TOUR UG 16: BIRDING TOUR (8 days)

Day 1: Arrival at Entebbe International Airport. Meet your local guide and transfer to Lake Victoria Windsor Hotel. (Birders who arrive in the early hours of the day will have a welcome birding afternoon around Entebbe Botanical Gardens). Look out for Slender-billed Weaver, Brown-throated Weaver, Golden-backed Weaver, Yellow-backed Weaver, Grey-headed Gull, Long-tailed Cormorant, Common Squacco Heron, Yellow-billed Duck, Pied Kingfisher, Giant Kingfisher, Swamp Flycatcher, Broad-billed Roller, Black-and-white Casqued Hornbill, Splendid Starling, Black-headed Gonolek, Orange Weaver, Verreaux's Eagle-owl, Red-chested Sunbird, Ross's Turaco, Pied Hornbill, Crowned Hornbill, Open-billed Stork, Great Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Grey-caped Warbler and many others.

Day 2: Early morning birding at Lincoln Trail. The local bird guides established this trail early 2002. Over 170 species have been recorded. So far the local guides have recommended this trail to be the best birding site nearest to Kampala and Entebbe. Look out for White-headed Barbet, Red-headed Lovebird, Double-toothed Barbet, Brown Twin-spot, Tambourine Dove, Black-headed Bush-shrike, Little Ringed Plover, Verreaux's Eagle-owl, Richard's Pipit, Klaas's Cuckoo, Yellowbill, and many others.

Day 3: After an early breakfast, drive to Mabamba Swamp 50km west of Kampala. Stop enroute in Mpigi Swamp for papyrus rarities. Open your eyes for a White-winged Warbler, Papyrus Gonolek, Yellow-backed Weaver, Northern Brown-throated Weaver, Blue-headed Coucal, and other swamp specialities. Continue to Mabamba Swamp. Most of the birding is from on a canoe. Look out for the Shoebill Stork both in the sky and down on the marsh. Also look out for the Swamp Flycatcher, African Purple Swamphen, African Water Rail, Common Moorhen, Lesser Jacana, African Jacana, African Pygmy Goose, White-faced Whistling-duck, Squacco Heron, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Winding Cisticola, Goliath Heron and Black Crake to mention but a few. Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 4 & 5: Depart early in the morning for Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) as you bird en-route. Stop at Mbarara for lunch. QENP has over 600 recorded bird species. Serious birders may be interested to know that the one-day record for QENP is 296; one of the highest in the whole World. An excellent variety of species is seen here include pelicans, skimmers, kingfishers, thick-knees, storks, martins, swallows, weavers, raptors, canaries, kites, and many grassland specialties. Birding in the park begins early in the morning on the open savannah. Return to the hotel for lunch. In the afternoon enjoy birding on a boat trip along the Kazinga Channel, which joins Lake Edward and Lake George. Return to the Mweya Safari Lodge for Dinner and overnight stay.

Day 6: After an early breakfast, birding around the peninsular is very productive. Check out at 10:00am for Lake Mburo National Park. Your drive is punctuated with several stops to see the Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Crowned Plover, Wattled Lapwing, Southern Red Bishop, Variable Sunbird, African Harrier, several lark species and many others. Enjoy the fabulous Long-horned Ankole cattle as you bird. Dinner and overnight at Mantana luxury tented camp with a nice view in Lake Mburo National Park. Enjoy the sounds of birds such as Morning Dove, Deidric cuckoo, Grey-capped Warbler, Black-headed Weaver, etc.

Day 7: Leave at dawn to get the African Finfoot on Lake Mburo before it disappears into the papyrus beds floating on the lake. Look out for the Brown-chested Lapwing, Lilac-breasted Roller, Carmine Bee-eaters, Black-bellied Bustard, Helmeted Guineafowl, Handsome Francolin, Rufous-naped Lark, vultures, eagles, kites and the like. Transfer to Entebbe.

Day 8: Departure. Tour ends.