Uganda Birding Safari 2025-2026
Welcome to Uganda, a bird-watching paradise. If you are searching for the ultimate avian adventure in Africa, your journey ends here. With a recorded checklist exceeding 1,075 species—more than half of the continent’s total—Uganda offers unparalleled biodiversity packed into a single, accessible country. It is the only place on Earth where you can reliably see the ancient-looking
Shoebill Stork and also target the highest concentration of Albertine Rift Endemics in the same trip.
This definitive guide, crafted by local experts, moves beyond simple lists. We’ll show you exactly where the high-value species hide, when to go for the best experience, and how to select the perfect tailor-made Uganda birding tour that connects you directly with the magic of the Pearl of Africa.
The Must-See Birding Destinations in Uganda
The secret to a successful Uganda birding safari lies in traversing its incredible mosaic of habitats from vast papyrus swamps to dense, mist-shrouded montane forests. Here are the top sites where your life list will grow fastest.
Mabamba Bay Wetland: Home of the Elusive Shoebill Stork
Located on the northern shores of Lake Victoria, the Mabamba Bay Wetland is a Ramsar site and arguably the most dependable place in the world to find the prehistoric-looking Shoebill Stork (Balaeniceps rex). This incredible, oversized wader is the icon of Uganda birdwatching.
Key Sightings: The Shoebill is the main target, usually sighted from a traditional dugout canoe paddled by expert local guides.
Secondary Species: Look out for other swamp and papyrus specialists, including the stunning Papyrus Gonolek, the acrobatic African Jacana, and the Blue Swallow.
The Experience: This is an intimate, quiet experience on the water. The success rate for spotting the Shoebill is consistently high, making it a critical first stop on any serious Uganda birding tour.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park: The Albertine Rift Endemic Hotspot
Bwindi is famous for Mountain Gorillas, but for the avid birder, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a true sanctuary. With 347 recorded species, Bwindi harbors the highest concentration of
(AREs)—species found only in the mountains bordering Uganda, Congo, and Rwanda
Key Sightings: This is your primary location to find the African Green Broadbill, the impossibly beautiful Regal Sunbird, Handsome Francolin, Shelley’s Crimsonwing, and the Blue-headed Sunbird.
The Strategy: Birding is best conducted on the designated forest trails in the Buhoma and Ruhija sectors. Hiring a specialist bird guide (often a local site guide) is non-negotiable here; they know the endemic calls and territories intimately.
Crucial Tip: The Ruhija sector, at a higher elevation, often yields better sightings of the high-altitude AREs.
Queen Elizabeth National Park: Over 600 Species in the Savannah
No Uganda birding safari is complete without visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park. Boasting a staggering 600+ recorded bird species—one of the highest totals for any park globally—it showcases a spectacular mix of savanna, wetland, and forest birdlife
Key Activity: Kazinga Channel Boat Cruise: This 2-hour launch trip between Lake George and Lake Edward is world-famous. You will be mesmerized by the sheer density of water birds: African Skimmer, Pink-backed Pelicans, Yellow-billed Storks, and thousands of cormorants and plovers.
Savannah Birding: Look for the powerful raptors like the Martial Eagle and Grey-backed Fiscal.
Target Species: The elusive African Finfoot is often sought along the channel edges, and you will spot Uganda’s national bird, the iconic Grey Crowned-Crane, throughout the park.
Murchison Falls National Park: A Northern Species Mecca
Uganda’s largest and most scenic national park, Murchison Falls, offers a mix of riverine woodland, papyrus swamps, and northern savanna. It is home to over 451 species.
Key Sightings: The delta area, where the Nile meets Lake Albert, is another fantastic location
African Fish Eagle for the Shoebill Stork. Boat trips upriver to the base of the magnificent Murchison Falls reveal the Red-throated Bee-eater colonies nesting in the banks, as well as the African Fish Eagle and large storks.
The Game Drive Advantage: Unlike forest birding, here you combine birding with classic African wildlife. Look for the massive Abyssinian Ground Hornbill and raptors like the Secretary Bird in the northern plains.
