This 21-Day Ultimate Uganda Birding Safari Experience by us is a tropical themed birding safari.
The 21-Day Uganda birding Safari will take us through the best birding spots in Uganda including important birding areas and national parks.
Some of the areas we shall visit include Kibale Forest, Semuliki Wildlife Reserve, Busingiro in Murchison Falls Conservation Area, Semuliki National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Mabira Forest, Kaniyo Pabindi, the Royal Mile and Mubwindi Swamp and Ruhija in Bwindi, Lake Mburo National Park, Mabamba Wetland and Mabira Forest.
This Uganda birding safari will award us with albertine rift Endemics and many Endangered species.
One positive about this trip is that is driven by the search for particular special birds but distributed across the country.
21-Day Uganda Birding Tour Highlights
- Day 1: Arrival
- Day 2: Birding to Mabira Forest
- Day 3: Birding to Masindi
- Day 4: Birding to Kaniyo Pabid for the Puvel’s Illadopsis
- Day 5: Birding to the Royal Mile and Busingiro
- Day 6: Birding to Kibale
- Day 7: Whole day birding in the forest
- Day 8: Birding to Semuliki Wildlife Reserve
- Day 9: Birding to Semuliki National Park
- Day 10: Birding to Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Day 11: Whole day Birding and game viewing Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Day 12: Birding to Bwindi
- Day 13 & 14: Birding or Gorilla Tracking
- Day 15: Birding to Ruhija
- Day 16 Birding Ruhija
- Day 17 Birding to Lake Mburo National Park
- Day 18 & 19: in Lake Mburo
- Day 20: Birding to Mabamba
- Day 21: Departure
Detailed 21-Day Uganda Birding Tour Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival
You will be met by our representative on arrival at the airport who will then take you to your accommodation for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Birding to Mabira Forest
We shall have an early breakfast we shall drive to Mabira forest and start our birding there.
The Mabira forest is a tropical rain forest in the central region of Uganda and it one of the best ornithological sites in the country with over 300 species of birds recorded here.
We shall be looking to see birds like the Grey and Yellow Longbill, Hairy Breasted Barbet, African pitta, Soty Fly Catcher, Fire Crested Allethe, Nahan’s Francolin, Olive Green Cameroptera, Tit Hylia, Yellow Billed, Yellow Spotted, Speckled, and Weyn’s weaver and the purple-throated cuckoo-shrike. We shall then drive back to Kampala for overnight and dinner.
Day 3: Birding to Masindi
We shall wake up early and have our breakfast and then drive to Masindi.
We shall do some birding on the way.
We shall be interacting with open woodlands and savanna birds.
Some of the notable ones being: African Moustached Wabler, Lesser and Greater Blue Eared Starling, White Crested Turaco and yellow Bellied Hyliota. We shall then head to Masindi Hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Birding to Kaniyo Pabid for the Puvel’s Illadopsis
We shall be headed for the southern Sector of the Murchison Falls National Park with an emphasis on the search for the the Puvel’s Illadopsis, Narina Tragon, Fire Crested Allethe, Ducky Longtailed Cuckoo, African Emerald Cuckoo, Grey and Yellow Longbill, Collard, Rufous Flycatcher Thrush, Crested Guinea Fowl, Red Tailed Ant Thrush, Xavier’s, Ictrine, Plain and Little Greenbul, Olive Bellied and Green Sunbird and Yellow Billed Barbet.
We shall interact with many other forest birds. We shall drive back to Masindi for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Birding to the Royal Mile and Busingiro
We shall be birding the royal mile today and after breakfast we bird towards this destination.
Our species list may include: Black Bellied Firefinch, Brown Twinspot, Caban’s Bunting, Lemon-bellied Crombec, Brown crowned Eremomela, Chestnut Capped Flycatcher, Blue-breasted and African Dwarf Kingfishers, Western Black-headed Oriole and Purple-headed Starling, Yellow spotted, Yellow Billed and Grey Throated barbet, Dark Capped Yellow Wabler, Fawn Breasted Waxbill, White Thighed Hornbill, the African Pygmy, and Chocolate-backed kingfishers, Ituri Batis, Cassin’s and Sabine’s Spinetail. We shall the head back to Masindi for Dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Birding to Kibale
We shall be doing a long drive today and therefore we shall wake up as early as possible and then drive with very few stopovers but will still do some birding on the way.
We shall be driving to Kibaale National Park area.
Some of the species of the day are Dusky long Tailed Cuckoo and the Joyful Greenbul.
We shall check into Kibaale Primate Lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Whole day birding in the forest
We shall try to have an early breakfast and start our birding in the Kibaale Forest National park a little early.
The main bird of the day will be the Green Breasted Pitta and the African Broadbill. There will be other species like the Masked Apalis, African pitta, Abyssinian Ground Thrush, Joyful Greenbul, Petit’s Cuckooshrike, and the White headed wood hoopoe.
Day 8: Birding to Semuliki Wildlife Reserve
We shall be driving to the Semuliki National park today from Kibale.
We shall bird on the way and reach n time for lunch at the Semliki Safari Lodge.
