Birds of Kibale National Park
Birds of Kibale National Park: Kibale National Park is one of the top destinations in Uganda, famous for birdwatching despite being a primate capital of the world. The park is located in southwestern Uganda near Fort Portal town in the districts of Kabarole, Kyenjojo, Kasese, and Kamwenge. It is home to over 372 species of birds, including some members of the Albertine Rift endemics, and these include the Purple-breasted Sunbird, Masked Apalis, Cassin’s Spinetail, Blue-headed Bee-eater, and Nahan’s Francolin.
Kibale Forest National Park is known for its highest concentration of chimpanzees and is a popular spot for birdwatching, with over 372 bird species. The park offers a rich habitat for birds due to its dense vegetation and swampy areas, particularly in Bigodi. It is considered one of the top birding destinations in Uganda, especially from November to April when migratory birds arrive. Birdwatchers can find many species in both Kibale Forest and Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, with the highlight of the park being the green-breasted pitta.
Birds of Kibale National Park
Birds to see in Kibale National Park include the scaly-breasted illadopsis, African pitta, red-chested owlet, African pied wagtail, great blue turaco, black-bellied firefinch, African firefinch, black-eared ground thrush, green-breasted pitta, grey parrot, Abyssinian ground thrush, and African emerald cuckoo. Shy flycatcher, brown-backed scrub-robin, African shrike flycatcher, barn swallow, Cameroon sombre greenbul, African gray woodpecker, Narina trogon, square-tailed nightjar, plain nightjar, fan-tailed widowbird, hairy-breasted barbet, swallow-tailed bee-eater, chocolate-backed kingfisher, superb sunbird.
Slate-colored boubou, black-tailed oriole, little greenbul, blue-throated roller, white-tailed blue flycatcher, purple-breasted sunbird, Green-breasted pitta, crowned eagle, afed pigeon, dusky crimsonwing, black bee-eater, blue-headed sunbird, brown-chested alethe, gray-headed olive-back, blue-headed bee-eater, black-capped apalis, yellow-rumped tinkerbird, cardinal woodpecker, western nicator, white-naped pigeon, and African pipit.
White-breasted negrofinch, piping hornbill, red-headed lovebird, chestnut wattle eye, bare-faced go-away-bird, Rwenzori apalis, masked apalis, and Cassin’s spinetail, brown illadopsis. Papyrus canary, white-collared olive, speckled mousebird, eastern plantain-eater, papyrus gonolek, African wagtail, blue-shouldered robin-chat, zebra waxbill, crowned eagle, black-crowned tchagra, alpine swift, yellow-spotted nicator, Chubb’s cisticola, piapiac, black-shouldered nightjar, many-colored bush shrike, Doherty’s bushshrike.
Birding activities in Kibale Forest National Park offer visitors the chance to see a diverse bird species, including forest birds, migratory birds, Albertine Rift birds, and wetland birds, among others. Birding starts early in the morning with a briefing at the information center at the Kanyanchu visitors’ center. Here, visitors get briefed by well-trained ranger guides with experience about the different bird species. They will tell you the dos and don’ts or the rules and regulations of the activity. After, the armed ranger guide with your birding guide will take you through different birding trails searching for different birding spots, for example, Sebitoli and Bigodi Swamp, where several birds can be spotted.
What is the best time to see birds of Kibale Forest National Park
Birding in Kibale Forest National Park can be done throughout the year, although the best birding season occurs between June and September. This is what is referred to as the fruiting season within the Kibale Forest; various birds can be seen due to the abundant food supply. More still, this is also the breeding season within the park; therefore, avid birders should expect to see lots of exciting bird species. The months between June and September are part of the dry season that receives little or no rainfall, which means that the birding trails are dry, open, and easily accessible.
However, bird lovers can still see the birds of Kibale Forest National Park during the rainy season, which lasts from March to May and from October to November. However, this wet season is ideal for budget travelers because the park lodges are at a discount due to fewer crowds. The rainy season attracts a lot of migratory birds, especially in November and April, but there is always plenty of rainfall that makes the birding trails muddy, slick, and slippery, which limits access to some forest areas.
How to get to the Park
Tourists can get to Kibale Forest National Park by either air transport or road transport. By air transport, travellers must contact any of the airline companies, for example, Aerolink Uganda, Eagle Air, Pearl Sky, and Bar Aviation Uganda, for chartered flights to Kibale Forest National Park. The flights begin from Entebbe International Airport or from Kajjansi Airstrip to Kasese Airstrip, where they will connect to Kibale using road transport in less than 2 hours.
Tourists can also opt for road transport in order to access Kibale Forest National Park. The road drive takes about 5-6 hours, as the park is located 300 km from Kampala. The journey to Kibale Forest National Park starts from Kampala/Entebbe via Mityana, through Mubende, Kyegegwa, and Kyenjojo to the park. Alternatively, one can use Kampala via Masaka-Mbarara-Bushenyi and Kasese to the park.
Accommodation in Kibale Forest
Kibale Forest National Park offers travelers the highest level of comfort, ranging from luxury to midrange to budget options, based on visitors’ travel budgets. These accommodation options include Chimpundu Safari Lodge, Kibale Forest Camp, Isunga Lodge, Kibale Lodge, Primate Lodge, Guereza Canopy Lodge, Bahundu Safari Lodge, Turaco Tree Tops, Rweteera Safari Lodge, Ndali Lodge, Crater Safari Lodge, Tinker Bird, Kyaninga Crater Lodge, and Papaya Lake Lodge, among others.
