14 Days Birding Uganda Safari

Day 1: Arrival – Transfer to hotel in Entebbe

You will be met by one of our company representatives at Entebbe airport. Depending on the time of arrival you may go birding in either the botanical gardens or the Uganda Wildlife Education centre. Either of the places are good representative of the bird
species in the country. They help give one an introduction to the different bird species in the country. Special birds here includes; African hobby, Ross’s Turaco, Brown and Grey Parrot, Klaas’s, Diederik, and Red-Chested Cuckoo, Fork Tailed Drongo, Brown Crowned Tchagra, white Chinned Prinia Black-headed Gonolek, to mention but a few.You will have an overnight stay at a hotel Entebbe.

Day 2: Entebbe – Lake Mburo National Park

After an early breakfast, drive to lake Mburo with a brief stopover at the Equator for photographs. Drive through savannah grasslands seeing banana plantations and herds of Ankole cattle with their incredible long curving horns. Arrive in time for a boat ride. This park has got a mosaic habitat of rock outcrops, dry hillside, open and wooded savanna, forests, galleries, swamps. A variety of habitats have contributed to the avifauna diversity and 313 bird species have been recorded in the park including; Red faced barbet, Long tailed cisticola, Papyrus yellow warbler, African fin foot, Northern Brubru, Rofous bellied heron, Black collared barbet, Brown chested plover, White winged tit, Northern brown throated weaver, White winged warbler .Spend the night in Lake Mburo National Park.

Day 3: Lake Mburo National Park – Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

After an early breakfast, lunch we depart for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The park derives its name from its thick vegetation with an immense variety of evergreen trees, festooned with lianas, epiphytes, which rich great heights in their search for sunlight plus half of the world’s population of mountain gorillas.

Day 4: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Go for a guided nature walk for birding along Buhoma main trail and later on to the water fall trail. Bwindi is the Bird watchers haven! It holds 348 species of birds among which 90% of the Albertine rift Endemic are here i.e the Short-tailed, Rusty-faced woodland and Grauer’s Rush Warblers, Bar-tailed Trogon, Wilcock’s Honey-guide, Yellow-eyed black Fly-catcher, Kivu Ground Thrush, Dusky Crimsonwing, White-tailed Blue Monarch among others, difficult or impossible to see in any other part of East Africa. Alternatively, go for a Gorilla trek. Spend the night in Bwindi. Spend the night in Bwindi.

Day 5: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Birding today in Ruhija. Morning transfer with picnic lunch to Mubwindi swamp in Ruhija. The swamp at an elevation of 2050m/6725 holds astonishing birdlife among others; the Dwarf Honeyguide, Stripe-breasted Tit, Ruwenzori Apalis and African Hill Babbler, the rare and localized Graurer’s Scrub-warbler and Carruther’s Cisticola, including very difficult to see Fraser’s Eagle-Owl. Return to Ruhija for overnight.Spend the night in Bwindi.

Day 6: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park – Queen Elizabeth National Park

After an early breakfast, transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park through the southern part of the park (Ishasha Sector). This will depend on the condition of the road. Spend a night in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Day 7: Queen Elizabeth National Park

We take an early morning game drive towards the famous Kasenyi Track, winding through grassland dotted with trees and nearby crater lakes. The main aim is to locate Lions and other mammals including Buffalo, Ugandan Kob, Oribi, Waterbuck, Bushbuck and family groups of African Elephants. Along the road you may find Scaly Francolin, Red-necked Spurfowl, several plovers, Harlequin Quail and Common Button-quail. Larks are numerous and include, Red Capped, Rufous-napped, Flappet and the local White-tailed. Raptors include Martial Eagle, Banded Snake Eagles and Bateleur.

In the afternoon we embark on a boat trip down the Kazinga Channel. This incredible area for waterbirds will afford stunning views of African Skimmer, Pink-backed Pelican, Saddle-billed, African Open Billed and Yellow Billed Stork, Hamerkop, African Spoonbill, Water Thick-knee, and over-summering Palearctic migrants
After lunch, go for a Launch cruise along the Kazinga Channel at 15.00 hours. Kazinga channel is a natural strip that joins Lake Edward to Lake George and actually this is one of your highlights of this safari. Dinner and overnight.

Day 9: Queen Elizabeth national Park – Kibale Forest National Park

After an early breakfast, transfer to Kibale Forest National Park. We have a chance of birding on the main road or one of the trails in the forest.Spend a night in Kibale Forest.

Day 10: Kibale Forest National Park

Have an early breakfast by 7.00 am and proceed to the park headquarters at Kanyanchu for briefing before going on the chimpanzee trek and bird watching in Kibale Forest. You will carry packed lunch from the lodge and lots of drinking water. Kibale Forest National Park has more than 335 bird species recorded. A network of forest trails from the Kanyanchu Visitor Centre allows you to search for a number of species from the vicinity of the main road such as nahan’s francolin, African pitas.

There is a large block of rain forest that offers some excellent forest birding. The best forest birding is along the main road from the Kanyanchu centre. Species such as scaly francolin, marsh tchagara, the scarce grey-headed olive-back and a host of seed eaters such as fawn breasted black crowned wax-bills and green-backed twin spot, among others, can easily be spotted.

While in the forest, you will watch out for flocks of the rare and localized white-naped pigeon in flight over head or sunning themselves on the tree tops in the early morning. Fruiting trees attract birds such as Narina trogon, pied hornbill, yellow-spotted, hairy-breasted and yellow-billed barbets.

The secondary forest and thicket around Kanyanchu is also a productive birding area for the African goshawk, the majestic ground eagle and masked apalis. Large, noisy flocks of grey parrots fly over the campsite to their roost in the evening. After lunch; we shall go for a nature walk in Bigodi swamp. Spend a night in Kibale Forest.

Day 11: Kibale Forest National Park – Hoima

Today we leave early for Masindi. Spend a night in Hoima

Day 12: Hoima- Murchison Falls National Park

Have breakfast and drive to one of the best of Uganda’s bird watching spot, the Royal Mile. This is the Uganda’s historically known leisure spot for the traditional King, hence the name Royal Mile. Key species include African dwarf and Chocolate-backed kingfisher, Yellow and grey Long bills, Olive-bellied Crombec, Brown-eared Woodpecker, Crowned eagle, Forest Flycatcher, Yellow-browed Camaropera, African Emerald Cuckoo, Yellow-mantled Weaver, yellow-browed Camaroptera, Green Crombec, Crested Malimbe and red-headed bluebill. There after, transfer to the park for overnight stay.

Day 13: Murchison Falls National Park

After an early breakfast, go for an early morning game drive that usually starts at 7.00 am. Return to the Lodge for a late breakfast at 11.00 am. After lunch, go for a Launch cruise to the bottom of the falls; the hippos and crocodiles are amazing. Don’t miss the water birds as well. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 14: Murchison Falls National Park – Kampala

After an early breakfast with a packed lunch, visit the top of the falls. Enjoy and marvel at the mighty Nile being forced in a seven meter crevice to thunder 45 meters below in a series of cascades that can be viewed at different points at the summit. Continue to Entebbe; arrive in time for your evening flight.

End of the 14 Days birding tour in Uganda & Wildlife Safari in Uganda & Gorilla Tracking Safari

Please note that this is a guideline program that maybe customized according to travelers’ needs and preferences. The variations are normally made to improve the tour and your experience