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
Full Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival for birding – Western Uganda
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.
Day 2: Birding in Mabamba Swamp & L. Mburo National Park
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.
Scientifically called Balaeniceps Rex
Day 3: Bird watching in L. Mburo National Park
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 a number of 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.
Day 4: Birding tour to Ruhija – Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Early in the morning after breakfast, we bird on a game drive on our way to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Day 5: Birding in Mubwindi swamp – Ruhija
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.
Day 6: Birding tour in Buhoma
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.
Day 7: Optional Gorilla tracking and Bird watching in Buhoma
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.
Day 8: Birding Safari to Queen Elizabeth National Park
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.
Day 9: Bird watching in Queen Elizabeth National Park
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, a number of Gull species, just to mention but a few.
Scientific name: Ceryle rudis
Day 10: Bird-watching safari to Kibale Forest National Park
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.
Day 11 & 12: Optional Chimpanzee tracking and Bird watching in Kibale
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.
Day 13: Birding safari tour from Kibale to Semliki Valley National Park
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 Valley National Park.
Day 14: Whole day birding in Semliki Valley
Early in the morning, we take to the Kirumia trail for our whole day birding experience. We look for a number of 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.
Day 15: Birding to Kampala / Entebbe
Early morning after breakfast, we get to bird on our way back to Kampala/Entebbe.
Day 16: Departure
- End of Birding
