14 Days Kidepo Valley National Park Birding

14 Days Kidepo Valley National Park Birding Trip

DAY 1: Kidepo Valley National Park, Arrival for Birding Kidepo Valley National Park Tour

14 Days Kidepo Valley Park, North-Eastern Uganda Birding Tour – Meet early and do an hour and a half drive to Mabamba, a Ramsar site and an Important Bird Area. The Mabamba wetland is one of the top two places in the world to find the Shoebill which is an uptick bird for so many birders on earth, and Africa’s number one and highly sought-after; the other spot is Murchison Falls National Park. Mabamba offers over 80% chances for seeing this alien-looking-like bird.

Driving there, we might get African Green Pigeon, Great Blue and Ross’s Turaco; they like patching high on the snags by the roadside. The wetland here is one of the top community-based initiatives in the country, and when we get there, we take community members’ used engine-powered boat that is big enough to carry a motorcycle.

While looking for the Shoebill, we should expect a collection of typical African water and nearby habitat birds like Malachite Kingfisher, Long-toed Lapwing, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, African Jacana and Yellow-billed Duck. Here are also high chances for African White-backed Duck, Lesser Jacana, Papyrus Gonolek, Blue-headed Coucal, African Marsh Harrier, Fan-tailed Widowbird, Common Waxbill, Grey-capped Warbler, Madagascar and Blue-cheeked Bee-eater depending on the season and several others.

Location: Kidepo Valley National Park

Accommodation Option:

Meals Plan: Breakfast and Lunch as well as Dinner

Drinking Water and Fruits Throughout the journey

DAY 2: Jinja Uganda -n Birding Mabira Forest

Today, we will spend our precious time birding Mabira forest for a good collection of Guinea-congo forest species. The quality of birds in this isolated forest is worth the time spent here. In the morning and the afternoon sessions, we will focus on finding the yellow-eyed and Red-tailed Bristlebill, Forest Robin, Brown-chested and Fire-crested Alethe, Scaly-breasted and Brown Illadopsis, Nahan’s Francolin among other ground-dwelling skulkers.

We will work hard in search of White-spotted flufftail which tends to love hanging around streams, Blue-shouldered and Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat, Yellow and Grey Longbills, Shinning Blue and Blue-breasted KingfisherS, Forest Woodhoopoe, Purple-throated Cuckoo-shrike, Lowland Sooty Boubou, Great Blue and Purple-crested Turaco along with several other good birds. These and several others, show well in the mid-strata and canopies but the skies are also great for Sabine’s and Cassin Spinetail and a few species of raptors.

Location: Jinja Uganda

Accommodation Option:

 Meals Plan: Breakfast and Lunch as well as Dinner.

Drinking Water and Fruits throughout

Day 3: Soroti – Birding to Soroti

Depending on the previous day’s findings, we will decide to do morning birding or continue to Soroti, birding through the Maddy areas and rice schemes. The Rice schemes are rich waterfowl, sometimes, uncommon birds like the Black Egret and Rufous-bellied Herons show up very nicely. Soroti is a town but a vantage location for setting off to the Fox’s Weaver and Karamoja Apalis locations.

Location: Soroti

Accommodation Option:

 Meals Plan: Breakfast and Lunch as well as Dinner.

Drinking Water and Fruits throughout

Day 4 : Birding Pakwi for the Fox’s Weaver

We escape Soroti town in the morning and head to Pakwi. This remote part of Kumi district is characterised by thorny whistling acacia and dry scrubs which are great for an impressive number of dry country birds. The whistling acacia holes attract a species of acacia ants which are a prime diet for the Fox’s Weaver and the hard to find Karamoja Apalis.

While looking for the two targets, the area can be great for a variety of seed-eating birds and birds of prey. Birds like the migratory Lesser Kestrel, Brown and Black-breasted Snake-eagle, Bateleur and Wahlberg’s Eagles, Black-headed Gonolek, Wattled Starling, Red-headed, Red-billed and Cardinal Quelea, Shelley’s Rufous Sparrow, Red-throated Pipit, Speckle-fronted Weaver, Allen’s Gallinule, African Pygmy Goose, Stout and Red-faced Cisticola and many more can be found without a hustle.

