UGANDAS TOP 10 BIRDING SPOTS
Uganda has one of the most conducive weather conditions throughout the year, the vast and large water bodies, the ever green vegetation and many more sceneries make it to rank as one of the best birding spot in Africa one could think of visiting. The numerous types of bird’s species of about 1,080 have been recorded to be flying in to the country from around the world all throughout the year. In Uganda, you can be able to watch this different types of birds in many of our different national parks and forest, and also when you are on your boat ride safari because many of the birds camp in the bank shores making it easier for you to see them very well and very closely. We as chosen expeditions and tours can help you to plan your birding trip and you will have the best memory filled bird watching adventure you ever wished for from our 10 best Uganda’s birding spots.
1: Queen Elizabeth national Park
queen Elizabeth national park is one of Uganda’s top best birding spots and it is one the most visited national parks in Uganda with over 600 bird species and a variety of animals , making queen Elizabeth the best birding spot where bird lovers will be able to view the most rare birds species. These different bird species can easily be viewed on the boat cruise safari along the kazinga channel since the birds come and stage at the bank shores for water, bathing and relaxing, then also on your game drive, you will encounter more other different types of birds that you may not have seen at the shores.
The different types of birds found in Queen Elizabeth National Park include; the Grey-capped Warbler, Sedge Warbler, African skimmer, Colared pratincole, slender-tailed Nightjars, Black-headed Gonolek, Swamp flycatcher, verreaux’s Eagle-owl, martial Eagle, malachite, Gabon, and Pied kingfisher, to mention but a few.
2: Murchison Falls National Park
Among the top tourists attractions that Uganda has is Murchison falls national park which is the largest national park named after the freshly mighty falls where very large amounts of waters of the Nile River forcefully come out through a narrow Gorge of 7 meters width which runs down about 45 meters down the stream hence one of the most beautiful waterfalls scenery in the world.
Murchison falls national park has recorded about 450 different bird species which can be viewed both on the game drive along the park and on your boat cruise safari to the bottom of the Murchison falls. This national park is blessed to be having a number of bird species among which include ; northern red bishop, African quail finch, goliath heron, swamp flycatcher, red-throated bee eater, Abyssinian ground horn, giant kingfisher, and among others, in Murchison falls, birding is of the key wildlife adventures you can think off.
3: Rwenzori mountains National Park
Rwenzori national park is a park located in the western part of Uganda and harbors over 177 bird species, clearly visible on your way to hiking mountain Rwenzori. The many different bird species found in mountain Rwenzori are; the slender-billed starling, Archers’ robin-chat, golden-winged sunbird, Rwenzori turaco, long-eared owl, white-starred robin and many more.
4: Lake Mburo National Park
Among the top 10 best birding places in Uganda is lake Mburo National Park which is also located in the western part of Uganda and is a haven for so many species amounting to about 351 birds and on top of that, it harbors a school of zebras which are visible at any point in the park.in addition to the above, lake Mburo national park is the only park that favors horseback safaris to be done. Lake Mburo national park has a variety of bird species which make to be ranked among the 10 top best birding places in Uganda and the following are some of the birds you will encounter while in Lake Mburo; Emerald-Spotted Wood Dove, Cheeky Bronze-Tailes Starling, Crested Francolin, Nubian Woodpecker, Brown Parrot, Trilling Cisticola, Bee-Eaters.
5: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is commonly known and visited by tourists for gorilla trekking because of the large numbers of gorillas in the forest but better still it is also a home to so many bird species. With about 350 bird species, these make Bwindi to be ranked among the top 10 best birding spots in Uganda and the birds found there include the following; handsome francolin, white-bellied robin, African green broadbill, Chapin’s flycatcher, black-billed turaco, collared apalis , to mention but a few.
6: Semliki National Park
Semliki national park is found the western part of Uganda in the Albertine Rift Valley. It is considered one of the 10 best birding spots in Uganda because it is a home to over 441 bird species of different kinds which are mainly in the riverine forest of Semliki and among them include the following; the purple-breasted sunbird, dwarf honeyguide. Great blue turaco, yellow-throated nicator, nkulengu trail, piping hornbill, yellow-throated cuckoo and so many more. Then on addition to the above, the famous sempaya hot spring is also found in Semliki national park.
7: Mabamba Bay Wetland
The rare Shoebill stork can be found in a few place and one of them is Mabamba Bay Wetland which is located on the edge of Lake Victoria. Mabamba Bay wetland being counted among the top 10 best birding spots in Uganda is because it’s a home to a number of birds including the rare Shoebill Stork which when sighted, makes your adventure a marvelous one. The birds that love being near water get the best cool weathers in mabamba bay wetland hence making them to flood the shores enabling tourists to easily have a clear view of the birds especially those using the canoes around the wetland. These birds include the following; the famous shoebill stork, African marsh harrier, African open-billed stork, pied kingfisher, black kite, papyrus gonolex, malachite kingfisher, swamp flycatcher and many more
8: Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
Mgahinga national park is a haven to over 180bird species and is located in south western part of Uganda. Despite the fact that Mgahinga gorilla national park is well known for gorilla trekking, it is harbors a number of birds as mentioned earlier making it one of the top 10 best birding places for tourists who love birding and know how to listen to bird voices. Amon these birds are; the great double- collared sunbird, archer’s robin, cinnamon bracken warbler, cape robin, white- starred robin, brown woodland warbler, to mention but a few.
9: Kibale Forest National Park
Kibale national park is one the best birding parks found in western Uganda with about 375 bird species. Although Kibale is very well known for its chimpanzee trekking experiences, birding also takes lead in this park and very many bird lovers visit it each year to get to listen to the sounds of the birds and watch then do so many things and this is favored by the dense thick vegetation the covers the area. Some of the birds you encounter while in Kibale are, the grey throated flycatcher, Dusky-blue flycatcher, little Greenbul, black bee-eater, white-naped pigeon, purple-breasted sunbird, Red-chested Owlet and so many more.
10: Budongo Forest
Just like the other forests, budongo forest is commonly known for its chimpanzee trekking safaris but despite that, bird watching is also one of the other common activities here because budongo is a home to over 350 bird species of different nature and its location in the Albertine rift valley in Murchison falls national park favors the birding safaris. Therefore this makes it to be one of the best 10 birding spots in Uganda and among the birds found there are; chestnut-capped flycatcher, African Dwarf kingfisher, Blue-breasted kingfisher, Cassin’s spine tail, ituri batis, Nahan’s Francolin and many many more others.
Therefore with all the above information, Uganda is right to be termed as one of the best birding spots.