QUEEN ELIZABETH A PROTECTED BIRDING PARADISE

Queen Elizabeth National park stretches from the crater-dotted foothills of the Rwenzori range in the North, along the shores of Lake Edward to the remote Ishasha River in the South, incorporating a wide variety of habitats that range from Savanna and wetlands to gallery and lowland forest.

This remarkable diversity is reflected in its bird list of over 605 species, the largest of any protected area in Africa

The Bird species include: Shoebill, Martial Eagle, Black-rumped Buttonquail, African Skimmer, Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, Black Bee-eater, White-tailed Lark, White-winged Warbler, and Papyrus Canary.

Here birders get a decent chance of seeing males competing for female attention and while watching this rare scenario, you will simultaneously watch birds build their nests which is often done in groups.

 In the vicinity of the airstrip and the camping site along the Kazinga Channel, you will see the resident African Mourning Dove, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Swamp Flycatcher often far from water, Grey-capped Warbler, the beautiful Black-headed Gonolek, Red-chested Sunbird Slender-billed, Yellow-backed Nightjars are fairly common along the airstrip and may be flushed from their roosts under thickets.

The raptors include: The  Brown Snake Eagle, Bateleur, African Harrier-Hawk, Martial Eagle and Grey Kestel are all frequently seen. Lion day, Temminck’s Courser, Collared Pratincole and Red-capped Lark, prefer short grass towards the southern end of the airstrip, which is also a good vantage point from which to observe over flying raptors, large water birds such as pelicans, storks, and swifts and swallows.

At sunset thousands of swifts perform an acrobatic display of feeding before disappearing into the horizon a scene often captured by professional photographers on visit.

The Kazinga Channel is a natural magnet for water birds in the vicinity of Mweya and acts as a migrant trap for birds moving along the Albertine Rift.

As you start the cruise on kazinga channel, you are able to see water birds  such as: Great White and Pick-backed pelicans, Great and Long-tailed Carmorants, common Squacco Heron, African Open-billed Stork, White-faced whistling and knob-billed Ducks and  African Fish Eagle among others..

The papyrus swamps provide nesting sites for Shoebill and they may be seen soaring overhead or feeding at the edge of the marsh in the early morning or late afternoon.

  Uganda has the best kept secret in terms of its plethora of bird species with over 1,040 species on record and this ranks Uganda as one of the top global destinations for bird watchers.

Meanwhile, the Uganda Wild Life Authority (UWA) recently launched eight new birding trails in Murchison Falls National Park effectively making birding a specialized tourism product.

Uganda’s bird species count per square kilometer is the highest in Africa and it accounts for 50% of the continental total..

  Estherr