Destination

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Duration
16 Days
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Tour Type
Birding Safaris
Gorilla Safaris
Signature Safaris
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Group Size
2+
Uganda

16-day Birding In Western Uganda

This 16-day safari of birding in western Uganda will take you to several parks where you will see more than 700 bird species, along with gorillas, chimps & wildlife.

Included in Trek Price

  • 1 Gorilla trekking permit per person
  • 1 chimpanzee tracking permit per person
  • Local English-speaking guide/driver
  • All accommodation & meals indicated in the itinerary
  • All transport & fuel for the trip
  • Bottled drinking water throughout the safari
  • Park and activity fees as shown in your itinerary

Excluded in Trek Price

  • International Flights.
  • Tourist visa.
  • Personal travel & medical insurance.
  • Tips to service people.
  • Personal shopping & souvenirs.
  • Any other extras not mentioned as part of the safari.

Details

Embark on a Journey Beyond Imagination: 16 Days of Rare Feathers, Wild Adventures, and Endless Discovery in Uganda’s Breathtaking Wilderness!

Duration: 16 Days / 15 Nights

Key activity: Bird Watching

Places to visit:

  • Mabamba Swamp
  • Lake Mburo National Park
  • Ruhija
  • Mibwindi Swamp
  • Buhoma
  • Queen Elizabeth National Park
  • Kibale Forest
  • Semliki Valley

