SOUTH AND WESTERN UGANDA BIRDING SAFARI

DAY ONE: BIRDING THE BOTANICAL GARDENS
Arrive at Entebbe International Airport meet our representative who will transfer you to your respective hotel of stay in Entebbe, early arrivals can be introduced to birding around Entebbe preferable in the Botanical Gardens which produces great results of birding with views of the Great Blue and Ross’s Turacos, Red Chested, Klaas’s and Diederick Cuckoo, Great Reed, Grey Capped, Sedge, Greater Swamp and Eurosuian Reed Warblers, Fain Tailed Widow bird, Striped, Malachite, Giant, Woodland and Pygmy Kingfishers, Black Bishop, Grey Woodpecker, Olive, Olive bellied, Red chested, Superb, Green Throated and Collard Sunbirds, Orange, Yellow Backed, Golden Backed, Slender Billed and Black Headed Weavers, Lizard Buzzard, Grey Kestral, African Grey and Brown Parrot, Black Kite, Gaber Goshawk, African Paradise and Red Bellied Paradise and Ashy fly catchers, and many more dinner and over night stay Sophie’s or Green Valley Inn BB. This day watch out for the Bat Hawk in the evening hours

DAY TWO: BIRDING TO MABAMBA FOR THE SHOEBILL STORK
After breakfast we leave Entebbe early in the morning for Mabamba swamp birding enroute, we have a chance to see a variety of weavers – Weyn’s, Black Headed, Yelloe Backed, Viollets Black and Slender Billed on the way, Black headed Oriole, keep eyes pen in the air for rapters such as the Banded snake Eagles and falcons, African harrier Hawk, Short Toed Snake Eagle, Black Bishop, and many others. In Mabamba swamp, we shall take a hand paddled canoe in search for the majestic Shoebill; and other wahte birds such as the Allen’s and Purple Gallinule, Black Crake, Rufous Bellied, Purple and Goliath Herons, Malachite King fisher, to mention but a few. After the swamp we transfer to Lake Mburo a game drive enroute is always rewarding with a variety of bird species as we drive towards our lodge. Dinner and overnight stay at Arcadia Cottages or Mihingo Lodge

DAY THREE: BIRDING LAKE MBURO FOR THE RED FACED BARBET AND TABORA CISTICOLA
Morning birding and game drive in search for the Red faced Barbet, Coqui, Red Necked and Crested Francolin, Tabora, Trilling and Siffling Cisticola, Bru Bru, Red Headed Weaver, Golden Backed Weaver, African Wattled and Brown Chested Lapwing, Sulper Breasted Bush Shrike, Green Caped Eremomela, Yellow Bellied Apalis, Red Billed Wood Hopoe, Common Scimiterbill, Green Green Backed, cardinal Nubian and Uganda Spotted Wood Pecker, White Winged Black Tit, Red Faced Crombed, Tropical Boubou etc. We may also have a chance to see the Zebra, Eland, Topis, Impalas and some other game; after the game drive we go for a boat ride in search for the African Finfoot then transfer to Bwindi, drive straight to Ruhizha overnight at Trekker’s Tervan. Around the camp we can leisurely look out for the Dusky Twinspot, White Starred Robin chat, White Naped Raven Luhder’s Many caloured, Lagdens and Bushshrike, Rwenzori Batis

DAY FOUR: BIRDING TO MUBWINDI SWAMP – AFRICAN GREEN BROADBILL
Morning birding to Mubwindi Swamp where we may have a chance to see the African Green-broadbill, Grauer’s Rush Warbler, Rwenzori Apalis and African Hill Babbler, Rwenzori Hill Babbler, the rare and localized Grauer's Scrub-warbler, Fraser's Eagle-Owl, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Blue-headed Sunbird, Regal Sunbird, African Broadbill, Archer's Robin Chat, Eastern Mountain-Greenbul, Strange Weaver, Purple-breasted, Blue Throated Brown, Rwenzori Double Collard, Northern Double Collard, Blue-headed and Regal Sunbirds, Red Faced woodland, Brown Woodland, Black Faced Rufous, Short Tailed wablers, Olive, Tulbergs, Elliots and Yellow Crested Wood Peckers  among others.

DAY FIVE: BIRDING TO BUHOMA
Transfer to Buhoma, birding enroute where we may have a chance to see theDusky Long Tailed and Barred Long Tailed Cuckoo, Mountain Buzzard, Cassin’s and Ayre’s  Hawk Eagle, Black Bee-eaters, Western Bronze-napped Pigeon, Many-Coloured Bush-shrike, Cassin’s grey flycatcher, Mountain Wagtail and a variety of Albertine rift endemics. Depending on our arrival time at Buhoma, we can have optional birding along the main trail of Buhoma where we have our overnight stay at Gorilla Resort or Buhoma Community Rest Camp.

