Uganda June 2021 - A Safari for Remarkable Primates and Marvellous Birds

[Atravelynn]

3 hours ago, adamt123 said:

thanks @Atravelynn.  I honestly felt pretty similarly about chimpanzee trekking the first time we came to Uganda when we basically just walked to the location were they were for about half an hour. You are absolutely correct that we have been lucky and I probably don't appreciate this enough.   Even luckier for chimps.  I've searched all day and not found them in the past.  Maybe we need to go on a bongo-seeking hike together since everything is just there waiting for you to show up1

 

And as for Semliki that will be full of details and interesting animals as well as some more serious reflection - sounds a bit ominous but we encountered some less than pleasant "extremists" there.  Oh my!

 

 

[adamt123]

15 hours ago, Atravelynn said:

Maybe we need to go on a bongo-seeking hike together since everything is just there waiting for you to show up

 

sounds great  

[adamt123]

Day 4

 

Bwindi to Ishasha with Wildlife Watching at Ruhija and the Neck

 

We left Broadbill Forest Camp at around 8 15 as we planned to have a few stops along the way to the Ishasha sector of QENP. Our first stop was close to yesterday’s gorilla base were we today alighted for L’Hoest’s Monkeys. They were a bit shy and difficult to photograph; only a few of them came out into the open for a brief period. Still, it was nice to see them again on foot. Pied Crow and Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill were two common species also observed in the vicinity. 

 

Ruhija

 

L'Hoest's Monkey

 

 

Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill

 

 

We continued to drive through the forest which was indeed a very peaceful and soothing experience when suddenly Alfred told Paul to stop the car and for us to get out. Hopeful for something exotic and obscure we enthusiastically obliged and walked along the road for 50m with Alfred replying to the calls of a bird. After a couple of minutes of calling, a large shadow appeared in the canopy and Alfred quickly hopped to a branch directly overhanging the road and beckoned for us to follow, pointing a where the bird was perched. As I put my lens towards it, I finally realized what it was – a long-tailed cuckoo. Alfred informed us that it was the Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo; the bird is most often only heard and rarely seen well so to get it out in the open so obligingly was remarkable and no doubt a testament to Alfred’s skill and experience and some good luck of course!

 

Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo - one of the best birds of the trip

 

 

Buzzing with excitement we continued further for a short period before stopping again to tick off another key mammalian target – Blue Monkey. There were about 7-10 of them feeding in the trees along the roadside. We alighted, leisurely took some photos and enjoyed watching them go about their day before continuing. This was our final stop in the Ruhija area of Bwindi and after this we began to quickly descend down the mountains. The temperature difference was already noticeable, particularly with the sun hitting the car. At around 10 30 we arrived at the Neck, which, briefly put, is the part of Bwindi were the national park is at its narrowest, with cultivation and villages surrounding the forest; despite this, the Neck is well known for offering some excellent wildlife watching. 

 

Blue Monkey

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walking down along the road produced lots of butterflies and bugs as well as some nice bird species; Alfred first spotted a very jumpy yet resplendent male Purple-breasted Sunbird, an Albertine Rift endemic heavily associated with fruiting Symphonia trees. Eventually – after much neck-craning – it showed itself out in the open together with the drabber female. At a stream we easily located a pair of Mountain Wagtails as well as a Dusky-blue Flycatcher, the photos of which were unfortunately marred by heat distortion, as well as the more familiar Grey-backed Camaroptera. Once we were back in the car and about to set off, a couple of Black Bee-eaters came into view; though they were against the sun and a bit far, it was nice to finish Bwindi with one of its famous and sought-after residents. I must say I liked the Neck a lot and it was all rather paradisiacal, as the photos hopefully illustrate. Leaving the forest behind we drove north for another few hours past the DRC border and through some poor untarred roads before arriving at Topi Lodge in the early afternoon. 

