Alien Safaris Uganda, Uganda Safaris

15 Days Uganda Birding Safari- Uganda Bird Watching

Day 1: Arrival for our African bird watching and wildlife safari.
You will be met by our African Safari Guide who will transfer you from Entebbe International Airport to your hotel either Resort Beach Hotel or Sheraton Hotel- Uganda. There will be a detailed briefing about this African safari. Depending on the time of arrival, we may start our safari with bird watching around Lake Victoria shores.

Day 2 Bird watching and Wildlife safari to Mabamba Bay – Uganda
After transfer to Lake Mburo National Park and we visit Mabamba Village and its adjacent swamp taking us through African rural areas. The road to Mabamba winds its way through areas of secondary forest and agricultural land attracting Red-headed Lovebird, African Crowned-Hornbills, and a range of sunbirds including the Green-headed, Green, Red-chested, Collared, Marico and Scarlet-chested, the African pied Wagtail is common along the road.

Day 3 Bird watching and Wildlife holiday to Queen Elizabeth National Park
After an early morning breakfast we shall check out and proceed for a boat ride on lake Mburo where this African Safari park derives its name. On the boat we expect to see the African Darter, White Backed Night Heron, African Finfoot, African Fish Eagle, Malachite, Pied and Giant Kingfishers, Hippos, Crocs and others after which we begin our drive to the renowned Queen Elizabeth National Park, bird watching enroute. This Uganda’s second largest safari park contains Africa’s best game populations as well as some of Uganda’s biggest birding list, an incredible bird list of 611 species!

Day 4 – Early morning birding safari and game viewing
This morning we start early for a bird safari and game drive towards the Kasenyi trail. The drive takes us through a productive area of grassy plains, which support large flocks of a variety of stork species including the Spectacular Saddle-billed, African Open Billed and Woolly necked Storks. Other species include the Bateleur, Grey Kestrel, Lappet-faced, Ruppell’s Griffon, White-backed and Palm-nut Vultures, African Crake, Black Coucal, Common button, Harlequin and Black-rumped Quails, Rufous-naped and Flappet Larks. Common mammals include African Buffalo, Uganda Kobs, eopard and many others.

Day 5 – Birding to Maramagambo Forest.
This morning, we shall bird to Maramagambo Forest following the main trail. We shall visit the Blue Lake and Bat Cave where we expect to see African Rock Python that found refuge in the Cave, and feasts on the Bats for breakfast, lunch and supper! Special birds of this Forest include Narina Trogon, Rufous Flycatcher Thrush; White tailed Ant-thrush, Black Bee-eater, Grey-headed Kingfisher and White-breasted Negrofinch.Late in the afternoon we will visit the spectacular Kyambura Gorge.

Day 6 & 7 Bird watching and Wildlife safari to Semliki National Park.
We shall go birding along the way and reach Semliki late in the evening. We Check into Semliki Lodge. In the night we bird in the savanna looking for nightjars and owls. The next day we shall start after an early morning breakfast, carry packed lunch and head for a full day birding in the forest. Overnight at Atako Country Resort or Mountains of the Moon- Uganda.

Day 8 & 9 Bird Watching and Wildlife safari to Kibale Forest National Park,
This day we shall have a chance of birding the main road or one of the trails in the forest. We might come across the African Emerald Cuckoo, Purple-headed Starling, Black-billed Turaco, Yellow-billed Barbet, Grey-throated Barbet, Blue-throated Roller, Narrow-tailed Starling, Western Black-headed Oriole, Yellow-throated and Yellow-rumped Tinkerbirds. We spend our nights at Ndali Lodge / Primate Safari Lodge- Uganda.
The next day, we wake up very early and assemble for briefing and thereafter enter the forest to look for our cousins, the Chimps. The activity takes 1 to 5 hours. In the afternoon, we may choose to go to Bihingamy Wetland or take one of the trails in the Park to look for the stunning Green-breasted Pitta, Fire-crested Alethe, Scaly-breasted Illadopsis, colourful butterflies and other species of primates.

Day 10 & 11 Bird Watching and Wildlife safari to Murchison Falls National Park -
Today we leave early for Murchison Falls National Park. This is a rather longer drive but there are a few birding spots. The name of the park was derived from the incredible Murchison Falls, where the Nile is forced through a 6-meter gap, forming the most powerful water surge on the planet. A boat cruise on the calmer stretches will allow us to watch and photograph the birds and the animals which throng the banks, and we can expect to find one of the African most peculiar bird, the Shoebill. We will also explore the park’s broad-leaved woodland, dry grasslands.

Day 12 & 13 Bird watching and wildlife safari to Budongo Forest, Uganda
Budongo Forest Reserve is part of Murchison Falls Conservation Area and is the largest natural forest in Uganda and East Africa as a whole. It lies on the escarpment northeast of Lake Albert. The reserve occupies gently undulating terrain, with a general slope north-northwest towards the Rift Valley. Specials in Budongo Forest include among others; Sabine’s Olive Green Camaroptera We shall start after an early breakfast at Paraa and bird on the way to Budongo Forest. We go birding along the escarpment overlooking Lake Albert. We stay at Masindi Hotel, about 30 Km away from the forest, the nearest good accommodation.
The next day, we have a full day African birding along the Royal Mile, a dazzling forestry track rated as one of the premier forest birding sites in Africa; we will make an acquaintance with the first of many central African forest birds. Skulking Alethes and Illadopses sing from the undergrowth and we will work through mixed-species flocks of Greenbuls, Eremomelas, certainly first rate forest birding.

Day 14 Travel to Kampala / Entebbe.
Today, we may choose to wind up our wildlife and African birding safari in Entebbe botanical gardens or visit Uganda Wildlife Education Centre. Overnight stay in Entebbe - Uganda.

Day 15 End of tour Bird Watching and African Wildlife Safari / Departure.