Uganda - Mammals and Mountains Naturetrek Tour Report 15 - 27 January 2010 Elephants Gorilla Impala herd Banded Mongoose Banded Mongoose Report compiled by Rob Mileto Cob Images by kind courtesy of Gill Castle Naturetrek Cheriton Mill Cheriton Alresford Hampshire SO24 0NG England T: +44 (0)1962 733051 F: +44 (0)1962 736426 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk Uganda - Mammals and Mountains Tour Report Tour Leaders: Rob Mileto (Naturetrek Leader) Emmy Gongo (Local Guide & Driver) Participants: Sue Abblet John Dickman David Connell Helen Tate Gill Castle Day 1 Friday 15th January London Heathrow to Entebbe (via Amsterdam Schipol) Weather: Grey & cold at Heathrow, dry and humid at Entebbe Four of us departed an icy London Heathrow very early in the morning and met up with David and Helen at Schipol where we boarded our daytime flight to Entebbe. Arriving after dark, we met up with Emmy, our local guide and driver, changed some money and drove the short distance to our hotel, the Boma. We all got an early night. Day 2 Saturday 16th January Entebbe to Lake Mburo National Park (Mantana Camp) Weather: Thunderstorms overnight, clearing, then dry and sunny We awoke to some heavy showers but these soon cleared. Breakfast on the verandah was soon interrupted by our first bird, a Pied Crow. Packing and preparing to leave became a rather drawn out affair, as the garden was alive with birds including: Splendid Starling, Purple-banded Sunbird, African Hobby, White-browed Robin Chat and Red-eyed Dove. Hitting the road we had our first glimpse of Lake Victoria, with a shoreline Hamerkop. Once out of the suburbs of Kampala, we had a series of roadside stops including photos at the Equator and views of choice birds, the first of which were a gaggle of stunning Great Blue Turacos (a strong contender for “bird of the trip”). Other birds seen en route included Long-crested Eagle, Speckled Pigeon, Black and White Casqued Hornbill, 2 Wahlberg‟s Eagles at a nest and lovely Grey Crowned Cranes. Entering Lake Mburo National Park, our first mammal of the trip was Impala, closely followed by Olive Baboon. We pressed on to a late lunch at our tented camp (which was interrupted by a fly-past of Lappet-faced Vultures). Lunch was followed by a game drive which gave us views of Burchell‟s Zebra, Topi, Defassa Waterbuck, numerous Common Warthogs and an elusive Bohor Reedbuck. A host of birds were also spotted including the very smart Ross‟s Turaco, Bare-faced Go-away Bird and the stunning Black-headed Gonolek (which soon became a trip favourite). A fine dinner was followed by an early night. © Naturetrek June 10 1 Tour Report Uganda - Mammals and Mountains Day 3 Sunday 17th January Lake Mburo National Park to Lake Bunyonyi (Nature’s Island Camp) Weather: Sunny intervals, warm An early start and during the short drive to the shores of Lake Mburo we managed to spot Broad-billed Roller, Green Wood-hoopoe and a fine Double-toothed Barbet. There were also good views of Vervet Monkey (with young). On the lake shore there were Grey Wagtail and Dideric Cuckoo along with Black-headed and Lesser Masked Weavers and magnificent African Fish Eagles. Out on the lake, we were soon amongst large numbers of semi-submerged Hippopotamus and almost immediately spotted the rare and elusive African Finfoot. Other birds amongst the papyrus were Swamp Flycatcher, Slender-billed Weaver and the dainty & dazzling Malachite Kingfisher. Moving to more open areas of the shore, many more birds were to be seen, including numerous African Fish Eagles and Pied Kingfishers, Water Thick-knee, Common Sandpiper, Common Squacco Heron and a rather hidden, Giant Kingfisher. All to soon it was time to leave the lake and head towards the park exit. We made a small detour to attempt to see Eland but instead got excellent views of Impala, Defassa Waterbuck, Warthog, Bushbuck and a lovely Saddle-billed Stork. Lunch was a buffet where we were able to sample several local dishes (the local peanut sauce proved particularly popular, the matoke - mashed plantain, less so!) and a stop at one of the many roadside fruit markets had us tasting 3 types of local banana. A narrow winding road brought us to Bunyonyi lakeside at sunset and enjoyed a short boat ride to our island based camp. Day 4 Monday 18th January Lake Bunyonyi to Buhoma – Gorilla Resort (Bwindi Impenetrable Forest) via Kabale Weather: Sunny am and early pm, thunderstorms late pm Another interrupted breakfast on a veranda - this time the culprits were Blue-headed Coucals and Black-lored Babblers. A post-breakfast walk around the island added a fine handful of new birds including Augur Buzzard, Cape Wagtail, Mackinnon‟s Fiscal, Red-chested Cuckoo and many splendid Red-chested Sunbirds. Arriving back on the „mainland‟ and into bustling lakeside market, we popped into Kabale to post some cards. Outside the Post Office we were charmingly sold a variety of fruit by some enterprising teenagers. Then it was off on the bumpy track to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest with brief roadside stops to admire the scenery (fascinating steep cultivated terraces and distant views of the Virunga Volcanoes) and the birds (African Stonechat, Black Saw-wing, Pin-tailed Wydah). Once in the forest we almost immediately stumbled upon a couple of L‟Hoests Monkeys, a troupe of Guereza Colobus and a Carruthers‟ Mountain Squirrel along with a „hoest‟ of forest birds which included Chubb‟s Cisticola, Black-headed Weaver, Cinnamon-breasted Bee-eater and two Black Bee-eaters (Emmys favourite) perched only a few metres away from us close to their nest hole. 2 © Naturetrek June 10 Uganda - Mammals and Mountains Tour Report Lunch was at a quaint hilltop restaurant and then it was on, skirting the forest, tea plantations and smallholdings full of cabbages and waving children, arriving at the Gorilla Resort in the late afternoon (accompanied by a heavy rain storm). Conversations at dinner were very much centred on the prospect of Gorillas and the day ahead! Day 5 Tuesday 19th January Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Weather: Sunny, overnight thunderstorms Today was the much-anticipated “Gorilla Day”. Strolling down the bumpy track lined with gorilla-themed curio shacks we wondered what experiences lay ahead. At the park entrance we sorted the paperwork and listened to a briefing on what to expect and how to behave. We were split equally into two groups; John, David and Helen (along with 6 others) were allotted to the „R‟ group, a 19 strong clan, which the previous day had been an easy 30 minute walk away. Sue, Gill and Rob were placed with „M‟ group of 5 individuals, which required a 15 minute drive and then a predicted hour and a half‟s steep trekking. Some two hours later, on the edge of the forest and with many a precipitous and muddy slope behind us, we saw the first signs of „M‟ group – a large green poo and then a black shape in a tree. Leaving all but our essentials with our porters we slowly approached and then followed the group as they moved to the forest edge and out into the open. It is hard to convey what the next hour or so with these 5 gentle creatures was like. They did what gorillas do: eat, play, belch and pass wind and we did what we do: watch fascinated and take countless photos and videos. The „keep 7m away‟ and „avoid eye contact‟ rules went out of the window as the gorillas approached us and one adult black back (Kanyonyi) decided he wanted to have a feel of Gill‟s arm! Meanwhile „R‟ group had indeed been a relatively easy 30 minute walk away. They were mostly up in trees in dense forest and John had the dubious honour of being the target for gorilla waste! Back at the briefing point, still somewhat „light-headed‟ from our excursion, we all received a certificate and were encouraged to spread the word about this amazing experience. We also enjoyed some good views of Black and White Shrike on its nest. Dave headed straight off on a long guided walk through the forest while the rest of us took our time to return to Earth and then, in late afternoon, went on a short bird walk around a self-guided trail and were rewarded with views of Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, White-tailed Antbird and White-headed Bee-eater, as well as a rather lovely Red-tailed Monkey. Conversation at dinner was, predictably, largely Gorilla based with everyone agreeing the experience had exceeded all expectations. Our discussions were cut short however by the approach of a thunderstorm and we all dived back to our tents just in time to avoid a complete soaking. Day 6 Wednesday 20th January Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Weather: Sunny am, partly cloudy but dry pm © Naturetrek June 10 3 Tour Report Uganda - Mammals and Mountains This morning we split three ways: Dave and Sue were off on a second Gorilla trek to view the „R‟ group; Rob, Gill, John and Emmy were off on the long “waterfall walk” though the forest; while Helen was guided around the self-guided trail by Fred (a local guide). „R‟ group were in much the same location and up to much the same fascinating activities. The large silverback came down from the trees and gathered his extended family around him, which meant one of the sub adult members had to wander through the onlookers. The forest on the way to the scenic waterfalls was incredibly beautiful with the sun streaming through the greenery and alive with sound, although the source of the sound was usually deep in the shade and obscured by foliage.