Birdwatching

Tanzania is a country in which the keen ‘twitcher’ will be able to discover a particularly rich and varied birdlife, with over 1000 different species able to be viewed in different locations, and at different times of the year.

Thus, for example, in the Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Magadi (including Lake Natron), apart from the many birds to be seen in the crater area, there are the thousands of flamingoes to see at Lake Magadi, a soda lake. Lake Natron lies further north and is another flamingo "hot spot". The best time for flamingo viewing is January and February.

Then in the Serengeti National Park, the sweeping grasslands make viewing the many birds in the area a delight. On Rubondo Island close to 400 species can be seen, including fish eagle, storks, cormorants, martial eagle, goliath heron, sacred ibis and kingfishers. [cont]

In Ruaha National Park – one of the best general game viewing areas generally - over 400 bird species reside here such as Dickinson's kestrel, violet-crested turaco, pale-billed hornbill, racket-tailed roller and Eleonora's falcon.

Eurasian migrant birds flock to Ruaha twice a year - October to November and March to April on the their outward journeys to feed with resident kingfishers, plovers, hornbills, green wood hoopoes, bee-eaters, sunbirds and egrets.

Finally, in the Katavi National Park, there are more than 400 bird species, the park being home to large flocks of pelican, as well as the go-away-bird, pale-billed hornbill and Tanzania masked weaver.