Village Weaver Birding

Northern Tanzania Special Birding Safari

14 Days Safari

Your Itinerary

Day 1-Arrival and meet field crew

Then you will be transferred to a bird friendly lodge near arusha city and depending with the time of arrival you will start familiarising with the feathered friends of this area

Arusha Night is among the smallest park in Northern Tanzania yet it is more diverse than any other park in this region,From montane forest, highlands,swamps ,open plains,lakes and shrubbery it host different species of birds such as the endemic broad-ringed white-eye,the restricted range endemic taveta weaver,the near endemic sentinel lark,the rare maccoa duck,southern pochard,red billed and cape teals,fan-tailed grassbird,trilling,singing,siffling,winding and rattling cisticolas,cinnamon chested and little beeeater,bar-tailed and narina trogons,oriole finch,the east african endemic kenrick’s and abbot’s starlings,red fronted parrot,black sparrowhawk,mountain bizzard,scally spurfowl,grey headed nigrita,black headed and yellow breasted apalis.Versertile songsters such as rüppell’s robinchats and spotted palm thrush will be heard singing their hearts out to the females. Some of the mammals here includes cape buffaloes,zebras,harvey’s forest duiker,suni,bush bucks,girrafes,baboon,the endemic Kilimanjaro guerezza and syke’s monkey.

Accommodaction;

Night in a lodge in Arusha

enroute to the Serengetis arriving late in the evening

Accommodaction;

Night in central serengeti

The Serengeti National park is well known for its big herds of migrating wildebeests,big cats and rolling grassy plains dotted with kopjes. Here you will experience one of the top wildlife spectacle on earth,with a list of over 600 bird species we will search for the endemic Tanzania red-billed hornbill,the endemic grey-breasted spurfowl,the near endemic grey crested helmet shrike,usambiro barbet,red throated tit, hildebrandt’s starling,karamoja apalis and kenya sparrow,we will also look for the striking eastern plantain eater with its laughing like call,the black headed gonolek is also a stunner in this magnificent part of africa,white-tailed,flappet,singing bush and melodious larks, other birds here includes swahili sparrow,red headed quelea,small button quil,black coucal,white headed sawwings,bailon’s crakes,grey-backed fiscals,stout and croaking cisticolas.

Accommodaction;Night in camp/lodge

We will drive to West usambara mountains for the endemics with stops on the way on the  first day then the second day we will do a full day birding there for the endemics such as usambara akalat, usambara weaver,usambara greenbul,usambara thrush, usambara double collared sunbird,the near endemic forest batis and the most elusive of them all,the spot throat which is a bird place in its own family together with the dapple throat. They are only found in the eastern arch mountain of Tanzania and N Mozambique. Rameron and eastern bronze naped pigeon,red faced crimson wung, evergreen forest and cinnamon bracken warblers,sharpes starling,red capped forest warblers,fullebons boubou,barred long tailed cuckoo.
 
Accommodaction;
Night at Muller’s mountain lodge

The Ndutu plains in the ngorongoro conservation area bordering the southern serengeti plains is much visited when the migrating wildebeests come to calve from mid December to march. The shorty grassy plains harbours short tailed larks,harlequin quils,yellow throated,chestnut bellied and black-faced sandgrouses,plain backed and african pipits,kori,denham’s and black bellied bustards, in the wooded area we will bird for the black-lored babbler,village ,vitelline and chestnut weavers,endemic Fischer’s lovebird,rufous chatterers,pearl spotted owlets,gabar goshawk,long crested eagle,tawny,steppe,wahberg’s and lesser spotted eagles,Many waders will also be seen on lake ndutu and masek-Night in ndutu lodge

We will search for the near endemics such as the uluguru violet backed and amani sunbird,east coast batis, long billed forest warbler, Fischer’s turaco. othersa are kretschmer’s longbill, Sharpe’s akalat,yellow streaked greenbul, dappled throat,half collared kingfisher,african broadbill,the endemic usambara eagle owl and more

Early morning drive from the hotel and take a short stop at zigi lowland forest for what we might have missed the previous days, another stop will be Masunguru dam 10 km east of Msata town for the first search of the endemic ruvu weaver which was once lost in literature circa 1916, the recent paper describes this bird as restricted from bagamoyo to selous (now Nyerere national park)in Tanzania though we have recent records in SUA botanical garden in Morogoro town. We will also search for the rare african pygmy goose and great crested grebe here.
Accommodaction;
Night in Dar es Salaam 

Day 12 Pugu hills We will either decide to do a full day or half day birding in pugu hills for gorgeous bushshrike,mouse colored sunbird,east coast akalat,another chance for Tanzanian illadopsis and kretschmer’s longbill,kenya crested guinea fowl, ground scrapper thrush and plenty more

We will drive through kisarawe road unto mtemere stopping on the way for any special bird we will see. Later in the evening we will bird the village and the hotel ground
Here we will look for reichenow’s woodpecker,red necked falcon,bohms and mottled spine tails, plain bellied francolin,bohms,blue cheeked,swallow tailed and european beeeaters, different species of eagles and vultures,a nother chamce for ruvu and eastern golden weavers,village and lesser masked weavers,northern white crowned shrike,eastern black headed batis,grey go away bird,pale billed hornbill etc etc . our first chance to encounter with the wild dogs, roan antelopes and more. 

 We will exit at matambo gate.

Night in Morogoro town

Includes

EXCLUDES