Uganda Birding Tour
UGANDA BIRDING TOUR
Trip duration
21 days/ 20 nights
The Uganda Birding Tour can be combined with our Masai Mara Wildlife Safari.
Please click here to read a sample tour report.
DAY 1: ARRIVAL AND POSSIBLE WALK AT ENTEBBE BOTANICAL GARDENS
We shall arrive for our Uganda Birding Tour via Entebbe, where our team will be ready to receive us. We shall then transfer to our hotel, located nearby.
If time allows, and depending on how tired we are from the flights, we may choose to enjoy a short bird walk at the Entebbe Botanical Gardens.
Night in Entebbe.
DAY 2: MABAMBA SWAMP TO LAKE MBURO
We shall start the Uganda Birding Tour with a trip to the famous Mabamba Swamp, a nice place to search for the Shoebill. Here we shall enjoy a boat trip, in a traditional canoe. The swamp is very productive and holds a huge variety of birds’ species. We may also be lucky to find the rare Sitatunga Antelope.
In the afternoon, we shall drive to Lake Mburo; as we enjoy more birding on the way. On this day, we shall also get to cross the Uganda section of the Equator on our way. On arrival, we shall start picking our first birds of this vast area until sunset.
Night at Lake Mburo.
DAY 3: LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK
We shall enjoy game drives the entire morning as we score more birds that we may have missed the previous day. Nice mammals will also be abundant including Burchellʼs Zebra, Oribi, Cape Buffalo, Uganda Topi, Nile Hippo, Cape Eland, Vervet (Tantalus) Monkey, Olive Baboon and Impala. This will add a great number of mammal species to our Uganda Birding Tour.
We shall later enjoy a boat ride here to score more birds across the water. This is a major highlight on our Uganda Birding Tour. We may also find some Nile Crocodiles here, as they reside around the lake shore.
Night at Lake Mburo.
DAY 4: MGAHINGA GORILLA NATIONAL PARK
We shall cruise through the vast farmlands and bushes that pattern our drive south to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. We may be lucky to come across the famous Ankole cattle, with their very evident and long horns. We shall enjoy several stops on the way to pick some more birds. There will be several wetlands and other bird-rich habitats that we shall enjoy on the way.
In the afternoon, we shall enjoy birding in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. We hope to connect with some amazing Albertine Rift Endemic birds species here; many being high targets for our Uganda Birding Tour triplist.
This park is also famous for primates such as Mountain Gorillas and Golden Monkeys.
Night at Mgahinga.
DAY 5: MGAHINGA GORILLA NATIONAL PARK TO BWINDI IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL PARK- RUHIJA
We shall have a morning to bird Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. We shall focus on new trails and species we may have missed the previous day.
We shall the drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, where we shall continue our quest for more Albertine Rift Endemic species.
Night in Ruhija.
DAY 6: BWINDI IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL PARK- RUHIJA
The mighty forests at Bwindi provides a home for many birds, including a great number of Albertine Rift Endemic species. This area is often a highlight on our Uganda Birding Tour.
We shall enjoy birding the upper forest, and search for species we may have missed in the previous areas. We shall also walk along the Mubwindi Swamp track and other nearby trails.
Night in Ruhija.
DAY 7: BWINDI IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL PARK – RUHIJA TO BUHOMA
We shall start our day with more birding along the trails in Ruhija. We shall bird some of the wider roads early in the morning, when species are active here.
We shall then continue our Uganda Birding Tour to the lower slopes of Buhoma. On the way, we shall bird the very productive areas known as “the neck” and Kitahulira.
Night in Buhoma.
DAY 8 AND 9: BWINDI IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL PARK- BUHOMA (OPTIONAL GORILLA TREKKING)
We shall continue our birding on the lower Bwindi Impenetrable Forest at Buhoma; where we shall have a chance to score more species and add to our already growing list. We may also add some more mammals such as L’Hoest’s Monkey, Carruther’s Mountain Squirrel and Boehm’s Squirrel.
Those who would like to enjoy tracking the amazing Mountain Gorillas will have the opportunity on one morning. This is usually a big highlight for our Uganda Birding Tours. The trek may take between two to eight hours, depending on how far the apes have travelled during the previous night.