After our lunch we shall do afternoon birding and we expect to see birds like African Scops Owl, Pennant winged and Pearl spotted Owlet, Slender Tailed, White Tailed nightjars.
Day 9: Birding to Semuliki National Park
We shall have a whole day birding the Semuliki National Park.
The birding area is famous for the fact that it harbors the West African migrant birds which you may not see anywhere in East Africa.
Such birds include: the Lyre Tailed Honey Guide, Red Bellied, Blue Billed, Crested and Red Headed Malimbe, Red Tailed and Green Tailed Bristlebill, Eastern Bearded, Fiery Breasted Bushshrike, African Piculet, Maxwell’s weaver, Black Throated Coucal, Red Billed, Black Dwarf, Yellow Throated Nicator, Grey crowned, Pale Fronted and Chestnut Bellied Negrofinch, Yellow Throated Cuckoo, Western Bronze Naped and Olive pigeon, Piping, Black Watltled Casqued and white Crested Hornbills, Red Tailed, Ictrine and Xavier’s Greenbull, Palm Swamp Bulbul and the Leaf Love
Day 10: Birding to Queen Elizabeth National Park
We shall have an early morning breakfast and then drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
The park boosts of about 612 bird species that have been recorded here.
This makes it the only National park with such a bird count in Africa’s national parks.
The park also has a variety of vegetation types which also contributes to the Number of bird species here.
We shall the heck into Mweya Safari Lodge for Dinner and overnight.
Day 11: Whole day Birding and game viewing Queen Elizabeth National Park
We shall head to the Kasenyi Area of the Queen Elizabeth National Park.
We shall do a game drive with the hope of finding the Verreaux’s Eagle Owl.
Other species we expect for this day are: the Brown Short Toed and Bateleur, African Harrier hawk, Martial and Tawny Eagle, Lizard Buzzard, Grey Kestrel, Crowned, Senegal and African wattled Plovers, Harlequin Quail, Brown snake eagle, Common Buttonquail. We shall have a boat cruise in the afternoon on the Kazinga channel to search for species like the Great White and Pink-backed pelicans, African Jacana, Lesser Flamingo, African Fish Eagle, Common Squacco Heron, African Open-billed Stork, African Spoonbill, Grey Headed, Malachite and pied Kingfisher.
Day 12: Birding to Bwindi
We shall have an early morning breakfast and drive to the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
We shall do birding on the way and of the species we expect to record today are the pipits Larks, Black Cuckoo, White Winged Tit, African Cuckoo Hawk and Ovambo Sparrow Hawk.
We shall head to the Buhoma sector for dinner and overnight.
Day 13 & 14: Birding or Gorilla Tracking
We shall either do birding in the Buhoma sector or do gorilla trekking or vice versa since we have to days here.
On the birding day we expect to see species like Illadopses, Hopoes, Waller’s and Stulman’s narrow tailed starling, warblers, Tragons, Sunbirds
Day 15: Birding to Ruhija
We shall do some morning birding and then transfer to the Ruhija sector of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
We shall make a stopover at the neck and the head to check into our accommodation for dinner and over night.
Day 16 Birding Ruhija
Our birding today will be to look for species like the Rwenzori Turaco, Western Green Tinkerbird, Grey Cuckoo Shrike Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, Grauer’s Warbler, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-throated Apalis, Olive, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, African Green-Broadbill, Mountain, Yellow whiskered and Yellow-streaked Greenbul, African Hill Babbler, Mountain Illadopsis, Collared Apalis, Stripe-breasted Tit, Rwenzori Batis, Elliot’s and Fine-banded Woodpecker, Montane Sooty Boubou, Blue-headed Sunbird and Regal Sunbird.
Day 17 Birding to Lake Mburo National Park
We shall have our breakfast a little early and then drive to the Lake Mburo National Park.
We shall get there in the afternoon and do some birding while entering he park and then head to Arcadia Cottages for dinner and overnight.
Day 18 & 19: in Lake Mburo
After breakfast we shall do a game drive around the park and the Lake.
Some of the species we expect to record include: African Marsh Harriers, Banded Snake Eagles, Shikra, Steppe, and African Hawk Eagles Papyrus Gonolek, Goshawks, Augur Buzzard, African fish, Twany, Malachite Kingfishers, African finfoot and giant Kingfisher. We shall then drive back to Kampala or Entebbe where we shall have dinner and overnight.
Day 20: Birding to Mabamba
This swamp is most famous for the Shoebill stork but there are many other species which include: Long-tailed Cormorant, Squacco Heron, Yellow-billed Duck, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, African open billed Stork, Grey Kestrel, African Green Pigeon, Great Blue and Ross’s Turaco
Day 21: Departure
Transfer to the airport two hours prior for check-in and departure.
More recommended tours:
- 35 Days Grand Uganda Safari – Birding, Wildlife and Cultural Journey
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- 18-Day Birding Safari in Rwanda and Uganda
- 12-Day Uganda Birding Safari – A Birdwatcher’s Paradise
- 10-Day Birding Expedition Across Uganda’s Pristine Habitats
- 9-Day Uganda Birding Safari – Discovering Rare Species & Gorillas
