7 days of Birding in Uganda
During these 7 days of birding in Uganda, you will travel across Uganda’s many landscapes on your birding safari, including the foggy Afromontane areas, rich tropical rainforests, thriving wetlands, and vast savannahs. Every area offers sightings of rare and amazing species that are fascinating to view and capture on camera, representing a chapter in the tale of Uganda’s bird species.
Because of Uganda’s outstanding conservation efforts and well-developed tourism infrastructure, you’ll see birds as you travel across the country’s key ecological zones that would otherwise be difficult to see in other regions of Africa. In addition to sightings, the safari offers the chance to experience the sounds and colours of several species, including the rare Shoebill, the Grauer’s (African Green) Broadbill, the African Finfoot, and the Abyssinian Ground Hornbill.
Your birding safari in Uganda will be an adventure full of breathtaking moments and the delight of discovery, whether you’re navigating the waters of Mabamba Bay Wetland, exploring the impenetrable forest of Bwindi, or taking in the wildlife and avian life in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Outlined Itinerary of 7 days of Birding in Uganda
Day 1: Arrival, birding Entebbe Botanical Gardens
Day 2: Birding Mabamba and Lake Mburo
Day 3: Boat ride on Lake Mburo, transfer to Ruhija
Day 4 and 5: Birding and optional Gorilla trekking in Ruhija
Day 6: Birding the neck (Bwindi), Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park via Ishasha, boat cruise at Kazinga channel
Day 7: Morning bird drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park and transfer to Entebbe
Detailed Itinerary of 7 days of Birding in Uganda
Day 1: Arrival, birding Entebbe Botanical Gardens
Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will be welcomed by a Journey’s Uganda birding guide, who will transfer you to your hotel for check-in. Depending on your arrival time, you will then be transferred to Entebbe Botanical Gardens, a popular home to various bird species. Keep an eye out for the Bat Hawk, Great Blue Turaco, Ross’s Turaco, Pale-throated Leaf Love, Congo Pied and Crowned Hornbill, Broad-billed Roller, Great Reed Warbler, Black and White Casqued Hornbill, Orange and Yellow-backed Weaver, Sedge and Grey-capped Warbler, African Fish Eagle and the Northern Brown-throated Weaver, red-chested and Levaillant’s Cuckoo, Green Hylia, Superb Sunbird, Green Crombec, Blue-spotted Wood-Dove, Northern Black Flycatcher, African Grey Parrot, Lizard Buzzard, Gaber Goshawk among others. Dinner and overnight at Papyrus Guest House.
Day 2: Birding Mabamba and Lake Mburo
After early morning breakfast on the second day of our 7 days of birding in Uganda, we will transfer to Mabamba wetlands, about 50 km west of Kampala the capital city of Uganda. It is a marsh in Uganda stretching through a narrow bay, fringed with papyrus towards Lake Victoria. You will board a canoe looking out for the prehistoric-looking Shoebill Stork, Yellow-billed and White-faced Whistling Duck, Goliath Heron, Purple Heron, Common Squacco and Rufous-bellied Heron, African and Lesser Jacana, Fantailed Widowbird, Long-toed Lapwing, Carruther’s Cisticola, Winding Cisticola, African Water Rail, Fawn-breasted Waxbill, Spur-winged and African Pygmy Goose among others. We will then transfer to Lake Mburo National Park with a stopover at the Equator. We shall bird the Lake Mburo National Park Savannah looking out for the Black-collared and Red-faced Barbet, Long-tailed Cisticola, Coqui Francolin, Black-bellied Bustard, African-white Backed and White-headed Vulture, Bare-faced Go-away Bird, White-browed Coucal, Lilac Breasted Roller, Glossy Ibis, Saddle-billed Stork, Rufous-bellied Heron, Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Green-capped Eremomela and the Brown-chested Lapwing others. Dinner and overnight at Rwakobo Rock.
