A Guide to Birding in Murchison Falls NP – Uganda Birding Hotspots

Murchison Falls National Park is Uganda’s most rewarding birding hotspot covering an area of 3840km² with a wide range of bird-rich habitats where an impressive checklist of 460 bird species occur. This Uganda’s largest national park derives its name from the magnificent Murchison Falls formed along the Victoria Nile which splits the reserve into the northern banks and southern banks areas.

Birding tours to Murchison Falls National Park are spiced up with exceptional wildlife viewing expereince while on game drives and boat cruises where you come up-close to a variety of Africa Big 5-listers.

In this guide we explore the park’s unique key birding spots, local bird species to encounter, average tour duration, and why you need to tailor Murchison Falls NP into your next Untamed Uganda Birding Safari.

Murchison Falls NP’s Key Birding Habitats and Species Diversity Overview

Murchison Falls NP is a protected Important Bird Area (IBA) due to a collection of Africa’s bird-rich biomes that converge with over 460 species. These key birding habitats include; the Sudan-Guinea grasslands, dry-scrub and wooded grasslands, Guinea-Congo Forests characters in Budongo Forest and Lake Victoria biome covering the wetlands along the Delta and River Nile.

These continental biomes/habitats are characterized by Borassus palm dotted savanna plains and wooded grasslands, papyrus wetlands and marshes, to woodlands, acacia dominated gullies to dense lowland forests.

Key Birding Hotspots in Murchison Falls National Park

A tailored birding tour to Murchison Falls NP is a multi-day trip offering an ample time to explore and exhaust the park’s diverse birding hotspots for local habitat-restricted species unique to these ecosystems.

Below is a detailed brief of what to expect in each bird-hotspot.

*Shoebill at the Delta Murchison Falls NP*

The Nile Delta and Lake Albert in Murchison Falls NP

The Nile Delta in Murchison Falls NP is formed where Victoria Nile spreads wide to gently pour its effluent into Lake Albert before turning northwards towards Southern Sudan as White Nile. The Delta spreads over a 30km² area and comprises shallow marshes dominated by papyrus and reeds. This unique ecosystem is protected as a Ramsar Site and an Important Bird Area (IBA) due to its importance to birdlife.

Birding on a boat cruise to the delta explores a maze of papyrus and reed-edged water channels, wooded river edges for a diverse checklist of specialists.

Key bird highlights when birding the Delta include; the Shoebill where pairs are known to breed and often encountered hunting the shallow marshes. Lake Victoria Biome species-list include Papyrus Gonolek, Carruthers’s Cisticola, Golden-backed Weaver, Blue-headed Coucal and White-winged Swamp Warbler. African Marsh Harrier and African fish Eagle patrol the skies over the marshes.

The delta boat cruise birding experience extends on to the mouth (estuary) of Lake Albert, where congregations of African Skimmer, Grey-headed Gull White-winged black Tern, Black Heron and other waders occur. The marsh edges host, Yellow-billed Ducks, White-faced and Fulvous Whistling Ducks, Goliath Heron and more.

Tour duration on a boat cruise birding experience to the Nile delta in Murchison Falls NP often lasts up to 6-hours.

Birding Safaris in Uganda — *Northern Brown-throated Weaver*

Birding Upstream the Victoria Nile Banks towards the bottom of Murchison Falls NP

A birding boat cruise expereince upstream the Victoria Nile is an excellent bird hotspot to explore a secluded riverine stretch lined by woodlands and whose banks are patrolled by thousands of waders, ruled by oversized Nile crocodiles and hippo parties. Bird highlights include; Palm-nut Vulture, African Harrier-hawk, Great and Little Sparrowhawk, Blue-breasted and Giant Kingfisher, African Darter, Slender-billed and Red-headed Weaver occur. The large acacias host Verreaux’s Eagle and Spotted Eagle Owls.

The birding cruise pass close to the hanging sand cliffs near the base of Murchison Falls, poked by breeding colonies of the dazzling Red-throated Bee-eaters. The Nile river edges are hunted by Goliath and Grey Herons, Yellow-billed and Saddle-billed Storks Open-billed Storks and a variety of small waders are abundant. The rocks close to the bottom of the falls are frequented by Rock Pratincole.

