Uganda Birding and Gorillas Safari

This morning, we leave Entebbe for Lake Mburo National Park to enjoy some typical countryside and game birding. we pass via Mpanga forest. look out for Copper Sunbird and Klaas’s Cuckoo, African Pied Hornbill, Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush, Red-tailed Greenbul. when lucky we can see Western Nicator in the forest. We continue to lake Mburo national park passing via equator. There are chances of seeing Liliac breasted Roller, Wahlberg’s and Long-crested Eagles, Eurasian Kestrel, Gray-backed Fiscal and Bare-faced Goaway- bird. Red-backed Scrub-Robin, Singing Cisticolas, Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, Red-necked and Crested Francolins, Emerald-spotted Wood-dove, Crowned Lapwing, a Brown Snake-Eagle and African Blackheaded Oriole.

Overnight: Rwakobo Rock / Mihingo Lodge.

Meal plan: Full Board (B,LD)

Today we explore the woodlands and thickets of Uganda’s smallest game park. This park is great for woodland species especially some species that you would describe as being at their furthest northern range.

the park’s highlights like Red-Faced Barbet which is an East African endemic, Crested and Spot-flanked Barbets, Brown-chested, Crowned, Wattled and Senegal Lapwings, Southern Black Flycatcher, Slate coloured Boubou, some eagles like Batelure and Wahlberg’s, Honeyguide, Black Cuckoo-shrike, Sulphur breasted Bush-shrike, White-winged Black-Tit, African

Paradise-Flycatcher.

look out  for Red-headed Weaver, Lappet-faced Vulture, Yellow breasted Apalis, Trilling Cisticola, Chin-spot Batis, reenwood- hoopoe.  Grey Tit-flycatcher, White-backed Vulture, African pipit, and the African Scops-Owl in the dark.

Overnight: Rwakobo rock / Mihingo Lodge.

Meal plan: Full Board (B,LD)

Today we go on a boat ride on Lake Mburo. our main focus is to scan for African Finfoot. we scan through the shoreline and the hanging riverine thickets, for views of the Black Crake, White-backed Night-heron, African Finfoot that and several African Fish-Eagles. Our weaver list continued to grow Spectacled Weaver and we also saw Greycapped Warbler and a few more birds as we drove out of the park after the boat ride.

We transfer to Mgahinga gorilla national park, known as Africa’s number one birding spot On the way, we scan for Augur Buzzard, Black-breasted Snake eagles. Stop at some Papyrus swamps for White-winged and Greater Swamp Warblers. look out for Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater and African Stone-chat.

We look out again for Doherty’s Bushshrike and Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo. The L’Hoest and, Guereza colobus, Blue Monkeys are the primates  likely to encounter on this trail. We head to our lodge ready for Mountain Gorilla tracking the coming morning.

Overnight: Bakiga lodge.

Meal plan: Full Board (B,LD)

We head our early towards mountain Sabinyo to the hike looking for Albertine Rift endemics. Cape Robin-Chat, Yellow Bishop, Streaky Seed-eater and Plain Martins. Cinnamon Bracken

Warbler and Archer’s Robin-Chat. Enjoy this scenic montane forest park, scan for Kandt’s Waxbill which has been split from Black-headed Waxbill, Western and Yellow-rumped Tinkerbirds, albertine rift endemics that included the Regal and Stuhlmann’s Sunbirds, Rwenzori Batis, Rwenzori Turaco, Red faced Woodland Warbler and Stripe-breasted Tit.  Mountain Yellow Warbler, Dusky-turtle Dove, Chubb’s Cisticola, Thick-billed Seedeater, Chestnut-throated Apalis.

Overnight: Travellers Rest Hotel

Meal plan: Full Board (B,LD)

Today, we transfer to Bwindi national park- Ruhija eastern sector, known as Africa’s number one birding spot. We stop at Echuya forest, where we scan for Mountain Sooty Boubou, Ruwenzori and Black-faced Apalises, Mountain Yellow Warbler, a few Banded Prinia individuals undergrowth, White-browed Crombec, Brown-capped Weaver, Northern Puff-back. We stop again at marsh on the highway looking for Grauer’s Swamp Warbler and the stop at a papyrus around Lake Bunyonyi looking for Red-chested Flufftail. we look for Doherty’s Bushshrike and Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo. The L’Hoest and Blue Monkeys are the primates  likely to encounter on this trail. We head to our lodge ready for Mountain Gorilla tracking the coming morning.

