Birding In Kidepo Valley National Park
Are you interested in birding Kidepo Valley National Park? There are very rare and unique birds in Kidepo Valley National Park that anybody on a birding safari to Uganda will have keen interest in viewing them as the park has long checklist in comparison to the size of the park of which 100 of the birds listed are either dry-country species are practically confined to Kidepo National Park in Uganda, or else northern or eastern species which have been sighted only in the north of Murchison falls National Park or in the mount Elgon environs. There is a good representation of Raptors numbering to 56 species in total, of which the most commonly observed, are the massive black Verreaux’s Eagle, Eastern and Dark Chanting-goshawk, Pygmy Falcon, Tawny Eagle, Bataleur, Secretary Bird, a number of Kestrels, Falcons and numerous numbers of vulture alongside common and some migratory bird species. The abundance and wide array of habitats in the park contribute to the diversity of bird species, from the grassland, the montane vegetation the vast savannah, seasonal rivers, temporary wetland vegetation all harbor different bird species.
There are at least 470 bird species that have been spotted in Kidepo. It is a pity, most habitats of these birds are temporary mostly due to the kind of climate experienced by the region in which the park is situated. There are no large permanent water bodies in Karamoja, neither does it have massive rain forests. Kidepo therefore has the highest population density of birds than the habitats closer to it.
The flat plains and short vegetation give bird watchers an opportunity to spot a variety of birds from a distanced and at various angles. The scattered trees can be seen with rare birds roosting. Kidepo Valley National Park is more of a catchment area for the Somali, Ethiopia and North Western Kenya bird species that make the park a paradise of birding with rare birding species not found in other birding havens of Western and South Western Uganda, making it a great spice for any birding trip to Uganda.
While birding Kidepo, look out for species like the robust Red-fronted, spectacular and massive Black-breasted Barbets, and other unique Barbets including the d’Arnaud’s, Red-and-yellow and at times the out of range Black-throated Barbet. Other special species include the White-bellied Tit, Vinaceous Dove, Brown-backed Woodpecker, the seasonal Little Green Bee-eater, in the late evenings we have chances of the White-faced Scoops Owl, Greyish Eagle-Owl, Pennant-winged, Long-tailed & Standard-winged Nightjars, Pygmy Falcon, flashes of Black-faced, the stout Lichtenstein’s and the extensively barred Four-banded Sand Grouse, flocks of Bruce’s Green Pigeon, the emerald green Rose-ringed Parakeet, Shelley’s Rufous, Chestnut Sparrow and the largest of all Parrot-billed Sparrow, Black-headed Plover, Kori, White-bellied and the crispy marked Hartlaub’s Bustard, the Warbler like Eastern Violet-backed, Pygmy & Beautiful Sunbird, Yellow-breasted and Karamoja Apalis, Nubian Woodpecker Violet-tipped Courser, Yellow-spotted Petronia, Northern White-crowned and Yellow-billed Shrike, White-billed, White-headed, White-browed & Chestnut- crowned Sparrow Weaver, Mouse-coloured Penduline-Tit, Grey-capped Social & Speckle-fronted Weaver, Clapperton’s, Ring-necked & the rare Orange River Francolin, not leaving out the Yellow-necked Spurfowl, African Grey Flycatcher, Ruppell’s & Superb Starlings, Ethiopian Swallow, Steel-blue & Straw-tailed Whydah, the Tern like and elegant African Swallow-tailed Kite, Little Weaver, the out of range Blue-capped Cordon-bleu, Fan-tailed Raven, Abyssinian & Rufous-crowned Roller, Pied, the Palearctic Northern, Isabelline & Heuglin’s Wheatears, Black-bellied Firefinch, Black-faced Waxbill, Fox Kestrel, Foxy & Red pate Cisticola, Brown-rumped Bunting , Ostrich, Eastern Yellow & Jackson’s Hornbill, Red-winged Lark, Slate-coloured Boubou, Green-winged, Orange-winged & Red-winged Pytilia, Singing Bush lark, the bantam-like Stone Partridge, White-fronted Black-Chat, Yellow-breasted Hyliota and White-bellied Canary, Long-billed Crombec, will all be sought after among the special bird species of Kidepo Valley National Park.