Lake Bunyonyi
Lake Bunyonyi is located in southwestern Uganda between Kabale and Kisoro. The word Bunyonyi is translated as small birds, meaning ‘a place of little birds.’ It certainly is a magical spot for bird watching, and what’s more interesting, it is encircled by steep terraced hills and is reputed to be the deepest lake in East Africa, with a depth of about 900 meters. Lake Bunyonyi has recorded over 200 bird species and some of these include: the Grey crowned crane, the White tailed blue monard, the herons, the African Harrier Hawk, The egrets, Slender-billed baglafetch, Levillant cuckoo,
Levillant cuckoo, and the cardinal woodpecker, and many more. The lake has over 40 small islands, including the Punishment Island, Bwana, Kyahugye, Njuyeera, Bucuranuka, and Bushara, to mention a few. All these Islands have got many bird species that can be enjoyed by the many bird watchers that visit the Lake. This same lake is also home to many otters, the crayfish, and its bird paradise to many species of birds, and lies between Kisoro and Kabale districts that are close to the border of Rwanda.
Apart from bird watching, bird lovers can also take part in some other activities, including spot fishing, boat rides, cultural walks, camping, the bamboo walks that are guided trails, and these have been established and are recommended for anyone who may be looking for long stretches, nature walks, and many more. Lake Bunyonyi is known to be a relaxing place after gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Lake Bunyonyi can be visited throughout the year.
Mabira forest
Mabira forest was once the largest rainforest in Uganda; however, due to deforestation as a result of commercial purposes, the forest is now covered by an area of about 306sqkm. Mabira forest became a great tourism destination, especially for bird lovers, because it is a great birding site and home to
more than 300 different bird species. Mabira Forest Reserve is located 56km on the Kampala-Jinja highway in Buikwe district, quite accessible from Kampala and other towns of Uganda, thus a Birding Destination in Uganda.
Birding watching in Mabira forest can begin in Kampala/Entebbe, then drive to Jinja, taking about 2-3 hours on the Kampala-Jinja route, depending on the traffic jam. When you reach the forest, report to the offices, where you will be briefed about the forest and also be allocated a guide who will help you search and identify the different birds during your walk in the forest. Expect to see a lot of birds, as you can expect to see over 100 birds in a day, such as the Long-crested Eagle, Red-chested Sunbird, Open-billed Stork, White-threatened Bee-eater, Cattle Egret, Marabou Stork, there is the Pied Crow, also the Black Kite, Lizard Buzzard, the Black-headed Weaver, African Thrush, Hadada Ibis, Hamerkop, Broad-billed Roller, Palmnut Vulture, and Bronze Mannikin, as well as the Great Blue Turaco. Examples of other birds include: The Forest Wood Hoopoe, The Yellow White-eye, The Hairy-breasted Barbet, The Bockages Shrike, The Tambourine Dove, The Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher, The African Harrier Hawk, The Speckled Tinkerbird, The Great Blue Turaco, The Black-and-white Mannikin, The Chestnut Wattle-eye, The Superb Sunbird, African Grey Parrot, The Jameson’s Wattle-eye, The African Shrike Flycatcher, The Red-headed Malimbe, The Velvet-mantled Drongo, and Black-billed Turaco, among others.
Apart from bird watching in Mabira forest, your day trip can be combined with other activities like the Zip-lining experience and a primate walk. The forest is said to host about 6 species of primates, such as the Grey-cheeked Mangabey monkeys, Vervet monkeys, Black and white Colobus monkey, to mention a few. Other features include the tree species and the visit to Griffin Falls in the forest.
Entebbe Botanical Gardens;
The Entebbe botanical gardens are usually visited by people who want to relax under the cool of the trees, a popular spot for leisurely nature walks to enjoy the lush greenery and observe monkeys and birds. However, the Botanical Gardens is one of the renowned birding spots in Uganda and is often birded as a single entity. The gardens were established as far back as 1901. They extend from the shores of Lake Victoria to cover a lush zone of forest with big trees. The Entebbe botanical gardens
are such a beauty for bird watching, with a good mix of water, open country, and woodland species. Some of the birds to be found here include: Pink-backed Pelican, Long-tailed Cormorant, Black-crowned Night Heron, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Black-headed Heron, Hamerkop, African Open-billed Stork, Saddle-billed Stork, Marabou Stork, Egyptian Goose, Yellow-billed Duck, and Black Kite, to mention but a few.
