Let us take you on a wild birding tour, looking for the Best of Uganda’s Wildlife: Birds, Chimpanzees & Gorillas!
There’s no denying that Uganda’s main wildlife attractions are the Birds, Chimpanzees and of course, Mountain Gorillas. Join us on a birding tour, as we go in search of them!
This Uganda birding tour has been specially crafted to accommodate the interests of a birding group looking to enjoy the special bird and primate species of Uganda in a short period of just 12 days. Loaded with regional endemics, this tour will engage you in a Ugandan birding and primate tour of a lifetime. The locations and destinations have been specially selected to give you an opportunity to visit some of Uganda’s top nature locations that are filled with pure birding and primate gems. This Uganda birding tour will take you far and wide crossing different habitats and giving you a feel of Uganda’s beauty. The focus is on mainland Uganda as we traverse from Lake Victoria all the way to Western Uganda and back.
Book today and have a Birding Tour in Uganda like no other!
Brief Birding Tour Itinerary
Day 1 – Mabamba Swamp & transfer to Budongo Forest Reserve
Early morning pick up and transfer to Mabamba swamp, a Ramser Site situated on the edges of Lake Victoria, hidden but with many unique and special birds on offer.
Afternoon lunch at the equator (as you do) and we’ll be transferring to Lake Mburo National Park with many birding stop-overs along the way!
Day 2 – Budongo Forest Reserve
We’ll be spending our second day in the stunning Budongo Forest, where we’ll be birding along the spectacular Royal Mile Trail in search of the three of the forest’s most sought-after species: the African Dwarf Kingfisher, Rufous-crowned Eramomella and Chocolate-backed Kingfisher! We’ll also be looking for any interesting forest species we may have missed previously on the tour. After a fine morning birding we’ll transfer back to Kampala/Entebbe where this epic 12 Day Birding Tour will come to an end. However, chin up your now huge list will be something to marvel at – bragging rights are in order!
Day 3 & 4 – Murchison Falls National Park
On Day 3, we’ll be heading to Murchison Falls National Park, where we’ll be spending the next couple of days. It’s the largest national park in Uganda and boy does it pack a punch! It’s very existence is determined by the famous Murchison Falls – the rushing waters of the River Nile forced through a narrow gorge is spectacle to behold and has been fascinating the world for centuries The park holds all of Africa’s Big Five – Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, Rhino and of course the Elephant which large herds gather together at the river to quench their thirst and to also take a well earned bath. It’s a fantastic spot to see the formidable Nile Crocodile too, where they wait to ambush an unsuspecting character. The park is also well endowed in bird species too holding a whopping 460 bird species! With some of the highlights including the Red-throated Bee-eater, Eurasian Curlew, Black-billed Barbet, White-headed Barbet, Denham’s Bustard, Black-billed BarbetSouthern and Northern Carmine Bee-Eater, Rüppell’s Vulture, Lapet-faced Vulture, Silverbird, Black-billed Wood Dove. Murchison Falls, truly has it all!
Day 5 & 6 – Kibale National Park
We’ll be kicking off Day 5 of the tour, at the world famous Kibale National Park. Renowned as ‘The Primate Capital of the World’ for it’s incredible primate population – 1450 individual chimpanzees and 13 species of primates overall, but the best part is that it holds an impressive bird list of 335 species! In the morning, we’ll be on the lookout for species such as the Shining Blue Kingfisher, Blue- breasted Kingfisher, White-browed Robin-chat, Red-chested Sunbird, White-Headed Saw-wing, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Black Bee-Eater, Blue Malkoha, White-chinned Prinia, Speckled Pigeon, Green-breasted Pitta, African Pitta, Abyssinian Groundthrush, Dusky Crimsonwing, Black-capped Apalis, Collared Apalis, Purple- breasted Sunbird to a name a few!
In the afternoon, we’ll be trekking in search of one our closest relatives, the Chimpanzee. The trek will roughly take 2-3 hours, where you’ll also come across many forest bird species along the way. After we’ve finished our Chimpanzee trek, we’ll head back to the lodge where we’ll get some well-deserved sundowners whilst the sunsets over this beautiful park.
​On Day 6, we’ll be going birding at the famous Bigodi Swamp to look for the many species (understatement!) that visit this area, and then in the afternoon, we’ll head to Uganda’s most popular park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, where on arrival we’ll go for our first birding session and game drive!
