
Bird watching in Aberdare National Park
Are you looking for bird watching trips and tours in Kenya? Aberdare national park is one of the important destinations for birding safaris and trips because of the favorable environment that includes bamboo forest, moorlands which attract very many and unique bird species within the park.
Aberdare national park has over 290 recorded bird species. The common bird species in Aberdare national park is the Hartlaub’s turaco that can be spotted feeding at the tree hotels and other bird species especially the Aberdare Cist cola which can only be found in this park and can be seen on the higher altitude.
There are also other beautiful birds which among other include the stunning sunbirds which are so interesting within the park and these include the area scarlet-tufted malachite sunbird that relocates to the mountain summit there are two summits with the Aberdare national park and these include Ol Donyo Lesatima that measure 3999 meters to the north of the park and them the Kinangop which is elevated at 3909 meters to the south.
That is divided by the saddle of the land measuring over 3000 meters. However, there are other small peaks or summits within the park and these include Kipipiri which raises at the height of 3349-meter flanks that is the main range to the west connected to it by the forested valleys rising to 2700 meters above sea level.
Via the forested areas of the eastern and the western flanks, it gives clear streams and waterfalls where you’re likely to see numerous bird species. They are receiving annual rainfall with participation varying from 1000 millimeters in the southern and this is due to its vegetation varies with the latitude.
Aberdare national park was famously established in 1950 and derived its name from the popular treetops and it mainly sits on the tree lines with the Forest vegetation and scrubs at the lower altitude in the area of the salient that are adjacent to Nyeri.
Furthermore, the Aberdare national park contains a forest reserve of about 103300 hectares of land that covers the lower slopes and three main blocks are adjacent to the park divide by the Kipipiri Forest Reserve of 5100hactres that links to the East.
Aberdare National Park also features that water catchment especially for the prominent Tana river system which links to serval water bodies such as the lake Naivasha, river Ewaso and these have become popular water supply to Nairobi and other districts Kenya country.
The Aberdare National is a home for more than 290 birds and five of eight species are recorded as endemic bird areas and 53 out seventy bird species that a tropical highland bio that is viewed in Kenya.
There are 3 birding regions with the Aberdare national park and these include the Kikuyi escarpment forest that lies on the southern side of the Aberdare forest and with a variety of bird species, there is also the Mukurweini valley that lies in the southeast of the Aberdares that gives you a clear view of the hinders babbler and the last birding areas is called the Kinangop Grasslands that are located Aberdare that is where you can best view the sharper long claw as one of Kenya’s national endemic.
There are several bird species that you can encounter while enjoying the bird watching safaris in the Aberdare national park and these include African goshawk, Tacazze sunbird, Olivi’s ibis, Crowned Eagle, Bar-tailed trogon, Narina trogon, Mustached green tinker birds, crowned eagle, Sharpes long claw, Moorland francolin, Aberdare cisticola, Ayres hawk-eagle among others.
Other than bird species, there are other wildlife species that you can see while on your Bird watching in Aberdare National Park and these include the Golden cats, white colobus monkeys, sykes monkey, African lion and leopard, antelopes among other species.
When to go for Bird watching in Aberdare National Park
Bird watching in Aberdare National Park can be conducted any time or any season of the year since the birds are present within the park at any time. However, it has been proven that November to April presents the best time for bird watching because this is the time when the birds do migrate also from the European countries and come to Africa. The moth also presents the wet season which is the breeding season for the birds as was as nestling while in June up to October are good months for hiking and game watching.
How to access Aberdare National Park
Getting to Aberdare national park for Bird watching is very easy and visitors will cover only 150 kilometers by using the 4wheel drive vehicle. The Aberdare national park also features Nyeri and Mweiga airstrip that is near the park headquarters. This implies that visitors can access Aberdare national Park by the use of the domestic air flight from the Wilson airport in Nairobi to either of the above-mentioned airstrips. And thus visitors who are interested in birding can easily get to for birding safaris within this park.