Tanzania | Birds and Wildlife of Tanzania

Depart United States.

Arrive in Europe and connect to a flight to Kilimanjaro Airport. Upon arrival at the airport in the evening (via KLM flight), transfer to the lodge. For participants who wish to relax before the program begins, we are happy to arrange an early arrival for an additional cost.

After breakfast and an orientation to the program, depart for Arusha National Park for a full-day excursion with a picnic lunch. Including the migratory species present from December to May, over 300 bird species have been recorded in this small park. Mt. Meru, at 14,980 ft, is Arusha National Park's most prominent feature. The varied landscape also includes forested mountain slopes, two ancient craters filled with swamps and lush savanna, as well as open savanna known as the "Little Serengeti." Nearby, Momella Lake is one of the best places in Tanzania to see waterbirds: flamingos, pelicans, little grebes, and a variety of herons, ducks, and waders are common. Augur Buzzards, Verreaux's Eagles, and other cliff-associated raptors can often be seen flying above Ngurdoto Crater. Driving up the jeep track toward the climber's hut on Mt. Meru offers a nice altitudinal transect. Other routes take us into thicker forests, where we search for raptors such as the Crowned Eagle and African Goshawk, and colorful forest birds including Narina and Bar-tailed Trogons, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eaters, and Hartlaub's Turacos. During our outings, we will also look for Colobus and Blue Monkeys, for which this park is well known.

Enjoy optional morning birding on the lodge grounds before breakfast. After breakfast, we'll begin our journey with a drive to Tarangire National Park, with en route birding. This roadside birding can often be very productive and may include sightings of Blue-naped Mousebird, Von der Decken's Hornbill, White-bellied Go-away-bird, Rosy-patched Bushshrike, Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird, and Golden-backed Weaver. After arriving at the Tarangire park gate, continue with a wildlife viewing drive. Enjoy a picnic lunch in the park before arriving at our overnight lodge.

The Tarangire ecosystem is the third largest in Tanzania, sprawling over a vast 7,700 square miles. Seasonally, the park supports the second largest concentration of wildlife in Tanzania surpassed only by the Serengeti during peak migration. However, Tarangire is most famous for its huge numbers of African Elephants that congregate along the meandering Tarangire River. We will observe these massive pachyderms and their tender family interactions. Other mammals likely to be seen include the stately waterbuck, impala, comical warthog and giraffe. The Acacia woodland and Baobab studded grasslands also provide a home for a large number of avians, with the park total being well over 500 species. We will have the opportunity to look for African Hawk Eagle, the diminutive Pygmy Falcon, Double banded Courser, Red necked and Yellow necked Spurfowl, Black faced Sandgrouse, White bellied Bustard, Meyer's and Red bellied Parrots, Bare faced Go away bird, Red-and-yellow and D'Arnaud's Barbets, Mottled Spinetail, Spotted Thrush, and flocks of Northern Pied Babbler. Two major targets for the area are the East African endemics Ashy Starling and Yellow collared Lovebird. We will also visit the vast Silale Swamp which is excellent for waterfowl. Species to look out for will be African Openbill, Goliath Heron, Southern Pochard, Fulvous Whistling Duck, African Jacana and Long toed Lapwing. If we are fortunate we may spot a Black Coucal, or flush out a secretive African Crake. Night birding around our lodge can also be fruitful. Look out for Slender tailed and Freckled Nightjars and the diminutive African Scops-Owl.

This morning, say goodbye to Tarangire as we begin our drive to Manyara National Park, with a wildlife viewing drive en route. Philip Briggs, author of the Bradt Guide to Tanzania, describes the park as the country's finest birding site, boasting over 400 species-100 of which can be seen in a single day, even by casual birders. We will arrive at Manyara Lakeview Lodge in time for lunch. This afternoon features a wildlife viewing drive for birds and other animals in Lake Manyara National Park. The park offers a wide variety of habitats, though two-thirds is covered by the alkaline Lake Manyara when water levels are high. During the dry season, the lake is virtually non-existent. The alkaline shores are a good place to look for the widely distributed but quite erratic Greater Painted Snipe. Another bird of special interest is the so-called Usambiro Barbet, currently considered a subspecies of D'Arnaud's Barbet. During our visit, we will also look for Purple-crested Turaco, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, and Yellow-bellied Greenbul. Depending on water levels, we may also find a variety of waterbirds, such as Yellow-billed and Marabou Storks, Pink-backed Pelican, Sacred Ibis, African Spoonbill, and Black-headed Heron. Later, we will transfer to Manyara Camp for dinner and overnight.