Location: Soroti

Accommodation Option:

 Meals Plan: Breakfast and Lunch as well as Dinner.

Drinking Water and Fruits throughout

Day 5: Mountain Elgon National Park – Transfer to Mountain Elgon National Park

Have an early breakfast and drive towards Sipi village for birding Mountain Elgon National Park. This beautiful forested mountain park harbours 43 of the 144 species of the Guinea-Congo Forests biome and 56 of the 88 species of Afro-tropical Highland biome that occur in Uganda. 14 Days Kidepo Valley Park, When we arrive, we spend the afternoon birding the environs all the to the fascinating Sipi Falls.

Location: Mountain Elgon National Park

Accommodation Option:

Meals Plan: Breakfast and Lunch as well as Dinner

Drinking Water and Fruits Throughout the journey

DAY 6 : Mountain Elgon National Park –  Birding Mountain Elgon National Park Trails

We will have breakfast and then head into the park’s montane forests. The elevation here is quite high; therefore, cold weather should be expected; for similar reasons, it is a better quality of birds here! The species here are high elevation loving. We shall cover some of the well-established trails in search for Abyssinian Ground-Thrush, Black-throated Wattle-eye, Black-collared Apalis, Scaly-throated Honeyguide, Abyssinian Crimsonwing, Jackson Francolin, , Moustached Tinkerbird, White-starred Robin, Cape Robin-Chat, Little Rock-Thrush, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, African Hill Babbler, White-browed Crombec, a few dark-coloured Starlings, Amythist Sunbird, and Hartlaub’s Turaco among others.

Location: Mountain Elgon National Park

Accommodation Option:

Meals Plan: Breakfast and Lunch as well as Dinner

Drinking Water and Fruits Throughout the journey

DAY 7: pain Upe Game Reserve –  Transfer to Pian Upe Game Reserve

Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve, although not a well-visited location by birders and other nature lovers, it is by far one of the most remarkable protected areas in Uganda. Virgin grassland and wooded habitats have created an incredibly welcoming habitat for dry country birds and very cool mammals that are highly sought after by travellers. 14 Days Kidepo Valley Park, On this note, this is the only park in the country where the handsome Roan antelopes can be seen.

We will search its Red acacia, Desert date, Bushwillows, Harrisonia abyssinica, and Red spike thorns as well as shrubs, such as butterfly pea and woolly caper bush for several Cisticola family birds. We will observe its sky for some magnificent birds of prey like the spectacular Secretary Bird, Fawny Lark, Red-fronted Tinkerbird, Hartlaub’s Bustard, Jackson’s Hornbill, and east African endemics like the Karamoja Apalis.

Location: Pian Upe Game Reserve

Accommodation Option:

Meals Plan: Breakfast and Lunch as well as Dinner

Drinking Water and Fruits Throughout the journey

DAY 8: pain Upe Game Reserve – Whole Day Birding of Pian Upe and Surroundings

Location: Pian Upe Game Reserve

Accommodation Option:

Meals Plan: Breakfast and Lunch as well as Dinner

Drinking Water and Fruits Throughout the journey

DAY 9: Kidepo Valley National Park, Birding to Kidepo Valley National Park via Moroto and Matheniko Game Reserve

This stretch is about driving through villages and communities. It is all dry country and usually the best time to find Blue-capped, Steel-blue Whydah and Long-tailed Paradise-Whydah. 14 Days Kidepo Valley Park, We will look out for them and also scan through thickets for Rufous Chatterer and d’Arnaud’s Barbet along with several other birds that have this for a home.

Location: Kidepo Valley National Park

Accommodation Option:

Meals Plan: Breakfast and Lunch as well as Dinner

Drinking Water and Fruits Throughout the journey

Day 10, 11, and 12:Kidepo Valley National Park – Birding Kidepo Valley National Park

Three full days will be spent exploring Kidepo; activities will include bird watching, day and night game drives, a cultural visits to the Karamajong communities for some cultural performances, game, and bird walks within the park as well as comfortable.

