Tracking Feathers and Pride: Bird watching in Uganda, Rwanda, and DR Congo
Customizable Tracking Feathers and Pride: Bird watching in Uganda, Rwanda, and DR Congo for everybody, day and budget
Tracking Feathers and Pride: Bird watching in Uganda, Rwanda, and DR Congo
It starts quietly with you standing in a swamp, pretending you don’t notice your boots sinking a little deeper with each breath. Suddenly, your guide stiffens, he points, wide-eyed, you freeze. And there it is—a shoebill, looking like it just strolled out of a dinosaur convention.
Guess what? That’s the kind of thrill we are talking about. Birding in Uganda, Rwanda, and DR Congo is not for the faint-hearted, however, you’re not here for easy you’re here for rare, you’re here for real.
Where to go for Bird watching
Birding in Uganda
With a total number of over 1,090 bird species recorded, Uganda is serious business when it comes to birds making the country feel like someone forgot to turn off the bird tap.
From the dense Mabamba Swamp, where shoebills glare at you like grumpy librarians, to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, where strange greenbuls and warblers outnumber the tourists, you have an overflowing checklist handed to you.
Queen Elizabeth National Park throws in kingfishers, pelicans, and hundreds of lesser-known species, while Murchison Falls adds a few surprises with its riverbanks and savannah crossings.
Birds in Uganda
On the other hand, Kidepo Valley National Park comes in handy with bird species found no where else but her such as ostriches.
The beauty of birding in Uganda is that you don’t have to hike fifteen miles into darkness to find your prize. Half the time, you’ll spot something brilliant while drinking your morning coffee—maybe a Ross’s turaco flashing lime and crimson like it has an attitude problem. Your binoculars might become optional gear.
Birding in Rwanda: Small But Furious
Rwanda doesn’t have Uganda’s numbers, but it knows how to work what it’s got bringing satisfaction on your quite for beautiful colors flying in the sky or hanging on a tree branch.
Nyungwe Forest National Park is a tangled, ancient place where nearly 300 bird species flicker through the mist, including the eye-popping Rwenzori turaco and the elusive red-collared babbler.
This is your natures haven in case you like your birds shy and your trails vertical
Top Tracking Feathers and Pride: Bird watching in Uganda, Rwanda, and DR Congo Destinations
On the other hand, Akagera National Park throws a curveball with its savannah species like the papyrus gonolek, shoebill, and a sincere supply of raptors.
Rwanda”s polished, organized, and smaller size works in your favor when you’re chasing a species list that doesn’t give you much room to breathe.
However, it’s important to note that bird watching in Rwanda requires patience, good boots, and the ability to act excited after hour three of staring at a leaf, pretending you don’t mind the rain drops sneaking down your neck.
Birds in Rwanda
Birding in DR Congo: For Those Who Think They’re Tough
Birding in DR Congo is where you separate the tourists from the masochists. Salonga National Park, Maiko, and the forests around Virunga are home to species many birders only whisper about—yellow-crested helmetshrikes, Congo peafowls, and spotted ground thrushes.
Congo having the best biodiversity in Africa has over 118 bird species which is less compared to its size and different ecosystems it has.
Birding in the Congo means you will work hard for every sighting, hacking through rainforests with extremely high humidity and the trails laugh at your fancy waterproof boots.
Birds in DR Congo
Best time to go for a Bird Watching Safari.
Rainy seasons in Central Africa are less a weather forecast and more a character test. In case you are looking for an ultimate birding encounter in the rainforest of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the best time for this birding adventure is aiming for the two dry seasons which typically span from December to February or June to August.
This is because the paths are dry giving easy access and more bird count showing off in the open.
Meanwhile in Uganda and Rwanda, although you are welcome for a birding safari all year round, the best time ideal for an ultimate bird watching experience is during the dry season which comes with dry trails and relatively more sightings.
This season spans from January to February and between June and August as well.
Rwenzori turaco
Things to carry during your bird Watching safari.
Binoculars
Camera
Long trousers and long-sleeved shirts
Enough drinking waters
Bird Checklist among others.
Similar activities
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Low season
Oct, Nov, Mar, Apr, may
Peak season
Jun, July, Aug, Sept, Dec
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