This tour highlights a few great birding spots in Uganda
Day 1: Arrival and visit to the Entebbe Botanical Gardens
After landing at the Entebbe International Airport, we shall check in at the lodge and later have an evening birding session at the beautiful Entebbe Botanical Gardens. This is a rich habitat in Entebbe town on the shores of Lake Victoria. Some of the highlights include; the Splendid and Ruppell’s Starlings, Woodland, Malachite and Pied Kingfishers, Crowned, Pied and Black and White-casqued Hornbill, African Fish Eagle, Egyptian Goose, Orange Weaver, Green-throated, Olive-bellied, Scarlet-chested and Red-chested Sunbirds among others. There are also a few primates to see like the Vervet, Red-tailed, and the guereza colobus monkeys. Overnight back at the lodge
Day 2: Shoebill tracking in Mabamba and transfer to Kibale National Park
After our early morning breakfast, we shall head to Mabamba wetland on the shores of Lake Victoria. This is a Ramsar site that hosts the prehistoric Shoebill as well as other waterfowls like the Spur-winged, Knob-billed and Yellow-billed Ducks, Long-toed, Spur-winged, African Wattled Lapwings, Winding Cisticola, Malachite Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied, Striated, Grey, Squacco, Purple and Goliath Herons, Weyn’s, Northern Brown- throated, Black-headed and Village Weavers and Papyrus Gonolek to mention a few. We shall meander around the marshes on a canoe as we track the Shoebill.
After the Shoebill experience, we shall transfer to Kibale National Park a mid-altitude forest found in western Uganda. Kibale is famously known as the primate capital of the world and this is because of its primate diversity. The forest is home to over 5000 chimpanzees as well as several monkey species including the Uganda Mangabey, Red-tailed, Blue, Mantled Guereza and Red Colobus Monkeys. The forest boasts of over 350 bird species including the sought-after Green-breasted Pitta. Overnight at the lodge
Day 3: Morning Chimpanzee tracking and afternoon birding in Bigodi swamp
After our breakfast, we shall head to the park offices for our chimpanzee tracking briefing before we meet with man’s closest cousin. Here we shall be briefed on the dos and don’ts as we track the chimpanzees. This is normally a half-day activity and later we shall return to the lodge for some relaxation. In the afternoon, we shall have a moment of birding at the Bigodi wetland sanctuary. This is a community-managed project to conserve this rich wetland with over 100 bird species but also 7 primates. Some of the possible sightings include; White-spotted Flufftail, Great Blue and Ross’s Turacos, Black and White casqued Hornbill, Papyrus Gonolek, Blue-breasted and Shining Blue Kingfishers, Yellow-billed, Double-toothed and Yellow-spotted Barbets among others. Overnight back at Kibale Forest Lodge
Day 4: Birding to Queen Elizabeth National Park with an afternoon boat cruise in Mweya
After breakfast, we shall drive further south and cross the equator through Toro kingdom to the scenic Queen Elizabeth National Park. This park boasts of over 610 bird species in varied habitats. These include Bushes and thickets, open water bodies, big wetlands, a tropical rainforest as well as savannas. It is not surprising that this park is very diverse in birdlife and this contributes to the long checklist. This park is also famous for the big cats, especially the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha, leopards, elephants, buffalos and other big mammals. We shall take an afternoon boat ride on Kazinga channel which is a natural rift valley water body that is home to multitudes of species. Some of the possible sightings include; the African Skimmer, African Spoonbill, Grey and Purple Herons, Marabou and Yellow-billed Storks, Hamerkop, African Fish Eagle, Reed and Great Cormorants, Egyptian Goose, Water Thick-knee, Wattled and Spur-winged Plovers, Malachite and Pied Kingfishers, Black-tailed Godwit, and Red-throated Bee-eaters among many others.
Day 5: Birding to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
We shall wake up early morning, have breakfast and drive to the home of the gorillas. This journey will be through the southern part of Queen Elizabeth in Ishasha and a lot of species will be seen on the way including Sooty Chat, Palm-nut, Lappet-faced and White-backed Vultures, African Harrier-hawk, Verreuax’s Eagle-owl, Crested and Helmeted Guinea fowls, Red-necked Francolin, Arrow-marked Babbler, Southern Red Bishop, Meyer’s Parrot, Martial and Wahlberg’s Eagles to mention a few. We shall later check in at our lodge in Bwindi and personal birding around the lodge can be done. Overnight at Ride A Woman.
Day 6: Gorilla Tracking and an evening birding in the forest
After breakfast, we shall head to the park headquarters for a briefing on the dos and don’ts before gorilla tracking. This once-in-a-lifetime experience is very exciting and Bwindi is a World Heritage site where three great apes live together in harmony. We shall then head out to meet the gentle giants and this activity can take a few hours to a whole day. We shall later head back after encountering our giant cousins for an hour. We shall relax a bit at the lodge before heading out in the evening for a birding walk in the forest. Bwindi is one of Africa’s greatest birding spots with more than 20 Albertine rift endemics. Some of the possible sightings here include the; Bar-tailed Trogon, Black-faced Rufous-Warbler, Short-tailed Warbler, Dusky Blue, Cassin’s, Chapin’s and White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Dwarf Honeyguide, Elliot’s and Tull berg’s Woodpeckers, Oriole Finch, Kivu Ground-Thrush, Rwenzori Batis, Strange Weaver, Black-headed Waxbill, Regal, Northern Double-collared and Purple-breasted Sunbirds among many others. Overnight back at the lodge
Day 7: Birding at Lake Mburo National Park
After breakfast, we shall bird to Lake Mburo National Park. This is Uganda’s savanna national park that boasts more than 350 species of birds. It is also rich in big mammals with the largest populations of zebras, impala, giraffes and others like buffalos, waterbuck, bushbuck, and eland as well as hyenas and leopards. Some of the special birds here include the emerald-spotted Wood-Dove, Lilac-breasted Roller, Black-collared, Crested, Red-faced and White-headed Barbets, Coqui Francolin, African Finfoot and the Bare-faced Go-away Bird to mention a few. Overnight at the lodge
Day 8: Transfer back to Entebbe and departure
Depending on the flight time, we shall have an optional nature walk in Lake Mburo National Park and drive back to the city through the Equator. We shall have a brief stop here for lunch and later check in at Entebbe International Airport. This will be our end of the trip.