Day 7 & 8 – Queen Elizabeth National Park
For the next two days you’ll kick back and relax at Uganda’s most popular national park. There’s a reason why it’s so popular – Queen Elizabeth boasts lots of different habitats which in turn allows for not only an incredible birding experience but for amazing game viewing experience. Get ready to witness crater lakes, forested gorges, savannah plains, swamps, rivers and the beautiful Kazinga Channel – home to an abundance of wildlife. The park also has the most amount of bird species in Uganda! Be sure to get your binoculars polished – you’re gonna need it!
We promise you an unforgettable two days in Uganda’s most popular park!
Day 11 & 12 – Lake Mburo National Park
In the morning, we’ll go for an early morning birding session at the Mubwindi Swamp, and by midmorning we’ll travel to the beautiful Lake Mburo National Park., with several birding stop- overs along the way. On arrival, we’ll go out for a birding session for your first taste of the mesmerising park.
The next morning, we’ll start bright and early to make the most of this park with game drives, birding sessions and a leisurely boat cruise on
to lake. Species to look forward to are the White- backed Night-Heron, African Finfoot, African Darter, African Fish Eagle, Northern Brown-Throated Weaver, Striated Heron, Purple Heron, Grey Heron, Common Squacco Heron, Pied Kingfisher, Palm-nut Vulture, Black Crake, Purple Gallinules, White-faced Whistling Duck, Knobbed-billed Duck, Spur-winged Goose, Red-faced Barbet, Black-collared Barbet, Crested Barbet, Abyssinian Ground-hornbill, Long- tailed Cisticola and Brubru to name a few!
​After we’ve spent the day having done some exceptional birding, we’ll hit the road as we traverse back to Kampala/Entebbe, where we’ll be saying goodbye to the Lake Mburo as we embark on our journey back to Entebbe – but not without stopping on the way to look for any more species we may have missed to add to our now incredibly impressive list – bragging rights are in order!
Arshley – SBC Lead Ornithology Guide, Uganda
Key Bird Species
Popular Bird Species on this Uganda Birding Tour: Shoebill, Papyrus Gonolek, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Blue-headed Sunbird, Black Bee-eater, Northern Double-collared Sunbird
Below is a list of just a few species likely to 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, Painted Snipe, Wattled Plover, African Skimmer, Malachite Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, White-winged Terns, Swamp Fly-catcher, Grey-capped Warbler,Grey-headed Kingfisher, Collard Pranticles, African Jacana, Pin-tailed Whydah, Martial Eagle, Gabon Nightjar, Slender-tailed Nightjar, Black-headed Gonolek, Great Cormorant, Long-tailed Cormorant, Brown-backed Woodpecker, Lesser Honeyguide, Scaly-throated Honeyguide, Black Scimitarbill, Green Wood Hoopoe, Red-and-yellow Barbet, Broad-billed Roller, Rufous-crowned Roller, Eurasian Roller, Lilac-breasted Roller, Little Bee-eater, White-fronted Bee-eater, White-throated Bee-eater, African Thrush, Ruppell’s Long-tailed Starling, Slender-billed Weaver, Little Weaver,Black-headed Weaver, Grey-headed Sparrow, Red-headed Lovebird, Spur-winged Lapwing, Red-eyed Mourning Dove, Winding Cisticola, Croacking Cisticola, Zitting Cisticolas, Heuglin’s Francolin, Red-winged Francolin, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Brown Parrot, Barefaced Go-away-bird, Harlequin Quail,BlueQuails, Common Button Quail, White-headed Barbet, Black-billed Barbet, Greenwood Hoopoe, Common Scimitarbill, Blue-napped Mousebird, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Shining-blue Kingfisher, African-grey Hornbill, Buff-spotted Woodpecker, Brown-eared Woodpecker, Grey Woodpecker, Trilling Cisticola, Stout Cisticola, Wing-snapping Cisticola, Red-necked Spurfowl, Black-bellied Bustard, Temminck’s Courser,African-wattled Plover, Rufous napped Lark, Flappet Lark, Rufous-chested Swallow, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Black-winged Bishop, Chubb’s,Carruther, Great White Pelican, Pink-backed Pelican, African Fish Eagle among many many more!
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