Western Uganda's forests:
the Albertine Rift, Kibale and Budongo

The forests of western Uganda are perhaps the prime reason for birders to visit the country. The Albertine Rift (the western arm of the Great Rift Valley which contains Lake Albert) is home to some 24 endemic species of birds - they can only be seen here, in Rwanda or Burundi, or in the largely inaccessible DRC. We managed to see 19 of them, including such gems as Stripe-breasted Tit, Regal Sunbird and Handsome Francolin.

A really special moment was had at Ruhiza in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, when we trekked steeply downhill all morning, in the hope of locating one of the most sought-after of all African birds - the African Green Broadbill. We found not one but two, and they were nest-building!

In addition, numerous Congo Basin endemics just make it into western Uganda, making it the only place in the world where some of these species can realistically be seen - examples include Grey-chested and Puvel's Illadopses, Ituri Batis and Chestnut Wattle-eye.

We encountered giant earthworms (over a foot long!), and also caecilians, bizarre, primitive amphibians which look like....giant earthworms! Some of these reached eighteen inches long.

Also, the butterfly life was nothing short of spectacular, and we had a major mammalian target in the shape of Chimpanzees. We were privileged to find a family group quietly (apart from the farting) eating figs in a massive tree in Kibale Forest.

We spent a full day on Budongo Forest's famous Royal Mile - rain hampered us early on, but we later added a whole host of specials, such as Chocolate-backed and Dwarf Kingfishers, Uganda Woodland Warbler and Chestnut-crowned Flycatcher.

While the weather was often far from perfect, and while the birding was at times very slow, we did have a great time in these forests, seeing some very special species.