Those who choose to enjoy birding all day will continue exploring the trails around Buhoma, seeking the local specials. In the afternoon, we shall continue birding as one group.
Nights in Buhoma.
DAY 10: ISHASHA TO QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK
We shall start the day early and head towards the Ishasha region in southern Queen Elizabeth National Park; for our next leg of the Uganda Birding Tour. This area is famous for the local tree-climbing Lions. We may be lucky to find these beautiful cats among an array of other big game and birds.
Later, we shall arrive at the main Queen Elizabeth National Park area, where more birds and mammals await us. Mammals to expect here include Uganda Kob, Nile Hippo, Lake Chad Buffalo, African Elephant, Leopard and Spotted Hyena.
Night at Queen Elizabeth National Park.
DAY 11: QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK
We shall spend the day enjoying more game drives in this park. We hope to add more species that we missed the previous day.
In the afternoon, we shall enjoy a boat cruise along the famous Kazinga Channel, which connects Lake Edward and Lake George. Here many birds will be present and we shall take time to enjoy them. The cruise is a major highlight on our Uganda Birding Tour.
Night at Queen Elizabeth National Park.
DAY 12: TO KIBALE FOREST NATIONAL PARK
Leaving early, we shall head to Kibale Forest. We may still find some additional species as we exit the mighty Queen Elizabeth National Park. We shall stop on the way to enjoy any special birds we come across. In the afternoon, we shall enjoy birding around Kibale.
Night at Kibale.
DAY 13: KIBALE FOREST NATIONAL PARK (OPTIONAL CHIMPANZEE TREKKING)
We shall continue birding the forest trails as we add species we may have missed the previous day. We shall also visit several wetlands around the forest including Sebitoli Swamp and Bigodi Swamp.
For those who would like to enjoy tracking the amazing Chimpanzees; there will be an opportunity this afternoon. This is another major highlight on our Uganda Birding Tour. After the Chimpanzee trek, we shall rejoin as one group and continue with our birding walks.
We may also be lucky to find other mammals as we walk in the forest, such as the Central African Red Colobus, Guereza Colobus, Red-tailed Monkey, L’Hoest’s Monkey and Grey-cheeked Mangabey.
Night at Kibale.
DAY 14 AND 15: SEMULIKI FOREST
We shall drive to the Semuliki Forest to continue our birding experience. This is an area not often visited by many birding groups and will form a special part of our Uganda Birding Tour.
We shall enjoy birding here for the next two days, targeting the local specials.
Nights at Fort Portal.
DAY 16: TO MASINDI
After some morning birding, we shall start our journey to Masindi for our next phase of the tour. We shall enjoy the drive as we cross the farmlands of Western Uganda.
We shall make several stops on the way to enjoy more birds. In the afternoon, we shall arrive in Masindi where we shall enjoy some more birding.
Night at Masindi.
DAY 17: BUDONGO FOREST AND THE ROYAL MILE
This is a beautiful Guinea-Congolian Forest, often regarded as one of the best birding locations in Uganda. Budongo is always a highlight on our Uganda Birding Tours; and we often score great rarities here.
We shall enjoy the full day birding in this amazing forest as we track species across the famous Royal Mile. We shall keep an eye for the local Blue Monkeys.
Night at Masindi.
DAY 18: TO MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK
On this day we shall move towards Murchison Falls National Park. We shall start by exploring the rich habitat that spans across the Butiaba Escarpment, overlooking the beautiful Lake Albert.
We shall enjoy several stops to watch local specials in this area; up to the valley floor. We shall then carry on to Murchison Falls, where we shall add more species.
Night at Murchison Falls.
DAY 19 AND 20: MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK
We shall enjoy a full day of game drives in this beautiful park. We hope to enjoy great birding, as we also trace any species we may still be missing from this part of Uganda.
We shall keep an eye for mammals such as Patas Monkey, Bunyoro Rabbit, African Lion, Lelwel Hartebeest, Nile Hippo, Uganda Kob, Rothschild’s Giraffe and African Elephant. In the afternoon, we shall enjoy a boat ride across the Victoria Nile, where several waterbirds will be present to add to our already growing Uganda Birding Tour list.
Night at Murchison Falls.
DAY 21: MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK TO ENTEBBE
On this day we shall scan for extra birds on the way out of Murchison Falls National Park. We shall also take time to bird the Kaniyo Pabidi Forest, enroute.
