Rwanda Birding Safaris
Birding safaris in Rwanda offer a great kind of experience for birders to spot the common and endemic species within the boundaries of the country and migrant species.
Bird watching is mostly done within the national parks with the top spots being Nyungwe National Park, Volcanoes National Park and Akagera National Park.
The wetlands, lakes, forests and savannah habitats are host to several bird species. Here are the different bird species within the top bird watching destinations in Rwanda.
Birding in Nyungwe National Park
Birding in Nyungwe National Park
With 322 bird species including the Albertine Rift Endemics, bird watching in Nyungwe should be top of the list for anyone planning to go birding in Rwanda.
Nyungwe National Park is also one of the seven important birding areas in Rwanda known as an Important Bird Area by Bird Life International. Some of the bird species include the Red-collared Babbler, Red-collared mountain warbler, Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, Kivu ground Thrush, short-tailed Warbler, Mountain Masked Apalis, Regal Sunbird, Grauer’s swamp warbler, short-tailed warbler, Grey-crested kakamega and much more.
Birding trails in the park include the Bigugu trail, Karamba trail, Kamiranzovu trail and Gisakura trail. Be sure to see some lifers during a bird watching trip in the park especially the Albertine Rift Endemics. To have a bird watching trip in Nyungwe a person is required to have purchased a birding permit prior the trip.
Birding in Volcanoes National Park
Birding in Volcanoes National Park
Volcanoes National Park has about 180 recorded bird species that offer good birding. There are also the park’s special birds that can be spotted including the 16 Albertine Rift endemics which include the handsome francolin, Ruwenzori turaco, Ruwenzori batis, Ruwenzori double-collared sunbird and Archer’s robin-chat. Other bird species in the park include the Baglafecht weaver, Bateleur, Blue-spotted wood dove, Cinnamon-chested bee-eater, Red-backed shrike, and many more. Birders can take advantage of the best time to visit the park to combine gorilla trekking and bird watching.
The park is a birders delight as it offers an exceptional birding experience with more than 482 bird species recorded within its boundaries. One of the unique bird species in the park is the prehistoric shoebill stork. Diversity in bird species within the park range from water birds, savannah birds as well as forest birds which makes it a great spot.
Some of the bird species in the park include the papyrus gonolek, red-faced barbet, swamp flycatcher, fish eagles, grey-backed fiscals, hamerkop, cattle egret, weavers, pied crow, sacred ibis, Hadada ibis, Augur Buzzard, Long-crested eagle and many more.
Different kinds of itineraries can be tailored for birding trips in the country. These can be combined alongside other Rwanda tour activities like gorilla trekking, chimpanzee tracking or canopy walk.