Butterfly Kingdom

Day 2 Mabira Forest After breakfast, we will transfer you to Mabira Forest Reserve; it is the largest block of moist, semi-deciduous forest remaining in the central region of Uganda. The reserve occupies gently undulating country, characterized by numerous flat-topped hills and wide, shallow valleys. Some of these valleys have papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) swamps. The proximity of Mabira to Kampala, and the presence of various ecotourism facilities, makes this Important Bird area a popular site for birders. The bird list for Mabira forest contains almost 300 species. It includes Nahan’s Francolin, Cassin’s Hawk, White Spotted Flufftail, Afep Pigeon, Gray Parrot, Dusky Long Tailed Cuckoo, Black Shouldered Nightjar, Sabine’s Spine Tail, Cassin’s Spine tail, Blue Throated Roller, African Dwarf Kingfisher, White – bellied Kingfisher, Forest Wood hoopoe, Black and White Casqued Hornbill, Speckled Tinker bird, Yellow – throated Tinker bird, Yellow-spotted Barbet, Hairy-breasted Barbet, Yellow-billed Barbet, Cassin’s Honey guide, Buff Spotted Wood pecker, Brown-eared Woodpecker, Golden-crowned Woodpecker, Green-breasted Pitta, African Shrike Flycatcher, Chestnut Wattle-eye, Jameson’s Wattle-eye, Gray-green Bush-shrike, Papyrus Gonolek, Sooty Boubou, Western Black-headed Oriole, Blue-headed Crested Flycatcher, Black-headed Paradise Flycatcher, Dusky-crested Flycatcher, Dusky Tit, Buff-throated Apalis, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Olive-green Camaroptera, Gray Greenbul, Plain Greenbul, Honey guide Greenbul, Leaf love, Toro Olive Greenbul, White-throated Greenbul, Common Bristlebill, Red-tailed Bulbul, Yellow-spotted Nicator, Yellow Long bill, and many others. Butterflies include among others Broad Green-banded, Mocker swallowtails, Immaculate and Opaque Wood-whites, Blue tiger, African Emigrant, Lady’s Maid and Cambridge vagrant. Stay in Mabira Forest Lodge.  

Day 4 Royal Mile and Busingiro Sections of Budongo Forest After breakfast, we will embark on a tour of The Royal Mile, one of Uganda’s best-forested bird watching spots. This is Uganda’s historically known leisure spot for the Bunyoro King; hence the name Royal Mile. The Royal Mile is also the best place in Uganda for Nahan’s Francolin, Cassin’s Spinetail, and Chestnut-capped Flycatcher. There are many confusing forest Greenbuls to test us including Spotted, Xavier’s, White-throated, Red-tailed and Honeyguide Greenbuls. Canopy flocks support Yellow-mantled Weaver, Rufous Thrush and Uganda Woodland Warbler. The undergrowth along the track holds numerous skulkers including Scaly-breasted, Brown and Pale-breasted Illadopses, Fire-crested Alethe, Blue-shouldered Robin-chat, Rufous Flycatcher-thrush, Red-tailed Ant-thrush, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Yellow Long-bill, and Grey-throated Tit-flycatcher. We will keep an eye on any openings in the forest canopy such as Cassin’s and Crowned Hawk Eagles, Cassin’s and Sabine’s Spinetails, and White-throated Bee-eaters are all possible. Our guides will point out the various butterfly species present here. In the afternoon, we bird the Busingiro section. Birds here include Red-headed Malimbe, Sooty Flycatcher, Ituri Batis, Tit Hylia, Lemon-bellied Crombec, Buff-throated Apalis, Black-throated Apalis, Chestnut Wattle-eye, Chestnut-capped Flycatcher, Green Sunbird, SuperbSunbird, Tambourine Dove, Golden-breasted Bunting, Rufous Flycatcher Thrush. We also stopped at a pond where we got specialties like the African Jacana, Spinetails, Swifts, African Fish Eagle, Sabine’s Spinetail, White-rumped Spinetail, Pied Kingfisher, Angola Swallow, Purple-headed Starling, Hamerkop, White-headed Saw-wing, Cassin’s Spinetail, Osprey, Black-shouldered Kite, Senegal Coucal. Dinner and overnight at Court View.  

