7-DAY Diverse Uganda Birding Safari
The 7-DAY Diverse Uganda Birding Safari takes you through Uganda’s diverse wildlife habitats, ranging from swamps to dense forests and vast savannahs. The tour takes you to Mabamaba Bay, Budongo Forest Royal-mile, Murchison Falls National Park, Kibale Forest, and Queen Elizabeth National Park
Detailed Itinerary of the 7-DAY Diverse Uganda Birding Safari
DAY 1: BIRDING from Kampala Masindi via Mabamba Bay—Shoebill Stork
I am assuming that you will be in Entebbe already and today we start very early and bird to Mabamba Swamp, 50 km west of Kampala. Look out for many different birds on our way to the swamp, like the Papyrus Gonolek, White-shouldered Tit, Western-banded Snake Eagle, White-winged Warbler and Weyns’s Weaver. This Swamp is one of the best places to spot the exceptional Shoebill Stork. But also many other species can be found here, like the Allen’s and Purple Gallinule, Grey herons, Jacanas, Rufous-bellied Heron, Squacco, Purple and Goliath Heron, the Globally threatened Pallid Harrier and Blue Swallow a migrant species, a variety of egrets, ducks, etc. we later drive backwards to Kampala then transfer to Masindi where we shall spend our night via the Luwero triangle passing through undulating grasslands and mosaic woodland where we drive looking out for the White-crested Turaco, Bronze-tailed Starling, lesser Blue and Great Blue-eared Starlings, Yellow-mantled, Fan-tailed, Hartlaub’s Marsh and Yellow-shouldered Widowbird, Black and Red-winged Black Bishops, White-headed Barbet, Cardinal and Nubian Woodpecker, Lesser and Greater Honeyguide, Grey Capped Warbler, White-shouldered Tit, Brown-throated Wattle-Eye, Brown Twin-spot, Eastern and Dark Chanting Goshawk, Banded Snake Eagle, Broad-billed Roller, Lizard Buzzard, Shikra, Wahlberg’s Eagle, Grey Kestrel, Lesser Striped, Angola and Barn Swallow, Little, Red-headed, Village and Black-headed Weaver, Red-throated Bee-eater, Sooty Chat, and Black-headed Batis, among others. Dinner and Overnight stay at Masindi Hotel. BLD
DAY 2: BIRDING BUDONGO-ROYAL MILE AND AND TRANSFER TO NORTHERN MUCHISON
On day 2 of the 7-day Diverse Uganda Birding Safari, we will depart early for the nearby Budongo Forest, birding along the Royal Mile, a truly spectacular road with forest canopy towering far overhead. There is a good system of trails in the forest, today we expect skulking birds like the Nahan’s Partridge, excessively noisy White-thighed Hornbill, graceful Cassin’s and Sabine’s Spinetail, Blue-throated Roller, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Forest Flycatcher, Chestnut-capped Flycatcher, Ituri Batis, Lemon-bellied Crombec, Tit Hylia, Uganda Woodland Warbler, Forest Robin, Yellow-billed, Grey-headed, Hairy-breasted, and Yellow-spotted Barbet, Great Blue and Black Billed Turaco, Dusy Long-tailed Cuckoo, Spotted, Plain, Slender-billed, White Throated, Little Grey and Little Greenbul, Red-tailed Bristlebill, and Black-capped Apalis, among others. Lookout for the blue, red-tailed, and black and white Colobus monkey. On lucky days, the chimps cross the trail. Dinner and overnight at Hornbill Wilderness Lodge 2 nights. BLD
DAY 3: BIRDING NORTHERN MURCHISON FALLS
A highlight of the visit will undoubtedly be the boat trips to the bottom of the falls and on the game drive as we make it to the delta; on lucky days we have great views of the Shoebill Stork. There will be other birds, including the Red-throated and Northern Carmine Bee-eater mammals such as Rothschild’s giraffe, Cape Buffalo, elephant, waterbuck, and many others. Other birds to look out for include the Saddle-billed, yellow-billed, and African Open-billed Stork, Heuglins Francolin, Senegal Thick-knee, Rock Pratincole, Giant, Woodland, Grey-headed, Malachite, Pygmy, and striped Kingfishers. On the game drive, we look out for Heuglin’s Francolins, Black-billed Barbet, Northern and Red-faced Barbet, Swallow-tailed, Northern Carmine and Little Bee-eaters, Abyssinian Rollers, the giant Abyssinian Ground Hornbills, Black-winged and Northern Red Bishops, Chestnut Crowned and White-browed Sparrow Weaver, Northern Crombec, Namaqua, African Morning, Ring-necked, and Red-eyed Dove, among others. The Patas Monkey will be the primate to look out for on this day. A night drive today is very advisable, looking out for nocturnal mammals and birds. BLD
Day 4: Transfer to Kibale Forest
On this day of the 7-DAY Diverse Uganda Birding Safari, we start early and drive through the Butiaba Escarpment which is good for the dry savannah birds like Foxy Cisticola, Pygmy Sunbird, White Fronted black Chat, Caban’s, Brown-rumped and Cinnamon-breasted Rock Buntings, Red, Orange and Green-winged Pytilias, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Red-headed, Village, Lesser-masked and Vitelline Masked Weaver, Northern Crombec, Silverbird, Brown Barbbler, Black-faced Waxbill, Mocking Cliff Chat, Greed-backed Eremomela, Dark-chanting Goshawk and many others after we continue further south expect today on our stopovers to see the Brown and Western Banded Snake Eagle, Little Sparrow Hawk, Wahlberg’s Eagle, Joyfull Greenbul, Grey-headed Barbet, Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo, White-breasted Nigrita, African Emerald Cuckoo, Afep Pigeon and White-naped Pigeon, Mottled and Sabine’s Spinetail, White-collared Oliveback, Waller’s, Narrow-tailed, Splendid and Stuhlmann’s Starling and many more. We later continue and check in at Chimpanzee Forest Lodge. BLD.
