Semliki National Park Birding
The remote and beautiful Semliki Wild life reserve lies on the southern shores of Lake Albert and offers a mosaic of different habitats with some excellent birding opportunities.
Whereas much of the habitat in Lake Mburo NP is similar to the extensive Acacia Savanna of Eastern and southern Africa and is sometimes considered an extension of the Serengeti system, The savanna at Semlik WR is subtly different and shows affinities with the Northern Savanna woodland here include Red- necked Falcon, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Black billed Barbet and the diminutive Black-chinned Quail-finch whilst gallery forest is home to the noisy leaf love. No visitor to the reserve should miss a boat trip on Lake Albert for no where else in Uganda do you stand a better chance of seeing the mighty shoebill.
Districts: Bundibugyo and Kabarole
Size : 568km2
Elevation: 620-750m
Habitat : Tall-grass woodland, Acacia savanna, grassland with extensive patches of Borassus palms, gallery forest, swamps and wet-lands adjacent to Lake Albert and its tributaries.
Status : Wildlife Reserve
Birds Recorded: ca.350 species
Timing: good birding all year round
Time Required: 2-3 days
Key species :Shoebill , African Pygmy goose ,red –necked falcon , Abyssinian Ground Horn bill ,Blue-breasted , Bee-eater, Black-billed barbet , Piapiac , Leaf love , Black-chinned quail- Finch .
Please note that on your birding trip, you may need birding binoculars, an othinology book for better indentification of Uganda birds. We also encourage you to participate in efforts that encourage avian conservation of Uganda tourism.
