Turaco Trails : Birding in Kibale Uganda
Turaco Trails is a nature trail located in Bigodi, Kamwenge district in western Uganda. Turaco Trails is situated near Kibale National Park and is a community run nature trail that offers opportunity for nature lovers and birding enthusiasts to visit and spend time in the outdoors.
Turaco Trails is usually another site that one can visit while birding in Kibale. It’s a less known trail but offers incredible birding opportunities with opportunity to look out for primate species like the Red-tailed monkeys and Olive baboons.
Birding Turaco Trails
Birding is one of the activities that one can do as Turaco Trails is one of the Kibale birding trails. The best birding trail at Turaco Trails is the one that begins near Rwengobe trading centre as it offers opportunity to see more birds compared to the lower trail. Turaco Trails is made up of forest trails with trees, plants, some swampy areas and lower canopy. This vegetation acts as a great habitat for birds, the trail also borders locals’s gardens so offers opportunity to look out for birds that like to forage in cultivation areas.
At Turaco Trails
Birds to look out for while birding Turaco Trails include;
Double-toothed Barbet
Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird
Eastern Yellow-billed Barbet
Angola Swallow
Black-and-white Casqued Hornbill
Meyer’s Parrot
White-spotted Flufftail
Yellow-throated Tinkerbird
Crowned Hornbill
Hadada Ibis
Black Kite
Ross’s Turaco
Great Blue Turaco
Speckled Mouse bird
Black-headed Paradise-Flycatcher
Western Nicator
Tawny-flanked Prinia
White-chinned Prinia
Speckle-breasted Woodpecker
Little Greenbul
Village Weaver
Common Bulbul
Red-billed Firefinch
Pin-tailed Whydah
Green White-eye
Tambourine Dove
Eastern Plantain-eater
Klaas’s Cuckoo
Gray Parrot
Green Crombec
Lesser Striped Swallow
Green Hylia
Spectacled Weaver
African Thrush
Dusky-blue Flycatcher
Woodland Kingfisher
Olive-bellied Sunbird
Bronze Sunbird
Gray Crowned-Crane
Tropical Boubou
Aside from birding Turaco Trails is also a great site for plant identification, nature walks, plant research and tree identification.
Symbiotic relationship between a tree and a plant at Turaco Trails
Best time to bird Turaco Trails
Turaco Trails is best for birding early in the morning and late evening. The morning offers opportunity to look out for birds as they start their day while evening offers opportunity to look out for birds as they end their day. Birding is great and rewarding throughout the year however the best time for bird watching in Uganda is from late May to September as during these months you encounter less rains hence making it easy to bird along the trails.
Turaco Trails Location
Turaco Trails is located in Bigodi, Kamwenge district in western Ugandan. It is located 5 hours away from Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. If connecting from Fort Portal, the journey by road will take you between 40 minutes – 1 hour. The trail is located near Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary and Kibale National Park so is sometimes added to birding tours in Uganda.
