7 Days Bird Watching Safari

After your breakfast in the morning, you will begin your tour with a visit to the Uganda Wildlife Education Center (UWEC) in Entebbe where you will see a variety of species of wild birds and Weavers such as the rare Northern Masked Weaver, Golden Backed weaver, African paradise, Baglafecht weaver, Rose-breasted grosbeak and many others. Encounter different species of flycatchers; Red bellied, Crested shrike flycatcher, Lead colored, Swamp flycatcher, and Raptors such as the Gabar Goshawk, small banded snake Eagle, Shikra, African Goshawk, African Fish Eagle, African Hobby and many more species including captive wild animals.

In the afternoon, you will proceed to Entebbe Botanical Gardens along the shores of Lake Victoria for another birding experience. Here, you’ll experience the immense beauty of nature combined with the sounds of various birds whistling while watching glamorous plants that will make you feel like you’re in the Garden of Eden.

You’ll get a picnic lunch and relax as you have good hours of birding, with over 150 species of birds and beautiful plants in the gardens. Look out for the Bare faced-go away bird, Great Blue and Ross’s Turracos, Red Chested, Klaas’s and Diederick Cuckoo, Great Reed Warbler, Fain Tailed Widow bird, Striped, Malachite, Giant, Woodland and Pygmy Kingfishers, Black Bishop, Grey Woodpecker, Olive bellied, Red-chested, Green Headed, Collard etc. as well as Sunbirds and many more.

You will then return to your hotel for dinner and an overnight stay. Many visitors have opted for a nightlife experience in the town of Entebbe.

A Travel to Mabamba Wetland after your breakfast in the morning will take you through the outskirts of Entebbe, which is an old colonial European town. At Mabamba Papyrus Swamp, where most of the birding is done from a canoe, you’ll look out for the Shoebill in the sky and down in the marsh. Here you will spot the African Water Rail, Common Moorhen, Lesser Jacana, African Jacana, African Pygmy Goose, White-faced Whistling-duck, Squacco Heron, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Winding Cisticola, Goliath Heron and Black Crake.

Canoeing through Mabamba swamp can usually take you the whole day, and the experience will be one that you’ll never forget.

Early on the morning of the third day after your breakfast, you’ll embark on your adventurous journey to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a forest that harbors over 300 bird species. This drive will take you through different trading centres good for shopping fresh fruits and hot barbeque, through the Equator before making a stopover for lunch in Mbarara City.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest was voted as the number one birding spot in Africa by BirdLife International for offering some of the finest montane forest birding experience in Africa, and as a key destination for birders, with over 300 species including Western Green Tinkerbird, Chestnut-throated Apalises, White-browed Crombec, Woodland Warbler, African Hill Babbler.

Birds’ life and primates in Bwindi is quite superb, and there is an incredible variety of flora, that makes Bwindi the Bird watchers haven! It holds over 348 species of birds and supports 24 of 26 Albertine Rift Endemics found in Uganda; and seven red data book species. Bwindi is a treasure chest of flora and fauna and the richest forest in East Africa most well known as the “Home to the rare Mountain Gorillas”

You will first check-in at Bwindi’s gate before checking in at your lodge for an evening and night rest as you prepare for a day-long trek through the jungles of Bwindi the following morning.

You will rise up early for breakfast as you prepare for an energetic and arduous hike through the thick forest that harbors hundreds of bird species and the rare Mountain gorillas.

At the ranger station, guides will take you through the trenches and steeps of the forest, and parting thick creepers to the whistling birds and the gorillas. This trek can take from 4-6 hours, therefore a reasonable degree of fitness is required as well as a sturdy pair of walking shoes.

Many visitors have always opted for an afternoon birding for Albertine Rift Endemics-Red-throated Alethe, Archer’s Robin-Chat, Kivu Ground Thrush, Montane Masked Apalis, Collared Apalis, Grauer’s Warbler, Short-tailed Warbler, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, Rwenzori Batis and Strange Weaver, among others, before preparing for an evening campfire.

Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

On your fifth day, you’ll be taken to Lake Bunyonyi, a lake that is locally known as "a place of little birds"; offering refreshing experiences ranging from canoeing, swimming, and bird watching.

Lake Bunyonyi lies in the valleys of the Kigezi highlands with a number of terraced hills adding to the scenic beauty of this popular lake. There are several bird species that Lake Bunyonyi attracts including herons, weaver birds, and the grey crowned cranes. The temperatures are quite moderate, and it gets really cool in the morning as mist covers the Kigezi highlands. The quietness, serenity and cool atmosphere plus breathtaking sights of the highly terraced hills and the beauty of the lake are quite magical to experience.

After breakfast and a cup of coffee, you will hire a canoe and explore the surroundings from the lake, as you drift quietly to several small islands and enjoy the rich birdlife. You’ll return for lunch in the afternoon and then take on a Bird walk in Mukoni village, past small farms and enjoy the spectacular view as you look out for many birds.

Generally, 40 to 50 different species may be seen on this walk, including the African Hobby, Black kite, Swamp Flycatcher, Scarlet-chested, Bronze and red – chested sunbirds.

After this memorable trek, you will then set off back to Entebbe/Kampala. This return journey will take you through Kabale Town, Mbarara City, Igongo Culutral Centre and the Equator, all convenient for picking up your favorite souvenirs and crafts as part of an unforgettable African safari.