Uganda is one of the most sought of birding spots in Africa. Bird Watching in Uganda is one of the main tourist activities in the country. Most of the bird species of Uganda are sighted in gazette protected areas and important birding sites of the country. The confinement of places with in which they see birds has made it to have a high centration of birds not only in Africa but the world as well. The country boasts endemics of the great Albertine rift valley region, migratory species and some shared with other ecosystems. There are many important birding sites in Uganda including gazette biodiverse environments, top popular sites include Mabamba swamp, Semuliki National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Kibale Forest National Park, Entebbe Botanical Gardens, Murchison Falls National Park, Lake Mburo National Park.
Mabamba swamp is situated along the shores of Lake Victoria in Entebbe. It is an important birding sight mist sought of when it comes to birds. The marshy papyrus area is accessed on wooden boats, which take you to view its popular bird the shoe bill stock in the country this is one of the critically endangered species, they live on the swamp due to its high can centration of lungfish, a favourite food for the shoe bills. There are 300 birds recorded in the area, example species include grey herons, papyrus gonolex, African fish eagles, pallid harrier, sunbirds, kingfishers, swamp flycatcher among others.
Semuliki national park is situated in the western part of Uganda straddling its borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a known haven of birds containing Congo -basin endemics stretching to the floor of the Albertine rift valley 441 bird species have been recorded in the national park to date, it has a variety of birds including riverine species, forest and Savanah birds popular birds include, black dwarf hornbill, sunbirds, African martial eagles, yellow-throated cuckoo, purple breasted sunbirds, dwarf honey guide, Maxwell’s back weaver, shoe bill along the shores of Lake Albert, herons, Abyssinian ground hornbill, birds can be sighted through the well-distributed game tracks and path walks in the national park. The venture bros toppled by the many primates en-route.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in the southwestern corner of the country, it is famous for the mountain gorillas species hosting half population of mountain gorilla species, the impenetrable forest is home to most of the endemics of the Albertine rift valley, out of 24 endemics 23 have been recorded here, example types include the African green broad bill endemic to the Ruhija sector of the national park, you will spot many birds including the Shelley’s crimson’s wing, regal and birds, black collared Aapalis, Chapin’s flycatcher, to mention few, through the nature walk trails of the forest, you will be in a position to see many birds, this journey can be achieved in a 2-3 day trip to the national park and can be combined with other activities of the forest like mountain gorilla trekking and the Batwa Cultural Experience.
Queen Elizabeth National Park hosts 60% of Uganda’s birds, in each of the positions of the national park you will see a variety of birds, the national park is located in the western part of Uganda, and over 600bird species have been recorded here, along the Kazinga channel, the Mweya peninsular, the Kasenyi plains, lake Katwe region and the Kyambura gorge, these amalgamated species, example species include the grey-headed kingfisher, martial eagles, slender tailed night jar, yellow-billed stock, flamingos, Abyssinian ground hornbills.
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