SHOEBILLS & GORILLAS OF UGANDA – Plus Green-breasted Pitta, Albertine Rift Endemics and Chimpanzees

PRICE INFORMATION

Birdquest Inclusions: Our tour prices include surface transportation, accommodations, meals and entrance fees.

We also include all tipping for local guides, drivers and accommodation/restaurant staff.

We also include a Green-breasted Pitta/Chimpanzee Tracking Permit at Kibale: See explanation above.

Deposit: 20% of the total tour price (plus Gorillas permit fee if you want an optional permit – see below). Our office will let you know what deposit amount is due, in order to confirm your booking, following receipt of your online booking form.

Cancellation Charges: For this tour, the cancellation charge for cancellations made 6 months or less before the tour start date is 100% of the total tour price.

TO BOOK THIS TOUR: Click here (you will need the tour dates)

Gorilla Tracking Permit at Bwindi: As of the time of writing, permits cost a remarkable US $725 per person. The Gorilla Tracking Permit price is subject to change and is not included in the tour price. Please be sure to inform us on booking if you want a permit. We need to obtain your permit at the time of booking. The final cost of the permit, exactly as charged in US dollars by the Ugandan authorities, will be included on your tour invoice. The additional deposit (due at the time of booking) if you would like a Gorilla tracking permit is $725 or equivalent. Permit fees are not refundable for any reason.

The single supplement will not apply if you indicate on booking that you prefer to share a room and there is a room-mate of the same sex available.

This tour is priced in US Dollars. Amounts shown in other currencies are indicative.

Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency will be pleased to arrange your air travel on request, or you may arrange this yourself if you prefer.

SHOEBILLS & GORILLAS OF UGANDA BIRDING TOUR: DETAILED ITINERARY

Shoebills & Gorillas of Uganda: Day 1  Our tour begins this evening at Entebbe airport, situated on the shores of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake. We will transfer to our hotel nearby, where we will stay for two nights.

Shoebills & Gorillas of Uganda: Day 2  Today we will visit Mabamba Swamp, adjacent to Lake Victoria, and take a boat trip through an extensive papyrus swamp where we will be wanting in particular to observe the strange Shoebill or Whale-headed Stork. This extraordinary bird, which is placed in a family of its own, is confined to papyrus swamps and has its main stronghold in the inaccessible swamps of southern Sudan and central Zambia, although there are still good numbers in Uganda.

Other likely species at Mabamba include White-breasted and Reed (or Long-tailed) Cormorants, Little Egret, Squacco Heron, Hamerkop, African Openbill, Yellow-billed Duck, African Fish Eagle (with its call that is so evocative of the African wilderness), Long-toed Lapwing, Grey-headed Gull, Gull-billed and White-winged Terns, Pied and Giant Kingfishers, the tiny Malachite Kingfisher, Winding and Red-faced Cisticolas, the confiding Swamp Flycatcher and Black-and-white Mannikin. In addition, the uncommon Lesser Jacana sometimes occurs.

We will also encounter a good variety of open country and woodland birds today, such as Western Cattle Egret, Black-headed Heron, Hadada Ibis, Yellow-billed Kite, African Marsh Harrier, African Harrier-Hawk, Shikra, Lizard Buzzard, Palm-nut Vulture, Grey Kestrel, Red-eyed Dove, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, African Green Pigeon, the impressive Great Blue Turaco, Eastern Grey Plantain-eater (constantly uttering its strange call), White-browed Coucal, Mottled Spinetail, Little, White-rumped and African Palm Swifts, Speckled Mousebird, Woodland Kingfisher, Broad-billed Roller, Crowned Hornbill, African Pied Hornbill (the form here is sometimes split as Congo Pied Hornbill), the grotesque-looking Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, African Pied Wagtail, Angola Swallow, Dark-capped Bulbul, African Thrush, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Grey-capped Warbler, Pied Crow, Splendid and Rüppell’s Long-tailed Starlings, Olive-bellied and Red-chested Sunbirds, the gorgeous but now uncommon Orange Weaver, Black-headed, Northern Brown-throated, Yellow-backed, Vieillot’s Black and Slender-billed Weavers, Northern Grey-headed Sparrow, Bronze Mannikin and Yellow-fronted Canary. If we are lucky, we will also see the nomadic Weyns’s Weaver and even the migratory BlueSwallow.