Continuing towards Entebbe, we shall keep an eye for more birds that we may not have seen on our Uganda Birding Tour.
We shall then take our airport transfer for the flights home- marking the end to our lovely Uganda Birding Tour.
Highlight birds
Shoebill, White-spotted Flufftail, Lesser Flamingo, African Finfoot, Woolly-necked Stork, Hamerkop, African Jacana, Collared Pratincole, Rock Pratincole, Long-toed Lapwing, Black-headed Lapwing, Spotted Thick-knee, Senegal Thick-knee, African Darter, Purple Heron, Goliath Heron, White-backed Night-Heron, Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Spur-winged Goose, Grey Crowned Crane, Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, African Dwarf Kingfisher, Giant Kingfisher, Crested Guineafowl, Long-tailed Nightjar, Swamp Nightjar, Pennant-winged Nightjar, Slender-tailed Nightjar, Fraser’s Eagle-Owl, Northern White-faced Scops-Owl, Greyish Eagle-Owl, Brown-backed Woodpecker, African Grey Woodpecker, Shikra, Secretarybird, African Fish Eagle, Bat Hawk, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Red-necked Falcon, African Cuckoo-Hawk, Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill, Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill, Piping Hornbill, White-thighed Hornbill, White-crested Hornbill, African Grey Hornbill, African Pied Hornbill, Senegal Coucal, Double-toothed Barbet,
Common Wattle-eye, Jameson’s Wattle-eye, Grauerʼs (African Green) Broadbill, African Broadbill, Rufous-sided Broadbill, Grauerʼs Rush Warbler, Grauer’s Warbler, Buff-bellied Warbler, Red-winged Grey-Warbler, Red-winged Warbler, Mountain (Rwenzori) Masked Apalis, Siffling Cisticola, Black-backed Cisticola, Whistling Cisticola, Red-faced Crombec, Northern Crombec, Yellow-throated Leaf-love, Kakamega Greenbul, White-breasted Cuckooshrike, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo, Northern Puffback, White-crested Helmetshrike, Grey-headed Bush-shrike, Many-coloured Bush-Shrike, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Black-crowned Tchagra, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Red-throated Bee-eater, Black Bee-eater, Bar-tailed Trogon, Blue-throated Roller, White-crested Turaco, Rwenzori Turaco, Black-billed Turaco, Harlequin Quail, Common Button-Quail, Black-billed Wood-Dove, Vinaceous Dove, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, African Green Pigeon, Black Scimitarbill, Purple Starling, Western Black-headed Batis, Brown-necked Parrot, Shelley’s Sparrow,
Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, Orange Weaver, Vieillot’s Black Weaver, Speckle-fronted Weaver, Fan-tailed Widowbird, Purple-banded Sunbird, Rwenzori Double-collared Sunbird, Western Violet-backed Sunbird, Beautiful Sunbird, Silverbird, Brown Babbler, White-fronted Black-Chat, Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat, Equatorial Akalat, African (Ruwenzori) Hill Babbler, Red-throated Alethe, Fire-crested Alethe, Sabine’s Spinetail, Blue Swallow, White-rumped Seedeater, Cabanis’ Bunting, Brown-rumped Bunting, Shelley’s Crimsonwing, Red-faced Crimsonwing, Dusky Crimsonwing, Dusky Twinspot, Red-winged Pytilia, Bar-breasted Firefinch, Black-bellied Firefinch, Fawn-breasted Waxbill, Black-rumped Waxbill, White-collared Oliveback, Woodhouse’s Antpecker, Oriole Finch, Heuglin’s Francolin, Denham’s Bustard
Highlight mammals and others
Uganda Kob, Mountain Gorilla, Chimpanzee, Leopard, African Lion, Savannah Elephant, Nile Crocodile, Nile Hippo, Rothschild’s Giraffe, Burchell’s Zebra, Oribi, Cape Buffalo
Habitats covered
Savannah, Wetlands, Highland Forest, Equatorial Forest
Photographic opportunities
Excellent
Special moments
Gorilla Trekking, Chimpanzee Trekking, Equatorial Forest walk, Africa’s Big 5, Albertine Rift Endemic Birds, Boat Ride, Shoebill
