10 DAY BIRDING SAFARI

After an early morning breakfast, our drive guide will pick you up and drive you to the only national botanical garden in Uganda, Entebbe botanical garden. It is here that you will kick start your private Uganda Birders Paradise Birding Safari. While at the gardens, look out for bird species like: the Pink-backed Pelican, Yellow-billed Stork, Eastern Grey Plantain-eater, Yellow White-eye, Purple-banded Sunbird, African Jacana, Lesser Jacana, Yellow-billed Duck, Glossy Ibis, African Open-billed Stork, Malachite Kingfisher, Blue-checked Bee-eater, Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Black Crake, Long-tailed Cormorant, Crowned Hornbill, Vieillot’ Black Weaver. You will head back to your accommodation for lunch, dinner and an overnight stay.

Today you will head out to the Mabamba Wetlands on the shores of Lake Victoria. This is one of the few remaining swamps in the country protected by the local communities. It is an extensive papyrus swamp, with a labyrinth of channels and lagoons, and is home to several pairs of Shoebills, Uganda’s most famous avian resident. This charismatic unique bird species is certainly among the most sought-after birds in Africa, and we’ll make special efforts today to find it by paddling through the channels by boat. There will of course be a good selection of classic East African water birds to observe along the way like Pink-backed Pelican, Long-tailed Cormorant, Squacco Heron, Yellow-billed Duck, Malachite Kingfisher, Long-toed Plover, Blue-headed Coucal, and the Blue-breasted Bee-eater.

After breakfast, start another day of the Uganda birders paradise birding your way to Ziwa Rhino Ranch birding en-route and after checking in and having lunch, head for the rest of the afternoon looking for birds like Western Banded Snake-Eagle, Lizard Buzzard, Long-crested Eagle, Crested Francolin, White-crested Turaco, Blue-naped Mousebird, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Woodland Kingfisher, White-headed Barbet, Double-toothed Barbet, Nubian Woodpecker, Cardinal Woodpecker, Grey Woodpecker, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Tropical Boubou, Blackheaded Gonolek, Sulphur-breasted Bush-shrike, Hartlaub’s Marsh Widowbird among other birds. All meals will be served at the reserved accommodation.

After breakfast, start your birding safari day in Ziwa Rhino Ranch looking for birds like Western Banded Snake-Eagle, Lizard Buzzard, Bateleur, Long-crested Eagle, Crested Francolin, Bruce’s Green-Pigeon, White-crested Turaco, Thick-billed Cuckoo, Red-chested Cuckoo, Black Cuckoo, African Scops-Owl, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Square-tailed Nightjar, Slender-tailed Nightjar,Woodland Kingfisher, Green Wood-hoopoe, African Hoopoe, White-headed Barbet, Double-toothed Barbet, Nubian Woodpecker among other birds. Depart Zziwa and drive to Murchison Falls National Park via the top of the falls. Have a short walk around the top of the falls from where you can walk down to the river’s edge and see the waters narrow as they are forced through a rocky cleft and plunge down 35 meters in a majestic cascade. Look out for birds like Raptors, Rock Pratincole, Crested Francolin, White crested Turaco, White-headed Barbet, Narina Trogon, Red-throated Bee-eater, Silverbird, Red-cheeked Cordon blue, Waxbills, Finches, Sunbirds, Canaries among other birds.

After an early breakfast, proceed for a game and bird drive where you will be able to stumble across a number of both bird and wildlife species. You will return to the Lodge for lunch and after lunch, you will take a two hour boat trip up to the bottom of the falls. It is here that you will view hundreds of hippos, crocodiles, and a variety of bird life. Look out for birds like Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Black-headed Plover, Rock Pratincole, Swallow-tailed Bee-Eater, Red-throated Bee-eater, Black-billed Barbet, and Spotted Morning Thrush, Speckle fronted Weaver, and White-browed Sparrow Weaver.

Today you will depart Murchison Falls National Park and drive to Kibale National Park, Western Uganda. You will arrive in time for lunch, check into your accommodation and rest from you long journey. The park is famously known as a home to chimpanzees which harbor the protecting evergreen rain forest. You will also have dinner and an overnight stay in the reserved accommodation.

After breakfast, you’ll go birding in the vicinity of Kanyanchu ,around Kibale Forest and you will look out for the Green-breasted Pitta and other birds like Yellow-billed Barbet, African Emerald Cuckoo, Black-billed Turaco, Narina Trogon, Blue-shouldered Robin-chat, Sabine’s Spinetail, Chestnut Wattle eye, Narrow-tailed Staring among other birds. The walk through the forest also gives you a chance to get sight of primates like Red Colobus, Black and white Colobus, Grey-cheeked Mangabey, Olive Baboon, Red-tailed Monkey, and the L’Hoest’s Monkey. You will then proceed to bird in the Bigodi swamp thereafter, return to your accommodation for dinner and an overnight stay.

The Uganda birders paradise birding safari driver will drive you to Kihingami Wetland 12km from Fort Portal to take a wild nature walk. This is a home to the White spoted flufftail a very shy species. It is here that you will see this and other birds’ species like the Red headed bluebill, Black and white shrike fly catcher, Red bellied paradise flycatcher. You will then have lunch and proceed to the Semliki National Park to conduct an afternoon nature walk within the park. Here you will be able to spot birds like the White thighed hornbill, Black casqued wattled hornbill, White crested hornbill and Dwarf hornbill

You will take another nature walk within the Semliki National Park after having a heartfelt breakfast. You will be able to see the shoebill stork and other bird species.

Today marks the end of your safari. Our driver guide will drive you back to Kampala after having your late breakfast.