Shoebills & Gorillas of Uganda: Day 3  Today we will drive westwards through central Uganda to Kibale Forest National Park for a two nights stay.

First, we will bypass the busy capital Kampala which, like Rome, was built upon seven hills, and then drive through farmland interspersed with papyrus swamps and patches of woodland where herds of Ankole cattle with their magnificent horns are commonplace. We will come across a good selection of widespread Ugandan birds during the journey and will stop for anything of particular interest.

As we approach Kibale, situated in the Fort Portal region of western Uganda, we will get our first views of the distant Rwenzori Mountains. We will arrive in time for some initial exploration at Kibale Forest.

Shoebills & Gorillas of Uganda: Day 4  Some of our birding at Kibale Forest National Park will be done from the wide road which bisects the forest, but most of our time will be spent on the network of small trails which pierce the forest interior.

Here the magnificent Crowned Eagle soars over the canopy striking terror into the troops of monkeys and flocks of Purple-headed Starlings gather to feed in fruiting trees where we may discover some subtly-plumaged Afep Pigeons.

Star attraction of Kibale is the jewel-like Green-breasted Pitta. Once a rarely-seen bird, the habits and location of this mega-bird are now much better known and so we have a good chance of seeing this very special African bird during our stay. (Kindly note that while most of our encounters have been during a dedicated early-morning search for the pitta, open to all participants, occasionally the only sighting of this species has been during the optional chimpanzee tracking excursion.)

Among the other birds we will look for are the restricted-range Green White-eye as well as White-spotted Flufftail (difficult to see as opposed to hear), Tambourine Dove, African Emerald, Dusky Long-tailed and Red-chested Cuckoos, Blue Malkoha (or Yellowbill), Black-billed Turaco, Narina Trogon, Alpine Swift, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, the splendid Black Bee-eater, White-throated Bee-eater, White-headed Wood Hoopoe, Speckled, Yellow-rumped and Yellow-throated Tinkerbirds, Hairy-breasted, Yellow-billed and Yellow-spotted Barbets, Thick-billed Honeyguide, Cassin’s Honeybird, Mosque and Lesser Striped Swallows, White-headed Saw-wing, Mountain Wagtail, Plain, Joyful, White-throated and Honeyguide Greenbuls, Western Nicator, the delightful Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat, Fraser’s Rufous Thrush, Brown and Scaly-breasted Illadopsises, Green Hylia, White-chinned Prinia, Lowland Masked and Buff-throated Apalises, Green Crombec, Grey-throated Tit-flycatcher, the striking Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher, Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher, Western Oriole, Velvet-mantled Drongo, Pink-footed Puffback, Petit’s Cuckooshrike, Chestnut-winged Starling, Grey-chinned (or Green), Collared, Western Olive, Green-headed, Blue-throated Brown, Green-throated, Superb and Copper Sunbirds, Black-necked, Dark-backed and Vieillot’s Black Weavers, Red-headed Malimbe, Grey-headed Negrofinch and Black-crowned Waxbill.

If we are very fortunate we will find the rare White-naped Pigeon, perhaps watching one perched up high on an exposed snag, or come across a Red-chested Owlet being mobbed by angry passerines. We may also come across African Wood Owl.

Kibale is home to no fewer than eleven species of primates and we should see Central African Red and Guereza Colobuses, Olive Baboon, Grey-cheeked Mangabey, and L’Hoest’s and Red-tailed Monkey.

We will also visit a nearby swamp in search of the restricted-range White-winged Swamp Warbler, as well as Grey Crowned Crane, Ross’s Turaco and Thick-billed (or Grosbeak) Weaver. With a bit of luck, we will also encounter the delightful but erratic White-collared Oliveback.

Furthermore, Kibale Forest is one of the best areas in Uganda to see Chimpanzees. Local forest rangers keep a close watch on the activities of the various families and we will arrange to track Chimpanzees on one of our mornings here. There is a very high chance that we will encounter a troop of these most human of primates and it is often possible to have a good length of time with them (it all depends on how co-operative they are). We are sure to hear their deafening, blood-curdling screams echoing through the forest and we should enjoy wonderful views of these fascinating cousins of ours. We have even encountered Green-breasted Pitta on occasion during our Chimpanzee sessions!

