7 Days Short Uganda Birding Safari − DETAILED SAFARI ITINERARY

Day 1: Birding at Uganda Wildlife Education Centre and Entebbe Botanical Gardens.

We’ll take breakfast at around 7.00 am and then go birding to the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC) formerly known as the Zoo. UWEC is situated on the shore of Lake Victoria. UWEC was opened in 1952 by the Colonial Government as a reception center for wild were found sick, injured, orphaned, and those confiscated from illegal trade. In the early 1960s, its role was changed to a zoo. In May 1994 a proposal was made by the New York Zoological Society now the World Conservation Society, to turn it into a conservation education Center for conservation awareness purposes; thus the name, Uganda Wildlife Education Centre.

Bird species to look here for include the Peacock, Common ostrich, Grey-crowned cranes (Uganda’s national bird), African fish eagle, Palm-nut Vulture, African grey parrot, Pink-backed Pelicans, White-chinned Prinia, Olive-bellied Sunbird, Northern Crombec, Little grey Greenbul, Grey Woodpecker, Northern Puffback, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Double-toothed Barbet, Speckled Tinkerbird, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird and Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Eastern grey plantain-Eater, Orange weaver, Black-headed Weaver, Grosbeak Weaver, Black-headed Gonolek, Long-tailed Cormorant, White-throated Greenbul, Woodland Kingfisher, Giant Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, Stripped Kingfisher, Hammerkop, Egyptian goose, African Firefinch, Pied Crow and many more.

We will proceed to Entebbe Botanical Gardens for another birding experience.  Along with a bounty of more common species, our first birds here could include Orange Weaver, Palm-nut vulture, African fish eagle, Gray Parrot, Ross’s Turaco, and Great blue turaco. We will have our lunch and relax as we move forward to the evening visit to the sewage lagoons.

The highlight of the day: – Birding in Uganda Wildlife Education Centre.

Accommodation:-

Luxury: – Serena Lake Victoria Resort/Protea Hotel Entebbe

Midrange: – 2 Friends Beach Hotel Entebbe/Lake Heights Hotel Entebbe/Boma Hotel Entebbe

Budget: – Acacia Boutique Hotel/Airport Guesthouse Entebbe

 Meal Plan: – Lunch & Dinner

Drive Distance & time: – Approx. 4 km or 20-30 min

 Activities & services of the day:-

• Birding at Uganda Wildlife Centre
• Birding in Entebbe Botanic Gardens

Optional activities you can choose to do on this day include:-

• Chimpanzee close-up experience at UWEC
• Behind the scene tour at UWEC
• Entebbe city tour
• Visiting Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary
• Sundowner boat cruise on Lake Victoria

Day 2: Birding Along the Heritage Trail and Lutembe Bay.

We’ll start our day with breakfast at around 7.00 am in the hotel and then embark on a 10 minutes drive (approx.) to the Heritage trail. Here, will undertake a 4 hours of birding encounters looking for species like Brown Crowned Tchagra, Violet-backed Starlings, Short Toed Snake Eagle, Mustached Warbler, Black Cuckoo Shrike, Yellow bill, Brown Twinspot, Southern Banded Snake Eagle, Great sparrow hawk, and  Red-Shouldered Cuckoo Shrike plus much more.

After, we drive to Lutembe Beach for lunch. After lunch, we board a boat in search of several fantastic birds of Lutembe Bay Wetland, which is a Ramsar Site (wetland of international importance). This site is notable for seasonal Palaearctic (26 species) migrants. These include an average of 1,048,602 White-winged black terns, a figure representing more than half of the global population.

There are over 108 species of waterbirds recorded at the site including the globally vulnerable Shoebill (occasional), Madagascar squacco heron, and the papyrus yellow warbler; the near-threatened Papyrus gonolek, Great snipe, African skimmer, and Pallid harrier, and 24 regionally threatened species such as the Northern brown-throated weaver, Great cormorant, Slender-billed gull and (as mentioned above) quite a lot of White-winged black terns. Relax for relaxation dinner and overnight.

The highlight of the day: – Birding in Lutembe Bay Swamp

Accommodation:-

Luxury: – Serena Lake Victoria Resort/Protea Hotel Entebbe

Midrange: – 2 Friends Beach Hotel Entebbe/Lake Heights Hotel Entebbe/Boma Hotel Entebbe

Budget: – Acacia Boutique Hotel/Airport Guesthouse Entebbe

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Drive time: – Approx. 10 minutes

Activities & services of the day:-

• Birding along the Heritage Trail
• Birding in Lutembe Bay

Optional activities you can choose to do on this day include:-

• Entebbe city tour
• Birding in Entebbe Botanical Gardens
• Visiting Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary

Day 3: Birding in Mabamba Bay Swamp.

This day of our 7 days short Uganda birding safari will commence with an early breakfast at around 6.00 am. We’ll then embark on the birding journey to the Mabamba swamp, a Ramsar site, and an Important Bird Area on the shore of Lake Victoria. The drive from Entebbe to Mabamba takes about one hour depending on the number of stops birding.