DAY SIX: BIRDING BUHOMA
Morning birding Buhoma main trail in search for the Bocages, Ludher’s, Many caloured bush shrikes, Pink Footed and Northern Puff Backs, Western Green, Yellow Rumped, Yellow Throated and Speckled Tinkerbirds, Yellow Billed, Yellow Spotted Hairy Breasted and Grey Throated Barbets, Bar Tailed Tragon, White Headed Wood Hopoe, Cassin’s, Scaly Throated, Least and Dwarf Honey Guides, Mountain Illadopsis, Red Throated Allethe, Chestnut Winged, Stulman’s Waller’s, Narrow Billed and Narrow Tailed Starling,  Olive and Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo, Red-chested Owlet, Neumann’s Warbler, Pale-breasted Illadopsis, White-tailed Blue, Red Bellied Paradise, Dusky Blue, Dusky Crested and White Tailed Dusky Flycatchers, African Broad Bill, Yellow Whiskered, Slender Billed, Cameroon Sombre, Toro Olive, Shelley’s, Honey Guide, ictrine, Cabanis’s, Little, Little Grey and Red Throated Greenbuls, Green and White Browed Crombec, Grey Winged, Blue Shouldered, Red Capped Snowy Headed, White Bellied and White Browed Robinchats, Green and Tit Hylias, Ross’s, Great Blue and Black Billed Turacos, White Chinned and Banded Prinias, Woodhouse’s Antipecker Short Tailed Wabler, Equatorial Akalat and many others.

DAY SEVEN: OPTIONAL GORILLA TRACKING OR ANOTHER DAY OF BIRDING
Go for gorilla tracking walking up steeply in the dense rain forest through different animals’ trails allowing access to tourists. Gorilla tracking is an inspiring and wonderful adventure which one can’t afford to miss. The Gorillas are and peaceful animals and it is an unforgettable experience to watch and photograph them as they

DAY EIGHT: BIRDING TO QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK
Drive to Queen Elizabeth National park birding enroute, via Ishasha sector of the park for a game drive in search for tree climbing Lions and birding for a variety of savanna birds and a number of raptors overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge of Kingfisher Kichwamba Lodge.

DAY NINE: BIRDING, GAME DRIVE AND BOAT IN QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK
Morning game drive through the Kasenyi track and Kob mating grounds in search for savanna birds like the Temminck’s Courser, Martial Eagle, Rupell’s Griffon Vulture e.t.c. Of recent the Secretary bird was seen around here, we have a chance to see mammals like the lions, Elephants, Buffalo, Hyena, Giant Forest Hogs, and other game. Afternoon boat ride on Kazinga Channel believed to host the largest concentration of Hippos in Africa, a variety of migrant birds, Crocodiles.

DAY TEN: BIRDING TO KIBALE FOREST NATIONAL PARK
Drive to Fort portal birding enroute, afternoon we may bird the forest west of Fort portal in search for the Joyful Greenbul, Cassin’s grey flycatcher, African Black Duck, Four coloured Bush shrike and a variety of forest birds or we may bird the Crater area for Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Giant Kingfisher, Yellow bellied Waxbill to mention but a few overnight Hotel in Fort portal or Kibaale forest.

DAY ELEVEN: BIRDING AND CHIMP TRACKING
After an early morning breakfast, we walk to Kibaale National Park reported to be home of the greatest variety and highest concentration of primates in the world. Thirteen (13) different species have been identified here. We go for Chimp tracking, where we may have a chance to see a variety of other primates e.g. the Grey-cheeked Mangabeys, Vervet, L’Hoerst and Red tailed Monkeys, Olive Baboons, Red, Black and white Colobus Monkeys, here we have a chance to bird the Forest in search for the green-breasted Pitta, Western bronze-napped Pigeon, Many-coloured Bush shrike, to mention but a few. Afternoon Swamp walk in Bigodi wetland for the Papyrus endemics and a variety of primates overnight.

DAY TWELVE: BIRDING TO SEMLIK
Semliki Forest marks the eastern extension West African Forest. This makes it the best birding place East Africa as we encounter some of the Guinea Congo Biome endemics not easily seen in other East African destinations. Specialties include Congo Serpent Eagle, Bate's Nightjar, Yellow-throated Cuckoo, Orange-tufted Sunbird, Black-winged Oriole, Red-billed Helmet Shrike, Lemon-bellied Crombec, Rufous-sided Broadbill, Icterine Greenbul, Black-throated Coucal, Nkulengu Rail, Long-tailed Hawk, Spot-breasted Ibis, Capuchin Babbler, Yellow-throated and Western Nicator, Northern Bearded Scrub Robin, Red-chested Owlet, Western Bronze-napped Pigeon, Black-collared Lovebird, White-bellied Kingfisher, Red-rumped Tinkerbird, Lyre-tailed and Zenker's Honeyguides, White-throated Blue Swallow, Swamp Palm Bulbul, Crested Malimbe, Blue-billed Malimbe, Fiery-breasted Bush-shrike, Pale-fronted and Chestnut Bellied Negrofinch, Black Dwarf, Piping, Red-billed Dwarf, Black-casqued Wattled , White Crested, and White-thighed Hornbills African Piculet among others

DAY THIRTEEN: BIRDING TO KAMPALA
Early morning drive to Kampala as we transfer to the airport for your flight back home birding enroute can be rewarding with a stopover at different spots. End of our birding safari.