 

The Neck

 

 

 

Some cute fuzzy things

 

 

Purple-breasted Sunbird

 

 

Mountain Wagtail

 

 

Grey-backed Camaroptera

 

Dusky-blue Flycatcher

 

Black Bee-eater

 

The Neck

 

 

 

 

[MMMim]

Loving your report @adamt123.  It would seem that we have a slightly differing view on gorilla trekking  but hey, surprises are very nice too.  Loved the pictures of the mama and baby gorilla.  I remember at one point you said you weren't much of a birder - I beg to differ.  I'm really enjoying your selection of photographs (camera difficulties not withstanding - I would have been devastated and frustrated beyond belief with a camera/lens malfunction) and can't believe how many birds you sighted - Alfred was amazing!  Looking back, I regret not spending more time, like you did, looking for birds and monkeys.  I now realize how much I missed out on in Bwindi as I was so focused on the gorillas.  Mind you, after our trek, I was not able for much but rest and recuperation  . I also can really appreciate your love of ALL animals - from the spectacular to the fuzzy.  I think it is great that you are as excited by bugs and squirrels as you are by the "big five".  Bravo!

[adamt123]

thank you for your kind words @MMMim. Honestly when I was writing the section on the gorillas and in the subsequent discussion with atravelynn I was thinking about you and your experience gorilla trekking in Bwindi - the conditions can vary so greatly and the experience can mean different things to different people. I think the diversity of views and opinions is a great thing on this site. 

 

As for being a "birder": yes, its true that I have an interest in birds but the reason why I don't usually use this label is because it might suggest an exclusive interest in birds or an interest in birds to the detriment or exclusion of other lifeforms. As you have very correctly said I like squirrels and bugs and even a magnificent tree. Birds are good though because there are lots of them but they are also relatively easy to ID (unlike bugs or even some reptiles). I suppose I consider myself to be more a generalist.

 

In the end we all have species that we are really enthusiastic about - for some it might be gorillas, for others some obscure bird that only a handful of people have seen (like Shelley's crimsonwing in Bwindi). For me, my two absolute favourite sightings of this trip happened to be, based on the luck we had, both of mammals (details will follow!) but what made the trip special were all the different birds, mammals and yes, even the unidentified bugs.  

[Atravelynn]

The Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo was showing of its bars for you.  The L'Hoest's Monkey and Blue Monkeys are prizes--some of those remarkable primates.

[Treepol]

Great photos of the Barred Long tailed cuckoo and Black Bee-eater. I'm intrigued by your photos of the lush, dense forest and mountain streams, such an inviting habitat.

[MMMim]

@adamt123Generalist - what a great description!  I too am a generalist I guess.  I came home from my trip with pictures of great big black and red grasshoppers and huge black fuzzy caterpillars in S. Africa, loads of butterfly pictures, and a fantastic centipede picture from Uganda, and I was so excited by a Sausage tree, a taka-taka flower and a fireball lily in the Mara (my jeep-mates thought I was nuts).  Every living thing holds some value and should excite awe in some way 

[adamt123]

glad you liked cuckoo @Atravelynnand @Treepol. I don't normally have good luck with cuckoos as they seemingly always refuse to show themselves to me - especially the annoyingly common red-chested - but on this trip we were lucky enough to get four species, the best of which was the barred long-tailed. 

[adamt123]

2 hours ago, MMMim said:

Every living thing holds some value and should excite awe in some way 

 

100% agree @MMMim 

 

When I first went to Cape Town I was taking pictures of speckled pigeons at the V&A waterfront and I'm pretty sure a few passersby also thought I was "nuts"  

[adamt123]

 

Topi Lodge

 

Topi Lodge, together with Pumba Cottages (QENP) and Hornbill Lodge (Murchison Falls) are owned by Woodland which is actually a part of Mamaland. It was much hotter here than at either Lake Mburo or Ruhjia and the change in scenery from forest to the grassy thornveld savannah was a bit overwhelming. As we were only here for one night there isn’t a huge amount to say about the lodge; staff were pleasant, food was nice, and the room was spacious and furnished to a high standard. Like at Hyena Hill we were the only guests. Overall, 4/5. 

