UGANDA 2020 - A TALE OF 7 SPECIALS

[Galana]

5 hours ago, Soukous said:

21 hours ago, kittykat23uk said:

who would go to Uganda and not want to see it's most iconic primates, the Chimps and Gorillas

 

Me !

 

1 hour ago, janzin said:

Me too

They say confession is good for the soul. I did not contradict @kittykat23uk Jo in either of her statements above about Chimps. (Mummy always told me never to contradict  a Lady ) BUT now it can be told.

Maybe my aversion to Chimps stems from the early Tarzan films of my youth or those TV adverts for PG Tips. but I cannot abide them and have never paid good money to go and see them in Uganda or anywhere else!

I have seen them in the wild when birding as this example from Budongo shows:-

I addition to Chimpanzees my antipathy spreads to Olive/Yellow/Chacma Baboons  (Uggh!) and Vervet monkeys. (Yuk!)  I have a Zambian Lodge owner friend who says the best way to view Baboons is through the sights of his rifle!

However I don't have this feeling for all Primates and have spent much time with my other cousin the Mountain Gorilla and firmly believe that this is one of the finest Wildlife Experiences one can have.

And I am fine with other monkeys too. The lovely l'Hoest's is a firm favourite and I was thrilled last trip, 2018, to find my first Brazza's when birding Semuliki Hot springs. Pattas? Red tails etc? Bring them on. I even harbour a wish to see the Chimp's cousin the Bonobo. I even love seeing Gelada and Hamadryas and would love to find a Mandrill one day which I am sure shows what  a mixed up old g*t I really am.

 

More Bulbuls please Alex. (You snook that Chestnt Wattle-eye past me.)

Edited March 15, 2020 by Galana
amended text.

[Soukous]

6 minutes ago, Galana said:

I have a Zambian Lodge owner friend who says the best way to view Baboons is through the sights of his rifle!

 

could that be Herman?

[Soukous]

7 minutes ago, Galana said:

Olive/Yellow/Chacma Baboons  (Uggh!)

 

Agree absolutely

[Galana]

5 minutes ago, Soukous said:

could that be Herman?

No. Although it is something I am sure that Herman would endorse wholeheartedly. It was noticed that Baboons gave Wildlife Camp a very wide berth during our stay.

[kittykat23uk]

Such a shame that some people have such an aversion to these charismatic animals. To be honest I have gone years without Chimps/Gorillas going to the top of my list of must see animals. If it hadn't been for Ethiopia falling through and  @Galana and @xelas being amenable to me joining them i probably wouldn't have had the inclination to visit Uganda or see our cousins. But I'm so glad that I did, it was really worthwhile and I would recommend it to everyone to give it a go. 

 

Well looks like @xelas have already shown most of the special birds we saw in the afternoon and as he mentions, the light was not the greatest. Nevertheless I was very excited to catch my first view of this beauty, the Black Bee-eater, although we got better views later in the trip:

 

P2111426 black bee-eater (Merops gularis) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

A lot of patience and persistence paid off with a very secretive white-spotted flufftail 

 

P2111467 White-spotted Flufftail (Sarothrura pulchra) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2111487 White-spotted Flufftail (Sarothrura pulchra) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Okay @xelas has already shown the following birds but here are some of my shots for comparison. This first one doesn't look very chestnut does it? well it's sexually dimorphic and named for the female which is indeed a chestnut colour. 

 

P2111515 Chestnut Wattle-eye by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2111549 Hairy-breasted Barbet (Tricholaema hirsuta) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2111582 Hairy-breasted Barbet (Tricholaema hirsuta) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2111630 Uganda crested mangabey (Lophocebus ugandae) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2111677 yellow-crested woodpecker (Chloropicus xantholophus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2111687 African dusky flycatcher, dusky-brown flycatcher or dusky alseonax (Muscicapa adusta by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2111689 Ashy Flycatcher (Fraseria caerulescens) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2111726 African Blue-flycatcher (Elminia longicauda) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2111742 Blue-headed Sunbird (Cyanomitra alinae) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2111751 Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

@xelas did you amalgamate the following afternoon's roadside birding in with your last post? I have crowned eagle but dated the 12th? 

Edited March 29, 2020 by kittykat23uk

[Galana]

Nice Flufftail. I take it this was when Emmy led the two ladies down into the forest? Nice Wattle-eye too. Hmmm!

[xelas]

2 hours ago, kittykat23uk said:

@xelas did you amalgamate the following afternoon's roadside birding in with your last post?

 

Yes I did. Not very chronologically, I know. But it was in the afternoon, after all .

 

Thank you also for making me double-check the mangabey. I have corrected the ID accordingly.

 

Your White-spotted Flufftail is another Special bird from our trip! Well done, Jo! Zvezda has missed it. 

[Galana]

1 hour ago, xelas said:

Zvezda has missed it. 

I was stood with Zvezda earlier and thought she had got it then.

[Galana]

And just in case anyone should think I don't like all Primates here are some from the trip so far that I cannot include in my BY.

and...