Arrive at Entebbe International Airport, and transfer to the Hotel. Depending on the time of arrival, we bird Entebbe Botanical Gardens or Uganda Wildlife Education Centre.
Early this morning we bird to Lake Mburo National Park via Mabamba Wetland for the elusive Shoebill Stork, Papyrus Gonolek, the African and Lesser Jacanas, white-faced and Fulvous Whistling Ducks, Brown and Western-banded Eagles, Carruthers Cisticola, a number of Gulls and Heron species, Blue-breasted Bee-eaters and much more to add on the list. We shall have a stopover at the equator for photography and equator experience.
Have an early morning breakfast before going birding in a safari drive car, we bird and return for lunch and later take a boat ride in search of water-associated birds. Species possible to see today will include the African Finfoot, and the Red-winged Francolins, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Brown Parrot, Barefaced Go-away bird, Harlequin and Blue Quails, Common Button Quail, White-headed and Black-billed Barbet, Greenwood Hoopoe, Common Scimitarbill, Blue-napped Mousebird, Blue-breasted and Shining-blue Kingfishers, Lilac-breasted Roller, African-grey Hornbill, the Nubian, Buff-spotted, Brown-eared, and the Grey Woodpeckers, Trilling, Stout, and Wing-snapping Cisticolas, Red-necked spurfowl, Black-bellied Bustard, Temminck’s Courser, African-wattled Plover Rufous napped and Flappet larks, Rufous-chested Swallow, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Black-winged Bishop, Chubb’s, Carruthers and many other Cisticolas, the Lesser and Great Swamp Warblers, Black Crake, Common Squacco, Striated, Goliath, Purple, Black-headed, Grey, and Black-headed Herons, Great White and Pink-backed Pelicans, the African Fish Eagle, among others.
Early in the morning after breakfast, we bird on a game drive on our way to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
In Mubwindi Swamp we shall look out for the Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, White tailed blue flycatcher, Brown capped warbler, Black Billed weaver, Black Necked weaver, Red Headed Malimbe, Grey headed Sparrow, Waller’s Starling, Stuhlmann’s starling, Montane Oriole, Many-colored Bush Shrike, Bocage’s Bush Shrike, Brown Crowned Tchagra, Pink Footed Puffback, Ludher’s Bush Shrike, Doherty`s Bush-shrike, Mountain Illadopsis, Rwenzori Nightjar.
While birding to Buhoma, we look out for species like the Black Bee-Eater, Dusky Tit, Brown-caped Weaver, Yellow-billed and yellow-spotted Barbets, the African and Black-and-white Shrike Flycatchers, Common Stonechat, Brown-throated and Chestnut Wattle-eyes, Apalises, just to mention but a few of the forest species.
Uganda is home to more than half of these beautiful, majestic gentle giants and yet endangered apes. Therefore, Gorilla tracking in Uganda is an experience not to be missed. Bwindi’s impenetrable forest habituates families of mountain gorillas along with other species of primates for example, Chimpanzees, Colubus monkeys, Olive baboons, name it. To be certain of going gorilla tracking, it is a must you buy a permit which is issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) at USD 700 only. It is our duty to arrange this for you should you be interested in this memorable activity. In Buhoma, we look out for species like the Equatorial Akalat, Slaty Flycatcher, White-bellied Robin-Chat, Black-throated Apalis, Mountain Masked Apalis, Grey Apalis, Chestnut-throated Apalis, the Olive-green and Grey-backed Camaropteras, White-chinned Prinnia, Green Hylia, Short-tailed Warbler, White-tailed Antithrush, Cape Wagtail, Grey-capped Warbler, Black-faced Rufous Warbler, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Grauer’s Warbler, Grauer’s Rush Warbler, White-browed Crombec, and many others.
Today we bird to Queen Elizabeth National Park through the Ishasha sector and have some birds to add to the list like the African Thrush, Ruppell’s Long-tailed Sterling, Black-headed Gonolek, Slender-billed Weaver, Little Weaver, Black-headed Weaver, Grey-headed Sparrow, Red-headed Lovebird, Spur-winged Lapwing, the African, Red-eyed and African Morning Doves, the Winding, Croacking and Zitting Cisticolas and many more savannah species.
On the morning of this day, we bird the Mweya Peninsular and in the afternoon we take a boat to the Kazinga channel. You will have exposure to the, African Skimmer, Malachite and Pied Kingfishers, White-winged Terns, Swamp Flycatcher, Grey-capped Warbler, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Collard Pranticles, African Jacana, Pin-tailed Whydah, Martial Eagle, Gabon and Slender-tailed Nightjars, the lovely Black-headed Gonolek, Great and Long-tailed Cormorants, Common Squacco Heron, African Skimmer, African Fish Eagle, Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, Sedge Warbler, White-winged Warbler, Papyrus Gonolek, Papyrus Canary, Great White and Pink-backed Pelicans, African Mourning Dove, African Open-billed Stork, Black-rumped Buttonquail, Yellow-billed and Marabou Stork, Egyptian Goose, several Gull species, just to mention but a few.
After breakfast, we embark on our birding journey to Kibale National Park. Some species to add to the list will include the Fan-tailed Widowbird, Doves, Pigeons, Yellow-mantled Widowbird, the Black and Black-winged Red Bishops, Common Bulbul, the African Palm and Little Swifts, the Lesser-stripped and Angola Swallows and many more.
We bird Kibale for two good days in search of the darling Green-breasted Pitta and more forest species like the Brown Illadopsis, Brown-capped Weaver, Brown-chested Alethe, Black-headed Oriole, African Emerald Cuckoo, African Green-pigeon, Black-crowned Tchagra, African Wood Owl, African/Rwenzori/Abyssinian Hill-Babbler, Alpine Swift, Ashy Flycatcher, Barn Swallow, Black Bee-eater, Black Cuckoo, Black Cuckoo-shrike, Black-and-white Casqued Hornbill, Black-and-white Mannikin, Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher, Black-billed Turaco, Black-billed Weaver, Black-faced Rufous Warbler, African Dusky Flycatcher, Black-headed Weaver, Black-necked Weaver, African/Western Citril, Black-throated Apalis, Blue-shouldered Robin-chat, Blue-throated Brown Sunbird, Blue-throated Roller, African Blue Flycatcher, Bocage’ Bush-shrike, Bronze Mannikin, Zebra Waxbill, Bronze Sunbird among others.
Today we bird in the Kibale forest with the hope of seeing the species that we probably missed in the previous days and later transfer to Semliki National Park.
Early in the morning, we take to the Kirumia trail for our whole day birding experience. We look for some predominantly Central African species which cannot be found anywhere else in East Africa yet are some of the continent’s most spectacular and sought-after birds such as; Long-tailed Hawk, Congo Serpent Eagle, Lyre-tailed Honeyguide, Black-casqued Wattled Hornbill, the Nkulengu Rail, and other species; Blue Swallow, White-throated Swallow, Swamp Palm Bulbul, Spotted Greenbul, White-starred Robin, Lowland Akalat, Red-throated Alethe, Fire-crested Alethe, Snowy-headed Robin-Chat, Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat, Red-eyed Puffback, White-tailed Robin-Chat, Northern Bearded Scrub-Robin, Capped Wheatear, Common Stonechat, Abyssinian Ground-Thrush, Oberlaender’s Ground-Thrush, Grey Ground-Thrush, Little Grey Greenbul, Toro Olive Greenbul, Mountain Greenbul, Yellow-throated Nicator, Western Nicator, and many more.
Early morning after breakfast, we get to bird on our way back to Kampala/Entebbe.
End of Birding

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