November 1-14, 2025 with Jay VanderGaast & Herbert Byaruhanga
This was just the second time we've offered this short version of our Uganda tour, which focuses on three of the country's most famous and sought-after beasts--gorillas, chimpanzees, and the iconic Shoebill--while also offering a more general African safari experience, as well as some excellent birding opportunities. I'm happy to say our experiences with all three of the headliners was simply stellar, with incredibly close encounters with each of them! The chimps practically brushed past us on the trail, the gorillas were close enough we could smell them, and the Shoebill flew so low over one of the group boats that Herbert actually had to duck (see the above video)! Those three encounters alone made the trip a success, but Uganda has so much more to offer, and we really had some fun, fantastic experiences with plenty of creatures beyond the Big Three!
The fun kicked off right on the grounds of our Entebbe hotel, where plenty of great birds could be seen despite the small size of the gardens. Showy species like Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Eastern Plantain-Eater, Ross's Turaco, Gray Parrot, Double-toothed Barbet, and Red-chested and Scarlet-chested sunbirds were all enjoyed in the gardens, as was a group of bizarre Hammer-headed Fruit Bats we found roosting above the swimming pool! By the time we headed to the Mabamba Swamp, we already had a nice list started. Speaking of Mabamba, the boat ride over was already exciting, as we sped across an arm of Lake Victoria, enjoying our first looks at some common wetland birds like African Jacana, African Fish-Eagle, and the stunning Gray Crowned-Crane, Uganda's national bird! Once we arrived at the small community of Mabamba, we transferred into smaller canoes to navigate the narrow channels through the swamp, and then headed straight for the best area for Shoebill. Man, was it exciting when we rounded that bend and spotted our quarry standing sedately alongside the channel! And it seemed completely unperturbed by our presence, allowing us to get much closer than I dreamed possible, and posing for numerous photos before finally lifting off and moving a bit farther down the channel. We probably wouldn't have been too upset if we didn't see anything else that morning! But without the weight of the Shoebill on us anymore, we could just sit back and enjoy the rest of the cruise, reveling in sightings of Black Crake, Long-toed Lapwing, the usually difficult Lesser Jacana, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, and a remarkably approachable Malachite Kingfisher, among plenty of others.
After a break back at the hotel, we devoted the late afternoon and most of the following morning to the excellent Entebbe Botanical Gardens. With a bird list of over 500 species, the gardens are a truly enjoyable place to begin to come to grips with a wide selection of Ugandan bird species. Our first afternoon visit gave us our first looks at the always spectacular Great Blue Turaco, Red-chested Cuckoo, African Harrier-Hawk, Palm-nut Vulture, lovely White-throated Bee-eaters, and 4 species of kingfishers, including one of the country's smallest, African Pygmy Kingfisher, and the largest, our only Giant Kingfisher of the trip. African Hobby, Black-and-white Shrike-Flycatcher, Green Crombec, Red-headed, Black-necked, and Orange weavers, and Gray-headed Nigrita were among the other nice finds here. Our follow-up visit the next morning was even birdier, as we saw many of the same birds, plus a bunch of additional species, like Tambourine Dove, African Green-Pigeon, Dideric Cuckoo, a Black-headed Heron trying to subdue a squirming young Nile Monitor before devouring it, Bat Hawk, Congo Pied Hornbill, African Gray Woodpecker, Pale-throated Greenbul, Red-billed Firefinch and plenty more. Our botanical gardens visits also gave us a nice start on our mammal list, with Red-tailed and Tantalus (formerly Vervet) monkeys, gorgeous Mantled Guereza, and a group of Spot-necked Otters all being seen there.
