I have recently returned for a fantastic trip to Uganda. The trip was organized by Herbert Byaruhanga, in his capacity as Chairman of the Uganda Safari Guides Association, together with members, in collaboration with Bird Uganda Safaris, the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the National Forestry Authority, and selected hotels and lodges. It was a FAM (familiarization) trip for a group of bird people from different parts of the world, to help promote birding tourism in Uganda.
I left Israel on November 30th. In Addis Ababa I met up with my Canuck brother Yousif. We enjoyed every minute of our layover in Bole International Airport, birding through the terminal windows, appreciating every bit of wildlife we spotted. Especially surprising were the Palearctic migrants we saw, including Pied Wheatears, and a poor thrush Nightingale trapped inside the terminal.
My bird photo of the year (not) - phone photo, through bins, through airport window, of a Pied Wheatear
We landed with great excitement in Entebbe, and were driven to our accommodation on the outskirts of the city, at Jet Villas. We quickly headed outside for a first taste of enjoyable farmland birding by our accommodation. Of course, as Mazungus, we attracted considerable attention from the local kids, who escorted us during most of our walk.
We saw lots of great birds just outside our accommodation, including Palm-nut Vultures, African Harrier-Hawk, Lizard Buzzard, and many other cool, common farmland birds.
Juvenile African Harrier-Hawk
Those legs - wow!
Lizard Buzzard
Red-cheeked Cordon-Bleu showing exactly why it's named 'Red-cheeked'
Red-chested Sunbird
White-throated Bee-eater
Next day (December 1st) we met up with the rest of our team - from USA, Colombia, Argentina and Spain. They were staying at the Boma Lodge, where stunning Northern Brown-throated Weavers breed at the carpark.
We took a boat from Vanga Beach, and sailed across Lake Victoria to reach Mabamba Swamp, home of the legendary Shoebill. The boat ride across the lake and through the main channel was actually very good fun with lots of great birds.
Long-toed Lapwing from up close
Malachite Kingfisher
We met up with
Innocent the Shoebill expert and the other local guides, hopped onto smaller boats and set off to explore the Mabamba Swamp. Our local guides worked hard!
Soon we arrived at a location where a Shoebill had been spotted earlier that morning. And there it was, in all its glory. The legendary, monstrous, incomprehensible Shoebill. Stood in front of our boat, doing its thing (which wasn't much, mainly preening).
We had a magical time with the Shoebill, keeping a safe distance not to disturb the bird, close enough to enjoy every feather and every move. We all felt very privileged to share space and time with this unbelievable creature. On our first morning in Uganda!
Check that huge tongue inside the bill
When the Shoebill preened the mantle feathers, we noticed it was carrying a satellite tag. Later on we found out that it was one of the young birds tagged by
Judith Mirembe /
Shoebill Watch Uganda earlier this year.
Eventually the bird took off heavily, displaying its enormous size and huge wings. Wow.
We then continued to explore the swamp, seeing two more Shoebills in flight, and observing Lesser Jacana (no photos unfortunately), Beaudouin's Snake-Eagle, Blue-breasted Bee-eaters and many more great birds.
This boat trip was an unforgettable experience. Innocent and the other guides showed great expertise, and also respect towards the Shoebill, without pushing too hard. I strongly recommend to take this fantastic boat trip in Mabamba Swamp.
