7 DAYS UGANDA BIRDING SAFARI
DAY 1: Entebbe Birding Orientation
Our birding safari guide will pick you from your hotel for a birding orientation at Entebbe Botanical gardens. Watch out for the Brown throated waver, golden backed weaver, yellow backed weaver, grey headed gull, long tailed cormorant, common squacco heron, yellow billed duck, pied kingfisher, giant kingfisher, swamp flycatcher, broad billed roller, black and white casqued hornbill, splendid glossy starling, black headed gonolek, orange weaver, red chested sunbird, slender billed weaver, Ross’s turaco, pied hornbill, crowned hornbill, open billed stork, great red warbler, sedge warbler, grey caped warbler and many other species. Dinner and overnight at Imperial Botanical Beach Hotel/ Lake View Windsor Hotel.
DAY 2: The Lincorn Birding Trail & Entebbe Environments
Wake up early morning after breakfast and go for birding at the Lincoln trail. This has over 170 species that have so far been recorded. Interested birders may record over 110 species in a day. So far the local bird guides have recommended this trail as the best spot nearest to Kampala. Watch out for white-headed barbet, red headed lovebird, double toothed barbet, brown twin spot, tambourine dove, black-headed bush shrike, scaly francolin, tropical boubou, and other various species. Dinner and overnight at Imperial Botanical Hotel.
DAY 3: Mabamba Important Birding Area & the Shoebills
Wake up early morning and have breakfast then drive to Mabamba Important Bird Area with lunch packed. Mabamba is the closest and best spot to watch the majestic African shoebill in the wild. You will have a stop over in Mpigi Swamp for papyrus rarities. Expect to see papyrus gonolek, white winged warbler, yellow backed weaver, northern brown-throated weaver and blue-headed coucal. Proceed to Mabamba wetland. Most of the birding is done on the canoe. Look out for the majestic shy shoebill stork both in the sky exploring the heights and down in the marshy swamp, Watch out closely for the swamp flycatcher, purple swamp hen, African water rail, common moorhen, lesser jacana, African jacana, African pygmy goose, white faced whistling duck, squacco heron, blue breasted bee-eater, winding cistcola, goliath heron, black crake and many more.
Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 4: Kampala - Queen Elizabeth (606 Bird species)
After an early breakfast you will depart to Queen Elizabeth National Park while bird watching enroute. Stop over in Mbarara for lunch. Over 640 bird species have been recorded in QNP. Keen birders may be interested to know that a single day’s record can yield to 300 species out of 604 in the Park, one of the highest in the whole world. The major species seen here include pelicans, skimmers, kingfishers, thick-knees, storks, martins, swallows, weavers, raptors, canaries, kites and grassland specialties. Dinner and overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge/ Jacana Lodge.
DAY 5: Open Savanna Birding in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Early morning wake up and go birding on the open savanna. Return to the hotel for lunch, relax and chart the break away or if you wish you may have a short dip in the luxurious swimming pool. You will spend the afternoon along Kazinga channel and have a chance to view some birds along the river bank. Kazinga channel joins Lake Edward and Lake George, which gives it a wonderful site in a lovely environment with its various beautiful water birds along the channel. Dinner and overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge/ Jacana Lodge.
DAY 6: Lake Mburo National park
Wake up and have an early morning breakfast, then go for bird watching around the peninsular which is interesting and productive. Check out and proceed to Lake Mburo National Park. You will have several stopovers for bird watching. You will catch up with the barefaced go away bird, crowned plover, wattled lapwing, southern red bishop, varied sunbird, African harrier hawk, larks and many more bird species. You will have a chance to enjoy the free songs of the morning dove, deidrick cuckoo, grey-capped warbler and black-headed weaver. Dinner and overnight at Mantana Luxury tented camp.
DAY 7: The Accacia Associated Birds of Lake mburo
Wake up at dawn get a chance to see the African fin foot at Lake Mburo before it disappears into the papyrus beds floating at Lake Mburo. Look out for the brown chested lapwing, lilac breasted roller, black bellied bustard, helmet guinea fowl, coqui francolin, rufous napped lark, vultures, eagles, kites and many more. You can depart for Kampala and do some shopping and after transfer to Entebbe. Dinner and overnight at Imperial Resort Beach Hotel.
