Best Time for Birding in Lake Mburo National Park.
Visitors planning their bird watching safari in the park often ask about the best time for birding in Lake Mburo National Park. This blog will guide you on when to prepare your birding safari in the park. Lake Mburo National Park is one of the most visited national parks in Uganda, and the nearest park to Kampala; it takes a 2-3 hour drive. It’s the only park in Uganda within the Zambezian Biome that provides unique bird watching opportunities to bird enthusiasts and ornithologists. It has a mix of unique ecosystems, including savannah grasslands, acacia woods, wetlands, and lakes that provide habitats to various bird species that call this beautiful park home.
Lake Mburo National Park hosts up to 340 bird species, including the acacia dwelling birds, water birds, savannah birds, and migratory bird species. Bird lovers should not miss seeing the elusive shoebill stork, Red–faced barbet, African finfoot, Brown-chested Lapwing, Tabora Cisticola, the striking White-headed barbet, Emerald-spotted Wood Dove, and Black-collared Barbet, which are unique species. Birding in Lake Mburo National Park can be done year-round, and the best time is influenced by individual tastes. The park experiences two seasons, the dry season and the wet season, both provide exceptional bird watching experiences.
Best Time for Birding in Lake Mburo National Park.
Wet Season.
The wet season runs from October to November, and from March to May, this is the most liked season by birders. During this period, the park receives enough rainfall, and the vegetation is green and dense, which beautifies the park. Plants and tree species bear fruits which provide sufficient food to the birds in the park, and this is the time of the year when migratory birds come to the park, running away from harsh weather conditions in Europe and Asia and in search of food. This is the breeding season of most of the bird species in the park. Since the park has enough food, it’s easy to see birds in the park, since they don’t move deep in the park in search of food. Visitors should be prepared, as the park is muddy and slippery during this period.
Dry Season.
Visitors can also do bird watching during the dry season, which runs from June to September and December to February. This season is characterised by little to no rainfall, the tracks are dry, making it easy to penetrate them, and the vegetation cover is short and scattered, which enables visitors to have a clear view of various bird species in the park. However, birds tend to move deep in the park in search of food, and visitors have to move deep in search of them.