Shoebills & Gorillas of Uganda: Day 5  This morning we will return to Kibale Forest and afterwards we will drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park for a two nights stay.

Our route takes us through the foothills of the Rwenzoris. This mountain range is one of the wettest in the world and the snow-capped summits, including Mount Stanley (5109m), are usually hidden behind a cape of low cloud and mist. If we are lucky and the weather is clear we may catch a glimpse of the equatorial snowfields above the layers of cloud.

Shoebills & Gorillas of Uganda: Day 6  Queen Elizabeth National Park is very varied, with a mixture of West African-type tropical forest and open savanna that is more typical of East Africa. It boasts a bird list of over 550 species, the largest of any protected area in Africa!

Some impressive craters reflect the turbulent geological history of the area and large herds of African Savanna Elephants find refuge in these natural enclaves. The elephant population is one of the most prolific on the continent; virtually all the females have calves and seem determined to redress the destruction that took place here during the lawless period under Amin and Obote. Interestingly, the elephant population at Queen Elizabeth has been shown to be a hybrid population with Forest Elephant.

Mammals are much in evidence at Queen Elizabeth and we should find Vervet Monkey, Common Warthog, Kob, Bushbuck, Waterbuck, Topi, African Buffalo, Scrub Hare, Marsh Mongoose, Banded Mongoose, Spotted Hyaena and Lions. We even have a good chance of encountering a Leopard. We also have a modest chance of encountering the impressive Giant Hog (which used to be easier to see here than anywhere else in its range, but which has become much more elusive in recent times).

The park is bisected by the Kazinga Channel, which flows between Lake George and Lake Edward. This swampy waterway teams with Hippopotamuses and Nile Crocodiles as well as an excellent variety of birds, including Great White and Pink-backed Pelicans, Great Egret, Grey, Purple and Goliath Herons, Saddle-billed and Yellow-billed Storks, African Sacred and Glossy Ibises, Egyptian Goose, Black Crake, African Jacana, Black-winged Stilt, Water Thick-knee, Spur-winged and African Wattled Lapwings, Kittlitz’s and Three-banded Plovers, African Pygmy Kingfisher, Brown-throated Martin, the elegant Rufous-chested Swallow, Lesser Swamp Warbler, Carruthers’s Cisticola and Papyrus Gonolek, all of which we are likely to see during an enjoyable boat trip or while exploring the area by vehicle. In addition, African Skimmers are often present.

A widespread but often hard-to-see species that we often encounter in the park is African Crake. Common and Black-rumped Buttonquails also occur in the lush grasslands but are usually hard to observe. At night we may find Square-tailed (or Gabon) Nightjars feeding around the lights of the lodge.

Other new species we may well encounter at Queen Elizabeth include Marabou Stork, Black-winged Kite, Hooded, White-backed, Rüppell’s, Lappet-faced and White-headed Vultures, Brown Snake Eagle, Bateleur, Gabar Goshawk, Wahlberg’s, Tawny, Martial and Long-crested Eagles, Lanner Falcon, Helmeted Guineafowl, Black-bellied Bustard, Red-necked Spurfowl, Collared Pratincole, Senegal and Crowned Lapwings, Mourning Collared, Ring-necked and Laughing Doves, Diederik Cuckoo, Black and White-browed Coucals, Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, Blue-naped Mousebird, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Olive (or Madagascar) and Little Bee-eaters, African Hoopoe, Common Scimitarbill, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, White-headed Barbet, Lesser Honeyguide and African Grey Woodpecker.

Passerines include Rufous-naped and Flappet Larks, Yellow-throated Longclaw, African (or Grassland) and Plain-backed Pipits, Banded Martin, Red-breasted Swallow, White-browed Robin-Chat, Sooty Chat, Arrow-marked and Black-lored Babblers, Moustached Grass Warbler, Fan-tailed Grassbird, Trilling, Stout and Zitting Cisticolas, Northern Crombec, Buff-bellied Warbler, Western Black-headed Batis, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, African Paradise Flycatcher, Fork-tailed Drongo, Northern and Grey-backed Fiscals, Black-headed Gonolek, Black-crowned and Marsh Tchagras, Orange-breasted (or Sulphur-breasted) Bushshrike, Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike, Violet-backed Starling, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Purple-banded and Scarlet-chested Sunbirds, Compact, Lesser Masked and Spectacled Weavers, Red-billed Quelea, Southern Red Bishop, Fan-tailed and White-winged Widowbirds, Green-winged Pytilia, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, Red-billed Firefinch, Common and Fawn-breasted Waxbills, Pin-tailed Whydah, Brimstone Canary and Golden-breasted Bunting.