 

 

 

 

The lodge had a productive bird bath between reception and the chalets which produced three new species, Crimson-rumped Waxbill, Spectacled Weaver and Holub’s Golden Weaver. The restaurant also overlooked a few bushes which gave glimpses of Double-toothed Barbet, Red-collared Widow, Common Bulbul, White-crowned Robin-chat, Marico/Purple-banded Sunbird, Olive-bellied Sunbird and Scarlet-chested Sunbird. From our chalet, we also had good views of soaring Palm-nut Vulture and a resident family of White-headed Barbet. In the night, the chalet’s terrace was alive with dozens of Geckos (tropical house I think?).  As with Broadbill Forest Camp, these are observations from the whole stay which I have collated here in one post. 

 

Crimson-rumped Waxbill

 

 

Weavers

 

 

Widow

 

Double-toothed Barbet

 

 

Marico/Purple-banded Sunbird

 

White-crowned Robin-chat

 

White-headed Barbet

 

Gecko

 

 

 

Edited January 8, 2022 by adamt123

[adamt123]

Ishasha Evening Game Drive

 

 

By 15 00 we were out for our afternoon game drive in the Ishasha sector. The drive from Topi Lodge to the park entrance was quite long but the area was the same grassy savannah as the national park, and we began the drive with a good number of bird sightings here. The drive started off with White-browed Coucal and we saw lots of Red-billed Queleas as well as Croaking Cisticola, Fork-tailed Drongo, the first Village Weavers and a Gymnogene. Waiting at the gate a very confiding African Pied Wagtail jumped right onto the open roof of the car and we also had very distant views of Lappet-faced Vulture.

 

White-browed Coucal

 

Red-billed Quelea

 

 

Croaking Cisticola

 

Fork-tailed Drongo

 

Gymnogene

 

African Pied Wagtail 

 

Beginning the game drive proper there were about 5 other vehicles in the vicinity all madly dashing about looking for Ishasha’s  famous tree climbing lions. We, on the other hand, took things more slowly and started the game drive off with a small number of Uganda Kob. Slightly further into the park closer to the DRC border we also had our first Elephant of the trip, a lone though impressive bull which was very intent on not posing for a nice photo! Just a side note, I believe elephants in the QENP area may have some African x Forest hybrids, so I’ve just left it at genus level here. Birds spotted in this area were Rüppell’s Starling, Red-billed Firefinch, Plain-backed Pipit and Lesser Masked Weaver. 

 

Ishasha Sector

 

 

Kob 

 

 

Elephant

 

 

Lesser Masked Weaver

 

Rüppell’s Starling

 

 

Plain-backed Pipit 

 

Travelling further towards the DRC we were the only vehicle left which was an exciting experience, knowing the history of kidnappings at this place. In complete honesty though we didn’t have an armed ranger with us we felt safe throughout our stay at Ishasha. Driving along the Ishasha airstrip gave views of African Pipit, Palm-nut Vulture, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Broad-billed Roller, Cattle Egret and Red-necked Francolin as well as a large albeit distant herd of grazing African Buffalo. 

 

Buffalo

 

 

Red-necked Francolin

 

Yellow-billed Oxpecker

 

Palm-nut Vulture

 

 

African Pipit

 

We next drove along a very large swamp. Views were poor although there was a decent amount of wildlife including hundreds of African Openbills, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Long-toed Lapwing, African Jacana, Egyptian Goose, Red-chested Sunbird and even a few Hippos. We spent a decent amount of time here and it was a nice change from all the beige grassland which wasn’t all that productive (or at least not yet). 

 

Grey Heron

 

African Openbill

 

 

 

 Little Grebe

 

Long-toed Lapwing

 

Hippo

 

Red-chested Sunbird - out of focus like this I think it looks rather like a giant fly!

