Uganda in seventeen days: three Shoebills, two gorilla treks, a hyena hunt before breakfast, and a sky full of migrating storks. This is the trip report from our March 2026 departure with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Victor Emanuel Nature Tours (VENT) — and a look at what a Bird Uganda Safaris expedition actually feels like, day by day.

Trip at a Glance

• Destination: Uganda
• Dates: 8–24 March 2026 (17 days)
• Organiser: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Operator: Victor Emanuel Nature Tours (VENT)
• Local ground handler: Bird Uganda Safaris
• Group size: 13 international birders
• Tour Leader: Ian Owen, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Field Leader: Barry Lyon, Victor Emanuel Nature Tours
• Senior Guide: Herbert Byaruhanga, Bird Uganda Safaris

Why Birders Choose a Uganda Birding Safari

Winston Churchill called Uganda the "Pearl of Africa," and after seventeen days in the field with this group, it's easy to see why the name has stuck. Uganda packs more than 1,060 recorded bird species — including 24 found nowhere else on Earth outside the Albertine Rift — into a country you can drive across in a day. Savanna, rainforest, wetland and montane forest all sit within easy reach of one another, which means a single trip can deliver what would normally take separate expeditions on separate continents.

It's also the only place on Earth where you can track Mountain Gorillas in the morning and be watching Albertine Rift endemics by afternoon. That combination — world-class primates and world-class birding, on the same itinerary — is what keeps bringing serious birders and luxury wildlife travellers back.
"We come to Uganda because of its birds, yes — but also because of its people. The growth of citizen science here is extraordinary, and it is helping build a data-rich picture of one of Africa's most important ornithological nations."

Ian Owen, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

The Expedition, Day by Day

Days 1–3: Settling In at Entebbe

Thirteen birders from across the globe converged on Entebbe, with arrivals staggered by long-haul travel and, for a few, disruptions linked to unrest in the Middle East. From the moment each guest landed, the Bird Uganda Safaris ground team — led by Herbert Byaruhanga — had transfers and logistics running smoothly, so the trip began with confidence rather than travel fatigue.

The group based itself at the Protea Hotel by Marriott Entebbe, just minutes from the airport, using the first days to rest, settle in and enjoy some easy birding in the hotel's lakeside gardens.

[IMAGE: The group at Entebbe Botanical Gardens — alt: "Birding group at Entebbe Botanical Gardens, Uganda"]

Day 3: The Shoebill at Mabamba Wetland

Track the Legendary Shoebill in Mabamba SwampMabamba Wetland has a quiet reputation among birders worldwide — it's where people come for one bird. Narrow wooden boats, paddled in silence by local community guides, slipped through channels cut into towering papyrus on Lake Victoria's shore.

Then, standing motionless at the edge of the reeds: the Shoebill. Massive, clog-billed, and utterly prehistoric. The group recorded three individual Shoebills in a single outing — an exceptional result by any measure, and enough to leave even the most seasoned birders in the group speechless.

Mabamba delivered well beyond its headline act, with sightings including:

• Shoebill
• Purple Heron
• Blue-breasted Kingfisher
• Yellow-billed Duck
• African Openbill Stork
• African Fish Eagle
• Common Sandpiper
• African Jacana, African Pygmy Goose and numerous herons and egrets

Days 4–5: Lake Mburo National Park

Heading west, the group broke the journey at Igongo Cultural Centre & Country Hotel before spending two days at Lake Mburo — Uganda's smallest national park, and proof that size has little to do with quality. Dawn game drives brought Burchell's Zebra, Impala, Topi, Waterbuck, Olive Baboon and Warthog through golden acacia woodland.

A boat excursion on the lake then shifted the focus from land to water: Hippopotamus, Nile Crocodile, and — briefly, almost ghost-like — the elusive African Finfoot, gliding along the shaded banks before disappearing again. For a group of experienced birders, it was a genuine "pinch me" moment.

Days 6–8: Bwindi — Gorillas, Forest Birds and Albertine Rift Endemics

From Lake Mburo, the expedition moved into the ancient, mist-layered rainforest of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, home to nearly half of the world's remaining Mountain Gorillas. The group stayed at Mahogany Springs Lodge, right on the forest edge, where mornings began with birdsong from the canopy.

