Day 1, Tuesday, July 1, 2025: Airport – Kiligolf
On July 1, my good English mate, Dave Horton, arrived on an early plane from LHR via Nairobi. We drove home to my new house in Kilala, Usa River. On the way home we registered the following species: Superb Starling, Pied Crow, Crowned Lapwing, Long-tailed Fiscal, Rufous-tailed Weaver, Northern Fiscal, House Crow, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Hadada Ibis, Marabou Stork and Little Swift. We had a quick lunch and then went out birding. Birds in bold were lifers for Dave. After lunch, we first went to the Taveta Weaver site in Usa River and then headed towards Kiligolf. Here are some of the birds observed: Spotted Palm Thrush, Sombre Greenbul, Speckled Mousebird, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Black-faced Waxbill, Buff-bellied Warbler, Pale White-eye and Rüppel’s Robin-Chat. We parked the car and took a walk on the estate. Here are some of the birds we saw: African Black Duck, Reed Cormorant, Tropical Boubou, Common Bulbul, Red-faced Cisticola, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Black Crake, Bronze Mannikin, Malachite Kingfisher, Grey Heron, African Paradise Flycatcher, Black-headed Heron, Wire-tailed Swallow, Squacco Heron, Little Heron, Winding Cisticola, African Jacana, Red-eyed Dove, Crested Francolin, Ring-necked Dove, Brown-breasted barbet, White-backed Vulture, Magpie Shrike, Nubian Woodpecker, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, White-browed Coucal, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Chinspot Batis, Fork-tailed Drongo, African Grey Flycatcher, Lesser Masked Weaver, Bare-eyed Thrush, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Orange-breasted Bushshrike, Diederik Cuckoo, Rattling Cisticola, White-browed Scrub Robin, Variable Sunbird, African Palm Swift, Spectackled Weaver, Red-headed Weaver, Black-headed Oriole, Vitelline Masked Weaver, Violet-backed Starling, African Yellow Warbler, Grey-olive Greenbul, Northern Brownbul, Black-backed Puffback, Giant Kingfisher, Thick-billed Weaver, Emerald-spotted Wood Dove, Chestnut Weaver, Little Sparrowhawk and Yellow Bishop. We drove home, had a nice meal, went through the list. We had seen 86 species where 22 were lifers for Dave, not a bad start?
Some pictures from Day 1:
African Black Duck, Anas sparsa
Malachite Kingfisher, Corythornis cristatus
Day 2, Wednesday, July 2, 2025: Kilala – Lark Plains – Oldonyo Sambu – Lengijave – Kilala
We had an early start and took off from the main road at around 07:45. Here are some of the birds we observed on the road leading to the Lark Plains: Red-throated Tit, Capped Wheatear, Gorgeous Sunbird, Fawn-colored Lark, Kenya Sparrow, Rosy-patched Bushshrike and Taita Fiscal. We parked the car and went to look for Beesley’s Lark. My guide found it after a little search. We got back in the car and drove slowly to the small Acacia Forest adjacent to the Lark Plains. Here are some of the birds we observed: Greater Kestrel and Pygmy Falcon. We parked the car and had breakfast. After breakfast, we looked for our targets. Here are some of the birds we found: Grey-capped Social Weaver, White-headed Mousebird, Von der Decken’s Hornbill, Red-fronted Barbet, Banded Parisoma, Abyssinian Scimitarbill, Yellow-spotted Bush Sparrow, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Red-and-Yellow Barbet, Common Hoopoe and Slate-colored Boubou. We walked back to the car and drove slowly towards our next destination, Oldonyo Sambu. On the way, we observed: Little Bee-eater, Desert Cisticola, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Hildebrandt’s Starling, Grey Wren-Warbler, Eastern Chanting Goshawk and Brown Snake Eagle. We parked at Oldonyo Sambu and Dave and my guide went in quest of the Little Rock Thrush, but with no success. Dave found 7 other lifers which we all saw later. Our next stop were Lengijave where we also had lunch. Here are some of the birds we observed: Brown-throated Martin, Red-throated Rock Martin, Horus Swift, Long-billed Pipit, Black Bishop, Crimson-rumped Waxbill, Baglafecht Weaver, White-fronted Bee-eater, Abyssinian Wheatear, Streaky Seedeater, Bronze Sunbird, Yellow-crowned Canary, Lyne’s Cisticola, Yellow-necked Spurfowl, Singing Cisticola, African Stonechat and Northern Grey-headed Sparrow. On the way home, we found a Woolly-necked Stork close to home. We had now observed 153 species in 1 1/2 day were 54 were lifers for Dave. We got home, had a nice meal and retired early to bed.
