15 DAYS BEST UGANDA BIRDING SAFARI

 

Day 1: Arrival and Entebbe Environments
Meet your guides at Entebbe International Airport and transfer to Golf Course Hotel. Entebbe sits on the shores of Lake Victoria and we’ll begin our tour with some bird watching along the Entebbe Peninsula, especially on the lush grounds of the Entebbe Botanical Gardens, where we’ll see both forest and lakeshore birds. Our first birds could include Palm-nut Vulture, Great Blue Turaco, Eastern Gray Plantain-eater, African Pied Hornbill, Splendid Glossy Starling and Orange and Slender-billed Weavers, orange weaver, Ross’s and Great Blue Turaco. Dinner and overnight at Golf Course View Hotel.

Day 2: Transfer to Masindi
After breakfast in the morning, you’ll set off for Masindi, passing through undulating grasslands and mosaic woodland where we’ll keep looking out for savannah species like the White-crested Turaco, Bronze-tailed Starling, Black Bishop, Yellow Bellied Hyliota, White-Headed Barbet. Dinner and overnight at Masindi Hotel.

Day 3: Budongo- Royal Mile tour
Depart early for the nearby Budongo Forest, driving along the Royal Mile, a truly spectacular road with forest canopy towering far overhead. There is a good system of trails in the forest, and as we explore them over the next two full days we’ll hope to see vociferous Nahan’s Francolin, excessively noisy White-thighed Hornbill, graceful Cassin’s and Sabine’s Spinetails, rather secretive Blue-throated Roller, Yellow-browed Camaroptera puffing out its blue cheek patches as it pipes incessantly, Chestnut-capped Flycatcher high in the canopy, Ituri Batis and Black-capped Apalis. Dinner and overnight at Masindi Hotel.

Days 4: Murchison Falls National Park
Departing Masindi we’ll pass through Budongo  Kaniyo Pabid Sector, our main search here will be the Puvel’s illadopsis, Yellow and Grey Longbill, Yellow Billed Barbet among others, we continue and arrive in the late afternoon. Dinner and overnight at Paraa or Sambiya Safari Lodge.

Days 5: Murchison falls tour
This day we’ll explore this splendid park. Visit the awesome Murchison Falls, where the mighty White Nile is forced through a thirty-foot-wide gap. A highlight of the visit will undoubtedly be the boat trips to the foot of the falls and to the delta area, and of course the one bird that will be on everyone’s mind is the bizarre Shoebill. Superb views can be had of this wonderful bird, and the captain and naturalist on the boat rarely disappoint their passengers. There will be other birds including vivid Red-throated Bee-eater as well as mammals such as Rothschild’s Giraffe, Elephant, Waterbuck and many others. Our drives around the extensive plains will provide classic African vistas complemented by exciting birds. Among others we’ll be on the lookout for Saddle-billed Stork, African Finfoot, Red-necked Falcon, Senegal Thick-knee, Rock Pratincole, Giant, Woodland Grey Headed, Malchite, Pygmy and striped Kingfishers. In the scattered woodland and savanna, We’ll search for Heuglin’s Francolins irrupting on noisy wings from the rank grass, gem-like and graceful Swallow-tailed and Blue-breasted Bee-eaters, Abyssinian Rollers, comical Abyssinian Ground Hornbills and buzzing jewels in the form of Northern Red Bishops. Dinner and overnight at Paraa Safari Lodge.

Day 6: Murchison Falls – Kibale Forest National Park
Leaving Murchison Falls, we’ll make a short drive to the recently discovered population of Puvel’s Illadopsis, a dowdy bird with an impressive voice. Toward Hoima there are a few papyrus swamps where specialties such as White-winged Warbler and Papyrus Gonolek can be found, while the surrounding scrub may harbor, Double-toothed Barbet, Black-bellied Seed cracker and Gray-headed Olive back. Dinner and overnight at Ndali Lodge.

Day 7: Kibale National Park
Kibale is home to nine species of primates and there is the opportunity for a Chimpanzee trek on easy, well-marked trails. Birding in the forest is also very rewarding and you could encounter White-naped Pigeon, African Gray Parrot, Black Bee-eater, Hairy-breasted Barbet, Chestnut-winged and Purple-headed Starlings, Blue-throated Brown and Superb Sunbirds, White-collared Olive back among others. Afternoon birding in the forest then later Dinner and overnight at Ndali Lodge.