On reaching the swamp, we’ll undertake a canoe ride in search of the Shoebill one of the weirdest on Earth. This huge grey bird has one of the biggest bills of all the birds on planet earth. This huge, bulbous bill, which is straw-colored with erratic greyish markings, is 5 inches wide, about 10 inches long, and looks like a shoe (thus, the name). The beak is complete with a terrifyingly sharp hook, meant to capture lungfish, snakes, Nile monitor lizards, and baby crocodiles.

We’ll also see a variety of other special birds including Africa Pygmy goose, Lesser jacana, Gull-bellied tern, Blue-breasted bee-eater, Carruther’s cisticola, Papyrus gonolek, White-winged Warbler, Blue swallow, Pallid harrier, Swamp flycatcher, Palm-nut vulture, Carruther’s cisticola, and Viellot’s, Grosbeak, Black-headed, Northern brown-throated, and Clarke’s weavers. We may have the opportunity to encounter the elusive swamp-dwelling Sitatunga Antelope.

Have a picnic lunch and continue birding the evening. Return to hotel for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.

The highlight of the day: – Canoe ride in Mabamba Swamp in search of the incredible Shoebill.

Accommodation:-

Luxury: – Serena Lake Victoria Resort/Protea Hotel Entebbe

Midrange: – 2 Friends Beach Hotel Entebbe/Lake Heights Hotel Entebbe/Boma Hotel Entebbe

Budget: – Acacia Boutique Hotel/Airport Guesthouse Entebbe

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Drive Distance & time: – Approx. 40km or 1 hour

 Activities & services of the day:-

• Transfer to Mabamba Swamp
• Birding in Mabamba Swamp
• Transfer back to the hotel

Day 4: Transfer to Mabira Forest Reserve and Do Birding Upon Arrival.

After breakfast at around 6.00 at the hotel, we will head east to the Mabira Forest Reserve along Jinja road. We drive through the striking rural Uganda rural landscape with lush green cover, towns, and markets where you will see people going on with their daily life.

The huge and beautiful Mabira Forest covers 306km² and is the most significant forest reserve closest to Kampala city. Mabira boats 315 bird species with 74 of the 144 species of the Guinea-Congo Forests biome that occur in Uganda. We will search for several rarities such as the pretty Tit Hylia which is known to exist in only two places in East Africa, the localized Forest wood-hoopoe, African pitta, Purple-throated cuckoo-shrike, Red-tailed leaflove, Weyn’s weaver, and Nahan’s francolin which is an IUCN Red list’ endangered species are regularly seen.

We’ll also look for Great blue Turaco, Africa Grey Parrot, Yellow and Grey Longbills, Purple-throated cuckoo shrikes, Illadopsises, Jameson’s wattle eyes, Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo, Black-shouldered Nightjar, Sabine’s Spinetail, Yellow-spotted Barbet, African Shrike-flycatcher, Forest Robin, Fire-crested Alethe and Black-and-white Casqued Hornbill,

We settle for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.

The highlight of the day: – An exciting birding nature in Mabira Forest Reserve in search of rare bird species such as Tit Hylia.

Accommodation:-

Upmarket/Luxury: – Mabira Rain Forest Lodge

Budget / Basic: – Griffin Falls Camp

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Drive Distance & time: – Approx. 99.9km or 2½-3 hours

Activities & services of the day:-

• Drive from Entebbe to Mabira Forest Reserve
• Birding nature walk in Mabira

Optional activities you can choose to do on this day include:-

• Mangabey tracking
• Zip-lining in Mabira
• Visiting Sezibwa falls
• Mountain biking

Day 5: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park.

We will have our breakfast at around 6.00 am and then transfer to Lake Mburo National park in southwest Uganda. It’s about a 5-6 hours drive from Mabira covering approximately 320km distance. On the way, we’ll make a brief stop at the equator at Kayabwe for impressive photo shoots and water experiments that justify the geographical divide between the north and southern hemispheres.

We will then continue to the park, and do birding to the entrance of Nshara gate. Lake Mburo Park is home to 350 bird species and we’ll look for Emerald Spotted Wood Dove, Bare-faced Go-Away Bird, Green Wood Hoopoe, Crested Francolin, Common Scimitarbill, Spot-Flanked Barbet, Northern Black Tit, Lilac-breasted Roller, Trilling Cisticola, Greater Blue Eared Starling, Common Scimitarbill, African Grey Hornbill and Brown Parrot.

We will take our lunch at the lodge and then embark on a late afternoon game drive along the Zebra Track which may expose you to species like Coqui Francolin, Black Bellied Bustard, Temmricks Courser, African Wattled Plover, Rufous napped Rufous, Chested Swallow, and Flappet Lark, etc. You will also see a variety of mammals including Zebras, Buffalos, Impalas, Waterbucks, and many others.