 

The Swamp

 

Moving away from the swamp and back towards the entrance gate produced a small herd of Topi and a few Vervet Monkeys as well as more grassland birds the new additions to the game drive being Flappet Lark, Rufous-naped Lark, Sooty Chat, Red-eyed Dove, Cape Turtle Dove, Grey-backed Fiscal, Woodland Kingfisher, Madagascar Bee-eater and a distant immature Bateluer. 

 

The landscape in Ishasha is dotted with trees and of course we checked all the prominent ones for the tree-climbing lions (or maybe something else nice) until eventually, close to gate-closing time, a lone Lioness did indeed show. It was a good-sized lion who appeared to have only just jumped into the tree. She looked very tired and after posing for a few shots (including a splendid yawn), she settled down for a nap. We had the whole sighting to ourselves and the tree was just off the road so views were excellent. Once we had had our fill with the lioness and were about to leave, Paul radioed other guides to let them know of the sighting. Apparently, this was the only tree climbing lion seen in the area that afternoon; funny how we had spotted it and not some of those “Ferrari-safari” folks. We left the lioness to her sleep and retuned to camp having enjoyed another intense though successful day in the bush. 

 

Topi

 

 

Vervet

 

Cape Turtle Dove

 

Rufous-naped Lark

 

Madagascar Bee-eater 

 

Lion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ishasha Night

 

 Just a quick edit - next post will follow on Monday, not tomorrow. 

Edited January 10, 2022 by adamt123

[AKR1]

@adamt123

many thanks for posting this highly informative trip report. Sorry about your camera lens problems but you bounced back well. Like your detailed narrative illustrated by your pictures. 

[MMMim]

Wonderful, keep it coming!  The picture of the young Kob looks like its giving you a smile and a wink - playing to the camera

[adamt123]

many thanks @AKR1and @MMMim

[adamt123]

Day 5

 

Ishasha to QENP Main Sector

 

Over dinner with Paul and Alfred we had decided that we weren’t going to take another drive in Ishasha. We felt that although our game drive in the evening had been good, we weren’t sure what another drive in the same area would offer beyond what we had already seen. I recognize this is quite a strange thing to say – every game drive is different and an opportunity to see more wildlife but for some reason we had just had our fill of Ishasha and felt it was the right time to move further north.

 

Ishasha Sunrise

 

 

As such, it was a relaxed start and we left Topi Lodge at around 9, arriving at Bush Lodge QENP 2h 45m later. Exactly like yesterday’s evening drive things started off with the rather clumsy-looking White-browed Coucal as well as a magnificent Brown Snake-eagle. An early highlight was a small flock of Red-headed Lovebirds, one which was obliging enough for a few photos. We also enjoyed views of White-winged Widow, Laughing Dove, Broad-billed Roller, Lesser Striped Swallow, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Eastern Plantain-eater and Woodland Kingfisher. 

 

White-browed Coucal

 

Brown Snake-eagle

 

Red-headed Lovebird

 

 

White-winged Widow

 

Laughing Dove

 

Woodland Kingfisher

 

Continuing further north through the national park we encountered a lot of other tourist vehicles half of which stopped for a quick natter with Alfred – almost everyone seemed to know him! Arriving at a small stream we had nice views of Woolly-necked Stork, African Fish-eagle and a medium-sized herd of Buffalo. The true highlight of the drive came just as we were approaching Bush Lodge in the form of a Banded Snake-eagle. I love raptors and this was one that I really wanted to see on this trip. We got out of the car here and I took as many shots of it as I could – it was a bit distant but still lovely to see. Little did we know that a much greater prize was awaiting us at Bush Lodge… 

 

Woolly-necked Stork

 

African Fish-eagle

 

Buffalo

 

 

 

 

Banded Snake-eagle

 

 

 

[adamt123]

Bush Lodge Queen Elizabeth NP

 

Now what can I say about Bush Lodge other than it was one of the best places I have ever stayed at. I don’t give out 5/5 ratings to accommodations easily and typically only do so to once or maybe twice in a year (safari or otherwise) but Bush Lodge truly took my breath away. Firstly, it was busy; in fact, it was the busiest place we stayed at but that took away nothing from the experience. Staff were great and the food was good but what made the place really special was the ambience. 

