Our Expeditions
Birding Journeys
of Distinction
Choose Your Expedition
From targeted single-habitat forays to comprehensive Rwanda Birding circuits, every journey is available as a fully private, custom-paced expedition for up to Six guests.
Can't Find Your
Perfect Expedition?
We specialise in itineraries that exist nowhere else. Tell us your target species, your preferred dates, and your travel style — and we will design something extraordinary.
Begin the Conversation
Our Purpose
Conservation at the
Heart of Everything
Why Conservation
Cannot Wait
Rwanda's Albertine Rift harbours some of Earth's most threatened bird species — including the Critically Endangered Grauer's Rush Warbler and Vulnerable African Green Broadbill. Their survival depends on intact forest, supported communities, and scientific monitoring. Jacana Birding Tours was founded in the conviction that luxury travel and conservation impact are not contradictions — they are, in the Rwandan context, necessary partners.
Every booking contributes directly to habitat monitoring, community ranger training, and peer-reviewed avian research. We publish annual conservation impact reports available to all guests.
2024
Conservation Impact Report
Scientific Tourism
Services
For ornithologists, research institutions, and citizen scientists who wish their travel to generate verifiable conservation data.
Conservation by
the Numbers
3,200
Hours of Field Monitoring
10
Comunity Ranger's Trained
6
Research Papers Supported
Our Story
Rwanda's Ornithological
Our Vision
Founded on
Ornithological Depth
"Tourism is how you connect and you socialize."
Jacana Birding Tours was founded on a conviction: that Rwanda's extraordinary avian heritage deserved to be shared with the world's most serious birding travelers — not through mass-market safaris, but through expert-led, conservation-embedded, radically personalised expeditions.
Founded in Kigali by Managing Director Muhire Jean Damascene, Jacana was built from the ground up around ornithological depth. Muhire's fieldwork across Rwanda's protected areas and Natural Reserves — from the Nyungwe canopy to the Akagera papyrus — yielded not only an intimate knowledge of species distribution but a profound respect for the ecosystems that sustain them.
Today, Jacana Birding Tours operates at the intersection of expert birding, ethical conservation, and bespoke luxury travel — serving a global community of birders, researchers, photographers, and conservation travelers.
The Ornithologists
Behind Every Journey
Each Jacana Birding Tour guide's holds deep Birding expertise specific to Rwanda's habitats and species. Our team has contributed to national biodiversity surveys, guided university research expeditions, and maintained long-term monitoring programs across Rwanda's IBAs.
Muhire Jean Damascene
Managing Director & Lead Ornithologist
With over 15 years documenting Rwanda's avifauna and contributions to national IBA monitoring programs, Muhire leads Jacana Birding Tours with unmatched field expertise. He specialises in Albertine Rift endemics and forest interior species.
Elisa Ishimwe
Senior Field Guide — Nyungwe Specialist
Elisa's intimate knowledge of Nyungwe Forest's microhabitats and seasonal bird movement patterns is built on a decade of daily observation. Her Grauer's Rush Warbler location record is unmatched in Rwanda.
Jean Baptiste Nzabonimpa
Senior Field Guide — Akagera & Wetlands
Jean Baptiste holds the record for the highest Akagera species list on a single Big Day. His expertise in waterbird ecology and papyrus specialties — including Shoebill strategy — makes him Rwanda's premier wetland birding guide.
Our Services
From expert-led birdwatching to immersive wildlife adventures, our services are designed to deliver extraordinary experiences throughout Rwanda.
Our Partners & Accreditations
Field Notes & Stories
Journal &
Blog
Stories from Rwanda's
Birding Habitats
Dispatches from our guides, expedition reports, species encounters, and conservation updates from across Rwanda's extraordinary avifauna.
Expedition Report · Nyungwe
Dawn in the Canopy: Chasing Albertine Rift Endemics
A first-light expedition into Nyungwe Forest yielded extraordinary encounters with the African Green Broadbill and Grauer's Rush Warbler — two of Rwanda's rarest avian treasures.
Species Spotlight · Akagera
The Shoebill: Rwanda's Most Sought-After Encounter
The Shoebill remains one of Africa's most iconic and elusive birds. Our guides reveal the strategies and habitats that give Jacana guests the best possible chance of a close encounter.
Conservation · Volcanoes
High Altitude Habitats and the Birds of the Virungas
The Volcanoes' bamboo belt and Hagenia woodland form a unique high-altitude mosaic supporting specialist species found nowhere else in Rwanda — and barely anywhere on Earth.
Education & Conservation · Kigali
Field Trip Report: Nyarutarama Wetland – Supporting Education Through Birding
Jacana Birding Tours organized an educational field trip to Nyarutarama Wetland with university internees — providing hands-on birding experience and conservation learning in Kigali.
