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Birdwatching Uganda Including Elgon and Kidepo Dec-Jan 2018/19 by Theis Bacher Nielsen and Anders Bacher Nielsen

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Birdwatching Uganda Including Elgon and Kidepo Dec-Jan 2018/19 by Theis Bacher Nielsen and Anders Bacher Nielsen Shoebill, Mabamba Swamps Birdwatching Uganda including Elgon and Kidepo Dec-Jan 2018/19 By Theis Bacher Nielsen and Anders Bacher Nielsen This report summarizes a trip made over Christmas and New Year 2018/2019. After evaluating several options, we decided to plan the trip ourselves but with local assistance. We had a guide and an 4WD the entire trip and we decided to include locations not regularly visited by birders, namely Elgon National Park and Kidepo National Park. Kidepo NP added 90 bird species only seen there while Elgon NP added another 26 species only seen there. Many of these birds can of course be seen elsewhere in Uganda (and we did not look actively for them after first sighting) but especially Kidepo NP is highly recommended. The “detour” from Lira is manageable and the birding, the scenery and the lodges there are fantastic. Also, try to get the local ranger/guide Zakari, he is fantastic. As a bonus we encountered a Giant Pangolin during an evening drive. We saw a total number of 620 species. The itinerary Date Route – Activity Hotel National Park/activity payments per person 23rd Dec Birding Entebbe Botanical Garden Precious Guesthouse 10,000UGX 24th Dec Mabamba Swamps → Mabira Griffin Falls Camp Minor entrance fee and a boat/guide fee Forest 25th Dec Mabira Forest The Rainforest Lodge 20,000UGX entrance, 80,000UGX activity 26th Dec Mabira → Elgon Sipi River Lodge None 27th Dec Elgon → Lira Gracious Palace Hotel 35US$ entrance, 30US$ activity 28th Dec Lira → Kidepo Kidepo Savanna Lodge None 29th Dec Kidepo Kidepo Savanna Lodge 40US$ entrance, 20US$ ranger, 30,000UGX car 30th Dec Kidepo - Narus Valley Kidepo Savanna Lodge 40US$ entrance, 20US$ ranger, 30,000UGX car 31st Dec Kidepo → Murchinson Falls Heritage Safari Lodge None 1st Jan Murchinson Falls → Masindi Masindi Kolping B&B 40US$ entrance, car 30,000UGX (24 hours) 2nd Jan Budongo - Royal Mile → Masindi Masindi Kolping B&B 30US$ entrance, local guide 30US$ (both paid in UGX) 3rd Jan Masindi → Kibale Isunga Lodge 40US$ entrance, 30US$ activity 4th Jan Bigodi Wetland Isunga Lodge 50,000UGX entrance 5th Jan Kibale Forest → Semuliki Bumaga Camp Bandas None 6th Jan Semuliki Bumaga Camp Bandas 35US$ entrance, 30US$ activity 7th Jan Semuliki Bumaga Camp Bandas 35US$ entrance, 30US$ activity 8th Jan Semuliki → Queen Elizabeth (QE) Pumba Safari Lodge 40US$ entrance, car 30,000UGX (24 hours) 9th Jan Southern QE → Buhoma Bwindi Buhoma Community None Camp 10th Jan Buhoma - Gorilla tracking Buhoma Community 600US$, pre-booked and prepaid Camp 11th Jan Buhoma birding Buhoma Community 40US$ entrance, 30US$ activity Camp 12th Jan Buhoma → The NECK → Ruhija Bakiga Lodge None 13th Jan Ruhija sector birding Bakida Lodge 40US$ entrance, 30US$ activity 14th Jan Ruhija - Echuya Forest - Kisoro Travellers Rest House None 15th Jan Mgahinga → Lake Bunyonyi Amasiko Homestay 40US$ entrance, 30US$ activity 16th Jan Lake Bunyonyi → Mburo Arcadia Lodge 40US$ entrance, car 30,000UGX (24 hours) 17th Jan Mburo all day Eagles Nest None 18th Jan Mburo → Entebbe Entebbe Palm Hotel None Giant Pangolin, Kidepo National Park Timing of the trip We got the idea of visiting Uganda well enough to have done it in August 2018, however for various reasons we ended up deciding to go in December/January. Mostly due the possibility to avoid parts of the Danish winter, but the availability of accommodation and guides are of also larger during the northern winter. The palearctic migrants are of course a bonus but then again other intra-African species will then be elsewhere (e.g. Blue Swallow). With more than 600 species seen there are certainly a lot of birds to be seen in the period, but we sometimes had to struggle to find them as they were much quieter. One significant disadvantage – which we did not fully realize until we were in Uganda – is that the Green-breasted Pitta and Grauer’s Broadbill are extremely difficult to see in this period. It is only by chance it is flushed, and our guide did not see those two species at several attempts in the months before we came. We were a bit “mislead” by reports from 2016 where these birds were easily seen outside the normal months. That year was completely abnormal having both species being active all year. When we entered Kibale forest we had accepted the fact that we would most likely miss this sought-after pitta. And we did – despite hours of walking in many smaller groups – off the track – trying to flush a bird. Same with the broadbill which is even harder to find when