Birding In Bwindi

Are you looking for Bwindi birding tours and safaris in Uganda? Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is located in the southwestern part of Uganda covering an area of 331 sq. km characterized by montane forest patched with bamboo. Bwindi impenetrable forest national is home to more than half of the remaining mountain gorillas in the world, 120 mammal species, 351 bird species, 220 species of butterflies and so much more.

Though mountain gorilla trekking is the most commonly done activity in Bwindi impenetrable national park there are lots of other tourism activities that people can engage in before or after gorilla trekking in Bwindi. For bird lovers, ensure to carry binoculars even while trekking mountain gorillas.

Birding in Bwindi

Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is one of the best birding destinations in Uganda, the park harbors about 351 species of birds that have been so far recorded and 23 of the species are endemic to the Albertine rift area, 10 of the 26 globally threatened species in Uganda, 76 DR Congo Forest Biome species, 25 restricted-range species, 4 of Lake Victoria Biome species and 68 afro tropical island species.

Some of the examples of bird species in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park include grauer’s rush warbler, western green tinker bird, Angolan swallow, chest nut throated apalis, montane oriole, African green broadbill, fine banded woodpecker, western green tinker bird, African citril, short tailed warbler, regal sunbird, kivu ground thrush, montane oriole, emerald cuckoo, shinning African blue, white tailed blue fly, white headed saw wing, impressed African emerald, Shelley’s crimson wing, black bee eater and bar tailed trogon among others. Besides bird watching activities in Bwindi, visitors can do optional activities such as gorilla trekking and habituation experiences, biking and cycling, nature walks, Batwa trail among others

Gorilla trekking

Mountain gorilla trekking is every person’s dream while visiting Africa, Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is not only home to birds but also home to more than half of the remaining total population of gorillas. Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park gives you a chance of getting close to the closest relatives to human beings at only $700 foreign nonresidents, $600 foreign residents, and shs250,000 East African residents. Gorilla trekking permits give you an opportunity of spending a maximum of 1 hour with the gorillas in their natural habitats.

Gorilla habituation

Gorilla habituation is best described as the process of making mountain gorillas get used to human presence, this is done by a team of researchers and rangers who visit the gorilla family daily for a period of 2-3 years. Tourists have an opportunity of joining researchers in the habituation process at only $1500 and this is only done in Rushaga sector of the park. Gorilla habituation gives you a maximum of 4 hours to stay around gorillas, unlike trekking where spend only one hour with mountain gorillas.

Best time for birding in Bwindi

Birding in Rwanda can be done at any time of the year but the best time to visit is from November to April when the vegetation is not very thick making it easy to spot bird and migratory bird species from North Africa and Europe are also in the area during this time.

Where to sleep on your bird watching tour

There are a lot of accommodation options in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park ranging from budget to mid-range to luxury. Where to sleep in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park depends on the sector where you are going to do birding from. Some of the accommodations in Bwindi include Bakiga lodge, gorilla mist lodge, Nkuringo Bwindi gorilla, volcanoes Bwindi lodge, Buhoma lodge as well as clouds mountain gorilla lodge among others