10-Day Tanzania Birding Safari with Wings Explorers Tours

Arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), meet the specialist birding guide and transfer to a quiet garden lodge on the outskirts of Arusha. The afternoon is reserved for an introductory birding walk through lodge gardens and riverine thickets.

Key birds: Variable Sunbird, African Firefinch, African Paradise Flycatcher and White-browed Robin-Chat.

Birding focus: Active feeding parties in the low canopy during the cooler late-afternoon hours.

Depart early for the montane forest below Mount Meru. After high-canopy birding, continue to the Momella Lakes for waterbirds and make a slow afternoon vehicle sweep through the open forests around the Ngurdoto Crater rim.

Key birds: Hartlaub's Turaco, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Narina Trogon, Greater Flamingo, Lesser Flamingo and Maccoa Duck.

Birding focus: Fruiting figs, canopy movement and the distinctive calls of forest turacos.

Travel south into the dry Maasai Steppe and follow mixed-species flocks through whistling-thorn acacia scrub. The program also includes birding near a localized waterhole monitored by local conservationists.

Key birds: Ashy Starling, Von der Decken's Hornbill, Rosy-patched Bush-shrike, White-bellied Go-away-bird and Slate-coloured Boubou.

Birding focus: Careful observation around thorn scrub and water-dependent movement in the arid landscape.

Enter Tarangire through the northern gate and work the wooded margins of the Tarangire River. After a shaded midday observation stop, search around old baobabs and active nesting cavities.

Key birds: Yellow-collared Lovebird, Red-and-yellow Barbet, Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Pygmy Falcon and Von der Decken's Hornbill.

Birding focus: Old woodpecker holes and other cavities used by lovebirds and barbets.

Take a packed breakfast and travel into south-central Tarangire to reach Silale Swamp. Scan the reedbeds and floodplain from elevated tracks before a raptor-focused afternoon drive along the western ridgelines.

Key birds: Martial Eagle, Bateleur, Saddle-billed Stork, Kori Bustard, Southern Ground Hornbill and African Marsh Harrier.

Birding focus: Broad wetland scanning followed by close attention to raptor perches and ridge-line movement.

Leave Tarangire and climb the Great Rift Valley escarpment into the cooler Ngorongoro Highlands. Bird the forest canopy along quiet outer-rim tracks and explore the lodge grounds for high-altitude specialists.

Key birds: Golden-winged Sunbird, Schalow's Turaco, Mountain Greenbul, White-tailed Blue Flycatcher and Eastern Double-collared Sunbird.

Birding focus: Flowering plants and active canopy feeding areas along the crater rim.

Descend the crater walls at dawn to bird Lake Magadi and the Lerai Forest. In the afternoon, cross the short-grass plains on a bird-rich transfer toward the central Serengeti.

Key birds: Grey Crowned Crane, Secretarybird, Hildebrandt's Starling, Rufous-tailed Weaver and Kori Bustard.

Birding focus: Grassland birds and species feeding around large mammals and the insects they disturb.

Spend a full day exploring the Seronera River valley and nearby acacia woodland. The visitor loop provides opportunities for small passerines, while river courses are checked for less conspicuous and nocturnal species.

Key birds: Fischer's Lovebird, Lilac-breasted Roller, Grey-breasted Spurfowl, Usambiro Barbet and Meyer's Parrot.

Birding focus: Exposed acacia perches, riverine cover and mixed habitat along the Seronera loops.

Concentrate on large rocky outcrops that provide nesting and observation perches for eagles. After a picnic near the Simba Kopjes, continue across the open plains to watch vulture movement.

Key birds: Verreaux's Eagle, Freckled Nightjar, Lappet-faced Vulture, Silverbird and Grey-capped Social Weaver.

Birding focus: Shaded horizontal ledges for roosting nightjars and open skies above the kopjes for raptors.

Make a final early-morning circuit through the river loops for any missed species. Continue to Seronera Airstrip for a scenic flight to Arusha, or return by road, with day-room access before the onward journey.

Key birds: Kori Bustard, Temminck's Courser and White-backed Vulture. The partner's program summary also highlights Rüppell's Vulture for this transit.

Birding focus: Keep optics ready during transit for coursers, bustards and low-flying vultures.