Shoebills & Gorillas of Uganda: Day 7  We will spend much of the day exploring the Ishasha section of Queen Elizabeth, which is famous for tree-climbing Lions.

Afterwards, we will continue to the lower section of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for a three nights stay at Buhoma. As we approach Buhoma we will see forested mountains stretching as far as the eye can see towards the Congo border.

Shoebills & Gorillas of Uganda: Days 8-9  The Impenetrable Forest is one of the largest in East Africa and has a remarkable altitudinal range of continuous forest from 1160m to 2650m. This splendid forest is considered to be the richest in East Africa for plant, mammal, bird and butterfly species: over 330 bird species have been recorded here, for example. The Impenetrable is a wonderfully evocative name and often appears in the ornithological literature for Africa. The forest was so named not because it was any more densely vegetated than other forests, but because of the steepness of the hills which made progress almost impossible. Fortunately, it is possible to see most of the special birds of this wonderful area by walking along the roads or along gently sloping tracks. On only a few occasions will we have to take to the steeper trails.

At lower levels, the forest is easy to work and at Buhoma there is an excellent trail that passes through some magnificent forest. Western Bronze-naped Pigeons and Olive Long-tailed Cuckoos call from the dense canopy, sedate Bar-tailed Trogons sit quietly overhead and weird-looking Grey-throated Barbets inspect dead trunks and boughs, but the real prizes of this forest skulk in the undergrowth and we will need patience to get views of the highly elusive Grey-chested Babbler (formerly Grey-chested Illadopsis but now reclassified as a member of a small bird family consisting of this species, Dapple-throat and Spot-throat). Other great undergrowth birds here include Red-throated Alethe (which often attends ant swarms), Equatorial Akalat, White-bellied Robin-Chat, Black-faced Rufous Warbler and the unique Neumann’s (or Short-tailed) Warbler. Fruiting trees often attract an interesting selection of starlings including Slender-billed, Waller’s, Narrow-tailed and Stuhlmann’s. If we are lucky we will come across one or two of the rare inhabitants of the forest, which include Willard’s Sooty Boubou, Jameson’s Antpecker and Oberlander’s Ground Thrush.

Other species we may well see in the forest include Black (or Great) Sparrowhawk, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Willcocks’s Honeyguide, Cardinal and Elliot’s Woodpeckers, African Broadbill (a bird with a remarkable display), Ansorge’s, Little, Slender-billed, Cabanis’s, Red-tailed Greenbul, Kakamega Greenbul, Red-tailed Bristlebill, the gorgeous but secretive Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat, White-tailed Ant Thrush, Black-throated, Grey and Mountain Masked Apalises, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, White-browed Crombec, Olive-green Camaroptera, Dusky Tit, Sooty, African Dusky, Dusky-blue, Yellow-eyed Black and the rare Chapin’s Flycatchers, White-bellied Crested Flycatcher, Chestnut Wattle-eye, Many-coloured, Lühder’s and Bocage’s Bushshrikes, Grey-headed, Little Green, Blue-headed and Northern Double-collared Sunbirds, and Black-billed and Brown-capped Weavers. Exposed perches at the forest edge are favoured by Blue-throated Roller, while in the cut-over clearings we may find duetting Chubb’s Cisticolas, Cape Wagtail, Brown-backed Scrub Robin, Mackinnon’s Fiscal and Western Citril.

The Impenetrable Forest is also home to a healthy population of Eastern Gorillas. These Ugandan animals, which show shared characteristics of both lowland and mountain forms, could, in fact, be an endangered subspecies or even a full species in their own right. Those who want to will be able to go out with the park staff to look for these spectacular creatures during our second full day here, an experience which generally involves from three to six hours in the field, depending on where the gorillas are located.

