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Kenya Kenya Ramsar wetland

Lake Elmenteita

440 bird species recorded; the most in May.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec349at the peak
Species recorded in each month · tap a month

Valerius Tygart · CC BY-SA 4.0

This month here

282 species in January.

The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.

Barn swallow
Barn swallowHirundo rusticaSummer visitorAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Little Stint
Little StintCalidris minutaSummer visitorKen Billington · CC BY-SA 3.0
Common Ringed Plover
Common Ringed PloverCharadrius hiaticulaSummer visitorAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Western Yellow Wagtail
Western Yellow WagtailMotacilla flavaSummer visitorKathy2408 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Black-winged Stilt
Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopusResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Greater Flamingo
Greater FlamingoPhoenicopterus roseusResidentEl Golli Mohamed · CC BY-SA 4.0
Blacksmith Lapwing
Blacksmith LapwingVanellus armatusResidentBernard DUPONT from FRANCE · CC BY-SA 2.0
Ring-necked Dove
Ring-necked DoveStreptopelia capicolaResidentJonRichfield · CC BY-SA 3.0
Lesser FlamingoNT
Lesser FlamingoPhoeniconaias minorResidenttaken by myself · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Egyptian Goose
Egyptian GooseAlopochen aegyptiacaResidentRhododendrites · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ruff
RuffCalidris pugnaxResidentWald1siedel · CC BY-SA 4.0
Fork-tailed Drongo
Fork-tailed DrongoDicrurus adsimilisResidentDerek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
African Spoonbill
African SpoonbillPlatalea albaResidentJastrow · Public domain
Marsh Sandpiper
Marsh SandpiperTringa stagnatilisSummer visitorJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Curlew SandpiperVU
Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaSummer visitorJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Common Kestrel
Common KestrelFalco tinnunculusSummer visitorAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Little Grebe
Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollisResidentZeynel Cebeci · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cape Teal
Cape TealAnas capensisResidentDerek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
Superb Starling
Superb StarlingLamprotornis superbusResidentSumeet Moghe · CC BY-SA 3.0
Little Egret
Little EgretEgretta garzettaResidentBirdman1 · CC BY 2.5
Grey-headed Gull
Grey-headed GullChroicocephalus cirrocephalusResidentNicolas Barcet from Villejuif, France · CC BY 2.0
Yellow-billed Stork
Yellow-billed StorkMycteria ibisResidentBernard DUPONT from FRANCE · CC BY-SA 2.0
Lilac-breasted Roller
Lilac-breasted RollerCoracias caudatusResidentGiles Laurent · CC BY-SA 4.0
White-fronted Bee-eater
White-fronted Bee-eaterMerops bullockoidesResidentBernard DUPONT from FRANCE · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • Resident all year
  • Summer visitor comes to breed
  • Winter visitor comes for the winter
  • Passage migrant in spring and autumn

In numbers

440 species, counted.

84out of 100

Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).

  • 440Speciesrecorded more than once
  • 126Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
  • 6ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
  • 31,570Recordsopen records within 6 km
  • 1,778 mAltitudeabove the sea
  • 45Raptors
  • 5Owls
  • 34Waders
  • 7Gulls & seabirds
  • 17Ducks & geese
  • 26Herons, ibises & grebes
  • 9Storks & cranes
  • 2Flamingos
  • 193Songbirds
  • 102Other birds

From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.

The checklist

All 440 species.

By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.

