Uganda - Shoebills to Gorillas Naturetrek Tour Report 1 - 12 November 2018 Report compiled by Jude Ainomugisha Naturetrek Mingledown Barn Wolf's Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ UK T: +44 (0)1962 733051 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk Tour Report Uganda - Shoebills to Gorillas Tour participants: Jude Ainomugisha and Gerald Tumwekwase (leaders) with 10 Naturetrek clients Summary The November Nature trek trip covered the following areas: Mabamba swamp, Lake Mburo National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Kibale National Park as well. In addition, some clients extended their trip as far as Murchison Falls National Park (Budongo Forest) and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for those who were interested in Gorilla Trekking. Pre-tour Extension Monday 29th October – Thursday 1st November Four group members took this extension to the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. After an overnight flight, they visited Entebbe Botanical Gardens before flying on to Bwindi. The tour included a day’s Gorilla Trekking, as well as birding in the area. Main Tour Day 1 Wednesday 31st October In flight from the UK. Day 2 Thursday 1st November The main group arrived in Entebbe and visited Entebbe Botanical Gardens, before meeting those who had been on the pre-tour extension. Day 3 Friday 2nd November The trip started with Mabamba swamp continuing to Lake Mburo National Park. In Mabamba, as usual, we were there as early as 8am in search of the mighty Shoebill which was the bird of the trip. Within 30 minutes the guests were ready taking pictures of the ‘whale bird’. It was not only the Shoebill that was seen in the Mabamba swamp, but many other species were seen as well. These included: Yellow-billed Ducks, Swamp Flycatcher, Palm-nut Vulture, Long-crested Eagle, Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Northern Brown-throated Weaver, Long- toed Lapwing, Ring-necked Dove and African Green Pigeon among others. Thereafter we travelled on to Lake Mburo National Park with a lunch stop at the Equator. En route to Lake Mburo the following species were recorded: Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Black Kite, Western Banded Snake Eagle, Helmeted Guineafowl, Red-eyed Dove, Village Weavers, Red-billed Firefinch and Bronze Mannikin, among others. Later in the evening we checked in at Rwakobo Rock hotel for our overnight stay. Day 4 Saturday 3rd November While in Lake Mburo we saw a lot of species of birds which included: Broad-billed Roller, Giant Kingfisher, Little Egret, Common Ringed Plover, African Jacana, Spot-flanked Barbet, African Finfoot, Red-chested © Naturetrek December 18 1 Uganda - Shoebills to Gorillas Tour Report Sunbird, Back-headed Gonolek, Crested Francolin, Common Bulbul, Yellow Wagtail, Speckled Mousebird, Black-winged Kite, Ross’s Turaco, Eastern Plantain-eater, Blue-naped Mousebird, Southern Red Bishop, Cardinal Woodpecker, African Stonechat, African Wattled Lapwing, Malachite Kingfisher, Senegal Lapwing, Little Bee- eater, Lilac-breasted Roller, Crowned Hornbill, Double-toothed Barbet, Nubian Woodpecker, Lesser Striped Swallow and Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, among others. We saw the following Mammals while in Lake Mburo National Park: Buffalos, Common Warthogs, Zebras, Giraffes, Impalas, Olive Baboons, Ground Squirrels, Bushbucks, Antelopes, Hippopotamus, Topis among others, together with Nile Crocodiles. Day 5 Sunday 4th November From Lake Mburo we proceeded to Queen Elizabeth National Park. We went birding along the way and the following bird species were seen: Emerald-spotted Wood Dove, Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Trilling Cisticola, Grey-headed Kingfisher, White-throated Bee-eater, European Bee-eater, African Paradise Flycatcher, Grey Kestrel, Papyrus Gonolek, White-winged Swamp Warbler, Black-headed Heron and Woolly-necked Stork. Day 6 Monday 5th November We were in Queen Elizabeth National Park for two days and the following bird species were recorded: Brown Snake Eagle, Red Necked Spurfowl, Northern Flycatcher, Ban Swallows, Great Cormorant, African Openbill (also known as Open-billed Stork), African Spoonbill, Black Crake, Rufous-naped Lark, Common Waxbill, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Crowned Lapwing, Saddle-billed Stork, Hamerkop, Black-chested Snake Eagle, Lesser Flamingos, African Harrier-Hawk, Zitting Cisticola, Flappet Lark, White-headed Vulture, Crested Francolin, Red-throated Bee-eater, Ruff, Croaking Cisticola, Common Ringed Plover, Yellow-billed Stork, Pied Kingfisher and African Crake, among others. Mammals were also seen while in Queen Elizabeth National Park. These included: Vervet Monkeys, Olive Baboons, Lions, African Elephant, Giant Forest Hog, Banded Mangoose, Uganda Kob, and Hippopotamus. Day 7 Tuesday 