Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary

Birds Galore – And Monkeys Too!

Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary is one of my favourite spots anywhere in Uganda. True, the guided walk through this admirable community-run project bordering Kibale National Park doesn't offer the obvious thrills of gorilla tracking or seeing lions in the wild. But for anyone with a passing interest in birds, it offers a wonderful opportunity to see a good variety of localized swamp and forest specials on a compact walking circuit that can be covered in 90 minutes (though if you're serious about your birds, it might take five hours).

Bigodi’s emblem is the great blue turaco, a blue-green giant that grows to 75cm long and has a tall black crest and yellow-and-red bill. Almost all visitors to Bigodi see this charismatic bird, which usually moves in small flocks that glide lazily between trees. Other stellar forest-fringe birds I’ve regularly seen at Bigodi include Ross’s turaco, yellow-billed barbet, double-toothed barbet and red-headed bluebill. Part of the walk leads through the swamp on a wooden boardwalk, and here you should look out for the elusive papyrus gonolek, which has a bold black and red torso offset by a brilliant yellow cap.

Based on my experience, you can expect to see at least 40 noteworthy bird species over the course of a swamp walk through Bigodi. This is thanks in large part to the exceptional quality of guiding. With a bit of luck, you should also encounter several of types of monkey – indeed, on my most recent visit I saw five different species, including the endangered Uganda red colobus and endemic Uganda mangabey, all within photographic range. The sanctuary is also occasionally visited by the habituated chimps for which Kibale National Park is famous, but you'd have to be very lucky to catch them on a one-off visit.