The highlight of the day: – The Uganda Equator experience and birding at Lake Mburo entrance

Accommodation:-

Luxury/Upmarket: – Mihingo Safari Lodge/Matana Tented Camp

Mid-range/Moderate: – Rwakobo Rock/Emburara Farm Lodge/Arcadia Lodge Mburo

Budget/Basic: – Eagles Nest Mburo

 Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Drive Distance & time: – Approx. 320km or 5 – 6 hours

 Activities & services of the day:-

• Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park
• Photo session at the Uganda Equator
• Birding at lake Mburo entrance

Optional activities you can choose to do on this day include:-

• Horseback safaris
• Night game drives
• Boat cruise on Lake Mburo

Day 6: Birding in Lake Mburo National Park & afternoon boat ride on Lake Mburo

We have our breakfast at around 7.00 am and embark on a 5-6 hours birding adventure in Lake Mburo National Park. This 370km² park is a superb wetland and Acacia savanna sanctuary that is a famous spot for serious birders. Together with 13 other lakes in the area, Lake Mburo forms part of a 50km-long wetland system linked by a swamp. Five of these lakes lie within the park’s borders.

We will explore the park on foot following the respective trails in the company of an armed ranger to save us from attacks of wild animals. We’ll explore the Miriti and Warukiri swamps, the Rubanga forest, and the salt lick. The Red-faced barbet, Tabora cisticola, Green-capped eremomela, Golden-tailed woodpecker, Spot-flanked barbet, and Grey penduline tit are localized species in Uganda that only occur in Lake Mburo Park.

Other specials species to look for include Papyrus gonolek, White-winged Warbler, African water rail, Grey Crowned Cranes, White-backed night-heron, Yellow-throated leaflove, Coqui francolin, Black-bellied bustard, African wattled plover, Brown parrot, Red-headed lovebird, Barefaced go-away-bird, Blue-naped mousebird, Green wood-hoopoe, Common scimitarbill, Narina trogon, Nubian Woodpecker, Trilling cisticola, Northern black flycatcher, Yellow-throated longclaw, Southern red bishop, and Abyssinian ground-hornbill. You’ll also see several of the park’s 68 mammal species including Plains Zebra, Rothschild’s giraffe, Cape buffalo, Eland antelopes, Impala, Topi, Oribi, and Defassa waterbuck.

We retire from the activity for relaxation and lunch. In the afternoon, we transfer to Rwonyo jetty for a 2-hour boat ride on Lake Mburo. This stunning boat ride will expose you to counts of Kingfishers, African fish eagle, Hammerkops, and the endemic African finfoot. You will also have a chance to see hippos and crocodiles. Retreat from the activity for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.

The highlight of the day: – The morning birding nature walk in Lake Mburo National Park

Accommodation:-

Luxury/Upmarket: – Mihingo Safari Lodge/Matana Tented Camp

Mid-range/Moderate: – Rwakobo Rock/Emburara Farm Lodge/Arcadia Lodge Mburo

Budget/Basic: – Eagles Nest Mburo

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

 Activities & services of the day:-

• Morning birding in Lake Mburo Park
• Boat on Lake Mburo

Optional activities you can choose on this day include:-

• Banyankole community cultural tour
• Horseback safaris
• Night drives for a chance to see the African scops owl, Marsh owl, Verreaux’s eagle owl, swamp, and pennant-winged nightjars

Day 7: Game Viewing & Birding along the Lakeside Track and transfer back to Kampala

After breakfast at around 7.00 am, we’ll undertake a morning game drive along the Lakeside Track. This involves approaching swamps around Lake Mburo in search of White Winged Warbler, Papyrus Gonolek, Papyrus Yellow Warbler, Lesser and Greater Swamp Warbler and also the elusive Shoebill, the Blue-headed Coucal.

We will continue to the lakeside campground, as we look out for the African Darter, African Water Rail, African Finfoot, Spur-winged plovers, and many others. We’ll return in the midmorning for simple relaxation and proceed for a boat trip on Lake Mburo in search of papyrus species, the African Fish eagle, Hippos, Crocodiles are the extras expected.

After this exciting activity, we’ll set off for Kampala making at the Equator for souvenir purchase,s and continue to arrive in Kampala in the evening.

The highlight of the day: – The morning game drive in Lake Mburo National Park

Meal Plan: – Breakfast & Lunch

 Activities & services of the day:-

• Game drive in Lake Mburo National Park
• Boat trip on Lake Mburo
• Transfer back to Kampala
• Enroute stop at the Equator for souvenir purchase

End of the 7 Days Uganda Birding Safari

7 Days Uganda Birding Safari − SAFARI INCLUSIONS

   Full-time English professional safari driver-guide

   4×4 safari van/ 4×4 Safari land cruiser with pop up roof for game viewing with functional A/C

   Full board accommodation

   Gorilla trekking permit fees

   Boat cruise fees

   Wi-Fi Internet on board the safari vehicle

   Bottled water

7 Days Uganda Birding Safari − SAFARI EXCLUSIONS

   International &domestic flight fees

   Visa fees

   Laundry services

   Items of personal nature

   Gratuities and tips

   Other beverages/ drinks

   Other extras not mentioned in the itinerary above

7 Days Uganda Birding Safari, Uganda Safari Bird Watching Tour and Wildlife Viewing – Route Map

Transport Means to Your Safari Destinations

Accommodations/ Safari Lodges/ Safari Hotels to Your Safari Destinations

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