Birding Safari in Uganda

15 Days Birding Safari in Uganda

The 15 days Birding Safari in Uganda Introduces Uganda as one of the richest African Birding Destinations with over 1090 bird species. 50% of all Africa’s bird species are found in Uganda, therefore, making Uganda a birding paradise. Uganda has 25 Albertine Endemics with only 1 Endemic Bird Species Fox’s Weaver.

The 25 Albertine Endemic birds include the Handsome Francolin, Rwenzori Turaco, Rwenzori Nightjar, Dwarf Honeyguide, African Green Broadbill, Red-throated Alethe, Archer’s Robin-Chat, Kivu Ground Thrush, Grauer’s Rush Warbler, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Short-tailed Warbler, Grauer’s Warbler, Collared Apalis, Mountain Masked Apalis, Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, Rwenzori Batis, Strip-breasted Tit, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Blue-headed Sunbird, Regal Sunbird, Strange Weaver, Dusky Crimsonwing, and Shelley’s Crimsonwing.

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Birding Safari in Uganda

Safari overview

Safari Itinerary

Day 1:  ARRIVAL (45 mins)

Upon your arrival in Entebbe, you will be picked up by a company representative and transferred to your hotel at the start of your Birding Safari in Uganda Tour  Accommodation and Meals  at Papyrus Guest House B

Day 2: KAMPALA –MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK

Today we will depart for the most beautiful protected area in Uganda: Murchison Falls National Park. We will make a stop at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for lunch and a rhino trekking session.  In the afternoon arrive in Budongo Forest the southern part of the national park. Here you will take a guided forest walk for a first introduction to the rich birdlife in Uganda. Accommodation and Meals at Budongo Eco Lodge.

Day 3: BIRDING IN BUDONGO FOREST  & THE ROYAL MILE 

After breakfast, this day will be fully dedicated to birding in Budongo Forest Reserve. With 360 different species, Budongo is famous for its biodiversity in birds and is home to the rare Puvel’s illadopsis which is an endemic specie to this area. Other species include the Yellow-footed Flycatcher,  Chocolate-backed Kingfishers, Chestnut Crowned Eremomela, Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Black-headed Paradise Flycatcher, Little Green Sunbird, Grey-headed Sunbird, Slender-billed Greenbul, Green Crombec, and Forest Robin.  Birding at the Royal Mile offers chances of spotting the Ituri species like the African Pygmy, Ituri Batis, Lemon-bellied Crombec, Chestnut Capped Flycatcher, Blue-breasted and African Dwarf among others. Accommodation and Meals at Budongo Eco Lodge.

DAY 4: MURCHISON FALLS – FORT PORTAL

After breakfast, head to Fort Portal. Look out for black-and-white colobus monkeys, baboons and more primates hiding in trees along the road. You will have lunch in Fort Portal Town, this area is famed for the fabled Mountains of the Moon and many tea plantations. From this lovely town, we will continue to Kibale National Park for a stay in the tropical forest. Accommodation and Meals at Turaco Treetops

DAY 5: SEMULIKI NATIONAL PARK  SEMPAYA & NTANDI AREAS 

After breakfast, we drive to Semuliki National Park for birding. The scenic, winding road will lead us through green mountains and offers you a magnificent view of the River Semliki and Congo. There are more than 441 species of birds recorded in this protected area, including many West African forest species and 9 hornbill species. Also, the Red Rumped Tinkerbird and Palm Greenbul are endemics.  Look out for the White-crested Hornbill, Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill, Piping Hornbill, Yellow-throated Nicator, Great blue, and Ross’s Turacos along with Sempaya and Ntandi areas. Accommodation and Meals at Turaco Treetops.

