Birding Kidepo Valley national Park

Are you looking for Birding Kidepo Valley national Park Uganda? With about 475 bird species in Kidepo Valley National Park, it makes this park the second in having the biggest bird species only behind Queen Elizabeth National Park.  Birding in Kidepo is so rewarding and here are some of the birds to expect on a safari in Kidepo valley National Park:

Red-fronted & Black-breasted Barbets, Vinaceous Dove, Brown-backed Woodpecker, Hoopoe, Little Green Bee-eater, Long-tailed & Standard-winged Nightjars, White-bellied Tit, Pygmy Falcon, Four-banded Sand Grouse, Red billed Oxpecker, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Abyssinian Ground, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Rufous & Chestnut Sparrow, Black-headed Plover, Kori, Pygmy & Beautiful Sunbirds, , Mosque Swallow, Karamoja Apalis, Nubian Woodpecker Violet-tipped Courser, Ethiopian Swallow, Steel-blue & Strawtailed Whydahs, Pied, African Swallow-tailed Kite, Little Weaver & Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, Fan-tailed Raven, White-bellied & Hartlaub’s Bustards, Abyssinian & Rufous-crowned Rollers, Eastern Pale Chanting Go-shawk, Superb Starling, Isabelline & Heuglin’s Whea-ters, Black-bellied & Black-faded Waxbill, Fox Kestrel, Foxy & Red pate Cisticolas,  Brown-rumped Bunting , Yellow-spotted Petronia, Northern White-crowned and Yellow-billed Shrikes Eastern Violet backed,  White-browed & Chestnut- crowned Sparrow Weavers,Mouse-coloured Penduline Tit, Grey-capped Social & Speckle-fronted Weavers, Clapperton’s & Heuglin’s Francolins, White-headed and White-billed Buffalo Weavers, African Grey Flycatcher, Ruppell’s & Superb Starlings, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Ostrich, Eastern Yellow & Jackson’s Hornbills, Red-winged Lark, Slate-coloured Boubou, Green-winged, White-faced Scoops Owl, Orange-winged & Red-winged Pytilias Yellow-necked Spurfowl, Singing Bush lark, Stone Partridge.

ACTIVITIES TO DO IN KIDEPO VALLEY NATIONAL PARK AFTER BIRDING

Kidepo is a big national park and filled with a diversity of activities. There is a lot of natural untapped potential and this park is not visited by many people and that means it’s less crowded. Here are some of the things you can do in the national park:

Guided game drive

You can do a morning, afternoon, evening and night game drive Via the Narus Valley. This valley is a unique spot for a lot of the animals in the national park. Animals to see include African bush elephants, Antelopes, Big Cats, Warthogs, Hyenas, Birds, Zebras and Giraffes

Nature walk/Hiking

You can have a chance to get out of the car and walk around under the supervision of a ranger. There are some small Mountains that you can actually Hike. There is Mt. Morungole and Mt. Lomej. On top of these mountains you will have a clear view of natural features and animals.

Community walks and Cultural experiences

This Park is located in the Karamoja area and the park is surrounded by the rare Ik tribe that is almost close to extinction. These people are isolated and live in the Mt. Morungole Mountain.

The livelihood of these people depends on raiding nearby tribes and rustles their cattle and hunting. You will have a chance to test on the lifestyle of these people, the food, dances, art and the pastoral life.

Best time to visit Kidepo Valley National Park for birding

We have two dry seasons in Uganda and these are undoubtedly the best times to visit Kidepo Valley National Park. The dry seasons are June to August and December to March. The roads to the park and within the park are impassable during the rainy season. During the wet season as well, the animals move to the higher grounds to run away from the flooding valleys which makes finding these animals abit hard.

Top accommodations in Kidepo National Park for birding

This park has few accommodation places but give the true description of sleeping in the wild. Nights here give undoubtably give you a complete safari experience. The accommodations in Kidepo include Budget, Midrange and Luxury including Apoka Safari Lodge (Luxury), Nga’Moru Wilderness Camp (Midrange) & Apoka Rest Camp (Budget & Midrange).

Getting to Kidepo Valley national Park for birding

There are two options to get to Kidepo Valley National Park: By road and Air.

Traveling by road takes about 10 to 12 hours to cover a distance of about 515km from Kampala. Some people choose to break down this journey into two since the road is bumpy and makes the journey long and tiresome.

Travel by air is another option. We can book for you a flight from Entebbe or Kajjansi and Land at Apoka Airstrip. This is a 45 min Journey and will make your experience of this park even better depending on the kind of adventure you are looking for.

Birding in Kidepo valley national park can be extended to other bird watching spots including Kibale forest national park, Murchison falls national park among others.