Kibale Forest National Park
Kibale Forest National Park is best known for chimpanzee trekking in Uganda. The forest is located in the western part of Uganda in Kabarole district near Fort Portal, which is the tourism city of Uganda. Kibale forest contains one of the loveliest and most varied tracts of tropical forest in Uganda. Forest cover, interspersed with patches of grassland and swamp, dominates the northern and central parts of the park on an elevated plateau. Kibale forest contains 375 bird species, and these birds can be spotted in the park while on a chimpanzee trekking experience. And in Bigodi swamp, this swamp is actually the best place to spot a variety of bird species and primates. The Green-breasted Pitta is the most sought-after bird species in the forest. Some of the other birds recorded in Kibale forest include: the Black-capped Cuckoo, Black-crowned Tchagra, Barn swallow, African Dusky Flycatcher, Black-necked Weaver, African Wood Owl, Chubb’s Cisticola, African Shrike-flycatcher, Black bee-eater, Black and white Mannikin, Black-faced Rufous, Blue-throated Roller, African Blue Flycatcher, just to mention a few. These Birding Destinations in Uganda.
Semuliki National Park
Semiliki National Park is located in Bundibugyo district near Fort Portal town, adjust to the Congo Ituri rain forest. The park is home to Uganda’s largest Sempaya hot springs, about 53 mammal species, and over 400 bird species recorded in this park, thus making it one of the top birding destinations in Africa, earning the title of “True Birders Haven.” Semliki Forest represents the only example of Congo-Basin vegetation in Uganda, given that a large part of the Guinea-Congo biome
species reach their Eastern limits in Semuliki, which makes it one of the richest for forest birds in the country. There are about 130 Guinea-Congo forest Biome species recorded in Semuliki forest. Other bird species include: the Capuchin, white-tailed/Piping hornbill, blue-headed, crested flycatcher, Orange Weaver, and Red-billed Malimbe. Semuliki National Park is also close to Mount Rwenzori, where River Semuliki winds along the western border down to Lake Albert, surrounded by swamps where we find birds like the Papyrus Gonolek, Caruther’s Cisticola. Other interesting birds in Semiliki National Park include: Black-wattled hornbill, Congo Serpent Eagle, Lyre-tailed Honeyguide, Nkulengu Rail, Long-tailed Hawk, to mention a few, thus Birding Destinations in Uganda.
Lake Mburo National Park
Lake Mburo National Park is Uganda’s smallest savannah national park, where we only find the Impala antelope species. However, Lake Mburo National Park is also Uganda’s top birding destination, making travellers to confirm Uganda safari tours for a bird viewing and wildlife safari. The park has about 350 bird species, and the key birding spots include the swampy valleys of Miriti and Warukiri, the viewing platforms near the salt licks and in the forest, as well as the roadsides between Rwonyo camp, Jetty, and Rubanga forest. Examples of commonly spotted birds in Lake
Mburo National Park include: Emerald-spotted wood, Red-headed Lovebird, Grey Crowned crane, Green Wood-hoopoe, Ross’s Turaco, Coqui Francolin, Black-bellied, Red-faced Barbet, Woodpecker, Finfoot, white-winged Tit, and the Brown Parrot, to name a few. This is where you can only see the red-faced Barbet, which is the forest’s featured species. Doing a birding safari on a Uganda Safari tour is a good decision for any traveller, particularly Lake Mburo National Park, to be able to do other activities like game viewing, horseback rides, and boat trips, thus Birding Destinations in Uganda
When & What to Pack
Best Time for Bird Watching in Uganda
The ideal time for your Uganda birding safari hinges on whether your priority is the sheer volume of species or the most comfortable weather conditions.
Highest Species Count (The Birder’s Peak):
Months: November to April.
