HOME

TOURS AND SERVICES

ABOUT US

BOOKING

GALLERY

CONTACT US

Birds
With over 1,000 birds already recorded, Uganda has almost half the species known on the African continent and over 10% of those on record throughout the entire world!

Birding in Uganda

There can be few destinations on Earth where one can expect to find almost 550 avian species in one park alone - Uganda's Queen Elizabeth National Park is one. 350 species have been recorded in the Bwindi Impenetrable forest. These two parks alone are among the richest protected areas to be found anywhere on Earth. Accolades for Uganda's birding delights are rarely understated. Nigel Wheatley, for instance, in Where to Watch Birds in Africa (1995) said: "In terms of its size, Uganda is the richest country for birds in Africa. " And this immense volume and diversity occurs miraculously in a space which keen birders can cover in a relatively short visit.

Noted author Philip Briggs writes: "Uganda is arguably the best country in Africa for birds, with about 1000 species recorded in an area the size of great Britain. "

Uganda's equatorial location, combined with the altitude and the great variety of terrain types provide an overwhelming array of opportunities for keen birders.

Trained naturalist-guides with extensive knowledge of the habitats, the birds' calls and the best spots to view, add immeasurably to the pleasure of visitors, often multiplying the number of sightings many times over.
Of course, these keen local experts frequently provide their guests with rarely-experienced opportunities to observe non-avian creatures in these undisturbed environments too.

As Uganda is beginning to acquire a name for itself as one of the most significant birding destinations in the world, the next year may be the last chance to join one of these small and intimate birding groups here. This surely represents a life-crowning experience for any ornithologist.

Most of the game Lodges and Camps in Uganda have expert Guides who are skilled bird spotters and will happy to take you on walks or drives through the bush. Bird Count
Species Count by Park

Birding at Lake Mburo
Eagle
At a time when game park drives are beginning to lose their thrill for tourists and beach holidays are becoming the cliche of East African safaris, tourist agencies and Governments are looking for new ways to lure tourists to Africa's attractions.

Uganda, which missed out on game park revenues in the 1970s when misrule kept
tourists away, now has the opportunity to create a niche for itself in "avitourism". The Country has an amazing diversity of habitats, richness reflected in its swelling bird list of about 1,000 species, The presence of so many bird species is made possible by a rich bio-diversity that ranges from huge tracts of savanna in the east to tropical forest in the west. Rivers support this array of animal and insect life.

Birding is a lucrative business, with a clientele of about 100 million people. For Uganda, avitourism could easily be combined with scientific studies on birds
An afternoon in the Botanical Gardens in Entebbe yields a wide array of birds, mostly water birds and others migrating from the chilly winter in Europe. Another place to watch birds without having to journey into the interior is the capital, Kampala, where Scavenging marabou storks, hooded vultures and black kites are common in the suburban compounds of the rich.

Droves of birds are to be found everywhere in the city. Vultures have made their nests in the grounds of the city's Nile Hotel. If you take a pre-breakfast stroll in the gardens of most big hotels in Kampala, you will be entertained by eastern Grey-plantain eaters, common bulbuls, African thrushes, African pied pigtails and the Double-toothed barbet.
Many visitors have, while enjoying a drink on the popular verandah of Kabira Club, seen fang flycatchers hunting insects on the lawns. Hornbills and Ross's turacos fight for red fig.

The best way to enjoy bird watching in Uganda, however, is to hit the road and get right into the interior, where birds can be viewed in their natural habitat in thick forests.

Birds that can be seen in the marshes or wetlands surrounding Lake Victoria include the crowned crane, which you may catch doing their mating dance, and the long-crested
eagle in search of fish. There are an amazing number of pied kingfishers in the wetlands. A tourist reported seeing 300 of them at one time perched on
overhead electric wires.

