Uganda's birding scene continues to develop rapidly. New sites are being formalised, existing sites are improving their guide training and infrastructure, and the Uganda checklist is growing as eBird coverage expands. For visiting birders planning a 2026 trip, the current state of Uganda birding offers some improvements over the 2022 to 2024 experience and a few areas where conditions have changed.
New Records Added to the Uganda Checklist (2024-2025)
Uganda's checklist grows annually as new species are formally documented. Significant recent additions include: long-tailed hawk (first confirmed record at Semuliki National Forest in 2022-2023, representing a range extension from DRC), Congo moor chat (Semuliki, extending the range from Congo basin into Uganda), and multiple Palearctic migrant species documented through expanded eBird submissions in previously under-birded areas of northern Uganda. The Uganda Bird Club's annual records committee reviewed 23 new species records in 2024 — not all were accepted, but the volume reflects the increasing coverage that eBird data submission has enabled.
Mabamba Bay: Infrastructure Improvements
Mabamba Bay Ramsar Site has seen continued investment in the MSEA community guide programme. The canoe fleet has been expanded to accommodate higher visitor volumes without increasing disturbance to the primary shoebill territory. The shoebill encounter rate at Mabamba has remained at 85 to 95% for pre-arranged dawn sessions throughout 2024 and into 2025, with guides reporting 2 to 4 resident individuals in the main survey area. The community infrastructure improvements (improved canoe landing area, guide certification programme expansion) have increased the quality and consistency of the guided experience.
Kidepo Valley: Improving Coverage
Kidepo Valley National Park in Uganda's extreme northeast is the most under-birded of Uganda's major parks — remote, requiring a 9-hour drive or a domestic flight from Entebbe, and with limited accommodation. However, Kidepo's eBird coverage has improved significantly since 2020 as domestic Ugandan birders and international visiting specialists have submitted comprehensive checklists. The Kidepo site species list is now more accurately characterised, confirming Karamoja apalis, rosy-patched bushshrike, Jackson's hornbill, Abyssinian roller, standard-winged nightjar (seasonal), and the dry-zone bird community that does not occur at any other Uganda park. Accommodation options have also improved with new mid-range lodge options supplementing the historically limited Apoka Rest Camp.
Semuliki National Forest: Access Conditions
Semuliki National Forest (Bundibugyo district) — Uganda's primary site for Congo basin forest birds — continues to be accessible but the access road (from Fort Portal, approximately 70km) can be challenging in heavy rain. The 2024 to 2025 road improvement project has improved the condition of the tarmac section, but the final 15km forest road remains ungraded. A 4WD vehicle is always required for Semuliki and is non-negotiable in the April-May and October-November wet seasons. The bird quality at Semuliki remains exceptional — the African pitta at Sempaya hot springs is reliable, the Congo puffback, white-crested hornbill and the suite of Congo basin species that do not occur elsewhere in Uganda are all present. The new Semliki Safari Lodge has added a more comfortable accommodation option to the site.
What Has Not Changed: Uganda's Core Birding Strengths
The features that make Uganda the top-ranked East Africa birding destination remain unchanged: the shoebill encounter at Mabamba (the most reliable large bird encounter in Africa), the Albertine Rift endemic suite at Bwindi and Rwenzori, the high-density mixed-species flocking at Kibale, and the complete diversity circuit that allows 380 to 430 species in 10 days. Guide quality — the most critical variable in any birding trip — continues to improve as Uganda's specialist guide training programmes expand and as Ugandan bird guides accumulate experience with international visiting birders.
2026 Recommended Circuit
For a first-time Uganda birding visitor in 2026, the optimised 10 to 12-day circuit: Entebbe (Lake Victoria waterbirds and Mabamba shoebill), Murchison Falls National Park (Victoria Nile boat trip, savannah, shoebill additional chance), Budongo Forest (forest birding with resident specialist guides), Kibale National Park (forest birding, chimp habituation for primate context), Queen Elizabeth National Park (savannah and the Kyambura Gorge), Bwindi Impenetrable Forest (Albertine Rift montane endemics, gorillas optional). This circuit, run April to May or September to October, combines the highest species count with the widest habitat diversity available in Uganda in under 2 weeks.
Contact Shoebill Uganda Bird Tours for a 2026 Uganda birding itinerary that reflects current site conditions and species availability.
Entebbe Botanical Garden: The Improved Starting Point
Entebbe Botanical Garden — a 42-hectare forest patch on Lake Victoria shore in Entebbe — has become an increasingly important birding site for visitors arriving at Entebbe International Airport. The garden list exceeds 130 species and includes the grey parrot (Uganda's only reliable site for the Congo basin parrot), African wood owl, Fraser's sunbird, blue-headed sunbird, Nahan's francolin (rare), and the full Entebbe Lake Victoria waterbird community visible from the lakeshore. For visitors arriving on an evening flight and departing the next morning, a 2-hour dawn session at the Botanical Garden produces 60 to 80 species and can be arranged as a pre-dawn hotel pickup without a full day's birding commitment.
eBird Uganda: Current Reporting Trends
eBird submission from Uganda has increased significantly since 2020. The Uganda eBird portal now receives 3,000 to 5,000 checklists per year (from approximately 500 per year in 2018), reflecting both the growth of domestic Ugandan birding and the increased proportion of international visitors who submit eBird data during their trips. The practical benefit for visiting birders: eBird alert notifications for Uganda are now reliable enough that unusual sightings (vagrant species, early migrant arrivals, unusual wader records) are typically reported within 48 hours of observation. Setting up an eBird rare bird alert for Uganda before your trip gives you access to current unusual sightings that can be worked into your itinerary.
Accommodation Improvements Across Uganda Sites
Since 2022, Uganda has seen significant new and improved accommodation options at several key birding sites. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest: two new lodges in the Ruhija sector (the highest and most endemic-rich zone) have improved the options beyond the previously limited accommodation in that area. Murchison Falls: new mid-range lodges south of the Nile have increased accommodation choice above the budget camp level. Kidepo Valley: the opening of a new mid-range camp near the Narus Valley has improved the cost-effectiveness of Kidepo visits. These accommodation improvements reduce one of the historical barriers to Kidepo access (the very limited and expensive accommodation options). For any Uganda circuit since 2024, a review of current accommodation options is worthwhile — the landscape has changed enough that older Uganda trip reports may recommend options that have been superseded by better new alternatives. The recommendation: when planning a 2026 Uganda circuit, verify current accommodation options directly with your Uganda ground operator rather than relying on information from 2022 or earlier. Operator knowledge of current lodge standards — particularly at Bwindi Ruhija, Kidepo and Semuliki — is the most reliable source of current accommodation quality information. Guide quality — which has improved across Uganda since 2022 as formal training programmes have expanded — should be verified through recent trip reports and operator references rather than assuming historical guide quality has remained constant. A specialist Uganda birding operator who can name the specific guide assigned to your circuit, with reference-checked eBird submissions from the guide, is providing verifiable quality assurance.