Trip Report: Birding Arusha National Park
Lead guide: Isaac Kilusu
Driver: Frank Sumari
We met our guests, Sammy and Murray, on December 16 at 6:00 am at the Arusha Hotel. They had their breakfast boxes with them, so we drove straight towards Moshono before taking a right turn toward Fun Retreat Resort to visit a breeding colony of Rufous-tailed Weavers. To our surprise, no birds were around.
In the nearby vicinity, there was a tree with a mix of flowers and fruits. It was busy with Scarlet-chested and Variable Sunbirds. Pale White-eyes were also foraging along the branches; a few Southern Citrils came and went; a Streaky Seedeater, which was unusual in the area, was also spotted. Chinspot Batis, Kenya, and Northern Grey-headed Sparrows were foraging on the ground. Further up in the acacia trees, there were Village, Lesser Masked, Vitelline, and Speke's weavers. Chestnut sparrows and a Black-headed Heron flew past us.
Two Buff-bellied Warblers were chasing each other from tree to tree, and two Spotted Palm-thrushes were heard calling nearby. As we were about to leave, two Rufous-tailed Weavers flew past us in the distance and disappeared into the nearby fields. That was just a glimpse of the most wanted bird, and we hoped for a better sighting.
We moved to another site about one kilometer ahead, where we hastily recorded Red-billed and White-headed Buffalo-Weavers, Hildebrandt's and Superb Starlings, and had good views of Rufous-tailed Weavers feeding near the road.
Sammy & Isaac. Photo by Murray S.
We connected to the East African Bypass and drove towards USA River, where we stopped for Magpie Shrikes. Before the junction to Leganga, we paused in the open grassy fields to observe Fan-tailed and White-winged Widowbirds, as well as Golden-backed and Grosbeak Weavers. As we neared Usa River Town, we took a right turn towards the Kiligolf Estate. At the beginning of the avocado plantations, we spotted Violet-backed Starlings, Village Indigobirds, Augur Buzzards, and African Grey Hornbills. Continuing further down past Kennedy house, we briefly birded the Batini area, where we had excellent views of Brown-breasted Barbets. Additionally, we recorded Gray-olive and Sombre Greenbuls, Red-throated Twinspots, Red-billed and African Firefinches, Red-cheeked Cordonbleus, Reichenow's Seedeaters, and Yellow-fronted Canaries.
We proceeded down towards the Kiligolf Gate, then turned around and drove to USA River Town, eventually connecting to the Moshi-Arusha Road. From there, we branched left towards the Arusha National Park main gate. Our driver-guide Frank handled the paperwork while we began birding in the parking lot. Here, we observed Taveta Weavers, Bronzy Sunbirds, Rüppell's Robinchat, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Singing Cisticola, and Tropical Boubou.
Once inside the park, we made brief stops to spot African Stonechats, Moustached Grass Warblers, and Trilling Cisticolas. At the open glades, locally known as Serengeti ndogo (Little Serengeti), we recorded several species of storks and herons. Large mammals included Cape Buffalo, Burchell's Zebra, Maasai Giraffe, Bush Buck, Warthog, and Common Waterbuck.
Continuing along the main road towards Momela gate, we passed through a forested area where we saw Cinnamon-chested Bee-eaters and Black-headed apalis. Additionally, we spotted Harvey's Red Duiker and Suni Antelope, though both were skittish, allowing us only fleeting glimpses.
At the Momela Ranger Post, we took an armed ranger with us and went for a 2-hour walk. During the walk, we added Lesser Honeyguide, Orange-breasted Bushshrike, and Little Rock Thrush, which was my first record for Arusha National Park. We also observed White-fronted and Little Bee-eaters, Black Cuckooshrike, Banded and Plain Martins.
Birding & walking safari. Photo by Murray S.
We continued to the waterfalls before returning in time for lunch. However, we found the Momela Ranger Post picnic area crowded, so we decided to drive further east to the Small Momela Lakes picnic site, where we had a very nice lunch.
Afterward, we continued birding along the lake edge and observed several Little Grebes, Southern Pochards, and a few species of Sandpipers. On the open plains towards the Big Momela Lakes, we added Pangani Longclaw, Sentinel Lark, Whinchat, Red-rumped, Wire-tailed, and Barn Swallow.
At the Big Momela Lakes, we recorded Pied Avocet, Black-winged Stilts, Egyptian Goose, Ruffs, Little Stints, Lesser and Greater Flamingos, Helmeted Guinea Fowls, Cape Teals, Grey Heron, and Striated Heron. We completed the lakes loop, but as it was getting late, we decided to drive straight towards the Ngurdoto Museum Road for one last stop at Lake Logil to search for a few more birds we wanted to see. On the way, we observed Scaly Spurfowl and Red-cowled Widowbird.
At Lake Logil, we birded for White-backed Duck, Common Moorhen, hundreds of Taveta Weavers again, African Swamphen, and Little Rush Warblers. Unfortunately, we missed the Lesser Gallinule that we had hoped to see.
Our next agenda was to drive straight towards the park gate before our time expired. We managed to exit by 6:00 pm and headed back to the Arusha Hotel for drop-off.
Bird species observed: 143
