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Bird Watching Holiday, Uganda Birding Vacation + Shoebill + Kibale + Bwindi

Birding Holiday, Uganda: Murchison Falls to Bwindi

14 NIGHTS FROM:

$8,134

Per person sharing

Scheduled flights quoted separately

7UPB14E

• Bird Watching Holiday, Uganda

• Shoebill, Mabamba Wetlands

• Royal Mile, Budongo Forest

• Murchison Falls

• Kibale Rainforest

• Chimp Trekking

• Queen Elizabeth Park

• Bwindi Gorillas

• Lake Mburo

• Uganda Birding Vacation

On this wonderful bird watching holiday in Uganda you will travel with your own birding guide to the key birding vacation hot-spots including Mabamba Swamp, home of the elusive Shoebill stork, Budongo Forest, Murchison Falls, Kibale Rainforest, Bwindi & Lake Mburo. This holiday can be tailor made, with optional gorilla trekking. All transfers & park fees included. Price is for 2 people (reduces as number in group increases).

Detailed itinerary ▶

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Day 1

You will be met at Entebbe Airport by your birding guide and transferred to your hotel.

Check into your Entebbe hotel and relax under warm blue African skies.

Day 2

This morning leave Entebbe early and travel with your birding guide to the nearby Mabamba Wetlands, as this is one of the best places in East Africa to see the elusive Shoebill stork.

These wetlands are one of Uganda's most important birding areas and a RAMSAR site of international importance. After a few minutes travelling in a small canoe, the papyrus reeds open up into flat grassy wetlands where a number of these shy birds are regularly seen. Shoebills are easiest seen in the morning when they stalk their main prey - mudfish and frogs - but they can be spotted throughout the day. They stand absolutely still for long periods waiting for their prey to move, then suddenly strike with marvellous speed.

You can also hope to see the Blue swallow, Grey-rumped swallow, Papyrus gonolek, Swamp flycatcher, African fish eagle, Hammerkop, Fan-tailed widowbird, African jacana, Lesser jacana, Northern brown-throated weaver, Blue-breasted bee-eater, Winding cisticola, White winged black tern, Purple swamphen, Orange, Golden-backed and Yellow-backed weavers and a variety of egrets, kingfishers and sandpipers. You may even see a Rufous-bellied heron.

Your aftrenoon is at leisure to relax at your hotel.

Day 3

This morning leave Entebbe with your birding guide and travel 4.5-hours to the small town of Masindi in northwestern Uganda.

Enjoy a picnic lunch and birding en route, as we drive via the Luweero Wetlands and the Kafue River Basin. As we drive past numerous small farms, birding is initially limited - but we will eventually arrive in good woodland and hope for a great afternoon of birding as we look for the Banded snake eagle, Vinaceous dove, Meyer¹s parrot, White-crested turaco, Speckle-breasted woodpecker, Red-shouldered cuckooshrike, Short-winged (siffling) cisticola, Yellow-bellied hyliota, Brown-backed scrub robin, Eastern black-headed batis, Brown babbler and Copper sunbird among others.

On arrival in Masindi we check in to our hotel.

Day 4

This morning we drive 2-hours to Murchison Falls National Park.

This wildlife-rich game sanctuary is situated on the banks of the River Nile, downstream from the famous waterfall after which it was named. This verdant reserve was favoured by Winston Churchill, who called Uganda the "Pearl of Africa". It is a relatively undiscovered gem and the premier game reserve in the country. It is one of the best wildlife conservation areas in the whole of Africa.

We travel via the Kanio-Pabidi section of Budongo Forest so that we can search for the secretive Pulvell's illadopsis in its only East African habitat as well as other forest birds. We spend the full day birding, with a boxed picnic lunch.

We also visit the top of Murchison Falls, where the waters of the river squeeze through a narrow 23-ft (7 m) gorge, creating a thunderous roar as they hits the rocks below, before checking into our lodge.

Day 5

This morning enjoy a private boat ride along the Nile River to the thundering Murchison Falls.

This will give you a second chance to spot a Shoebill stork in the dense papyrus searching for frogs, if you failed to see one at the Mabamba Wetlands. You should also see the African darter, Grey, Purple and Squacco herons, Yellow-billed and Great egrets, Sacred ibis, Saddled-billed stork, African jacana, Spur-winged and Long-toed lapwings, Senegal thicknee, Red-throated bee-eater and many Pied kingfishers diving into the water. Along the way you may also see large pods of hippo and some crocodiles. At the base of the falls you may see Rock pratincoles leaving their perches to hunt through the swirling spray.

