Our birding adventure begins bright and early at 5:30 AM, departing from your hotel in Kampala or Entebbe. Our first stop is the often-overlooked Entebbe Botanical Gardens, an urban oasis that offers excellent early morning birding opportunities.
As dawn breaks, we’ll take a leisurely walk through the gardens, exploring its diverse collection of indigenous and exotic trees that host a rich array of birdlife. This is an ideal time for photography, with soft morning light enhancing our chances for stunning shots. Key species we’ll be looking out for include:
- Ross’s and Great Blue Turacos
- Orange Weaver
- Spur-winged Plover
- Black-headed Gonolek
- Red-chested and Scarlet-chested Sunbirds
- White-throated Bee-eater
- Pied and Woodland Kingfishers
- Scaly Francolin
- Crowned Hornbill
- Vieillot’s Black Weaver
After our morning session, we’ll pause for lunch and a brief rest, giving us time to review our morning sightings and prepare for the afternoon’s adventure.
In the afternoon, we’ll shift our focus to forest birding with a visit to the nearby Mpanga Forest. This beautiful woodland is a hidden gem, home to over 300 bird species, making it a paradise for bird enthusiasts. We’ll explore various paths through the forest to maximize our chances of spotting a diverse range of species. Some of the birds we’ll be on the lookout for include:
- Western Nicator
- Little Greenbul
- White-headed Sawwing
- Winding Cisticola
- Tawny-flanked Prinia
- Black Cuckoo
- Bronze Sunbird
- Copper Sunbird
- Green-headed Sunbird
- Superb Sunbird
- Scarlet-chested Sunbird
- Variable Sunbird
As the day draws to a close, we’ll compile our final bird list and discuss the highlights of our adventure. Then, we’ll make our way back to your hotel in Kampala or Entebbe, concluding a day filled with diverse habitats and exceptional birding opportunities.