There are multiple enriching birding sites near Kampala City that are worth exploring on your Uganda safari. Several of the birding sites are available within easy reach of Kampala city and offer amazing bird sightings. The checklist of birding sites near Kampala includes Mabamba Wetland, Lutembe Bay Wetland, Lake Victoria, Entebbe Peninsula, Botanical Gardens, and Entebbe Zoo. Check for the popular  birding sites  near Kampala city with Maranatha Tours and Travel

Different Birding Sites near Kampala

Mabamba Wetland/Swamp

Mabamba Wetland is a recognized Ramsar site and is most popular for elusive shoebill stork sightings plus several wetland species of birds. Mabamba is a short drive from the heart of Kampala which makes it the most accessible for all birders on Uganda birding trips.

Mabamba is 165 sq. km and protects a total of about 300 species of birds. While in the Mabamba wetland, expect to find a variety of birds including the saddle-billed storks, papyrus yellow warblers, elusive shoebill stork, long-toed lapwing, speckled mouse bird, yellow-backed weavers, purple heron, yellow-throated greenbul, stripped kingfishers, black-crowned waxbill, grassland pipit, blue-headed coucal, double-toothed barbet, red-shouldered cuckoo shrike, African fish eagle, great cormorant, levaillant’s cuckoos, common stonechat, and pygmy geese.

Additional birds to find in Mabamba include lesser jacanas, tawny eagles, pink-backed pelicans, white-faced whistling ducks, cattle egrets, malachite kingfishers, slender-billed gull, marsh harrier, and more.

Lutembe Bay (Ramsar Site)

Lutembe Bay Wetland is a Ramsar site and also an Important Bird Area lying along Lake Victoria. Lutembe alone holds up to 200 species of birds which reside in its varying habitats including open water and papyrus swamps. A wide array of birds await you to spot on a birding tour in Lutembe Bay including the white-winged terns, African skimmers, orange weavers, blue-breasted bee-eaters, red-chested bee-eaters, African wattled lapwings, tawny-flanked prinia, brown-crowned tchagra, wood sandpipers, lesser jacanas, lesser moorhen, and others.

The Botanical Gardens (Entebbe)

Entebbe Botanical Gardens should be a must-visit for bird-watching in Uganda. The botanical gardens are among the birding sites near Kampala. They hold about 250n species of birds which include resident and migratory species of birds.

Among the numerous birds to find at the Entebbe Botanical Gardens include the crowned hornbills, yellow-billed ducks, Woodland kingfishers, African jacanas, Bat hawks, black-headed gonoleks, African fish eagle, eastern grey plantain-eaters, vieillot’s black weavers, gull-billed tern, long-tailed cormorants, purple-headed sunbirds, Madagascar bee-eaters, Egyptian goose, spur-winged lapwing, yellow-white eye, and more.

Beyond birds, the Entebbe Botanical Gardens also shelters a range of wildlife, especially primates including the red-tailed monkeys, vervet monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys.

Entebbe Zoo (Uganda Wildlife Education Conservation Centre)

Entebbe Zoo is within easy reach of the vibrant Kampala city. If you are an enthusiastic birder, the Uganda Wildlife Education Conservation Centre is one spot to consider for bird-watching. Among the iconic species of birds to sight here include the colorful peacock, African grey parrots, shoebill storks, grey-crowned cranes, ostriches, little egrets, African fish eagles, pink-backed pelicans, cattle egrets, to mention but a few.

Entebbe Peninsula

At the Entebbe peninsula, expect to find a range of bird species including elusive shoebill storks, purple-banded sunbird, marabou storks, saddle-billed storks, open-billed storks, Egyptian goose, yellow-billed kite, black-headed weaver birds, slender-billed weaver, Great blue turacos, and more. Entebbe Peninsula is found along the Eastern part of Entebbe City and is also known for its beautiful sandy beaches.

Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria is an ideal birding site near Kampala. It holds a range of birds worth spotting on a bird-watching tour. The diverse birds to find during the birding tour in Lake Victoria include white-faced whistling ducks, white-backed ducks, fulvous whistling ducks, southern pochard, Northern shovelers, spur-winged goose, Knob-billed ducks, Namaqua dove, ring-necked dove, mourning collared-dove, speckled pigeon, African green-pigeon, tambourine dove, African cuckoos, and white-crested turacos.

Additional species of birds of interest around Lake Victoria include Ross’s turacos, dideric cuckoos, Klaas’s cuckoos, lesser moorhen, black crake, rock pratincole, sanderling, wood sandpiper, common snipe, red-knobbed coot, black-crowned night heron, squacco heron, and double-toothed barbet. Other birds include Nubian woodpeckers, cardinal woodpeckers, Cassin’s honey bird, African gray woodpeckers, gray kestrels, red-headed love bird, gray parrot, white-winged black-tit, white-shouldered black-tit, yellow-bellied hyliota, buff-throated apalis, red-faced cisticola, and olive-green camaroptera.

Best time to go for a birding tour

Bird-watching in Kampala can be done at any time of the year. But most birding sites are best visited during March, April, May, October, and November. These are the months of the year when a huge concentration of migratory birds confine in most of the birding sites near Kampala. The dry months are also perfect for birding tours because you can easily access the sites. The dry months run from June to September while the other phase begins from December to February.

What to pack for birding in Kampala

The key items to consider packing for a birding tour in the sites near Kampala include a camera, first aid kit, insect repellents, comfortable clothes, a sweater, a rain jacket, a safari hat, a pair of binoculars, etc.