Day 8: Queen Elizabeth National park
Your next port of call is the world-famous Queen Elizabeth National Park on the shores of Lake Edward. After breakfast, you will transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park and after checking in at the lodge, you’ll head straight out to spend the remainder of the day driving along trails looking for such park specialties as Uganda Kob and Giant Forest Hog. Numerous birds inhabit the surrounding scrub and lakeshore and in the evening spectacular Pennant-winged Nightjars fly around the grounds of the lodge. Dinner and overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge.

 

Day 9: Queen Elizabeth National park
Today you’ll explore Queen Elizabeth National Park in earnest, taking scenic drives around the extinct volcanoes and searching the scrub and lakeshore for the many birds that live here. Birds are numerous and could include the magnificent Martial Eagle, comical Red-necked Spurfowl, secretive Black-rumped and Common Buttonquails, cautious African Crakes peering out from the gassy verge, in the afternoon you’ll have a boat trip along the Kazinga Channel, the narrow neck of water that connects Lakes George and Edward. Here you’ll have fine views of many water birds and some of the skulking birds in the reedbeds. African Skimmers cutting a trench across the waters in the quiet bays, enormous Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl booming around the lodge in the evenings, crisp Sooty Chats, glistening Red-chested Sunbird and Slender-billed Weaver coming into the dining room to share breakfast. Dinner and overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge.

Day 10: Queen Elizabeth / Bwindi
This morning Depart Mweya with packed lunch for Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, we shall have a drive through the Ishasha sector in southern Queen Elizabeth, on a lucky day we shall have chances of seeing the tree climbing lions. Dinner and overnight night at Gorilla Resort.

Days 11: Gorilla trekking
After an early hearty breakfast to give you energy for the day's activity, you will transfer to the park headquarters for briefing before you embark on Gorilla trekking. The chances of finding a troop are good and spending an hour with these immense but placid creatures is an experience never to be forgotten. The forest of the park’s lowland portion has an avifauna quite different from that of the higher parts, where altitude and the steep tracks make for slow progress. Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo, Western Bronze-naped Pigeon, Bar-tailed Trogon, African Broadbill and White-bellied Robin are just a few of the species we may find in the forest. Overnight at Gorilla Resort/Mantana Luxury Tented Camp.

Day 12: Bwindi / Lake Mburo
Leaving Bwindi Gorilla Forest National Park, you’ll look for a few marsh birds before continuing to Lake Mburo National Park for the remainder of the day. As we trace the edge of the dense papyrus-filled bays we’ll stop at several locations to look for regional specialties such as Senegal and Brown-chested Plovers, Brown Parrot, White winged Black Tit and Yellow-throated Leaflove, to name but a few, while common mammals might include Impala, Topi, Oribi and Burchell’s Zebra. Night at Mantana Lake Mburo Tented Camp or Arcadia Cottages.

Day 13: Lake Mburo / Kampala
From Mbarara you’ll travel to Kampala reaching in the evening. Over night at Speke Hotel luxury.

Day 14: Kampala- Mabamba Islands- Mabira forest
After an early breakfast we’ll transfer to Mabira Forest. Although isolated by the surrounding banana and sugar plantations, this remarkably productive forest is possibly the richest in the country, and well-maintained trails make birding easy. Mixed flocks are often found along the broad tracks, and noisy groups of the near-endemic Weyn’s Weaver, arguably the most attractive of the group, busy themselves in the canopy. We can also hope to see African Pied Hornbill and Forest Wood-Hoopoe, while the seasonal pools can attract Blue-breasted, White-bellied, Dwarf and Shining-blue Kingfishers.
Yellow-throated and Speckled Tinkerbirds live in the canopy and Toro Olive Greenbul and Green-tailed Bristle bill are secretive interior inhabitants. If there are safari ants on the march, Fire-crested Alethe, Forest Robin and Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat may be in
attendance. Over night in Mabira Forest Lodge.

Day 15: Airport transfer
We’ll have another morning in Mabira Forest and transfer back to Entebbe in time for your flights back home.