:: November 23 (Day 1) ::
We birded this first day in the Mabira Forest Area, breaking the morning and afternoon up into different areas. Great introduction to birding not far from Kampala where we were staying.
:: November 24 (Day 2) ::
This was probably the worst luck day of the trip, though we did thankfully at least all see a Shoebill. This was the only day we had to bird in heavy rain, which was basically the entire portion of our several hours in small boats in Mabamba Swamp.
Following Mabamba and a change into dry clothes, we stopped at the Equator for lunch, and then on to Rwakobo Rock Lodge to set up our birding in Lake Mburo National Park the next couple of days.
:: November 25 (Day 3) ::
We started off birding around Rwakobo Rock Lodge, before entering Lake Mburo National Park on our way to Lake Mburo itself where we had very productive boat trip. Afterwards we spent the rest of the day birding Lake Mburo NP before returning to the lodge for our last night at this location.
:: November 26 (Day 4) ::
Morning was spent birding the grounds of Rwakobo Rock Lodge, then a long trip out over some flooded and very muddy roads. We birded our way to Rusija and the Gorilla Mist Camp which would be our base for the next couple of days.
:: November 27 (Day 5) ::
This was our Gorilla Trekking Day, and we were lucky to have great weather and only a moderate distance to travel to get to our assigned Gorilla family to interact with. The afternoon was spent birding nearby to Gorilla Mist Camp, but with some nice Albertine Rift endemics on the itinerary.
:: November 28 (Day 6) ::
This whole day was spent hiking to Mubwindi Swamp, a fascinating high elevation (2100 m) wetland and a great area for several Albertine Rift endemics. We lucked out when our guides found a new Grauer's Broadbill nest and we all were treated to great looks at this, one of Africa's most sought-after birds.
:: November 29 (Day 7) ::
This day was spent birding Bwindi, the Ruhija area and then on "The Neck" for a few hours before heading to Buhoma Haven Lodge. Black Bee-eater was one of our main targets for this area, and we had some great looks here at the Neck.
:: November 30 (Day 8) ::
We birded around the grounds of Buhoma Haven Lodge early, then spent the rest of the day on Buhoma Main Trail, with a little rain along the way.
:: December 1 (Day 9) ::
We birded the first section of Buhoma Main Trail again, then hit the road heading to Ishasha, the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Ihamba Lakeside Safari Lodge, on the shores of Lake George was our very nice lodging for this and the following night.
:: December 2 (Day 10) ::
Out of a bunch of great days, this was definitely one of my favorites of the trip. We started early in Queen Elizabeth National Park, in the Kasenyi Tracks area. After lunch we made the drive to the Mwewa Peninsula to do the Kazinga Channel cruise on Lake Edward. The boat was non-stop action the entire cruise, with lots of gulls and shorebirds in particular to keep us occupied. Slender-billed Gull was one we definitely weren't expecting to get.
:: December 3 (Day 11) ::
We birded the morning along the edge of Lake George at the lodge. After hitting the road we stopped in Fort Portal Town to use a bank, then on our way to Chimpanzee Forest Lodge to set ourselves up for the Chimp trekking the following day. The afternoon was spent birding Bigodi Wetlands.
:: December 4 (Day 12) ::
This was our Chimpanzee trekking day, in Kibale National Park. Our morning started very well, seeing an African Golden Cat in the predawn drive, a first for our Guide Crammy a native Ugandan. We hit the trail before dawn, and spent some time in an area for Green-breasted Pitta, but no luck unfortunately. We eventually headed for the Chimps, which was a lot harder work than the Gorillas had been. But, we finally had some nice encounters and birded out the rest of the afternoon along the road in this area.
:: December 5 (Day 13) ::
We birded the morning around Chimpanzee Forest Guest House, then stopped to bird Sebitori, before making the lengthy drive to Misindi to spend the night at the Misindi Hotel, home of the Hemingway Bar.
:: December 6 (Day 14) ::
We birded the open areas around Misindi, getting our main targets like Cabanis's Bunting and Compact Weaver, before heading to Budongo Forest to bird the famous Royal Mile. The Royal Mile was very productive with the likes of Superb Sunbird, Blue-throated Roller, Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, and Ituri Batis.
:: December 7 (Day 15) ::
We birded the morning around Misindi again, then birded our way to the Butiaba Escarpment for a different biome again and a lot of new birds. We eventually made our way to Paraa Safari Lodge at Murchison Falls National Park, right along the Nile.
:: December 8 (Day 16) ::
We did a game drive in the morning along the Queens Track of Murchison Falls National Park, working our way along the north bank of the Nile. The afternoon was spent on a boat to the bottom of Murchison Falls which was very productive. We had a long day today, doing a night drive back thru some of the same areas we birded in the morning. One of the highlights of the trip was late in the day when we finally had some good looks at a couple of curious Lion cubs. The nocturnal trip was very productive as well, highlighted by a LARGE Puff Adder crossing the road in front of us.
:: December 9 (Day 17) ::
A little birding in the morning, going to the top of Murchison Falls this time, then a couple of stops later as we drove back to Entebbe to bid our guide farewell and prepare for the long flight home which was a late departure.
