14-Day Uganda Forest Birding Safari

Arrival for our forest birding Safari

After breakfast, we start our birding to Masindi getting there in time for lunch at Masindi Hotel. Today we shall have some savannah birding to as we transfer looking out for the Yellow Bellied Hyliota, White Headed Barbet, Lesser and Greater Blue Eared Starling, White Crested and Ross’s Turaco, Nubian Woodpecker, Red Shouldered Cuckooshrike and much more. Dinner and overnight at the Masindi or Court View Hotel. F/B

Today we start with a packed lunch for our forest birding and we start from the Royal mile in morning one of the places to do forest birding due to its wide opening acting as an edge in the middle of the forest. While here we mainly look out for the Ituri Batis, White Browed Crombec, Olive Green cameroptera, White-thighed Hornbill, Chocolate-backed, Blue-breasted, Dwarf and Pygmy Kingfisher, Yellow Billed, Hairy Breasted, Yellow Spotted and Grey Throated Barbets, Yellow-crested and, Brown-eared Woodpecker, Grey and Yellow Longbill, Forest, Red-bellied Paradise, and Chestnut-capped Flycatcher, Fire Crested Alethe, Red- tailed Ant Thrush, Western Black-headed Oriole, Spotted, Plain, and White Throated Greenbul, Purple headed Starling, among others. In the afternoon we transfer to Busingiro a wonderful site for the Lemon Bellied Crombec, another good chance of seeing the Ituri Batis in case missed in the other section, Uganda Woodland Warbler, Forest Robin, Nahan’s Francolin, Xavier’s and Ictrine Greenbul, Tit Hylia and many more. This day we expect to see primates like Blue Monkey, Red-tailed Monkey, Black and white Colobus Monkey, on lucky days chimps cross the trails we are birding on. Later we drive back to Masindi Hotel or Court View for dinner and overnight stay. F/B

We start our birding early to the southern sector of the Murchison Falls NP, and the only known site in East Africa for the Puvel’s Illadopsis. We can expect to find this bird as well as a wide range of other forest species. We will have much of the day to try and find a good mix of widespread species and more local specialties such as Crested Guineafowl sporting their “punk hair-do’s”, White-crested Turaco, Chestnut-capped Eremomela, Yellow & Grey Longbills, Olive-bellied Sunbird, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Little Green Sunbird, Crested Malimbe and Red-headed Bluebill among others. Here are many other special birds with a West African origin: White-thighed Hornbill, Green-breasted Pitta, Rufous-sided Broadbill, Blue-breasted, Dwarf & Chocolate-backed Kingfishers, Yellow-crested & Brown-eared Woodpeckers, Yellowbill, Western Black-headed Oriole, Yellow-spotted, Hairy-breasted & Yellow-billed Barbets, Green Hylia, Buff-throated, Black-throated & Black-capped Apalises, Black-eared Ground-Thrush, Rufous-crowned Eremomela, the elusive Lemon-bellied Crombec, Crested & Red-headed Malimbes various forest starlings among others. We later proceed for our Night at Masindi or Court View Hotel

Our forest birding takes us southwards to the fabled mountains of the moon with various birding stopovers en-route. On our transit, expect to see the brown and Western banded Snake Eagle, Grey-Green Bush Shrike, Klaas’s, Diederick and Red-chested Cuckoo, Great blue and Ross’s Turaco, Lizard Buzzard, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Lesser Striped and Red-breasted Swallows, Olive Long Tailed Cuckoo, Yelloe Spotted Barbet, Joyful Greenbul, Masked Apalis, Mountain Wagtail, Cassin’s Grey Flycatcher, Whinchat, Stonechat, Green-headed Sunbirdand other bird species. Dinner and overnight at Primate Lodge Kibale, Nature Lodges or Rwenzori View Guest House, for two nights. F/B

After breakfast, we start our birding in the forest mainly looking out for the Green Breasted Pitta, Scaly and Brown Chested Illadopsis, lots of Forest Greenbuls and Sunbirds, Rufous, later in the afternoon we bird the Bigodi swamp or the vicinity of Kanyanchu and the road. Look out for birds like White spotted Flufftail, Yellow-billed and Yellow Spotted Barbet, African Emerald and Red Chested Cuckoo, Grey Parrot, Black-billed Turaco, Narina Trogon, Blue-shouldered Robin-chat, Sabine’s Spinetail, Chestnut Wattle eye, Red-tailed Ant Thrush, Narrow-tailed and Waller’s Starling, white-collared Oliveback, Black Bellied Seed Cracker and Red Headed Blue Bill plus more. On the list of primates for this day here being the richest forest in Africa for primates we expect Chims, L’Hoest’s, Red Colobus, Blue Monkey, Black and white Colobus, Grey-cheeked Mangabey, Olive Baboon, Valvet Monkey, Red tailed Monkey, to mention but these.

