21 Days African Birding Safari

Day 1: Arrival

Day 2: Birding to Mabira Forest
Early in the morning, have breakfast then go birding in Mabira forest. The largest remaining tropical rain forest near central Uganda. Mabira ranks as one of the most important ornithological sites in Uganda with more than 300 species recorded. We do birding the whole day looking out for the Grey and Yellow Longbill, Olive Green Cameroptera, Tit Hylia, Yellow Billed, Yellow Spotted, Speckled, and Hairy Breasted Barbet, African pitta, Soty Fly Catcher, Fire Crested Allethe, Nahan’s Francolin, Weyn’s weaver, purple-throated cuckoo-shrike and many more. After birding you will transfer to Lindsay Cottages or Cassia Lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 3: Birding to Masindi
Have breakfast then transfer to Masindi. Today birding will be done enroute as we transfer with a packed lunch looking out for grassland and open woodland birds. Expect birds like the White Crested Turaco, Lesser and Greater Blue Eared Starling, African Moustached Wabler, Yellow Bellied Hyliota and many more. Dinner and overnight at Masindi or New Court View Hotel.

Day 4: Birding to Kaniyo Pabid for the Puvel’s Illadopsis
We leave very early after breakfast and drive to the southern part of Murchison Falls where we do birding in the forest looking out mostly for the Puvel’s Illadopsis, Narina Tragon, Fire Crested Allethe, Red Tailed Ant Thrush, Xavier’s, Ictrine, Plain and Little Greenbul, Ducky Longtailed Cuckoo, African Emerald Cuckoo, Grey and Yellow Longbill, Collard, Olive, Olive Bellied and Green Sunbird, Rufous Flycatcher Thrush, Crested Guinea Fowl, Yellow Billed Barbet and many other forest species. We drive back to Masindi for dinner and over night stay.

Day 5: Birding to the Royal Mile and Busingiro
Have breakfast and start the drive to our birding destination, as we drive, we have some stopovers where we do birding looking out for grassland birds like the Black Bellied Firefinch, Brown Twinspot, Caban’s Bunting, Dark Capped Yellow Wabler, Fawn Breasted Waxbill, White Thighed Hornbill then continue for birding at the Royal Mile. Birding here always produces some of the rare Ituri species like the African Pygmy, and Chocolate-backed kingfishers, Ituri Batis, Lemon-bellied Crombec, Chestnut Capped Flycatcher, Blue-breasted and African Dwarf Kingfishers which are remarkably common. Others include; Western Black-headed Oriole and Purple-headed Starling, Yellow spotted, Yellow Billed and Grey Throated barbet, Brown crowned Eremomela, Cassin’s and Sabine’s Spinetail, and many more. This birding will be done at two site i.e the Royal mile and Busingiro, later in the evening we drive back to Masindi for dinner and over night stay.

Day 6: Birding to Kibale
Today’s birding will be done at a few spots since the drive is long, our main specials today will be the Dusky long Tailed Cuckoo, Joyful, Greenbul among others, we shall reach in the late evening where we check in at Primate lodge or chimpanzee guest house.

Day 7: Whole day birding in the forest
Start early after breakfast and go for a whole day birding walk through Kibale forest in search for special birds most especially the Green Breasted Pitta African Broadbill an other species of birds. In the afternoon we go for birding in the Kihingamy Wetland Expect birds like Abyssinian Ground Thrush, African pitta, Joyful Greenbul, Petit’s Cuckooshrike, Masked Apalis, White headed wood hoopoe and many more. . Dinner and overnight stay at primate lodge or Chimpanzee Guest House.

Day 8: Birding to Semliki Wildlife Reserve
Have breakfast then transfer to Semliki National Park. We drive and have lunch at Semliki Safari Lodge, later in the evening we embark on a birding and game drive providing chances of seeing nocturnal birds like African Scops Owl, Pearl spotted Owlet, Slender Tailed, Pennant winged and White Tailed nightjars.

Day 9: Birding to Semliki National Park
Have breakfast very early in the morning and proceed for birding the whole day. This part is one of the best birding spots in Uganda as it habours birds from the west African forest that are found no where else in East Africa, birding here always produces the Lyre Tailed Honey Guide, Red Billed, Black Dwarf, Piping, Black Watltled Casqued and white Crested Hornbills, Grey crowned, Pale Fronted and Chestnut Bellied Negrofinch, Red Bellied, Blue Billed, Crested and Red Headed Malimbe, Yellow Throated Nicator, Fiery Breasted Bushshrike, African Piculet, Maxwell’s weaver, Black Throated Coucal, Yellow Throated Cuckoo, Western Bronze Naped and Olive pigeon, Red Tailed and Green Tailed Bristlebill, Eastern Bearded, Red Tailed, Ictrine and Xavier’s Greenbull, Palm Swamp Bulbul and the Leaf Love among others . Back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 10: Birding to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Have breakfast and depart for Queen Elizabeth park. This is the second largest National Park in Uganda and home to 612 species of birds making it the biggest list for any national park in Africa and perhaps the whole world. The park has a variety of woodland birds, forest birds and water birds coupled with many northern Europe and transafrican migrant species. Today we spend our night at Mweya Safari Lodge Mweya Hostels or Kingfisher Kichwamba Lodge.

