13 Days Uganda – Rwanda Albertine Rift Endemics with gorilla and chimpanzee

Arrival at Kigali, Pick up and drive to your hotel for overnight. Relax, introduction and briefing for the albertine rift trip in Rwanda and Uganda

Transfer birding to Nyungwe Forest. Nyungwe forest is situated in south-west Rwanda between Lake Kivu and the international border with Burundi. This beautiful birding area lies west of Butare, with the Butare-Cyangugu road passing straight through the middle, providing excellent roadside birding. About 270 species have been recorded in Nyungwe, reflecting the wide habitat diversity and altitudinal range. These include all the 25 species of the Albertine Rift mountains Endemic Bird Area that occur in Rwanda, Chapin’s Flycatcher and Rockefellers’ Sunbird (both globally threatened, restricted-range and biome-restricted). Also, 11 of the 23 species of Guinea–Congo Forests biome and 71 of the 74 species of this biome of Afrotropical Highlands that occur in Rwanda have been recorded at this site!

Whole day birding in the park-Uwinka trail for albertine endemics, lookout for; Stripe-breasted Tit, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Red-throated Alethe, Archer’s Robin-Chat, Ruwenzori Turaco, Great Blue Turaco, Handsome Francolin, Rockefeller’s Sunbird, Miombo Rock-Thrush, Mountain Masked Apalis, Black-faced Apalis, Chestnut-throated Apalis, Collared Apalis, Grauer’s Warbler, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Kivu Ground-Thrush, White-tailed Blue-flycatcher, Red-chested, SunbirdRegal Sunbird, Olive Woodpecker, Mountain Greenbul, Rwenzori Hill-babbler, Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Northern Puffback, White-starred Robin, Rwenzori Double-collared Sunbird, Dusky Crimsonwing, Thick-billed Seedeater, Streaky Seedeater, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo

Transfer while birding to Uganda-Mgahinga National Park via Cyanika border. Mgahinga boasts birding with a list of over 180 species of birds and at least 14 Albertine endemics can be seen here. Reach here, early arrival gives a chance to do evening birding around.

Whole day birding in Mgahinga gorilla national park in search for Rwenzori Turaco, Crowned Hornbill, Black Kite and Crowned Crane, Handsome Francolin, Dusky Turtle Dove, Alpine Chat, Kivu Ground Thrush, White-tailed Blue Flycatcher, Lagden’s Bush Shrike, Scarlet-tufted Malachite Sunbird, Montane Double-collared Sunbird. Farmland along the Northern edge of the Park is guarded by a dry stone wall that keeps Buffalo in the Park and out of crops. The trail along the wall is ideal for birding. Along this trail look out for Chubb’s Cisticola, Banded Prinia and Doherty’s Bush Shrike are vocal yet inconspicuous in habitats of tangles at the forest edge whilst Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher and Mackinnons’s Fiscal favors more exposed perches. Common Stonechat is abundant but here shares the habitat with many of the typical African open-country species: including Wing Snapping Cisticola, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Grassland Pipit, and Yellow Crowned Canary.

Bird watching transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park-Ruhijja Sector. Forest birding in Bwindi ranks the best in Uganda with the best sight guides who use their mouth whistles to mimic the birds. A zigzag drive from the main gate to the lodge through the forest gives a chance to spot a handsome francolin on the roadside plus other birds

Whole day birding in bwindi impenetrable national park-Ruhijja sector. Today early after our break first, start our day birding the mail trail to mubwindi swanp. The main highlights of this trail is the African Green Broadbill and the Grauer’s Warbler and other birds/or endemics like Chapin’s Flycatcher, Blue-Headed Sunbird, Regal Sunbird, Rockeffeller’s Sunbird, Purple-Breasted Sunbird, Strange Weaver, Dusky Crimson-Wing, Red-Collard Mountain Babbler, Chapin’s Mountain Babbler, Neumann’s’ Warbler, Prigogine’s Greenbul, Black-Faced Apalis, Collard Apalis, Stripe-Breasted Tit, Grauer’s Cukooshrike, Yellow-Crested Helmetshrike, Ruwenzori Batis, Dwarf Honeyguide etc