6th November From Queen Elizabeth National Park, we headed to Kibale National Park. Along the way, the following bird species were seen: Grassland Warbler, African Crake, Red-necked Spurfowl, Pied Crow, Black-headed Heron, Black Bishop, Southern Red Bishop, Long-crested Eagle, African Harrier-Hawk, Lizard Buzzard, Black Kite, Marabou Stork, African Pied Wagtail, Common Bulbul, Speckled Mousebird, Collared Pratincole, African Wattled Plover, Kittlitz’s Plover, Willow Warbler, Sooty Chat, Grey-backed Fiscal, Grey-capped Warbler and Brown-throated Wattle-eye, among others. Day 8 Wednesday 7th November While in Kibale National Park we saw the following bird species; Yellow-spotted Barbet, Narina Trogon, Green- headed Sunbird, Hairy-breasted Barbet, Western Nicator, Honeyguide Greenbul, Toro Olive Greenbul, Grey- throated Greenbul, Black billed Turaco, Speckled Tinkerbird, Black-and-white Mannikins, Common Waxbills, 2 © Naturetrek December 18 Uganda - Shoebills to Gorillas Tour Report Thick-billed Weavers, Vieillot’s Black Weavers, Black-and-white Shrike-Flycatcher, White-headed Saw-wing, Great Blue Turaco, Tambourine Dove, Superb Sunbird, Fan-tailed Widowbird, Red-headed Malimbe, Black- billed Weaver, Golden-backed Weaver, Thick-billed (also known as Grosbeak) Weaver, Grey-headed Sparrow, House Sparrow, Ruppell’s Starling, Purple-headed Starling, Western Black-headed Oriole, Black-crowned Tchagara, Northern Puffback, Black-headed Gonolek, Grey-backed Shrike, Common Fiscal, Variable Sunbird, Collared Sunbird, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Olive Sunbird, Little Green Sunbird and Olive-bellied Sunbird, among others. Kibale National Park being the home of many Primates, we were able to see a number of them, like the Chimpanzees, Baboons, Guereza Colobus, Red-tailed Monkey, Red Colobus and Grey-cheeked Mangabey. Day 9/10 Thursday 8th/Friday 9th November After Kibale, a group of six headed back to Entebbe International Airport, to start the long journey home to the UK, arriving on the Friday morning after an exciting holiday in Uganda. Post-tour Extension Thursday 8th – Tuesday 13th November The other four group members had an extension to Budongo Forest, including the Murchison Falls National Park. We started with the southern part of Budongo Forest, commonly known as The Royal Mile. We were able to see the following bird species; White-thighed Hornbill, Plain Greenbul (also known as Cameroon Sombre Greenbul), Grey Longbill, Green Crombec, Chestnut-capped Flycatcher, Ituri Batis, Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, Red-headed Malimbe, Fraser’s Rufous Thrush (also called Rufous Flycatcher- Thrush), Rufous-crowned Eremomela, African Pied Hornbill, Lemon-bellied Crombec, Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher, Fraser’s Forest Flycatcher, White-spotted Flufftail and Yellow-crested Woodpecker. Before crossing River Nile again, we birded the northern part of Budongo Forest commonly known as Kanio Pabidi. We were able to record the following species: African Pygmy Flycatcher, Fraser’s Rufous Thrush, Fraser’s Forest Flycatcher, Narina Trogon, Tambourine Dove, African Green Pigeon, Dwarf Kingfisher, Puvel’s Iladopusis, Yellow-throated Tinkerbird, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Yellow-crested Woodpecker, Brown-eared Woodpecker, Grey-headed Sunbird, Green-headed Sunbird, Yellow White-eye, Little Green Sunbird, Western Olive Sunbird, Copper Sunbird, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Variable Sunbird, Crested Francolin, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Ruppell’s Staring, Dark Chanting Goshawk and Common Buzzard among many others. In the northern part of Murchision Falls National Park, being a grassland Savanna with swamps, woodland and habitats we were able able to see the following as we were winding up the with trip: Red-throated Bee-eater, Eastern Grey Plantain-eater, Piapiac, Grey-backed Fiscal, Black-belled Bustard, Black-bellied Firefinch, Red- necked Falcon, Bateleur, Grey Kestrel, Black-headed Gonolek, Spotted Palm Thrush (also called Spotted Morning Thrush), Tawny Eagle, Water Thick-knee, Spur-winged Lapwing, Western Cattle Egret, Little Egret, African Palm Swift, Silverbird, Zitting Cistola, White-backed Vulture, Martial Eagle, African Fish Eagle, Pied Kingfisher, Black-headed Lapwing, Saddle-billed Stork, Denham’s Bustard, Intermediate Egret, Northern Wheatear, Sooty Chat, Malachite Kingfisher, Hadada Ibis, African Harrier-Hawk, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater and Helmeted Guineafowl, among others. © Naturetrek December 18 3 Uganda - Shoebills to Gorillas Tour Report We then returned to Entebbe for overnight flights home, arriving in the UK on the Tuesday morning, having enjoyed a wonderful selection of birds and mammals in Uganda. 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