Our afternoon is devoted to birding in Murchison Falls National Park, a magnificent 3,893 square mile sanctuary that offers easy game viewing on its open plains. This game reserve is famous for its huge herds of Ugandan kob (an antelope similar to the impala) as well as its buffalo, elephant, giraffe, baboon and monkeys. You may also see warthog, Jackson's hartebeest and hopefully lion.

In its savanna grasslands and mature woodlands we search for the White-headed vulture, Brown snake-eagle, Bateleur eagle, Martial eagle, Grey kestrel, Heuglin's francolin, Crested francolin, Helmeted guineafowl, Small buttonquail, Black-bellied bustard, Denham's (Stanley) bustard, Speckled and Blue-naped mousebird, Crowned and African grey hornbills, Abyssinian ground hornbill, Grey woodpecker, Flappet lark, Northern crombec, Red-winged grey warbler, Spotted morning thrush, Sooty and White-fronted chats, Brown-throated wattle-eye, Beautiful sunbird, Lesser blue-eared starling, Yellow-billed oxpecker, Yellow-mantled and Red-collared widowbird and maybe the very local White-rumped seedeater.

If we stay out late, we can hope to see one or more of the night birds found here, such as the Greyish (Spotted) eagle-owl, Long-tailed nightjar or Pennant-winged nightjar.

Note: The national park opens at 6.30 am and closes at 7 pm. Vehicles are not allowed to drive off-road in any national park in Uganda.

Day 6

This morning we travel 3-hours back to Masindi, heading south towards Lake Albert and Buganga Game Reserve, with a packed picnic lunch.

We arrive at the Butiaba Escarpment in time for a picnic lunch and check the Butiaba Marshes for the Blue-breasted bee-eater and Carruthers' cisticola. Piapiacs are numerous and tame in the Borassus fan palms and various bishops and widowbirds should also be seen. As we leave the escarpment, we will look for the Black-billed wood dove, Northern carmine bee-eater, Swallow-tailed bee-eater, Yellow-fronted tinkerbird, Spot-flanked barbet, Black-billed barbet, Double-toothed barbet, Red-faced cisticola, Zitting cisticola, Foxy cisticola, Moustached grass warbler, Red-backed scrub robin, Mocking cliff chat, White-shouldered black tit, Orange(Sulphur)-breasted bushshrike, Chestnut-crowned sparrow-weaver, Black-winged bishop, Black-bellied firefinch, Red-winged pytilia and Cinnamon-breasted bunting.

We spend the afternoon in the Busingiro section of Budongo Forest, looking along the main road for birds confined to this forest. These include the Rufous-crowned elemomera, Ituri batis, Toro olive greenbul, Chocolate-backed kingfisher, Scaly francolin and many more. We then head south to Masindi.

Days 7 To 8

This morning we travel from Masindi to the picturesque Crater Lakes region.

This is the gateway to Kibale National Park, a protected tropical rainforest that has the highest concentration and variety of primates in all of East Africa. The park is home to the bushpig, duiker, otter, leopard and large herds of elephants that migrate between Kibale and Queen Elizabeth National Park. The bird life is also outstanding.

We travel via the Sebitoli section of the park, birding in the papyrus swamps and forest patches, with a boxed picnic lunch. This site is good for species like the Masked apalis, Joyful greenbul, White-napped pigeon, Forest Starling and many more.

We then drive through tea plantations to our lodge in the shadow of the Rwenzori Mountains (the 'Mountains of the Moon').

Day 9

This morning we visit the Bigodi Wetlands sanctuary, a local community initiative that is home to 8 different primate species, including black-and-white colobus and red colobus, over 200 bird species and numerous other small mammals and reptiles. Here we search for the striking Papyrus gonolek and the secretive White-winged warbler.

Afterwards we travel 3.5-hours through the scenic Crater Lakes region, with birding along the way. We also stop for a photo opportunity as we cross the equator.

On arrival we check in to our lodge and relax amidst the lovely scenery.

Days 10 To 11

Today is devoted to birdng with your guide in the Crater Lakes region.

Day 12

This morning there is the option to either enjoy a full day of birding in the forest, or trek to see primates in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park - home to half the world's population of critically endangered mountain gorillas, and also a sanctuary for colobus monkeys and chimpanzees.

