Birding Tours in Virunga National Park
Birding Tours in Virunga National Park: The Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is an incredibly unexplored bird-watching site in Africa. Approximately 706 species may be found in the park, including 24 endemic species.
Wildlife in Virunga National Park- With an area of 7,900 square kilometers, the park is located in the northeast of DR Congo. Virunga is regarded as one of Africa’s greatest national parks, containing a diverse range of habitats.
It is well-known for its mountain gorillas and the active Mount Nyiragongo volcano, but the park has much more to offer! Apart from it, the park contains a wide range of flora types, including savannah grasslands, marshes, woods, woodlands, heath, and alpine on the mountains. There are also about 2000 plant species, 15% of which are indigenous.
Indeed, nearly 200 animals live in Virunga National Park, including forest and savannah elephants, leopards, lions, buffalo, blue duiker, and waterbuck among others.
Around 1185 bird species have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a whole, with 32 of them being internationally endangered. This nation boasts the highest avian biodiversity in Africa, and ardent birders should not miss the opportunity to visit one of the greatest birding locations, Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to see various kinds of birds. Beautiful noises and calls of massive bird species emerge from the woods as early as 5:00 a.m., waking up birders. This type of encounter is extremely unusual and can only be had by visiting the huge Virunga National Park.
Bird watching in Virunga National Park.
In recent years, Virunga has become a highly popular bird-viewing national park, and tourism is being actively encouraged as a result of better infrastructure, security, and competent service providers at various lodges and ranger guides.
As a result, if you intend to go bird watching at Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo, you may expect to see the following bird species:
Rwenzori Turaco, Francolinus nobilis, Musaphaga, skimmers, shoebills storks, egrets, grey herons, ibises, grey-throated barbet, Grauer’s swamp warbler, alpine swift, African olive pigeon, white-headed woodhoopoes, Angolan swallow, Rwenzori Batis, tropical boubou, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Hairy-breasted Barbet, Spot-flanked Barbet, Double-toothed Barbet, Yellow-billed Barbet, White-fronted Bee-eater, and the Red-throated Bee-eater among others.
A variety of bird species may be seen on nature walks and bird watching excursions. The endemic birds include; Rwenzori turaco, mountain masked Apalis, Rwenzori Batis, Archer’s ground robin, red-throated Alethe, red-faced woodland warbler, Kivu ground thrush, collared Apalis, Rwenzori double-collared sunbird, blue-headed sunbird, dusky crimson-wing, Shelley’s Crimsonwing, handsome spurfowl, stripe-breasted tit, regal sunbird and strange weaver were recorded in the southern sector of Virunga National park.
While the non-endemic birds species recorded include Wahlberg’s eagle, African goshawk, African hobby, harrier hawk, Diederik cuckoo, hadeda ibis, grey-crowned crane, common buzzard, mountain buzzard, barred long-tailed cuckoo, Klaas’s cuckoo, black-and-white-casqued hornbill, black-billed turaco, African olive pigeon, tambourine dove, blue-spotted wood dove, red-eyed dove, brown-necked parrot, red-chested cuckoo, olive long-tailed cuckoo, blue-headed coucal, Narina trogon, white-headed wood hoopoe, mountain yellow warbler, brown woodland warbler, stonechat, rufous thrush, African thrush, olive thrush, grassland pipit, cinnamon bracken warbler, and the Black-faced rufous among others.
Best Time for Birding Tours in Virunga National Park.
Birding at Virunga National Park is possible all year. The park is usually moist and frequently misty. As a result, bird viewing is best and easiest from June to August, and to a lesser extent in December and January, when it rains significantly less. This is also an excellent season to undertake mountain gorilla trekking. Every year, migratory bird species can be found from November to April.
What to pack for your Birding Tours to Virunga National Park?
Travelers interested in bird watching in Virunga National Park, like other activities in the park’s forests, should know what to pack and carry throughout their safari. These items include a long-sleeved shirt because you will be searching for birds in the jungle and thus need to protect your arms from grass scratches and tree branches, long trousers to protect your legs from being scratched, a camera and pair of binoculars to capture every bird species, strong hiking shoes, a rainproof jacket in case it rains, plenty of drinking water, and a guidebook.
Prepare your bag to carry your camera, binoculars, and water. Flashlight, iPad/tablet, Chargers & cables, Universal adapter, Cold & flu/hay fever medicine, Tonic/energy booster, Cough drops/lozenges, Buff or bandana, and more goods may be included.
Other Activities offered in Virunga National Park.
Mountain Gorilla Trekking
The most popular gorilla trekking safari sites in Africa include Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, and Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. While gorilla tourism is not as popular in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as it is in Uganda and Rwanda, the DR Congo gorillas in Virunga National Park are also available for trekking. Nonetheless, unrest in eastern DRC has periodically hampered the rise of gorilla trekking in the Virunga National Park.
Climbing Nyiragongo Volcano
One of the eight mountains that make up the Virunga ranges, the beautiful Nyiragongo volcano, is now active. Mount Nyiragongo, located near Goma in eastern DRC, last erupted in 2012. Explore Rwanda Tours organizes some of the best hiking trips to the active Nyiragongo volcano near Virunga National Park.
Chimpanzee Habituation.
There is another fascinating wildlife activity carried out in the Virunga National Park, which was founded in 1987 by a naturalist called Frankfurt. Chimpanzees were made accustomed to humans, and since then, visitors have flocked to the national park for chimp habituation and hiking adventures. The chimpanzee habituation permit costs $100 and allows visitors to engage with the chimps while learning more about them.
Nature Walks
Virunga National Park is a densely forested tropical rainforest. There are several pathways that people can take to go to various destinations and landmarks. On the hikes, visitors will see buffalos, elephants, numerous species of monkeys, Thomas cobs, and a high concentration of hippopotamuses (about 20,000) residing on the banks of Lake Edwards and other bodies of water in the national park.
