Rwanda

In February of 2022 I threw a dart at a map and made some very last-minute plans to see a new part of the world. With help and guidance from Claudien at Birding Rwanda, I spent 10 days getting to know this lovely little country and its wildlife.

Umusambi Village

Right near the capital city of Kigali, there’s a little conservation area called the Umusambi Village. It’s a great introduction to the Rwandan birding scene, packed will all sorts of colorful (and big!) species. Claudien likes to start his tours there and had to help me the ID 50 or so species that we saw that morning as I hadn’t done any research before arriving. I was able to get a couple pictures that turned out pretty well, despite the drizzle.

Nyungwe Forest National Park

The southwestern part of Rwanda features a large, dense mountain jungle called Nyungwe. Twelve or thirteen primate species live there, including chimpanzees, which is pretty neat. The birds are also lovely! Claudien knows all of the guides and interns in the park, and together we IDed loads of Albterine rift endemics on our walks along the trails. The highlights were undoubtedly the turacos, of which we saw 3 species (black-billed, great blue, and Rwenzori).

Akagera National Park

The final stop on the trip was my first time having a proper African safari. We were fortunate to see a couple short-tempered elephants, rhinos at the final stages of their reintroduction process, and obviously loads of birds. Seeing wild giraffes for the first time is probably the highlight for me. Also just missed a Pel’s fishing owl who was calling nearby the lodge, a bird which has since eluded me 3 or 4 more times.