Raptors45 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Augur BuzzardButeo augur
  • African Fish EagleHaliaeetus vocifer
  • Long-crested EagleLophaetus occipitalis
  • Black-winged KiteElanus caeruleus
  • Tawny EagleAquila rapaxVU
  • Black KiteMilvus migrans
  • Secretary BirdSagittarius serpentarius
  • African Harrier-hawkPolyboroides typus
  • Black-chested Snake EagleCircaetus pectoralis
  • Martial eaglePolemaetus bellicosus
  • Gabar GoshawkMicronisus gabar
  • White-backed VultureGyps africanusCR
  • Crowned EagleStephanoaetus coronatusNT
  • Common BuzzardButeo buteo
  • Steppe eagleAquila nipalensis
  • Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
  • Lesser kestrelFalco naumanni
  • LannerFalco biarmicus
  • Rüppell's VultureGyps rueppelliiCR
  • African Hawk-EagleAquila spilogaster
  • Western Marsh HarrierCircus aeruginosus
  • Montagu's HarrierCircus pygargus
  • Pallid HarrierCircus macrourusNT
  • Brown Snake EagleCircaetus cinereus
  • OspreyPandion haliaetus
  • BateleurTerathopius ecaudatus
  • Lesser spotted eagleAquila pomarina
  • Eastern Chanting GoshawkMelierax poliopterus
  • Bat HawkMacheiramphus alcinus
  • African Marsh HarrierCircus ranivorus
  • Booted eagleHieraaetus pennatus
  • European HobbyFalco subbuteo
  • African Cuckoo HawkAviceda cuculoides
  • Greater KestrelFalco rupicoloides
  • Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
  • Lappet-faced VultureTorgos tracheliotos
  • European Honey-buzzardPernis apivorus
  • Greater spotted eagleAquila clanga
  • Scissor-tailed KiteChelictinia riocouriiVU
  • Egyptian vultureNeophron percnopterus
  • Dark Chanting-GoshawkMelierax metabates
  • African hobbyFalco cuvierii
  • Black EagleAquila verreauxii
  • Yellow-billed KiteMilvus aegyptius
  • Rock KestrelFalco rupicolus
Owls5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Giant Eagle OwlBubo lacteus
  • Spotted Eagle-OwlBubo africanus
  • Western Barn OwlTyto alba
  • Pearl-spotted OwletGlaucidium perlatum
  • African Grass-owlTyto capensis
Waders34 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Blacksmith LapwingVanellus armatus
  • Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopus
  • Pied AvocetRecurvirostra avosetta
  • RuffCalidris pugnax
  • Little StintCalidris minuta
  • Crowned lapwingVanellus coronatus
  • Common Ringed PloverCharadrius hiaticula
  • Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
  • Marsh SandpiperTringa stagnatilis
  • Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
  • Spur-winged LapwingVanellus spinosus
  • Wood SandpiperTringa glareola
  • Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaVU
  • Green SandpiperTringa ochropus
  • Black-winged LapwingVanellus melanopterus
  • Cape Thick-kneeBurhinus capensis
  • African JacanaActophilornis africanus
  • Kittlitz's PloverCharadrius pecuarius
  • Temminck's CourserCursorius temminckii
  • Long-toed LapwingVanellus crassirostris
  • SanderlingCalidris alba
  • Spotted RedshankTringa erythropus
  • RedshankTringa totanus
  • Three-banded PloverCharadrius tricollaris
  • Eurasian CurlewNumenius arquataNT
  • Common SnipeGallinago gallinago
  • Black-tailed GodwitLimosa limosaNT
  • Temminck's StintCalidris temminckii
  • Water DikkopBurhinus vermiculatus
  • Greater Painted-snipeRostratula benghalensis
  • Collared PratincoleGlareola pratincola
  • Lesser Black-winged PloverVanellus lugubris
  • Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
  • Red-necked PhalaropePhalaropus lobatus
Gulls & seabirds7 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Grey-headed GullChroicocephalus cirrocephalus
  • White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterus
  • Whiskered TernChlidonias hybrida
  • Gull-billed TernGelochelidon nilotica