Our mammal list continued to grow late that afternoon, on our arrival at Lake Mburo NP. On our way down to the lodge we picked up our first large ungulates--massive Cape Buffalo, Plains Zebra, Waterbuck, Impala, and Northern (Rothschild's) Giraffe-- the giraffes present here thanks to a successful reintroduction program in 2015. With darkness setting in, we also had a Common Genet scurry across the road ahead of the bus, and then, upon arrival at the delightful Kigambira Safari Lodge, we saw our first of many Common Hippopotamus, as a large male grazed on the lawn just outside the restaurant! The next morning started with an array of classic African bush birds: Speckled and Blue-naped mousebirds, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, the brilliant Lilac-breasted Roller, White-winged Black-Tit, and a variety of weavers. A cruise on Lake Mburo easily turned up the two major targets, African Finfoot and the scarce White-backed Night-Heron, plus some bonuses like the colorful Papyrus Gonolek and a male Narina Trogon on an open branch over the lakeshore, showing off the blue-green bare skin on its throat as it called. Our afternoon outing here took us back into the northern sector of the park, among the zebras, giraffes, buffalo, and a few Common Eland, where the evocatively-named Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Klaas's and African cuckoos, a rare White-headed Vulture, the distinctive Bateleur, Bearded Woodpecker, Brubru, Buff-bellied Warbler, and Yellow-billed Oxpecker were among the many new species added before the day came to a satisfying end.
The next morning, after some pre-breakfast birding around the lodge, featuring Spot-flanked Barbet, Black Cuckooshrike, Chinspot Batis, Arrow-marked Babbler, Holub's Golden-Weaver, and more, we set off for the long drive to Buhoma and the famous Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. While primarily a travel day, it was broken up by some birds along the way, including a couple of huge flocks of Abdim's Storks circling over the bushland. Getting to our lodging was a bit of an adventure, as recent rains had made the roads through the village of Buhoma completely impassable for the bus we were in. But we were in good hands with Herbert, who quickly procured a couple of 4X4s to ferry us the rest of the way to the lodge, getting us there just as it was getting dark. The following morning, we woke to the sight of the forested mountainsides as well as a handful of new species, including Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Red-throated Crag-Martin, White-eyed Slaty-Flycatcher, and Streaky Seedeater.
The remainder of the day was both one of the most challenging and most rewarding of the trip, as it was our gorilla-tracking day! After the obligatory briefing, we were on our way, climbing a steep hill, dropping into a deep valley, crossing a stream, then up another steep hill before doubling back and crossing the stream again to finally catch up to our quarry. It was a steep, slippery, strenuous, hike, but the next hour, as we enjoyed the company of a small group of gorillas while they rested in the undergrowth within 10 feet of us, made it all worth the effort! What a thrill to be so close to these extraordinary animals, and to have them behaving as if we weren't there at all. Not even the driving rain on the walk back to the vehicles could dampen our enthusiasm after that amazing encounter! There was little time for birding during this trek, but we still managed to add a handful of species including Stuhlmann's Starling, Collared, Variable, and Bronzed sunbirds, and Yellow Bishop. And in the late afternoon back at the lodge, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Gray-green Bushshrike, White-tailed Blue-Flycatcher, White-chinned Prinia, and Black-billed Weaver were among the new finds enjoyed from the comfort of the balcony.
Bwindi is well known for its diversity of birds, and we got a great taste of it the next day, as we spent the entirety of the day birding the park, primarily along the main entrance road into the park. So productive was it, that our morning outing covered barely a mile of trail, netting us great looks at things like Gray-throated Barbet, Cassin's Honeybird, Buff-spotted Woodpecker, Petit's Cuckooshrike, Chestnut Wattle-eye, Pink-footed Puffback, Luhder's Bushshrike, Black-throated and Gray apalises, Green Hylia, White-breasted Nigrita, and Gray-winged Robin-Chat. Greenbuls were well-represented, with Yellow-whiskered, Slender-billed, and Cabanis's being among the ones seen. Sunbirds and weavers were also quite numerous, with Gray-headed, Little Green, and Gray-chinned among the 7 species of sunbirds seen, and Black-billed and Brown-capped weavers, and Red-headed Malimbe among the weavers we encountered. The striking L'Hoest's Monkey gave us a few good sightings as well, expanding our already decent primate list! Our afternoon outing was a bit rainy, and a bit less birdy, though we also covered far less ground and still picked up a few new birds, inlcuding Black-tailed Oriole, the dazzling Many-colored Bushshrike, Mosque Swallow, several more greenbuls (Red-tailed, Ansorge's and the rather local Toro Olive-Greenbul)), and Thick-billed Seedeater. We finished the day with great looks at a calling African Wood-Owl in the gardens of our lodge.
