A bird-watcher’s paradise with over 470 bird species to spot.
Bird watching in Masai Mara is one a great Kenya Safari Experience to do. With almost 500 bird species and daunting 47 species of birds of prey, the Masai Mara’s bushes, treetops and skies are a feast for birdwatcher’s eyes. Size wise these savannah birds range from freakishly large, such as the world’s largest bird – the Ostrich, to teeny tiny sunbirds which are hard to spot with the naked eye.
Year-round birdwatching delight
Masai Mara National Reserve is a birdwatching delight year-round, look up to the skies to see bateleurs soaring high above the grassy plains and scan the savannah to see any of the six species of vultures scavenging the carcasses of animals of prey. No matter the time of year you visit the Masai Mara, you are bound to see some very special feathered birds. However, the best time of the year for bird watching however is from November through April when European and Northern African Migratory birds arrive. This coincides with the rainy season, a time of year when many birds can be seen in their “breeding” plumage.
Big on birds – the grasslands
The grasslands of Masai Mara rare home to turkey-sized Ground Hornbill, Secretary Birds, Kori Bustards, Jaunty Crowned-Plovers and flocks of White Storks. Spectacular flocks of Crowned Cranes, Saddle-Billed Storks, groups of Yellow-Billed Storks and Sacred Ibis can be spotted in the swamplands. Also, this is a great place to spot the Goliath Heron, Grey Heron, Black-headed Heron and Great White Egret.
Masai Mara’s Musiara Marsha is an excellent spot to do some bird watching. It is the only place in Kenya where the Rufous-bellied Heron breeds and where you can spot the endangered Madagascar Squacco Heron between October and May.
River birds
Head over to the Mara River to spot any one of seven species of kingfishers, from the Giant Kingfisher to the tiny Pygmy Kingfisher. The forests lining the river are home to the colorful Ross’s Turaco and the Schalow’s Turaco. The most impressive birds of the Mara are the birds of prey, from the might Martial Eagle to the tiny Pygmy Falcon. The Martial Eagle is so strong it is known to feast on young impalas and dikdik. However, the most iconic of the birds of prey is the Bateleur. Looking up and watching a Bateleur glide across the clear blue African skies is quite a memorable sight to see.
List of Birds of Masai Mara
The list of birds of Masai Mara below contains all the known endemic bird species € to Kenya and the near – endemic bird species (NE) common to the region.
- Abdim’s Stork
- African finfoot
- African wood owl
- Ayres’s hawk eagle
- Cinnamon-breasted bunting
- Denham’s bustard
- Giant kingfisher
- Grey-crested helmet-shrike (NE)
- Grey penduline tit
- Hildebrandt’s starling
- Jackson’s widowbird
- Lazy cisticola
- Ostrich
- Purple grenadier
- Red-throated tit
- Ross’s turaco
- Rosy-throated longclaw
- Rufous-bellied heron
- Rufous-throated wryneck
- Saddle-billed stork
- Schalow’s turaco
- Secretary bird
- Silverbird
- Southern ground hornbill
- Swahili sparrow
- Tabora cisticola
- Temminck’s courser
- Trilling cisticola
- Usambiro barbet (NE)
- White-bellied go-away bird
- Woolly-necked stork
- Yellow-mantled widowbird
- Yellow-throated sandgrouse
About Masai Mara “The Mara”
Also known as Maasai Mara National Reserve, the vast reserve is the most famous reserve in the world and an iconic safari destination. The reserve is named in honor of the Maasai people, who were the area’s original inhabitants and is renowned for its remarkable wildlife conservation and wilderness, particularly for its large populations of cheetah, lion, African bush elephant, and leopard.
Masai Mara National Reserve is part of the Serengeti ecosystem, extending from northern Tanzania to Southern Kenya, covering an area of 1,800 square kilometers. The reserve’s endless plains supports more than 1 million wildebeests, 250,000 Thomson’s gazelles, 250,000 zebras, 70,000 impalas, and 30,000 Grant’s gazelles. You can also spot an enormous number of predators, including lions, leopards, cheetahs, jackals, and hyenas on a Mara game viewing drive.
Apart from the wildlife, the Masai Mara is also home to over 470 bird species, including 57 raptor species.