completely quiet. So, going this period, you must be fully prepared to dip on these two species. Also, if you are extremely lucky to flush a bird, it could be felt as a poor sighting compared to the ones you can expect in August. Weather was great, only a few showers in a month, and we saw less than five bird watchers on the trip. Which can of course also be a disadvantage as you cannot share sightings but walking 2 days in Semliki without seeing another person is something special. Beside Lake Mburo, where accommodation seems to fill up quickly (we had to stay two different places for the two nights), we had great flexibility and the costs of staying was very reasonable. Christmas and New Year did not seem to impact any practicalities. Practicalities before going We aimed at seeing as many parts of Uganda as possible and we included Elgon National Park and Kidepo National park due to the birds found here, but also because these to parks are considered extremely beautiful. Elgon NP needs more time to cover fully – the roads into the different parts of the park starts very different places and we did not have time to cover the high altitudes of the park. Had we known that the pitta and the broadbill would be almost impossible to see in this period we would have considered spending a day less in Kibale and maybe one more day in Elgon, Murchison’s or Budongo forest. We obtained the visa online prior to arrival and entering and leaving Uganda was very easy. We flew with Egypt Air in a very straight route from Copenhagen to Cairo and further on directly from Cairo to Entebbe. Total travel time was by far the shortest at that time and it was also the cheapest (around 680€ per person). We were in contact with several local guides before we agreed to arrange the trip though Deogratius Muhumuza (just Deo in short). He was very helpful and able to cater for more independent travelers while some of the more “famous” guides had a package that came to a certain (high) price. Being a group of two only, these fixed package price trips ended up being too expensive. With Deo we agreed to have a 4x4 car (Toyota Landcruiser) and a guide who was also the driver for 120$ per day (without gasoline). We assume that such price is not possible in prime season and we never fully figured out the cost split between Deo, the car and guide. Deo arranged almost all accommodations and the route was planned with him. He gave advises on where to spend extra days and where to spend less days, but we were fully in charge of the trip. We wanted to cover almost the entire Uganda, including both Elgon NP and Kidepo NP, and with 4 weeks this was possible without too much hassle. We transferred an initial amount to Deo well before the trip and then we transferred the rest a few months before the trip. We wanted as many costs settled before the trip to carry as little cash as possible. We brought 1200US$ each in cash, mainly to cover park fees, park activities and gasoline. It would have been beneficial if we have had more direct contact with our actual guide before the trip. See Guide section below. We brought two different guide books; the newer Birds of Africa South of the Sahara (2nd ed, Ian Sinclair and Peter Ryan) and the older but more local Birds of East Africa. Practicalities when there Birding in Uganda without a full-service package is very easy. Our guide met us at our hotel the day before the round trip started and the following morning we were picked up at the hotel. 27 days later we were back in Entebbe again. Most places we stayed was either full or half board and we could have breakfast fitted into our schedule - often very early, sometimes after an early pre-breakfast birding trip or sometimes as packed breakfast. We also had packed lunch, especially when changing hotels, but we preferred to return to the lodge for lunch and a midday break if we stayed more than one day. We brought US 10- and 20-dollar bills and this was not the best idea as exchange rate for small bills (up to 20-dollar bills) are much worse. Instead we should have brought 50- or 100-dollar bills. National parks entrance and activities was paid in US dollars, except where indicated in the travel plan overview. Gasoline, car entrance to parks, local guides, tipping of local guides, restaurants, supermarkets etc. is much better paid with Ugandan shillings. Some, but certainly not all, gas stations accept credit card. National Park fees Another small surprise we got in the planning phase was how expensive is it to get to see the birds in Uganda. Some claimed that Kenya and Tanzania are even worse, but it doesn’t really make it any better. We just hope that all the US dollars we put into the system goes somewhere good ensuring the protection of the wildlife and the national parks.
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