Morning birding in the community to try species that we could have missed I the previous day of birding and proceed with our transfer to Buhoma sector of bwindi via the “NECK” several stops will be made on this journey to try several spots for a couple specialties. Even further down on our road, cultivated areas provide feeding opportunities for many seedeaters. Our main targets here will be the highly sought-after Dusky Twinspot and Yellow-Bellied, Black-Headed and Black-Crowned Waxbills. African Stonechat; Streaky and Thick-Billed Seedeaters; African Citril and Cape Canary may also be found here. Noisy Chubb’s Cisticolas will mock us from deep within the bracken! And the beautiful Doherty’s Bushshrike can be lured out from the dense vegetation. Mackinnon’s Shrikes survey the road from high, exposed perches! The NECK,’ another well-known birding locality. Here we will search for species such as Black Goshawk; Bronze-Napped Pigeon; Cinnamon-Chested, Black Bee-Eater; Cassin’s Honeyguide; Petit’s Cuckoo-Shrike; White-Chinned Prinia; the enigmatic Chapin’s Flycatcher; Mountain Wagtail; Pink-Footed Puffback; the rare Tiny Sunbird and the attractive Brown-capped Weaver. We have many chance of seeing the L’heost’s, Red Tailed and the Black and White Colobus Monkey on our journey! There are so many special birds at these elevations that we do not want to rush through, we continue with our drive to Buhoma 

Whole day birding in Buhoma sector of bwindi impenetrable national park in search for; Cabanis’sGreenbul, Narrow-Tailed Starling, Grey-Winged Robin Chart, Eliots Woodpecker, Northern Double-Collard Sunbird, Black-Billed Weaver, Bocage’sBushshrike, Pink-Footed Puffback, Petit’sCukooshrike, White-Bellied Nigrafinch, Cameroon SombreGreenbul, African Broadbill, Buff-Throated Flycatcher, Chapin’s Flycatcher, Yellow Bill, Black-Faced Rufous Warbler, Little Grey Greenbul, Equatorial Akalat, Short-Tailed Warbler, Red-Headed Malimbe, White Browed Crombec, Mountain Black Boubou, Jameson’s Anti-Peckeretc

Trekking day for those interested in gorillas, on this day, we set of early, with packed lunch, to the park headquarters for a briefing prior to Gorilla Tracking. The gorillas are gentle animals and it is an unforgettable experience to photograph them as they interact. It is a wonderful experience to stare in to the eyes of these gentle giants; watch them in awe as they play and go about their daily activities. It is indeed a “once in a lifetime” experience that you must never miss! Each encounter is different and has its own rewards; you are likely to enjoy the close view of adults feeding, grooming and resting as the youngster’s frolic and swing from vines in a delightfully playful display. Gorilla tracking involves part or one day in the Impenetrable Forest. Sometimes the gorillas can be located within an hour or so, but at other times it sometimes takes an entire day of quite hard trekking to find them and return, so you need to be physically fit if you wish to maximize your chances. Very occasionally, in spite of all efforts, the gorillas prove elusive. Depending on the time we get back we might have optional village to the communities around the gorillas the pygmies inclusive or evening birding around the self-guided train in Buhoma, another Eden of birding in Uganda and later transfer to our lodge for dinner and overnight (the trip could end here and return back to Kigali for the flight back home) or take some days further through queen Elizabeth national park for some interesting savanna species

Birding in queen Elizabeth national park (find the lions of Ishasha sheltering from the fierce rift valley sun on the boughs of ancient fig trees!). Early after breakfast we depart birding to queen Elizabeth national park through kanungu area where chances abound to trace for rarity of Rufous-Breasted Wryneck in this area, continue birding to the southern sector of queen Elizabeth where we can’t miss the likes of Whinchats, Greater Scimitarbill, Black Kit, Superb Sunbird, still on a way in ishasha area Little Button, Blue, Common, Harlequin Quails skulk in short grasses along the way. A couple of mammals like Cape Buffalo, Lions, Elephants, Uganda Kobs, Waterbacksetc thrill in this area.

From early morning, birding in queen Elizabeth national park and evening boat cruise at Kazinga Channel. In this morning we try for Broad Tailed Warbler, Martial Eagle, Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, Amur Falcon, Striated Heron, African Spoonbill, Water Thick-Knee, Three-banded Plover, Marsh, Green, Wood and Common Sandpiper, Plain Martin, Lesser Swamp-Warbler, White-Winged Warbler, Caruther’sCisticola, Black-Headed Gonolek, Papyrus Gonolek, Red-Faced Cisticola, Red-Chested Cukoo, Northern Puffback, Tropica Boubou, Diederik, Klaas’s, African-Emerald Cukoos, Little Stint,  Yellow-Throated Long-Claw, East-African Swee, Common Waxbill, Crimson-Rumped Waxbill, and Yellow-billed Ox-pecker etc. mammals include; Olive Baboon, Valvet Monkey, in the kyambura gorge we find the Chimps, Blue and Red Tailed Monkey etc. evening we take boat ride at kazinga channel.

Stop at Mabamba Swamp to search for the Shoebill before heading to the airport for departure.