ORNITHOLOGY IN THE BIGODI MARSHES

As birdwatching is rather difficult in the forest itself due to the density of vegetation, birdwatchers will head a few kilometers further south to the Bigodi marshes, an ecotourism sanctuary managed by KAFRED. All profits from the tour are used to fund community projects in the village of Bigodi. The walks last around 3 hours on a 4.5 km trail, from which you can easily identify some 40 of the nearly 200 bird species nesting in the marshes. In fact, this trail is one of East Africa's must-sees when it comes to birdlife. One of the area's most emblematic birds is the superb great blue touraco. You can also see the crowned crane, the hornbill, the jaco parrot and the papyrus gonolek. The marshes are also home to thousands of butterflies, numerous monkeys, otters, shy sitatungas and snakes (cobra, mamba, viper, emerald snake). To discover the aquatic world, excellent guides await you at the KAFRED office in Bigodi (+256 772 468113). You can also rent boots for mud-walking. Don't forget a pair of binoculars. Specialists in search of particular species can mention this in advance, as some guides are more expert than others at finding particular species. It's also a good idea to start early in the morning.