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AVIAN SAFARIS 22 DAY UGANDA BIRDING AND NATURE TOUR ITINERARY Date: July 17 To August 7, 2017 Tour Leader: Crammy Wanyama Trip Report and all photos by Crammy Wanyama Madagascar Pond Heron- A rare sighting encountered with this big catch Intro: This 22 day Uganda birding and Nature trip was a customized for three. We covered a multitude of habitats Uganda the “Pearl of Africa” is gifted with. We birded inland fresh water shower lines & and rivers, woodlands, bushes and thickets, true Savanna, from Montane to mid elevation and down to lowland forests. Covering the African continent’s most important birdlife biomes – Albertine Rift Montane Forest, East Sudanian Savannah, Northern Acacia-Commiphora Bushlands and thickets, Northern Congolian Forest-Savanna Mosaic, Victoria Basin Forest-Savannah Mosaic, and Zambezian Flooded Grasslands, among others. We did well with local specialties; getting some of Africa’s most sought-after species- Shoebill, Grauer’s Broadbill, Green-breasted Pitta, Eastern Mountain Gorilla and Common Chimpanzee. Well favoured by weather, generally. Some evening showers were well appreciated for cooler mornings. The country was generally green which is normally the case during and after the rain seasons, and probably best times for breeding resident species Avian Safaris: Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.aviansafaris.com AVIAN SAFARIS and both wildlife & scenic photography. A few parts like Lake Mburo and Ishasha the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park needed some rain, the later happening to be the driest during the trip, most of the grass here was golden brown. All in all, this was a fantastic trip. We came across 562 bird species of which leader and at least a member in the group saw 533, 22 were only heard and 7 seen by leader only. 54 species of mammals were seen, 51 of these by the group and 3 by guide only. 9 species of reptiles seen Day 1 – July 17, 2017: Arrival For Tour. As the arrival time for the flight was getting closer, the weather was perfect for birding with a 25 degrees cc average temperature. At the airport, Hans showed up fast and together we waited for Dominick and Andre. Telling me about the flight, Little Swifts showed up, becoming the first bird with one of the participants of the tour. The two show up and before leaving the airport, we already got to a few birds; Little Swifts, Grey-backed Fiscal, Red-eyed Dove, Black-headed Heron, Ruppell’s Starling, African Pipit and Cattle Egret. It was a seven minutes drive from the airport to Entebbe Traveller’s Inn where the first Ugandan night was to be spent. On the way to the Inn, got a pair of Hadada Ibis, 5 Spur-winged Lapwings- these have adopted pretty well to the airport field, you would expect finding them along shower lines, and savannah parks! Pied Crow, Pied and Woodland Kingfishers. We got to the Inn in good time for afternoon birding, so we made the best use we could of the place; checked in, had a quick briefing and off to the Entebbe Botanical Gardens. These gardens are much rewarding compared to some usual ones; it is Avian Safaris: Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.aviansafaris.com AVIAN SAFARIS easy birding here in the open habitats and getting some really good birds for starter. Northern Black Flycatcher- Good observations of this and other family members A few meters to the entrance, we got a singing and preening Northern Black Flycatcher who was sharing a power-line with two Woodland Kingfishers. The group got a head of me with a Common (Dark-capped) Bulbul, and together we got our first pair of Hooded Vultures that were followed by uncooperative Northern Puffback and Egyptian Geese perched and calling up in the trees. A pair of preening Black-and-White Casqued Hornbills showed up before we got destructed by a stunning male of the Scarlet-chested Sunbird and then one calling Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird who we managed to get good observations of a few minutes later. Marabou Stork and African Openbill presented very well, we got very good views of a couple of Red-billed Firefinch and a very close by, a pair of Tawny- flanked Prinia was busy feeding their your, we got good views of Olive-bellied, Collared and Red-chested Sunbirds, African Yellow White-eyes and a family of Mantled Guereza at this spot. Continuing our walk towards the lake, we caught sight of a pair of Ross’s Turaco roosting in a not best position for observation. We went a little closer to a position where we got a lot more acceptable views. While trying out some photography, a pair of earlier poorly observed Crowned Hornbills showed up with three more individuals, the light was really good on these birds and the fact that they were at eye level and a lot more closer than the