The Park will indeed feed your eyes and ears with the variety of bird species, most of which will be heard singing and chirping from branch to branch, on the ground and along the streams, all best seen during drives and hiking in company of an armed ranger guide.
OTHER ACTIVITIES TO DO IN KIDEPO VALLEY NATIONAL PARK.
Kidepo is the third largest National Park in Uganda and filled with a diversity of activities. There is a lot of natural untapped potential and this park is not visited by many people and that means it’s less crowded. Here are some of the things you can do while in the park;
Guided game drives
You can do a morning, afternoon, evening and night game drive which are mostly endowed with great views of wildlife mostly in the Narus Valley. This valley is a unique spot for a lot of animals in the national park as it is the ‘oasis’ of the park mostly during the dry season. Kidepo Valley National Park is home to about 80 species of mammal 28 of which cannot be found in any other National park of Uganda, to mention some, the Bat-eared Fox Caracal, Aardwolf, Stripped Hyena, the world’s fastest animal – Cheetah, rock climbing lions and Hunting dog are among the carnivore found in the park, Kidepo Valley National Park also has a good selection of unique and rare ungulates like the Greater and Lesser Kudu, Klipspringer, Chandlers Mountain Reedbuck, the latest sighted White-eared Kob, Dikdik, Bright Gazelle, Oryx, and Roan Antelope. Other common herbivores include big herds of African Elephants, Antelope like the handsome Uganda Kob, Jackson’s Hartebeest, Bushbuck, Bohor Reedbuck, Waterbuck, Oribi, Warthogs, Birds, Zebras and Giraffes, this part of Uganda is home to the largest herds of the gregarious Cape Buffalo, to mention but these.
Nature walk/Hiking
You can have a chance to get out of the car and walk around in company of Uganda Wildlife Authority armed ranger guide. There are some small Mountains that you can actually hike here including Mt. Morungole and Mt. Lomej. On top of these mountains you will have a clear view of natural features and animals, hiking to former Idi Amin’s Lodge also gives excellent views of the dry striking and beautiful savannahs all lit by the breathe taking sunrises and sunsets.
Best time to visit and do birding in Kidepo Valley National Park
We have two dry seasons in Uganda and these are undoubtedly the best times to visit Kidepo Valley National Park given the nature of roads and game tracks. The dry seasons are June to August and December to March. The roads to the park and within the park are impassable during the rainy season and during this season most of the animals move to the higher grounds to run away from the flooding valleys which makes finding these animals a bit hard, but with a good and experienced driver with a 4X4, it is funny to visit during the rainy season as the green is lush and animal populations very healthy.
Community walks and Cultural experiences in Kidepo Valley National Park
This Park is located in the far North Eastern Karamoja area and is surrounded by the rare and minority Ik tribe that is almost close to extinction and they live up high in the mountainous ranges of Mt. Morungole Mountain who are weak and have to keep away from the untamable cattle rustling Karamoja related clans from low eastern Uganda and northern Kenya thus surving on fruit gathering and hunting.
Also visiting the neighbors whose livelihood depends on raiding nearby tribes and rustling cattle with limited hunting will offer chance to test on the lifestyle of these people, the food, dances, art and the pastoral life.
Top accommodations where to stay in Kidepo Valley National Park
This park has few accommodation places but give the true description of sleeping in the wild. Nights here undoubtable give you a complete safari experience. The accommodations in Kidepo include Budget, Midrange and Luxury including Apoka Safari Lodge (Luxury), Nga’Moru Wilderness Camp, Adere Safari Lodge (Midrange) & Apoka Rest Camp (Budget & Midrange). There are numerous mushrooming Lodges and in a few years, there will be more options compared the near passed where we had only 2 options.
Getting there
There are two options to get to Kidepo Valley National Park: By road and Air.
Travelling by road takes about 10 to 12 hours to cover a distance of about 515km from Kampala. Some people choose to break down this journey into two since the road is bumpy and makes the journey long and tiresome.
Travel by air is another option. We can book for you a flight from Entebbe or Kajjansi and land at Apoka Airstrip. This is a 45 minute’s Journey and will make your experience of this park even better depending on the kind of adventure you are looking for.