Join us as we take you on a Uganda Birding Tour in search of highly sought after Albertine Endemics!
Let us take you on a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience on this stunning Uganda birding tour in Uganda looking for the 25 Albertine Rift Endemic bird species ‘The Pearl of Africa’ is famous for!
This Uganda birding tour has been designed to take you on a ‘Once in a Lifetime’ birding experience in search of Uganda’s most rare and cherished bird species. Albertine Rift species are endemic to only Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania, and Uganda is the very best places in the world to see them!
​
Join us on this incredible Uganda Birding Tour as we travel through a variety stunning habitats and landscapes in Uganda in search of these elusive yet stunning endemics – this one is not to be missed!
Brief Birding Tour Itinerary
Day 1 – Mabamba Swamp & Lake Mburo National Park
We kick off the first day of this Uganda Birding Tour at Mabamba swamp, a papyrus swamp and Ramser Site situated on the edges of Lake Victoria looking for as many special birds the area has to offer including highlights such as the Papyrus Gonolek and the prehistoric Shoebill – two birds high on any birder’s wishlist!
​We’ll then be heading to Lake Mburo National park where you’ll enjoy an afternoon and morning birding session where you’ll get do some of the best wetland birding the country has to offer! We’ll be taking you on a leisurely boat ride onto the lake in search of the tricky species to find as well as going on game drives and on-foot birding around the lake. Species to look forward to include the African Finfoot, Dwarf Bittern, Little Bittern, Black-crowned Night Heron, Green-backed Heron, Goliath Heron, Water thick-nee, Black-winged Stilt, African Wattled Lapwing, Spotted Redshank, Eurasian Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit and many more!
Day 3 – Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
On your third day of the tour you’ll get to go to Uganda’s smallest national park. It may be a small park but it sure does pack a punch! The park, as the name suggests was established to protect the Critically Endangered Mountain Gorilla and is situated in the Albertine Rift montane cloud forests and of the Virunga Volcanoes making it one of the best places to witness Albertine endemics such as Rwenzori Turaco, Dwarf Honeygude, Kivu Ground Thrush, Rwenzori Double-collared Sunbird, Regal Sunbird, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Archer’s Robin-chat, Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Dusky Crimsonwing and the much Sought after Shelley’s Crimsonwing to name a few! We promise you an unforgettable birding time in this magical park!
Day 4, 5, 6 & 7 – Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
On the next four days of the tour you’ll be treated to arguably the best national park in Uganda to see Albertine endemic species. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a haven for birdlife and primates alike with a impressive list of 350 bird species, 310 butterfly species, 130 mammal species and several primate species – all of which are very rare. The wildlife list is endless and this park deserves 3 days!
​Over the next four days you’ll get to do some of the best on-foot birding Africa has to offer! We’ll be searching for rare and beautiful forest species such as Regal Sunbird, Northern Double-collared Sunbird, Ludhers Bush-shrike, Petits cuckoo-shrike, Bar-tailed Tragon, White-tailed crested-flycatcher, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Collared Apalis, Elliot’s Woodpecker, Purple-throated Cuckooshrike, Willcock’s Honeyguide, Xavier’s Greenbul, Kivu Groundthrush, Graure’s Broadbill, Handsome Francolin, Strange Weaver, Shelley’s Crimsonwing, Dusky Crimsonwing, Stripe-breasted Tit, Rwenzori Batis, White-browed Crombec, White-naped Raven, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Sharp’s Starling, Mountain Masked Apalis and Rwenzori Apalis among many many more!
​* On Day 6 there is the option of going Gorilla Trekking so please do let us know if this is something you would be interested in
Day 8 – Ishasha (Queen Elizabeth National Park)
On the eighth day of this birding tour in Uganda, we’ll be transferring to Semuliki National Park and on the way we’ll stop over in Ishasha, which is located within Queen Elizabeth National Park for you to witness a curious behaviour. Ishasha is famed for it’s Tree-climbing Lion population – an interesting sight to behold to say the least as it is still unknown as to why they do this. There are only two Lion populations in the world that do this so it’s certainly worth checking out! We’ll also be looking for as many interesting savannah species to add to our now very large list!