Some pictures from Day 2:
Red-throated Tit, Melaniparus thruppi, Endemic to N Tanzania and S Kenya
Taita Fiscal, Lanius dorsalis, Endemic to NE Africa
Beesleey’s Lark, Chersomanes beesleyi, Endemic to a small area north of Arusha, Tanzania
Lesser masked Weaver, Ploceus untermedius
Red-fronted Barbet, Tricholaema diademata, Endemic to NE Africa
Yellow-spotted Bush Sparrow, Gymnoris pyrgita, Endemic to NE Africa
Bare-eyed Thrush, Turdus tephronotus, Endemic to NE Africa
Great Spotted Cuckoo, Clamator glandarius
Slate-colored Boubou, Laniarius funebris, Endemic to NE Africa
Desert Cisticola, Cisticola aridulus
Yellow Bishop, Euplectes capensis
Abyssinian Wheatear, Male, Oenanthe lugubris race schalowi
Abyssinian Wheatear, Female, Oenanthe lugubris race schalowi
Lyne’s Cisticola, Cisticola distinctus, Endemic to E Africa
Singing Cisticola, Cisticola cantans
African Stonechat, Saxicola torquatus
Day 3, Thursday, July 3, 2025: Kilala – Tarangire National Park – Karatu
We again had an early start and on the way to our breakfast spot, we observed amongst others, the following species: Red-necked Spurfowl, Striped Kingfisher, Tawny Eagle, Speckle-fronted Weaver, Tawny Eagle, Mottled Spinetail, Mourning Collared Dove, Silverbird, Swahili Sparrow, D’Arnaud’s Barbet, Ashy Starling, Crested Francolin, Spur-winged Goose, Yellow-billed Egret, Grey Kestrel, Red-billed Buffalo Weaver, Red-billed Oxpecker, Yellow-billed Oxpecker and at the breakfast site White-headed Buffalo Weaver and Bare-faced Go-away Bird. After breakfast, we continued: Grey-crowned Crane, Eastern Grey Woodpecker, Glossy Ibis, African Hawk-Eagle, Common Greenshank, Three-banded Plover, Gabar Goshawk, African Fish Eagle, Rüppel’s Vulture, Collared Palm Thrush, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Martial Eagle, White-headed Vulture, Bateleur, Yellow-collared Lovebird, Spotted Thick-knee, Double-banded Courser, White-bellied Bustard, Arrow-marked babbler, Egyptian Goose, African Harrier-Hawk, Coqui Francolin, Secretarybird, Buff-crested Bustard, Three-banded Courser, Pygmy Falcon, Helmeted Guineafowl, Northern Red-billed Hornbill, Chestnut Sparrow, Fischer’s Sparrow-Lark, Common Ostrich, Black-faced Sandgrouse, Flappet Lark and at the gate Northern Pied Babbler. We drove onwards to Karatu. Checked in to our Guest House and went our for dinner. We did the list and dave had registered 112 species that day. In total we were now at 221 species and Dave had 76 lifers. We went back to the Guest House and retired early.
