Birding and Wildlife Experience Combined
It is one of Uganda’s smallest national parks, with Lake Mburo, the largest of five lakes that lie within the park boundaries, and for which the park was named. Open savanna and the acacia woodlands, with some of the more common trees, cover the remainder of the park.
The park is home to several species of biodiversity, some of which are not easily seen elsewhere in the country. It is the only place in the country to maintain a population of Impala, the nice-looking antelope for which the capital city of the country, Kampala, is named, and one of the three protected national parks countrywide where Burchell’s Zebra occurs apart from Kidepo Valley National Park and the Pian Upe Game Reserve. Other animal species that are special in this park are: Bush Pigs, Hippos, Warthogs, Buffalos that are supported by the healthy lake and lush fringing vegetation, and other beautiful antelopes like Bushbuck, Common Duiker, Oribi, Defassa Waterbuck, Elands, Sitatungas, Bohor Reedbuck, and Klipspringers that are consistently observed in the rocky areas. Olive Baboons and the Vervet Monkeys are currently the only primates that occur in this particular national park, and various small predators are also present.
Activities and Experiences
Birding in Lake Mburo National Park
Lake Mburo National Park is one of the best birding destinations to see the acacia-associated bird species, among other national parks in Uganda. It is home to about 320 species of birds recorded, making it a good place to look for the likes of African-Grey Hornbill, Black-Loward Babbler, Red-Headed Weaver, Greater Blue-Eared Starling, Trilling Cisticola, Green-Wood Hoopoe, Brown-Chested Lapwing, Scaly-Throated Honeyguide, Lesser-Masked Weaver, White-Backed Vulture, Tabora Cisticola, Crested-Spurfowl, Red-Faced Barbet, Little Bee-Eater, Green-Capped Eremomera, Black-Throat Barbet, Black-Collard Barbet, Southern Ground Hornbill, Rufous-Bellied Night Heron. Of special interest to birders are the swamps, in which six papyrus endemics are resident, including Papyrus Gonolek, Blue-Headed Coucal, and the highly localized White-Winged and Papyrus Yellow Warblers, the last record nowhere else in Uganda!
However, from Zebras to buffalo, from Barbets to warblers, Lake Mburo National Park is blessed with more than its fair share of impressive wild beasties. But its outside surroundings are also a major stronghold for what is unquestionably the most imposing of Africa’s domestic creatures; the remarkable long-horned cattle associated with the pastoralist people locally known as Bahima of Ankole, who’re traditionally bound up with its almost mystical relationship to cattle as the lifestyle of the Maasai today. Ankole cattle come in several colors, ranging from uniform rusty-yellow to blotched black and white, but always have a long head, short neck, deep dewlap, and narrow chest. Therefore, this makes a bonus to you, our client, as you visit us for culture and wildlife at large!