Day 9 & 10 – Semuliki National Park
On days 9 & 10 you’ll be heading deep into Africa’s last remaining lowland tropical rainforest, Semuliki National Park aka ‘The True Birders’ Haven’. Semuliki has an astonishing 441 bird species recorded where you’ll also be rewarded with crossover species from the Congo’s and Africa’s first national park, Virunga – one of the most biologically diverse areas on the planet and home to the world’s critically endangered mountain gorillas. There are many Albertine endemic species, along with others to look forward to are Black-Casqued Wattled, Piping, Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill, White-crested Hornbill, Nkulengu Rail, Blue Swallow, White-throated Blue Swallow, Swamp Palm Bulbul, Spotted Greenbul,White-starred Robin, Lowland Akalat, Red-throated Alethe, Fire-crested Alethe, Snowy-headed Robin-chat, Blue-shouldered Robin-chat, Red-eyed Puffback, White-tailed Robin-chat, Northern Bearded Scrub Robin, Capped Wheatear, Common Stonechat, Abyssinian Ground Thrush, Oberlaender’s Ground Thrush, Grey Ground Thrush, Little Grey Greenbul, Toro Olive Greenbul, Mountain Greenbul, Yellow-throated Nicator, Western Nicator, among so many more!
Day 11 – Kampala/Entebbe
On the last day of this amazing Uganda Birding Tour we’ll be heading back to Kampala/Entebbe, but never fear we will be stopping at interesting sites along the way in search for any species we may have missed or just to simply add to our now extremely large list of birds we have seen throughout this magical birding tour in Uganda!
Key Bird Species
Popular Species on this tour: Purple-breasted Sunbird, Regal Sunbird, Ruwenzori Turaco, Shelley’s Crimsonwing
Below is a list of species that could be encountered on this tour!
African Finfoot, Dwarf Bittern, Little Bittern, Black-crowned Night Heron, Green-backed Heron, Goliath Heron, Water thick-nee, Black-winged Stilt, African Wattled Lapwing, Spotted Redshank, Eurasian Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Shoebill, Papyrus Gonolek, Rwenzori Turaco, Dwarf Honeygude, Kivu Ground Thrush, Rwenzori Double-collared Sunbird, Regal Sunbird, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Archer’s Robin-chat, Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Dusky Crimsonwing, Shelley’s Crimsonwing, Regal Sunbird, Northern Double-collared Sunbird, Ludhers Bush-shrike, Petits cuckoo-shrike, Bar-tailed Tragon, White-tailed crested-flycatcher, Collared Apalis, Elliot’s Woodpecker, Purple-throated Cuckooshrike, Willcock’s Honeyguide, Xavier’s Greenbul, Kivu Groundthrush, Graure’s Broadbill, Handsome Francolin, Strange Weaver, Stripe-breasted Tit, Rwenzori Batis, White-browed Crombec, White-naped Raven, Sharp’s Starling, Mountain Masked Apalis, Rwenzori Apalis, Saddle-billed Stork, Malagasy Pond Heron, Black-Casqued Wattled, Piping, Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill, White-crested Hornbill, Nkulengu Rail, Blue Swallow, White-throated Blue Swallow, Swamp Palm Bulbul, Spotted Greenbul,White-starred Robin, Lowland Akalat, Red-throated Alethe, Fire-crested Alethe, Snowy-headed Robin-chat, Blue-shouldered Robin-chat, Red-eyed Puffback, White-tailed Robin-chat, Northern Bearded Scrub Robin, Capped Wheatear, Common Stonechat, Abyssinian Ground Thrush, Oberlaender’s Ground Thrush, Grey Ground Thrush, Little Grey Greenbul, Toro Olive Greenbul, Mountain Greenbul, Yellow-throated Nicator, Western Nicator among many many more!
Something Special
Book with us today and be part of award-winning ethical and sustainable tourism!
Established in 2016, we are renowned as the best birdwatching tour company in East Africa