Notes: This is the primary nesting season, meaning birds are in their brightest breeding plumage and are the most vocal, making them easier to locate. Crucially, the Palearctic and
Palearctic-migrants. intra-African migrant species are present, significantly boosting the total checklist and justifying the use of the “Highest Species Count.”
Best Weather & Access (The Photographer’s Choice):
Months: June to August (The Dry Season).
Notes: This period is preferred for the dry season birding in East Africa. Trails are drier, driving conditions are better, and birds often congregate more reliably around fixed water sources, simplifying the search.
The Recommended Period:
The most highly recommended period for a dedicated tour is December to February. This strikes the perfect balance between great weather, active resident birdlife, and the presence of Palearctic migrants.
Essential Birding Gear and Packing List
A successful birding trip is built on preparation. Here is the field gear highly recommended by Uganda’s top professional guides:
Optics: High-quality binoculars (8×42 or 10×42) and a Spotting Scope for identifying distant raptors, ducks, and water birds along channels like the Kazinga.
Field Guide: The indispensable guide is ‘Birds of East Africa’ by Stevenson and Fanshawe, which covers the vast majority of the over 1,080 species you will encounter.
Clothing: Neutral, muted colours (greens, browns). Lightweight, fast-drying hiking trousers and long-sleeved shirts are essential for protection from the sun and insects.
Rain Gear: Given Uganda’s tropical climate, pack a reliable rain jacket and ensure you have a waterproof bag(dry sack) to protect your valuable optics and camera gear during forest walks, particularly in Bwindi or Kibale.
Footwear: Waterproof, broken-in hiking boots for the mountainous forest trails (Bwindi, Mgahinga) and lighter walking shoes or sandals for lodge areas and dry savanna drives.
Protection: High-quality insect repellent (with DEET) and a strong, broad-spectrum sunscreen are crucial.
The Uganda Species Checklist
Uganda’s exceptional biodiversity is due to its location at the confluence of three major biomes: the East African savanna, the West African rainforest, and the Albertine Rift montane ecosystem. The checklist stands at an impressive 1,088 confirmed species.
Essential Bird Groups and Target Species
The Albertine Rift Endemics (AREs): As mentioned, Uganda harbors 24 of the 39 AREs. Key species include the Rwenzori Turaco, Handsome Francolin, African Green Broadbill, and the Regal Sunbird. These are primarily found in Bwindi, Mgahinga, and Rwenzori Mountains National Parks.
Swamp & Aquatic Specialists: Beyond the Shoebill Stork, other crucial wetland birds include the Papyrus Gonolek, African Finfoot (Podica senegalensis), which is an African aquatic bird, and the enormous Goliath Heron.
Iconic Raptors & Ground Birds: The vast savannas yield magnificent raptors like the Martial Eagle and Bateleur. Terrestrial giants include the Kori Bustard and the magnificent Abyssinian Ground Hornbill.
Forest Specials: The tropical forests of Kibale and Budongo (MFNP) are the best places to see the iridescent Great Blue Turaco and the elusive, yet stunning, Green-breasted Pitta.
Responsible Birding and Conservation
As a local operator, our commitment is to the conservation of Uganda’s natural heritage. Every booking contributes directly to the communities and UWA’s conservation efforts.
Support Local Guides: Sites like Mabamba and Bigodi employ local community guides, providing them with sustainable income and preserving invaluable local knowledge.
The Power of Your Permit: The park fees you pay directly fund anti-poaching patrols, habitat restoration projects, and research into threatened species like the Shoebill Stork and the Grey Crowned-Crane (Uganda’s National Bird, now Endangered).
Ethical Practices: We ensure strict adherence to UWA guidelines (e.g., maintaining a safe distance, avoiding littering, and staying on designated trails) to minimize our ecological footprint.
By choosing a local, ethical operator, your Uganda birding safari is not just an incredible personal adventure—it is an investment in the future of African birdlife.
Ready to tick off the Shoebill, the Green-breasted Pitta, and the stunning Regal Sunbird from your life list? Contact our expert team today to tailor-make your Uganda birding tour
