If Shaun Mann is uncertain about the number of bird species Uganda hosts, he isn't alone. Twitchers from aroudn the world are flocking in, performing their own amateur counts and discovering the multitude of feathered friends awaiting them in Uganda.

"We've had three sightings of a pair of Bar-Tailed Godwits," Mr Mann reports. "This is the first time this estuarine bird has been sighted in Uganda."

The Bar-Tailed Godwit pair seems to have forsaken its customary mudflat, mangrove home for a holiday at Western Uganda's Queen Elizabeth Park. So have 5 000 Greater and Lesser Flamingoes: they're even trying to build nests.

Mr Mann explained the hypothesis that excessive rainfall may have disturbed the alkaline balance of the birds' traditional Kenyan lake homes. "They realise their habitat is in danger in Kenya, even if only temporarily."

Maybe upcoming elections scared them off. Whatever, Kenya's loss is Uganda's gain. Even the avowed untwitcher couldn't help but be moved seeing a flock of 5 000 flamingos taking flight. Fly in - fly out. But bring the best pair of binoculars you can find.

Wild Frontiers' Ugandan offshoot G&C tours isn't allowing the migrating tourist attraction to fly off unnoticed. For the past two years, Paul Goldring, G&C owner and guide, has been escorting tours through Uganda's prime birding areas. Along with the rare, yet well-known Shoebill Stork, some of these areas host birds seen nowhere else in the world, including 29 Albertine Rift endemics often sighted in Western Uganda.

Most tourists visit Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for one thing: it's home to 300 of the world's last remaining Mountain Gorillas. Bwindi boasts 300 species of birds, representing one of the richest, densest birding areas on the African contintent.

"you got to be gung ho," according to Mr Goldring. Bwindi Twitchers spend hours traipsing through often dense undergrowth (they don't call it impenetrable" for nothing) and gazing upward at the forest canopy. Neck strain and boot fatigue eliminate the faint at heart, or the ones who happen to leave their $1 000 (R4 800) binoculars at home. Twitching, like any other recreational preoccupation, requires serious commitment and serious gear.

"I rate myself as a good companion for birding," laughs Mr Goldring, "but nowhere near those chaps."

That might be why G&C features tours with acclaimed naturalist/author Ian Davidson. One recent 15-day tour, boasts G&C promotional material, sighted 386 birds including "the elusive Shoebill."

Jane Goldring, G&C business agent, described one tour group that - despite a very late night - rose at the crack of dawn on their day of departure. "It was raining and still they were up at 7am at the botanical gardens - trying to find 10 more birds to beat the previous group."

For the more casual birdwatcher, opting for a less strenuous vacation, Uganda offers a birding cruise. Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park connects Lake George and Lake Edward. It's a far more gentle way to browse birds. Simply prop elbows on the old boat's gunwhales and enjoy the view. Added attractions include the occasional elephant or lion, but navigating through huge hippo pools is perhaps the most amusing.

Lest Twitchers think Queen Elizabeth sounds too casual, that single park hosts over half the nation's bird species. For the past few months researcher Malcolm Wilson has operated a ringing station in the park and already identified 550 species. His work has revealed 10 new species for the park and two new ones for the nation.

Mr Wilson's research has also revealed that twitching may indeed be far more exciting than is often perceived by the uninitiated. He's been attacked twice by the same buffalo. Park officials were forced to kill the animal and use its carcass to attract lion for a radio collar research project.

Wildlife officials' plans for 1998 also include bringing Jonathan Roussouw, a zoologist attached to the University of Cape Town, to write the definitive guide to bird-watching in Uganda.