UGANDA 2020 - A TALE OF 7 SPECIALS

[Galana]

..

Edited April 16, 2020 by Galana

[kittykat23uk]

February 28th Our last full day.

 

...or so we thought,  our last morning was lost to rain as you will have seen from @xelas post. The first photo I took was at 1348!

 

P2280081 Dwarf Mongoose by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Slipping and sliding our way around the park, we encountered some beautiful birds in poor light:

 

P2280155 European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2280183 Little Bee-eater (Merops pusillus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2280260 Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird (Pogoniulus bilineatus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2280373 crested barbet (Trachyphonus vaillantii) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Herds of Impala. Apparently there was a couple staying at our lodge who hadn't seen any impalas and they were very disappointed. We assumed they "should have gone to Specsavers" because there were herds of the blooming things..

 

P2280396 Impalas by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2280443 (2) Emerald-spotted Wood-dove (Turtur chalcospilos) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

A trio of barbets:

 

P2280573 (2) Spot-flanked Barbet (Tricholaema lacrymosa) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2280587 (2) crested barbet (Trachyphonus vaillantii) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2280592 crested barbet (Trachyphonus vaillantii) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

We finally got close to a herd of Eland at a distant waterhole, but they were shy and started to move off as soon as we approached. 

 

P2280612 (2) common eland (Taurotragus oryx) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2280636 common eland (Taurotragus oryx) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2280646 common eland (Taurotragus oryx) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Like the dwarf mongoose, they look quite different (and prettier) compared to their South African cousins:

 

P9181497 Eland by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

We also disturbed a hippo, who retreated back into the waterhole

 

P2280653 hippopotamus by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2280674 hippopotamus by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2280724 topi (Damaliscus lunatus jimela) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

So we turned our attention back to the birds

 

P2280718 African Three-banded Plover (Charadrius tricollaris) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2280828 Bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2280836 (2) striped kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2280949 Black-bellied Bustard (Lissotis melanogaster) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

That is, until we encountered these splendid Giraffes:

 

P2281060 Rothschild's Giraffe by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2281069 Rothschild's Giraffe by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2281200 Rothschild's Giraffe by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2281217 Rothschild's Giraffe by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2281268 Rothschild's Giraffe by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2281298 (2) Water Thick-knee (Burhinus vermiculatus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Then it was back to birding in some open woodland, with a varied cast of characters to be seen before the end of the afternoon:

 

P2281321 Cardinal Woodpecker (Dendropicos fuscescens) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2281343 Ashy Flycatcher (Fraseria caerulescens) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2281360 (2) Tabora Cisticola (Cisticola angusticauda) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2281386 (2) Sooty Chat (Myrmecocichla nigra) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2281388 Rüppell's Starling (Lamprotornis purpuroptera) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2281396 Grey-backed Fiscal (Lanius excubitoroides) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2281422 striped kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2281489 pair of Bearded Woodpeckers (Dendropicos namaquus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2281508 broad-billed roller (Eurystomus glaucurus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2281569 White-headed Barbet (Lybius leucocephalus) and Spot-flanked Barbet (Tricholaema lacrymosa) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2281615 (2) Bearded Woodpecker (Dendropicos namaquus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2281640 Crested Barbet (Trachyphonus vaillantii) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 16, 2020 by kittykat23uk

[kittykat23uk]

Here's a little video of a few bits and bobs:

 

 

[kittykat23uk]

29th February 2020 Last few hours in Uganda

 

The cheeky monkeys were at it again:

 

P2290015 Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

We still had some time in the park as we took a slow drive to the exit. 

 

P2290005 (2) Trio of water Thick-Knees by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290071 Black-chested Snake-eagle (Circaetus pectoralis) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290049 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290082 Brown Snake-eagle (Circaetus cinereus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290095 African Buffalo by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290102 Plain-backed Pipit (Anthus leucophrys) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

You may recall, right at the start of the trip, Emmy had mentioned that he heard some Meyer's Parrots and we didn't go and look for them because it was our first day and we expected to see them again.  Well we hadn't seen them at all throughout the trip until right at the end and then not very well so here is the best photo from this trip of the elusive Meyer's Parrot!

 

P2290034 (2) Meyer's Parrot by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

Zebras are not especially common in the park and we only saw occasional small herds, including right near the exit.

