Bird watching in Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Bird watching in Rwenzori Mountains National Park: Rwenzori Mountains National Park is a 998 sq. km piece of land in the western part of Uganda. The national park was gazetted in 1991 to protect different attractions which can today be found in the park. Among the many attractions found in Rwenzori Mountains National Park are the birds. Different bird species have been recorded within this park and some have been said to be endemic to the Albertine regions.

Rwenzori Mountains National Park is home to 217 bird species that have been in different park areas. 19 of the recorded bird species are said to be living in the Albertine Rift region. When it comes to bird watching in western Uganda, Rwenzori Mountains is one of the best areas tourists interested in bird watching can visit to see the bird species recorded there.

Which bird species can I see in Rwenzori Mountains National Park?

Over 217 bird species are said to be living in Rwenzori Mountains National Park. 19 bird species recorded in Rwenzori Mountains National Park are said to be Albertine rift endemics. On a bird watching exercise with a good birding guide, tourists will be able to see more than half of the recorded bird species.

Birds of Rwenzori mountains national park include Brown woodland warbler, rock martin, grey apalis, dwarf honeyguide, mackinnon’s shrike, thick billed seedeater, dusky crimsonwings, cinnamon bracken warbler, chestnut throated apalis, cinnamon chested bee eater, black faced rufous warbler, stuhlmann’s sunbird, grey chested illadopsis, slender billed starling, trilling cisticola, streaky seedeater, black billed turaco.

Long eared owl, golden winged sunbird, red tufted sunbird, scaly breasted illadopsis, lagden’s bush shrike, red winged francolin, stout cisticola, evergreen forest warbler, banded prinia, kivu ground thrush, regal sunbird, yellow crowned canary, collared apalis, road throated alethe, long eared owl, grey headed nigrita, African pied wagtail, mountain buzzard, yellow bellied waxbill, northern grey headed sparrow, stuhlmann’s starling, handsome francolin, red faced cisticola, angola swallow, little bee eater, black kite.

Barred long tailed cuckoo, red thighed sparrowhawk, red faced crimsonwing, black billed seedcracker, sharpe’s starling, lesser striped swallow, plain martin, wattled lapwing, white wagtail, evergreen forest warbler, thick billed seedeater, sharpe’s starling, black headed heron, African scared ibis, olive woodpecker, mountain yellow warbler, black capped apalis, variable sunbird, montane sooty boubou, western yellow wagtail, cinnamon bracken warbler, augur buzzard, toro olive greenbul.

African thrush, Rwenzori batis, oriole finch, narrow tailed starling, ruppell’s staling, lapped faced vulture, archer’s robin chat, great crested grebe, willow warbler, strange weaver, red chested cuckoo, lemon dove, hadada ibis, singing cisticola, yellow billed barbet, chestnut winged starling, mountain illadopsis, scarlet tufted malachite sunbird, cabanis’s greenbul, mountain yellow warbler, rameron pigeon, red headed bluebill, blue breasted bee eater, black sawing, grey headed nigrita, African black duck.

Rwenzori turaco, red faced woodland warbler, palm nut vulture, long crested eagle, brown snake eagle, black tailed oriole, little greenbul, rameron pigeon, common sandpiper, scaly spurfowl, cassin’s honeyguide, black winged kite, green white eye, latham’s francolin, cattle egret, European bee eater, western green tinkerbird, barn owl, glossy ibis, slender billed greenbul, afed pigeon, cassin’s hawk eagle, northern fiscal, marabou stork, black crowned waxbill, African shrike flycatcher, little grebe.

Rwenzori batis, grey winged robin, speckled pigeon, eastern plantain eater, grey tit flycatcher, African green pigeon, long toed lapwing, white browed coucal, chestnut wattle eye, honeyguide greenbul, malachite king fisher, laughing dove, African grey woodpecker, Abyssinian ground hornbill, crowned eagle, grey cuckoo shrike, common bulbul, grey throated barbet, blue spotted wood dove, levaillant’s cuckoo, western tinkerbird, speckled mousebird, stripe breasted tit, klaas’s cuckoo.

Brown woodland warbler, black throated wattle eye, speckled tinkerbird, little swift, village weaver, white necked raven, African palm swift, black goshawk, black crowned tchagra, golden crowned woodpecker, African penduline tit, shikra, northern black flycatcher, African wood owl, scaly throated honeyguide, Rwenzori hill babbler, brown crowned tchagra, olive woodpecker, white rumped swift, buff spotted flufftail, lizard buzzard, eastern mountain greenbul, tripocal boubou, dusky kit, alpine swift.

Baglafecht weaver, dusky blue flycatcher, yellow longbill, African swift, snowy crowned robin chat, speckled mousebird, blue headed coucal, Albertine boubou, African stonechat, grey headed sunbird, red knobbed coot, African marsh harrier, brown throated wattle eye, African emerald cuckoo, lunder’s bushshrike, doherty’s bushshrike, blue shouldered robin chat, white chinned prinia, white winged black kit, green crombec.

Montane Rwenzori nightjar, yellow fronted tinkerbird, western citril, red headed malimbe, white necked raven, golden backed weaver, white wagtail, chinspot batis, African dusky flycatcher, pied cow, fawn breasted waxbill, cardinal woodpecker, masked apalis, white browed crombec, African paradise flycatcher, ashy flycatcher, African hobby, bronze mannikin, western tinkerbird, white spotted flufftail, Rwenzori turaco, white starred robin, grey heron, red eyed dove to mention but a few.

What to carry for Bird watching in Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Tourists that are going for bird watching in Birding in Mountain Rwenzori National Park are requested to go with good bird watching equipment in order to enjoy the activity. Birders coming for bird watching should have a backpack, long-sleeved shirts, long-sleeved shorts, a rain jacket, hiking shoes, a birding book, a pair of binoculars, a camera, a voice recorder, insect repellents, and sunscreen to mention but a few.

Best time to do Birding in Mountain Rwenzori National Park

The best time to do Birding in Mountain Rwenzori National Park is November to April however the park is open for the activity all throughout the year. November to April is the best time to go bird watching in this park because it’s the nesting period for some birds and that’s also when migratory birds are within the park.

Tourists can still go to Rwenzori Mountains national park for bird watching in other months of the year. The park is always open for all activities including bird watching therefore bird lovers can visit the park for the activity. During bird watching, birders will still be able to see park birds but migratory birds might not be available in the park.