The next day we were on the move again, heading north to another great destination, Queen Elizabeth National Park. A few stops along the way garnered us a few new species-African Woolly-necked Stork, our only Augur Buzzard for the trip, Cassin's Flycatcher, Copper Sunbird--but by mid-afternoon we'd dropped down off the escarpment and entered the low-elevation plains around Lake Edward and the Kazinga Channel, where the immense QENP is located. Driving the highway that traverses the park, we began seeing large game animals again: buffaloes, Ugandan Kob, warthogs, and our first elephants. Our final two hours of daylight were spent doing a slow drive in towards our lodging, with plenty of reasons to stop. Senegal Lapwing, a huge Martial Eagle, African Gray Hornbill, beautiful Gray-headed Kingfishers, Black-headed Gonolek, Crimson-rumped Waxbill, and Green-winged Pytilia were among the many birds to slow our progress, while mammals also provided us some excitement, with plenty of close looks at elephants, a couple of Lions sprawled in the low branches of a tree, and finally, within sight of our lodge, a fantastic Leopard that appeared right next to our vehicles! What a great welcome to the park, and an excellent end to our day!
The next day was arguably one of our most exciting days of birding, and certainly was the most productive, as we tallied somewhere in the vicinity of 140 species that day! After breakfast in the company of a cheeky troop of Banded Mongooses, we spent the next several hours driving various tracks through the park, with birds like Crested Francolin, Beaudouin's Snake-Eagle, Marsh Tchagra, Isabelline Shrike, Moustached Grass-Warbler, Fan-tailed Grassbird, Rufous-chested Swallow, and many more. In the late morning we boarded a boat with some park rangers for a super two-hour cruise on the Kazinga Channel. Close up views of buffaloes and hippos (one of which charged the boat, forcing the ranger to gun the engine to avoid us being hit!) were enjoyed, but the birds were the main highlight. Scores of waterbirds lined the shores, including our first Kittlitz's Plovers, a big flock of African Skimmers, our only Saddle-billed Stork of the trip, African Sacred Ibis, African Spoonbill, both Great White and Pink-backed pelicans, and Goliath Heron. But perhaps the most exciting moment came courtesy of some bee-eaters. A colorful pair of bee-eaters perched above the water were originally called out as Red-throated Bee-eaters, but something didn't quite fit. Immediately after this, another pair of Red-throated Bee-eaters was called out, and upon looking at these birds, it was obviously not the same species. There was some initial confusion as the first birds didn't match anything on the Uganda bird list, but that was cleared up once we realized that they were White-fronted Bee-eaters, which were not known to occur in Uganda! We doubled back to take some pictures, thus getting the first documented record of this species for the country!
After a refreshing early afternoon break, we headed back out into the park, aiming for the more open grasslands in the Kasenyi sector of the park, though a trio of huge Verreaux's Eagle-Owls slowed our progress there. Things got of to an exciting start when Herbert spotted some animal ears sticking up above the tall grasses. We stopped to try to spot the animal again, and once we did, realized it was a Serval, a rarely-seen, long-legged, spotted cat of the savannas! Continuing on, we were surprised to find a number of gorgeous Harlequin Quail feeding in the burned areas alongside the track, allowing us to get great views of this little beauty. Also with them were a few Small Buttonquail, another hard-to-see grassland species. Black-lored Babbler, Flappet Lark, and African Firefinch were other new species encountered here, and we also added our only snake of the tour in the form of a large Puffadder that we very nearly ran over (and sadly looked like it had already had its tail run over). Driving back to the lodge in the dark, we were especially pleased to spot a large male Lion lounging not far off the road. He got up and moved off when we stopped for a look, letting out some loud roars as he went, a final bit of excitement at the end of an incredible day!
Our departure the next morning was somewhat delayed, as we learned the lodge we were heading for at Kibale NP had sustained some damage from a heavy rainstorm in the night, and would not be able to accommodate us. So, as Herbert got on the phone to sort out new arrangements, we spent roughly an hour and a half doing a "big sit" from the lawn outside the reception building. This proved far more productive than we imagined, as we tallied nearly 75 species including a handful of new ones. This included our first good looks at Blue-spotted Wood-Dove, a distant Black Heron doing its unique umbrella hunting behavior, a Montagu's Harrier, Brown-crowned Tchagra, and a pair of Cardinal Woodpeckers. The remainder of the morning was spent birding our way out of the park, and enjoying last looks at some of the big game while adding a handful of new birds--Striped Kingfisher, Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike, White-headed Barbet, Lesser Swamp-Warbler, and Yellow-throated Longclaw. After reaching Fort Portal in mid-afternoon, we waited out a heavy downpour for about an hour at a local hotel before stopping by a wetland area next to the road. This stop provided us with super looks at a beautiful White-collared Oliveback as well as a slightly less stunning, but equally range-restricted Chubb's Cisticola.
