Private Uganda Birds & Gorillas Trip Report 7th to 28th June 2014 Grauer’s Broadbill by David Hoddinott Trip Report Compiled by Tour Leader: David Hoddinott Trip Report - Uganda 2014 2 Tour Summary Uganda, the pearl of Africa as it is often referred to, is a remarkable country of astonishing diversity. Its small size, good road network and infrastructure, great food, the fact that it is friendly, peaceful and well geared for tourism, makes it a wonderful destination in which to bird and travel. Add a staggering bird list with over 1000 species, plus the added benefit of amazing wildlife including Mountain Gorillas, Chimpanzees, tree- climbing Lions, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo and so much more, and it’s no wonder it’s rated as one of the top birding and wildlife countries in the world! Our exciting adventure started off with a visit to Mabamba Swamp on the edge of the vast Lake Victoria. Cruising through the channels on a motorised canoe we enjoyed Yellow-billed Duck by David Hoddinott great sightings of Long-toed Lapwing and Lesser Jacana which showed particular well, the latter being a key target. No sign of a Shoebill unfortunately, but with numerous opportunities ahead we continued birding unperturbed. Other superb sightings that morning included the fabulous Great Blue Turaco, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, stunning perched Red-headed Lovebird, Grey- rumped Swallow and the localised Weyns’s Weaver. Mabira Forest, our next port of call, was once again amazing! Even though it didn’t stop raining until 11: 30am on our full day in the forest, we still managed to see a vast majority of the specials including the shy Nahan’s Partridge, Afep Pigeon, Black-billed Turaco, dazzling male African Emerald Cuckoo, scarce Cassin’s Spinetail, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, African Pied African Dwarf Kingfisher by David Hoddinott Hornbill, Buff-spotted, Brown-eared and Yellow-crested Woodpeckers, elusive Jameson’s Wattle-eye, Lowland Sooty Boubou, Purple-throated Cuckooshrike, Toro Olive Greenbul, Yellow-lored Bristlebill and retiring Blue- shouldered Robin-Chat. We also enjoyed wonderful sightings of a family group of Grey-cheeked Mangabey. Stopping at Luwero Swamp on the way north we notched up the desired targets of Cardinal Quelea and Marsh Widowbird, while en route to Masindi we enjoyed great Western Banded Snake Eagle, the smart White-crested Turaco, Grey-headed Kingfisher, White-headed Barbet Chimpanzee by David Hoddinott and Purple Starling. Expectations were high the following morning as we headed off to the famous Royal Mile at Budongo Forest. This offers some of the best forest birding in Africa along with the most comfortable climate Trip Report - Uganda 2014 3 you can imagine – and what’s more, it’s bug free! We were not to be disappointed and even before we reached the forest we were seeing a myriad of new species! A patch of scrub proved particularly rewarding and we soon found a pair of magnificent African Hawk-Eagle, Marsh and Brown-crowned Tchagras, Tropical Boubou, African Yellow Warbler, Brown Babbler, Bronze-tailed Starling, Brown-backed Scrub Robin singing its heart out, Copper Sunbird, Compact Weaver, handsome Black Bishop in full breeding plumage, Red-collared Widowbird, confiding Brown Twinspot, Fawn-breasted and beautiful Orange-breasted Waxbills, tricky Magpie Mannikin and Cabanis’s Bunting. Tearing ourselves away from this fabulous “hotspot” we entered the forest proper. Highlights of Northern White-faced Owl by David Hoddinott our day on the mile included a majestic perched Crowned Eagle, Dusky Long-tailed and Red-chested Cuckoos, the much-wanted Chocolate-backed and African Dwarf Kingfishers, White-thighed Hornbill, Willcock’s Honeyguide, tiny Lemon-bellied Crombec, Chestnut-capped Flycatcher, Uganda Woodland Warbler, pretty Black-capped Apalis, Yellow-browed and Olive-green Camaropteras, Rufous-crowned Eremomela, Fraser’s Rufous Thrush and Fraser’s Forest Flycatcher. The birds were almost outdone, however, by the incredible sightings we enjoyed of Chimpanzees out in the open at the edge of the mile and giving splendid views for a full twenty minutes! As if this wasn’t enough, that evening a delightful Northern White-faced Owl put on a great show as well – what a bonus!! Our next destination was Murchison Falls National Park where we visited numerous sites within this fabulous reserve, the largest park in Uganda. Murchison Falls was most impressive due to a very full Nile, and the Nile boat Shoebill by David Hoddinott cruise was extremely rewarding including enjoying magnificent views of the great Shoebill, one of our main tour targets – and, indeed, a highlight of any tour to the region. The north bank games drives were full of action as usual, and even more so during our visit as there was an eruption of