Day 6 Semiliki Forest After an early breakfast, we go birding in the Kirumya Trail in Semliki. Some of the birds here include Black and White Casqued hornbill, Forest Robin, Great Blue Turacco, Red-tailed Greenbul, Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher, Palm-nut Vulture, Piping Hornbill, Little Green Sunbird, Grey-throated Tit Flycatcher, Western Nicator, Yellow-billed Barbet, Red-rumped Tinkerbird, Bronze-naped Pigeon, Splendid Glossy Starling, Brown Illadopsis, Pale-fronted Negrofinch, Blue-throated Variable Sunbird, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Little Grey Greenbul, Olive Green Camaroptera, Yellow-throated Nicator, Crested Guinea fowl, Chestnut-breasted Negro-finch, Crested Malimbe, Blue-headed Crested Flycatcher, Red-tailed Ant-thrush, Red-tailed Bristlebill, Grey-throated Sunbird, Collared Sunbird, Black-winged Oriole, Blue-shouldered Robin-chat, Grosbeak Weaver, Grey-headed Negrofinch, Grey-headed Sunbird, Jameson’s Wattle-eye, Red-tailed Greenbul, Xavier’s, Brown-eared Woodpeckers, Green Hylia, Blue-throated Sunbird, Buff-throated Apalis, Green Crombec, Red-billed Dwarf, African Pied, White Crested, Black Dwarf Hornbills, Green-tailed Bristlebill, Eastern Bearded Greenbul, Blue-billed Malimbe, Grant’s Bluebill, Sooty Boubou, Red-headed Bluebill, Male Tambourine Dove, Red-chested Cuckoo, Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo, White-spotted Flufftail, Pygmy Kingfisher, Cabanis’s’ Greenbul, Blue-shouldered Robin-chat, Fire-crested Alethe, Rufous Flycatcher Thrush, Toro Olive Greenbul, Rufous-sided Broadbill, Green Pigeon, Hairy-breasted Barbet, Yellow-browed Camaroptera in addition to many butterfly species.Dinner and overnight at Semiliki Safari lodge.  

Kibale

Day 8 Kibale National Park After breakfast, we have a whole day of birding. The activity may last from a few to several hours. Kibale Forest is exceptional for being home to 13 different primate species. Other primates you may find here include Red & Guereza Colobus, Olive Baboon, Grey-cheeked Mangabey, L’Hoest’s Blue, Vervet and Red-tailed Monkey. Bush Pig and Buffalo, Bushbuck, Blue, Harvey’s and Peter’s Duikers are other shy inhabitants of the forest interior. Birding in the afternoon along the main road may be productive. Depending on the weather predictions, birding Bigodi Wetland is also productive with riverine forest birds. Kibale Forest National Park is a good site for a number of birds that are hard to find elsewhere including Speckle-breasted Woodpecker, Cabanis’s Greenbul and Joyful Greenbul as well as White-spotted Fluff tail, Dusky and Olive Long tailed Cuckoo, Lesser Honey guide, Blue-shouldered Robin Chat, White-chinned Prinia, Grey Apalis, Olive-green Camaroptera and White-collared Olive back. Dinner and overnight at Chimpanzee guesthouse.  

Bwindi Impenetrable

Day 10 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Forest birding in Bwindi ranks as the best in Uganda and is home to 23 highly localized Albertine Rift Endemics. Specialty birds include Black-faced Rufous Warbler, Grauer’s Warbler, Banded Prinia, Black-faced Apalis, Mountain Masked Apalis, Red-throated Alethe, Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, Ashy Flycatcher, Dusky-blue Flycatcher, Chapin’s Flycatcher, Chin-spot Batis, Rwenzori Batis, Black-and-white-shrike Flycatcher, White-bellied Crested Flycatcher, Pale-breasted Illadopsis, Mountain Illadopsis, African Hill Babbler, Dusky Tit, Blue-throated Brown Sunbird, Blue-headed Sunbird, Northern Double-collared Sunbird, Grey-headed Sunbird, Mackinnon’s Fiscal, Sooty Boubou, Pink-footed Puffback, Doherty’s Bush Shrike, White-napped Raven, Montane Oriole, African Golden Oriole, Stuhlmann’s Starling, Narrow-tailed Starling, Waller’s Starling, Strange Weaver, Brown-capped Weaver, Black-billed Weaver, Dusky Crimsonwing, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, Magpie Mannikin, Yellow-crowned Canary, Thick-billed Seed-eater, StreakySeedeater, African Green Broadbill, Shelly’s Crimsonwing, Oriole Finch,Mountain Buzzard, Ayre’s Hawk Eagle, Handsome Francolin, Black-billed Turacco, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, African wood Owl, Ruwenzori Nightjar, Scarce Swift, Bar-tailed Trogon, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Black Bee-eater, Western Bronze-napped Pigeon, Red-chested Owlet, Tullberg’s Woodpecker, Elliot’s Woodpecker, African Broadbill, Western Green Tinkerbird, African Green Broadbill, Lagden’s Bush Shrike, Petit’s Cuckoo Shrike, Grey Cuckoo Shrike, Archer’s Ground Robin, Toro Olive Greenbul, Ansorge’s Greenbul, Equatorial Akalat, White-bellied Robin Chat, Olive Thrush, White-tailed Ant Thrush, Grauer’s Rush Warbler, Short-tailed Warbler, Neumann’s Warbler, and Red-faced Woodland Warbler. Dinner and overnight at Gorilla Safari lodge.