Some pictures from Day 3:
Long-tailed Fiscal, Lanius cabanisi, Endemic to NE Africa
Red-billed Buffalo Weaver, Bubalornis niger
Grey-headed Kingfisher, Halcyon leucocephala
African Harrier-Hawk, Polyboroides typus
Coqui Francolin, Campocolinus coqui
Secretarybird, Sagittarius serpentarius
White-bellied Bustard, Eupodites senegalensis
Three-banded Courser, Rhinoptilus cinctus
Pygmy Falcon, Polihierax semitorquatus
Northern Red-billed Hornbill, Tockus erythrorhunchus
Double-banded Courser, Smutsornis africanus
Flappet lark, Amirafra rufocinnamomea
Black-faced Sandgrouse, Pterocles decoratutus, Endemic to NE Africa
Rosy-patched Bushshrike, Rhodophoneus cruentus, Endemic to NE Africa
Tawny Eagle, Juvenile, Aquila rapax
Day 4, Friday, July 4, 2025: Karatu – Endoro Trail – Kilala
We were not on a hurry this morning. The weather were very overcast. Here are some of the species we observed up and down the Endoro Trail to the Elephant Caves: Tambourine Dove, Black-headed Mountain Greenbul, White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher race nyikensis, Brown-backed Honeybird, Bleating Camaroptera, Grey-capped Warbler, Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, Eastern Double-collared Sunbird, Collared Sunbird, Bar-throated Apalis race murina, Purple-throated Cuckooshrike, Mbulu White-eye, Cabanis’s Greenbul, Crowned Eagle, Black-fronted Bushshrike, Abyssinian Crimsonwing, Grey-headed Nigrita, White-tailed Blue Flycatcher, Southern Citril, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Schalow’s Turaco, Sharpe’s Starling, Dusky Turtle Dove, Mountain Wagtail, Thick-billed Seedeater, Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher, Brown-headed Apalis, Yellow-bellied Waxbill and Black Sparrowhawk. We drove home. By now Dave had seen 255 species and 95 of his targets.
Some pictures from Day 4:
Dusky Turtle Dove, Streptopelia lugens
Brown-headed Apalis, Juvenile, Apalis alticola
Thick-billed Seedeater, Chritagra burtoni
Day 5, Saturday July 5, 2025: Kilala – Masai Steppes – Kilala
We had again an early start. Here are some of the birds we found: Tsavo Sunbird, Hunter’s Sunbird, Pygmy Batis, Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird, Blue-naped Mousebird, Pink-breasted Lark, Scaly Chatterer, Black-capped Social Weaver, Pringle’s Puffback, Acacia Tit, Mouse-colored Penduline Tit, Somali Bunting and Cut-throat Finch. We drove down to the Shambarai Dam, but unfortunately the water level were way too high. We still managed to add a few birds: Vereaux’s Eagle-Owl, White-bellied Canary, Straw-tailed Whydah, Little Bittern, Whiskered Tern, African Pygmy Kingfisher, Yellow-fronted Canary, African Openbill, Knob-billed Duck, White-faced Whistling Duck and Golden-breasted Starling. We drove towards Mererani and as we stopped where the Tar starts, we got another lifer for Dave: Ashy Cisticola. We drove home. Had dinner and did the list. Dave had now seen 286 species and had 111 Lifers.
Some pictures from Day 5:
White-bellied Canary, Chritagra dorsostriata, Endemic to E Africa
Chestnut Sparrow, Passer eminibey
Straw-tailed Whydah, Juvenile, Vidua fischeri, Endemic to NE Africa
Golden-breasted Starling, Lamprotornis regius, Endemic to NE Africa
Ashy Cisticola, Cisticola cinereolus, Endemic to NE Africa
Day 6, Sunday, July 6, 2025: Arusha National Park
We could sleep a little longer this day since they never open the park in time. The park was not at it’s best so we did not add too many new species. Besides the park were extremely wet and we could not even make it to our breakfast spot at the Ngurduto Crater. Here is a partial list of the birds we saw: Kenrick’s Starling, Hartlaub’s Turaco, Green Sandpiper!, Short-winged Cisticola, Sentinel Lark, Winding Cisticola, Greater Flamingo, Southern Pochard. Cape Teal, Little Grebe, Greater Painted Snipe and African Marsh Harrier. We did not go around the lakes since no potential lifers for Dave there, but drove up the road to the waterfall at Mt. Meru. It was quiet at the waterfall and we drove slowly down to the fig tree. Here are some of the birds we added there and further down: Bar-tailed Trogon, Abyssinian Thrush, Broad-ringed White-eye, African Dusky Flycatcher, White-starred Robin and Brown Woodland Warbler. We drove towards the gate and added Great Egret to our list at Little Serengeti. We had time so we drove back to the museum in the hope of finding two common birds that we had missed: trilling Cisticola and Scaly Spurfowl. No luck! We added Amethyst Sunbird and Long-crested Eagle. We exited the park around 18:00. and drove home. We had now seen 310 species and Dave were at exactly 120 lifers.