Look out Jo. He's behind you.

 

Might as well do an Ellie while I am at it.

 

 

 

Edited March 15, 2020 by Galana
Additional photo.

[janzin]

Just to clarify... there are a few primates I like...certainly lemurs are primates...but they are not monkeys! Also, there are even a few monkeys I don't mind...like the tamarins of South America. They are cute. I think the more human-like they are, the less I like them.

[Soukous]

A Black Bee-eater, lovely. Another one for the list.

[Galana]

51 minutes ago, Soukous said:

Another one for the list.

I hope that you are writing them all down. You will need a notebook!

[Soukous]

19 minutes ago, Galana said:

I hope that you are writing them all down. You will need a notebook!

 

No need, I can just check @xelas Big Year when the time is right.

[xelas]

Ugh, I am afraid we have missed quite some species. Latest count of ticks was above 400, and my present count of clicks (until Buhoma) is 225.

Above number will increase with every BY post by @Galana, who can send you his Birds list, so you can prepare yourself.

Edited March 16, 2020 by xelas

[Galana]

19 minutes ago, xelas said:

Latest count of ticks was above 400, and my present count of clicks (until Buhoma) is 225.

Obviously not counting your 3257 Yellow-vented Bulbuls. My good friend Fraulein Klickunttick says you should aim for 75%.

[kittykat23uk]

On 3/15/2020 at 9:59 AM, Soukous said:

I should also say that I am happy @kittykat23uk is not participating in BY as it would mean yet another person is way ahead of me. 

 

I doubt that @Soukous, in any case I think @Galana and the Alex/Zvezda team took way more different birds than I did, since I have not needed to capture EBCs.. and I have to take time out to look for primates too. So not much point doing a big year for me.  

[xelas]

17 minutes ago, kittykat23uk said:

I have not needed to capture EBCs.

Neither do we ... they just happens .

[janzin]

What's an EBC? (I think i've asked this before but I don't remember. And folks here not on BY threads might want some clarification

 

[Galana]

11 minutes ago, janzin said:

What's an EBC?

Every Bird Counts! Started to creep into BY posts a few years back and now even has a special award.

[kittykat23uk]

@janzin You only have to look at @Galana's "Caspian Plovers" in his BY2020 thread to understand what I mean  

[Galana]

2 hours ago, kittykat23uk said:

@janzin You only have to look at @Galana's "Caspian Plovers" in his BY2020 thread to understand what I mean  

Yeah! Learn from the Master!

Edited March 16, 2020 by Galana

[kittykat23uk]

12 Feb 2020

 

I was up with the birds, so shot the purple dawn from my room at 0649, before heading out for some pre-breakfast birding. 

 

IMG_20200212_064947 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

I got better views of the iconic African Grey Parrot on the way to breakfast. The light was bad, this shot is enhanced. 

 

P2120059 copy African grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

The "Golden Hour" doesn't last long, but I made good use of it with a bird I have wanted to see for a long time- the Palm-nut Vulture. This shot is taken at 0735

 

P2120290 Palm-nut Vulture Gypohierax angolensis by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Birding continued over the breakfast table:

 

P2120310 Vieillot's black weaver (Ploceus nigerrimus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

The light was probably best close to 0800, the parrots and vultures posing in the palms:

 

P2120351 grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2120374 Palm-nut Vulture Gypohierax angolensis by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

At 0830 we assembled for our day trip to Bigodi Swamp

 

P2120408 Blue-headed agama by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 29, 2020 by kittykat23uk

[BRACQUENE]

That Palm-Nut Vulture is really fantastic but @kittykat23uk if you hadn’t mentioned it I never would have thought it was a vulture in the first place!

[xelas]

BIGODI SWAMP

 

 

There must be a special thing between Fred and swamp. We have been taken to many swamps on our trip, some bigger some smaller. It looked like Fred really likes them, browsing through the reed and trying to spot a hidden gem there. 

 

Bigodi swamp, or more properly, Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary located in Bigodi swamp, is one of the long time prime birding locations. That this sanctuary is operated by the local community for many years was quickly understood, by the lack of the maintenance of the wooden boardwalks. It may be a birdwatcher’s paradise, but birders must better watch where they step. Also important to notice is that there is no “pit stops” available on this round trek. So use the toilets before starting the walk. 

 

After paying the entry fee (50.000 UGX pp), a guide was allocated to our group, and we have started a 3 ½ hours journey through the wetlands. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[xelas]

Frankly speaking, the birding was not as good as I have expected to be. Vegetation was dense, light was scarce or too bright, and we might also been there too late, starting our hike at around 9:00. Part of the track is within dense vegetation, and part of the track is bordering with cultivated land.  Also the walk is quite long, and can be a bit boring on the last 1/3, walking on the local road. It was hot and humid, a small bottle of water was not enough liquid for one person.

 

Nevertheless we have had some nice encounters, with butterflies, birds and monkeys.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 16, 2020 by xelas