Another primate experience was on the books for the next day, so we headed into Kibale Forest NP for our mandatory briefing, then joined our local guide for the chimpanzee tracking. While the trails were not as steep or strenuous as on our gorilla outing, the chimps were far off into the forest, which made for a long and tiring hike to see them. We made a few stops on the way as birds presented themselves, picking up a modest number of new species in the form of Black-billed Turaco, Golden-crowned Woodpecker, Western Black-headed Oriole, Red-tailed Bristlebill, Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush, and White-tailed Ant-Thrush, but we tried to keep up the pace to get to the chimps. Despite our efforts, by the time we reached the area where the chimps had been feeding, the troop was on the move, and we had our work cut out to catch up with them. Happily, after some tough going, we finally did track them down and enjoyed some quality time with them, first as they fed and moved along the track, and then as a couple rested in the shade just yards away. Even more happily, the area where we finally caught up with the chimps was near a research camp in the forest, and our drivers were there with the vehicles waiting for us, saving us a long walk back!
After lunch and a break (and a Hairy-breasted Barbet!) back at the lodge, we went back into the park to bird along the main road. While the rain held off, the gray skies produced some difficult lighting conditions, and it was some hard work getting satisfying views of some birds. But we persevered and slowly pulled out some quality species--a Blue Malkoha in a vine tangle, a Yellow-spotted Barbet in a roadside treetop, a pair of Dusky Tits in a fruiting tree, an elusive Red-capped Robin-Chat in the dense undergrowth. Narrow-tailed and Purple-headed starlings, Yellow-mantled Weaver, and an Afep Pigeon were among the other species that helped keep the afternoon interesting. After dinner that night, a few of us went out for a guided night walk in the nearby Bigodi Swamp, primarily looking for nocturnal mammals. Great looks at Demidoff's Dwarf Galago, East African Potto, and African Palm Civet made this a fun and productive outing! On our final morning, we were seen off from our lodging by a stunning African Emerald Cuckoo, and picked up a couple of species on our way through the park, including Velvet-mantled Drongo, Sooty Flycatcher, and Fire-crested Alethe, but we had a long drive to get back to Entebbe, so we were on the road quite early. By late afternoon we were back where we started, at the Boma Hotel, where we had time to repack, shower, and enjoy a final dinner together before saying our goodbyes.
It had been a long time since I'd been to Uganda, and it was a lot of fun getting back and seeing the changes. Better roads, better lodging and overall infrastructure, and much more progressive attitudes in regards to women's roles, as evidenced both by the number of female guides at work in the country, and the creation of a Woman MP position, ensuring that every district has a female representative in parliament. It was truly heartening to see how far Uganda has come since my last visit! I owe a great deal of thanks to Herbert, who masterfully managed all the logistics as well as finding and identifying so many birds for us, as well as to Patricia, who's keen eyes and ears and cheery personality made birding with her a delight. Various other local guides were also excellent, contributing their local expertise to ensure we got the most out of our experiences, and our drivers, Sam and John got us around the country safely. And of course, thanks to Sharon back at the FG office for her work in ensuring all the little details were taken care of. I couldn't have done this trip without all the hard work of all of them. FInally, thank you to all of you for joining me on this tour. I truly enjoyed your company and your enthusiasm, and hope you all had as much fun as I did. I look forward to crossing paths with you all again on another tour, or just out birding somewhere.
Mammals seen on the trip:
Hammer-headed Fruit Bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus): seven roosting above the pool at Entebbe.
East African Potto (Perodicticus ibeanus): two or three on the Bigodi Swamp night walk.
Demidoff's Dwarf Galago (Galagoides demidoff): good looks at one on the Bigodi night walk.
