Tips For A Self Drive Birding Trip In Uganda

December 10, 2024 4x4 Uganda
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Birding

It is common practice for people to reach out to birding tour companies for birding trips in Uganda. This is usually inspired by the fear that you cannot organize anything by yourself in Africa. Though that is partly true, there is room for doing things by yourself in Uganda even if it is your first time travelling to Africa.

The beauty with self drive birding trips is the fact that your can explore everything at your own pace instead of being bothered keeping up with a group. Here are some of the fears that arise when organizing a birding trip in Uganda and how to get around them.

Lack Of Knowledge For African Birds

There is a common fear among foreigner birders that it will be hard for them to identify most of the birds since they are very foreign to African birds. The best way to go around this is hiring a personal birding tour guide. With a personal tour guide you will have the opportunity to encounter most of the birds as well as dwell in particular place for quite a long time.

The Challenge of Listers

Though this is often raised as a challenge in birding, it is rarely a challenge if you opt for a self drive trip. In this kind of trip, you have the option of choosing an ecosystem oriented birding tour guide instead of a lister. There are also tour guides that are very experienced to a level where they balance between listing and desire to simply observe a bird species as you get to know more about them.

If you are interested in a listing birding tour guide, again you should specify this before you book your self drive car rental in Uganda. The beauty with most of the tour guides is the fact that they can double as drivers. But even you prefer to simply drive yourself and simply having the tour guide as a passenger, this is also possible.

Birding tour in Uganda

Locating Birding Havens By Yourself

There is already an established partner on how to find most of the rare bird species. If you are going to do birding without a local tour guide, it will sometimes take you a little more time to crack the code on how to find these birds but if you travel with a local tour guide, it will become easier to find some of the birds. Again it is important to note that in a self drive trip you determine the course of the trip unlike the normal trips where the guide leads the way. In this case you can still have the guide tag along while still maintaining the liberty to determine the course of the trip.

Best season for Birding in Uganda

The most recommended season for birding in Uganda is June to September but this depends on the type of birds you wish to see. There are birds that are more prevalent during the dry season while others are more prevalent during the dry season. By understanding this, you will save your time looking for a particular bird species in the wrong season. Though birds can be found through out the year, the season determines the ease with which the birds are found.

Most recommended Birding Destinations in Uganda

  • Bwindi impenetrable National Park
  • Semuliki National Park
  • Mabira Forest
  • Mabamba swamp
  • Mgahinga gorilla national park
  • Kibale forest national park
  • Budongo forest
  • Rwenzori mountains national park

In conclusion, for the best of a self drive birding trip in Uganda, consider getting a personal birding tour guide with experience in both eco-tourism and bird listing; hire a car for self drive and consider travelling in the months with weather patterns that support your the movement of the birds you are most interested in.