14 Days African Birding Safari

Day 6-All-day bird watching tour in Rwenzori National Park – Uganda

After breakfast, with packed lunch, leave for Rwenzori National Park. Special birds of the day include purple breasted sunbird, Abyssinian, Red faced, Shelly’s and Dusky Crimson-wing, Red-bellied seed cracker, Woodhouse Antipecker, Stripe-breasted Tit, Forest Flycatcher, Grey Apalis, Ayres and Cassin’s Hawk-eagle and many others, Same accommodation.

Day 7-Birding to Bwindi the best African birding spot – Uganda

Depending on the season, with a packed lunch we may choose to go through the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, where there are chances of encountering the Tree-climbing Lions at Ishasha sector. Depending on the time of arrival, we may enjoy birding on the self-guided Munyaga trail.

Day 8-All-day African bird watching safari in Bwindi – Uganda

We start after breakfast, and explore the Buhoma Forest section. African birding in this forest provides some of the best birdwatching in Uganda and the African continent as well, having been voted as Number One Hotspot in Africa by African Bird Club Members. It is home to over 23 highly localized Albertine Rift endemics.

Special birds include;-

Black-and-white Shrike & White-bellied Crested-flycatcher, Pale-breasted & Mountain Illadopsis, African Hill-Babbler, Dusky Tit, Blue-throated, Blue-headed, Northern Double-collared, Green Throated & Grey-headed Sunbirds, Mackinnon’s Fiscal, Sooty Boubou, Black-faced Rufous & Grauer’s Warbler, Banded Prinia, Black-faced, Black-throated, Chestnut-throated & Mountain Masked Apalis, Red-throated Alethe, Yellow-eyed Black-Flycatcher, Ashy Flycatcher, Dusky-blue Flycatcher, Chapin’s Flycatcher, Chin-spot Batis, Rwenzori Batis, Pink-footed Puffback, Doherty’s Bush-shrike, Montane & African Golden Orioles, Stuhlmann’s, Narrow-tailed & Waller’s Starlings, Strange, Brown-capped & Black-billed Weaver, Dusky Crimsonwing, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, Yellow-crowned Canary, , Streaky & Thick- billed Seedeaters African Green & African Broadbill, Shelly’s Crimsonwing, Oriole Finch, Mountain Buzzard, Ayre’s Hawk-eagle, Handsome Francolin, Black-billed Turaco, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, African Wood-Owl, Rwenzori Nightjar, Scarce Swift, Bar-tailed Trogon, Cinnamon-chested & Black Bee-eaters, (Western) Bronze-naped Pigeon, Red-chested Owlet, Tullberg’s & Elliot’s Woodpecker, Western Green Tinkerbird, Lagdens Bush Shrike, Petit’s & Grey Cuckoo-shrike, Archer’s Ground Robin, Toro Olive & Ansorge’s Greenbul, Equatorial Akalat, White-bellied Robin-chat, Olive Thrush, White-tailed Ant-Thrush, Grauer’s Rush, Short-tailed, Neumann’s and Red faced Woodland-Warblers. Indeed at the end on a good day you might conquer with the ABC that this is the number one African Birding Site. We stay at Gorilla Resort, Kitandara or Gorilla Forest Camp.

Day 9-All-day Gorilla Tracking safari in Bwindi – Buhoma, Uganda

This starts at the park’s headquarters are at Buhoma, and it is from here that we shall set out on our gorilla trek. A great deal will depend upon where the Mountain Gorillas are, as to how far one has to trek, but one should expect to be in the forest most of the day. You will be allowed an hour with the gorillas and it is sure to be a very rewarding experience.

Day 10-Bird watching to the Neck continuing to Ruhiija.

Key species include: Mountain Wagtail, Red-tailed and Shelley’s Greenbul, Cassin’s Flycatcher, Black Duck, Banded Prinia, Grey-throated Barbet, Common Buzzard, Tree Pipit, Chin-spot Batis, Black-billed Turaco, Fine-banded Woodpecker, Dwarf Honeyguide, Red-tailed Greenbul, and we should come across Bee-eaters including Black Bee-eater and Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Bronze-naped Pigeon, Many-coloured Bush Shrike, Ayres’s Hawk-eagle, Bronze-naped Pigeon, Narina Trogon, Honeyguide Greenbul, Red-throated Alethe, Gray Apalis, African Shrike-flycatcher and Red-headed Malimbe and in areas of dry fern vegetation, Dusky Twinspot. Stay at Ruhiija Hostel.

Day 11-All-day Birding safari to Mubwindi Swamp, Uganda.

After breakfast we head for a whole day birding to the Mubwindi Swamp. The 4km trail to Mubwindi Swamp drops from 2350m to 2050m and is the best place for some of the most difficult to find of all rift endemics including Grauer’s (African Green) Broadbill the beautiful Regal Sunbird and Archer’s Robin-Chat. Mubwindi Swamp is home to Dwarf Honeyguide, Stripe-breasted Tit, Ruwenzori Apalis and African Hill Babbler, the rare and localized Grauer’s Scrub-Warbler and Carruthers’ Cisticola, including very difficult to see species Fraser’s Eagle-Owl, African Green Broadbill, Grauer’s Rush Warbler, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Blue headed Sunbird, Regal Sunbird, Grauer’s Broadbills, Archer’s Robin-chat, Eastern Mountain-Greenbul, Strange Weaver, Black-headed Waxbill, Bar-tailed Trogon, White-headed Woodhoopoe, Waller’s & Stuhlmann’s Starlings, Ludher’s Bushshrike, Handsome Francolin and Montane Nightjar.

Day 12-All- day birding tour in the Bamboo Section

Birding along the main road through the bamboo area for more chances of Albertine rift and Highland Endemics not leaving out the powerful singing but hard to see bradypterus warblers.

Day 13-Birding to Kampala (winding-up our holiday)

We shall have several stops on the way in order to stretch legs and look out for some interesting birds. Accommodation of Choice as at the start of the Albertine Rift Birding Safari on arrival.

Day 14- End of our Albertine Rift African Birding Safari / Departure