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Itinerary:
Uganda & Rwanda Tours, 2013 and 2014
UGANDA SPECIALS TOUR: SHOEBILL & GREEN-BREASTED PITTA
Mist-forest-clad mountains, vast swamps and great lakes create the backdrop to some of Africa’s most productive and exciting birding. A scholarly view identifies the Albertine Rift mountains as among the continent’s richest Endemic Bird Areas; what this means to me and you is that the region is packed with rare, localised and exciting birds, the key species we’ll be looking for on our Uganda and Rwanda tours.
Our Uganda tour kicks off on the shores of Lake Victoria, one of the best areas to search for Africa’s most prehistoric looking bird, Shoebill. We’ve allowed ample time to search for this sometimes-tricky species, visiting, if necessary, two of the most reliable sites known for this beast of a bird, where we access the densely vegetated channels by dugout canoe, itself a fun experience. The semi-forested landscape and swampy vegetation of the surrounding area is highly productive, and we can expect to notch up a good list of species while we search for Shoebill. Highlights may include Red-chested Sunbird, hulky Black-and-white Casqued Hornbill, Splendid Starling, African Pied Hornbill, Broad-billed Roller, Western Grey Plantain-eater, Slender-billed Weaver, Swamp Flycatcher, Carruther’s Cisticola and Great Blue Turaco. There is also an outside chance of Lesser Jacana.
After some time on the swamps we head directly for the mid-altitude forests of Kibale National Park, which have recently become the most reliable site for one of Africa’s most colourful birds, the rarely-seen Green-breasted Pitta. Our tour is scheduled to coincide with the period of greatest pitta activity, and we’ll allow ourselves three full mornings searching for this tricky beauty. Once again, the surrounding areas, in this case forests, are very productive, and if we’re lucky we’ll quickly connect with the pitta and then focus on finding the great array of other forest species present. Localised specialties include Lowland Masked Apalis, Joyful Greenbul and, if we’re very lucky, White-naped Pigeon. Other highlights may include Brown Illadopsis, Red-chested Owlet, Dusky Tit, Black Bee-eater, Afep Pigeon, Black-billed Turaco, Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo, Speckled Tinkerbird, Yellow-throated Tinkerbird, Yellow-spotted Barbet, Yellow-crested Woodpecker, Western Nicator, a host of greenbuls, Fraser’s Rufous Thrush, Green Hylia, White-chinned Prinia, Buff-throated Apalis, Scaly-breasted Illadopsis, Superb Sunbird, Red-headed Malimbe and Dusky-blue Flycatcher. There is also the added bonus of a chance to track Chimpanzee!
Green-breasted Pitta on a Birding Afrcia tour © Callan Cohen & Deirdre Vrancken.
Green-breasted Pitta on a Birding Afrcia tour © Callan Cohen & Deirdre Vrancken.
Our final destination in Uganda is the evocatively-named Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which we reach after a brief visit to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Bwindi's steep mountain slopes are tangled in rich forest growth that are home to many Albertine Rift endemics. Besides offering the unique opportunity of tracking some of the last remaining Eastern or Mountain Gorillas, a whole bunch of localised species are resident. Top of the list is the unusual African Green Broadbill. A full-day hike to Mabwindi Swamp will afford us the best possible opportunity of seeing this species, and the timing of our trip coincides to the period when the whereabouts of their nest is may be known. Another local specialty at the swamp is Grauer’s Rush Warbler, which skulks around in the reedbeds, and if we’re very lucky we may spot Dwarf Honeyguide. Other local specialties we’ll be hoping to see include Dusky Crimsonwing, Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, White-headed Woodhoopoe, Ruwenzori Apalis, Mountain Masked Apalis, Grauer’s Warbler, Red-throated Alethe, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, Ruwenzori Blue-headed Sunbird, Bar-tailed Trogon, Black-faced Rufous Warbler, Banded Prinia, Chubb’s Cisticola, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Mountain Buzzard, Handsome Francolin, Ruwenzori Nightjar, Grey-throated Barbet, Yellow-streaked Greenbul, White-starred Robin, Archer’s Robin-Chat, Grey Apalis, Chestnut-throated Apalis, Ruwenzori Batis, Stripe-breasted Tit, Mountain Black Boubou, Pink-footed Puffback, Montane Oriole, Sharpe’s Starling, Strange Weaver, Regal Sunbird, Doherty’s Bushshrike and Red-faced Woodland Warbler.
The final night of the Uganda tour will be spent on the shores of Lake Bunyoni, where we hope to locate the rare and localised Papyrus Yellow Warbler and White-winged Swamp Warbler. From here, you’ll either return to Entebbe at the end of the tour or continue on to Rwanda, where more excitement awaits...
Lion in Qeen Elizabeth National Park on a Birding Afrcia tour © Lyn Hunt.
African Green Broadbill on a Birding Africa tour © Callan Cohen & Deirdre Vrancken.
RWANDA TOUR
It’s a short skip and a hop to the tiny neighbouring country of Rwanda. Our quick Rwanda trip focusses entirely on Africa’s largest contiguous block of montane forest, best accessed at Nyungwe National Park. We’ll have almost four full days to explore these little-birded forests. Even richer than Bwindi in local specialties, we’ll be searching for Red-collared Mountain Babbler, Ruwenzori Turaco, Stuhlman’s Double-collared Sunbird, the exquisite Purple-breasted Sunbird, Neumann’s Short-tailed Warbler and Kungwe Apalis, and will have the chance of catching up with just about any of specialities from Bwindi that we may have missed. If we’re really lucky we may even encounter Shelley’s Crimsonwing or Albertine Owlet, two species only a handful of birders have seen before. From here it’s back to Rwanda’s capital Kigali, where the tour ends.
NORTHERN UGANDA TOUR
And for those who wish to sample even more of this region’s diversity, we’re offering a pre-trip extension to northern-western Uganda, an area of moist savannas, woodlands and tropical forests where a whole host of new species awaits. From Entebbe we make our way northwest to Masindi, gateway to the mid-altitude forest of Budongo Forest. At Busingiro and along the famous Royal Mile we’ll be searching for specialties such as Ituri Batis, Jameson’s Wattle-eye, Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, Dwarf Kingfisher, White-thighed Hornbill, Blue-throated Roller, Forest Robin, Fire-crested Alethe, Red-tailed Ant-thrush, Lemon-bellied Crombec, Grey Longbill, Yellow Longbill, Rufous-crowned Eremomela, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Black-capped Apalis, African Shrike Flycatcher, Velvet-mantled Drongo. Perhaps the most sought-after bird here is Nahan’s Francolin, a tricky understory species that we hope to connect with.
The other key destination on this trip is Murchison Falls National Park, set on the banks of the mighty Nile River. This area affords us yet another chance at Shoebill, and other specialities include Rock Pratincole, Pennant-winged Nightjar, Red-throated Bee-eater, Spotted Morning Thrush, Silverbird, Bar-breasted Firefinch, Long-toed Lapwing, Piapiac, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Black-billed Barbet and Heuglin’s Francolin. Our previous trips have turned up surprises such as Emin’s Shrike, Ring-necked Francolin and Red-winged Pytilia. Finally, it’s time to head back to Entebbe, with a short stop en route for a chance at Puvel’s Illadopsis.
Download the day-by-day itinerary and practical tour details.
Browse the species list from our 2011 trip.
See our 2012 trip report.
The endangered Mountain Gorilla can seen on a Birding Africa Tour
at Buhoma or Ruhija in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda © Callan Cohen.
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