Birding in Uganda | 1,061 Species Across 10 Parks
Birding In Uganda : Uganda is a great birding destination in Africa offering a feast of rare and colorful species and the chance to improve dramatically on your species life list as a birder, the country is home to more than 1,065 bird species inhabiting a range of habitats – from montane forests to wetlands, agricultural lands, lakes and savannahs.
Uganda as a country is situated on the equator and the endemics species – rich Albertine Rift Valley separates the west of the country from DR Congo and Rwanda, so expect impressive biodiversity.
Uganda is home to various bird species including endangered and vulnerable species that cannot be seen anywhere else in East Africa.
Yes, Uganda has a huge birdlist, however here are the most sought-after birds to lookout for during your Uganda birding safari. These include shoebill, Green Breasted Pitta, Black and White Casqued Hornbill, Long Creasted Eagle, Grey Crowned Eagle, Grey Crowned Cranes, African Green Broadbill, Secretary Bird, Pel’s Fishing Owl, Yellow Eyed Black Flycatcher, African Finfoot, Yellow Eyed Black Flycatcher, African FinFoot, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Hooded Vulture, Cassin’s Hawk-Eagle, Jameson’s Antpecker, Nahan’s Francolin, Karamoja Apalis, Puvel’s Illadopsis and White Headed Wood Hoopee.
Top Birding Desinations/Sites in Uganda for Birding Safaris
Uganda hosts over 34 Important Bird Areas (IBA) birding destinations in Uganda, most of these top birding destinations in Uganda are parks and game reserves, forests and others are Ramsar Sites protected as Important Areas for Uganda birding safari.
Here are the top birding destinations/sites in Uganda
- Queen Elizabeth National Park
Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the top birding destination in Uganda with over 600 Uganda bird species, most of the birds in the park harbor in the Kyambura gorge, Maramagambo Forest, Kasenyi Plains, Mweya Peninsular and other areas.
Some of the birds to lookout for in Queen Elizabeth National Park include White-faced Whistling, Spur-winged Plovers, Squacco Heron, Fish Eagle, Pink and white backed Pelicans, Long tailed Cormorants, African Jacana, Yellow backed Weavers, open-billed Stork, Water-Thick knee, Pied kingfishers, Wattled Plovers, Black Crak and Knob-billed Ducks among others.
- Murchison Falls National Park
Murchison Falls National Park – the biggest park in Uganda and home to the world’s most powerful waterfall Murchison Falls is a great birding destination for Uganda birding safari located in the northwest of the country, the park is home to over 556 bird species.
Murchison Falls National Park is one of the best places for sighting the shoe bill on a Uganda safari along the Nile Alberta Delta and along the Victoria Nile, birds to lookout for include Shoe bill, African Darter, Giant Kingfisher, Osprey, Long-toed Plover, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Veracious Dove, Black-headed Lapwing, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Rock Pratincole, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Black-billed Barbet, Long-tailed Nightjar bird, Weaver Birds, Yellow-billed Stork, Martial Eagle, Silver bird, Gray crowned crested crane, Sandpipers, Pied Kingfishers, Standard-winged Nightjar, Malachite Kingfishers, Blue-headed Coucal, Denham’s Bustard and Swamp Flycatcher among others
- Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a paradise for bird watchers with 347 bird species including 24 Albertine Rift endemic bird species, 76 of the 144 Guinea – Congo Forest Biome Bird species found in Uganda, 68 of the total 886 Afro – tropical – highland-biome bird species and 4 of the 12 species of the Victoria Biome.
Birds are very abundant and very easy to spot in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and the main birding trails where birds can catch sight of the birds are the Bamboo Zone, the Mubwindi Swamp trail in Ruhija and the waterfall trail in Buhoma.
Some of the bird species to lookout for in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park include Archer’s Robin-Chat, Lagden’s Bush-shrike, Dusky Crimson-wing, Strange Weaver, Rwenzori Double-collared Sunbird, Regal Sunbird, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Blue-headed Sunbird, Rwenzori Batis, Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Neumann’s Warbler, Grauer’s Warbler, Grauer’s Rush Warbler, Collared Apalis, Montane Masked Apalis, Kivu Ground Thrush, Red-throated Alethe, Stripe-breasted Tit, Rwenzori Nightjar, Rwenzori Turaco, Yellow-crested Helmet Shrike and Handsome Francolin, among others.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is home to over 180 species of birds including the Albertine Rift Region endemics, the park located in the south western Uganda is a perfect destination for viewing both birds and mountain gorillas.
Perfect viewing points for birds in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park are the community and farm trail, the Gorge trail and the Bamboo trail.
Bird species you can spot in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in a birding safari include White-necked raven, Black kite, Pin-tailed whydah, Double-collared sunbird, Speckled mouse bird, Paradise flycatcher, Ibis, Whydah, Speckled Mouse birds, Fire Finch Stonechat, Grey Capped Warbler, Waxbills, Yellow-Vented Bulbul.Alpine chat, Alpine, Archer’s robin-chat, Blue-headed coucal, Dusky crimson wing, Kivu ground-thrush, Olive pigeon, Olive woodpecker, Ruwenzori batis, Ruwenzori nightjar and Ruwenzori turaco among others.
Kibale National Park
Kibale National Park is another birding destination for Uganda birding safari, the park is home to over 375 bird species including 6 Albertine Rift Endemic species. The habitats in the park range from the wet and dry tropical rainforest and it is good for forest birding, the most sought – after bird in Kibale Forest is the Green Breasted Pitta.
