10 Days Tanzania Bird Watching Safari

Full day birding at Arusha National Park. Arusha NP should be on every bird watcher’s itinerary in Tanzania. Over 400 species recorded in such a small park is quite an impressive count. Momella Lake is one of the best places in Tanzania to see waterbirds: flamingo, pelican, little grebe, a variety of heron, duck and wader are common. Augur buzzard, Verreaux’s eagle and other cliff-associated raptors can often be seen flying above Ngurdoto Crater. Migratory birds are present from November to April.

Accommodation: Ngurdoto Lodge – FB

Tarangire is Tanzania’s 3rd largest national park and considered its most scenic with huge baobab trees and acacia dotted hills. The park has one of the densest populations of birds in all of Africa and has more than 650 recorded species. We will look especially for ground hornbills, verraux eagle owl, african eagle owl, battaleur and martial eagles, buff-crested bustard, starlings of all kinds, francolins, cuckoos, hoopoes and mousebirds. Many species can be spotted from the lodge, with a wonderful view of the Tarangire River below. Accommodation: Tarangire Tented Safari Lodge – FB

Birding and enjoy some mammals today. This park is famous for its resident and migratory elephants, with 3000 individuals living in the park and another 3000 individuals migrating into the park from June-November. There are large prides of lion, leopard and rock python that live in the swamp and serve as a good food source for the many raptors in the park. Accommodation: Tarangire Tented Safari Lodge – FB

Drive to Lake Manyara, a short distance from Tarangire and located on the western edge of the Great Rift Valley. The park is fed by underground springs and consists of a small temperate rain forest at the entrance to the park. Baboons are abundant in the park as well as the famous tree-climbing lions of Lake Manyara. Here we look for a variety of waterfowl, silver-checked, red-billed and Von Der Decken’s hornbills, kingfishers, warblers, paradise flycatcher, whydah birds and sunbirds of all kinds. Picnic lunch and continue to the lodge in late afternoon for dinner and overnight. Accommodation: Tarangire Tented Safari Lodge – FB

Drive to Serengeti National Park through the crater highlands, stopping along the way to visit Oldupai Gorge, the site of Louis and Mary Leakey’s famous archeological discoveries. The Gorge also offers good sightings of red and yellow barbet, red-cheeked cordon-bleu and purple grenadier. Continue into the Serengeti enjoying a game drive and birding along the way with a picnic lunch. Overnights at Seronera Wildlife Lodge. Accommodation: Seronera Wildlife Lodge – FB

We embark on a spectacular journey that few people would ever forget. We head out from Arusha to Serengeti National Park, having lunch (being careful not to have your food taken from your hands by opportunistic Yellow-billed Kites) on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater on the way. If you’ve never been to Africa before, you’re likely to be amazed by African Elephant, African Buffalo, and the sheer number of bird species. After an exciting drive we’ll eventually reach the Serengeti, where we enjoy the huge and impressive wildebeest migration, not to mention the thousands of Plains Zebras and Thomson’s Gazelles.

Other megafauna that we’ll search for include Topi, Common Eland, Oribi, Bohor Reedbuck, and Masai Giraffe. This is one of the best places on the planet to see big cats – we’ve sometimes seen Lion, Leopard, and Cheetah in a single day, as well as some of the smaller cats such as Serval and Caracal. Finding a kill should allow us to see a good number of vulture species, such as Rüppell’s, White-backed, Lappet-faced, White-headed, Egyptian, and Hooded Vultures.

Birds of prey are everywhere, including the most colorful of the world’s eagles, Bateleur. Secretarybird regally roams the plains searching for its serpentine prey, while Common Ostrich tries to be regal but without much success. Smaller birds are everywhere, and so many of them are brightly colored – such as Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Purple Grenadier, Lilac-breasted Roller, Hildebrandt’s Starling, Yellow-collared Lovebird, Beautiful Sunbird, and many others. Interestingly, the Serengeti is home to quite a few extremely localized bird species.

One of these is Karamoja Apalis, which favors the weird whistling-thorn habitat that we’ll visit for this species; it only occurs here and in a tiny part of northern Uganda (it has a strangely disjunct distribution). Red-throated Tit, Fischer’s Lovebird, and Grey-crested Helmetshrike are other range-restricted species we will look for in the Serengeti. Another important target bird here is the Tanzanian-endemic Rufous-tailed Weaver. The huge Kori Bustard can be seen roaming the grasslands throughout the Serengeti plains.

Accommodation: Seronera Wildlife Lodge – FB

The forested sections of the crater rim will be birded, looking for localized specials such as Golden-winged Sunbird, Brown-headed Apalis, and the curious Oriole Finch which we may be lucky enough to encounter here too. The prehistoric-looking Schalow’s Turaco adds a spectacular flash of crimson and green, and, if one gets a good view, its spectacular crest leaves even a hardened birder gobsmacked. Grey-capped Warbler is one of those more widespread, characteristic East African species we may also encounter here. Other species to look out for include Eastern Double-collared Sunbird, White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Brown-backed Woodpecker, Montane White-eye, and Thick-billed Seedeater. Overnight: a lodge on the crater rim with spectacular views onto the floor far below Accommodation: Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge – FB

Leisure breakfast and drive to back to Arusha. Arrive in a plenty of time for shopping and hot lunch at Cultural Heritage center. Drive to Ngudoto Lodge, afternoon is free to relax, shower, pack or explore. Farewell dinner and early evening transfer to Kilimanjaro for return flight. Accommodation: Ngurdoto Lodge – dayroom.