|
The endangered Mountain Gorilla can seen on a Birding Africa Tour
at Buhoma or Ruhija in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda
© Callan Cohen. Gorilla tracking can also be done on a Birding
Africa tour to Rwanda.
DETAILED ITINERARY:
NORTHERN UGANDA (8 days)
DAY 1: Entebbe day overlap with previous section.
DAY 2: This morning we drive to Murchison Falls National Park, about
5 hours north-west of Entebbe. Birding en route can be very productive
we have recorded over 100 species on this drive and may include
several stops. In the afternoon we'll stop at a small patch of forest
along the road which is the only known locality for Puvel's Illadopsis
in East Africa. After birding here for a couple of hours we'll proceed
to our lodge, where we spend the next three nights.
DAY 3: We make a very early start, to catch the first ferry across
the Nile to the north bank, where we will spend the day. Around
the river we may find Red-throated Bee-eater, Spotted Morning Thrush,
Silverbird, Bar-breasted Firefinch or White-rumped Seed-eater. As
we head out onto the Borassus-palm savanna with tall grass, we'll
keep a close watch for Fawn-breasted Waxbill among the other seedeaters.
Grey Kestrel is regular here. We make our way towards the edge of
Lake Albert's vast delta. Short grass and scattered pools on the
floodplain are a favoured haunt of Lapwings, with Long-toed, African
Wattled and Black-headed Lapwings being regular. We'll also watch
out for Denham's Bustard, Piapiac, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Black-billed
Barbet and Temminck's Courser, although our main target will certainly
be Shoebill. A couple of pairs frequent the area, but despite their
large size they are difficult to spot.
DAY 4: We'll spend the morning birding in the woodlands near our
lodge. Here we may find several new species, including Singing Cisticola,
Red-winged Warbler and Cabanis's Bunting and Heuglin's Francolin,
and with some luck the scarce Ring-necked Francolin or Red-winged
Pytilia. In the afternoon we'll return to the Nile for a boat ride
to the bottom of the falls. Here we'll disembark and enjoy the sunset
in spectacular surrounds. Rock Pratincole is common around the rapids,
and we may see Red-winged Grey Warbler or White-crested Turaco nearby.
At dusk thousands of bats come out to feed, often with a pair of
Bathawks in hot pursuit. After dark we may see Long-tailed and Standard-winged
Nightjars on our way back to the lodge.
DAY 5: This morning we drive to Budongo forest via the Butiaba Escarpment.
Grasshopper and Red-necked Buzzards are possible en route. Budongo
forest is the largest projected area of forest in Uganda. It differs
slightly in character from the other higher-lying forests that we
visit on our standard Uganda tour. With this comes a suite of additional
species. We'll spend the afternoon looking for some of these, although
we have a full day an another morning to bird watch here.
DAY 6: Back at Budongo, we hope to find Blue-throated Roller, White-thighed
Hornbill, Little Grey and Icterine Greenbuls, Forest Robin, Brown-chested
and Fire-crested Alethes, Red-tailed and White-tailed Ant-thrush,
Lemon-bellied Crombec, Grey and Yellow Longbills, Rufous-crowned
Eremomela, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Black-capped Apalis, Forest,
African Shrike Flycatcher and Chestnut-capped Flycatcher, Jameson's
Wattle-eye, Brown Illadopsis, Western Black-headed Oriole, Grey-headed
and White-breasted Negrofinches, Red-headed Bluebill and Chocolate-backed
Kingfisher. Perhaps the rarest birds at Budongo are Nahan's Francolin
and Ituri Batis we stand a good chance of seeing both.
DAY 7: The morning presents one last shot for missing forest species,
as we return to Budongo. In the afternoon we'll depart for Entebbe,
where we aim to arrive before sunset.
DAY 8: If time allows, we'll spend a couple of hours birding around
Entebbe before departing.
DETAILED ITINERARY: SOUTHERN UGANDA (12 days)
DAY 1: Entebbe provides the ideal start to our Uganda Tour. Leafy
suburbs and tranquil lakeside scenes get us in to the swing of Uganda's
birding. Colossal fig trees in the Botanical Gardens draw a number
of spectacular species, which may include our first Black-and-white
Casqued Hornbill, Splendid Starling and African Pied Hornbill. We'll
also watch out for Shikra, African Hobby, Red-headed Lovebird, Broad-billed
Roller, Green Crombec, Double-toothed Barbet, Western Grey Plantain-eater,
Ross's Turaco, Palmnut Vulture and Black-and-white Flycatcher.
DAY 2: After an early breakfast, we'll wind our way along the shores
of Lake Victoria towards Mabamba Swamp. Here we'll board a makoro,
a traditional wooden fishing boat, and make a foray into the surrounding
swamps. Swamp Flycatcher and Slender-billed Weaver are usually very
confiding. A number of other waterbirds can be found, but we'll
concentrate our efforts on spotting a large grey object, standing
statuesque among the papyrus - Shoebill! However, we don't like
to count our Shoebills… and it is not impossible to miss it
here. In the late morning we'll start our journey towards Fort Portal
and Kibale National Park, arriving in the late afternoon.