We will start our birding adventure today by taking a trail to the lakeshore to look for shorebirds and other specialties of the area. Afterward, return to the lodge for breakfast before visiting a local market, where we will gather the necessities for our visit to a Maasai village. Then, we will travel to the village and learn about the local lifestyle. Next, we will visit a local rural school to learn about the educational system in Tanzania, the challenges facing rural areas, and efforts for improvement. We will then travel to Mto wa Mbu village to visit a local women's cooperative, enjoy a home-hosted traditional lunch, and help prepare delicious "chapati" bread. While we are enjoying a glimpse into rural life, we will be birding at each location along the way. Afterward, we will drive to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where we will check into our lodge and enjoy some birding on the lodge grounds. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) is a 3,200-square-mile World Heritage Site protecting Earth's largest intact volcanic caldera (100 square miles) and one of the world's most scenically breathtaking natural areas. What's more, the crater is also home to one of the planet's densest populations of large mammals. Our lodge is nestled on the edge of the crater rim with spectacular views of the crater itself. The forests that cloak the rim of this iconic site are home to a variety of Afro-montane forest birds. You may find Hildebrandt's Spurfowl, Schalow's Turaco, the elusive Brown-backed Woodpecker, the beautiful Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Brown-headed Apalis, the skulking Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, and Golden-winged and Eastern Double-collared Sunbirds. From the lodge, we are able to gaze down at the Ngorongoro Crater below and watch distant elephants and herds of antelope and buffalo moving over the plains.

After an early breakfast, descend 1,970 feet to the Ngorongoro Crater floor. The crater is prime "Big Five" territory and a photographer's dream. Most of the animals are extremely relaxed and habituated to the presence of human admirers. The high crater walls, usually cloaked in a pure white frosting of clouds, provide dramatic backdrops for animal photographs. In addition, the crater floor offers a miniature example of a complete African ecosystem with forests, lakes, grasslands, swamps, and rivers. Between 25,000 and 30,000 large animals reside in the crater, with great concentrations of Blue Wildebeest and Common Zebra supplemented by smaller numbers of African Elephant, African Buffalo, the highly sought-after Black Rhinoceros, hippopotamus, Eland, and Thomson's and Grant's Gazelles. The crater is reputed to boast the world's highest concentration of predators, including lion, cheetah, leopard, serval, Bat-eared Fox, Spotted Hyena, and Golden and Black-backed Jackals. The birding is equally rewarding; we can expect to find many of the picture-book species that make Africa so famous: Pink rafts of Greater and Lesser Flamingos on Lake Magadi, Common Ostriches striding over the grasslands, the regal Kori Bustard (the world's heaviest flying bird), the elegant Grey-crowned Crane, and good numbers of raptors, including the unique Secretary Bird, Bateleur, and Martial Eagle. Among the many other species that we may encounter, we hope to see the uncommon Shelley's Francolin, Black-bellied Bustard, Dusky Turtle Dove, White-headed Barbet, Pectoral-patch Cisticola, comical Northern Anteater Chat, Black-crowned Tchagra, the striking Rosy-throated Longclaw, Fan-tailed Widowbird, and the skittish Quailfinch, the latter probably more easily seen here than anywhere else. Enjoy a bush lunch inside the crater. In the evening, we will ascend to our lodge on the scenic crater rim, and at dusk, we'll attempt to track down the Montane Nightjar.

