DAY 1: BIRDING TO QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK (610 SPECIES NOTED HERE) BIRDING AND GORILLAS IN UGANDA
You are picked up in Entebbe by your safari guide for the start of our 7 days Uganda birding safari (arrive to Entebbe in early morning or add an extra night for arrival the day before). The day’s journey will take us to Queen Elizabeth national park, bird watching enroute. This Uganda’s second largest safari park contains Africa’s best game populations as well as some of Uganda’s biggest birding list, an incredible bird list of 611 species.
DAY 2: EARLY MORNING BIRDING SAFARI AND AFTERNOON BOAT-CRUISE
This morning, we start early for a bird safari and game drive towards the Kasenyi trail after trying Uganda’s top bird in Queen Elizabeth, The Papyrus endemic Papyrus Gonolek. The drive leads us to the mating ground with grassy plains dotted with the cactus, to the fishing village with a variety of stork species including the Spectacular Saddle-billed, African Open Billed and Woolly necked Storks. Other species include the Bateleur, Grey Kestrel, Lappet-faced, White-backed, Palm-nut Vultures and the award winning Ruppel’s vulture in soaring the highest among birds! African Crake, Black Coucal, Common button, Harlequin and Black-rumped Quails, Rufous-naped and Flapet Larks. Common mammals include African Buffalo, Uganda Kobs, leopard and many others. In the afternoon it is time for the boat-cruise on the Kazinga channel, a 36km channel connecting Lake George and Lake Edward, and a highlight during this 7 days Uganda birding safari. Along the banks you can see hippos, buffaloes and crocodiles as well as resident and migratory waders.
DAY 3: BIRDING THROUGH THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF QUEEN ELIZABETH NP
This morning, we shall bird towards Ishasha through the transitional habitat between Lake Edward and Maramagambo Forest. We will see a lot of colourful butterflies along the way. Special birds of this area include Yellow-bill, Pygmy Kingfisher, African mustached warbler, Batleur eagle, Black Bee-eater, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Greater honey guide and White-breasted Negrofinch. After this we continue birding to the Ishasha part of the park where we spend the night.
DAY 4: TRANSFER TO BWINDI IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL PARK AND A BIRDING WALK
After breakfast we leave the flat savanna behind and journey up to the home of the mountain gorillas through cultivated hills and villages to forest covered mountains. We take time to look for birds along the way and target to be at the lodge in time for lunch. In the afternoon we explore the birding possibilities. We could assemble to head for the Bwindi swamp for the highest concentration of the Albertin endemics aiming to grip on the African green broadbill, gray cuckoo-shrike, Stripe breasted tit, Chestnut throated Apalis, montane oriole, Frasers eagle owl, black billed turaco and Rwenzori batis. In the evening, we could track the calls of the Rwenzori night jar. This Impenetrable Forest is full of birds, butterflies and plant species plus forest hog; forest Elephants, Sitatungas and Duikers, making it a perfect stop on our 7 days birding Uganda safari.
DAY 5: GORILLA TREKKING DAY
After breakfast we drive over to the gorilla trekking starting point, a highlight during this 7 days Uganda birding safari with gorillas. Here you are briefed about the gorilla trekking rules while your guide takes care of the practicalities. You set off into the forest with a specialized guide who leads you to the point where the gorillas are. For one unforgettable hour you are in the area of the mountain Gorillas seeing them in their daily life, with a chance to spot some forest interior birds, tull berg woodpecker, the olive pigeons, Stulman’s starlings, dusky crimson wing. After trekking back to the starting point your guides picks you and takes you to Lake Bunyonyi enroute spotting the black headed, black crowned, yellow billed waxbills, streaky seed eaters, white tailed blue flycatchers, this is a beautiful area famous for its small birds with the rare altitude spacialists like the white napped ravens and olive thrush easy to see. The lake is free from Bilharzia so if you feel like it an evening swim is possible.
DAY 6: TRANSFER TO LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK & GAME-DRIVE WITH BIRDING
Be woken up by a choir of birds before breakfast. We leave Lake Bunyonyi after breakfast driving to Lake Mburo national park where we have lunch at the lodge. In the afternoon we continue our 7 days birding Uganda safari by heading out for a game-drive with views of zebras and impalas as well as birding with chances of seeing yellow throated Apalis, red faced barbet, coqui francolin, black cuckoo shrike, Tabora cisticola, pale flycatcher, emerald spotted wood dove, African penduline tit and pearl spotted owlet.
DAY 7: SHOEBILL STORK AT MABAMBA SWAMP AND TRANSFER TO ENTEBBE FOR FLIGHT
Early morning, we visit Mabamba village and its adjacent swamp with chances of seeing the prehistorical looking Great shoebill stork. The road to Mabamba winds its way through areas of secondary forest and agricultural land attracting Red-headed Lovebird, African Crowned-Hornbills, and a range of sunbirds including the Green-headed, Green, Red-chested, Collared, Marico and Scarlet-chested and the African pied Wagtail is common along the road. After these last birding highlights we cross towards Entebbe international airport in time for an evening flight as we have reached the end of our 7 days Uganda birding safari.