Some pictures from Day 6:
Grey Crowned Crane, Balearica regulorum
Sentinel Lark, Corypha athi, Endemic to NE Africa
Broad-ringed White-eye, Zosterops eurycricotus, Near endemic to NE Tanzania
Long-crested Eagle, Lophaetus occipitalis
Day 7, Monday, July 7, 2025: Kilala, Nyumba ya Mungu Dam, Same – South Pare Mountains.
It were time for the safari to start. We drove non stop to Nyumba ya Mungu Dam only to find out that the dam were totally flooded and all areas for the skimmer were under water. From our viewpoint, we added Black-winged Stilt, Senegal Lapwing, Malachite and Pied Kingfisher and on our way back to the main road African Silverbill. We stopped at our normal spot and got the Pale Prinia quickly. Next stop were our spot in Same. We found Parrot-billed Sparrow, Black-bellied Sunbird, Lanner Falcon, Southern Citril, D’Arnaud’s Barbet, Eastern Black-headed Batis and Black-necked Weaver, but no sign of Fischer’s Starling. We drove to the Motel, had lunch and headed up South Pare Mountains. Unfortunately, there were Pale White-eyes there again, but we saw several South Pare White-eyes. Other birds observed included Bar-throated Apalis, race pareensis, African Olive Pigon, Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon, Usambara Double-collared Sunbird, African Yellow Warbler, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater and Moustached Tinkerbird. We drove down the mountain, had dinner and went through the list: The total list were now at 325 and Dave had added 7 lifers, now standing at 127.
Some pictures from Day 7:
Black-bellied Sunbird, Cinnyris nectarinioides, Endemic to E Africa
Parrot-billed Sparrow, Passer gongonensis, Endemic to NE Africa
D’Arnaud’s Barbet, Trachyphonus darnaudii, Endemic to E Africa
African Dusky Flycatcher, Muscicapa adusta
Day 8, Tuesday, July 8, 2025: Same to Magamba Forest, West Usambara
We went back to the area to look for the Fischer’s Starling, but could not find it. We had only one target bird left in the area and we went to another spot and found Tiny Cisticola easy. My guide and Dave searched a field for the Starling, but still no luck. We went back to the Motel, had breakfast and were soon on our way to Magamba Forest. As normal we stopped before Soni. We found Black-throated Wattle-Eye, Mocking Cliff Chat and to my surprise Striped Pipit. We continued to Soni added some groceries and stopped in the forest before Magamba in search of the Spot-throat. We could hear it, but not see it. We added Short-tailed Batis. We drove up to camp, set it up quickly and were soon out birding: Fülleborn’s Boubou, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, Cape Robin-Chat, Waller’s Starling, Southern Citril, Black Saw-wing, Shelley’s Greenbul, White-tailed Crested Flycatcher, Black-headed Mountain Greenbul, Bar-throated Apalis, Red-capped Forest Warbler, Grey Cuckooshrike and Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler were observed. We returned to camp and I served my Chicken Casserole. We had now seen 339 species and Dave’s lifer list were at 140.
