Bird Watching in Mgahinga National Park

Mgahinga National Park is Cornerstone Park when it comes to Uganda tourism industry. Mgahinga Gorilla Park is part and partial of the Virunga conservation areas where other 3 gorilla parks are found. In order to protect the endangered mountain gorillas living in the forests of the Mgahinga, the government of Uganda declared Mgahinga the National Park in 1991.

Birding watching is an important activity where guests come and in addition to gorilla trekking in Mgahinga, they go ahead and watch the various bird species that are found within the jungle. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is gifted with various species of birds and over 100 species of birds are recorded in Mgahinga forest.  This implies that you can spend the whole day solely birding in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Some of the bird species found in the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park are endemic to the Congo origin which gives visitors good information and identification of these wonderful bird species. Bird watching is done under the instruction of the park management and you will need to have a good guide usually the Uganda wildlife ranger who will take you to the jungle and helps you to identify some of the bird species.

 Mgahinga National Park has got strong and well-experienced guides who will help you identify the birds’ species even by sound therefore, while on a walk identifying birds with the guide, you need to make sure that you ask anything that you don’t understand. The guide knows better, where the trails that are important for bird watching are and what you need to have is the birding guiding book to help you identify some of the birding species.

What are the bird species of Mgahinga for bird watching?

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park has got several wildlife species of which some of the bird species available are endemic to the East Africa rift valley origin. Some of the birds are permanent residents while others are just migratory birds.

Some of the bird species that you will be able to see while on bird watching safari in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park include;

The Rwenzori Turaco, Olive pigeon, Blue-Headed Coucal, Dusky Crimson wing, Rwenzori Batis, Kivu ground-Thrush, Ruwenzori Night jar, Olive Woodpecker, there are several Alpines, Waxbills, Grey-capped Warbler, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Alpine chat, Archers robin-chat, Speckled Mouse bird, Whydah, Fire Finch Stonechat, Grey Capped Warbler, Ibis, Paradise flycatcher, White-necked raven, pin-tailed whydah, Black Kite, Double-collared sunbird among other several species of birds that you will find when doing bird watching in Mgahinga National Park

When is the best time for bird-watching safaris in Mgahinga?

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park like any other destination in Uganda is open throughout the whole year to allow visitors for bird watching in and out. This means that you are welcome at any time you feel like you can come for the bird watching safari in this stunning park. However, the majority of the birders have got excellent birding experience in Mgahinga Gorillas National Park majorly during the wet season.

 The wet season is nice for birding in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park because this is the time when the breeding season for birds starts and some of the migratory birds can also be spotted during the wet season. This season falls in April to May and then in November. The migratory birds can be seen from November to April and this is so wonderful for bird watching and the people interested in this wonderful activity.

What else can I do in Mgahinga other than bird watching?

There are several other activities that you can do in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park other than bird watching and these include

Gorilla trekking: This is the most popular activity done in the park with the park having one fully habituated gorilla family called the Nyakagezi family that is open to visitors to see for only 1hour.

Golden monkey trekking; It is the only this park in Uganda where golden monkeys are found and visitors will get a chance to see gorillas and golden safaris in the same park

Batwa cultural experience; the park is bounded by the Batwa community and visitors can easily go and visit the community people and learn about the traditional lifestyles of these people.

Volcano hiking; Mgahinga Gorilla National Park features 3 volcanoes that are part of the Virunga volcanoes.  You can hike one of the volcanoes either Virunga, Muhavura or Sabinyo which is so interesting. The park is occupied by the baboon forest and the tropical rainforests. Therefore, you can visit the park for bird watching which gives you a rewarding experience which is so interesting with Vibrant Holiday Safaris