A close encounter with a group of these gentle giants is a profound experience which will make an indelible impression. The gorillas are fully protected in the park and you will be able to track a group of these marvellous animals through the dense, damp forest and thickets of giant bamboo on the slopes of the mountain. The terrain can sometimes be steep and rough, but the guides will cut a path through the dense understorey of giant nettles and wild celery if necessary. As you approach a group your guides will make strange grunting noises to reassure the gorillas that you are merely harmless tourists. These huge animals are surprisingly docile and often completely unconcerned by the presence of humans, so it is usually possible to get to within a few metres of them as they play, feed and rest. There is no need to say that this is an experience which you will never forget!

Other mammals are generally inconspicuous, but we may well come across the attractive L’Hoest’s Monkey.

Shoebills & Gorillas of Uganda: Day 10  After two full days at lower levels we will transfer to the higher section of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, passing through ‘The Neck’, a narrow corridor of forest that connects the two forest blocks, on our way to Ruhija for a two nights stay.

We will spend some time birding along the winding track at intermediate altitudes where flowering Leonotis often attract Bronze and Variable Sunbirds and other possibilities include African Goshawk, Augur Buzzard, Scarce Swift, Double-toothed Barbet, Red-throated Wryneck, Black Saw-wing, Yellow-throated Leaflove, Cassin’s, White-eyed Slaty and African Blue Flycatchers, Brown-crowned Tchagra, the glorious Doherty’s Bushshrike, White-naped Raven, Baglafecht Weaver, Yellow Bishop, African Firefinch, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, and Black-throated and Streaky Seed-eaters. If we are lucky we shall find the little-known Dusky Twinspot.

Shoebills & Gorillas of Uganda: Day 11  In the higher parts of the forest the mist lingers in the valleys until late morning and this perpetual dampness is reflected in the profusion of hanging mosses and epiphyte-encrusted branches. These Central African mountains are a centre of avian endemism which developed around the Albertine Rift, an ancient branch of the Great Rift Valley that runs through Uganda, the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.

A number of birds are unique to this region including Handsome Francolin, Archer’s Robin-Chat, Rwenzori Apalis, Grauer’s Warbler (with its insect-like song), Rwenzori Batis, Stripe-breasted Tit, Regal Sunbird, Strange Weaver, Dusky Crimson-wing, the uncommon but unbelievably-plumaged Purple-breasted Sunbird and the uncommon and hard-to-find Kivu Ground Thrush (sometimes split from Abyssinian Ground Thrush).

We shall also make a long trek uphill and downhill to Mubwindi Swamp in order to find the rare Grauer’s Rush Warbler (a species confined to high-altitude swamps in the Albertine Rift) and of course the most sought-after bird of the Impenetrable Forest, the Grauer’s (or African Green) Broadbill. We have a good chance of seeing this little-known species which, until relatively recently, had been seen by few living ornithologists.

We will need patience to get views of the elusive Grey-chested Babbler, formerly known as Grey-chested Illadopsis but now reclassified as a member of a small bird family that includes this species.

Among the other birds that we will look for in the forest are Mountain Buzzard, Ayres’s and perhaps Cassin’s Hawk-Eagles, African Olive Pigeon, the uncommon Brown-necked Parrot, Barred Long-tailed and Klaas’s Cuckoos, ‘Rwenzori’ Nightjar (now lumped in Montane by IOC), Western Tinkerbird, Tullberg’s Woodpecker, Rock Martin, Mountain (or Montane) Oriole, Rwenzori Hill Babbler, Mountain Illadopsis, Grey Cuckooshrike, Olive-breasted and Yellow-streaked Greenbuls, White-starred Robin, Abyssinian Thrush, Chestnut-throated Apalis, Evergreen Forest, Cinnamon Bracken and Mountain Yellow Warblers, Chin-spot Batis, White-tailed Blue Flycatcher, White-tailed Crested Flycatcher, the skulking Albertine Sooty Boubou, Northern Puffback, Sharpe’s Starling, Kandt’s Waxbill, Thick-billed Seed-eater, Oriole Finch and Yellow-crowned Canary. Chimpanzees and Gorillas also occur in this section of the forest, but they are hard to see in this difficult terrain.

Shoebills & Gorillas of Uganda: Day 12  Today we will return to Entebbe, where our tour ends at the airport this evening.