ECO-ROYAL

Birding at Entebbe Botanical Gardens & Mabamba Swamps (2 days)

Day One: Drive to Entebbe Botanical Gardens.

In the morning after breakfast drive to Entebbe Botanical Gardens. You will see the beauty of the gardens, trees, with ubundance of flora. The beautifully landscaped botanical Garden Entebbe host a variety of open country and woodland species and you can easily spend a pleasant couple of hours there.

The tall trees near the main entrance are the favorite day-roost of a pair of Verreaux’s eagle owls. The spectacular birds of the gardens are orange tufted and red chested Sunbirds and orange weaver. The latter breed in the bushes on the shores of Lake Victoria along with slender-billed, Northern Brown–throated, yellow backed, Jackson’s Golden–backed, Black-headed and Vieillot’s black weavers. The rocky headland makes an ideal observation point.

On the lake and around the shore looks for long tailed Cormorant, Common Squacco and black-headed herons, hamerkop, African Open-billed Stork, yellow billed duck, Grey headed gull, various terns, giant and pied Kingfishers and swamp Flycatcher. Scan the boats at the large jetty near the Pratincoles (2-3 pairs are usually present). Black headed Gonolek and Red- chested Sunbird occur in the dense scrub covering the headland.

There is a small remnant patch of rainforest where Guereza Colobus and vervet monkeys can be observed next to great Blue and Ross’s turacos, Klaas’s and Diederik Cuckoos, Woodland Kingfisher, Broad-billed Roller, Black and white casqued horn bill and splendid starling. Two highly vocal and conspicuous species you should find in the gardens are African Fish eagle and eastern Grey Plantain-eater, the latter constantly uttering their strange, chimp-like calls. Other Species to watch for include Hadada Ibis, palmnut and Hooded Vultures, Shikra, Lizard buzzard, Long-crested eagle, Grey kestrel, Black Crake, Blue-cheeked Bee eater, Angola swallow, winding and red faced cisticolas, Grey capped warbler, common wattle-eye, and Green-throated and scarlet-chested Sunbirds.

We take a lunch break and check in at your lodge along the harbors of Lake Victoria which is the second largest lake in the world and largest in Africa. After the viewing drive back to your hotel.

Day Two: Drive to Mabamba Island.

After breakfast drive to Mabamba swamp in the morning with your packed lunch. It is one of the most interesting and spectacular site for bird watching in Uganda. Apart from Murchison Falls National Park, Mabamba swamp is the only site where the elusive Shoebill “Balaeniceps rex” can be spotted at any one time of the day. Expect to see more birds like grey headed gull, white winged terns, Yellow billed egret, Madagascar bee-eater, long toed plover many others.

We take a drive back to Kampala reaching their in the late afternoon.

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