  • African SkimmerRynchops flavirostris
  • Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
  • Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
Ducks & geese17 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Egyptian GooseAlopochen aegyptiaca
  • Cape TealAnas capensis
  • Yellow-billed DuckAnas undulata
  • Red-billed TealAnas erythrorhyncha
  • Blue-billed TealSpatula hottentota
  • Southern PochardNetta erythrophthalma
  • White-faced Whistling-duckDendrocygna viduata
  • Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeata
  • GarganeySpatula querquedula
  • Spur-winged GoosePlectropterus gambensis
  • Knob-billed DuckSarkidiornis melanotos
  • African Black DuckAnas sparsa
  • Fulvous Whistling-duckDendrocygna bicolor
  • Northern PintailAnas acuta
  • Maccoa DuckOxyura maccoa
  • GadwallMareca strepera
  • Eurasian TealAnas crecca
Herons, ibises & grebes26 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Great White PelicanPelecanus onocrotalus
  • African SpoonbillPlatalea alba
  • Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollis
  • HadadaBostrychia hagedash
  • Little EgretEgretta garzetta
  • Grey HeronArdea cinerea
  • Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
  • African Sacred IbisThreskiornis aethiopicus
  • Western Cattle EgretBubulcus ibis
  • Great White EgretArdea alba
  • Pink-backed PelicanPelecanus rufescens
  • Black-headed HeronArdea melanocephala
  • Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
  • Egretta intermediaEgretta intermedia
  • HamerkopScopus umbretta
  • Long-tailed CormorantMicrocarbo africanus
  • Squacco HeronArdeola ralloides
  • Eared GrebePodiceps nigricollis
  • Purple heronArdea purpurea
  • DarterAnhinga rufa
  • Black-crowned Night-HeronNycticorax nycticorax
  • Black HeronEgretta ardesiaca
  • Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatus
  • Goliath HeronArdea goliath
  • Striated HeronButorides striata
  • White-breasted CormorantPhalacrocorax lucidus
Storks & cranes9 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Yellow-billed StorkMycteria ibis
  • Grey Crowned CraneBalearica regulorum
  • Leptoptilos crumeniferLeptoptilos crumenifer
  • White StorkCiconia ciconia
  • Openbill StorkAnastomus lamelligerus
  • SaddlebillEphippiorhynchus senegalensisNT
  • African Woolly-necked StorkCiconia microscelis
  • Black storkCiconia nigra
  • Abdim's storkCiconia abdimii
Flamingos2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Lesser FlamingoPhoeniconaias minorNT
  • Greater FlamingoPhoenicopterus roseus
Songbirds193 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Fork-tailed DrongoDicrurus adsimilis
  • Common BulbulPycnonotus barbatus
  • Red-cheeked Cordon-bleuUraeginthus bengalus
  • Superb StarlingLamprotornis superbus
  • Rattling CisticolaCisticola chiniana
  • Tropical BoubouLaniarius major
  • Green-backed CamaropteraCamaroptera brachyura
  • Scarlet-chested SunbirdChalcomitra senegalensis
  • Variable SunbirdCinnyris venustus
  • Greater Blue-eared StarlingLamprotornis chalybaeus
  • Black-headed OrioleOriolus larvatus
  • Purple GrenadierUraeginthus ianthinogaster
  • Kenya Rufous-sparrowPasser rufocinctus
  • White-browed Robin-chatCossypha heuglini
  • Pied CrowCorvus albus
  • Chinspot BatisBatis molitor
  • Arrow-marked BabblerTurdoides jardineii
  • Motacilla aguimpMotacilla aguimp
  • Dioptrornis fischeriDioptrornis fischeri
  • Barn swallowHirundo rustica
  • White-bellied TitParus albiventris
  • Baglafecht WeaverPloceus baglafecht
  • Grey-backed FiscalLanius excubitoroides
  • Northern Anteater-chatMyrmecocichla aethiops
  • Rüppell's StarlingLamprotornis purpuroptera
  • African Paradise-FlycatcherTerpsiphone viridis
  • Yellow-breasted ApalisApalis flavida
