Bird Watching Experience in Uganda
Uganda is a hub of birds, there are many colored bird species present with a list of more than 1073 bird types, the big stretch of bird list is contained within a few regions of the country mostly within the protected conservation areas, the biodiverse environment shares Africa’s majority of species most of which are restricted to the Albertine rift valley region and the Virunga massif, in brief there are birds everywhere in Uganda, you will experience birds right as soon as you land at the Entebbe international airport flying up in the sky’s and along the Lake Victoria locally known as the Lake Nalubale
There are important birding areas of the country that are a must visit when looking at birding, the activity is done all year round but best during the wet season , it is fruiting time , with so many birds coming into the country, birding begins in Entebbe at the Mabamba swamp, the wet land area is home to over 300 species of birds but best known for Shoe bill, the rare bird is seen along the marshy swampy papyrus rides, on wooden mortised boats visitors go looking out for the rare bird, it is at most times termed as an ugly bird because of its shoe shaped like mouth however it is beautiful in its own way. Other species encountered here include African harrier hawk, martial eagles, pink backed pelicans, herons, sunbirds, fish eagles , Malachite king fisher among others.
Semliki national park and Game reserve in the western part of Uganda are epic points to see birds, the region is the has the most birds of Uganda, the conservation area has survived over time with physical evidences like hot springs, the park hosts including biomes of the Congo basin, expect to see birds like pygmy falcons, vultures, Nahan’s francolin, piapiac, yellow breasted sunbirds, tinker birds, shoe bill stock along the banks of Lake Albert. There are birds of the forest ,savannah species and a combined view of animals for example the Uganda Kobs,elephnats, buffaloes to mention a few.
Birding in Queen Elizabeth national park, the conservation area hosts half of the population of Uganda’s birds, there are 600 species found here in the several sectors of the park, popular bird sighting points include the Mweya peninsular, along the Kazinga channel, Kyambura gorge and in the Kasenyi plains and in the southern sector of Ishasha, birds of Queen Elizabeth national park include Abyssinian ground horn bills, Rwenzori turaco, great blue turaco, king fishers, goliath herons, pink backed pelicans to mention a few, birding in the protected conservation area is combined together with Game drives, guided nature walks and boat cruise safaris.
In conclusion, other places to view birds in Uganda include the Bwindi impenetrable national park in the south western corner of Uganda, it is a known home to Mountain gorilla species toppled with over 350 species of birds, some of these are restricted to specific regions for example the Ruhija sector is the only place to see the African green broad bill.