9 Days Uganda Birding

This 9 Day Forest birding tour of Uganda that covers most of the key forest birding locations

​

Day 1: Arrival and transfer to the Hotel

​

Day 2: Mabamba Swamp and proceed to Kibale National park.

​

This morning we shall drive to Mabamba swamp looking for the mighty Shoebill and other water birds like lesser Jacana, Long-toed Plover, Blue-headed Coucal, Blue-breasted Bee-Eater, Papyrus Gonolek, White-winged Warbler, Weyn’s, Orange and Northern Brown-throated Weavers. Later in the afternoon drive to Kibale National Park.

​

Kibale National Park is a tropical Rainforest which provides a great birding. We shall look for species such as Green-breasted Pitta, White-spotted Flufftail, Blue-throated Roller, Black- Billed and Great Blue Turaco, White –Napped Pigeon, Red-Tailed and White-tailed Ant-Thrush, Western Nicator, Chestnut-Winged, Purple Headed, Narrow-Tailed, and Splendid glossy Starlings, African grey Parrots, Chestnut Wattle Eye, Cassin’s Grey, and Grey-throated Flycatcher, Vanga and Black and white shrike Flycatcher, Yellow Mantled Weaver, Velvet Mantled Drongo, Green Hylia, Green and Little green Sunbird, Narina Drogon, Black and White Casqued and Crowned Hornbills, Blue Shouldered and Red-capped Robin-chat, Lowland Akalat, Yellow-Billed, Hairy breasted and Yellow Spotted Barbets, Yellow Throated, Yellow-Rumped and Speckled Tinkerbirds, African crowned and Cassin’s Hawk Eagles, Black bee Eaters, Fire Crested Alethe, Brown and Scally breasted Illadopsis, Western Black-headed Oriole, Red Chested owlet, White-throated, Toro Olive, Cameroon sombre, and little greenbulls.

​

Day 3: Birding in Kibale National Park

​

Day 4: Birding in Kibale and Later transfer to Semuliki National Park

 

Semuliki National park is a lowland rainforest and one of the richest for forest birds in Uganda. A large number of Guinea-Congo biome species

reach their eastern limits here and marks the eastern extension of the great Ituri forest, This, therefore, make it the best place in Uganda to with high chances of encountering some of the west African species that cannot be easily accessed from other places.

Key species are; Black Dwarf, Red-billed, Black Wattled casqued, white Crested, Piping, White thighed, Crowned and African pied Hornbills, African Piculet, Yellow throated Cuckoo, Red rumped tinker bird, Red headed, Crested and red-Billed Malimbe, Yellow Throated and Western Nicator, Eastern forest Robin, Fire Crested Alethe, Dwarf and white bellied kingfisher, Green tailed and Red tailed bristlebill, Rufous sided Broadbill, Leaf love, Chestnut breasted and pale fronted Nigrofinches, Congo supent Eagle, and African Crowned, Olive, White naped and western bronze Naped Pigeons, Red Headed Bluebill, Rufous flycatcher Thrush, Gabon, Yellow Crested, Brown eared Woodpecker, Forest Scrub robin, grants and Red Headed Bluebill, Scally Breasted and Brown Illadospsis, Eastern Beaded, Swamp palm, Ictrine Greenbul, Xavier`s lowland Sooty Boubou, Grey Throated- and Nkulengu Rail, Orange winged Pitylia, Red-tailed and White tailed Ant-thrush, Yellow long bill, Yellow billed, yellow spotted and Hairy Breasted Barbets, Zenkers and Willcocks honey guide, Maxwell`s weavers, Ituri Batis, Blue throated Roller, Grey headed and Blue throated Brown sunbirds, Palmnut Vultures.

​

The drive to this beautiful National Park passes through the savannah part of the Toro Semuliki game reserve and gives us birding opportunities along the road. Here on the road, you are likely to find; Red Throated and little Bee-Eaters, grey-headed kingfishers, Black-billed and White-headed Barbet, Cinnamon Breasted rock Bunting, Yellow-bellied and Green- Backed Eremomela, Brown Backed Scrub Robin, Tropical Boubou, Spotted morning thrush, Nothern Red bishop, Nubian woodpecker, Fawn Breasted, Orange checked, and common waxbills.

​

Day 5: whole day birding in Semuliki

​

Day 6: Whole day birding in Semuliki

​

Day 7: Drive to Bwindi via Queen Elizabeth National Park

​

Ruhija is the highest section of Bwindi impenetrable national park at the elevation of 2300 meters above sea level. This is the best place for some of the most difficult to find of the Albertine Rift endemics and other highland species including the; The rare and localized Grauer`s Swamp Warbler and Grauer`s Warbler, African green-Broadbill, Regal sunbird, Purple-Breasted, Blue headed Sunbird and Northern Double coloured Sunbird, Red-Faced woodland Warbler, Rwenzori Batis, Rwenzori Apalis, chestnut throated Apalis, Rwenzori hill Barbler, Rwenzori Night Jar Dwarf Honeyguide, Handsome francolin, Strange Weaver, Stripe breasted Tit, Eastern Mountain, Yellow streaked and Yellow whiskered Greenbulls, White headed wood-hoopoe, Stuhlmann`s and Waller`s starlings, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Urcher`s Robin chat, Evergreen forest Warbler, Banded Prinnia, Mountain Illadopsis, White Browed Crombec, Mountain Oriole, Oriole Finch, Lagden`s and Ludher`s Bushrike Doherty`s Bushrike, Red faced Crimsonwing, Dusky Crimson wing, Dusky Twinsport, Yellow Crowned canary, Mountain and Augur Buzzards, Tullberg`s Woodpecker, Red throated Alethe, Grey Cuckoo Shrike, Chubb`s Cisticola, White starred Robin, White tailed blue Flycacher and White bellied crested Flycacher, Yellow eyed Black Flycacher, Mountain masked Apalis, African Black and Scarce swifts. Slender Billed and Sharp`s Starling, Mountain Sooty Boubou, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo and western Green Tinkerbird, etc

The Famous Mubwindi Swamp of Ruhija is 4km trail, the original trail to this swamp is very steep but currently, there is a new trial providing the best birding and less straining, it is currently manageable to all.

​

Day 8: whole day birding in Ruhija

 

Day 9: Drive to Kampala or Entebbe.