Today, check out and begin the journey to the Serengeti. On the way, we will visit the well-known Olduvai Gorge. As a result of massive geological activities over the eons, Olduvai provides a unique record of countless years of fossilized creatures and plants in a series of stratified rock layers. The most famous discoveries, which revolutionized thinking on hominid evolution, are the Australopithecine hominid remains found by the Leakey family. After an introductory lecture, we will have time to explore the informative museum at the site, which exhibits replicas of hominid fossils and extinct animals that once inhabited the region, ranging from River Elephants and Giant Swine to Short-necked Giraffes. A bird walk around the site may yield a variety of arid country species, such as the vocal Slate-colored Boubou, Red-fronted Tinkerbird, Rufous Chatterer, Kenya Rufous Sparrow, Vitelline Masked Weaver, the beautiful Purple Grenadier, and White-bellied and Canary. We will continue our drive with a picnic lunch along the way. As we enter the park, we will begin our first wildlife viewing drive on the rutted dirt track across the vast, flat, and seemingly endless Serengeti Plains, where we will spend the next few nights in the world-famous Serengeti National Park.

Extending for an incredible 5,790 square miles, the Serengeti is one of the world's largest natural sanctuaries. Despite the vast space, the amount of wildlife you can expect to see is still astounding. The Serengeti, meaning "Endless Plain" in Maasai, consists mostly of grasslands interspersed with Acacia woodlands and rocky outcrops. There is little permanent water in the park, which, combined with a fairly regular rainfall pattern, has resulted in the world-famous wildebeest migration, during which up to two million wildebeests move between the Serengeti in Tanzania and Maasai Mara in Kenya. During our visit to the Serengeti, we will explore the southern and central areas. We hope to see lazing prides of lions, leopards draped over large trees, aloof cheetahs resting on or near vantage points, skulking Spotted Hyenas, jackals, and, if we are fortunate, the bizarre Bat-eared Fox. Several species of smaller cats, such as caracal, serval, or African Wild Cat, may also be seen. Besides the wildebeest, the Serengeti supports huge populations of Common Zebra, African Buffalo, Maasai Giraffe, warthog, Thomson's and Grant's Gazelles, impala, topi, kongoni, Bohor Reedbuck, Eland, and smaller numbers of African Elephant, hippopotamus, rubber-nosed Kirk's Dik-dik, Oribi, and Defassa Waterbuck.

Today will be another day of exploration. There will certainly be an array of superb birds to keep you busy during your time exploring the park. Star birds include several East African endemics: Gray-crested Helmetshrike, Red-throated Tit, Steel-blue Whydah, and the highly localized Karamoja Apalis. Other specialties are Gray-breasted Spurfowl, Fischer's Lovebird, Rufous-tailed Weaver, the localized race of D'Arnaud's Barbet (sometimes split as Usambiro Barbet), and Short-toed Lark. These birds can be found alongside a host of other species, such as the magnificent Saddle-billed Stork, up to six species of vulture, the grotesque Marabou Stork, stately Secretary Bird, Bateleur, Chestnut-bellied and Yellow-throated Sandgrouse, Kori Bustard, coveys of Coqui Francolin, White-bellied Bustard, Temminck's Courser, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Red-fronted Barbet, Tanzanian Red-billed Hornbill, the whimsical Southern Ground Hornbill, Abyssinian Scimitarbill, Black-lored Babbler, Taita and Grey-backed Fiscals, Magpie Shrike, Hildebrandt's Starling, both species of oxpecker, Silverbird, the cute Buff-bellied Warbler, the aptly named Beautiful Sunbird, Gray-headed Social Weaver, Blue-capped Cordon-bleu, Black-faced Waxbill, and, if you are fortunate, Gray-headed Silverbill. Not only is this a great place to find wildlife and birds, but the wide green-gold savannas, dotted with thorn trees, also make it ideal for photography. The Serengeti is ravishingly beautiful and offers long, undisturbed views and utterly dramatic panoramas.

Enjoy another day in the Serengeti.

After an early breakfast we depart for Ngorongoro Highlands to Karatu. En route enjoy our last wildlife viewing drive. We will have picnic lunch on the way as we will be doing birding along the road. We will arrive to our lodge mid afternoon. Once we settle in, enjoy some birding around the lodge grounds.

Depart the lodge early, and transfer to Gibbs Farm for morning birding with breakfast at Gibbs Farm. Before arriving at our hotel, we will stop at Chef Babu's for a delicious lunch. We then continue to our hotel for day room accommodations. You will be able to rest, finish packing luggage, or freshen up before catching your night flight to the U.S. Before leaving for the airport, enjoy a light snack at the hotel, then check out at 6 p.m. Transfer to the Kilimanjaro International Airport and check in for overnight flight to the U.S.

Arrive home.