If you are a keen bird watcher, then Lake Naivasha in Kenya is a place to add to your bucket list. This article talks about the birds we’ve seen there and the activities available that allow you to see different species: boating for waterfowl, biking for land birds, and hiking for forest species.
birds in the lake
Since it is a large lake, the most obvious thing to do when visiting Naivasha is to go out on a boat. Hippos are often the draw card, but the myriad species of waterfowl impress even those who think they’re not interested in birds. This is what we have seen in the lake:
- great white pelican
- great cormorant
- long-tailed cormorant
- Cattle egret
- common squacco heron
- little egret
- gray heron
- purple heron
- black headed heron
- Hamerkop
- marabou stork
- Yellow-billed Stork
- sacred ibis
- african spoonbill
- great flamingo
- lesser flamingo
- egyptian goose
- yellow billed duck
- african fish eagle
- black crack
- red knuckle coot
- african jacana
- Black-winged Stilt
- blacksmith plover
- Washerwoman
- Seagull
- Fast
- kingfisher foot
birds when walking
There are several Conservancies around Lake Naivasha where you can enjoy a walking safari and see species of forest birds. These include the Wileli Conservancy, Green Crater Lake, and Hells Gate National Park. At Hells Gate you can also rent bikes to explore the park further, and there are also places where you can go horseback riding. Whether on foot, by bicycle or on horseback, bird watching is easier than from a vehicle. This is what we saw on a hike at the Wileli Conservancy:
- hadada ibis
- Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture
- auger vulture
- long crested eagle
- Crowned Plover
- ring necked pigeon
- gray woodpecker
- common pipit
- common bulbul
- Cinnamon Fern Warbler
- noisy cisticola
- cuckoo shrike
- common drongo
- black headed oropendola
- Rüppell’s long-tailed starling
- superb starling
- bearded starling
- red beak ox
- rufous sparrow
- Baglafecht Weaver (Reichenow)
- red headed weaver
