AVIAN SAFARIS 17 DAY UGANDA SAHEL BIRDING AND NATURE TRIP REPORT Date: August 4 to 20, 2019 Tour Leader: Crammy Wanyama Trip Report anD aLL photos by Crammy Wanyama This is a report for one of our Eastern to North-eastern Uganda bird watching adventures, much of it is deferent from what we cover on the traditional Uganda birding tours that go to the western part of the country. Uganda is a country of great diversity for flora and fauna and habitat; therefore, wherever the tour goes excellent sightings can be expected. We visited Mabira and Budongo forests for a collection of Guinea-Congo forest biome specialities, Mountain Elgon National park for the east African afro-montane collection, woodlands and the extensive Savannahs of Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve Kidepo Valley and Murchison Falls National Park. The Shoebill searching experience at Mabamba wetland was outstanding. Some lengthy drives like the one between Pian Upe and Kidepo were very rewarding with a collection of Unique East African birds around the areas of Matheniko-Bokora Wildlife Reserves. This very less tamed part of the wild is truly a bird paradise and is worth a birder's attention! Every stop we made fed us with bird sightings, and calls from all directions and yet the show ups were in relatively significant numbers. Day 1 – August 4, 2019: BirDing Mabamba WetLanD anD Transfer to Mabira Forest Like all typical Uganda Birding Tours, the Shoebill is always a major highlight. For this reason, when we are starting the Sahel trip, we consider getting this unique and very Avian Safaris: Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.aviansafaris.com AVIAN SAFARIS localized gigantic bird. Usually, Shoebill Views puzzle watchers because of this bird's resemblance to dinosaurs. After breakfast, we drove to Mabamba wetland and started the day with an African Hobby and a couple of Hooded Vultures that have made great adaptation around cities. We did very minimal stops since our prime focus was to get there and explore the marsh for the highly sought-after birds. We saw African Green Pigeon, Banded Snake-Eagle, a freshly fledged Wahlberg's Eagle with is buffy plumage, Splendid Starling, three swifts that were African Palm, Little and the long fork-tailed White- rumped Swifts. We also saw a couple of Broad-billed Rollers, Striped and Woodland Kingfisher and we were delighted to stop for a pair of African Blue Flycatchers. A magnificent MaLachite Kingfisher seen at Mabamba WetLanDs Upon arriving Mabamba, the Blue-headed Coucal, Swamp Flycatcher, the colourful Malachite Kingfisher, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Squacco Heron and Yellow-billed Duck were among our first sightings. In less than twenty minutes of the boat ride, we found our first Shoebill and spent all the pleasant moments of observation that we could afford. We got great photos after the team recovered from freezing after their first encounter with the Shoebill! We kept on with our birding. We found the second Shoebill in flight, a Carruther's Cisticola which is an East African endemic, great views of the shy and tiny Lesser Jacana, Spur-winged Goose, Long-toed Lapwing, a flock of Weyns's weaver among many others. Avian Safaris: Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.aviansafaris.com AVIAN SAFARIS Copper SunbirD at Mabira Forest eDge We left Mabamba for Mabira forest, only a few minutes before eating our packed lunch. Mabira Forest is a typical Guinea-Congo forest biome kind of habitat; this gives life to a significant number of specialized forest birds. On arrival at Mabira, we decided to utilize the brilliant light to get some great bird photos. Our mission was a success because, by the end of the day, we got the tiny canopy dwelling Yellow-throated and Yellow-rumped Tinkerbirds, Grey-headed and White-breasted Nigritas, Copper, Little Green and Blue-throated Brown Sunbird. The forest edge was perfect for a couple of cultivation habitat birds that love to feed on the forest's edge they included. Vielloit's, Black-necked, Spectacled and Baglafecht, Grosbeak Weavers, Singing Cisticola, a very lovely Black Goshawk and that flew by at the same moment with the African Harrier- hawk. After dinner, we enjoyed outstanding views of a pair of African Wood Owl. Avian Safaris: Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.aviansafaris.com AVIAN SAFARIS African WooD OwL at Mabira showed up nicely Day 2 – August 5, 2019: BirDing Mabira Forest anD Transfer to Mountain ELgon Area We stayed inside the forest, sleeping and waking up to calls of the Western Tree Hyrax, a delightful way to sleep when one has a great nature tour. Before breakfast, we did one and half hour birding around the campsite. This walk showed us Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat, a feeding Grey Tit-flycatcher as it fanned the tail to