Some pictures from Day 8:
Hunter’s Sunbird, Chalcomitra hunteri, Endemic to NE Africa
Emerald-spotted Wood Dove, Turtur chalcospilos
Cape Robin-Chat, Dessornis caffer
Black-headed Mountain Greenbul, Arizelocichla nigriceps, Race usambarae, Endemic to E Africa
Day 9, Wednesday, July 9, 2025: Magamba Forest
We had coffee at normal time 06:45, but the weather did not look good, so we delayed our walk a little. During the day, we managed to add the following species: Usambara Thrush, Usambara Weaver, Usambara Akalat, Spot-throat, Mountain Buzzard, White-chested Alethe, Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, Black-headed Apalis, African Hill Babbler, Red-faced Crimsonwing and Black-and-white Mannikin and Evergreen Forest Warbler (Not seen by Dave). Our total bird list were now at 350 and Dave’s Lifelist at 145, just 5 shy of what I promised for the trip.
Some pictures from Day 9:
Usambara Thrush, Turdus roehli, Endemic to Pare and Usambara Mountains of Tanzania
White-tailed Crested Flycatcher, Elminia albonotata
Two very happy friends after Dave had excellent views of his main Target for the trip, the elusive Spot-throat.
Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, Bradypterus cinnamomeus
African Hill Babbler, Sylvia abyssinica
Bar-throated Apalis, Apalis thoracica, race griseiceps
Usambara Weaver, Ploceus nicolli, Endemic to Usambara Mountains, Tanzania
Red-faced Crimsonwing, Cryptospiza reichenowii
Black-and-white Mannikin, Spermestes bicolor, race nigriceps
Day 10, Thursday, July 10, 2025: Magamba Forest West usambara to Amani Forest East Usambara
The weather were not great that morning either. We had more or less cleaned up Magamba Forest, so we had an early breakfast and drove towards Amani Forest. At our first stop south of Mombo, we added Zanzibar Red Bishop and Black-winged Red Bishop. We drove on and stopped North of Muheza and added Green Tinkerbird, Kurrichane Thrush, Eastern Golden Weaver and Coastal Cisticola. We arrived at Amani Headquarter in good time for afternoon birding. Here are some of the species we observed the first day in Amani: Black-and-white Mannikin, Green barbet, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Speckled Mousebird, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Trumpeter Hornbill, Purple-banded Sunbird, Tawny-flanked Prinia, African Palm Swift, White-eared Barbet, Pale Batis, Banded Green Sunbird, African Green Pigeon, East Coast Boubou, Palm-nut Vulture, Red-tailed Ant Thrush, Black-and-white Shrike-Flycatcher, Kenrick’s Starling, Southern Citril and Long-crested Eagle. We returned to camp, freshened up, had dinner and did our list. Our total were now at 371 species, where 153 lifers for Dave.
Some pictures from Day 10:
East Coast Boubou, Laniarius sublacteus, Endemic to NE Africa
Kenrick’s Starling, Poeptera kenricki, Endemic to Tanzania and Kenya
Day 11, Friday, July 11, 2025: Amani Forest
We went north of the headquarter as normal for the day. We parked the car in the normal area and here are some of the birds we found at the spot: Lesser Striped Swallow, Cabanis’s Bunting, Long-billed Forest Warbler, Fischer’s Turaco, Little Greenbul, Square-tailed Drongo, Grey Cuckooshrike, White-tailed Crested Flycatcher and Kretschmer’s Longbill. We drove down to our spot for Sharpe’s Akalat and no less than 3 trees were blocking us this time. We still took a walk up. Here are some of the birds we found: Sharpe’s Akalat, Yellow-streaked Greenbul, Orange Ground Thrush (heard only), Montane Tiny Greenbul, Olive Ibis, Black-fronted Bushshrike, Dark-backed Weaver and Shelley’s Greenbul. We went back to camp for lunch and then went to search for Amani Sunbird without any luck. In our quest, we registered: Olive Sunbird, Collared Sunbird, Scarlet-chested Sunbird and Uluguru Violet-backed Sunbird. We drove down to Zigi Guest House, freshened up had dinner and did our list. Total were 385 and 163 lifers for Dave.
