There are so many places in Tanzania to find interesting birds that it is hard to know where to begin. Many birders will visit the northern National Parks and Game Reserves. Others may be tempted to try and find the specialist birds of the Usambara, Uluguru and Udzungwa mountains.
Then there is the possibility of combining a holiday on Zanzibar with some birdwatching and perhaps a visit to Pemba Island to try and locate the endemic species. All we can hope to do here is mention a few of our favourite locations and stimulate the interest of our clients. Wherever you go, remember to take your binoculars with you because you will find interesting birds.
Arusha is the gateway to the northern National Parks and Game Reserves and independent travellers should be able to join a trip here although it is likely to focus on mammals rather than birds. However, within a 1.5 hr drive of Arusha is Arusha National Park, where diversity of habitats allows observations of a plethora of birds (over 400 species recorded), including water birds, forest dwellers, savannah species and grassland specialists.
Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor, Maccoa Duck Oxyura maccoa, Scarce Swift Schoutedenapus myoptilus, Nyanza Swift Apus niansae, Horus Swift A. horus, Hunter’s Cisticola Cisticola hunteri, Kenrick’s Starling Poeoptera kenricki, Abbott’s Starling Pholia femoralis and Sharpe’s Starling P. sharpii are all possible.