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Kenya Birding Safaris to Photograph Flamingos

Kenya Birding Safaris to Photograph Flamingos

There are 2 species of flamingos in Kenya: The Lesser Flamingo and the Greater Flamingo Flamingos in Kenya are part of the East African population, which mainly breeds at Lake Natron in Tanzania. The main flamingo feeding sites in Kenya are Lakes Bogoria, Elmenteita, Magadi, Nakuru, and Naivasha.

Lake Nakuru National Park is home to 1 million resident flamingos, providing one of Kenya’s most unforgettable sights. This lake has become famous for the greatest bird spectacle in the world, with swathes of vibrant pink filling the alkaline lake and the huge sky.

Where to Photographing Flamingos in Kenya

Flamingo’s boom occurs in the rainy season, between November and May when food in the lake is aplenty. However, in drier months, especially during droughts, pink flocks move north of Lake Nakuru to another famous flamingos’ feeding ground in Kenya—Lake Bogoria where these birds are actually observed year-round.

Photographing Flamingos in Lakes Bogoria

The most dramatic yet the least-visited of the Great Rift Valley lakes, Lake Bogoria is a sinuous pewter-blue ribbon of mirrored water often pink-frosted with over a million flamingos. On its western shores erupt the devilish spouting geysers and bubbling cauldrons of Kenya’s most spectacular volcanic springs, to the east it is bounded by the forbidding walls of the towering Siracha Escarpment, and to the south by gentle groves of fig trees and golden-green acacias, in whose shade linger the rare and beautiful greater kudu.

Where to stay in Lake Bogoria

Lake Bogoria Spa Resort

Lake Bogoria Spa Resort is the only resort in Kenya with a naturally heated pool. The resort is known as the healing place because of the therapeutic values associated with the spa and the hot spring geysers. “It’s the jewel of the Rift Valley “, Bishop Harington at first sight. “The most beautiful view in Africa” set in the acacia surroundings of the floor of the Great Rift Valley.

Photographing Flamingos in Lake Elmenteita

The shallow saline-alkaline lake which provides a favourable environment for diatoms and the blue-green algae, which lie at the basis of the food chain of several bird species, Averages of over 450 species have been counted in the area, and the lake hosts an average of 28.5% of the world population of Lesser Flamingo. During the dry season, black lava islands provide the only suitable nesting and breeding grounds for Great White Pelicans in the Rift Valley region.

Where to stay in Lake Elmenteita

Lake Elmenteita Serena Camp

Tucked among golden-barked acacia trees, under the shadow of ancient volcanoes, Lake Elmenteita Serena Camp is a truly magical setting for your next safari holiday in Kenya. You’ll find our small, immaculately maintained safari camp on the shores of glittering Lake Elmenteita in Kenya’s Soysambu Conservancy, just a two-hour drive from Nairobi and a short distance from the flamingo-filled Lake Nakuru. Here, the modern comforts of a five-star hotel blend seamlessly with the rich history and culture for which Soysambu is famous, resulting in an ambiance that is at once invitingly rustic and utterly sophisticated.

Photographing Flamingos in Lake Magadi

Lake Magadi is an amazingly unique and serene destination for nature lovers, bird lovers, and adventure camping tourists. Endowed with a wide variety of bird species, the lake’s spectacular geographical landscape to the northern part serves as the main attraction to many visitors in search of pristine camping grounds in the vast wilderness.

Lake Magadi is well known for its wading birds, including flamingos and Pelicans. A number of wildlife is also found around the lake; this includes giraffes, antelopes, ostriches, zebras, wildebeests, hyenas, and a few lion families are only seen very early in the morning.

Where to stay in Lake Magadi

Shompole Wilderness tented Camp

Shompole Wilderness is a small private tented camp set in Shompole, deep in Kenya’s Southern part of the Great Rift Valley, between Amboseli National Park and the famous Maasai Mara National Reserve is the Shompole Conservancy. We offer both privacy and comfort in a unique location and welcome you to join us at our home.

Nestled under the giant fig trees on the banks of the Ewaso Ngiro River, this small, homely and family-run and managed tented camp is one of the few places in Africa that combines wildlife sightings in the Great Rift Valley with the stunning pink, red, green and yellow colours of Lake Magadi and Lake Natron, both Lesser and Greater flamingos and a welcoming Maasai community.

Photographing Flamingos in Lake Nakuru

On the floor of the Great Rift Valley, surrounded by wooded and bushy grassland, lies the beautiful Lake Nakuru. Visitors can enjoy the wide ecological diversity and varied habitats that range from Lake Nakuru itself to the surrounding escarpment and picturesque ridges. Lake Nakuru National Park is ideal for bird watching hosting huge numbers of Flamingos, hiking, picnic, and game drives.

Where to stay in Lake Nakuru

Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge

Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge is nestled along the Lion Hill overlooking the spectacular flamingo pink rimmed Lake Nakuru. Its location affords panoramic views of the lake and the picturesque Lake Nakuru National Park. A short two-hour drive from Nairobi, Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge is a favorite with residents and visitors to Kenya.

Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge is cleverly laid out in such a way that most rooms and sitting areas afford stunning views of the lake and the park. The Lodge incorporates natural landscaping with tall acacia trees, winding walkways and greens dotted with bird feeds.

Photographing Flamingos in Lake Naivasha

Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake in Kenya, outside the town of Naivasha in Nakuru County, which lies North West of Nairobi. It is part of the Great Rift Valley. The name derives from the local Maasai name Nai’posha, meaning “rough water” because of the sudden storms which can arise.

Where to stay in Lake Naivasha

Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort

Set in one hundred and fifty acres of grassland studded with Acacia bushes and trees, the resort is not only home to our resident giraffe, waterbuck, and both Vervet and Colobus monkeys, but it is also a night stop for the hippos when they leave the lake every night to come and trim the grass on our expansive lawns.

Best time for Photographing Flamingos in Kenya

Flamingo’s boom occurs in the rainy season, Photographing Flamingos in Kenya is between November and May, when food in the lake is aplenty. However, in drier months, especially during droughts, pink flocks move north of Lake Nakuru to another famous flamingos’ feeding ground in Kenya—Lake Bogoria where these birds are actually observed year-round.

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