DAY 6: KIRUMIA RIVER TRAIL BIRDING

On   Kirumia River is another top birding spot, along the 13 km walking trail,  Look out for the White-bellied Kingfisher, Red-rumped Tinkerbird, Lyre-tailed Honeyguide, Congo Serpent Eagle, Grey-throated Rail, Nkulengu Rail, Long-tailed Hawk, Spot-breasted Ibis, Yellow-throated Nicator, Northern Red-chested Owlet, Western Bronze-naped Pigeon, Black-collared Lovebird, Zenker’s Honeyguide, White-throated Blue Swallow, Bate’s Nightjar, Yellow-throated Cuckoo, and Orange-tufted Sunbird.  Later to Fort Portal and continue to the dense forest of Kibale National Park. Accommodation and Meals at Turaco Treetops 

DAY 7:  KIBALE FOREST & BIGODI SANCTUARY 

After breakfast set off for a birding session in the forest, look out for the  Green Breasted Pitta African Broadbill, African pied wagtail · Great blue turaco, Pin-tailed whydah, and Slender-billed Weaver, Kibale Ground Trush, Blue-headed Sunbird, Black-capped Apalis, Collared Apalis, Dusky Crimsonwing, Purple breasted sunbird and Red-faced woodland warbler among others.  After lunch, you will transfer to the Bigodi Sanctuary at the Magombe Swamp for a 2 hours nature walk. The sanctuary is home to 200 bird species including the Papyrus Gonolek and the Great Blue Turaco. Look out for the Swamp Flycatcher, Hairy-breasted Barbet, Yellow-spotted Barbet, yellow bill, White-spotted Flufftail, Western Nicator, White-tailed Ant-thrush, Grey-winged Robin-chat, Brown-backed Scrub-robin, Brown-eared Woodpecker, Grey parrot, Bronze Sunbird, Black-crowned waxbill, and Blue-throated roller, Black Bishop, White-breasted Negro finch among others. Accommodation and Meals at Turaco Treetops

DAY 8:  KIBALE FOREST – QUEEN ELIZABETH PARK

After breakfast, transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park arriving in time for lunch at the camp. Later in the evening, you will have an evening game drive in the park in search of the first wildlife, including warthogs, buffaloes, waterbucks, and elephants.  Classified as an Important Birding Area (IBA) by Birding International, Queen Elizabeth NP is home to over 600 species. This is the greatest of any East African national park and a phenomenal number for such a small area. The park’s confluence of savanna and forest, linking to the expansive forests of DR Congo allows visitors to spot East as well as Central African species. Accommodation and Meals at Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge.

Day 9:  MARAMAGAMBO FOREST  & KAZINGA CHANNEL BOAT CRUISE 

After breakfast, we start early for a birding session in Maramagambo Forest. We will have birding from the lodge towards the Maramagambo forest. Look out for the Whinchat, Common Redstart, White-fronted Black Chat, Sooty Chat, Cameroon Sombre Greenbul, Yellow-throated Greenbul, the Black, White-breasted, and Red-shouldered Cuckoo Shrikes. The Black and Penduline Tits, Nubian Woodpecker, Cardinal Woodpecker, Brown-backed Woodpecker, White-tailed and Red-tailed Ant-thrushes, Brown Illadopsis,  Shining-blue Kingfisher, Brown-eared Woodpeckers, Least Honeyguide, Grey Greenbul, Brown-chested Alethe, and many others.

After lunch, take on a boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel, a natural channel between Lake Edward and Lake George. This cruise is a birders’ paradise, the shores of the channel offer a variety of habitats, each appealing to different species of bird species Greenshank, Common Ringed Plover, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, and Grey (Black-bellied) Plover, African Skimmers, Yellow-Billed Stork,  Accommodation and Meals at Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge.

DAY 10: QUEEN ELIZABETH – BWINDI NATIONAL PARK BUHOMA 

After breakfast, we drive through verdant countryside, you will pass traditional homesteads and enjoy panoramic views with picnic lunch/lunch en-route arriving in Bwindi National Park, home of the endangered mountain gorillas. Bwindi offers some of the finest montane forest bird watching in Africa, and is an unmissable destination for any birder visiting Uganda. There are an estimated 350 bird species with 23 endemics to the Albertine Rift and 14 recorded nowhere else in Uganda. Globally threatened species such as African Green Broadbill and Shelley’s Crimsonwing are also found here. Other birds include the Handsome Francolin; Black-billed Turaco; African Broadbill; Black and Cinnamon-chested Bee-eaters; Western Green Tinkerbird; Purple-breasted, Blue-headed and Regal Sunbirds; Short-tailed and Black-faced Rufous Warblers; Mountain-masked and Collared Apalis; Mountain and Yellow-streaked Greenbul; and Many-colored Bush-Shrike, among others. Dinner and Overnight at Haven Lodge B-L-D