Day 11: Whole day Birding and game viewing Queen Elizabeth National Park
Go for an early morning drive in the Kasenyi area in search for Game while birding. Early starts always produce views of the Verreaux’s Eagle Owl, other species expected on this birding day include the Brown, Short Toed and Brown snake eagle, Bateleur, African Harrier hawk, Martial and Tawny Eagle, Lizard Buzzard, Grey Kestrel, Crowned, Senegal and African wattled Plovers, Harlequin Quail, Common Buttonquail among others. In the afternoon we embark on a launch cruise along the Kazinga channel which connects lakes George and Edward birding along this channel let us see the Great White and Pink-backed pelicans, African Spoonbill, Lesser Flamingo, African Jacana, Common Squacco Heron, African Open-billed Stork, African Fish Eagle, Grey Headed, Malachite and pied Kingfisher and many more. Dinner and Overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge, Mweya Hostels or Kingfisher Kicwamba Lodge.

Day 12: Birding to Bwindi
Have breakfast then transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable forest birding enroute. Today we have a chance to go though the Ishasha sector which provides chances of viewing the tree climbing lions and other game, lookout for grassland birds including the pipits Larks, African Cuckoo Hawk, Black Cuckoo, White Winged Tit, Ovambo Sparrow Hawk e.t.c we continue to Buhoma where we have our dinner and over night stay at Gorilla Resort or Buhoma community Bandas.

Day 13 & 14: Birding or Gorilla Tracking
Today we have optional gorilla tracking or birding in the forest on the Bwindi Buhoma area for a full day. While birding we look out for Waller’s, Stulman’s, narrow tailed starling, warblers, Illadopses, Hopoes, Tragons, Sunbirds and many more. Dinner and overnight at Gorilla Resort or Buhoma community Bandas.

Day 15: Birding to Ruhizha
Today we transfer to Ruhizha birding enroute through the neck. Dinner and overnight at Trekker’s Tarvan

Day 16 Birding Ruhizha
We start after breakfast and go out birding looking out for the Black-billed and Rwenzori Turaco, Western Green Tinkerbird, Olive, Elliot’s and Fine-banded Woodpecker, African Green-Broadbill, Mountain, Yellow whiskered and Yellow-streaked Greenbul, African Hill Babbler, Mountain Illadopsis, Grey Cuckoo Shrike Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Grauer’s Warbler, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-throated Apalis, Collared Apalis, Stripe-breasted Tit, Rwenzori Batis, Montane Sooty Boubou, Blue-headed Sunbird, Regal Sunbird. Back to the lodge for dinner and over night stay.

Day 17 Birding to Lake Mburo National Park
Early in the morning have breakfast then we transfer to Lake Mburo NP. You will bird along the way to reach the park in the afternoon. Dinner and overnight at Arcadia Cottages or Rwonyo Rest Camp (FB).

Day 18 & 19:
Have breakfast very early in the morning to go for more birding in the park along the Kigambira loop, which traverses a variety of productive habitats. Expect birds like African Marsh Harriers, Banded Snake Eagles, Shikra, Goshawks, Augur Buzzard, African fish, Twany, Steppe, and African Hawk Eagles and many more. Retire for the boat ride on Lake Mburo in the afternoon to check out some of the water bird species such as Papyrus Gonolek, Malachite Kingfishers, African finfoot, giant Kingfisher etc. on the 19th after birding we transfer to Kampala Dinner and overnight at Lindsay Cottages or Cassia Lodge

Day 20: Birding to Mabamba
Early breakfast and then with packed lunch proceed for birding in Mabamba Wetlands where you will be paddled in a canoe while birding through the swamp, look out for birds like the mighty Shoebill and other species like Long-tailed Cormorant, Squacco Heron, Yellow-billed Duck, Malachite Kingfisher, Long toed Plover, Blue-headed Coucal, Blue-breasted Bee-eater among other birds. Bird your way back to Kampala looking out for African open billed Stork, Grey Kestrel, African Green Pigeon, Great Blue and Ross’s Turaco later back to our lodge for dinner and over night stay.

Day 21:
Departure.

End of Safari