This dense equatorial rainforest is accessible only on foot and features one of the richest ecosystems in Africa, including 120 species of mammals, 350 bird species including hornbills and turacos, 220 butterfly species, 27 frog species as well as chameleons, geckos and many other endangered species. It also boasts over 1,000 different floral species.

After walking (or driving up to 1.5-hours) to your specified gate, rangers will allocate you to a small group of up to 8 people - with each gorilla family graded as a short, medium or long hike, based on their location the previous day. We recommend you ask your guide to request the appropriate category for you, although this cannot be guaranteed as the gorillas may have moved significantly overnight.

After a briefing, you will then track a family of endangered Mountain Gorillas, accompanied by two rangers - one at the front and one at the back. The group will walk at the speed of the slowest member, so it is important to proceed at your own pace and enjoy the experience. We strongly recommend hiring a local porter at a cost of around $15 per person, as not only is this an important source of local employment, but they will carry your backpacks and give you a hand up (or a push) where necessary. Expect to walk 1 to 4-hours each way in steep, sometimes muddy and dense tropical jungle conditions to view a family of these enormous primates and observe their behaviour up close - a rare privilege indeed.

Note: You must take a copy of your passport with you today, as this will be required to trek. You must be over the age of 15 years to track gorillas and be sufficiently fit to walk for the period indicated. Ensure you arrange a packed lunch with your lodge and carry sufficient water in your backpack (at least 2 litres). You should wear long trousers, long sleeved top, long socks (tucked into your trousers to keep out biting ants), proper walking boots and gardening gloves to protect your hands from nettles and undergrowth. Start off wearing a light fleece, as it is cold in the forest in the morning and pack proper rain gear, including a rain jacket and waterproof trousers, as it can rain at any time. A walking stick to help with the steep ascents will be provided if you don’t have your own.

You cannot be sick or have any infectious disease and no eating or drinking is permitted in the vicinity of the gorillas. Only one hour is allowed with the gorillas and you have to keep a distance of at least 7 metres. No flash photography is allowed and no touching the gorillas (although they may decide to touch you)!

Day 13

After an early morning birding walk, we leave Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and drive 5-hours to Lake Mburo National Park. We make several birding stops en-route, with picnic lunch included, and arrive in the late afternoon.

This national park offers excellent plains game viewing and is the best place in the country to see eland, zebra, topi and impala. You should also have excellent sightings of giraffe, bushbuck, warthog, oribi, vervet and red-tailed monkeys, olive baboon, pigmy mongoose, white tailed mongoose and buffalo. If you are very fortunate you may even see leopard. There are no lions or elephants in this national park.

As we enter the park we look for special birds of the area such as the Red-headed lovebird, Brown-chested lapwing, White-winged tit, Bare-faced go-away bird and a variety of barbets (Red-faced, Crested, Black-collared). We also search for papyrus swamp species, dry savanna species and raptors.

Day 14

We will spend the whole day birding in Lake Mburo National Park today. The five lakes within the park attract hippos, crocodiles and a variety of water birds - while the fringe swamps are home to Papyrus gonalek.

In the morning enjoy a private boat ride on the lake looking. In the afternoon enjoy a game drive in this delightful small park that has rolling scrub-covered hills, open dry areas, pockets of woodland, papyrus beds, marshy lake fringes and open water.

We look for species such as the Long-tailed cisticola, Red-faced barbet and many others. A variety of new and interesting birds occur within this park and we hope to spot the African finfoot, Black-headed night heron, Lizard buzzard, African goshawk, Coqui francolin, Emerald-spotted wood dove, Red-headed lovebird, Bare-faced go-away-bird, Lilac-breasted roller, Green wood hoopoe, Greater honeyguide, Green-backed woodpecker, the restricted range Red-faced barbet, Mosque and Rufous-chested swallows, Yellow-breasted apalis, Broad-tailed grassbird, Grey tit-flycatcher, Chinspot batis, White-winged black tit, Grey (African) penduline tit, Violet-backed starling, Fan-tailed widowbird and Red-cheeked cordon-bleu. Two rarities occasionally seen here are the White-backed night heron and the Thick-billed cuckoo.

Day 15

Today enjoy more early morning birding in Lake Mburo National Park.

Afterwards we drive 5-hours to Entebbe with an included picnic lunch, crossing the equator along the way, where you can stop to see how water flows clockwise on one side and anti-clockwise on the other side.

On arrival you will have the use of a hotel day room, until it is time to transfer to Entebbe Airport for your flight home.

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