Overnight: Bakiga lodge.

Meal plan: Full Board (B,LD)

Ruhija is located eastern part  of Bwindi Impenetrable National park is well known for being Africa’s number one birding spot. Grauer’s Broadbill is the usually one of the main sought after bird today. Other species to look out for  include; Black-tailed Oriole, Black-throated Apalis and Dusky Tit. Yellow-streaked Greenbul,. when lucky you can get, Narina Trogon, Black-billed Turaco (the green turacos are unmistakable when seen in flight, they flash spectacular red wings. Whitebellied Crested Flycatcher, Olive long-tailed Cuckoo, and Grauer’s Swamp Warbler. Purple-breasted, Blue-headed Regal sunbird,  Rwenzori double coloured sun bird,  Archers Robin chat,  Dohytes  bush shrike,  Collard apalis, Caruthers’s Cisticola,  Yellow eyed black flycatcher,  Dwarf honey guide,  Mountain masked Apalis,  Rwenzori batis.

Wallers and Stuhlmann’s Starlings and the attractive White-headed Wood-hoopoes. There are also chances of seing monkeys including L’Hoest’s, blue, red-tailed and guereza colobus, monkey and  back fronted duikers.

Overnight: Bakiga lodge

Meal plan: Full Board (B,LD)

Today is the big day… Today our guide will pick you up from your lodge, at 7.30am transfer to park gate (5-10 minutes) Pre-tracking orientation starts at 8:00AM. Trekking through the thick jungle, traversing canopies of thick undergrowth can be tough, wet, strenuous but not impossible – the tracking can last from as little as 45 minutes to as much as 10 hours. The activity depends on location of gorillas the previous day. Visitors therefore are supposed to move along with packed/picnic lunch and water, and should be equipped with strong water-proof clothing and must be averagely healthy. 

Coming face-to-face with a mountain gorilla is a truly humbling and emotional experience. This is a fantastic and privileged opportunity to get up close and personal with Uganda’s very own ‘Gorillas in the Mist’.

In the evening we move around scanning for Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo,  Grauer’s Warbler, Black-tailed oriole, Luhder’s Bush-shrike and Gray Cuckoo-shrikes

After tracking we transfer to  Buhoma through the famous “neck” we look for Mountain Wagtail Little Green, Green, Olive and Bluethroated Brown  sunbirds and plain greenbul, Little, Gray, Toro Olive, Red-tailed, and Shelley’s, Yellow-throated Tinkerbird, White-tailed Anti-thrush, flitting views of the shy Black-faced Rufous Warbler, Cassin’s and Dusky Blue Flycatchers and excellent views of Scaly-breasted Illadopsis.

We have picnic lunch stop, then scan for  Black Bee-eater, Bar-tailed Trogon, Buff-throated Apalis, a Dwarf Honeyguide, the shy African Black Duck. we check in at our lodge.

Overnight: Haven lodge / Ride4woman Buhoma Homestay

Meal plan: Full Board (B,LD)

Today we look out for Guinea-Congo forest and Albertine rift species. we do birding the secondary forest, look out for Grey-winged Robin-Chat, Grey Green Bush-shrike, Grey and Buff-throated Apalises, Grey-headed and White-breasted Nigritas.

In the primary forest, scan for Red-throated Alethe. undergrowth we search for White-tailed Anti-Thrush, the skittish Mountain Illadopsis, Equatorial Akalat, Red-tailed Bristlebill, and flocks of Red-tailed Greenbul. Shelley’s Greenbul, Cabanis’s Greenbul,  woodpeckers like the large Goldencrowned, Elliot’s Woodpecker, Tullberg’s Woodpecker, White-bellied Robin-Chat, Yellow-throated Tinkerbird, Oriole Finch, the warbler-like Grey-headed Sunbird. Willcocks’s Honeyguide, Pink-footed Puffback , Red-faced Woodland-Warbler. Short tailed warbler,  Red throated alethe,  Chapins flycatcher,  Kivu, oberlanders ground thrushes,  Blue headed sunbird, Blue shouldered Robin chat, Bar tailed tragon,  Dusky longtailed cuckoo,  Purple breasted sun bird.

