KENYA: Last Day – Taita Hills

From Shaba Camp it was an hours drive into the Taita Hills where we met Jonam, our forest ranger guide. The Taita Hills are an isolated remnant of Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains and hold a few species not found elsewhere – Taita Apalis, Thrush and White-eye.

Beginning on the edge of the Ngangao Forest we soon had three sunbird species, Collared, Eastern Olive and Northern Double-collared, as well as several Dusky Flycatchers. Our view overlooked a deep valley full of terraced plots with only the slopes of Kilimanjaro visible though the clouds. A White-starred Robin (above) was quite content sitting on a branch as we turned our attention to a flock of Taita White-eyes moving through the trees below us. Other species in this open area included Yellow-rumped Seedeater, Western Citril, Spot-flanked Barbet, Red-winged Blackbird, White-browed and Cape Robin-Chat.

We moved further around the mountain side to a second location. Before entering the forest via a wide track, we could hear Cinnamon Bracken-Warbler and Hartlaub’s Turaco and see Mountain and Yellow-whiskered Greenbuls working the dense edge habitat. This spot allowed us to penetrate deeper into the forest, where we found a Taita Thrush scratching amongst the leaf litter. Between the tree trunks and darkness of the forest this is a tough bird to get a good visual on, but after a lot of persistence and George relocating the bird we all got to see it. Jonam was excellent in tracking down the Taita Apalis. Faintly hearing it in the distance, we followed him up a slope of towering evergreens and into a mixed deciduous-evergreen section (above). This pair was always on the move and we positioned ourselves to have them come towards us. With a little readjusting we accomplished our goal of seeing the three Taita endemics.

Once we were back down the mountain we returned to the camp to pack up and grab a bite to eat, before heading to Nairobi Airport. The five hour drive was broken up with a break for tea and biscuits.

As we neared Nairobi, the Kapiti Plains gave us one last look at some of the savanna wildlife that makes this such a wonderful country to visit – Impalas browsing amongst acacias; Zebras, Thomsons and Grant Gazelles spread out grazing the grasses; Coke’s Hartebeest scanning the surrounding plains, and Maasai Giraffe walking close to the main road. What memories to end a magnificent trip.