Location:
475 km via Masaka – Mbarara- Kabale –Kisoro Road.
27.30 km (16.96 mi) South of Kisiizi Falls
Coordinates: -1.2949032, 29.9056435
Lake Bunyonyi, about 6km from Kabale town is undoubtedly the loveliest lake in Africa. Bunyonyi means a place of many little birds in Rukiga.
Lake Bunyonyi is one of the deepest lakes in Africa. The lake is surrounded by terraced hills and has 29 islands. The sights on the Lake include women rowing dug-out canoes, mist hanging over the numerous islands in the lake and stunning sunsets on clear days.
Unlike many lakes in East Africa, Lake Bunyonyi is bilharzia, crocodile and hippo free. Its crystal-clear water attracts experienced swimmers. The lake is a source of crayfish – a delicacy in the area.
Lake Bunyonyi is also rich in culture and history. The most popular historical and cultural site is the tiny Akampene Island (Punishment Island) where girls who became pregnant before married were dumped to die. A great number of them survived.
Akampene – The Punishment Island
Long ago, among the Bakiga tribe, it was taboo for a girl to become pregnant before marriage. Girls who got pregnant out of wedlock would be canoed to the tiny Akampene Island in Lake Bunyonyi and abandoned there to starve to death or die trying to swim ashore. Not all the girls abandoned on the island died. With time, men got know of the island with free women and the island became a hunting ground for dowry- free women. The practice was abandoned in the 1940s, most probably due to the influence of the missionaries who built a hospital for leprosy patients at one of the nearby bigger islands.
Birding around Lake Bunyonyi
Lake Bunyonyi is one of the best birding destinations in Uganda with over 200 bird species including occasional endemic and migratory birds. Birding can be done around Nyombi swamp and on the lake shores.
Some of the birds around Lake Bunyonyi
Lake Bunyonyi is a haven for water birds like herons, ibises, ducks and waders such as the African Jacana and Black-winged Stilt.
Lake Bunyonyi and its surroundings are also home to several endemic and near-endemic bird species like the Grey Crowned Crane, which is a symbol of Uganda. The lake’s rich wetland ecosystem also supports populations of African Fish Eagles, Pied Kingfishers, and Malachite Kingfishers.
During the migratory season from October to March, a variety of species that migrate between Europe, Asia, and Africa can be seen. These include: European Swallow, Yellow-billed Stork, and White Stork.
Areas around Lake Bunyinyi also habour forest bird species like: African Green Pigeon, Red-chested Sunbird, and Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat.
Smaller birds include: Cuckoos, Thrushes, and Tits.
Ideal Birdwatching Conditions
Birdlist for Lake Bunyonyi
- Red-chested Cuckoo Cuculus solitarius
- Reed Cormorant Microcarbo africanus
- Palm-nut Vulture Gypohierax angolensis
- Long-crested Eagle Lophaetus occipitalis
- Black Kite Milvus migrans
- Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater Merops oreobates
- Eurasian Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
- Chinspot Batis Batis molitor
- African Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone viridis
- Northern Fiscal Lanius humeralis
- Pied Crow Corvus albus
- Common Bulbul Pycnonotus barbatus
- Red-faced Woodland-Warbler Phylloscopus laetus
- Northern Yellow White-eye Zosterops senegalensis
- White-eyed Slaty-Flycatcher Melaenornis fischeri
- White-browed Robin-Chat Cossypha heuglini
- Gray-chinned Sunbird Anthreptes tephrolaemus
- Bronze Sunbird Nectarinia kilimensis
- Olive-bellied Sunbird Cinnyris chloropygius
- Northern Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris reichenowi
- Variable Sunbird Cinnyris venustus
- Baglafecht Weaver Ploceus baglafecht
- Black-headed Weaver Ploceus melanocephalus
- Black-and-white Mannikin Spermestes bicolor
- Red-billed Firefinch Lagonosticta senegala
- African Firefinch Lagonosticta rubricata
- Pin-tailed Whydah Vidua macroura
- Northern Gray-headed Sparrow Passer griseus
- African Pied Wagtail Motacilla aguimp
- Streaky Seedeater Crithagra striolata
- Golden-breasted Bunting Emberiza flaviventris
- Blue-headed Coucal Centropus monachus
- Gray Crowned-Crane Balearica regulorum
- Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
- Hadada Ibis Bostrychia hagedash
- Speckled Mousebird Colius striatus
- Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis
- African Hobby Falco cuvierii
- Greater Swamp Warbler Acrocephalus rufescens
- White-winged Swamp Warbler Bradypterus carpalis
- Swamp Flycatcher Muscicapa aquatica
- African Stonechat Saxicola torquatus
- Red-chested Sunbird Cinnyris erythrocercus
- Slender-billed Weaver Ploceus pelzelni
- Vieillot’s Black Weaver Ploceus nigerrimus
- Village Weaver Ploceus cucullatus
- Yellow Bishop Euplectes capensis
- White-winged Widowbird Euplectes albonotatus
- Fan-tailed Widowbird Euplectes axillaris
Source: ebird