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Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda's most
popular game reserve and certainly one most
scenic. It stretches from the crater-dotted
foothills of the Rwenzori range in the north,
along the shores of Lake Edward to the remote
Ishasha River in the south, incorporating a wide
variety of habitats that range from savanna and
wetlands to gallery
and lowland forest. This remarkable diversity is
reflected in its bird list of over 550 species,
the largest of any protected area in Africa.
ABOUT THE PARK
Districts: Rukungiri, Bushenyi and Kasese.
Altitude Range: 900 metres on Lake Edward to
1845 metres above sea level. at the top of
Escarpment of the Western Rift.
Size: 1978 km sq.
Status: National Park
Habitat: Medium altitude moist semi-deciduous
forest, moist thicket, riparian forest,
Riverine bush land, open woodland, open
grassland, seasonal and permanent swamps,
lakes and rivers.
Timing: December - February.
Time required: 2-3 days.
Birds Recorded: 606 species.
KEY SPECIES
African Mourning Dove, Grey-headed Kingfisher,
Swamp Fly-catcher, Grey-capped Warbler, The
beautiful Black-headed Gonolek, Collard
Pranticles, Pin-tailed Whyda Martial Eagle,
Gabon and Slender-tailed Nightjars, Great and
Long-tailed Cormorants, Black-rumped
Buttonquail, Common Squaco Heron, Shoebill
Stork, African Open-billed Stork, African Fish
Eagle, African Jacana, Malachite and Pied
Kingfishers, African Skimmer, Verreaux's
Eagle-Owl, Black Bee-eater, White-tailed Lark,
White-winged Warbler, Papyrus Gonolek, Papyrus
Canary, Great white and Pink-backed Pelicans,
White-winged Terns.
BIRD WATCHING
The main camp at Mweya is attractively
positioned with fine views of the Rwenzori
Mountains aumber of widespread bush species may
be seen in the vicinity of the airstrip watch
for African Mourning Dove, Grey-headed
Kingfisher, Swamp Fly-catcher, Grey-capped
Warbler, The Beautiful Black-headed Gonolek,
Red-chested sunbird, Slender-billed,
Yellow-backed and Lesser Masked Weavers,
Pin-tailed Whydah, and brimstone Canary, Gabon
and Slender-tailed Nightjars, are fairly common
along the airstrip.
The Kazinga channel is a magnet for water birds
a launch cruise reveals species such as;
Great-white and Pink-backed Pelicans, Great and
Long-tailed Cormorants, Common Squaco Heron,
African open-billed Strok, White-faced Whistling
and Knob-billed Ducks, African Fish Eagle, Black
Crake, African Jacana, Water Thick-knee,
Spur-winged and African Wattled Plovers,
Malachite and Pied kingfishers, Swamp
flycatchers and Yellow backed Weavers are all
common and conspicuous. Numbers of migrants peak
in February and March and are nothing short of
spectacular with hundreds of thousands of
White-winged Terns hovering over the water,
millions of common sand Martins and Yellow
-wagtails roosting in reed-beds and lesser
numbers of palaeartic waders such as the Ringed
Plover, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpipers, Common
Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Marsh, common and
Wood sandpipers, Spotted Redshank and common
Greenshank feeding along the marshy fringes. A
number of national rarities have been recorded
from the hippo wallows along the channel
including Eurasian Pigeon, Common Teal, Northern
Pochard, Mongolian Plover and Jack Snipe.
Hundreds of African Skimmers may be seen
roosting on sandbars near the entrance to Lake
Edward but are migrants from southern tropics
and usually present only from December to May.
The Kazinga channel may also be viewed from the
Katunguru Bridge on the main Mbarara-Kasese road
where Pelicans, Terns, Greater Swamp and winged
Warblers, Winding and Caruthers’s Cisticolas and
Papyrus Gonolek may be seen.
ACCESS
The Main Camp and Park HQ at Mweya is a
convenient base for exploring the sites in the
northern part of the park, whilst the road
network running from Ishasha Camp and Ranger
Post, 80 km to the south, provides access to the
Ishasha area.
ACCOMMODATION
Mweya Safari Lodge - luxury accommodation is an
ideal place for relaxation a 5 star lodge with
swimming facilities a variety of bird species
can be seen in this area.
Jacana Safari Lodge -
luxury accommodation is an ideal place for
relaxation and refreshment built over the banks
of a crater lake you will loose all your
worries.
The Institute of Ecology -
budget, basic hostel style accommodation.
Camping - can be done at Mweya, Maramagambo
Forest and Ishasha sector of the park come with
camping facilities or can be provided by the
company. |