We depart in the morning with our picnic lunch birding to Semliki National Park. Our first stop will be at the Sempaya head quarters where we bird the trails around the hot springs looking out for birds like the piping, Red Billed Dwarf, White Crested, White Thighed, Black Dwarf and Black Wattled Casqued Hornbills, Chestnut Breasted Negrofinch plus the Pale Fronted. Olive and the Western Bronze Naped Pigeon, Leaf Love and Swamp Palm Bulbul. After this birding we drive to Bundibugyo township enroute, we look out for the Marsh Tchagra, Orange Cheeked Waxbill, Purple Headed Starling, Brown Backed scrub Robin and many other species that may come our way, we continue to where we spend our night at the Rain Bow Hotel or Vanilla Hotel. F/B

After breakfast, we checkout in the morning and proceed for a whole day birding on the Kirumia trail in the park. It is my hope that the weather will be in our favour. We enter the forest and look out for different interesting Guinea-Congo Biome endemics like Hornbill where we get a chance in case we missed some as we entered the park – White thighed, Black-casqued wattled, Piping, White crested, Red-billed dwarf and Black dwarf Hornbill, Crested, Blue Billed, Red Bellied and Red Headed Malimbe, Swamp palm Bulbul, Yellow Throated Nicator, Rufaus Sided Broadbill, on a lucky day we keep fingers crossed for the African Piculet, Fiery Bush Shrike, Yellow Throated Cuckoo, Maxwell’s Weaver among other bird species. Overnight at Rwenzori View Guesthouse or Mountains of the Moon Hotel in Fort Portal -FB

After breakfast with our picnic lunch, leave Fort Portal and head to Queen Elizabeth National Park enroute Look out for birds like Martial Eagle, Francolins, Barbets, Chats, Cuckooshrikes, Sunbirds, Fork tailed Drongo, Larks, Pipits, Weavers, Widowbirds among other birds. You will look out for mammals. Dinner and overnight at Jacana Safari Lodge. F/B

This morning, we shall bird 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 if we take the then later transfer to Bwindi.

After an early breakfast, we start birding at this lower side of Bwindi in search for the Bar-tailed Trogon, Black Bee-Eater, White-headed Wood-hoopoe, African Broadbill, Fine Banded, Elliot’s and Buff Spotted Woodpecker, White-bellied Robin-Chat, Equatorial Akalat, Red-throated Alethe, Chapin’s Flycatcher, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Blue Headed, Blue Throated, Little Green and Blue Throated Brown Sunbird, Black-faced Rufous Warbler, Short Tailed Warbler, Mountain Masked Apalis, Bocage’s and Luhder’s Bush-shrike, Pink-footed Puffback, Petit’s Cuckooshrike, Waller’s, Stulman’s and Narrow Tailed Starlings, Black-billed, Brown-capped and Black Necked weaver among other birds. Dinner and Overnight at Gorilla Resort or Lake Kitandara. F/B

After breakfast, start the drive to Ruhija birding en-route looking out for birds like Dusky Tuttle Dove, Black Bee-eater, Red-throated Wryneck, Mountain Wagtail, White-starred Robin, Olive Thrush, Cassin’s-grey Flycatcher, Ayre’s Hawk Eagle, Mountain Buzzard, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Grauer’s Warbler, Chubb’s Cisticola, Banded Prinia, Mountain Masked, Chestnut-throated and Collared Apalis, Stripe-breasted Tit, Grey Cuckoo-shrike, Sharpe’s Starling, Regal Sunbird, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Strange Weaver, Dusky Twinspot, Dusky CrimsonwingYellow Bishop, Black-throated Seedeater among other birds. Dinner and Overnight at The Trekker’s Tervan, for two nights. F/B

After breakfast, with a packed lunch bird the Mubwindi Swamp looking out for birds like Black-billed Turaco, Western Green Tinkerbird, Fine-banded Woodpecker, African Green-Broadbill, Mountain Greenbul, Yellow-streaked Greenbul, African Hill Babbler, Mountain Illadopsis, Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Grauer’s Warbler, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-throated Apalis, Collared Apalis, Stripe-breasted Tit, Rwenzori Batis, Montane Sooty Boubou, Blue-headed Sunbird, Regal Sunbird among other birds. Certainly one of the highlights of any birding trips in Uganda, this walk is physically challenging but, taken slowly it is quite manageable. Dinner and overnight as before. F/B

After breakfast with your luggage, proceed for a whole day drive for the return journey to Entebbe birding en-route arriving in the late afternoon. End of our forest birding tour. Departure