Turacos, we switched attention to them. Continuing with the walk, we added Broad-billed Roller, Vieillot’s Avian Safaris: Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.aviansafaris.com AVIAN SAFARIS Weaver, a couple of Great Blue Turacos, Angola Swallow, Hamerkop, Wahlberg’s Eagle, a singing Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat, Winding Cisticola some distant Long- tailed and Great Cormorants. Still scanning in the distance, we locked on two a pair of White-backed Night-herons whom we decided to walk down to for closer looks. We got closer looks with a few branches crossing between us and the birds. Other very good birds seen along the shoreline included our targeted- Orange Weaver, Black-headed, Slender-billed and Village Weavers, Black Crake, a juvenile Blue- headed Coucal, a pair of Black-headed Gonolek, Grey-capped Warbler, White- chinned Prinia, Mayer’s Parrot, Swamp Flycatcher, Klaas’s Cuckoo, African thrush, a pair of Palmnut Vultures parched in the tree tops and later fly by for better observations, Striated Herons, Yellow-throated Long-claw- spotted out be Andre, African Green and Speckled Pigeons, and a pair of Yellow-throated Greenbuls. We retired to the Inn, perfect timing for checklist, diner and first Ugandan night for the team. Day 2 – July 18, 2017: Birding Mabamba Wetland And Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park. We had our first early breakfast getting set for Mabamba Wetland. The Shoebill being the most iconic bird of the trip, we gave attention to getting to the location. However, this is Uganda, you can hardly bird to your location without some good birds coming into your way. Some fifteen minutes drive towards Kampala got us to a dirt road, which is quicker access to Mabamba. Driving past big colonies of breading Vieillot’s and Village Weavers, we got o our first pair of Double-toothed Barbet perched at the highest point of one pretty large dead tree, nearby was a Northern Black Flycatcher whose views were not really better than the previous one at Entebbe Botanical Gardens. While still observing the barbets, a White-shouldered Black-Tit came in; we got good looks at this one being able to pick out his pale iris. Driving along, a quick fly-over sighting of the African Hobby by me alone, one flitting African Blue Flycatcher somehow attracted the attention of Northern Puffback and Common Bulbul and off they started mobbing each other. We drove past a maize mill and got eight Village Indigobirds by the power lines, urban seed-eating birds love these spots. We saw a few more Angola Swallows, Pin-tailed Whydah, Fan- tailed Widowbird, Grey Kestrel, African Pied Wagtail and as we were approaching Mabamba, we got fly-off views of Yellow-fronted Canary and a well displaying Brimstone Canary. We got to the boat and headed for the famous and lovely marshes. A pair of Swamp Flycatchers accompanied by a very nice and patient Hamerkop, Blue-headed Coucal, Malachite Kingfisher and some very audible Winding Cisticolas, received us. We got Avian Safaris: Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.aviansafaris.com AVIAN SAFARIS tipped off about the location of the Shoebill and straight we headed there; we got our first one in hunting mode and before he could complete his mission, flew some ninety meters away after being threatened by a flying helicopter. To our advantage, the new location was just by the path that brought us in. We added some African classic waterfowl, which included a couple of Yellow-billed Ducks, African Jacana, White-faced Whistling Ducks, African Pygmy Goose, African Swamphen, Eurasian and Lesser Moorhens, Long-toed Lapwing, Great, Little and Intermediated Egrets, Squacco, Purple and four Rufous-bellied Herons, Grey-hooded Gull, and Long-tailed Cormorants. Along with them were Common Waxbills, Cape Wagtail, Yellow- throated Longclaw, Carruther’s Cisticola, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, not the best views of Greater Swamp Warbler, a coupe of Wayne’s, Northern Brown-throated and Holub’s Golden Weavers, Black-shouldered Kite hovering in a distance, African Marsh Harriers, African Harrier-hawk. On our way out of the marsh a second Shoebill flew across the channel and landed some 70 meters in the marsh, she was visible from Tibia and above. This is a very good view because sometimes the sedge can cover this gigantic bird to the upper breast. Lesser Jacana and Papyrus Gonolek did very well at eluding us while we worked hard for them. Avian Safaris: Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.aviansafaris.com AVIAN SAFARIS The Shoebill- We saw three individuals of the most iconic bird of the trip It was close to lunchtime, so we decided to drive ahead and enjoy our packed one at the welcoming Flamingo Joint at the equator.
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