Bird watching in Kibale forest national park

Bird watching in Kibale forest national park: Kibale forest national park is among the best birding destinations in Uganda as well as East Africa. The national park is home to over 372 bird species that have been recorded and out of these 4 have been said to be endemic to Kibale forest. The endemic birds of Kibale forest national park are nahan’s francolin, masked apalis, blue-headed bee-eater, and cassin’s spinetail.

Bird watching is the second most done activity after chimpanzee trekking and chimpanzee habituation. The birdwatching exercise is mostly carried out in Bigodi swamp sanctuary where over 138 bird species in Kibale forest that can be spotted. The bird watching safari in Kibale forest is guided within the park and it’s the role of armed ranger guides to take you to different park areas where birds concentrate.

Bird watching activities in Kibale forest national park are conducted in the morning and evening hours and they do start with a briefing at Kanyanchu park headquarters. The Park wardens first check if the tourists have birding permits from the Uganda Wildlife Authority and thereafter teach the rules and regulations of the activity. The armed range guides take birders through different trails looking for as many birds as they can.

Bird species in Kibale forest national park

Birds of Kibale forest national park that you are likely to see include African pitta, green-breasted pitta, collared sunbird, yellow-throated tinkerbird, red-headed lovebird, white-naped pigeon, grey-headed kingfisher, speckled mousebird, piping hornbill, great blue turaco, blue-naped mousebird, red-rumped tinkerbird, African black-headed oriole, speckled tinkerbird, Abyssinian ground thrush, white-winged warbler, African dusky flycatcher, black bishop, brown-throated wattle eye, red-chested sunbird, black-throated wattle-eye, afep pigeon, nahan’s francolin, and brown illadopsis.

Black and white shrike flycatcher, blue headed gonolek, African gray woodpecker, white-spotted pluff tail, yellow-spotted barbet, masked apalis, chubb’s cisticola, black-billed barbet, chestnut wattle eye, white collared olive-back, grey throated barbet, dusky crimsonwing, white-bellied crested flycatcher, western nicator, superb sunbird, African shrike flycatcher, brown-chested alethe, eastern plantain eater, yellow fronted tinkerbird, spot flanked barbet, and zebra waxbill.

African paradise flycatcher, yellow-rumped tinkerbird, hairy-breasted barbet, grey-green bush shrike, red faced barbet, crowned eagle, fan-tailed widowbird, thick-billed honeyguide, slate-colored boubou, scaly-breasted illadopsis, blue-throated roller, African dusky flycatcher, white-breasted negrofinch, cassin’s spinetail, red-chested owlet, purple breasted sunbird, red-winged francolin, doherty’s bushshrike, black-capped apalis, black-shouldered nightjar, common bulbul, chocolate backed kingfisher, brown eared woodpecker, African pipit, ash-throated flycatcher, and African grey parrot.

Little greenbul, black bee-eater, water thick-knee, cinnamon-chested bee-eater, brown-eared woodpecker, greater honeyguide, slender-billed weaver, papyrus canary, black and white casqued hornbill, pin-tailed whydah, barn swallow, yellow-billed barbet, brown-backed scrub-robin, ash flycatcher, Nubian woodpecker, blue-headed crested flycatcher, African firefinch, dwarf honeyguide, lesser honeyguide, black-eared ground thrush, African crested flycatcher, many-colored bushrike, papyrus gonolek, black-tailed oriole, red-backed shrike, blue-breasted bee-eater, and red-faced woodland warbler.

Cameroon sombre greenbul, bar tailed trogon, double toothed barbert, blue-headed bee-eater, brown-eared woodpecker, swallow-tailed bee-eater, black coucal, blue headed coucal, white-crested turaco, red-chested cuckoo, bare-faced go-away bird, square-tailed nightjar, African emerald cuckoo, grey-winged robin-chat, hairy breasted barbet, white browed coucal, narina trogon, ross’s turaco, African cuckoo, speckle-breasted woodpecker, plain nightjar, red-collared widowbird, African blue flycatcher, cardinal woodpecker, woodland warbler, piacpiac, Rwenzori apalis, white-tailed blue flycatcher, and black-billed weaver.

Sights of a red-backed shrike in Kibale National Park

What to pack for birdwatching trips in Kibale forest national park?

Tourists that are intending to visit Kibale forest national park for bird watching activities need to come well prepared in order to have the best of the activity. Bird lovers are required to come along with a field guidebook, light backpack, waterproof hiking shoes, long-sleeved shirts, long-sleeved shorts, a rain jacket, a sweater, a pair of binoculars, a camera, sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat, drinking water bottle, energy giving snacks, and insect repellents among others.

How much is bird watching safari in Kibale forest national park?

Kibale forest national park is one of the 10 protected areas controlled and managed by Uganda Wildlife Authority. To carry out bird watching safari activities within this park you need to get a permit first from Uganda Wildlife Authority and these give you a bird watching permit. Each bird watching permit costs $30 for foreign residents, $25 for foreign non-residents, and UGX20,000 for citizens of East African member states.

Booking the bird watching permit can be done by your trusted local tour operator. This one helps you to communicate with the reservations office at Uganda wildlife authority to book for you a bird-watching permit on the days you want to visit the park. A bird watching permit for Kibale forest national park should be booked days or months before the actual bird watching day for better preparations in the park.

Best time for bird watching safaris in Kibale forest national park

Bird watching safaris in Kibale forest national park are conducted all throughout the year however some months are better than the rest. The months from June to September are the best for bird watching activities and this is because the birds are so many in the park due to plenty of food, there is little or no rainfall in the park which makes the birding trails dry and easily passable.

Bird lovers can still visit Kibale forest national park for bird watching activities during the rainy season of November to April because the park is always open. These months have a lot of migratory birds however they have too much rainfall. The bird watching trails are muddy and slippery limiting access to some park areas, vegetation is tall with unclear views of bird species in Kibale forest, and roads leading to the park are impassable.

Accommodation on a bird watching safari in Kibale forest national park

Kibale forest national park has a lot of accommodation facilities that can accommodate all the people that visit the park. The lodges of Kibale forest national park range from budget to mid-range to luxury options and they include Ndali Lodge, Kyaninga Lodge, Chimpundu Lodge, Rwetera Safari Lodge, Chimpanzee Forest Lodge, Crater Safari Lodge, Papaya Safari Lodge, Primate Lodge, and Kibale forest camp among others.

Accessing Kibale forest national park for bird watching activities

Kibale forest national park is located in the western part of Uganda and can be accessed using road transport or air transport.

Accessing Kibale national park air: from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi airstrip to Mweya airstrip. The chattered flights are organized by Aerolink Uganda and Bar aviation Uganda every day to transport luxury travelers or those that hate traveling for long distances.

Accessing Kibale national park road: Kibale forest national park is located 300km away from Kampala city and it can be accessed within 6 to 7 hours depending on the nature of the roads, the number of stopovers, and the speed of the driver. There is a route from kampala/Entebbe via Mityana, Mubende, Kyegegwa, Kyenjonjo and Fort Portal to the park. The other route is from Kampala via Masaka, Mbarara, Bushenyi, and Kasese to the park.