7-Day Kenya Birding Safari – Nakuru Naivasha Mara and Samburu

Your Kenya birding safari departs Nairobi early for the five-and-a-half-hour drive north to Samburu National Reserve, stopping en route at Nyahururu’s Thomson’s Falls where mist-forest species including Hartlaub’s turaco and African dusky flycatcher frequent the spray-drenched vegetation. Arriving at your riverside camp by lunchtime, you spend the afternoon on your first Samburu game drive focused on the reserve’s remarkable bird assemblage. The Ewaso Nyiro River corridor is alive with Malachite kingfishers, African skimmers, and Goliath herons, while the acacia woodland rings with the calls of Golden-breasted starlings, Vulturine guineafowl, and the elegant African grey hornbill. Sunset from the riverbank reveals roosting herons and the first calls of nightjars as darkness falls over the semi-arid wilderness.

Dedicate a full day to Samburu’s extraordinary birdlife on morning and afternoon game drives. The dawn chorus in the riverine forest is extraordinary, with Somali bee-eater, Rosy-patched bushshrike, and Pringle’s puffback adding their voices to the symphony. Your guide takes you through acacia scrubland where Buff-crested bustard strut across the red earth and Martial eagles survey the plains from treetop perches. The open areas yield encounters with Secretary birds striding through the grass and White-headed buffalo weavers constructing their untidy nests. After a midday break at the riverside camp, the afternoon drive targets the special Samburu localized species including Shelley’s starling, Hunter’s sunbird, and the spectacular Carmine bee-eater colonies that nest in the riverbanks between July and October. The day closes with a tally of over 80 new species and outstanding game sightings alongside the birds.

After an early birding walk around the camp where White-browed sparrow-weavers and Superb starlings provide a colorful send-off, you depart Samburu for the drive south to Lake Nakuru National Park. The route passes through highland forest zones where African green pigeon, Silvery-cheeked hornbill, and Jackson’s francolin inhabit the roadside trees, and through the Laikipia plateau where raptors ride the thermals above the wheat fields. You arrive at Lake Nakuru in the mid-afternoon for an introductory game drive around the lake shore. The scene is breathtaking: tens of thousands of Lesser and Greater flamingos create a shimmering pink haze along the soda lake margins while White pelicans, Great white egrets, and African spoonbills wade the shallows. The acacia woodland around the lake edge holds Black-and-white casqued hornbill, Greenbul species, and the endemic Jackson’s widowbird.

Begin the day with an early morning game drive through Lake Nakuru National Park, scanning the rhino sanctuary where both Black and White rhinos move through the yellow fever acacia forest. Flamingo concentrations shift daily around the lake and your guide knows the best vantage points for photography with the Rift Valley escarpment as backdrop. After a full morning at Nakuru, you drive the short distance to Lake Naivasha for a boat ride on this freshwater lake, an entirely different birding world. African fish eagles call from fever tree canopies while Pied kingfishers hover and plunge above the water surface. The papyrus swamps at the lake’s edge hold Papyrus yellow warbler, a globally threatened species, along with Purple gallinule, African jacana, and the striking Malachite kingfisher. Evening game drive through Hells Gate buffer zone adds Augur buzzard and Verreaux’s eagle to the tally.

Depart Lake Naivasha after an early morning walk along the lakeshore where hippos graze the lawn in the pre-dawn darkness and Hadada ibis call raucously from the fever trees. The three-hour drive to the Maasai Mara passes through the Rift Valley escarpment where you stop at a viewpoint with resident Lammergeier and Augur buzzard riding the updrafts. Arriving at the Mara by early afternoon, you head straight out on your first game drive through the rolling savannah grasslands. The Mara’s open habitat favors large ground birds and raptors: Kori bustards, the world’s heaviest flying bird, stride through the long grass while Martial eagles, Bateleur, and Long-crested eagles perch on acacia crowns. The Mara River crossing sites attract an extraordinary congregation of Yellow-billed storks, Saddle-billed storks, and Marabou storks alongside the crocodiles and hippos.

A full day in the Maasai Mara offers the most bird-rich game drives of the safari with morning and afternoon sessions covering the diverse habitats of this famous reserve. The long grass plains are alive with Denham’s bustard, Crowned lapwing, and the iridescent Long-tailed widowbird during breeding season. Your guide navigates the Mara River crossings where hundreds of Yellow-billed and Open-billed storks congregate alongside African skimmers and giant Goliath herons. The riverine forest galleries hold African broadbill, Scaly-throated honeyguide, and the elusive Schalow’s turaco. Afternoon drives focus on the grassland raptors and the remarkable Lilac-breasted roller, Secretary bird, and Ostrich families that make this landscape so visually spectacular. The day’s count regularly exceeds 100 species in a single day, making the Mara one of Africa’s premier Big Day birding destinations.

Rise at dawn for a quiet final birding session around the lodge gardens and nearby treeline where resident Spotted eagle-owl and Pearl-spotted owlet are often seen before breakfast. The morning light over the Mara is extraordinarily beautiful and offers final opportunities to photograph species not yet captured on the trip. After breakfast, you check out from the lodge and begin the drive back to Nairobi, arriving in the late afternoon. The return route offers additional birding stops along the Rift Valley escarpment where Verreaux’s eagle, Lanner falcon, and the spectacular Red-billed oxpecker colonies on buffalo herds provide a spectacular finale to this comprehensive Kenya birding safari.