 

The two accommodation types here the chalets and tents; feeling a bit adventurous we told Mamaland to book us a tent. This was a fantastic decision. As far as I can remember we stayed in Tent 7 which directly overlooked a beautiful verdant swamp and was very private with none of neighbouring tents in sight. When we walked around the property we did see the chalets but they were much closer together with not nearly as much shrubbery between them. They overlooked the Kazinga Channel which I think is inferior to the swampland because of the crazy amount of wildlife we saw in just in the immediate vicinity of the tent and walking a bit further towards the swamp proper.

 

Our tent

 

Swamp directly behind tent

 

That’s enough praise for the Bush Lodge and the tents and I think it’s time to move on the sightings, starting with the best. Just after we had checked in, we walked with the general manager from reception to the tent and there they were – a family of Giant Forest Hogs!!! This was easily the best sighting/moment of the trip. I chose Bush Lodge because in Tomer’s report they also saw the hogs here (our sighting was much better though) and Alfred further mentioned that a lot of his clients chose this hotel for the sake of catching glimpse of the hogs. I couldn’t believe how amazing our view was and how perfect our timing had been.  We had the whole sighting to ourselves and the hogs were wallowing and lazing about right before us in the swamp for a good half an hour before disappearing into the undergrowth, except for a family of three (including a piglet) which had decided to stay back and give us extra viewing time.

 

 Giant Forest Hog 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moving on the from the hogs, the trees directly in front of the tent were also highly productive over the one-night stay. We loved Bush Lodge so much in fact that we decided to forego tomorrow’s morning game drive to spend more time at the lodge; every time I looked into the swamp area there was something new to see – it was too hard to leave! 

 

The list of species observed directly from the chalet: Blue-spotted Wood-dove, Red-billed Firefinch, African Fish-eagle, Common Bulbul, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Northern Crombec, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, African Thrush, African Blue Flycatcher, African Paradise Flycatcher, Red-chested Sunbird, Speckled Mousebird, Arrow-marked Babbler, Wattled Starling, Rüppell’s Starling and some fighting Egyptian Geese. As well as the hogs we also had multiple Elephant herds and a few Buffalos from the mammals. A quick walk to the neighbouring tent (no 6) got us Snowy-crowned Robin-chat, a shy Tropical Boubou and a Warthog darting around which gave me quite the fright. 

 

Common Bulbul

 

Grey-backed Camaroptera

 

Northern Crombec

 

Brown-throated Wattle-eye

 

Red-billed Firefinch

 

Rüppell’s Starling

 

Speckled Mousebird

 

Egyptian Goose fight

 

Elephant

 

 

 

 

Buffalo

 

Snowy-crowned Robin-chat (very out of focus, recovered with Topaz)

 

Tropical Boubou

 

And these were the species we saw whilst wondering around the lodge: a very tame Swamp Flycatcher, Northern Grey-headed Sparrow with chicks in the dinning tent, Northern Black Flycatcher, fine views of Black-headed Gonolek, Pin-tailed Whydah and a well posing Spot-flanked Barbet. 

 

Swamp Flycatcher

 

Northern Grey-headed Sparrow

 

Black-headed Gonolek

 

Spot-flanked Barbet

 

 

There was also one more very special little bird which we saw just as we were leaving – what I believe is an albino flycatcher, quite possibly based on the shape and some expert advice a White-eyed Slaty. Regardless of the exact species it was amazing to see it just flying around the swamp area and the perfect way to leave the lodge. The night spent here was also fantastic. There were bats flying everywhere – difficult to photograph but I did manage to get this rather sweet Yellow-winged Bat which was hanging just in front of the tent. Together with the sounds of cicadas and hippos out grazing very close to the tent it really was a magical night. 

