5 Days Uganda Birding Safari

Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will be met by one of our professional tour guides. Depending on the time of arrival and your preference, we may have optional birding around Entebbe Botanical Gardens. Families of butterflies found here include; Swallowtails such as Green Banded Swallowtail, Narrow Green Banded Swallowtail, Emperor Swallowtail etc. Charaxes, Hairstreaks, etc. Birds include; Splendid Glossy Starling, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Yellow, Creamy White-eyes, Scarlet-chested, Olive, Green Sunbirds, Double-toothed Barbet, Black-and-White Casqued Hornbill, Woodland, Pygmy, Pied Kingfishers, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Vieillot’s Black, Slender-billed, Golden-backed, Holub’s Golden Weavers, Grey-headed Sparrow, Scarlet-chested, Red-chested and Marico Sunbirds, Grey Woodpecker, Eastern Grey Plantain Eater, Alpine, Palm and White-rumped Swifts, Palmnut Vulture, African Green-Pigeon, Hamerkop, Sacred Ibis, African Thrush, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Green Crombec, Long-tailed Cormorant, Egyptian Goose, Great Blue Turaco, Marabou Stork, Yellow-billed Duck, Pink-backed Pelican, White-chinned Prinia, Yellow-throated Greenbul, Snowy-headed Robin-chat, Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher. Stay at Entebbe Resort Beach Hotel, Lindsay Cottages, or Sophie’s Motel.

Mabira Forest Reserve is the largest block of moist, semi-deciduous forest remaining in the central region of Uganda. The reserve occupies gently undulating country, characterized by numerous flat-topped hills and wide, shallow valleys. Some of these valleys have papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) swamps. The proximity of Mabira to Kampala, and the presence of various eco-tourism facilities, makes this Important Bird Area a popular site for birders. The bird list for Mabira Forest contains almost 300 species. It includes Nahan’s Francolin, Cassin’s Hawk, White-spotted Flufftail, Afep Pigeon, Grey Parrot, Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo, Black-shouldered Nightjar, Sabine’s Spinetail, Cassin’s Spinetail, Blue-throated Roller, African Dwarf Kingfisher, White – bellied Kingfisher, Black-and-White Casqued Hornbill, Speckled Tinkerbird, Yellow – throated Tinkerbird, Yellow-spotted Barbet, Hairy-breasted Barbet, Yellow-billed Barbet, Cassin’s Honeyguide, Buff Spotted Wood pecker, Brown-eared Woodpecker, Golden-crowned Woodpecker, Green-breasted Pitta, African Shrike Flycatcher, Chestnut Wattle-eye, Jameson’s Wattle-eye, Gray-green Bush-shrike, Papyrus Gonolek, Sooty Boubou, Western Black-headed Oriole, Red-bellied Paradise-flycatcher, Dusky Crested-flycatcher, Dusky Tit, Buff-throated Apalis, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Olive-green Camaroptera, Grey Greenbul, Plain Greenbul, Honeyguide Greenbul, Leaf love, Toro Olive Greenbul, White-throated Greenbul, Common Bristlebill, Red-tailed Bristlebill, Yellow-spotted Nicator, Yellow Longbill, and many others. Butterflies include among others; Broad Green-banded, Mocker swallow-tails, Immaculate and Opaque Wood-whites, Blue tiger, African Emigrant, Lady’s Maid and Cambridge vagrant. Stay at Mabira Forest Lodge.

On this day, we start our journey birding to Budongo Forest, the largest natural forest area in East Africa. If time allows, we may bird this beautiful forest upon arrival. We can expect to find a wide range of bird species, such as the; the Crested Guinea-fowl sporting their punk “hairdos,” White-crested Turaco, Yellow and Grey Longbills, Olive-bellied Crombec, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Little Green Sunbird, and Red-headed Blue Bill among others. There are also 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, Yellow Bill, 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 Malimbe and also various forest starlings among others. This forest is also a prime area for a wide range of primates such as Blue & Red-tailed Monkeys and Black-and- White Colobus – and some Chimpanzees. There is also a wide variety-more than 200-of butterfly species in the forest, so we’ll keep our eyes open for species such as; Acreas and Charaxes, which call this tropical rain forest home. The Green-veined and the Blue-spotted Charaxes are two of the most common butterfly species in Budongo Forest.Stay at Masindi Hotel or Court View Hotel.

After breakfast we will embark on a tour of The Royal Mile, one of Uganda’s best forested bird watching spots. This is Uganda’s historically known leisure spot for the Bunyoro King; hence the name Royal Mile. The Royal Mile is also the best place in Uganda for; Nahan’s Francolin, Cassin’s Spinetail, and Chestnut-capped Flycatcher. There are many confusing forest Greenbuls to test us including; Spotted, Xavier’s, White-throated, Red-tailed and Honeyguide Greenbuls. Canopy flocks support; Yellow-mantled Weaver, Rufous Thrush and Uganda Woodland Warbler. The undergrowth along the track holds numerous skulkers like the; Scaly-breasted, Brown and Pale-breasted Illadopses, Fire-crested Alethe, Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat, Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush, Red-tailed Ant-Thrush, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Yellow Longbill, and Grey-throated Tit-Flycatcher. We will keep an eye on any openings in the forest canopy such as Cassin’s and Crowned Hawk Eagles, Cassin’s and Sabine’s Spinetails, and White-throated Bee-eaters are all possible. Our guides will point out the various butterfly species present here.

In the afternoon, we bird the Busingiro section. Birds here include; Red-headed Malimbe, Sooty Flycatcher, Ituri Batis, Tit Hylia, Lemon-bellied Crombec, Buff-throated Apalis, Black-throated Apalis, Chestnut Wattle-eye, Chestnut-capped Flycatcher, Green Sunbird, Superb Sunbird, Tambourine Dove, Golden-breasted Bunting, Rufous Flycatcher Thrush. We will also stop at a pond where we may get specialties like the; African Jacana, Swifts, African Fish Eagle, Sabine’s Spinetail, Pied Kingfisher, Angola Swallow, Purple-headed Starling, Hamerkop, White-headed Saw-wing, Osprey, Black-shouldered Kite, Senegal Coucal.

On this day, we embark on a whole-day’s drive to Semliki Forest National Park in the Bundibugyo district. We will make frequent stops to scout for birds and to stretch our legs. Along the way, we may see birds such as; Lilac-br