15 Days Uganda Birding Safari

Embark on a guided birding safari in Uganda's top bird watching destinations- Trip includes visits to Mabamba swamp, Murchison falls park, Budongo forest, Kibale forest, Semuliki park, Maramagambo forest, Queen Elizabeth park, Bwindi forest & Lake Mburo national park. Trip also includes chimpanzee tracking in Kibale & gorilla trekking adventure in Bwindi forest.

DAY 1-Mabamba swamp
This swamp is about 1 hour on a dirty road from Entebbe about 50km west of Kampala. It’s an extensive marsh stretching through a long narrow bay, fringed with papyrus towards the western main body of Lake Victoria in Mpigi district where you will access the swamp in a local fishing boat / canoe with a local guide.
You will have breakfast at your lodge in Kampala and then drive to the Mabamba wetland where birding is mostly done on a canoe. While there, you will have to look out for the shoebill both in the sky and marsh and also the African water rail, common moorhen, lesser jacana, African jacana, African pygmy goose, blue breasted bee eater, white faced whistling bird, squacco heron, goliath heron and black crake. After this adventure, you will be driven back to Kampala for dinner and spending the night.

DAY 2- Budongo forest
After breakfast, you will be picked up by our drive for a 3 hour drive covering a distance of 195km to Budongo forest from Kampala.  While there, you will have to be on the look for the different birds like ituri batis, grey long bills, red tailed ant-thrush, velvert –mantled drongo, rufous –sided broadbill, chocolate backed king fisher, yellow and grey long bills and nahans francolin. In the evening, you will might see the African wood owl, white faced wood owl, grey parrots, piping and white thighed hornbill, black shouldered night jar, bat hawk and western tree hyrax. After this adventure, you will be driven to the lodge for dinner and sleep over.

DAY 3- Murchison falls national park
Today, you will drive to Murchison falls national park , one of Ugandans largest parks also a home to various animals like the African elephants, giraffe, elephants, antelopes and lions mostly encountered during the safari drives. Here, you may spot the shoe bill and a variety of water birds.  You will head to the lodge for dinner and night.
DAY 4- Full day birding
Today will be so adventurous as you will go for a game drive just after breakfast in the morning. On this drive, you may spot mammals like elephants, giraffes, lions, buffalos, leopards, lions, crocodiles, hippos, oribi, Uganda kob and antelopes. You will have a boat cruise in the afternoon to the bottom of the falls were you might see the shoe bill stork, crocodiles, hippos and birds like little bittern, blue breasted bee eater, vinaceous dove, grosbeak weaver, marabou stork, golden backed weaver and white rumped seed eater.  After this activity, you will head back to the lodge for dinner and over night.

DAY 5- Transfer to kibale forest national park
Today you will have breakfast, check out and be transferred to Kibale forest national park. This journey covers a distance of about 294.4km, 4 hours and 10 minutes from Murchison falls national park to Kibale national park. You will check in at a lodge in Kibale and then later have dinner and spend the night.

DAY 6- Chimp tracking & Bird watching
Today after breakfast, you will immediately go for chimp trekking where you might spot various bird species and a visit to the Bigodi wetland well known for birding. Birds like the brown eared and yellow crested wood peckers, green crombec, brown backed robin, red chested owlet, blue throated and olive bellied sunbirds and many more. Later, you will have dinner at your lodge and sleep over.

DAY 7- Transfer to Semiliki
Today after breakfast, you will drive to Semiliki national park a distance of 54km. here, you might see the yellow throated nector, red chested owlet, northern bearded scrub robin, black collared love bird, red rumped tinkerbird, zenkers honey guide and lyre tailed honey guide and many more. After this, you will head back to the lodge for dinner and sleep over.

DAY 8- Queen Elizabeth national park to Maramagambo forest
Today after breakfast, you head to Queen Elizabeth Park, have lunch and in the afternoon, visit Maramagambo forest for amazing birding after which you will have refreshments in the evening with dinner later on and sleep over.

DAY 9- Game drive and birding
You will go for an early morning drive just after breakfast where you may come across mammals like elephants, lions, leopards and many more. In the afternoon, you will take a boat cruise along Kazinga channel where you may find birds like the striated heron, African skimmer, African crake, African spoonbill, three banded plover, water thick knee, marsh, green, wood and the common sand pippers, plain martin, yellow billed ox pecker, plain martin and grey headed gull. Later, you will be driven back to the lodge for dinner and sleep over.

DAY 10- Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park
Today you will embark on a 4 hour drive from Queen Elizabeth national park to Bwindi impenetrable forest covering a distance of 249km to great gorilla forest. While there, you will check in, have dinner and a sleep over at the lodge.

DAY 11- Full day gorilla trekking
After breakfast, you will be given packed lunch before you go to the park head quarters.  This could take 2 – 8 hours. Here, you will be briefed and later assigned a guide who will accompany and guide you during this adventurous activity.  While in the forest, you may spot various birds like the wallers starling, brown capped weaver, strange weaver, black billed weaver, yellow bellied waxbill, dusky crimsonwing, magpie manikin, thick billed seedeater, yellow crowned canary, African green broadbill, shellys crimsonwing, yellow crowned canary, mountain buzzard, oriole finch and ayres hawk eagle. After this, you will be driven back to the lodge were you will spend the night after dinner.

DAY 12- Birding at Ruhiija
You will have breakfast early morning and then drive to Ruhiija were you will expect to see the blcinnamon-chested bee eaters, mackinnons fiscal, cuckoo shrine, yellow billed waxbill, black saw wing, grey apalis, pink footed, northern puff backs, red tailed, little grey green bulls, red throated martin, yellow white eye and the dark capped bulbul among others.  You will later head back to the lodge for dinner and sleep over.

DAY 13- Transfer to Lake Mburo national park
Today after breakfast, you will be driven to Lake Mburo national park were by on arrival, you may spot some birds like the white winged warbler, papyrus gonolek, yellow billed oxpecker, carruther’s cisticola and the papyrus yellow warbler. Later, you will have dinner and sleep over at the lodge.

DAY 14- Full day bird watching
Today after breakfast, you will have an early morning bird watching activity and game drive plus an afternoon boat cruise where you may spot some water birds. Commonly seen birds are the white browed coucal, grey hornbill, water thick knee, yellow billed oxpecker, chinspot, Senegal lapwing, tawny eagle plus many more. After birding, you will be driven back to the lodge were you will spend the night for dinner.

DAY 15- Return to Kampala
Today being the last day of your safari, you will have breakfast and immediately start on your journey back to Kampala city.

END OF BIRDING & PRIMATE SAFARI