Uganda is home to vast species of birds which fly in all year round due to the conducive climate and abundant water sources that enable bird life to thrive. Enquire Now Gorilla Adventure Tours brings you this 10 Days Uganda Birding Safari Tour which takes to most of the birding spots in Uganda for the ultimate bird watching experience. Contact us today to book this Uganda tour.
Day 1: Arrival – Mabamba Swamp Visit.
On arrival, you will be received by a Gorilla Adventure Tours safari guide, who will take you through your birding safari in Uganda and depending on the time of your arrival, you will go birding at Mabamba swamp. The birds to look out for in this area include; African and Lesser Jacana, White-backed Duck, Black-necked Grey Parrots, Great-white and Pink-backed Pelicans, Grey-crowned Cranes, Baglafecht and Northern Brown-throated Weaver, Shoebill Stork, African Fish Eagle, African Goshawk and the Swamp Flycatcher. Lunch break and continue birding yellow-throated Greenbul, Great-blue and Ross’s Turaco, Black and White-casqued and Pied Hornbill, Yellow-backed, Brown-throated and Orange Weaver among others. Later check in at Forest Cottages for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Bird Watching at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
After breakfast, we will start birding towards Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, passing through the famous Luwero Triangle, with chances of seeing Hooded Vulture, Black Kite, Marabou Stork, Greater and Lesser Blue-eared Starling, White-crested Helmet-Shrike, Northern Puffback, Piapiac, African Hoopoe, White-crested Turaco, Crowned Hornbill, Meyer’s Parrot, Red-billed, Bar-breasted and African Firefinch, Broad-billed and Abyssinian Roller, Shoebill Stork, Diederic and Claas’s Cuckoo among others. Later drive to the Murchison Falls National Park
Accommodation: Budongo Eco Lodge
Day 3: Birding in the Royal Mile – Budongo Forest.
You will have an early morning breakfast and with our packed lunch, drive to one of “Uganda’s birding hot spots” the Royal Mile. This is historically known as a leisure spot for the traditional King of Bunyoro and that’s where the name Royal Mile came from. It’s a very ideal birding area as the forest has been cut back a few meters along the sides of the main trail, inside this tropical rain forest. Here we expect to encounter specialties that include; the Yellow and Grey Longbill, Chestnut-capped, Yellow-footed and Forest Flycatcher, Yellow-crested and Brown-eared Woodpecker, Rufous-crowned Eramomela, Forest Robin, Grey-chested, Brown and Puvel’s Illadopsis, Blue-breasted, African Dwarf, African Pygmy and Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Lemon-bellied and Green Crombec, Western Black-headed Oriel, African Crowned Eagle, Yellow-spotted and Yellow-billed Barbet, White-thighed and Black & White-Casqued Hornbill, Jameson’s and Chestnut Wattle-Eye, Sabine’s and Cassin’s Spaintail among others.
Accommodation: Budongo Eco Lodge
Day 4: Bird Watching in Murchison Falls National Park
After the morning breakfast, we will check out and start birding towards Murchison falls national park. This is Uganda’s biggest conservation area, covering close 5000 square kilometers, protecting about 78 mammal species and about 450 bird species, within it’s wide variety of habitats like wetlands, open savannah grasslands, savannah woodland and forest habitats. Here we are likely to encounter specialties that include; the Bat Hawk, Little Sparrow-Hawk, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Heuglin’s Francolin, Black-bellied and Denham’s Bustard, White-crested Turaco, Black-billed and Blue-spotted Wood-dove, Red-throated and Madagascar Bee-eater, Red-winged Grey Warbler, Fire-crested and Brown-chested Alethe, Rock Pratincole, Pel’s Fishing Owl, Black-crowned and Marsh Tchagra among others.
Accommodation: Paraa Safari Lodge, Murchison River Lodge, Red Chili.
Day 5: Morning Bird Watching – Afternoon Boat Cruise.
After an early breakfast, we start our birding activity towards the Delta area, here the big game includes; the Elephant, Cape Buffaloes, Kob, Giraffes, Ruth-Child’s Jackson’s Hartbeast, Oribi, Jackals, Common Duikers, Patus Monkeys, Lions and Leopards among others. We also expect to encounter bird specialties that include; the Black-bellied and Denham’s Bustard, White-browed and Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, Black-headed Lapwing, White-faced and Fulvous Whistling Duck, Broad-billed and Abyssinian Roller, Whistling, Singing, Black-backed, Croacking and Foxy Cisticola, Black-Lored and Brown Babbler, Double-toothed and Black-billed Barbet, Northern Carmine, Red-throated and Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Red-necked Falcon, Matial Eagle, White-headed Black Chat, African Quail-Finch and Shoebill among others. We go back to the lodge, have lunch and later in the afternoon go for the boat cruise on the Nile, towards the bottom of the falls. This provides us with yet another but different view of wildlife from a close range, as they come to cool off on the showers of this mighty river. The launch normally takes about 3 hours, then come back to the lodge.
Accommodation: Paraa Safari Lodge, Murchison River Lodge, Red Chili.
Day 6: Transfer to Kibale National Park.