Overnight: Haven lodge / Ride4woman Buhoma Homestay

Meal plan: Full Board (B,LD)

Today we leave the mountains and transfer to lowland savanah in the rift valley. We look out for raptors like Gabar Goshawk, Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk and Banded Snake-Eagle. Impressive views of Wing-snapping, Croaking and Stout Cisticolas, White-winged Widowbird, White-headed Barbet, Pin-tailed Whydah, and Red shouldered Cuckoo-shrike. Grey backed fiscal as well.

Overnight: Mweya Safari lodge / Mazike Valley lodge

Meal plan: Full Board (B,LD)

The park, named after the Queen of England in 1954, is Uganda’s second largest national park. Queen Elizabeth National Park has the highest biodiversity ratings of any game reserve in the world. This is evidenced by the presence of open savannah, rainforest, dense papyrus swamps and brooding crater lakes, and the vast Lake Edward. Queen Elizabeth National Park has almost 100 mammal species and a remarkable 612 bird species hence making it a superb safari destination.

After early breakfast, head out for a morning game drive/birding. There are chances of finding lions, hyenas, elephants, vultures, hawks, cuckoos,   

Lunch at the Lodge and in the afternoon go on launch (boat) cruise on the Kazinga Channel to see a variety of wildlife like, hippos, crocodile and bird life from a boat for two hours. This boat ride normally targets congregations of birds and big game when they come down to cool off during the heat of the day.

The Kazinga channel is a narrow strip of water that connects Lakes George and Edward, with excellent photographic opportunities for waterside birds and abundant Hippopotamus, huge families of buffalos, and elephants. Look out for birds like Yellow-billed Stork, Saddle-billed Stork, African Spoonbill, Raptors, Plovers, White-browed Robin-chat, Rufous napped Lark, Red-chested Sunbird, Scarlet chested Sunbird, Shrikes, Weavers, Finches, African Spoonbills, a few African Skimmers, Gull-billed and White-winged Terns, Curlew Sandpipers, Common, Marsh and Wood Sandpipers, Common Greenshank, one Ruff, Little Stint. If you’re lucky you can observe three Gulls; Lesser black-backed, Heuglin’s and Grey-hooded Gull, both Great White and Pink-backed Pelicans, Great and Long-tailed Cormorants, Red-throated Bee-eaters.

There are chances of finding Square-tailed and Black-shouldered Nightjars in the evening after 7pm.

Overnight: Mweya safari lodge or Ihamba lakeside safari lodge

Meal plan: Full Board

Today we transfer to Kibale forest national park. we check in into our lodge, we lunch before going for an afternoon bird walk around Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary. The sanctuary is a community based initiative and one of the most successful few in the country. With our site guide from the community, we walked around and through the papyrus. We search for the White-spotted Flufftail, Hairy-breasted Barbet, African Shrike Flycatcher, and a Shinning Blue

Kingfisher. The walk is popular for primates, like Uganda Red Colobus and Uganda Mangabey, Guereza colobus and retailed monkeys.

Overnight: Primate lodge / Kibale forest Camp

Meal plan: Full Board (B,LD)

Today we transfer very early to Kibale forest park orientation point at Kanyanchu. We head out into the forest. Our morning focus while birding will be to search for the elusive Green breasted Pitta. The Pitta is one of the most thought after bird species in this country. With guidance of the site guide and rangers we are hopeful to boost our chances of finding the Green breasted Pitta.

There are chances of spotting White-throated Greenbul, Thick-billed Honeyguide up in the canopy, Brown-chested Alethe. Yellow-billed Barbet, Bronze-napped Pigeon, Yellow-mantled Weaver along route to the lodge.

We return to our lodge for hot lunch before returning to the forest for Chimpanzee tracking at 2pm. Approximately 5,000 chimpanzees live in the wild in Uganda. In Kibale Forest National Park, you will find one of the largest populations of chimpanzees in Africa – about 1450 individuals. Kibale N.P is an extension of the great rainforests of Central Africa. It is inhabited by three large “communities”  of chimps, each with over 120 individuals.

Overnight : Primate lodge / Kibale forest Camp

Meal plan: Full Board (B,LD)

Today we do birding along Kibale forest road, we look out for  Black Bee-eater, Yellow-spotted Nicator, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Little Greenbul, Black-eared Ground-Thrush, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Abyssinian Ground-Thrush.  We also try out for another sighting of Green-breasted Pitta, (in the event that we haven’t seen it a day before).

Today afternoon is more of a driving day 4-5 hours to Entebbe City. Being a drive day, we only do very few stops.