 

P2290118 Burchell's zebra by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290161 Burchell's zebra by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290186 Burchell's zebra by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290194 Burchell's zebra by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Close to the exit we also saw our only terrapin of the trip. 

 

P2290174 African helmeted turtle by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290222 Northern Red-headed Weaver (Anaplectes leuconotos) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290240 White-browed Scrub Robin (Cercotrichas leucophrys) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

As soon as we left the park we started to see cattle, such impressive beasts! 

 

P2290257 Ankole cattle by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290281 Burchell's zebra by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

One particular tree attracted a whole host of birds:

 

P2290319 Purple-banded Sunbird (Cinnyris bifasciatus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290339 Chinspot Batis (Batis molitor) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290345 (2) Chinspot Batis (Batis molitor) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290432 (2) Red-faced Crombec (Sylvietta whytii) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

 

My favourites, the sunbirds were out in force:

 

P2290357 (2) Copper Sunbird (Cinnyris cupreus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290360 (2) Copper Sunbird (Cinnyris cupreus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290385 Purple-banded Sunbird (Cinnyris bifasciatus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290387 (2) Purple-banded Sunbird (Cinnyris bifasciatus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290393 Purple-banded Sunbird (Cinnyris bifasciatus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290457 Purple-banded Sunbird (Cinnyris bifasciatus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290480 (2) Purple-banded Sunbird (Cinnyris bifasciatus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290568 Purple-banded Sunbird (Cinnyris bifasciatus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290587 Purple-banded Sunbird (Cinnyris bifasciatus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

But it wasn't just sunbirds:

 

P2290542 Green-winged Pytilia (Pytilia melba) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu (Uraeginthus bengalus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

We had to tear ourselves away and move on...

 

P2290592 Long-crested Eagle (Lophaetus occipitalis) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290607 Long-crested Eagle (Lophaetus occipitalis) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

.. because we had a treat in store... yet another swamp!

Edited April 16, 2020 by kittykat23uk

[kittykat23uk]

We stopped for lunch at the swamp. Lots of birds were flying around.

 

P2290638 Laughing Dove (Spilopelia senegalensis) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290644 (2) African Openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290677 African Openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

It provided a beautiful backdrop for Uganda's National bird:

 

P2290699 Grey Crowned-crane (Balearica regulorum) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290927 (2) Grey Crowned-crane (Balearica regulorum) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290937 (2) Grey Crowned-crane (Balearica regulorum) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290950 Grey Crowned-crane (Balearica regulorum) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

And  there were also a few smaller birds around

 

P2290843 Golden-backed Weaver (Ploceus jacksoni) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2290972 (2) Variable Sunbird (Cinnyris venustus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2291006 Yellow-fronted Canary (Crithagra mozambica) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2291045 African Jacana (Actophilornis africanus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2291054 (3) Hottentot teal (Spatula hottentota) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

We stopped to shoot this crane when we were accosted by some locals who seemed to take offence at us birding around the swamp.  Thankfully a few words with some local officers sent them packing. 

 

P2291069 (2) Grey Crowned-crane (Balearica regulorum) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2291088 speckled pigeon (Columba guinea) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

An obligatory comfort break on the Equator was our next stop.

 

IMG_20200229_155357 Standing on the equator by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Followed by requisite group shot back at the Airport Guest House:

IMG_20200229_175826 The gang by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

I spent the last few minutes before sundown looking around the garden before a farewell dinner and then it was off to the airport for the long journey home..

P2291095 Giant African land snail by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2291114 Red-chested Sunbird (Cinnyris erythrocercus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Edited April 16, 2020 by kittykat23uk

[kittykat23uk]

@xelas so what were your 7 specials in the end? 

[xelas]

9 hours ago, kittykat23uk said:

@xelas so what were your 7 specials in the end? 

 

First seven Nile Specials . And yours?

[Zim Girl]

Really enjoyable trip report.  Great story-telling, great pictures and great location!

Thank you very much @Galana, @xelas and @kittykat23uk

[kilopascal]

I'm sorry this report is ending.  I looked forward to it every day.  Thank you all very much.

[Galana]

11 minutes ago, kilopascal said:

I'm sorry this report is ending.  I looked forward to it every day. 

