16 Days Uganda Birding Tour

Detailed Itinerary

DAY 1: OPTIONAL BIRDING TO BOTANICAL GARDENS
Arrive at Entebbe International Airport and transfer to your Hotel, early arrivals will have an evening birding at the Botanic gardens looking out for birds like the Grey Wood Pecker, Red Bellied and African Paradise Flycatchers, Cormorants, Herons, Egrets, Storks, Black-winged Stilt, Doves, Turacos, Kingfishers, Hornbills, Sunbirds, Starlings, Weavers, if  lucky the Grey Parrot among others. Dinner and overnight at Sophie’s Motel or Lindsay Cottages. F/B

DAY 2: BIRDING MABAMBA  
Early breakfast with a picnic lunch we start our birding to Mabamba Wetlands, look out for birds enroute like White winged warbler, Papyrus Gonolek, Northern Brown Throated Weaver, White Winged Tit, Black Bishop, Red Cape then continue to the swamp where you will be paddled in a canoe as you bird through the swamp, our main target today is the Shoebill Stork and the Blue Swallow gieven the month of our visit, other birds like Long-tailed Cormorant, Squacco, Purple and Rufous Bellied Heron, Yellow-billed Duck, Malachite Kingfisher, Long toed Plover, Blue-headed Coucal, among others are expected while birding in this area. Bird your way back to Kampala looking out for birds like African open billed Stork, Lizard Buzzard, Klaas’s, Diederik, African Emerald and Red Chested Cuckoo Grey Kestrel, African Green Pigeon, Great Blue and Ross’s Turaco, Swifts, Sunbirds, Weaver birds, Finches among other birds. Overnight at Lindsay Cottages or Sophie’s Motel.  F/B

DAY 3: BIRDING TO KIBALE FOREST  
After breakfast, with a packed lunch start the drive birding to Fort Portal town. There are numerous spots where we shall stop and do birding on this route, one of then will be the Sebitoli area where we look out for birds like Red-chested Cuckoo, Great blue Turaco, Lizard Buzzard, Black-faced Rufous Warbler, Joyful Greenbul, Masked Apalis, Dusky Long Tailed and African Emerald Cuckoo, Grey-headed Green Throated and Tiny Sunbird, Many coloured and Ludher’s Bush-shrike, Grey Throated and Yellow Spotted Barbet among others. Later we transfer to our respective place of accommodation either in Fort Portal town or Kibale Forest for two nights. F/B

DAY 4: BIRDING KIBALE FOREST NATIONAL PARK  
Early breakfast and do birding in Kibale Forest birding in search for the Narina Trogon, Green Breasted Pitta, Red Tailed Bristlebill, African Emerald Cuckoo, Grey Parrot, Sabine’s Spinetail, Great Blue and Black-billed Turaco, Yellow-billed, Hairy Breasted, Yellow Spotted and Grey Throated Barbet, Red-tailed Ant and Rufaus Flycatcher Thrush, Brown Illadopsis among others. This forest is also known as the best place in Uganda for Chimp tracking and other primates which number upto 13 species. An afternoon walk through the forest in search for chimps while birding exposes us to a number of special birds within this forest, do not hesitate to engage the special primate rangers into this birding activity as most of them have been doing this for long. Among the primates tha may be seen in this forest include the Red Collobus, Blue Monkey, Black and white Colobus, Grey-cheeked Mangabey, Olive Baboon, Varvet Monkey, Red tailed Monkey, L’Hoest’s Monkey among others. F/B

DAY 5: BIRDING BIHINGAMY SWAMP THEN TRANSFER TO SEMLIKI
Today we have another day and chance of finding the Green Breasted Pitta int Kibale Forest, however, if we had a successful day we can either do birding to the Kihingamy swamp or along the road to Semliki National park, looking out for the orange winged Pytilia, Orange Cheeked Waxbill, a species recorded in Burundi according to Terry Stevenson and Fanshawe’s field  guide to the Birds of East Africa, we shall have time and stopover around Semliki National Park searching for the Piping, Red Billed Dwarf, Black Wattled Casqued and Black Dwarf Hornbills. We carry on and spend our night in Bundibugyo at Vanilla or Rainbow Hotel for two nights.

