This morning enjoy the amazing experience of Chimp Tracking, as you walk through the Kibale Rainforest with a local guide, searching in the high rainforest canopy for these intelligent primates that are our closest relatives.
Kibale is home to 14 different primate species including the chimpanzee, black-and-white colobus, red colobus, red tailed monkey, blue monkey, olive baboon, grey-cheeked mangabey, bush baby, vervet and L’ Hoest’s monkey. Tracking a noisy chimp family is a thrilling experience and is best in the morning, when they come down to the forest floor to forage. The chimps are very mobile, so viewing can be quite unpredictable, but the walk itself is enchanting.
After returning to our lodge for lunch, we spend the rest of the afternoon birding along the main road through Kibale Forest, although the dense forest canopy does mean patience is needed. You can hope to see the huge Crowned eagle, the Black-and-white flycatcher, African grey parrot, Black-necked and Yellow-mantled weavers, the beautiful Blue turaco and maybe the secretive Black bee-eater. You may also see the Dusky long-tailed cuckoo, Narina's trogon, Grey-throated barbet, Least honeyguide, Honeyguide greenbul, White-tailed ant thrush, Fire-crested alethe, African shrike-flycatcher, Narrow-tailed starling and White-breasted nigrita (negrofinch). Also keep an eye out for the rate Green-breasted pitta.
Note: Chimp tracking is limited to small groups of up to 8 people, with a minimum age of 12 years. Please note the chimpanzees move a lot - sometimes far into the dense forest - so wear good walking shoes and expect to walk a lot today (up to 3 hours). Don’t forget your binoculars, as if the chimps don't come down from the trees you will need these.
If you do not wish to track chimps, we can spend the day searching for the endemic Green-breasted pitta, but this depends on whether the bird has been seen recently.