Is it? Watch this space.

[janzin]

Thanks to the three of you for the great report. It definitely whetted my appetite for Uganda. And glad to see that everyone was still talking to each other by the end of the trip

 

[michael-ibk]

Also from  me, thank you for a great report. I was all set to visit Uganda next spring for a birdy trip but with the state of the world right now I´ve put planning on hold.

[kittykat23uk]

12 hours ago, xelas said:

 

First seven Nile Specials . And yours?

 

Well as you know alcohol was a bit hard to come by in my case.. 

 

But certainly the gorillas, chimps and shoebill would be my top three highlights. 

[xelas]

3 hours ago, janzin said:

And glad to see that everyone was still talking to each other by the end of the trip

 

Why not? We each have our own camera (almost ).

[xelas]

53 minutes ago, michael-ibk said:

with the state of the world right now I´ve put planning on hold.

 

The world will get in motion before end of this year. Start planning your birdy trip! I know a very good birding guide for Uganda .

[xelas]

32 minutes ago, kittykat23uk said:

But certainly the gorillas, chimps and shoebill would be my top three highlights. 

 

On a more serious note, there was much more then 7 specials. Even without gorilla and chimp trekking Uganda delivered in a big way. About the only things I didn't fancy were boxed .

Edited April 17, 2020 by xelas

[TonyQ]

Excellent very enjoyable report. Great writing and superb photos.

Thank you to all of you that went on the trip. 

[xelas]

11 hours ago, TonyQ said:

Thank you to all of you that went on the trip. 

 

The pleasure was all ours .

[Galana]

On 4/17/2020 at 2:15 PM, Galana said:

Is it? Watch this space.

So where were we before slipping back a couple of days?

Ah yes. The drive home from Lake Mburo.

 

As we set off we were serenaded out of the NP by a sweet Brown-backed Scrub-Robin.

 

Now here is my take on the last transfer with Maps.

First here is the full days drive.

You will note that the river system feeding/draining Lake Mburu comes down from 'our' route home and guess what? There is a handy swamp for our lunch stop.

What would be lunch be without a handy swamp?

Note also the river Katonga further north between the two yellow roads. Now geography students will tell you that you can tell the direction of the river flow by the acute angle of the tributaries always pointing downstream. So this would point to the Katonga heading North West into the Katonga Game Reserve to the  top left of the map. Well so it does most of the time and continues to head west until it falls over the rift cliff  into Lake Albert.

BUT when Lake Victoria is low, as it is now, the river flows in the other direction and empties into Lake Victoria.

As said our lunch stop was at Kaku Swamp a little to the south of the main road and accessed down a dirt track.  Thus:-

This swamp was always a good site for Purple Swamp Hen, Grebes etc., One visit I was there when Emmy got his lifer of Garganey Teal which was a bit of a role reversal for us.  It also holds Shoebill at certain times. Not today however.

Water levels were low and the best I got was a Jackson's Weaver.

and some Hottentot Teal.

 

  Our lunch ended with some sort of dispute with some youths on a bike who seemed to think we should pay for using 'their' track. Usually there is never a policeman around when you need one but there was this time as we rejoined the tar and the youths were sent packing.

 Our journey then continued until I brought the vehicle and road to a halt by spotting the only Speckled Pigeon of the trip on a wire.   We also tested a tailgating truck's braking distance for him!

 

Well a bird is a bird and we don't just stop for Bulbuls.

Speckled Pigeon.

 

After a while we made a stop at Flamingoes.

Neither Greater nor Lesser but a very nice cafe/bar where one can rest and refresh whilst posing by the Equator signs. It is a 'compulsory' stop where most drivers will exchange views and news with each other.

Sadly there was a power cut so we had to pass up on a nice Ice Cream.

After retrieving our passengers from doing the tourist things we then proceeded on the last part of the journey on the tar as far as Mpigi about 30km before Kampala.

Here we turned off the tar and took a rat run down dirt roads to avoid Kampala and so to Entebbe and Airport Guest House which you can see is quite close to Entebbe Airport.

We then had our last dinner together before, first Jo, and then Zvezda and Alex left for their respective flights home in the early hours leaving me to sleep on until next day.

But I did not sleep for the whole 24 hours.

