14 DAYS BIRDING TOUR IN UGANDA
Day 1: arrival
Our company driver will meet you on arrival at Entebbe airport and transfer you to Golf course hotel/Cassia lodge/The lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 2: Kampala - Mabamba
After breakfast you will set off for Mabamba Wetland. This is the nearest site for the Shoebill, Lesser Jacana, Blue Swallow, Black-Shouldered Nightjar, Afep Pigeon, Blue Breasted Bee-Eater, Papyrus Gonolek, and White Winged Warbler. Spend the whole day birding in this wetland and the surrounding areas, have a picnic and then drive to Hotel Brovad in Masaka for dinner and overnight
Day 3: Masaka - Lake Mburo
Early in the morning after breakfast, depart by road to Lake Mburo National Park. On arrival you will go a game drive where you will be able to see big herds of zebra, impala, eland and other ungulates. Bird viewing opportunities are excellent - for birders. Dinner and overnight at Mantana tented camp/ Rwonyo rest camp.
Day 4: Lake Mburo National park.
Early morning wake up for bird watching while on a game drive & get a chance to see species like the Brown Chested Plover, Red Faced Barbet, Southern Ground Hornbill, Papyrus Yellow Warbler, Yellow Billed Oxpecker, African Fin foot, Black Collard Barbet etc. Have an afternoon boat trip on Lake Mburo where you may sight the shoe bill and other aquatic species. Dinner and overnight at Mantana tented camp/ Rwonyo rest camp.
Day 5: Lake Mburo - Bwindi (Ruhija sector).
After breakfast, you will have a game drive as you depart Mburo for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Best known for its Mountain Gorillas, the Montane Forest also attracts spectacular birds. There are 23 of the 24 Albertine Rift endemics including the African Green Broadbill, Bar Tailed Trogon and other beautiful forest species. Dinner and overnight at Gorilla Mist Camp
Day 6: birding in Buhoma
Today after breakfast you will go birding in the Ruhija area. Possible sightings may be the Shelley’s Crimson wing, Mountain Illadopsis, Grauer’s Warbler, White-starred Robin, Dusky and Dusky Tit, Mountain Buzzard, Handsome Francolin, Augur Buzzard, Grey Cuckoo Shrike, Chestnut Throated Ayres’s and Cassin’s Hawk Eagle, Red-throated Alethe, Mountain Masked, Collard, and Black -Throated Apalis, Stripe Breasted Tit, Red Faced Woodland Warbler, and many other birds. Dinner and overnight at Gorilla Resort/Lake Kitandara Camp/Buhoma community bandas
Day 7: Bwindi - Queen Elizabeth.
After breakfast, you will drive through the Ishasha Sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Go for the game drive in the open savannah on the edge of the Albertine Rift Valley. You will search for the typical tree climbing lions found only in this part of the country. In the afternoon proceed to Mweya Safari Lodge/Hippo hill camp/Simba safari camp for dinner and overnight
Day 8: birding on the Mweya peninsular
Whole day in Queen Elizabeth National Park bird watching while on a game drive both in the morning and in the afternoon returning to the lodge for lunch and overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge/Hippo hill camp/Simba safari camp
Day 9: Queen Elizabeth.
Today you will go for an early morning game drive along Kasenyi where you may be able to see lions, elephants, Cape buffalo, warthogs, leopard, spotted hyena, mongoose, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, topi and a lot of small animals and birds. Return to the lodge for breakfast. After lunch, go for a boat cruise for the best navigation of the Kazinga Channel, a good opportunity for birding, as you will see many water birds, cormorants, Three-banded Plover, pelicans, Herring Gull, eagles, Lesser Black Backed Gull, African Skimmer, Striated Heron, Wood and Common Sandpiper, African Spoonbill, Water Thick-knee, Marsh, Green, Gray-headed Gull, Plain Martin, Lesser Swamp-Warbler and many other birds as well as crocodiles, hippos, elephants, buffaloes. Dinner and overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge/Hippo hill camp/Simba safari camp
Day 10: Queen Elizabeth - Kibale.
Have a morning game drive and later head for Kibale Forest National Park. Kibale Forest is a large protected block of rainforest, which has the highest number of primates in Africa such as Chimpanzees, Grey Cheeked Mangabey, Red Tailed monkey and Red Colobus. Dinner and overnight at the Primate lodge/Primate cottages/Chimpanzee guest house
Day 11: Kibale.
After breakfast you will go for chimpanzee tracking. This park has the largest concentration of chimpanzees and other primates in Uganda. You will return for lunch and then visit the Bigodi wetland swamp. During tracking and when you visit Bigodi you may see birds like the Grey-Throated Flycatcher, Masked & Black-Capped Apalis', Chestnut-Winged Starling, Orange -Tufted & Tiny Sunbirds and Narina Trogon, Pied Hornbill, Yellow Spotted, Hairy Breasted and Yellow-billed Barbets. Dinner and overnight at the Primate lodge/Primate cottages/Chimpanzee guest house
Day 12: Kibale - Semliki Valley.
Leave the hotel early heading north to Semliki Valley Wildlife Reserve arriving at the lodge at teatime. Over 350 species have been recorded at Semliki and this is also a good area to see the extraordinary Shoebill and other Wetland varieties. The key species here include the African Pygmy Goose, Red-necked Falcon, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Blue-Breasted Bee-Eater, Black-billed Barbet, Piapiac, Leaf love and Black-chinned Quail-Finch. Take tea by the pool and watch as the Hammerkop dips into the water and the Weaver birds flock nearby. The most exciting aspect is that new species are still being discovered in the reserve. You might be lucky enough to discover one. Have an afternoon boat trip on Lake Albert in search for the Shoebill and over night at Semliki Safari Lodge or the Camp site/Kanyanchu Ecological site
Day 13: transfer to Kampala
After breakfast you will drive back to Kampala. Dinner and overnight at the lodge/Golf course hotel/Cassia lodge
Day 14: departure
This day is reserved for departure flights and airport transfers
END OF UGANDA BIRDING TOUR