Gorilla tracking day split the group into two teams. Conditions favoured them — the gorilla families had moved to lower elevations — and both treks were fully successful.

The following day turned to forest birding along Bwindi's Albertine Rift trails, with highlights including:

• Black-tailed Oriole
• Verreaux's Eagle-Owl
• White-tailed Blue Flycatcher and African Blue Flycatcher
• Luhder's Bush-Shrike
• Northern Double-collared Sunbird and Bronze Sunbird
• Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat
• Pale-throated Greenbul and numerous other Albertine Rift endemics

Days 9–11: Queen Elizabeth National Park — A Hunt Before Breakfast

Queen Elizabeth National Park swaps Bwindi's misty forest for wide-open savanna, framed by the Kazinga Channel. The group's base, Mweya Safari Lodge, was built in the 1950s as the park's first lodge and famously hosted Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, in 1954.

One morning over coffee on the terrace, a Spotted Hyena appeared on the plains below — and within moments had taken down a full-grown Warthog. The group watched in silence, an encounter as raw as safari gets.

"I will bring my family here. Uganda has given me the best experience I have ever had in the tropics."

Barry Lyon, Field Leader, Victor Emanuel Nature Tours

An afternoon cruise along the Kazinga Channel brought the group close to Hippopotamus, African Buffalo, elephant, and Nile Crocodile, with Great White Pelican, African Spoonbill and African Skimmer working the water's edge.

Days 12–13: Kibale Forest — Chimpanzees and Birding From the Balcony

North of Queen Elizabeth lies Kibale National Park, Uganda's primate capital. The group's lodge, Chimpundu Lodge, sits right at the forest edge — birding started from the terrace and balconies, no early departure required. Overhead, troops of Uganda Red Colobus and Guereza Black-and-white Colobus moved through the canopy, and chimpanzee tracking delivered a full hour with a habituated community.

Kibale's bird highlights included:

• Blue Malkoha
• Olive-bellied Sunbird
• Red-capped Robin-Chat
• Red-chested Cuckoo
• Green Crombec
• Jackson's Wattle-eye
• Red-headed Malimbe

Days 14–15: Budongo Forest and the Royal Mile

The route continued north to Masindi, staying at the historic Masindi Hotel — built in 1923 for travellers on the old railway and river routes to Lake Albert, the Congo and Sudan. From here, the group birded the Royal Mile of Budongo Forest, widely regarded as one of Africa's single most productive birding transects.

Overnight rain made the forest track temporarily impassable, so the team adapted and birded the main road corridor instead — a decision that still delivered nearly every target species, plus a troop of Blue Monkey. Highlights included:

• Chocolate-backed Kingfisher
• African Dwarf Kingfisher
• Blue-breasted Kingfisher
• White-thighed Hornbill
• Lemon-bellied Crombec
• Spotted Greenbul
• Forest Flycatcher, Red-capped and Chestnut-capped Flycatcher
• Chestnut-crowned Eremomela
• Crowned Eagle
• Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo
• Marsh Tchagra
• Scaly Francolin

Days 16–17: Murchison Falls National Park — The Grand Finale

Uganda's largest national park closed out the trip in style. The group spent three nights at Paraa Safari Lodge, overlooking the Nile's northern bank, with game drives producing Lion, Spotted Hyena, Rothschild's Giraffe, Lelwel Hartebeest, Uganda Kob, Oribi and Common Genet — plus the rare privilege of watching millions of migrating Abdim's Storks pass overhead.

Vulture diversity was outstanding, with four species recorded: White-backed Vulture, Rüppell's Griffon Vulture, Hooded Vulture and Lappet-faced Vulture.

A boat trip to the base of Murchison Falls — where the entire Nile is forced through a seven-metre gap in the rock — was voted one of the trip's most exhilarating moments, with dense concentrations of hippos, crocodiles and waterbirds lining the banks below the thundering falls.