 

 

Edited April 18, 2020 by Galana

[Galana]

March 1^st.

The final curtain. Or is it?

 

I slept well so did not hear Zvezda and Alex depart for their flight in the middle of the night but I was awoken by the arrival of what sounded like a herd of buffalo at around 4 a.m although the vocal gruntings made Wildebeeste more likely. Despite their best efforts to mimic a river crossing I nodded off again and awoke again in time to dress and be ready for breakfast at the usual time. Last nights arrivals were no quieter at breakfast. About a dozen or so in the party.

 

Breakfast over I was quoted a late check out fee in order to keep the room for the rest of the day as my departure for the airport would not be until around 20.30.

 

Back in my room I completed my packing and was attending to some ‘admin’ when there was a tap at my door and I saw that Emmy had arrived with daughter Danielle. Some 18 months since I had last met her in Buhoma and now a cute walking and talking three year old.  Leaving Danielle with me Emmy then went off to bring his wife whilst I rummaged through my luggage for the small gift I had brought for Danielle.

Having found the parcel we set off to follow Emmy. I am no big fan of ‘little people’ but that piece of permafrosted granite I use for a Heart cracked a little when I felt a small hand take mine as we negotiated the steps from my room and the path to the Restaurant. Gulp! Having acquired several God children of various races over the years I do know which way up they go and how to hold them so I was not unduly fazed by hand holding but then realised I was expected to pick her up and carry her. Gulp, gulp! But we made it OK and once in the building I was happy to hand the little girl back to her mother Jovlett.  I have found a big advantage that Godchildren have over one’s own is that they can be handed back so easily to their true owners.

As we gained the restaurant I noticed the Manageress, Gina, watching with a huge smile. The present, a jacket with hood, was admired by all and of course Danielle had to try it on. A bit big but she will no doubt grow into it. I have since been told by Emmy the gift is still firm favourite and the hard part is preventing Danielle wearing it to bed as well.

So I spent some time with the Gongo family discussing family news and schooling etc.,  before it was time for them to leave but not without a photo call with Taata’s present.

The place seemed quiet without them until the Wildebeest returned for lunch and promptly departed again with much bleating and banging.

So I took up position in the comfortable chair outside my cottageroom to read and see what birds were around. The resident Gonalek and African Thrush kept a close eye on me and even the Shrikra came down for a wash and brush up again.

Meantime ‘management’ had made me an offer I could not refuse. I could choose to pay for the late check out and have a free dinner, or pay for the dinner and have the late check out and airport transfer free.

Tough call. I think my obvious close relationship with Danielle and family had played a part in this kind offer.

Later a couple from Boston moved into the room next door and we shared some drinks and gossip. They had honeymooned last year in Kenya and got the African bug badly and so returned this year for more. We had dinner together later.

Then it was time to go to the airport. Big hug for Gina and I was on my way. The plane was an hour late due to bad weather delaying its departure from Kigali but it did arrive and I took my seat. My companion was another lady from Boston who had been chimp and gorilla trekking and was good company between naps.

March 2^ndhad me awake over the Greek Isles and we landed at Amsterdam a little late but still in time for my connection to Manchester and ultimately on home to Isle of Man with lots of memories to sustain me through the current lockdown..

 

All round this was a good trip with no deviation from our plans other than that caused by rain on two occasions and we ended up with an excellent bird count of some 430 species and around 40 mammals. I was pleased that everyone had appeared to enjoy Uganda and almost envied them for having seen the wonders of the Pearl of Africa for the first time with every experience being new to them instead of through my eyes which are somewhat jaded after a dozen trips.

 

[Zubbie15]

Thanks for sharing guys, definitely fun to travel along with you and to add another destination to the interminable (and not dropping currently, of course) list. 

[TonyQ]

@Galana a lovely way to finish. Danielle looks very proud of the jacket 

A great trip and a great report 

Thank you

[pedro maia]

I enjoyed a lot the TR, thanks guys!!

[Treepol]

@Galana @kittykat23uk @xelas thanks so much for an entertaining report and in many ways an off the beaten track  Ugandan adventure. Is this the longest TR on ST - if not, it must be one of the longest and enjoyable of course.

[kittykat23uk]

Glad you all enjoyed the ride 😁