – Ndutu
Another weaver ( not sure which ) – Ndutu
African pygmy falcon – Central Serengeti
Common Snipe – Ndutu, Tanzania
Ngorongoro, with its very unique ecosystem supports a wide variety of bird life too.
Abdim’s stork – Ngorongoro
Augur buzzard – Ngorongoro
Black-bellied bustard – Ngorongoro
Cape teal – Ndutu
Southern ground hornbill – Central Serengeti
At times, other interesting creatures cross our path as well, like this beautiful chameleon from the forests around Lake Chala.
Chameleon – Lake Chala, Tanzania
And this lovely leaf mantis at one of the picnic spots in Tarangire NP.
Leaf mantis – Tarangire NP
Kenya is home to the grasslands of Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Samburu, Nakuru and Lake Bogoria, to name a few, which are very rich in their avian diversity. Will share more images from these parks in the next post.
African fish eagle – Lake Naivasha, Kenya
Giant kingfisher – Lake Naivasha
Africa is a treasure trove for bird lovers. So much of diversity and so much to cover. An exclusive birding outing to the place will be well worth it I guess. Hope you enjoyed this post. Here’s until the next time.