  • Red-faced CrombecSylvietta whytii
  • Speke's WeaverPloceus spekei
  • Red-billed OxpeckerBuphagus erythrorhynchus
  • African PipitAnthus cinnamomeus
  • Tawny-flanked PriniaPrinia subflava
  • Western Yellow WagtailMotacilla flava
  • Spectacled WeaverPloceus ocularis
  • Red-headed WeaverAnaplectes rubriceps
  • Rock MartinPtyonoprogne fuligula
  • Bronzy SunbirdNectarinia kilimensis
  • Red-billed FirefinchLagonosticta senegala
  • Turdus peliosTurdus pelios
  • Bradornis microrhynchusBradornis microrhynchus
  • Brimstone CanaryCrithagra sulphurata
  • Plain-backed PipitAnthus leucophrys
  • Abyssinian WheatearOenanthe lugubris
  • African Sand MartinRiparia paludicola
  • Wattled StarlingCreatophora cinerea
  • Northern WheatearOenanthe oenanthe
  • Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus
  • Lanius humeralisLanius humeralis
  • Sharpe's Pied-BabblerTurdoides sharpei
  • Golden-breasted BuntingEmberiza flaviventris
  • Village WeaverPloceus cucullatus
  • Red-capped LarkCalandrella cinerea
  • Brown-crowned TchagraTchagra australis
  • Black Cuckoo-shrikeCampephaga flava
  • Little Rock-ThrushMonticola rufocinereus
  • Black Rough-winged Swallow or Black Saw-wingPsalidoprocne pristoptera
  • Reichenow's SeedeaterCrithagra reichenowi
  • Isabelline wheatearOenanthe isabellina
  • Wire-tailed SwallowHirundo smithii
  • Grey-headed BushshrikeMalaconotus blanchoti
  • White-browed Sparrow-weaverPlocepasser mahali
  • Common WaxbillEstrilda astrild
  • Northern Grey-headed SparrowPasser griseus
  • Dusky FlycatcherMuscicapa adusta
  • Pale FlycatcherBradornis pallidus
  • Streaky SeedeaterCrithagra striolata
  • Buff-bellied WarblerPhyllolais pulchella
  • Amethyst SunbirdChalcomitra amethystina
  • BrubruNilaus afer
  • Grey-capped WarblerEminia lepida
  • Red-winged StarlingOnychognathus morio
  • Pin-tailed WhydahVidua macroura
  • Cape CrowCorvus capensis
  • Northern PuffbackDryoscopus gambensis
  • House SparrowPasser domesticus
  • Pied WheatearOenanthe pleschanka
  • Winding CisticolaCisticola marginatus
  • Spotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striata
  • African FirefinchLagonosticta rubricata
  • Yellow BishopEuplectes capensis
  • Common House MartinDelichon urbicum
  • Common Rock ThrushMonticola saxatilis
  • Yellow-throated LongclawMacronyx croceus
  • Cape Robin-ChatDessonornis caffer
  • Violet-backed StarlingCinnyricinclus leucogaster
  • Southern PuffbackDryoscopus cubla
  • Abyssinian ThrushTurdus abyssinicus
  • African CitrilCrithagra citrinelloides
  • Mosque SwallowCecropis senegalensis
  • Pectoral-patch CisticolaCisticola brunnescens
  • Orange-breasted BushshrikeChlorophoneus sulfureopectus
  • Sand MartinRiparia riparia
  • Northern Yellow White-eyeZosterops senegalensis
  • Yellow-spotted Bush SparrowGymnoris pyrgita
  • Collared SunbirdHedydipna collaris
  • Rufous-tailed ShrikeLanius phoenicuroides
  • Bronze MannikinLonchura cucullata
  • Red-backed ShrikeLanius collurio
  • Slate-coloured BoubouLaniarius funebris
  • Long-billed PipitAnthus similis
  • Lesser Masked WeaverPloceus intermedius
  • Mocking ChatThamnolaea cinnamomeiventris
  • Lynes's CisticolaCisticola distinctus
  • Crimson-rumped WaxbillEstrilda rhodopyga
  • Chestnut WeaverPloceus rubiginosus
  • Tree PipitAnthus trivialis
  • Banded MartinRiparia cincta
  • Black-crowned TchagraTchagra senegalus
  • Capped WheatearOenanthe pileata
  • Grey-crested HelmetshrikePrionops poliolophus
  • Southern Black-FlycatcherMelaenornis pammelaina
  • Isabelline ShrikeLanius isabellinus
  • Brown ParisomaSylvia lugens
  • Red-billed QueleaQuelea quelea
  • Village IndigobirdVidua chalybeata
  • Malachite SunbirdNectarinia famosa
  • Yellow-billed OxpeckerBuphagus africanus