 

Albino Flycatcher

 

 

Yellow-winged Bat

 

Edited January 11, 2022 by adamt123

[adamt123]

QENP - Kazinga Channel Cruise

 

After admiring the forest hogs and taking lunch we headed off for our boat cruise along the Kazinga channel. We boarded the small UWA boat directly from the lodge’s jetty and made a number of other stops along the channel to pick up more people. By the time everyone was on board it was pretty much full (maybe 15 people). As with our other activities Alfred accompanied us on the cruise; Paul, in the meantime, drove the car to the others side of the channel where we would meet up with him to commence our short game drive. 

 

Despite the number of people on board the boat cruise was an enjoyable activity. We started off with many of the expected birds - Pied Kingfisher, Spur-winged Lapwing, Water Thick-Knee, Black-winged Stilt, Kittliz’s Plover, Black-headed Heron, Hadada Ibis and Village Weaver. There were also a few Nile Monitors around include a tiny yellow hatchling. There were lots of small Elephant groups along the shore as well as many Hippo pods which we got pretty close to, one of which even contained a leucitic individual. 

 

Pied Kingfisher

 

Water Thick-knee

 

Black-winged Stilt

 

Black-headed Heron, Hadada Ibis and Spur-winged Lapwing

 

Nile Monitor

 

 

Hippos

 

 

Elephant 

 

 

 

 

 

Buffalo were also present in good number, including one with some head ornamentation in the form of a Yellow-billed Oxpecker. African Fish-eagles were abundant too, as were Madagascar Bee-eaters, which turned out to be the most frequently observed bee-eater of the trip. Woodland Kingfisher, Reed Cormorant, Hamerkop and Striated Heron also showed well. As we headed back towards the jetty, I managed to get a really nice shot of Malachite Kingfisher which was gleefully shared with some of our Russian boatmates. Rounding off the trip were Great Egret and Marabou Stork. 

 

Buffalo

 

 

African Fish-eagle

 

 

 

One from the Nikon...

 

...and one from the Canon just to be safe

 

Reed Cormorant

 

Hamerkop 

 

Striated Heron

 

Malachite Kingfisher 

 

Great Egret

 

 Marabou Stork

 

I want to make an important point here – we didn’t make it that far south towards the mouth of the channel where large groups of pelicans and sometimes African Skimmers are seen. When I later realized this, I thought of asking Alfred and Paul but at dinner we had quite an engaging discussion about Shelley’s crimsonwing (which Alfred has seen thrice) and Grauer’s broadbill as well as our impending visit to the enigmatic Semliki tomorrow, so I guess I just forgot about it. Definitely worth confirming that your Kazinga channel trip will take you that far before you get on though. 

 

Kazinga Channel

 

 

 

[adamt123]

QENP - Kasenyi Evening Game Drive

 

Rejoining Paul, we headed off to the Kasenyi (northern) side of the game viewing area. We had intended to go to the Mweya (southern) side for tomorrow’s morning game drive but as I have already detailed, we never quite got round to that. The Kasenyi game drive was okay. There were no other cars but equally there was little wildlife. We did have a few medium sized Uganda Kob herds as well as Collared Pratincole, Pin-tailed Whydah, Red-faced Francolin, Red-billed Firefinch, Grey-backed Fiscal, Lesser Masked Weaver, Bronze Mannikin and our sole Southern Red Bishop. We also found a lone Waterbuck and two Lionesses hidden in the long grass. I do recognize that we were lucky to have another lion sighting and especially at Queen Elizabeth where the lion situation has been troubled to say the least. 

 

Kob

 

 

 

 

 

Bronze Mannikin

 

Pin-tailed Whydah

 

Grey-backed Fiscal

 

Southern Red Bishop

 

Waterbuck 

 

Lion

 

 

As we were driving back a blue quail also darted in front of the car; Alfred also saw it clearly and identified it as that. While I personally cannot include this as an official sighting because there is no photo, I thought owing to the scarcity of the bird it was worth a brief mention here and I guess they are next to impossible to photograph. 