Some pictures from Day 11:
Lesser Striped Swallow, Cecropis abyssinica
The same tree that blocked us at our last trip.
Day 12, Saturday, July 12, 2024: Zigi Forest
We drove down to the forest and heard an African Broadbill calling. Just up the path we found Red-throated Twinspot. Other birds we registered this morning included: Fischer’s Greenbul, African Golden Oriole, Black-bellied Starling, Mombasa Woodpecker, Plain-backed Sunbird, Little Yellow Flycatcher, Retz’s Helmetshrike, Green Tinkerbird, Usambara Hyliota, Green Twinspot, Tanzanian Illadopsis, Red-capped Robin-Chat and Red-headed Bluebill. We went back to camp and had lunch. After lunch, Dave took a walk and managed to get a Half-collared Kingfisher. In the afternoon, we went down to Zigi Forest again. This time we started from the bottom. We only added Green Malkoha, Chestnut-fronted Helmetshrike and Lowland Tiny Greenbul. The African Broadbill were calling, but suddenly went silent. We returned to camp and freshened up. After dinner, we did the list: Dave seen: 398, Lifers 175.
Some pictures from Day 12:
Olive Sunbird, Cyanomitra olivacea
Little Yellow Flycatcher, Erythrocercus holochlorus, Endemic to Coastal E Africa
Day 13, Sunday, July 13, 2025: Zigi Forest via Same to Kilala.
We walked down the road of Zigy Forest and Dave had excellent views of the Tanzanian Illadopsis. In addition, we added Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Green-backed Woodpecker, Short-tailed Batis and Southern Banded Snake Eagle to the list. We left our guide in Muheza and Dave and I drove home. We did a final attempt in Same for the Fischer’s Starling, but no luck. We arrived well before dark, freshened up and did the list. Dave: Seen 401, Lifers 178.
Two happy boys from Northen Europe after Dave had excellent views of the elusive endemic Tanzania Illadopsis
Day 14, Monday, July 14, 2025: Meru Forest, Kalinga Forest and Kiligolf.
We had breakfast at home before we went up to Meru Forst. As suspected the roads were bad, so we had to walk the last stretch. I called for the Hunter’s Cisticola and finally got a response. Two birds came in, had a brief look at us and then flew back to the field they came from. They were not interested in coming in again. I tried for the Tacazze Sunbird, no luck. The hedge were we usually find the Golden-winged Sunbird were trimmed so no flowers. On the way down to the car, we had some activity with White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Hunter Cisticola, Baglafecht Weaver, Broad-ringed White-eye and a very odd looking Abyssinian Thrush. We drove to Usa River and had lunch. After lunch, we tried for the Trilling Cisticola outside of Kalinga Forest, no luck, then we drove to Kiligolf and tried for the Pallid Honeyguide. We had a bird come in and then fly away. Neither Dave or I got our bins on the bird. We took an early afternoon and had an early dinner. Then we drove back to Kiligolf for the final target Slender-tailed Nightjar. It took us forever, but we finally found a pair in a bunker on the Golf Course. We drove home. Only 2 birds were added to the list that day taking Dave’s seen to 403 and lifers to 180.
Some pictures from Day 14:
Hunter’s Cisticola, Cisticola hunteri, Endemic to high Mountain Forests of NE Africa
White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Melaenornis fischeri
Baglafecht Weaver, Ploceus baglafecht
Abyssinian Thrush, Turdus abyssinicus, Endemic to NE Africa
All in all a very enjoyable trip where we exceeded even my expectations. I told Dave 150 lifers. I believed 165 – 170 myself, but 180 were above my expectations. I sent Dave off to Ngorongoro the day after where he managed to get 7 new lifers. Well done Dave. My next trip starts on July 31 and ends on August 15. Then I have nothing confirmed until February next year!
Two happy chaps after a successfull trip. Above our heads, my pictures of two birds Dave need to come back for: Winifred’s Warbler and Rubeho Akalat. Both endemic to Tanzania.