Red-tailed Monkey (Cercopithecus ascanius): seen at Entebbe Botanical Gardens, Bwindi, and Kibale.
L'Hoest's Monkey (Allochrocebus lhoesti): a couple of these lovely monkeys were at Bwindi.
Tantalus Monkey (Chlorocebus tantalus): we were calling these Vervet Monkeys, but after a big split of the Vervet monkeys, it is this one that is the common species in Uganda.
Ugandan Crested Mangabey (Lophocebus ugandae): seen during the Chimp trek at Kibale.
Olive Baboon (Papio anubis): common in all the national parks visited.
Guereza (Colobus guereza): aka Black-and-white Colobus. Seen best at Entebbe Botanical Gardens, but also in Kibale.
Ashy Red Colobus (Piliocolobus tephrosceles): one with the above species seen from the hotel grounds at Kibale.
Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes): great experience with habituated ones at Kibale, then some unhabituated ones crossed ahead of us as we birded the main road through the park.
Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei): what a fantastic encounter with a group of 6 at Bwindi! A tough hike, but totally worth it with the close looks we had!
African Savanna Hare (Lepus microtis): one after dark as we returned to Mweya Lodge.
Boehm's Bush Squirrel (Paraxerus boehmi): seen by some at Bwindi.
Red-legged Sun Squirrel (Heliosciurus rufobrachium): one at the Entebbe Botanical Gardens.
Common Genet (Genetta genetta): one crossed the road ahead of the bus after dusk at Mburo.
African Palm Civet (Nandinia binotata): one in a fruiting tree during the Bigodi night walk.
Banded Mongoose (Mungos mungo): a group of these charming animals visited the restaurant during breakfast at Mweya.
White-tailed Mongoose (Ichneumia albicauda): one along the road at Mburo.
Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta): heard by Jurek and Agnieszka from Mweya Lodge.
Spot-necked Otter (Hydrictus maculicollis): a couple swimming just offshore at the Entebbe Botanical Gardens.
Serval (Leptailurus serval): the head and back of one could be seen above the tall grass at Kasenyi in QENP.
Leopard (Panthera pardus): amazing close views of one along the road near Mweya Lodge.
Lion (Panthera leo): two in a tree, with a third resting on a hillside a bit further along. And finally a large male roaring near the road after dark, all at QENP.
African Savanna Elephant (Loxodonta africana): large numbers daily at QENP.
Plains Zebra (Equus quagga): only at Lake Mburo, where the Burchell's subspecies is common.
Northern Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis): the Rothschild's subspecies was reintroduced into the park in 2015 after an absence of about 100 years. We saw several in the northern section of the park.
Common Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus): numerous at Mburo and QENP.
Common Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius): plenty both at Lake Mburo, where they were right among the cabins at our lodge, as well as at QENP.
Northern Bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus): one at Mburo, several more at QENP.
Common Eland (Tragelaphus oryx): a few of this huge antelope were seen at Mburo.
Cape Buffalo (Syncerus caffer): plenty at both Mburo and QENP.
Waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus): numerous at Mburo and QENP.
Kob (Kobus kob): fairly common at QENP.
Tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus): aka Topi. A few of these were among the zebras at Mburo.
Impala (Aepyceros malampus): Lake Mburo is the main Ugandan location for these graceful antelopes, and the only place we saw them.
We also saw a few herps:
Peters's Rock Agama (Agama picticauda): apparently the orange-headed agamas at the Boma are an introduced population of these, and not Finch's Agama, as I had thought.
Uganda Blue-headed Tree Agama (Acanthocercus ugandaensis): a female at the QENP lunch spot on our way out of the park was likely this species.
Multi-scaled Forest Lizard (Adolfus africanus): the green-sided lizard beside the trail at Bwindi.
Nile Monitor (Varanus niloticus): a young one being eaten by a Black-headed Heron was still squirming.
Puff Adder (Bitis arietans): on the road at Kasenyi (QENP), looking like a vehicle had run over its tail end, sadly.
Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus): in the Kazinga Channel during our boat trip.
Nutt's River Frog (Ameitia nutti): a couple by the creek on the Bigodi night walk.
Senegal Running Frog (Kassina senegalensis): one on a leaf during the Bigodi night walk.
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/461073
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/ugs25TRIPLIST.pdf
-- Jay