15 Days Uganda Birding and Gorilla Safari

Day 1:

Arrival in Uganda for your wildlife Birding and Gorilla Safari Adventure and transfer to your hotel for overnight in Entebbe. Depending on time of arrival, enjoy an opportunity to visit the Botanical Gardens.

Day 2:

Transfer to Murchison falls NP via Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. Proceed to the Park for your dinner and Overnight.

Day 3:

Game drives and Birding in Murchison falls national park We have an early morning breakfast and then go birding sighting Savanna birds and a game drive-in search for Wildlife. Look out for; Secretary Bird, Red-necked Falcon, Vinaceous Dove, Red-throated, Swallow-tailed and Carmine bee eaters, White-breasted Cuckoo-shrike, White-fronted black chat, Abyssian Ground hornbill, Abyssian Roller, Black-billed Barbet, Brown-backed Woodpecker, Spotted Morning Thrust, Bronze-tailed Starlings, Northern Red Bishop, Red-winged Pytilia, Black-bellied Firefinches, Black-rumped Waxbill and many more. Dinner and overnight as above.

Day 4:

Take an early morning Boat to the Delta on River Nile in search for water birds. Look out for; Little Grebe, Great White and Pink-backed Pelicans, Allen’s Gallinule, Black Crake, African Crake, Black-crowned Crane, Egyptian, African Pygmy, and the Spur-winged Gooses, Storks like; the Saddle-billed, Open-billed. More birds include, Woolly-necked, the Little Bitterns, Night Heron, Black Heron, Goliath Heron, Purple Heron, Green Backed Heron, Common Squacco Heron, Great and Long-tailed Cormorants, the African and Eurasian Spoonbills, the Lesser Flamingo, Lesser Jacana, African Finfoot, Painted Snipe, Wattled Plover and more.

Day 5:

Transfer to Kibale forest National Park which is home to 13 primate species and slightly over 300 bird species with the Green breasted Pitta being the most sought after. With major stops being in the escarpment for some species like; Beautiful sunbird, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow Weaver, Buff-bellied Warbler, Marsh Tchagra, Green-backed Eremomela, Foxy Cisticola, Cinnamon-breasted Warbler, Copper Sunbird, Long crested eagle.

Day 6:

Early Morning start birding when the birds are active and beginning to feed. key species: Green breasted Pitta, other bird species include the Western bronze-napped Pigeon, Yellow-throated Nicator, White-headed Wood hoopoe, Red Headed malimbe, Yellow-spotted barbet, Dusky-blue Flycatcher, Great blue Turaco etc.In the afternoon go for chimpanzee trekking experience.

Day 7:

Birding in Bigodi Swamp’s buffer zones of Kibale & Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Day 8:

Early morning birding in the Mweya Peninsular and Kasenyi area for a Game drive & afternoon Kazinga Channel boat Safari, Look out for; African Skimmer, Malachite Kingfishers, White-winged Terns, Swamp Fly-catcher, Grey-capped Warbler, Grey-headed Kingfisher, African jacana, Pin-tailed Whydah, Martial Eagle, Gabon Nightjars. Great and Long-tailed Cormorants, Common Squacco Heron, African Skimmer, African Fish Eagle, Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, Sedge Warbler, Papyrus Gonolek, Papyrus Canary, Great white and Pink-backed Pelicans, African Mourning Dove, African Open-billed Stork, Yellow-billed, Egyptian Goose, a number of Gull species, to mention but a few.

Day 9:

Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park early morning for the Albertine rift with several stops birding through Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth looking out for tree climbing lions. On arrival in Bwindi transfer to your lodge in the afternoon. species: Grey headed Negrofinch, Black billed weaver, Black necked weaver, Stuhlmann’s starling, Pink footed puff back, Bocage’s bush-shrike, Ludher’s bush shrike, blue headed sunbird, Ross’s and Black billed Turaco.

Day 10:

Enjoy your Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Forest. Birding will be along the water fall trail for the Narrow-tailed Starling, Waller’s Starling, Montane Oriole, African Golden Oriole Strange Weaver, Brown-capped Weaver, Dusky Crimsonwing, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, Magpie Mannikin, Yellow crowned Canary, Thick-billed Seedeater, Streaky Seedeater, African Green Broadbill, Oriole Finch, Mountain Buzzard, Handsome Francolin, Black-billed Turacco, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, African Wood Owl. More species; Rwenzori Nightjar, Bar-tailed Trogon, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, (Western) Bronze-naped Pigeon, Red-chested Owlet, Tullberg’s Woodpecker, African Broadbill, Western Green Tinkerbird, African Green Broadbill, Lagdens Bush-Shrike, Petit’s Cuckoo-Shrike, Grey Cuckoo-shrike, Toro Olive-Greenbul, White-bellied Robin Chat, Olive Thrush, White-tailed Ant-Thrush, Grauer’s Rush-warbler, Neumann’s Warbler and Red-faced Woodland Warbler.

Day 11:

Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi the place of many Birds, Enjoy your Lunch and enjoy an afternoon to relax.

Day 12:

Boat ride on the Lake Bunyonyi as you lookout for birds and later transfer to Lake Mburo National Park.

Day 13:

After breakfast, start birding in Lake Mburo National Park. Later in the midmorning take a boat trip on Lake Mburo after which continue birding in the savannah and woodlands. Species to look out for include the; Red-winged Francolin, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Brown Parrot, Barefaced Go-away bird, Blue Quails, Common Button Quail, White-headed and Black- billed Barbet, Greenwood Hoopoe, 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, Black-bellied Bustard, African-wattled Plover, Rufous napped and Flappet larks, Rufous-chested Swallow, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Black-winged Bishop, Chubb’s, 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 14:

Transfer back to Kampala / Entebbe with a stop at the Equator monument arrival on time for your overnight. Estimated Journey time 8hrs

Day 15:

An early morning transfer to Mabamba swamp the best place to see the Shoebill stork after which you are transferred to your hotel or Airport. Other birds to see; Veilots’s Black weaver, village weaver Orange weaver, Crowned Hornbill, Ross’s Turaco, Great Blue Turaco, Papyrus gonolek, Malachite Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, Shining Blue Kingfisher, Pied Wagtail etc.