 

Overall, I feel that QENP (including Ishasha) is the only place we visited on this trip that I wouldn’t return to and game drives here are definitely sub-par when compared with the magical Murchison Falls and the surprisingly impressive Lake Mburo, especially in terms of plains game. The grassland birding was okay but again inferior to both of the other parks. As such, I think one night each at Ishasha and QENP north/main sector was about right simply in terms of the quality of the game drives. 

 

Kasenyi

 

 

[Atravelynn]

"Giant Forest Hogs!!! This was easily the best sighting/moment of the trip" A man after my own heart!!

It was 5/5 Bush Lodge that made it happen.

QENP delivered some excellent birds and the channel cruise lived up to its reputation.   Good point on checking the farthest reaches of your Kazinga Channel cruise. 

I was told a long time ago that tree-climbing lions in Ishasha are a 1 in 3 shot, so you were lucky.

Not many goose fights, good catch.   You saw some big buffalo herds too. 

Even if QENP was not as good as some of the other places you visited, it had its moments!

[adamt123]

20 hours ago, Atravelynn said:

Even if QENP was not as good as some of the other places you visited, it had its moments!

 

absolutely correct@Atravelynnand its still somewhere I would recommend others to visit especially as it gives a nice savannah break between kibale/semliki to the north and bwindi to the south

[adamt123]

Semliki (Semuliki) National Park  - Introduction

 

Having relaxed in the morning at Bush Lodge we set out for Semliki by the mid-morning. It was still a pretty long drive and we stopped for lunch in Fort Portal at the Gardens restaurant which is where a lot tourists to the Kibale area stop too. We also had a few other important things to do here: one of our tyres had sustained a puncture so we changed that at a petrol station and we also needed to buy food supplies for Semliki. This is normal; when staying at the Semliki UWA accommodation (Bumaga Camp) fruits, vegetables, bread and other food stuffs are self-purchased then given to staff who cook it up. 

 

Because information about Semliki and especially Bumaga can be a bit more difficult to come by, I will add as much detail to each of the Semliki sections, which are (1) Evening Hot Spring and Nature Walk, (2) Bumaga Camp, (3) Kirumya Trail Full Day Walk and (4) Morning Roadside Wildlife Watching. However, I want to start here with some general remarks. On the whole Semliki was fantastic and a two-night stay is nowhere near enough time here – I think at least three full days/four nights is needed. As we were very unsure about the state of Bumaga Camp and we had never been to Semliki before this was sort of a first impressions/reconnaissance trip, but I wouldn’t even consider a future trip to Uganda without coming back to Semliki. 

 

Birding was superb, mammal watching was good and the place definitely had a more off the beaten track atmosphere. As I have already alluded to and completely inspired by Tomer’s report, the main mammalian targets were the three rare monkeys – Semliki Red Colobus, Dent’s and De Brazza’s. Tomer and his companion were very lucky to see all three species; we were hoping for one or two. Despite being home to these three enigmatic primates (as well as the more widespread monkey species) Semliki really isn’t well visited outside the more hardcore birding community. For me, it was reading Tomer’s report on Mammal Watching and the possibility of seeing hopefully some exotic monkeys that convinced me to give Semliki a try. 

 

We were nonetheless equally very much interested in the birds. A quick scroll through Stevenson and Fanshawe’s Birds of East Africa will easily reveal how many Congo species are found here and nowhere else in east Africa, with specialties including Congo serpent eagle, long-tailed hawk, yellow-throated cuckoo, Gabon woodpecker, Maxwell’s weaver and an extraordinary array of hornbills including the dazzling eastern long-tailed (white-crested) hornbill and the mammoth black-casqued wattled hornbill. Obviously over two days we weren’t going to see all of them, but I think with the help of Alfred and our UWA guide Moses we did see a lot and we had excellent luck, particularly with some of those hornbills.   

