How To Do Birding and Gorilla tracking In Bwindi National Park

How To Do Birding and Gorilla tracking In Bwindi National Park

Birding in Bwindi forest National Park in Uganda is a lifetime holiday experience for keen birders. The forest hosts about 350 bird species including seven of those in the red data list of IUCN. About 90 % of the rare albertine endemics are residents of this forest which is quite hard to find in any other part of East Africa.

9 day Gorilla Tracking and Birding Safari in Uganda

 Day1: Drive To Bwindi National Park

Get up early in the morning and your driver guide will be ready to take you to Bwindi forest National Park. Make a stopover in Lwela swamp to identify some amazing birds that flock the swamp. You may also have the chance of spotting the shoe bill that are residents here. Carry on until you arrive late in the evening in Bwindi forest where you will be spending the night.

Accommodation Gorilla Forest Camp/ Ruhija Gorilla Lodge/ Bwindi Community Bandas

Day 2: Gorilla Tracking

It is best to get ready for the jungle by packing the right gorilla tracking gears. Move to the briefing point with your packed lunch to meet other trekkers. After briefing, you will be subdivided into groups of 8 and escorted into the forest to start searching for the mountain gorillas.

It is best to track gorillas in the Buhoma area to identify the resident birds of this area. On the way, you will meet several birds that you can identify by color, whistling or the nests they make. Carry on and find the mountain gorillas. Just spend an hour with them taking photos and later continue with identifying numerous birds like Band prinia, Black faced apalis, Cassin’s rey flycatcher, Pale-breasted illadipsis, Blue-throated brown sunbird, Grey-headed sunbird, Sooty boubou. Return to the lodge in the

 Day 3: Birding in Ruhijah gorilla tracking area

After breakfast, head to Ruhijah gorilla tracking area which is the birder’s haven. This area has both forest and swamp birds. Move to the renowned Mubwindi swamp the congregation point for all kinds of birds like white-napped raven, Pink-footed puff back, Stuhmann’s starling, Strange weaver, black-billed weaver, Black-billed turaco, African wood-owl, Rwenzori nighters, red sheeted owlet, lagden bush shrinke, Grey cukoo-shrink, Toro olive-greenbul, Ansorge’s greenbul, White beilled robin-chat the list is endless. You may identify over 100 bird species in this area in one day. Return to the lodge.

Day 4: Birding in Ruhijah area

You will rise up to return to Ruhijah gorilla tracking area to continue identifying the birds that you may have missed out the previous day. Follow the Mubwindi swamp where most of the rare and difficult to see albertine endemics can easily be seen like Grauer’s Broadbill, Regal Sunbird and Acre’s Robin Chart, Dwarf honey guide, Stripe-breasted tit, Rwenzori Apalis, African hill babbler, Cisticole, Blue headed regal sunbird, Archer’s robin-chart, Eastern mountain-Greenbul, Strange weaver, Black-headed waxbill, White-headed Woodhoope, stuhlmann’s starling, Montana night jar to mention but a few. Return to the lodge to relax.

Day 5 Birding in Buhoma

Carrying your packed breakfast and lunch, rise up early in the morning for another birding experience in Buhoma sector of Bwindi National Park. You may have the chance of spotting more amazing birds that linger in the forest.

Bird like Oriole finch, red sheeted owlet, Equatorial Akalat, Olive thrush, Short tailed warbler, Black-billed weaver, Cinamon-chested bee-eater, Waller’s starling, Blue headed and regal sun bird, Rwenzori double-collared sunbird, Eastern mountain Greenbul to mention but a few. Get back to the room in the evening

 Day 6 Drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Early in the morning drive to Queen Elizabeth National park which is about 5 to 6 hours away from Bwindi forest. Queen Elizabeth National park has about 605 bird list which is the longest bird list in Africa.

On the way, you may make some stopovers to take some shots of birds that fly from tree to tree. Drive through the swamp area where you may have the chance of seeing birds like Swamp fly catcher, African open-billed stork, White-faced whistling, Yellow-backed weaver, Great and long tailed Cormorants, Water Thick-nee, common Squacco Heron and so much more.

Accommodation: Mweya Safari Lodge/ Jacana Lodge/ Simba Safari Lodge

Day 7 Game drive and Birding in Queen Elizabeth National Park

During the early morning game drive, head to the crater lakes area situated on the north banks of Lake Katwe. Most of the antelopes feed in this area and so attract the lions that prey on them. You may also get to see other animals like the elephants, buffaloes, leopards, warthogs, topis, hyenas, to mention but a few.

A number of birds are residents here too like Buttonquail, Croaking Cisticola, Broad-tailed Warbler, Marsh Tchagra, and also some foreign migrants may cross your way like, pallis, Montagu’s and European Marsh, white-shouldered Cliff Chat, the shoe bill may also be spotted here. Return to the lodge and relax.

Day 8 Birding and Launch Cruise

Get up early to meet the early risers as they depart there nesting point to meet the day. Visit Maramagambo forest another superb location for birding in Queen Elizabeth National Park. You may have the opportunity of identifying birds that flock the forest.

After lunch head to Kazinga channel in the launch cruise. This channel is like a natural magnet for water birds and a trap for birds moving along the Albertine Rift. Most of the water related bird species may be seen like Greater and Long-tailed Cormorants, African Wattled Plovers, Malachite and Pied Kingfisher, Swamp Flycatcher, Yellow-backed Weaver, African Fish Eagle, Common Squacco Heron, Shoe Bill to mention but a few. Return to the lodge and relax.

Day 9 Drive Back To Entebbe

 After this birding and gorilla tracking experience in Uganda, get back to the road to catch up with your return flight. You may make some stopovers along the way.