flash insects that would turn into good breakfast, its forest-dwelling cousin the Grey-throated Tit- Flycatcher and Brown Illadopsis. Walking into the forest after our breakfast, we started with the undergrowth Forest Robin and had good looks at it. The mid-strata and under canopy had a pair of Golden-crowned Woodpecker, Yellow-spotted Barbet, Rufous-Flycatcher-Thrush, Green Hylia, Olive Green Camaroptera, Scaly-breasted Illadopsis, Green Crombec, Grey Longbill, Grey-headed Sunbird, Blue Malkhoa, the gorgeous Jameson’s and Chestnut Wattle-eyes for us. Three species of Greenbuls; Little, Plain and Gray were also active for us to start with among other birds. Avian Safaris: Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.aviansafaris.com AVIAN SAFARIS Blue-breasted Bee-eater Heading to the magical east for a deferent set of good quality birds, we stopped in Jinja town just after crossing the mighty River Nile, for our lunch and later during the driving. We did a stop to scan the papyrus swamps and found there the secretive Papyrus Gonolek and Carruther’s Cisticola. Other birds seen before and after approaching the mountains included Speckled Pigeon, African Grey Hornbill, and three Nyanza Swifts. Day 3 – August 6, 2019: BirDing Mountain ELgon anD Transfer to Soroti We arrived in this montane part of Eastern Uganda to add a few smart birds of the East African Afro-montane biome. For this reason, we drove to Kapkwai for a hike to fulfil the goal. Kapkwai is only a 30 minutes’ drive from Sipi where we stayed, it is at a higher elevation, and it protects the luxurious montane forest that remains one of the very scenic mountain Elgon national park. On our way there, we managed to get excellent views of Bronze Sunbird, and this was the second bird of the day after the Common Bulbul that was close during breakfast. The cultivation habitat we drove through was excellent for Baglafecth Weaver (mini race) and the Southern Citril. The later was not a confirmed sighting for the Uganda list by some authorities. We had outstanding views of Yellow-crowned Canary at eye level as they fed on the roadside bushes. This canary tends to prefer pine and eucalyptus canopies for singing in the Southwestern part of the country; this makes it tough to see them there. Avian Safaris: Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.aviansafaris.com AVIAN SAFARIS RecorD Confirmation Photos of Southern CitriL for UganDa from Mountain ELgon On arriving at the park quarters, we started with a Black-throated Wattle-eye, this park is the best place for this bird in the country. Surprisingly it has a considerable distribution but it is not easily seen as it can be in Southern Africa, we saw Lühder's Bush-shrike, Banded Prinia, Black-billed Weaver and one individual or the Equatorial Akalat. In the forest, our seven kilometres hike found Abyssinian Ground-Thrush, Scaly-throated Honeyguide, Yellow-streaked Greenbul, Mountain Illadopsis, Northern Double-collared Sunbird and a Red-chested Cuckoo. As we continued with our birding, we saw a couple of common and uncommon species! The Pink-footed Puff-back, Brown Woodland Warbler and Grey-chested Babbler were the uncommon birds that we saw. African Hill Babbler, Hartlaub’s and Great blue Turaco, Black-collared, Black-throated and Chestnut-throated Apalis, White-stared Robin, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Eastern Mountain Greenbul among others were the common birds seen. BeLow is a HartLaub’s Turaco from Mountain ELgon NationaL Park Avian Safaris: Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.aviansafaris.com AVIAN SAFARIS Day 4 – August 7, 2019: UganDa’s OnLy EnDemic Weaver anD the Karamoja ApaLis We drove to Pakwi to search for Uganda's only endemic, the Fox's Weaver. After several years of poor views and unconfirmed sightings, Avian Safaris team discovered a new site and Crammy Wanyama took the confirming photos. Crammy's excursion followed a sighting that captured one unexpected photo by the very adventurous Mr Ben Ntale. This spot which happens to be at the extension of the more significant Pian Upe reserve favours the micro-habitat of this particular species and another range- restricted bird called the Karamoja Apalis. We saw a few birds on our way there, Green Wood-hoopoe, Stout Cisticola, Lesser Honeyguide, Plain-backed Pipit and Yellow-throated Longclaw were only a few of them. At the targeted search spot, the Fox's Weaver was among the first birds that we saw on arrival. We also got great looks at the Siffling Cisticola, Northern Red Bishop, Vinaceous Dove, White-faced Whistling Ducks and Grey-backed Fiscal. Walking back and forth, looking through the bushes, and the nesting spots for better photography opportunities, we got spectacular views of the Karamoja Apalis. These, we followed for a while as they fed on one whistling thorn acacia to another.