After an early breakfast, with our packed lunch, we will transfer to Kibale national park. This drive takes us through Bulisa escarpment, along the Albertine Rift Valley, with good views of Lake Albert; it also takes us through Hoima, rolling hills of Kagadi and beautiful tea plantations of Kabarole (Fort-Portal). Today we have some bit of driving with less birding along the way and some of the few species we are likely to encounter here include the Vinaceous Dove, Morking Chat, Rufous Sparrow, Cut-throat Finch, Beautiful Sunbird, White-browed and Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, Foxy Cisticola, Black-billed Barbet, Lesser and Greater Blue-eared Starling, White-winged Warbler and Papyrus Gonolek among others.
Accommodation: Kyaninga Lodge, Primate Lodge, Kibale Guest House.
Day 7: Birding Kibale and Bigodi Wetland Tour.
The day begins early with an early morning breakfast and we will make an early start into the forest that has about 335 recorded bird species. This park is also home to a community of more than 1000 Chimpanzees and about 12 other primate species. So here we look for specialties that include the Green-breasted Pitta, Olive and Afep Pigeon, Black Bee-eater, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Red-capped and Grey-winged Robinchat, African Crowned Eagle, Fairy-breasted, Yellow-spotted and Yellow-billed Barbet, African Broadbill, Willcock’s and Thick-Billed Horneyguide, HorneyguideGreenbul, Purple-headed and Chestnut-winged Starling, Dark-backed and Black-necked Weaver, Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo, Red-chested Owlet, Red-headed Bluebill, Brown and Scaly Illadopsis among others. We go back to the camp, have lunch and later in the afternoon, go for a nature walk/ birding in the Bigodi wetland sanctuary, for another birding experience and here we may have chances for the Buff-spotted and Brown-eared Woodpecker, Shining-Blue Kingfisher, White-collard Oliveback, Joyful Greenbul, Dark-capped and Papyrus Yellow Warbler, Papyrus Gonolek, White-tailed Ant-thrush, Green-backed Twinspot and White-spotted Flufftail among others.
Accommodation: Kyaninga Lodge, Primate Lodge, Kibale Guest House.
Day 8: Transfer to Semuliki National Park.
After breakfast, with our packed lunch, we start birding towards Semliki national park, which also lays in the Albertine Rift Valley and it’s an Eastern extension of the great Ituri forest from Eastern Congo. Here we expect to encounter large numbers of the Guinea-Congo biome species reach their eastern limits. This therefore makes it the best place in Uganda with high chances of seeing some of the West African species that can hardly be accessed from other places in East Africa. The specialties here include; the Western Bronze-napped Pigeon, Spot-breasted Ibis, Northern Bearded Scrub-Robin, Nkulengu Rail, Orange-Cheeked Waxbill, Grant’s Bluebill, Black-bellied Seedcracker, White-crested, Red-billed Dwarf, Black-Dwarf, Black-casqued Wattled, White-thighed and Piping Hornbill, Shining-Blue, Chocolate-backed and White-bellied Kingfisher, Barred Long-tailed, Olive Long-tailed and Yellow-throated Cuckoo, Long-tailed Hawk and Red-thighedSparrowhawk among others.
Accommodation: Semuliki Safari Lodge, Nyati Lodge, UWA Bandas and cottages.
Day 9: Bird Watching along Kirumya Trail
After an early morning breakfast, with our packed lunch, we start a whole day birding activity along the Kirumya trail of Semliki national park. The park poses among Uganda’s birding hot spots and we expect to encounter some of the specialties that include; the African Piculet, Fire-crested Aleth, Lyre-tailed, Spotted and Zenker’sHorneyguide, Yellow-throated Cuckoo, Lemon-bellied Crombec, Yellow-throated Nicator, Long-tailed Hawk, Capuchin Babbler, Swamp Palm Bulbul, Leaf-love, Xavier’s, Icterine, Sassi’s, Olive and Simple Greenbul, Orange-tufted Sunbird, Red-billed Helmet-Shrike, Rufous-sided Broadbill, Chestnut-breasted and Pale-fronted Negrofinch, Forest Scrub-robin, Nkulengu Rail, Green-tailed and Red-tailed Bristlebill, Black-collard Lovebird, Ituri Batis, White-throated Blue Swallow, Red-rumpedTinkerbird and Red-thighedSparrowhawk among others.
Accommodation: Semuliki Safari Lodge, Nyati Lodge, UWA Bandas and cottages.
Day 10: Departure
After breakfast, we will start birding as we transfer to Entebbe, passing through Mubende and Mityana towns. We arrive at Kampala in the afternoon and drive straight to the Airport for your flight back home.
End of the 10 Days Uganda Birding Safari Tour.
The 10 Days Uganda Birding Safari Tour package includes;
- Airport transfers
- Transportation by a 4wd vehicle
- Accommodation and meals as per itinerary
- Park fees
- Driver/guide substance allowance.
- En-route lunches
- Birding throughout the itinerary
- Game drives
- Boat cruise fees
- Chimpanzee permit
The 10 Days Uganda Birding Safari Tour package excludes;
The package excludes expenses of personal nature like: Air fare, Visa, drinks, laundry, tips to local guides, telephone, porter fee while trekking, personal insurance, personal shopping bills and cigarettes.