Birding Budongo Forest
Budongo forest is one of the sectors of Murchison Falls National Park and a great birding destination in Uganda. Budongo forest is home to some species that belong to the Guinea Congo Biome endemics and two of these birds cannot be found anywhere in East Africa. These species are Yellow-footed Flycatcher and Pavel’s illadoposis. This forest offers great forest birding with highlights of several migratory birds especially between November and April.
Budongo covers an area of about 825 sq Km. It’s located in the northern sector of Murchison Falls National Park and it’s divided into three major sections of namely Kaniyo pabidi, Sonso and Busingiro.
Budongo is home to about 130 moth species, 450 tree species, 24 mammal species, 260 butterfly species and about 350 bird species. There about 9 primate species here for you to explore.
Here are some of the birds to expect in Budongo Forest: white-breasted, Black lured and Brown babblers, Nubian woodpecker, Arrow marked, Barbets, Nightingale, lesser striped swallow, Sooty chat, Rollers, Harriers, Vultures, Eagles, Yellow-throated Greenbul, white-fronted Black Chat, Rufous chested Swallow, Isabelline wheatear, Ethiopian swallow, Stripped, and many others.
There are other things you can do in Budongo Forest after birding
Chimpanzee tracking: Budongo forest is home to about 700 habituated chimpanzees that can be tracked when you visit the forest. Just like all the other areas with gorillas and chimpanzees, the organization is the same. The chimpanzee permit is cheaper here compared to Kibaale national park.
Guided nature walk: Being a forest, Budongo is ideal for nature walks due to the great eco systems available here. These walks will be guided and you will see from trees, butterflies, primates to birds and many more.
What is the best time to visit Budongo forest for birding?
Uganda in General is best to be visited in the two dry season spells that come in the months of June to September and December to February. The roads become impassable in the other months of the year but people that are great with adventure can still travel during the wet season. The rains can at sometimes still rain in the dry season, therefore there are no guarantees that dry seasons are very dry like they sound.
Where to stay in Budongo forest
There are lots of accommodation facilities around Murchison Falls National Park and around Budongo. Contact Africa Adventure Vacations to give you an option of the lodges around Budongo forest.
Accessibility
The forest is located in the northern sector of Murchison falls national park. You can access this area by road or air. It’s about 4 to 5 hours from Kampala by road through masindi.
You will need to book an internal flight through Entebbe or Kajjansi to Pakuba airfield in Murchison falls National Park if you are to travel by air. It takes about an hour for this Journey.