Some of the birds to lookout for on a birding safari in Kibale National Park include Chubb’s Cisticola, Black-capped Waxbill, Africa Shrike-flycatcher, African Black-headed Oriole, African Emerald Cuckoo, African Green-pigeon, Black-crowned Tchagra, African Wood Owl, African/Rwenzori/Abyssinian Hill-Babbler, Alpine Swift, Ashy Flycatcher, Barn Swallow, Black Bee-eater, Black Cuckoo, Black Cuckoo-shrike, Black-and-white Casqued Hornbill, Black-and-white Mannikin, Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher, Black-billed Turaco, Black-billed Weaver, Black-faced Rufous Warbler, African Dusky Flycatcher, Black-headed Weaver, Black-necked Weaver, African Citril (Western Citril), Black-throated Apalis, Blue-shouldered Robin-chat, Blue-throated Brown Sunbird, Blue-throated Roller, African Blue Flycatcher, Bocage’ Bush-shrike, Bronze Mannikin, Zebra Waxbill, Bronze Sunbird, Brown Illadopsis, Brown-capped Weaver, Brown-chested Alethe among others.
Lake Mburo National Park
Lake Mburo National Park – the smallest savannah park in Uganda located in western Uganda is a great birding destination, the park consists of several bird spots including near lake swamps at Warukiri and Rwonyo, hillsides, rocky outcrops and dense savannah.
The park is home to over 351 bird species and some of the birds to lookout for include the elusive Shoebill stork and White-winged Warbler, the Crested, Coqui, Red-winged Francolins, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Brown Parrot, Barefaced Go-away bird, Harlequin and Blue Quails, Common Button Quail, White-headed and Black-billed Barbet, Greenwood Hoopoe, Common Scimitarbill, Blue-napped Mousebird, Blue-breasted and Shining-blue Kingfishers, Lilac-breasted Roller, African-grey Hornbill, the Nubian, Buff-spotted, Brown-eared, and the Grey Woodpeckers, Trilling, Stout, and Wing-snapping Cisticolas, Red-necked Spurfowl, Black-bellied Bustard, Temminck’s Courser, African-wattled Plover, Rufous napped and Flappet larks, Rufous-chested Swallow ,Yellow-throated Longclaw, Black-winged Bishop, Chubb’s, Carruther’s and a number of other Cisticolas, the Lesser and Great Swamp Warblers, among others.
Rwenzori National Mountains Park
The Rwenzori Mountains – Mountains of The Moon are home to about 217 species including 19 species that are endemic to the Albertine Rift Valley Region. Some of the birds to see in the region include Golden-winged and Blue-headed Sunbird, Rwenzori Turaco, White-starred Robin, Long-eared Owl, Slender-billed Starling, Archer’s Robin-chat, Cinnamon-chested bee-eater, Laden’s Bush-shrike, Bearded Vultures, and Black Eagles, among others.
Mabamba Swamps
Mabamba Swamps is a swampy area located at Lake Victoria’s edge and situated only an hour from the center of Entebbe City, the swamp is famous for the remarkable prehistoric Shoebill Stork, pied Kingfishers, blue – breasted bee eaters and lesser jacanas and African Pygmy Goose.
Other amazing birding sites in Uganda include the Semuliki National Park, Nile River in Jinja, Echuya Forest Reserve, The Royale Mile – Budogo Forest, Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, Lutembe Bay among others.
What Time of Day is Best for Birding Safari in Uganda?
A Uganda birding tour to Uganda’s top birding destinations like Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park and Mount Elgon National Park is best in the morning and evening. This is when the birds are most active as they are spotted leaving their nests in the morning and coming back in the evenings.
Afternoons are not ideal for birding as most birds are inactive making it hard to spot them, this is because afternoons tend to spot them. This is because afternoons tend to be hot and birds will be in hiding.
Birds come out of their nests in the morning to feed, though birds of prey soar during midday and nocturnal birds wake up at nighttime.
When is the Best Time for Uganda Birding Safari?
Birding in Uganda can be done all year round, however the more ideal time is during the dry months of the year as all the trails are dry and accessible. These months are from December to February and from June to August.
During these months, less or no rainfall is received making it easy to reach the birding sites in Uganda.
For birders interested in watching migratory birds, they are in Uganda from November to April. However, if your intent is to see resident or Albertine Rift endemic bird species, then you can do a Uganda birding tour all year round.
The wet months are also good for a Uganda birding safari as sightings are quick since the food for birds is abundant, these months are from March to May and from September to November. However, the slippery and muddy trails may lead to delays in accessing the birding destinations in Uganda.
What to wear for Birding Safaris in Uganda?
There is specific clothing you need to wear during Uganda birding safari so that you are decent and ready for the experience, however this kind of clothing depends on the weather conditions of that specific day.
Here are some of the essential wear you have to carry on a Uganda birding safari
Long – sleeved shirts and trousers – these are good to wear as they protect you from bugs and other insect bites. However, avoid bright colors as birds relate them with danger, khaki and brown are highly recommended. Also, these clothes can keep you warm in case it is cold on that day
Comfortable hiking shoes – to keep your feet well-protected from piercings and will keep you stable on slippery trails. They should be light and ankle covering so that you don’t get injuries.
A hat or cap – to protect your head from the strong direct sunlight that may cause you headaches
Sunglasses – block all the sun rays coming direct to your eyes and give you a clear sight.
