Birds of Lake Mburo national park

 Birds of Lake Mburo national park: Lake Mburo national park is a bird watcher’s paradise with over 350 bird species. Lake Mburo national park is one of Uganda’s famous and spectacular national parks situated in the western part of the country. It’s a good destination for biding safaris in Uganda. Despite its small size of 260sq.km, Lake Mburo national park hosts over 350 bird species living in the swampy, forested and savannah vegetated areas.

Birds found in Lake Mburo national park

Birds to see in Lake Mburo national park include rare shoebill stock, long tailed cormorant, woolly necked stork, black stork, bateleur, cattle egret, grey crowned crane, brown chested lapwing, European bee eater, saddle billed stork, little egret, grey crowned crane, African fin foot, tabora cisticola, red faced barbet, mourning collared dove, white throated bee eater, papyrus yellow warbler, red headed lovebird, blue checked bee eater, and saddle billed stork.

Intermediate egret, grey snipe, Abyssinian ground hornbill, blue spotted wood dove, white winged barbet, Nubian woodpecker, pink backed pelican, great egret, ring necked dove, red fronted barbet, greater cormorant, African crake, white tailed pelican, emerald spotted wood dove, red shouldered cuckoo shrike, yellow billed duck, black shouldered night jar, yellow breasted apalis, white winged black tern, common quails, ross turaco, eastern plantain eater, brown parrot, crested barbet, and green hood hoopoe.

Black papyrus gonolek, black scimitarbill, brown parrot, bare faced go away bird, white headed barbet, cinnamon chested bee eater, brown chested wattled plover, square tailed nightjar, red chested cuckoo, handsome francolin, marabou stork, green pigeon, common scimitarbill, yellow breasted apalis, Senegal thick knee, lizard buzzard, long tailed cisticola, white winged tern, black crake, long toed lapwing, red eyed dove, black crowned night heron, coqui francolin, red papyrus gonolek, and yellow fronted tinkerbird.

Giant king fisher, white backed night heron, blue breasted kingfisher, emerald spotted wood dove, black kite, African scops owl, emerald spotted wood, twany eagle, rufous bellied heron, red necked francolin, greater painted snipe, laughing dove, broad billed roller, brown snake eagle, brown chested lapwing, black headed gonolek, diederik cuckoo, African grey hornbill, pennant winged nightjar, African pygmy kingfisher, lappet faced vulture, blue napped mousebird, striped kingfisher, grey backed camaroptera, African jacana, and crowned lapwing.

African pied hornbill, banded snake eagle, rufous lapwing, booted eagle, red necked spurfowl, palm nut vulture, immature little bee eater, Namaqua dove, Egyptian goose, piapiac, speckled mousebird, red winged francolin, tropical boubou, pin tailed whydah, white headed vulture, African darter, great cormorant, white winged tit, black breasted snake eagle, abdmin’s stork, hammerkop, black cuckoo, woodland kingfisher, Senegal lapwing, black and white casqued hornbill, crowned hornbill, lesser spotted eagle, lilac breasted roller, white backed vulture, and super winged lapwing to mention but a few.

Best time for bird watching in Lake Mburo national park

Bird watching safaris in Lake Mburo national park are possible all throughout the year but for a great birding experience the best time for visiting the area for bird watching is the period of November to April. During this period, there are a lot of migratory birds within the park from North Africa and Europe. This means you will see park birds and add on migratory ones which in the end will give you a chance of seeing a lot of bird species.

The dry season from June to September is also not bad for bird watching because the grassland is short and offering uninterrupted views of colorful birds. The birding trails are dry and easily passable and this allows birders to visit most of the birding areas of the park.

Other attractions in Lake Mburo national park

Apart from birds, other attractions that attract travelers to Lake Mburo park include abundant wildlife which is over 68 mammals. The mammals in this national park include Burchell’s zebras, lion, bohor reedbucks, leopards, defassa waterbucks, spotted hyenas, topis, warthogs, Rothschild’s giraffes, buffaloes, giant forest hogs, bush pigs, Uganda kobs, hippopotamus, cape buffaloes, klipspringers, side stripped jackals, elands, and sitatungas among others.

Another attraction in Lake Mburo national park is Lake Mburo. Lake Mburo is the largest water lake in the park and boat cruise activities are done here. The lake has crocodiles and hippos, vegetation around the lake is home to birds, and food for different animals. The lake is also a source of water for different wild animals, especially in the dry season.

With Lake Mburo park having so many attractions, different activities like game drives, horse riding, sport fishing, nature walks, and community tours shouldn’t be missed on a birding trip to the park. You simply need a good local tour operator to organize you a good safari to the park.