  • Cinnamon-breasted BuntingEmberiza tahapisi
  • African StonechatSaxicola torquatus
  • Chestnut SparrowPasser eminibey
  • Parrot-billed SparrowPasser gongonensis
  • Golden-winged SunbirdDrepanorhynchus reichenowi
  • Green-headed SunbirdCyanomitra verticalis
  • Long-tailed WidowbirdEuplectes progne
  • Singing CisticolaCisticola cantans
  • Zitting CisticolaCisticola juncidis
  • White-winged WidowbirdEuplectes albonotatus
  • Stout CisticolaCisticola robustus
  • Jackson's WidowbirdEuplectes jacksoni
  • Tacazze SunbirdNectarinia tacazze
  • Rosy-breasted LongclawMacronyx ameliae
  • Marico SunbirdCinnyris mariquensis
  • Northern Double-collared SunbirdCinnyris reichenowi
  • Yellow-bellied EremomelaEremomela icteropygialis
  • Red-collared WhydahEuplectes ardens
  • Yellow-crowned CanarySerinus flavivertex
  • Straw-tailed WidowVidua fischeri
  • Hildebrandt's StarlingLamprotornis hildebrandti
  • African Golden WeaverPloceus xanthops
  • Eastern Olivaceous WarblerIduna pallida
  • Erythropygia leucophrysErythropygia leucophrys
  • Lesser Striped SwallowCecropis abyssinica
  • Northern White-crowned ShrikeEurocephalus ruppelli
  • White-bellied CanaryCrithagra dorsostriata
  • Grey-rumped SwallowPseudhirundo griseopyga
  • Mountain WagtailMotacilla clara
  • Green-winged PytiliaPytilia melba
  • White-crested HelmetshrikePrionops plumatus
  • Cape WagtailMotacilla capensis
  • Fischer's Sparrow-larkEremopterix leucopareia
  • WhinchatSaxicola rubetra
  • QuailfinchOrtygospiza atricollis
  • Grosbeak WeaverAmblyospiza albifrons
  • African Golden OrioleOriolus auratus
  • SilverbirdEmpidornis semipartitus
  • Spotted Morning-thrushCichladusa guttata
  • Long-tailed FiscalLanius cabanisi
  • Vitelline Masked WeaverPloceus vitellinus
  • Grey-backed CamaropteraCamaroptera brevicaudata
  • White-necked RavenCorvus albicollis
  • Desert CisticolaCisticola aridulus
  • Common FiscalLanius collaris
  • Cut-throat FinchAmadina fasciata
  • Fawn-colored LarkCalendulauda africanoides
  • Common NightingaleLuscinia megarhynchos
  • Long-tailed Paradise WhydahVidua paradisaea
  • Grey Penduline TitAnthoscopus caroli
  • White-headed SawwingPsalidoprocne albiceps
  • Black-throated Wattle-eyePlatysteira peltata
  • Eurasian Reed WarblerAcrocephalus scirpaceus
  • Speckle-fronted WeaverSporopipes frontalis
  • Yellow-bellied WaxbillCoccopygia quartinia
  • Mirafra africanaMirafra africana
  • Ethiopian BoubouLaniarius aethiopicus
  • Red-throated TitParus fringillinus
  • Long-tailed Glossy-StarlingLamprotornis caudatus
  • Crested larkGalerida cristata
  • Somali BuntingEmberiza poliopleura
  • Grey-capped Social WeaverPseudonigrita arnaudi
  • Grey Wren-WarblerCalamonastes simplex
  • Lesser Grey ShrikeLanius minor
  • WhitethroatSylvia communis
  • BlackcapSylvia atricapilla
  • Sedge WarblerAcrocephalus schoenobaenus
  • Cardinal QueleaQuelea cardinalis
  • Black-necked WeaverPloceus nigricollis
  • Red-shouldered WhydahEuplectes axillaris
  • Angolan SwallowHirundo angolensis
  • Lesser Swamp WarblerAcrocephalus gracilirostris
  • Southern Grosbeak-CanaryCrithagra buchanani
  • Beautiful SunbirdCinnyris pulchellus
  • Highland Rush WarblerBradypterus centralis
  • Eastern Red-rumped SwallowCecropis daurica
Other birds102 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Ring-necked DoveStreptopelia capicola
  • Speckled MousebirdColius striatus
  • Lilac-breasted RollerCoracias caudatus
  • Helmeted GuineafowlNumida meleagris
  • Red-eyed DoveStreptopelia semitorquata
  • Emerald-spotted DoveTurtur chalcospilos
  • Speckled PigeonColumba guinea
  • Laughing DoveSpilopelia senegalensis
  • White-fronted Bee-eaterMerops bullockoides
  • Green WoodhoopoePhoeniculus purpureus
