Bird Watching Tours

Uganda Bird watching Tours is one of the key activities done by safari goers to this beautiful country. Uganda is a landlocked country is in the middle of the west African jungle and the Eastern savanna plains. It is crossed by the western arm of the Great East African rift valley. This strategic location makes Uganda a safe haven for various bird species.

Bird Species

Uganda has both migratory and resident birds. Migratory birds are ones that fly from Europe to breed here or escape the winter. Whereas resident birds are ones which live in Uganda all the time. Some of the common birds include; marabou stalk, pied crow, hadada ibis, doves, grey crowned cranes, bee eaters, herons, plovers, egrets, African fish eagles, lapwings, starlings and so on.

The less common ones are; Rwenzori Turaco, saddle billed stalk, skimmers, the shoe bill. Yes, Uganda is home to the rare shoe bill stalk. This large prehistoric looking bird is the most sought for bird by bird watchers around the globe. There are several places to see this bird thus making Uganda the best place to spot this rare bird.

Key birding sites

There is a fair distribution of birds all over the country. However, some places below tend to stand out and are a must visit for vivid bird watchers.

Mabamba Swamp: 

Located on the Mabamba Bay west of lake Victoria, Mabamba is a landing site site on Africa’s largest lake. Mabamba swamp is a ramsar site and is home to hundreds of bird species including the shoebill stork making it a must visit by travelers on a Uganda bird watching tours. The name ‘Mabamba” comes from “mamba” a Luganda word for Lung fish. Due to availability of lung fish which is food for the shoebill stalks, shoebills can be spotted in this swamp. Best time to visit is early morning and late evening. They tend to fish when temperatures are low.

Tourists normally sit in a motorised boat, sail in the swamp to search for this rare bird. There  are lots of other bird species to see on this birding expedition and these include; kingfishers, cormorants, fish eagles, grey crowned cranes, African jacanas etc.

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Murchison Falls National Park

Lake Mburo National Park

Kidepo Valley National Park

Rwenzori mountain

Bwindi Forest

Bigodi Swamp

Semuliki National Park

Lake Bunyonyi