butterflies, which was a spectacular sight to behold! The Gulu area proved uneventful however, though our night drive in the park was particularly interesting with magnificent views of Crested Porcupine and Side-striped Jackal, along with Greyish Eagle-Owl and a nightjar feast. We encountered good numbers of Long-tailed, a few Slender-tailed, and an amazing 66 Pennant-winged including 37 males with full pennants – simply spectacular! Other notable sightings Northern Red Bishop by David Hoddinott during our time in the park included Heuglin’s Francolin, African Cuckoo-Hawk, Rüppell’s and Lappet-faced Vultures, Bateleur, majestic Martial Eagle, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Black-bellied Bustard, several Allen’s Gallinule, Spotted Thick-knee, Black-headed Lapwing, Rock Pratincole, smart African Trip Report - Uganda 2014 4 Skimmer, unusual Slender-billed Gull, Jacobin Cuckoo, Horus Swift, Swallow-tailed, Red-throated, Olive and Northern Carmine Bee-eaters, Black Scimitarbill, impressive Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Black-billed Barbet, Scaly-throated Honeyguide, Brown-backed Woodpecker, White-shouldered Black Tit, Red-winged Warbler, Green-backed Eremomela, Yellow-bellied Hyliota, Silverbird, Spotted Palm Thrush, Beautiful Sunbird, Shelley’s Sparrow, Speckle-fronted Weaver, Northern Red Bishop, elusive Red-winged Pytilia, Quailfinch and Brown-rumped Bunting. Our final visit to Budongo Forest yielded the highly sought-after Ituri Batis, which for a tiny canopy species gave superb views. Our next destination was Kibale Forest. Our time here included time at the upper Sebitole section of the park as Crested Porcupine by David Hoddinott well as exploring a network of interior forest trails, forest streams and the productive Bigodi Swamp. This ensured a comprehensive coverage of the available habitats and enabled us to notch up a superb list of species. These included African Black Duck, a flock of Crested Guineafowl, Scaly Francolin en route, lovely Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle, striking male White-spotted Flufftail, Afep and the rare White-naped Pigeon, cracking Ross’s Turaco, Black Cuckoo, brief Shining- blue Kingfisher, Black Bee-eater, White-headed Wood Hoopoe, Cassin’s Honeybird, rare Speckle-breasted Woodpecker, highly desired Green-breasted Pitta (which after a great deal of persistence gave amazing scope views for 10 minutes whilst it displayed in front of us!), elusive Many-coloured Bushshrike, Papyrus Green-breasted Pitta by David Hoddinott Gonolek, Dusky Tit, Western Nicator, Joyful Greenbul, Lowland Masked Apalis, confiding Brown Illadopsis, Purple-headed and Narrow-tailed Starlings, Superb Sunbird and Dark-backed Weaver. Leaving the rainforest behind, we next travelled to Queen Elizabeth National Park to enjoy the typical African savanna with its open grassland dotted with huge flat-topped Acacias, its famous Kazinga Channel boat trip, Crater Lakes and the added bonus of a plethora of mammals. During our explorations of this vast reserve we recorded many African Crake (a much sought-after rallid), a pair of Common Buttonquail skulking along a grassy track, cryptic Water Thick-knee nesting, the nomadic Senegal Lapwing and Temminck’s Courser, swamp loving Black Coucal, huge Verreaux’s Eagle- Heuglin’s Francolin by David Hoddinott Owl, Pearl-spotted Owlet showing its distinctive false eyes, Swamp and Square-tailed Nightjars, striking Black-headed Gonolek, localised White-tailed Lark, two over-wintering Sand Martins, elusive Fan-tailed Grassbird, a family group of Black-lored Babbler, delightful Swamp Flycatcher joining us for breakfast, Holub’s Golden Weaver and Southern Red Trip Report - Uganda 2014 5 Bishop, amongst a myriad of other species. Additional outstanding highlights included watching tree- climbing Lions at Ishasha, where we encountered a magnificent male in a large Sicamore Fig, and an extremely confiding Leopard on our late afternoon game drive. Leaving the savanna we travelled back to the rainforests, this time to the fabulous Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, home to virtually half the world’s Mountain Gorillas. As it turned out, an excited group enjoyed a superb Grey Crowned Crane by David Hoddinott Mountain Gorilla experience, and we even lucked out with further sightings of these awesome primates during one of our birding excursions! At the lower altitude site of Buhoma notable sightings included Western Bronze-naped Pigeon – whizzing by at high speed, African Wood Owl at its day roost, Scarce Swift, five stunning Bar-tailed Trogons, dazzling Black Bee-eater, Elliot’s Woodpecker, displaying African Broadbill, Doherty’s Bushshrike, Ansorge’s and Cabanis’s Greenbuls, Leopard by David Hoddinott tiny White-browed Crombec, brief Neumann’s Warbler, Black-faced Rufous Warbler, Red-throated Alethe, Grey- winged