All Uganda’s records of Pel’s Fishing Owl are known from this stretch of the Nile while African Finfoot is hard luck.

Average duration of a boat cruise birding to the Nile river Delta in Murchison Falls NP is between 5-6hrs.

Birding the Northern Nile banks in Murchison Falls NP

The northern banks of Murchison Falls National Park include all areas north of Victoria Nile where landscapes are characterized by Borassus palm-dotted savanna plains, open bush and woodlands.

Key bird highlights include; Palm Swift, Silverbird, Black-billed Barbet, Yellow-bellied Eramomera, Abyssinian and Purple Roller, Piapiac, Red-pate, Croaking, Foxy and Rattling Cisticolas, Black-billed Wood Dove, Swallow-tailed and the seasonal Northern Carmine Bee-eaters.

The acacia woodlands host; Heuglin’s Masked, Vitelline Masked and Speckle-fronted Weavers, Lesser Blue Eared Starling, White-headed Barbet, White-headed Turaco, Pygmy Sunbird, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, Beautiful Sunbird, Brown Babbler, White-crested Helmet-shrike, White-browed Sparrow Weaver, Yellow-billed Shrike, Black-breasted Barbet, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Black Scimitar bill, Rufous-crowned Roller etc.

The grasslands host; Red-capped Lark, Northern Red Bishop, Black-headed Lapwing, African Hoopoe, Heuglin’s Spurfowl, African Wattled Lapwing, Spotted Dikkop is regular as Black-bellied and Denham’s Bustard, Abyssinian Ground-Hornbills pairs roam the grasslands.

Raptors are well represented in; Martial Eagle, Bateleur, Grey Kestrel, Beaudouin’s and Black-chested Snake-Eagle, Dark-Chanting Goshawk, Tawny and Walberg’s Eagles, and other passage visitors. White-headed, White-backed and Lappet-faced Vultures while Verreaux’s Eagle Owl and Greyish Eagle Owl are occasionally seen in the Acacia woodland.

A night birding experience offers chances to encounter the near/nocturnal residents including; Bronze-winged Courser, Long-tailed Nightjar, Pennant-winged Nightjar and Standard-winged Nightjar whose impressive wing projections in Sept-April are on full display during this breeding season.

Birding Bugungu Wildlife reserve and Butiaba escarpment

A birding tour to Murchison Falls NP often include a full-day outing to explore Bugungu Wildlife Reserve set along the floor of rift valley on the edges of Lake Albert. The reserve which extends onto the rift valley escarpment edges protect a range of habitats characterized by open bush, dry-scrub, savanna woodland, acacia wooded riverine, and grassland communities of vegetation.

Key bird highlights include; Black-billed and Spot-flanked Barbet, African Grey Hornbill, Woodland Kingfisher, Long-crested Eagle, Lesser-blue Eared Starling, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow Weaver, Namaqua Dove, Cut-throat Finch, Foxy Cisticola among others. The powerlines are frequented by Dark Chanting-goshawk, Brown and Black-chested Snake eagles.

The dry-bush on the escarpment is a reliable place to look out for Cinnamon-breasted Bunting, Cabani’s Bunting, Qualifinch, Bar-breasted Fire, Brown Twinspot, Red-winged and Green-winged Pytilia.

Birding the Southern Banks onto Kaniyo Pabidi Sector of Budongo Forest

The southern banks in Murchison Falls NP include all the areas south of the Victoria Nile which are characterized by wooded grasslands and dense woodlands that blends into the vast Budongo Forest. Highlights here include typical woodland specialists and forest edge specialists.

A birding trip to Murchison falls NP is not complete without a day birding at Kaniyo Pabidi sector of Budongo Forest located close to the park’s main entrance gate. Here birding highlights include Puvell’s Illadopsis, a forest floor specialist only known from this sector.

Read more in our detailed birding guide to Budongo Forest here.