Birding Kibale Forest National Park

Looking for birding Kibale Forest National Park Uganda? Kibale national Park is one of the most beautiful parks in Uganda. It’s a tropical rain forest with patches of swamps and grasslands. It has elevated plateaus and low lands. Its home to about 375 bird species and 70 mammal species. There are over 300 tree species with some dating about 200 years old.  Kibale is about 795 sq Km. It is relatively one of the smallest parks in Uganda.

Birding in Kibale Forest National Park

Kibale Forest specials include the African Pitta, Green-breasted Pitta, Brown Illadopsis, Black-capped Apalis, Blue-headed Sunbird, Collared Apalis,  Afep Pigeon, White-naped Pigeon, Crowned Eagle, Red-chested Owlet, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, African Grey Parrot, Scaly-breasted Illadopsis , Dusky Crimsonwing, Yellow Spotted Nicator, Little Green Bul, Black Bee-eater, Western Nicator, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Little Greenbul, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Brown-chested Alethe, Black-eared Ground Thrush and the Abyssinian Ground-thrush. The African Pitta is the most sought after bird here.

One of the areas you ought not to miss is Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary which is home to about 135 bird species which can be seen on guided nature walks. Some of the bird you can see here are: the White-spotted Flufftail, Yellow-spotted Barbet, Hairy-breasted Barbet, Yellow-billed Barbet, Western Nicator, Grey-winged Robin-chat, White-tailed Ant-thrush, Brown-backed Scrub-robin, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Bocage’s Bush-shrike, Black Bishop, White-breasted Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Superb Sunbird, Negrofinch and Black-crowned Waxbill among others.

Key birding spots in Kibale Forest National Park

Kanyanchu River Camp

It’s one of the major forest walks trails in the park. It’s most famous for the primate walk but there is a lot you can see while on this trail. The park has about 13 primate species but the most sought after are the habituated Chimpanzees.

Sebitoli Forest Camp

This is one of the secondary tourism hubs and is in the northern sector of the park here you will encounter the red colobus, black-and-white colobus, blue monkeys and vervet monkeys. Visitors can also spot a variety of aquatic life, forest and savannah birds and enjoy views of Mpanga River.

Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary

Another special place to look out for is Bigodi. It’s a wetland and it’s also a birder’s haven. There are about 138 bird species here. Some of the bird you can see here are: the White-spotted Flufftail, Yellow-spotted Barbet, Hairy-breasted Barbet, Yellow-billed Barbet, Western Nicator, Grey-winged Robin-chat, White-tailed Ant-thrush, Brown-backed Scrub-robin,  Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Superb Sunbird, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Bocage’s Bush-shrike, Black Bishop, White-breasted Negrofinch and Black-crowned Waxbill among others.

Kihingami Wetland

This swamp is located near sebitoli and it has lots of community run activities that you can engage in. You can adventure the cultures of the people around here when you engage in the community walk to this wetland. Of course there other wildlife that you can see while here especially the primates.

Activities to do after Birding Kibale Forest National Park

Chimpanzee Tracking and Habituation in Kibale Forest

Kibale is most popular for the chimpanzee tracking experience. There are groups that have been habituated and have been available for tracking since 1993. There are three shifts of 8am, 12pm and 3pm.

Chimpanzee habituation starts around 6 am and it lasts about 6 hours.

Any birding safari in Kibale forest national park can be extended to Queen Elizabeth national park, Kalinzu forest and Bwindi forest national park for another exciting wildlife, primate and bird watching experiences.