Meru National Park

Birds

With more than 300 species recorded, Meru is an excellent birding destination. It has several northern Kenya specials, including the impressive Somali ostrich, Boran cisticola and vulturine guineafowl. The noisy yellow-necked spurfowl is very common and the endemic Hinde’s babbler can sometimes be spotted as well. The rivers running through the park offer the right habitat for Pel’s fishing-owl, the elusive African finfoot and the endemic golden palm weaver as well as more common water birds such as ibises, herons and African fish eagles.

Notable Birds in Meru

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Eastern chanting goshawk
Common

Birding Rating

Expert Rating

3.9/5 8 Birding Reviews

User Rating

4.1/5 15 Birding Reviews

Birding Specials –Treats for Avid Birders

(E) = endemic to Kenya & (NE) = near-endemic to Kenya

African finfoot
Bat hawk
Black-faced sandgrouse
Boran cisticola
Buff-crested bustard
Golden palm weaver (E)
Golden-breasted starling
Grant’s wood-hoopoe
Hinde's pied babbler (E)
Martial eagle

Northern pied babbler
Palm-nut vulture
Pel’s fishing-owl
Rufous chatterer
Saddle-billed stork
Somali bee-eater
Somali ostrich
Taita fiscal
Vulturine guineafowl
Yellow-necked spurfowl

Best Time for Bird Watching

Meru offers good bird watching throughout the year, but the best time is from November to April when the migrants from Europe and north Africa are present. This coincides with the breeding season when many species are nesting. Although good for birding, April tends to be very wet and is a less productive time for general wildlife viewing.

Best Parks for Birding –Including Birding Rating

The best wildlife viewing parks, such as the Masai Mara and Amboseli, offer a solid introduction to East Africa’s common birds. The Rift Valley Lakes including Lake Nakuru and Bogoria are the places to go to mark off many waterbirds, while the arid north, such as Samburu, offers many dry-country specials. Arabuko-Sokoke and Kakamega Forest are birding hotspots as well.