Birding in Murchison Falls National Park:

A variety of unique habitats and lots of superb bird make a visit to Murchison Fall Park a must for every birder. The birding here is greatly enhanced by the abundant wildlife and scenic landscape, not least the spectacular falls for which the park is named.

Habitat:

Ironwood forest, riverine forest, dry and moist woodlands with grassy under storey, Borassus palm savanna with termitaria, papyrus swamps, lakes and rivers.
Status: National Park since 1952.

Key Species:

Shoebill, Secretary birds, Bat Hawk, Red-necked Falcon, Senegal Thick-knee, Egyptian-plover, Rock Pratincole, Black-headed plover African Skimmers, Four –banded Sandgrouse, Bruce’s Green pigeon, Vinaceous Dove, White-crested Turaco, Pel’s fishing Owl, Long tailes,pennant-winged and Carmine Bee-eaters, Abyssinian Roller, BlackScimitarbill, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Black-billed Barbet, Red-winged pytilia, Brown Twinspot, Bar-breasted and Black- bellied Firefinches, Black-rumped Waxbill, paradise Whydah, White-fronted Cisticolas, Red-winged Grey Warbler White-rumped seedeater and Brown-rumped and Cabanis’s Bunting.
A stroll through the dry scrub between the Red Chilli Rest Camp and ferry crossing should produce Blue-naped Mousebird, Spotted Morning Thrush, Silverbird, Buff-bellied Warbler, Black-headed Batis, Black-headed Gonolek, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-bellied Warbler and Green-winged pytilia. This is probably the most reliable site in Uganda for the localized White-rumped seedeater.
Nile Safari Camp offers excellent birding in a truly idyllic setting. The lodge commands magnificent views over the Victoria Nile and is one of the very few places where a Shoebill may be seen from a swimming pool. The shoebills share the island with Goliath Heron, Saddle-billed stork, Grey crowned crane and Long-toed Plover wilt African Fish Eagle and African Skimmer patrol adjacent stretches of the river.
The huge fig tree that shades the bar attracts White-crested Turaco, Eastern Grey plantain-eater and Double-toothed Barbetin the fruiting season, whilst Silverbird and the localized White-rumped Seedeater frequent the thorn scrub around the parking area.
A pleasant loop trail winds back from the lodge through a highly productive mosaic of thorn savanna and overgrown cultivation that supports Grey kestrel, Crested and Heuglin’s Francolins, Black- lored Babbler, Whistling and Trilling Cisticolas, Black-headed Gonolek and Black-faced Waxbills and brown Twinspot. Spotted Thick-knee and long- tailed Nightjar may be seen along the entrance road in the evenings.
If you have portable spotlight, you may be able to organize a nocturnal boat trip on the Nile in search of White-backed Night Heron and Pel’s Fishing Owl. Although they roost in dense waterside vegetation and are seen during the day, these elusive birds are probably reasonable reasonably common in the ample habitat upstream of paraa, In particular, check exposed branches overhanging calm backwaters.

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