Best time to do Birding in Akagera National Park.
Are you planning your birding safari and wondering about the best time to do birding in Akagera National Park, this blog will help you choose the best time of the year to do birding. Bird watching in Akagera National Park can be done throughout the year, and the best time depends on an individual’s preferences. It’s one of the best bird watching destinations in Rwanda, situated in the northeastern region of the park. Akagera is the biggest national park covering an area of approximately 1,122 square kilometers. It is blessed with various ecosystems, including swamps, woodlands, lakes, and savannah grasslands, which provide various habitats to the park’s birds and wildlife species.
Akagera National Park hosts up to 90 mammal species, such as the Big Five, lions, leopards, rhinos, buffaloes, and elephants, 200 butterfly species, reptiles, and amphibians. The park is home to more than 480 bird species, including migratory birds, woodland species, water birds, the park’s endemic species, and savannah bird species. Bird enthusiasts visiting the park should look out for the unique bird species like the elusive shoebill stork, the secretary bird, red-faced barbet, papyrus gonolek, sooty falcon, northern brown-throated weaver, blue-shouldered robin chat, and others. Just like any other national park in East Africa, Akagera National Park experiences two seasons: the wet season and the dry season, both provide exceptional birding experiences.
Best time to do Birding in Akagera National Park.
Dry Season.
Bird enthusiasts and ornithologists can do bird watching in the park during the dry season, which runs from December to February and June to September. During this period, the park receives little to no rainfall, and the birding trails are less muddy and slippery, making it easy to penetrate them and look for these colorful birds. The vegetation cover is short and scattered, making it clear to view various bird species from a distance. However, since the park receives little to no rainfall in this season, birds tend to move deep in the park in search of food, and visitors need to move long distances in search of them.
Wet Season.
The wet season is considered to be the best time to do birding in Akagera National Park by birders. This season is from March to May and October to November, during this season, the park receives enough rainfall, and plants and tree species bear fruit. This enables birds not to move deep in the park in search of food. This is the time of the year when migratory birds come from Europe and Asia, running away from the harsh weather conditions and in search of food. This is the breeding season of most birds in the park, like herons, storks, darters, and cormorants, and the wetlands attract many bird species, which makes it easy to see birds in the park. However, birders should be prepared that during this season, the birding trails are muddy, making it challenging to penetrate them.
The vegetation cover is tall and dense, which makes it challenging to clearly see birds from a distance and taking clear pictures.
