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Birding in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
Birding in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located on the edge of the Rift Valley in the southwestern part of Uganda. It is referred to as the true African jungle because of its thick impenetrable vegetation covers, in which the highest number of the endangered mountain gorillas live; they attract tourists from all over the world to encounter them. Bwindi’s hills, covered in mist, are covered with one of Uganda’s most biologically diverse and oldest rainforests.
Bwindi National Park is not only known for hosting 50% (over 459 mountain gorilla individuals) of the remaining mountain gorillas in the world and being the best place for gorilla trekking in the world but also one of the best birding destinations in Africa with a multitude of stunning different bird species. it boasts being home to 25 restricted range bird species and 10 of the 26 globally threatened bird species in Uganda, of which 5 are in danger . Bwindi Impenetrable National Park nests over 350 bird species with 23 Albertine Rift endemic species (short warbler and blue-headed sunbird were added to the 7 IUCC red data bird list), the forest is home to 76 out of 144 Guinea-Congo Biome bird species, 4 out of 12 Lake Victoria biome species. the forest qualifies for Afro-tropical highland biome bird species because it’s home to 68 out of 86 of them.
The park is also gifted with over 400 species of plants, 200 butterfly species inclusive of Albertine rift valley endemics with 3 species that only occur in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Cream banded swallowtail, Graphium gudenusi, and Charaxes) , 120 mammal species with very many reptiles, Elephants, primates like baboons, chimpanzees, Antelopes.
Birding in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable has 4 sectors, and all of them are good birding destinations, though the Buhoma sector is the best of them all at the Buhoma waterfall trail and bamboo zone, not forgetting that the Ruhija sector is where the bird species are sighted with ease at the Mubwindi Swamp Trail. Experienced bird watchers can sight over 100 bird species per day during a favorable birding season. The easiest bird species to spot include African blue, African Emerald Cuckoo, Common Bulbul, Red-headed Bluebill and White-tailed blue Fly Catchers.
Some of the bird species to spot while bird watching in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Birding in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, African Citril, Jameson’s Antpecker, Doherty’s Bush-shrike, Pink-footed Puff back, African Hill-babbler, Waller’s Starling, White-eyed Slaty-flycatcher, Crested Guinea fowl, African Broadbill, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, Angolan Swallow, Grey Crowned Crane, White-headed Saw-wing, Black Bee-eater, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Ross’s Turaco, African Olive-pigeon, African Dusky Flycatcher, Buff-spotted Woodpecker, African Flycatcher-chat, Petit’s Cuckoo-shrike, Yellow-whiskered, Cassin’s Flycatcher, Elliot’s Woodpecker, Ruwenzori Batis, Double-toothed Barbet, Ansorge’s Greenbul, African Pygmy-kingfisher, Snowy-crowned Robin-chat, African Wood Owl, African Paradise flycatcher, Great Blue Turaco, Cape Wagtail, Sooty Falcon, Mountain Wagtail, African Goshawk, Yellow-fronted Canary, Helmeted guinea fowl, Yellow-fronted Canary, Handsome Francolin, Archer’s Robin-chat, Tambourine dove, Dusky Twin spot, Blue Spotted wood dove, Brown-capped Weaver, Mackinnon’s Shrike, Vieillot’s Black Weaver, Lühder’s Bush-shrike, Regal sunbird, Shelley’s Crimsonwing, Red-faced woodland warbler, Grauer’s broadbill, Kivu ground thrush, Black-billed turaco, Mountain Masked apalis, Handsome spurfowl, Mountain oriole, Strange weaver, Brown-capped weaver, Yellow-eyed black flycatcher, Bar-tailed trogon, Ruwenzori night jar, African emerald cuckoo, Purple-breasted sunbird, red-headed bluebill, white-tailed blue flycatcher, blue-headed sunbird, Western green Tinker bird, Dwarf Honeyguide, Fine-banded woodpecker, Grey Cuckoo shrikes, Shelly’s Greenbul, Yellow-streaked Greenbul, Red-throated Alethe, White-bellied Robin-Chat, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Grauer’s Rush Warbler, Short-tailed Warbler, Black-faced Rufous Warbler, Grauer’s Warbler, Chestnut-throated Apalis, Collared Apalis, Chapin’s Flycatcher, Strip-breasted Tit, Tit Hylia, Blue-headed Sunbird, Lagden’s Bush Shrike, Doherty’s Bush Shrike, Montane Oriole Red-fronted Antpecker, Dusky Twinspot, Dusky Crimsonwing.