Day 5: Birding Kibale forest and transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Today we have an option of chimp tracking. The close cousins of ours, the Chimpanzees, live in intricate societies, just like a community of humans, they can solve complicated problems, they are also able to make and bring into play tools, engage in convoluted social interactions; and communicate through a variety of sounds and gestures. When encountering these habituated chimpanzees, you may scrutinise a variety of behaviours. It’s worth watching them play and interact with one another. The main bird species we look out for here is the Green-breasted Pitta, a very uncommon bird restricted to forest interiors with the best chances of seeing it here. We shall as well look out for the African Broadbill, Fraser’s (Rufous) Flycatcher Thrush, Red-tailed Ant-Thrush, Narrow-tailed, Waller’s and Purple-headed Glossy-Starling, Brown, Pale and Scaly-Breathed Illadopsis, White-naped, Afep and Remeron Dove, Masked Apalis, Honeyguide, Plain and Toro Olive-Greenbul, Great Blue and Black-billed Turaco, Buff-spotted and Golden-crowned Woodpecker, Green Crombec and many more other spp. Later in the afternoon, we transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park, the second largest in Uganda and spend our night at Pumba Safari Cottages. BLD
DAY 6: BIRDING QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK
The Park which is named after the Queen of England to commemorate her visit in 1954, is the second largest national park in Uganda and boasts of the highest numbers of biodiversity of any protected area in the world given the diverse ecosystems, from open savannahs to tropical rainforests, mashes and an alignment of crater lakes, punctuated with Lake Edward in the south and George in the north. Queen Elizabeth National Park has close to 100 species of mammals and a remarkable 612 bird species, hence making it a superb safari territory, with elephants, a profusion of large hippos schools, the elusive Giant Forest hog and handsome Uganda Kob all regularly sighted around the tourist village on the Mweya Peninsula, which also boasts a marvellous waterfront setting in the shadow of the Rwenzori Mountain. After the morning game drive there will be some relaxation then have a boat ride along the natural Kazinga channel which takes us close to lots of water birds among which we shall see the Goliath Heron, Black Crake, African Spoonbill, African Jacana, the widespread and locally common Collared Pratincole, Great White and Yellow-billed Egret, Squacco Heren, Dwarf Bittern, African Skimmers and many more, dinner and overnight stay at Pumba Safari Cottages. BLD
Day 7: Transfer to Entebbe enroute
Today before you set and depending on the luck of day 6, you can start with a morning birding/game drive in the Queen Elizabeth plains. On a wonderful lucky day, we have had records of over 160 bird species. We shall start early and bird through the vast grassland looking out for rare bird spp within there like the Grassland Moustached Warbler, Black and White Browed Coucal, Holub’s Golden, Spectacled, Village, Black Headed, Lesser Masked and Black Necked Weaver, Grey Kestrel, Southern Red Bishop, Flappet, Red Capped, White-tailed and Rufous-napped Lark, African, Plain-backed and Long-billed Pipit, Quail Finch, Fawn Breasted, Common and Crimson-rumped Waxbill, White-browed Robin-chat, Black-headed Gonolek, Common and Harlequin Quail, Black-chested, Western-banded and Brown Snake-Eagle, African Crake, Red-billed Firefinch, Temminck’s Couser and many more other, later start the drive to Entebbe with a few birding stops. BL
The tour will cost $1,370 per person sharing in a double/twin room
The price quoted includes
All meals and accommodations mentioned in the Itinerary
Mineral water every day
All entrance fees required in the parks and other birding fees
All ground transportation in 4WD vehicle, also airport pick up and drop off with a professional bird/driver guide
It excludes:
One Chimp permit (250)
Tips
Telephone calls
Internet fees and any other items of a personal nature.
We highly value your interests and our services are custom-made to meet all clients’ needs; therefore, do not hesitate to seek our satisfaction.