Day 3: Boat ride on Lake Mburo, transfer to Ruhija
We will wake up early, have breakfast and embark on an early morning game drive along the Zebra track in Lake Mburo National Park. Keep an eye out for various wildlife species such as zebras, Eland, Impala, Warthogs, Giraffes and a variety of bird species such as the Black-bellied Bustard, African Wattled Plover and the Temminck’s Courser. We will then transfer to Rwonyo Jetty the departing point of boats in the park. The boat ride usually lasts two hours. During your tranquil two-hour boat voyage, keep an eye out for crocodiles, buffaloes, and hippos, as well as numerous bird species such as the African Fin Foot, African Fish Eagle, Giant Kingfisher, White-backed Night Heron, Rufous-bellied Heron, Little Grebe, Greater and Lesser Swamp Warbler, White-winged Warbler, and the Red-headed Lovebird among others. After this tranquil boat voyage, we will transfer to Ruhija in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Dinner and Overnight at Gorilla Mist Camp or Bakiga Lodge.
Day 4 and 5: Birding and Gorilla trekking in Ruhija
On one of these two days of our 7 days of birding in Uganda, we will have an early morning breakfast and set off to the park headquarters with our picnic lunch. You will be briefed about gorilla trekking in Uganda. Tracking gorillas can either take one hour or the entire day. Visitors are only allowed to spend one hour with a gorilla family. Gorilla trekking is a rewarding experience, especially in Bwindi which has the biggest number of mountain gorillas in the world.
On the other day, we will bird Ruhija which is one of the top birding spots in Africa. Expect high-altitude montane forest bird species and Albertine rift endemics in this Ruhija sector of the park. Look out for elusive species such as the Grauer’s (African Green) Broadbill, Dwarf Honeyguide, Grauer’s Swamp (Rush) Warbler, Black-faced Apalis, Cinnamon-bracken Warbler, Handsome Spurfowl, Blue-headed Sunbird, Regal Sunbird, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Archer’s Robin-chat, Red-throated Alethe, Stripe-breasted Tit, Kakamega Babbler, Rwenzori Apalis, Lagden and Doherty’s Bush-shrike, Montane Oriole, Equatorial Akalat, Eastern Mountain Greenbul, Rwenzori Batis, Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Mountain Illadopsis, Western Green Tinkerbird, and the Rwenzori Nightjar, Black-billed Turaco, Yellow-streaked Greenbul, Chestnut-throated Apalis among others. Dinner and overnight at Gorilla Mist Camp.
Day 6: Birding the neck (Bwindi), Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park via Ishasha, boat cruise at Kazinga channel
After Breakfast on this 6th day of our 7 days of birding in Uganda , we shall bird the neck in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Be keen enough to spot the Western-napped Bronze Pigeon, Black Bee-eater, Honeyguide Greenbul, Ansorge’s Greenbul, Doherty’s Bush-shrike, Grey-headed Sunbird, Fine-banded and Elliot’s Woodpecker, Yellow-billed Barbet, Yellow-spotted Barbet, Green, Green-throated and the Little Green Sunbird. We will transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park via Ishasha. Keep an eye out for the tree-climbing lions and bird species like the African Yellow Warbler, Marsh Tchagra, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, White-headed Barbet, Sooty Chat, Orange-breasted Bush-shrike, Common Scimitarbill, Stout, Trilling and Short-winged Warbler, Crimson-rumped and Fawny-breasted Waxbill, Spectacled Weaver, Arrow-marked Babbler and the Brubru among others. We shall embark on an evening boat cruise at the Kazinga channel which is a popular home of various wildlife species such as hippos and crocodiles and a variety of bird species such as the African Skimmers, African Spoonbill, Goliath Heron which is the biggest heron, Great White Pelican, White-winged Terns, Water Thick Knee and Pied Kingfishers among others. Dinner and overnight at Buffalo Safari Lodge.
Day 7: Morning bird drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park and transfer to Entebbe
After Breakfast, we will embark on a morning bird drive in Kasenyi the northern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park looking out for the Rufous-necked Lark, Black-bellied Bustard, Spot-flanked Barbet, Brown Snake Eagle, Martial Eagle, Red-capped Lark and Lappet-faced Vulture among others. You will then be transferred back to Entebbe for departure. That will mark the end of our 7 days of birding in Uganda.