DAY 3: Kibale is perhaps most famous for its primates, not least
Chimpanzees, which we stand a very good chance of seeing. We will
spend at least half a day birding along the main forest road, which
allows clear views of the forest canopy. The number of possibly
species is very impressive, and may include African Crowned Eagle,
Crested Guineafowl, White-spotted Flufftail, Afep and the rare White-naped
Pigeon, African Grey Parrot, Great Blue and Black-billed Turacos,
Red-chested Owlet, Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo, Blue-breasted and Shining
Blue Kingfishers, Black Bee-eater, Speckled and Yellow-throated
Tinkerbirds, Yellow-spotted, Yellow-billed and Hairy-breasted Barbets,
Buff-spotted and Yellow-crested Woodpeckers, White-headed Sawwing,
Western Nicator, Little, Slender-billed, Yellow-whiskered, Cameroon
Sombre, Cabanis's, Joyful and Honeyguide Greenbuls, Rufous Flycatcher
Thrush, Green Hylia, White-chinned Prinia, Olive-green Camaroptera,
Buff-throated Apalis, Grey-throated, Sooty and Dusky-blue Flycatchers,
Scaly-breasted Illadopsis, Superb Sunbird, Red-headed Malimbe, African
Emerald Cuckoo and Dusky Tit. Primates could include Central African
Red Colobus, Red-tailed and Blue Monkeys and the handsome Grey-cheeked
Mangabey.
DAY 4: Before heading off towards the open savannas of Queen Elizabeth
National Park we'll head to another section of Kibale NP to search
for a range of new species, which may include Tiny Sunbird and Masked
Apalis.
DAY 5: We have a full day to explore the riches of Queen Elizabeth
NP. With over 600 species recorded, this conservation area has the
longest bird list of any in Africa! Open grasslands support Long-crested
Eagle, Grey Crowned Crane, Sooty Chat, Yellow-throated Longclaw,
Marsh Tchagra, Grey-backed Fiscal, and, with some luck, Broad-tailed
Warbler. Euphorbia thickets are common in some areas. Grey-capped
Warbler, Black-headed Gonolek and Black-lored Babbler are regular,
but skulking. Around camp we should find Spotted-flanked Barbet,
Red-chested Sunbird and Northern Brown-throated Weaver. We'll also
keep an eye out for Beaudouin's Snake Eagle, a rare bird in East
Africa and, in papyrus swamps, the striking Papyrus Gonolek. Mammals
to look for include Uganda Kob, Lion and Giant Forest Hog.
DAY 6: Today we continue southwards to Uganda's most famous park,
Bwindi Impenetrable NP. En route we'll listen out for the characteristic
song of Trilling Cisticola and watch for Senegal Lapwing. We hope
to arrive in Bwindi in time for some introductory birding in the
afternoon. Around our camp we may find Luedher's and Bocage's Bush-shrikes,
Veillot's Black Weaver, Yellow-throated Leaflove and Magpie Mannikin.
DAY 7: Although on a birding trip, Gorilla tracking will be the
highlight of most visitors' trip to Uganda. This day is devoted
to these great apes!
DAY 8: With Gorillas under the belt (we hope!), we have a full day
to explore the forests around Buhoma. A wide track gives exceptional
visibility into the forest, although many species will still escape
without being seen. Highlights may include several Albertine Rift
endemics, such as Short-tailed Warbler, Chapin's Flycatcher, Red-throated
Alethe, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher
and Blue-headed Sunbird. Among the other species we see may be Bar-tailed
Trogon, Western Bronze-naped Pigeon, Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo, Tullberg's
and Elliot's Woodpeckers, African Broadbill, Petit's Cuckoo-shrike,
Shelley's and Red-tailed Greenbuls, Equatorial Akalat, White-bellied
Robin-Chat, Black-faced Rufous Warbler, Banded Prinia, Black-throated
Apalis, White-bellied Crested Flycatcher, Northern Double-collared
Sunbird and Stuhlmann's, Waller's and Narrow-tailed Starlings.
DAY 9: While Buhoma offers superb birding, the higher altitude forests
of Ruhiza are where most of the Albertine Rift endemics are found.
We wind our way up steep mountain slopes, stopping on route for
Regal Sunbird, Chubb's Cisticola, Brown-backed Scrub Robin, Scarce
Swift and Doherty's Bush Shrike. Dusky Twinspot is sometimes seen
here.
DAY 10: The legendary Mabwindi Swamp is the focus of this day. We'll
take it easy as we descend the long, winding trail to the lake's
edge. Perhaps the most famous bird here is the legendary African
Green Broadbill, which we will need considerable luck to find. But
other noteworthy species may include Dwarf Honeyguide, Mountain
Yellow Warbler, Mountain Buzzard, Handsome Francolin, Ruwenzori
Nightjar, White-headed Woodhoopoe, Grey-throated Barbet, Yellow-streaked
Greenbul, White-starred Robin, Archer's Robin-Chat, Grauer's Rush
Warbler, Grauer's Warbler, Grey, Chestnut-throated, Collared and
Mountain Masked Apalis, Ruwenzori Batis, Mountain and Grey-chested
Illadopsis, African Hill Babbler, Stripe-breasted Tit, Mountain
Black Boubou, Pink-footed Puffback, Montane Oriole, Strange and
Brown-capped Weaver, Dusky Crimsonwing and Black-headed and Yellow-bellied
Waxbills.
DAY 11: After some early morning birding we head back to Entebbe,
a drive that will take us most of the day.
DAY 12: If time allows, we'll bird around Entebbe before departing.
|