DAY 11:  MUNYAGA WATERFALL TRAIL – RUHIJA SECTOR 

After breakfast, head for a 3-hour birding session at the Munyaga Waterfall Trail. Look out for 40-50 bird species including, Bee-Eater, Bar-tailed Trogon, Black, White-headed, Tinker birds Wood-hoop, and Barbets, Woodpeckers, African Broadbill, assorted Greenbuls, White-bellied Robin-Chat, Red-throated Alethe, Brown-capped Weaver Chapin’s Flycatcher, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Black-faced Rufous Warbler, Pink-footed Puffback Grauer’s Warbler, Short-tailed Warbler, Oberlander’s Ground Thrush, Mountain Masked Apalis, Bocage’s Bush-shrike, Luhder’s Bush-shrike,  Petit’s Cuckoo-shrike, Starlings, Black-billed Weaver, among other birds.  Have lunch and head to the Ruhija Sector part of Bwindi National Park.

Accommodation and Meals at Ruhija Gorilla Mist Camp

DAY 12:  BWINDI PARK – RUHIJA SECTOR 

After breakfast, head out for the Mubwindi swamp trail, birds in Ruhija include Regal Sunbird, Archer’s Robin-Chat, Grauer’s Rush Warbler, African green broadbill, Caruthers cisticola, Handsome francolin, African Hill babbler, Banded Prinia, Shelley’s Crimsonwing, Dohertys Bushrike, Collared Apalis, Rwenzori Turaco, Western Green Tinkerbird, Olive, Elliot’s and Fine-banded Woodpecker, African Green-Broadbill, Mountain, Yellow whiskered and Yellow-streaked Greenbul, African Hill Babbler, Mountain Illadopsis, Grey Cuckoo Shrike Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Grauer’s Warbler, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-throated Apalis, Collared Apalis, Stripe-breasted Tit, Rwenzori Batis, Montane Sooty Boubou, Blue-Headed Sunbird. Accommodation and Meals at Ruhija Gorilla Mist Camp

DAY 13: BWINDI – LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK 

After breakfast, we depart the impenetrable forest of Bwindi and head to Lake Mburo National Park. After checking in head for a boat ride on Lake Mburo in the afternoon to check out some of the water bird species such as Papyrus Gonolek, Malachite Kingfishers, African finfoot, and Giant Kingfisher among others. Later return to the lodge. Accommodation and Meals at Rwakobo Rock

Day 14: LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK – ENTEBBE 

or a birding session along the Kigambira loop, which traverses a variety of productive habitats. Expect birds like African Marsh Harriers, Banded Snake Eagles, Shikra, Goshawks, Augur Buzzard, African fish, Twany, Steppe, African Hawk Eagles, and many more. Return to the lodge for breakfast and with a game drive on our way out we depart the protected area and drive back to Entebbe. Accommodation and Meals at Papyrus Guest House.

Day 15:  MABAMBA SWAMP – DEPARTURE

After breakfast head to Mabamba Swamp taking a canoe ride in search of the rare Shoebill Stork. Look out for other bird species like Malachite Kingfisher, Swamp Flycatcher, Pied Kingfisher, and Papyrus Gonolex.  Depending on your flight departure, you will have lunch and continue to Entebbe Airport for your international flight at the end of the 15-day Birding Safari in Uganda Tour. (B-L)

General Tour Package Price Per Person

From USD 5335 

INCLUDED IN THE PRICE QUOTATION 

Ground transportation in a safari customized 4WD Toyota Landcruiser with gasoline/fuel,  All birding excursions, Mineral water in the vehicle, services of an English-Speaking Driver/guide, Accommodation mentioned in the itinerary, Meals as shown (B-breakfast, L-lunch, D-dinner), all Park Entrance Fees.

EXCLUDED IN THE PRICE QUOTATION

International Airfares; Excess baggage charges; Ugandan Entry Visa Fees; fees for International travel Vaccinations and Inoculations; Items of personal nature such as Room service, Beverages, Communications charges (telephone, fax, internet), Laundry, etc.; Postage fees, Porterage fees, Tips and Gratuities for your Driver/guide and Hotels staff, Shopping charges for Curios and Crafts, International Airport Departure Taxes, Optional activities unless specified as included, Any other services not expressly shown in the itinerary or indicated as included.