When to go bird watching in Kibale forest national park

When to go bird watching in Kibale forest national park: Birdwatching in Kibale forest national park is the second major activity that most travelers love to do while on their safari in Uganda. Kibale forest national park is the second best primate national park in Uganda gifted with endangered chimpanzees. The national park is known as the primate capital of the world as it has the highest number of primate species.

Apart from primates, Kibale forest national park is one of the best destinations for birders with over 372 bird species. The different bird species of Kibale national park are due to the wide range of vegetation covers that is found within the park. The national park consists of equatorial tropical rainfall forest, grassland vegetation, and swampy vegetation seen in Bigodi wetland sanctuary and Sebitoli wetland.

Bird watching in Kibale forest national park can be done from January to January since most of the birds within this park are permanent residents. But however much Kibale forest national park can be visited all throughout the year, typical birders need to know about the specific times of the year when birdwatching is much more enjoyable.

Unlike chimpanzee trekking in Kibale where trekkers have a 100% chance of seeing a chimpanzee community, birding has times when birders see more number of bird species in certain months. Bird watching is good in different months of the year like we are going to look at below. Some months have migratory birds in the park while others have all the permanent birds within the park.

The best time for birdwatching in Kibale forest national park

Are asking your self about what would be the best time for birdwatching in Kibale? Well.. Kibale forest park has two weather seasons every year. The park has the dry season which is from June to September and December to February. The dry season months are those that receive little or rainfall, and the vegetation is always short and thin. These months are the best time for birdwatching Kibale forest because the activities done smoothly within the park.

Kibale forest national park has a rainy season happening from March to May and October to November. These months are the ones that receive a lot of rainfall all throughout the day and it’s because of this that a lot of tourists don’t pay a visit to the park. During the rainy season, vegetation is very tall and thick giving unclear views of the wildlife.

June to September

June to September is a good time to go birding in Kibale forest national park. This is because there are so many bird species in Kibale forest due to plenty of food everywhere as it’s always the fruiting season. From June to September, the ark is receiving little or no rainfall which means that the birding trails are dry and bird lovers can access most of the park areas.

During the dry season from June to September, the roads leading to Kibale forest national park are in good condition and this means that bird lovers will get to the park in time. The vegetation within the park during the dry season is short and thin with good views of the bird species. June, July, August, September, December, January, and February have the least rain so the activity goes on very well.

November to April

November to April is the best time for birders that love to meet migratory birds if a national park. During this time a lot of migratory birds from different areas of the world like Asia and Europe come to this park while escaping harsh winter conditions and bird lovers get an opportunity to see birds of the park as well as migratory birds. October, November, March, and April have a lot of rain and these might limit birding in Kibale forest.

What to carry on a birdwatching safari in Kibale forest national park?

Tourists that are coming for birding in Kibale forest park need to carry waterproof hiking shoes, gardening gloves, a pair of gaiters, long sleeved shorts, long sleeved shorts, a rain jacket, a sweater, a light backpack, a field guidebook, a camera, a pair of binoculars, sunscreen, sunglasses, insect repellents, drinking water bottle and energy giving snacks among others.

Bird species in Kibale forest national park

Notable birds of Kibale forest park include African pitta, Abyssinian ground thrush, grey-throated barbet, brown illadopsis, African black-headed oriole, white-spotted pluff tail, nahan’s francolin, spot flanked barbet, zebra waxbill, white collared olive-back, African gray woodpecker, greater honeyguide, white-bellied crested flycatcher, African dusky flycatcher, purple breasted sunbird, and grey-green bush shrike.

Other common birds of Kibale national park include the African grey parrot, black bee-eater, papyrus canary, brown-backed scrub-robin, red-winged francolin, red-chested owlet, African firefinch, black-eared ground thrush, papyrus gonolek, yellow-billed barbet, Cameroon sombre greenbul, African emerald cuckoo, speckle-breasted woodpecker, African blue flycatcher, red-chested cuckoo, piacpiac, hairy breasted barbet, white-crested turaco, bare-faced go-away bird to mention but a few.