4 DAYS BIRDING ADVENTURE IN UGANDA

Safari Overview

This four day bird watching adventure will give you an opportunity to explore a number of birding destinations found in central Uganda. You will begin by exploring the Mabamba Swamp, then explore the Mambirea forest one of the largest forest stretches found close to the capital, proceed to Entebbe where you will explore the Botanical gardens and Lutembe Bay. Our safari will end with an adventure in Zika forest before departing.

Day 1: Explore the Mabamba Swamp in Entebbe

Day 2: Transfer To and Explore Mabira Forest

Day 3: Explore the Botanical Gardens and Lutembe Bay

Day 4: Explore the Zika Forest, depature

Detailed Safari

Day 1: Explore the Mabamba Swamp in Entebbe

We start early in the morning with our representative from Travel Gorge Tours who will double as your driver and guide will pick you up from your hotel and set off to Mabamba swamp which is located 15km west of Entebbe. The swamp is situated on a soggy bay on the northern shore of the Lake Victoria and is considered to be one of the best ornithological places with exceptional water-related bird species and is the perfect spot to spot the great blue turaco via the Entebbe road. You can keep your eye out for the yellow-backed weaver, blue headed caucal, and lesser jacana, Papyrus Gonolek, Northern brown-throated weaver, pygmy goose as well as many other swamp particulars. While you are at the swamp, almost all the bird watching is done on a boat that is guided by one of our experienced local guides. It is a very memorable experience watching this atypical bird as it exhibits its large grinning beak that looks like a clog. They could also show off their magnificent wings as they fly from the ground. Other bird species that you should look out for include malachite, white faced whistling duck, African marsh harrier, blue breasted bee-eater, African purple swamp hen, Squacco, yellow billed duck, winding Cisticola, swamp flycatcher, common waxbill, common moorhen, Rufous-bellied and purple heron, African water rail, black crake and many others. At the end of the day your will return and dine at your accommodation

Meal Plan: BB

Accommodation Options: Kampala Serena (luxury), or Cassia Lodge (mid-range), or Forest Cottages (budget)

Day 2: Transfer To and Explore Mabira Forest

We shall travel to Mabira forest which is one of the important bird destinations and about 300 different bird species have been documented in this forest. It is one of the forests still in existence in Kampala since most of them have been cut down for firewood and other uses. A section of Mabira however has been put aside for lumbering. Mabira forest is a home to various birds and has properly sustained trails which make bird watching less hectic. You should look out for the prominent huge birds for example the African Grey parrot, the magnificent great blue Turaco as well as the shy but beautiful tit Hylia which only resides in two areas in East Africa.

You could also come across grey-headed Negrofinches, Nahan’s francolin, white breasted Negrofinches, African pied hornbill, Tambourine dove, Forest wood-hoopoe, red bellied paradise flycatchers, blue-breasted, African paradise flycatchers, white-bellied Kingfishers, yellow spotted barbets, Dwarf Kingfishers, hairy breasted barbets, shining-blue Kingfishers, yellow-throated Tinker birds, green-tailed bristle bill, Speckled Tinker birds and Toro olive greenbul, among many others. If there are safari ants on the march, the Fire-crested Alethe, Forest robin as well as blue-shouldered Robin Chat will be seen especially is there are some safari ants matching through the vicinity. At the end of the day your will return and dine at your accommodation

Meal Plan: BB

Accommodation Options: Kampala Serena (luxury), or Cassia Lodge (mid-range), or Forest Cottages (budget)

Day 3: Explore the Botanical Gardens and Lutembe Bay

This beautiful antique garden has native forests, small scale agriculture on the shores of Lake Victoria in Entebbe. Botanical gardens introduces you to the best of the bird species Uganda has to offer including Jackson’s golden-backed Gonolek, the black & white casqued hornbill, great blue Turaco, African thrush, Ross’s Turaco, Violet’s lack weaver, Hauglin’s Robin-chat, black necked weaver, ashy flycatcher, slender billed weaver, black cuckoo shrike, collard sunbird, red chested warbler, Klaus’s warbler, sedge, Eurasian warbler, great reed warbler, copper sunbird, fain tailed widow bird, red chested sunbird, malachite, superb sunbird, woodland kingfishers, pygmy kingfishers, olive bellied sunbird, black bishop, olive sunbird and the grey woodpecker and many others.

During the afternoon after a nice lunch, we drive to Lutembe bay which is approximately 2 kilometers from the Kampala-Entebbe road in Wakiso district. Lutembe bay is a popular bird haven or Ramser Site and has been marked as an Important Bird Area. It is one of the best places to go birding because of the high concentration of migrant birds which include more than two hundred species birds comprising of one hundred water birds as well as Red Data species. A few of the birds to look out for include the papyrus Gonolek, Madagascar Squacco heron, reed warblers, white browed caucal, blue- headed coucal, sedge warblers, hammer kop, grey capped warblers, egrets, spur winged lapwing, storks prominent of all the open-billed stork, African-wattled lapwing, the black-winged stilt, Senegal lapwing, the common moorhen, Rufous-naped larks, yellow throated long claw as well as the flappet larks. At the end of the day your will return and dine at your accommodation

Meal Plan: BB

Accommodation Options: Kampala Serena (luxury), or Cassia Lodge (mid-range), or Forest Cottages (budget)

Day 4: Explore the Zika Forest

This is the final day of the four day birding safari. You will set out after breakfast and explore the zika forest. Zika forest is located 23km from Kampala off the Kampala- Entebbe Road and is a relatively tiny forest sitting on only 100 acres. It is currently under the possession of the Uganda Virus Research Institute and it has a four storey metal tower which is used to establish the kind of insects that live in what layer of the forest. You will then ascend to the top of the forest using a metal ladder and catch the beautiful view of birds perched on branches and the monkeys in their habitat. You should look out for birds like the African pied, Purple starling, little greenbul, black and white casqued and monkeys like the red tailed monkey. You can also tour the forest floor.

This is the final day of your trip and we hope you really enjoyed it.

Tour includes