With over ¾ of the total bird species being resident varieties Kenya offers an optimal bird experience all year round. However, different period will serve one safari desire differently. In this guide we shall share a detailed chart on birding experience over different seasons.

January to Mid-march

This is the dry seasons. During this season you can sight most of the Eurasian migratory birds destined to Kenya mostly waterfowls. Some of the Eurasian species in the southern part of Africa can as well be seen in different stopovers along the passage with their numbers increasing in march in their return journey. With marshes in different parks drying up opportunities for sighting fully aquatic birds like geese and ducks in most parks are minimal.  However, with the migration season on, large concentrates of the water birds can be sighted in permanent water pans  like lake Naivasha and Lake Turkana .

For travelers yearning for flamingo scenes, there is no guarantee that you will sight some in Lake Nakuru. This may force you to move further north to lake Bogoria which boost a dependably good flamingo flock all round the year. Importantly, Lake Bogoria is not a prime game viewing spot when compared to Lake Nakuru. It is for this reason travelers will still check into Lake Nakuru during their trip in the central Rift valley.

Over this period, the prolonged drought causes significant reduction in the quantities of grass within the park. Most of the wildlife are congregating in the remaining grass plains making it easier for game viewers. This subsequently leads to high number of vehicles in various parks.

Most birds are more elusive and secretive when compared to animals. For this reason, terrestrial birding viewing isn’t so good as the large number of vehicles causes leads to most of the birds migrating from areas near the park main road. Importantly, most parks in Kenya don’t allow off road driving. However, with a pair of binoculars keen birders have a chance to grasps some bird scenes taking place a few metres range from the roads.

Mid-march to May

This is the long rain season. Over this period the park receives fewer travelers. The undisturbed atmosphere is the best for sighting birds. Flamingo safaris are optimal over this period. There are  high probabilities of sighting swarms of the sought after birds in Nakuru. There numbers will however depend on the quantities of algae. Due to human activities, Lake Nakuru has been facing desalination challenges caused by large precipitate deposit coming from the highlands. Flamingos  also prefer shallow waters and will keep off the lake if there were excessive flooding that may have caused drastic  increase in the lakes depth. However, the view of the birds is optimal in the nearby lake Bogoria and Elementaita set less than 2 hrs from the Nakuru. The wintering birds remains until April.

As the wetlands become soggy there is an increase in numbers of wading birds in the parks in places like Musiara and Olpunyata swamps in Masai Mara. This is the most likely period to sight flamingos in seasonal lakes like Amboseli. Over this season most of the birds are nesting and they leave their camouflage coming to the open to court their mates. This makes it the best period to track the most elusive species.

However, this is the hardest time for game tracking as the grasses are long and the wildlife scattered in the inner sections of the wilderness. However, you will still enjoy game drives in parks that has higher wildlife density like Masai Mara. The flourishing flora beds are also alluring scenes to enjoy.

June to September

This being the mara migration season, most of the parks are crowded like in  the high season. Over this period the coastal circuit encompassing Tsavo parks, chyulu, simba hills and other coastal forest are great birding spots. As the hunting scenes heighten in the Mara plains, scenes of raptors scavenging on abandoned carcasses become quite common. Most vulturine species live in colonies and sighting them preying is quite an interesting scene.

July and August are the breeding season for flamingos mainly in Lake Natron and a few in Lake Magadi and Lake Bogoria. The best way to experience this season is to book a safari to lake Magadi combined with a check into lake Natron from the Kenyan side. With Europe and Asia slowly cooling for the winters the first migratory birds arrive in Kenya in September. The arrival time is mainly determined by the birds sped and ability to keep flying a for long.

October and December

This period follows the wildebeest migration in the Mara plains. In October the rains are little in the parks though the period isn’t as dry as January and February. Over this period the migratory species increases most of whom are in passage heading to southern africa region. As the short rains begin in November, some of the local birds are in the breeding plumage. Some intra-Africa migrant species are very common over this season.

Though not as impressive as in the high and migration season game view is still good in through out this season as the downpour isn’t so heavy. Importantly, some parks in the country don’t experience the short rains and game view remains top notch in the season.

Summary

November is the best period to go for a birding safari in Kenya over this period, most birds are in their breeding plumage and are out in the open looking for mating partners. Over this period, the weather is still favourable and the game view is good in most of the parks around the country. Around this period most of the migrant species from Europe are settling the country or making stopovers in elevations along the flyway heading to the southern Africa region which is on summer. Impressive flamingo population can be sighted in the great rift valley lakes following the replenishment of blue algae over the short rains.

However, different travelers will find other periods appropriate to them depending on their desired safari experience.