Kidepo Valley National Park is the least explored of all Uganda’s parks and yet proves to offer the best as far as ornithological trips are concerned.  Kidepo has a record of up to 480 species in total, making it the second-highest after Queen Elizabeth National Park of all the protected areas in the country. Being the only IBA located entirely within the Somali– Masai biome, 28 species from the Somali-Masai and Sudan–Guinea Savanna biomes are endemic to this park in Uganda.

The Narus Valley and the Ostrich areas are fantastic spots for an exceptional birding experience. The Common Ostrich, Secretary Bird, Scissor-tailed Kite, Eastern Chanting Goshawk, Pygmy Falcon, Fox Kestrel, Stone Partridge, Clapperton’s, Heuglin’s, Yellow-necked Francolins, Kori, White-bellied and Hartlaub’s Bustards love it here. The uncommon Violet-tipped Courser, Black-headed Lapwing, Four-banded Sand Grouse, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Rose-ringed Parakeet, White-crested Turaco, White-bellied Go-away bird, White-faced Scoops-Owl, Long-tailed and Standard-winged Nightjars, Little Green Bee-eater, Abyssinian and Rufous-crowned Rollers, the Abyssinian Ground, Eastern Yellow and Jackson’s Hornbills are also among the many birds we will look for. Still while scanning the scrubs and walking through dry country thorny acacia; Red-fronted and Black-breasted Barbets, Brown-backed Woodpecker. Are just a few of the 480 bird species the Park boosts yet very likely to be seen.

Kidepo’s mammal list

Kidepo’s mammal list of over 80 species includes 28 species not found in any other Ugandan National park. Amongst these are such charismatic African animals as Bat-eared Fox, Caracal, Cheetah, and Klipspringer. Unfortunately, Kidepo suffered the same fate as many other Ugandan parks during the 1970s and 1980S and is still recovering from years of poaching that left game herds depleted. Spotted Hyena, Lesser Kudu, Grant’s gazelle and Beisa Oryx have not been seen at all in recent times and were presumed to be locally extinct. Other large mammals have shown a remarkable recovery and there are now healthy populations of Elephant, Common Zebra, Buffalo, Bohor Reedbuck, Waterbuck, and Kongoni.

Predators are plentiful and Spotted Hyena, Leopard and Lion are frequently seen. 14 Days Kidepo Valley Park, The Oribis are abundant in the Narus Valley, whilst the dry thorn thickets in the north are home to Guenther’s Dik-Dik. The Senegal Galago and Side-striped Jackal may be found in the rest camp at night, and White-tailed Mongoose is common but more likely to be found on a night drive. The park also has a vibrant and diverse reptile fauna.

Location: Kidepo Valley National Park

Accommodation Option:

Meals Plan: Breakfast and Lunch as well as Dinner

Drinking Water and Fruits Throughout the journey

Day 13: Gulu – Bird Watching to Gulu

The drive from Kidepo Valley NP to Entebbe is very long with over 10 hours drive yet there are possible suitable species to pick along the way, we consider spending a night at Gulu town

Location: Gulu

Accommodation Option:

 Meals Plan: Breakfast and Lunch as well as Dinner.

Drinking Water and Fruits throughout

 Day 14: Birding to Entebbe for Departure

Location: Entebbe International Airport

Accommodation: On Accommodation

Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Drinking Water and Fruits Throughout

Thank you for specifically Choosing Paradise Adventure Vacations and we hope to see you again!!

We believe in value for money. Every guest would like to have the most reliable and comfortable vehicles on safari. In response to the clients’ needs, we have a very strict vehicle replacement policy that ensures a young fleet at all times. We have a total fleet of 225 well-maintained motor vehicles, predominantly 4-wheel drives. This does away with the problem of sub-contracting vehicles and driver-guides, which may compromise the quality of services. Our safari vehicles are specifically converted for maximum space and comfort. All of them have hatched roof and sliding windows to facilitate good viewing and convenient photography during game drives and sight seeing.