  • Pied KingfisherCeryle rudis
  • Eurasian HoopoeUpupa epops
  • White-browed CoucalCentropus superciliosus
  • Red-fronted BarbetTricholaema diademata
  • Klaas's CuckooChrysococcyx klaas
  • Grey-headed WoodpeckerDendropicos spodocephalus
  • Nubian WoodpeckerCampethera nubica
  • Red-chested CuckooCuculus solitarius
  • Campocolinus coquiCampocolinus coqui
  • Crowned HornbillLophoceros alboterminatus
  • Blue-naped MousebirdUrocolius macrourus
  • Little SwiftApus affinis
  • Striped KingfisherHalcyon chelicuti
  • Diederik CuckooChrysococcyx caprius
  • Nyanza SwiftApus niansae
  • African Grey HornbillLophoceros nasutus
  • Greater HoneyguideIndicator indicator
  • Southern Ground HornbillBucorvus leadbeateriVU
  • Cardinal WoodpeckerDendropicos fuscescens
  • Purple RollerCoracias naevius
  • White-rumped SwiftApus caffer
  • Dusky Turtle DoveStreptopelia lugens
  • Broad-billed RollerEurystomus glaucurus
  • Bearded WoodpeckerChloropicus namaquus
  • Hildebrandt's FrancolinPternistis hildebrandti
  • Cinnamon-chested Bee-eaterMerops oreobates
  • Red-knobbed CootFulica cristata
  • Mountain NightjarCaprimulgus poliocephalus
  • Horus SwiftApus horus
  • Lesser HoneyguideIndicator minor
  • White-headed BarbetLybius leucocephalus
  • Black CuckooCuculus clamosus
  • African SwiftApus barbatus
  • Scaly-throated HoneyguideIndicator variegatus
  • African Green-pigeonTreron calvus
  • Bee-eaterMerops apiaster
  • African Palm SwiftCypsiurus parvus
  • Mottled SwiftTachymarptis aequatorialis
  • Namaqua DoveOena capensis
  • Tambourine DoveTurtur tympanistria
  • Little Bee-eaterMerops pusillus
  • Common Scimitar-billRhinopomastus cyanomelas
  • Black CrakeAmaurornis flavirostra
  • European RollerCoracias garrulus
  • Black-bellied KorhaanLissotis melanogaster
  • Grey-headed KingfisherHalcyon leucocephala
  • Yellow-rumped TinkerbirdPogoniulus bilineatus
  • Meyer's ParrotPoicephalus meyeri
  • African Olive PigeonColumba arquatrix
  • European SwiftApus apus
  • Malachite KingfisherCorythornis cristatus
  • Hartlaub's TuracoTauraco hartlaubi
  • Yellow-necked FrancolinPternistis leucoscepus
  • Common OstrichStruthio camelus
  • Sombre NightjarCaprimulgus fraenatus
  • Ortygornis sephaenaOrtygornis sephaena
  • Woodland KingfisherHalcyon senegalensis
  • African Grey CuckooCuculus gularis
  • Abyssinian ScimitarbillRhinopomastus minor
  • Giant KingfisherMegaceryle maxima
  • Wahlberg's HoneyguideProdotiscus regulus
  • Spot-flanked BarbetTricholaema lacrymosa
  • Great spotted cuckooClamator glandarius
  • Jacobin CuckooClamator jacobinus
  • Narina TrogonApaloderma narina
  • Common CuckooCuculus canorus
  • Rock DoveColumba livia
  • African HoopoeUpupa africana
  • Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
  • Green-backed HoneyguideProdotiscus zambesiae
  • D'Arnaud's BarbetTrachyphonus darnaudii
  • Blue-spotted Wood-doveTurtur afer
  • White-bellied Go-away-birdCorythaixoides leucogaster
  • Rufous-necked WryneckJynx ruficollis
  • Plain NightjarCaprimulgus inornatus
  • Hemprich's HornbillLophoceros hemprichii
  • Harlequin QuailCoturnix delegorguei
  • Blue-cheeked Bee-eaterMerops persicus
  • White-throated Bee-eaterMerops albicollis
  • Pallid HoneyguideIndicator meliphilus
  • European NightjarCaprimulgus europaeus
  • African Grey WoodpeckerDendropicos goertae
  • Fischer's LovebirdAgapornis fischeriNT
  • Emerald CuckooChrysococcyx cupreus
  • Slender-tailed NightjarCaprimulgus clarus
  • White-headed Wood HoopoePhoeniculus bollei
  • Common QuailCoturnix coturnix
  • White-bellied BustardEupodotis senegalensis
  • Von der Decken's HornbillTockus deckeni
  • Scarce SwiftSchoutedenapus myoptilus
  • Freckled NightjarCaprimulgus tristigma
  • African Black CoucalCentropus grillii

Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.

When to go

The most species in May.

Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.

  1. Jan28223°/9°54 mm
  2. Feb28624°/9°39 mm
  3. Mar22924°/10°105 mm
  4. Apr19222°/11°206 mm
  5. May34920°/10°149 mm
  6. Jun21920°/10°82 mm
  7. Jul25719°/9°68 mm
  8. Aug29520°/9°89 mm
  9. Sep29121°/9°85 mm
  10. Oct32121°/10°115 mm
  11. Nov32021°/10°146 mm
  12. Dec28822°/10°95 mm
  • Bar: species recorded that month.
  • Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
  • Rain: monthly total.

The place

Lake Elmenteita.

Lake in Kenya

Lake Elmenteita is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Kenya, 1,778 m above the sea.

440 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 31,570 open records.

The most recorded are the Lesser Flamingo, the Greater Flamingo and the Blacksmith Lapwing.

63 species come for the summer, 62 for the winter and 1 only pass through.

6 are threatened worldwide, including Tawny Eagle, Curlew Sandpiper and Southern Ground Hornbill.

The most species are recorded in May.

Elementaita1
Valerius Tygart · CC BY-SA 4.0

Get there and watch

Plan the visit

A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From above

The place and its surroundings.

The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.

Lake Elmenteita seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Seen from above: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6 × 6 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around, in OpenStreetMap

  • 1visitor centres within 6 kmSoysambu Information Centre
  • 2viewpoints within 5 kmBirds view stp, Upper Lake view stp
  • 1car parks within 3 km
  • 6campsites within 10 kmDuara Flamingo, Kikopey Beach Camp, Lake Elementaita Lodge Campsite and 3 more
  • 24places to stay within 10 kmSentrim Elementaita, Sirville lake lodge, Pelican Lodge Elementaita and 21 more
  • bird hides within 6 km
  • observation towers within 6 km
  • marked trails within 4 km
  • restaurants and cafés within 3 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.

In our other atlases

Around Lake Elmenteita.

The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.

Peakyas5 mountains within 25 km
Mlima Tatu · 2.6 kmElmenteita Badlands2,126 m · 8.0 kmIsirkon · 17 kmOldoinyo Opuru · 21 kmOl Doinyo Eburru2,856 m · 23 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Photographs

The place, as people saw it.

Elementaita2
Valerius Tygart · CC BY-SA 4.0
Lake Elementaita Jacaranda Lodge Entrance 2018
Kenya2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Lake Elementaita Lodge Back Porch
Kenya2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Other places nearby.

Lake Elmenteita

Kenya

  • 84Birdyas Score
  • 440Species
  • 126Migrants
  • 6Threatened

Lake Nakuru

Kenya · 20 km

  • 93Birdyas Score
  • 508Species
  • 144Migrants
  • 11Threatened

See the guide

Lake Naivasha

Kenya · 38 km

  • 85Birdyas Score
  • 482Species
  • 131Migrants
  • 6Threatened

See the guide

Lake Bogoria

Kenya · 79 km

  • 78Birdyas Score
  • 350Species
  • 123Migrants
  • 4Threatened

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name and typeWikidata (Q517633) · CC0
Birds31,570 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
See these recordsgbif.org
SpeciesGBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons
AltitudeCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Temperature and rainNASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2)
What is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Sister atlasesPeakyas, Lakeyas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.