Lake Nakuru National Park is home to five globally threatened species of birds. It is a ramsar site located in the rift valley covers an area of 18,800 ha with an altitude 1,750 - 2,070 meters. This area comprises a very shallow, strongly alkaline lake (3,300 hactares), with surrounding woodland and grassland. Set in a picturesque landscape, the park abuts Nakuru town, an important and expanding agricultural and industrial center. The lake catchment is bounded by Menengai Crater to the north, the Bahati Hills to the north-east, and the Lion Hill ranges to the east, Eburu Crater to the south and the Mau escarpment to the west. Three major rivers, the Njoro, Makalia and Enderit, drain into the lake, together with treated water from the town's sewage works and the outflow from several springs along the shore.

Nakuru was first gazetted as a bird sanctuary in 1960 and upgraded to National Park status in 1968. A northern extension to the park was added in 1974. Lake Nakuru terrestrial zones host important populations of many mammal and bird species that are globally or regionally threatened. It is home to over 100 species of migratory birds and supports globally important populations of Black-Necked Grebe, African Spoonbill, Pied Avocet, Little Grebe, Yellow-Billed Stork, Black Winged Stilt, Grey-Headed Gull, and Gull Billed Tern.

The foundation of the lake's simple food chains is the cyanophyte Spirulina platensis, which often occurs as a unialgal bloom. At such times it can support huge numbers of Phoenicopterus minors and the fish Oreochromis alcalicus grahami (introduced in 1960 from Lake Magadi, IBA KE047, to curb mosquitoes). The fish in turn support a number of secondary consumers. The lakeshores are mainly open alkaline mud, with areas of sedge Cyperus laevigatus and Typha marsh around the river inflows and springs, giving way to grassland and a belt of Acacia xanthophloea woodland. Rocky hillsides on the park's eastern perimeter are covered with Tarchonanthus scrub and magnificent Euphorbia forest.

The lake is internationally famous for its populations of Phoenicopterus minor; numbers can reach 1.5 million at times, though drastic and unpredictable fluctuations occur. Undoubtedly Nakuru is a very important feeding site for this species; attempts by flamingos to breed here have not been successful. Other waterbirds have increased considerably in numbers and diversity since the introduction of fish in 1961. At times Nakuru is a major feeding ground for Pelecanus onocrotalus, which nest on rocky islets in nearby Lake Elmenteita and move to Nakuru daily to feed.

Large numbers of Palearctic waders winter at Nakuru or use the site on passage, and Nakuru (at least in the past) has been a key site in the eastern Rift Valley flyway. Nakuru is rich in birds generally—some 450 species have been recorded. Globally threatened species include Ardeola idae (a nonbreeding visitor, May to October); Phoenicopterus minor (a key feeding site for this species); Falco naumanni (a passage migrant, relatively common in the past), and Prionops poliolophus (probably resident in the Acacia woodland, where it has nested). Regionally threatened species include Podiceps cristatus (used to occur in numbers, but no recent records), Oxyura maccoa (no recent records), Casmerodius albus (up to 84 recorded, numbers have declined in recent years), Polemaetus bellicosus (sparse resident), Rynchops flavirostris (no recent records) and Euplectes progne (seasonal visitor, in long grassland). Expect to see quite a core population of both Greater and Lesser Flamingos in the lake.

Lake Nakuru National Park Common Birds include; Knob billed Duck, Southern Pochard, Hottentot Teal, Cape Teal, Common Ostrich, Northern Shoveler, Black-necked Grebe, Northern Pintail, Helmeted Guineafowl, Hildebrandt's Francolin, Lesser Flamingo, Greater Flamingo, Jacobin Cuckoo, Nyanza Swift, Yellow-billed Duck, Horus Swift, Grey-crowned Crane, Black-tailed Godwit, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Spotted crake, African Snipe, African Skimmer, Secretary bird, Lemon-rumped Tinkerbird, Saddle-billed Stork, African Darter, White-fronted Bee-eater, Giant Kingfisher, Brubru, African Firefinch, Grassland Pipit, Grosbeak Weaver, Brown Parisoma, Pectoral-patch Cisticola, Arrow-marked Babbler, Mosque Swallow, Slender Starling, Violet-backed Starling, Martial Eagle, Gabar Goshawk, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Verreaux's Eagle, Blue-naped Mousebird, Red-throated Wryneck, Bearded Woodpecker, Great White Pelicans, Whiskered Terns, Grey-headed Gulls, Glossy Ibis, waders such as Common Sandpipers, Little Stints, Kittlitz's Plovers.