AbleSafaris.com

16 Day Bird Watching Safari

Day 1: Arrival and transfer to the Hotel for accommodation. Lindsay Cottage (Early arrival will enjoy birding around Kampala) The area surrounding is good for evening birding. White faced scopes owl, African Moustached warbler, White Browed Robin chat, White headed barbet, Grey parrot, compact weaver, red chested and scarlet chested sunbirds, Sooty Chat, White headed barbet and much more. Day 2: Depart for Murchison Falls National Park with a stopover for lunch at Masindi Hotel. On this route birding is at different spots looking for specials like the Puvel’s illadopsis, red tailed ant thrush, rufous sided broadbill, yellow and grey longbills. We check in at either Red Chilli Hide Camp or Paraa Safari Lodge.

Day 3: Morning game drive. We come back for lunch at the lodge. We go back for an afternoon/evening game drive across the river Nile to the top of the Murchison Falls. We stay at the same lodge. Key species include, Shoebill, Secretary bird, Bat Hawk, Red-necked Falcon, White-crested Turacco, Bruce's Pigeon, Pel's Fish-owl, Standard-winged, Pennant-winged and Long-tailed Nightjars, Carmine Bee-eater, Rock Pratincole, and much more.

Day 4: Another game drive north of the river. We have lunch at the hotel then later go for the Launch cruise to the bottom of the falls. We stay at the same Lodge.

Day 5: With q picnic lunch, we bird to Budongo forest through the Escarpment overlooking Lake Albert which is wonderful. Specials include: Brown rumped bunting, Cliff chat, black billed wood dove, vinaceous dove, Fox’s cisticola, grey headed bush shrike, black billed barbet, grey headed oliveback, black bellied firefinch, madagascar heron, lesser masked weaver, , etc. We check in at Masindi Hotel.

Day 6: With a picnic lunch bird the Royal Mile for the whole day. Key species at Budongo Royal Mile include: Nahan's Francolin. Brown-backed Scrub-robin, Brown Twinsport, Black-bellied Firefinch, Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Barbet, Spotted and Slender-billed Greenbul, Black-capped Apalis and many other forest species. We stay at Masindi Hotel.

Day 7: Depart for the south to Kibale forest National Park with evening birding at Sebitoli section of the forest. This is home to Cabanis and joyful green bul, Green and brown twinspot, Uganda spotted wood pecker, papyrus canary, brown illadopsis, etc. We stay at Ataco Country Resort or Rwenzori View Guest House. Day 8: Depart for chimp tracking at Kibale National Park, interesting birds include scaly illadopsis, Grey chested robin chat, white collard olive back, African wood owl, Freckled nightjar, Narrow tailed starling. Mammals include, Red colubus, red tailed, black and white colubus monkeys.

Day 9: Leave for Semliki Forest with A picnic lunch for a whole day birding. This forest is a moist semi-deciduous forest that is home to Spot-breasted Ibis, Northern Bearded Scrub-robin, Capuchin Babbler, Lyre-tailed Honeyguide, Yellow-throated Green Cuckoo, White-bellied Kingfisher, Maxwell's Black Weaver, Black-winged Oriole, Congo serpent eagle, Grey throated rail, and worthy noting is that this is home to some of the regional endemics and West African Species.

Day 10 & 11 (Birding Queen Elizabeth National Park): Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park, birding en route. Check in at Mweya Safari Lodge, an idyllic location set in its own grounds, where we stay for two nights. The famous boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel is among the most productive birding excursions on earth!
Early morning game drive towards the famous Kasenyi Track, winding through grassland dotted with trees and nearby crater lakes. Our main aim is to locate Lions and other mammals including Hartebeest, Water Buffalo, Uganda Kob, Oribi, Waterbuck, Bushbuck and family groups of African Elephants. Along the road we may find Scaly Francolin, Red-necked Spurfowl, several lapwings, Goliath Heron. Raptors include Martial Eagle, Banded Snake Eagles and Bateleur. In the afternoon we embark on a boat trip down the Kazinga Channel which is an incredible area for waterbirds i.e. Pink-backed Pelican, Malachiet Kingfisher, Saddle-billed Stork, African Spoonbill, Yellow-billed Stork, Water Thick-knee, African Skimmer and over-summering Palearctic shorebirds. In the evening before dinner we may have an optional night drive with in the peninsular searching for Gabon and Slender-tailed Nightjars, and owls.

Day 12: With packed lunch and travel south birding to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. We bird through the seasonal Ishasha road - an area known for climbing lions. We check in at Mantana Luxury Tented Camp, at the mouth of Bwindi forest.

Day 13: With a picnic lunch join the forest for whole day birding. Walking along forest trails is a wonderful natural experience with hundreds of colourful butterflies and areas of streams and tumbling waterfalls. Look out for Black Sawwing, Petit’s Cuckoo-shrike, Black and White Shrike and African Blue Flycatcher, Luhder’s Bush-shrike, Mountain Greenbul, Grey-crowned Negrofinch. On the main trail we enter the forest proper as it passes under huge trees and areas of lichen-lined trunks. Watch out for the White-headed Wood-hoopoe and many other specialties. We also have a chance of locating primates such as L’Hoest’s Blue and Red-tailed Monkeys and troops of Chimpanzees.

Day 14: Whole day Gorilla tracking, it depends on the movements of the Gorillas in search for food. Walking varies from 20 minutes to a whole day. The exercise requires enough energy to go up and down the mountains including steep slopes. The activity is very captivating; it involves walking in the wilderness in search of these great apes. It can be a challenging activity; therefore physical fitness must be ensured.

Day 15: We transfer to Kampala birding enroute and check in at Lindsay cottages. Birding around the hotel in the evening may be productive. White faced scopes owl, scaly francolin, whistling cisiticola, White Browed Robin chat green headed sun bird, grey parrot, and common fiscal and others.

Day 16: Departure