Trip Highlights at a Glance

Wildlife Encounters

• Three Shoebills observed at close range, Mabamba Wetland
• Mountain Gorilla tracking — two group sessions, both fully successful
• Chimpanzee tracking, Kibale Forest — a full hour with a habituated community
• A Spotted Hyena hunt witnessed from the Mweya Lodge terrace
• Millions of migrating Abdim's Storks over Murchison Falls
• Rothschild's Giraffe, Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Hippo and Nile Crocodile

Selected Bird Highlights

• Shoebill — 3 individuals, Mabamba Wetland
• African Finfoot — Lake Mburo
• White-backed Night Heron — Lake Mburo
• African Dwarf Kingfisher and Chocolate-backed Kingfisher — Budongo Forest
• White-thighed Hornbill and Crowned Eagle — Budongo Forest
• Verreaux's Eagle-Owl, Black-tailed Oriole and Luhder's Bush-Shrike — Bwindi
• Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat — Bwindi
• Red-headed Malimbe, Jackson's Wattle-eye and Blue Malkoha — Kibale
• Giant Kingfisher — Entebbe
• African Fish Eagle — Mabamba and Lake Mburo
• Abdim's Stork — millions on migration, Murchison Falls
• White-backed, Rüppell's Griffon, Hooded and Lappet-faced Vulture — Murchison Falls

Where We Stayed

• Protea Hotel by Marriott, Entebbe — comfortable international hotel
• Igongo Cultural Centre & Country Hotel — culturally rich and welcoming
• Mahogany Springs Lodge, Bwindi — boutique lodge on the forest edge
• Mweya Safari Lodge, Queen Elizabeth National Park — colonial charm, built in the 1950s
• Chimpundu Lodge, Kibale — birding from the balcony
• Masindi Hotel — colonial-era landmark built in 1923
• Paraa Safari Lodge, Murchison Falls — on the banks of the Nile
• The Boma Hotel, Entebbe — a fitting farewell stay

Meet the Team

• Ian Owen, Tour Leader, Cornell Lab of Ornithology — scientist and a genuinely inspiring speaker
• Barry Lyon, Field Leader, Victor Emanuel Nature Tours — decades of global guiding experience, now a devoted Uganda convert
• Herbert Byaruhanga, Senior Guide, Bird Uganda Safaris — encyclopaedic knowledge of Uganda's birds and deep roots across the country
• Patricia Kansiime, Volunteer Guide — brilliant in the field
• Michael & Jan, Drivers — patient, expert, and got everyone everywhere safely and comfortably

Frequently Asked Questions

How many bird species can you see on a Uganda birding safari?

Uganda has more than 1,060 recorded bird species — one of the highest totals of any country in Africa — including 24 species found only in the Albertine Rift. A well-planned two-to-three-week itinerary like this one can realistically deliver several hundred species across savanna, wetland and rainforest habitats.

Can you combine gorilla trekking with birding in Uganda?

Yes — Uganda is one of the only places on Earth where the two combine naturally on a single trip. This group tracked Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and went straight into Albertine Rift endemic birding on the same forest trails, without adding extra travel days.

When is the best time to visit Uganda for birding?

March offers excellent birding conditions, migratory species such as Abdim's Stork moving through in large numbers, and reliable access to gorilla families. Uganda is a year-round birding destination, but a well-timed departure adds moments like the mass stork migration witnessed at Murchison Falls on this trip.

Is Uganda a good alternative to Kenya or Tanzania for birding and safari?

Uganda is often overlooked in favour of its neighbours — but with over 1,060 bird species, the world's most reliable Shoebill population, gorilla trekking alongside world-class birding, and a growing range of excellent luxury lodges, it's quietly becoming Africa's finest all-round wildlife destination.

Ready to See Uganda for Yourself?

Uganda often gets overlooked in favour of its neighbours — Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. It shouldn't be. With the world's most reliable Shoebill population, the only place on Earth where you can track gorillas in the morning and bird Albertine Rift endemics in the afternoon, and a growing range of genuinely excellent luxury lodges, Uganda is quietly becoming Africa's finest all-round wildlife destination.

As Barry Lyon put it after his first visit: Uganda gave him "the best tropical experience of his career."

Bird Uganda Safaris is Uganda's premier luxury birding and wildlife safari operator, and the local ground partner behind this Cornell Lab of Ornithology / Victor Emanuel Nature Tours departure. If you'd like to plan your own Uganda birding safari — or hear about future Cornell Lab / VENT departures — get in touch directly. Spaces are limited and fill up well in advance.

In partnership with Victor Emanuel Nature Tours and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.