Owl
In the west, when you reach Lake Mburo, which is surrounded by acacia, common species like the northern black tit as well as the bare-face go-away are common. In this area, the rare Red-face barbet can be sighted. This species is restricted to a small area in southern Uganda, eastern Rwanda and extreme northwestern Tanzania.On the Mburo track, you could be lucky enough to sight the elusive Shoebill, and if frustrated in this you could be consoled by viewing the African fin foot, but you are advised to leave the safety of your vehicle only in the company of an armed ranger as buffaloes are numerous in this park. There are boat-rides, accommodation and camping facilities. Occupying the northern slopes of the famed Virunga volcanoes is the Mghahinga National Park, which is tucked away into the extreme southwest corner of Uganda. The African sooty flycatcher, the Regal sunbird and the Rwenzori turaco are to be found in the misty, lichen-clad forests of the Virungas. There are vistas of terraced land in Kisoro, with evergreen vegetable farms and thatched homesteads hugging the fertile slopes.

Most birds in the Mghahinga National Park are found in the mountainous forest, which can take three or four hours' climb. As you enter the forest at over 2,660 metres, you can hear the shrieks of the rare Lagden's bush. This bird is quite responsive to tape-recorded sound. Here, the chances of seeing the rare Rwenzori turaco are high. There are camping facilities at the Amajambere Iwacu Community Camp ground, which lies outside the entrance. Probably the most important of all the bird sites is the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Containing both lowland and montane forest, this park has an extraordinary bio-diversity and is regarded as the richest forest in East Africa for trees, ferns and birds.

Of the 346 bird species recorded at Bwindi, eight occur no where else in East Africa and 23 out of the 29 Albertine species are endemic. An early start in the morning offers chances of finding the striking handsome Francolin, which may be sighted, basking or feeding on the edges of the track. You can listen to the Grauer's warbler in thrilling voice; in the flowering trees, you will find the incredible purple-breasted Sunbird, with narrow-tailed starlings in mixed flocks when the trees are in fruiting season. A few bird species are easier to see in the vicinity of the guesthouse at Ruhizha. One of the best bird watching areas in the region is at Buhoma. There is a wide track that runs south of Buhoma through the forest at Nteka.

You will easily spot the dazzling black Bee-eater and African sooty flycatcher here, because the canopies are more open. The rare and elusive red-fronted Antpecker is seen frequently on the Waterfall Trail.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is another scenic area in which you can enjoy birding. Uganda's most popular game reserve, it stretches from the crater-dotted foothills of the Rwenzori range in the north, along the shores of Lake Edward, to the remote Ishasha River in the south. Its remarkable diversity includes a bird list of 550 species, the largest in any protected area in Africa.

Birds such as the Shoebill [pic right] are common, as well as the Martial eagle, Black rumped Buttonquail, African skimmer and Papyrus canary. Queen Elizabeth has a bird observatory, which was established in 1997 to study resident and migratory bird populations in the national park, increase local awareness and guide training programmes.

This kind of training is an important investment in Uganda for the future of avitourism, since there are few well-trained guides who can conduct tourists on a bird watching safari. Bird trails, hides for photographers and walkways are being built in the park.

An expert in birds and ringing, Malcolm Wilson, is particularly interested in palaearctic bird migration along the Albertine Rift. He is currently conducting long-term ringing and hopes to improve our understanding of the little-known migration route. The observatory is adjacent to the Institute of Ecology hostel at Mweya.

Within the park, the Kazinga Channel forms a natural habitat for water birds. A launch cruise leaves two or three times a day from Mweya, allowing visitors to see various species of water birds en route. Great white and pink-backed pelicans, cormorants, African open-billed storks and knob-tailed ducks are common. The Jacana is present in big numbers.

Wading birds
In the vast marshes and papyrus beds of Lake Kikorongo, you will find water birds feasting on small lizards, snakes and fish. The papyrus swamps provide nesting sites for the shoebill, which may sometimes be seen soaring in the sky or feeding at the edges of the marsh in the early morning and late afternoon. The Lake Edward Flats attract fewer visitors than Mweya.

Other bird watching areas include the Murchison Falls National Park, Kidepo and Moroto. The Mount Elgon area is an exciting bird paradise too.