DAY 6 BIRDING SEMLIKI
After breakfast, proceed for a whole day birding on the Kirumia trail. Look out for birds like White thighed, Red-billed dwarf, Black dwarf, Black-casqued wattled, Piping, and White crested Hornbill, Blue Billed, Red Bellied and Crested Malimbe, Swamp palm Bulbul, Leaflove, Yellow Throated Cuckoo, African Piculet, Eastern Bearded Greenbul Red Rumped Tinkerbird, Fiery Breasted Bushshrike, African and Rufous sided Broadbill, Pale Fronted, Grey Crowned and Chestnut Breasted Negrofinch, Maxwell’s Weaver, Blue Throated Roller among other birds.

DAY 7: BIRDING TO QUEEN  ELIZABETH  NATIONAL PARK 
start early and checkout of the hotel, drive further south birding enroute before reaching Fort Portal the Brown Backed Scrub Robin, Marsh Tchagra, Blue Headed and Senegal Coucal can be encountered. We head to Kasese crossing the equator then eventually to the Mweya Safari lodge where we have an enjoyable game and birding drive looking out for the African Crake, Red-necked Spurfowl, Spot Flanked and Double Toothed Barbet, Grey Headed, Woodland, African Pygmy and Striped Kingfisher, African Hopoe, Klaas’s and Diederik Cuckoo, Mosque and Lesser Striped Swallow, Arrow Marked and Black-lored babbler, Common and Grey-backed Shrike, Copper Sunbird, African Golden Breasted Bunting, blue Naped Mousebird, Black and White Browed Coucal, Common Waxbill, Stout, Zitting and Wing snapping Cisticoal and many more. Dinner and overnight stay at Mweya Safari Lodge or the Mweya Hostels, for two nights. F/B.

DAY 6: BIRDING QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK  
After breakfast a morning game and birding drive we shall later embark on an afternoon launch cruise along the Kazinga Channel. Today we have lots of game and bird which include among others the hippos, crocs, African Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Uganda Kob, Waterbuck, Bushbuck, Giant Forest hog, predators among others may include the Lion, Leopard, Hyeana and the birding today will produce the Gulls and Terns, African Open Billed, Yellow-billed and Saddle-billed Stork, Malachite and Grey Headed Kingfisher, African Spoonbill, Grey, kitilitziz’s and African Wattled Plovers, White-browed and Brown Backed Scrub Robin, Rufous napped, Flappet and Red Caped Lark, Red-chested, Copper, Scarlet chested and Marico Sunbird, Lesser Masked, Hollub’s Golden, Golden Backed, Slender Billed and Black Backed Weaver, to mention but afew Also, a night game drive birding this evening might have good results of the nightjars and nocturnal mammals

DAY 14: BIRDING TO LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK
Today’s birding will be characterized with a few stops along the way to enjoy the scenery and birds. Towards lake Mburo National Park there will be great looks at the Ankole long horned cattle. Birding here is a pleasant occurrence, and one of the highlights of open woodland birding in Uganda and we should expect, Coqui and Crested Francolin, Red Necked Spurfawl,  Emeraled Spotted Wood Dove, Red Headed Weaver, Spot flanked Barbet, Lesser Blue Eared Starling, Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Red Billed Wood Hopoe, Green Backed, Cardinal, Nubian and Uganda Spotted Woodpecker, Lilac-breasted Roller, Red Faced Barbet, Green Caped Eremomela, Yellow Bellied Apalis, Bru Bru, Cinnamon Breasted Bunting, Black Cuckoo-shrike, Pearl Spotted Owlet, and so on some of the mammals here include Eland, Zebra, Impala, Buffalo, Topi, Reedbuck, Water and Bushbuck, Hippos, Oribi, Bush duiker . Dinner and Overnight at Arcadia Cottages or Rwonyo Rest Camp for two nights.

DAY 15: BIRDING LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK
Whole day birding with an early start on foot being accompanied by an armed ranger in the afternoon, take a boat cruise to look for the African Finfoot, Giant Kingfisher, Green Backed, White Backed and Black Crowned Night Herons among other birds.
Before dinner when it get a bit dark lookout for the African Scops Owl, then later to the lodge for dinner and over night stay.

DAY 16: BIRDING TO ENTEBBE
Our birding today will depend on the flight time or where we spend our night. There are good spots and we look out mostly for species that are missed where the Papyrus gonolek might be among. End of our Western Uganda Birding Safari.

End of Safari