 

There is one final other thing that I need to comment on – other travellers we encountered at Semliki. We were surprised at how busy it was – relative to our other stops in Uganda – with three other parties staying at the camp. There was a British-Belgian and a party of three Alabamians; both groups were very pleasant and we enjoyed speaking and sharing our experiences with them, especially the Americans. The final group were a threesome; two men and a woman. At the time I didn’t know who they were, but it turns out they are actually well-known hardcore birders. One of the men was particularly loud and disruptive and his constant swearing and what appeared to be anger in front of everyone else was definitely off putting. For example, on evening his two companions were out looking for Bates’s nightjar near their campsite while he was in the main dining area and when he found out he started screaming at them “don’t you f****** see that bird without me! don’t you know how much that bird f****** means to me?!” It was unpleasant – the Belgian man later informed us that their search had been fruitless; upon hearing that I couldn't help but smirk. 

 

At the Kirumya trail these three found grey-throated rail. Or rather the two men did, and they got some great shots of it. The woman was resting further back on the trail and we bumped into them as they were going to retrieve her to try and find it again. Alfred commented here that these people make, in his opinion, unethical use of bird recordings to draw birds. Alfred noted that he has witnessed the negative effect this can have on birds based on his experience in the Royal Mile where birds abandoned their territories due to recordings being played. Remember I’m not a “birder” or an expert on this and it is a hotly debated issue, but Alfred’s argument certainly came across well. However, I also want to stress that I personally did not see or hear these people using call playback, though I do trust what Alfred said and to be honest these people from the moment we met them just came across as a bit selfish and obsessed. If you want to know more about this from their side (they have a popular blog), you’ll find their leader’s shots and name on the ebird page for grey-throated rail. 

 

I’m not going to comment on this matter again, but this really made me think more about the way I like to safari/wildlife watch and where my mantra of ‘see whatever crosses your path and don’t chase after things’ comes from. As I will detail, we had great sightings in Semliki by quietly walking along the path and seeing what we saw. I’ve had negative experiences of chasing after cheetah in Maasai Mara too and this reminded me of that a bit. I guess I just have more of a laid-back style grounded in simply enjoying and appreciating whatever you happen to meet, while making a conscious effort to look in the right places and maintain a respectful environment. But I think that is enough serious talk for one report. 

[adamt123]

Semliki NP – Evening Hot Spring and Nature Walk

 

When we arrived at Semliki at around 15 30 we first went to the main park office/reception area which is about 1km before Bumaga Camp. Here there was a bit of confusion because the office closes quite early and we wanted a walk up to sunset. It took a bit of negotiating, but Paul and Alfred did manage to convince the UWA folks to allow us to go on the nature walk and see the hot springs. We had to change into some more appropriate trekking clothes here as the track is accessed directly from this office and we would then walk up to camp at the end. 

 

Welcome to Semliki

 

 

 

The first part of the walk traverses through some rainforest which was surprisingly cool in the mid-afternoon though still alive with life, with our first sighting being a skink. I’m not sure of the species – speckle-lipped skink appears to be the most commonly seen but based on my very limited research this looks more like a Guinea mabuya… maybe? We also had some shy Olive Baboons and lots of ants which one must also be cautious of, though luckily we managed to avoid any unpleasant incidents. As we approached the female hot spring the rancid odour of sulphur filled the air; I really hate the smell of sulphur so refused to go any further. It’s basically a small geyser/hot spring – relatively underwhelming by international standards. As I waited for the others there was a Spur-winged Lapwing nearby and quite a few Palm-nut Vultures to admire. 

 

Skink

 

Olive Baboon

 

Ants

 

Palm-nut Vulture

 

Hot Spring

 

 

The walk to the second hot spring was easier and the smell wasn’t quite so overwhelming. Here we had some good sightings, the foremost of which was a small group of Orange-cheeked Waxbills at the very edge of their range – Semliki is the only place in east Africa were this rather handsome little bird is found. A Klaas’s Cuckoo also appeared right beside the waxbills and walking back we had a (distant) soaring Ayres’s Hawk-eagle, a another really fantastic find to start off our Semliki experience. 

 

Orange-cheeked Waxbill

 

 

Klaas’s Cuckoo

 

 

 

Ayres’s Hawk-eagle

 

Hot Spring Walk

 

 

 

 

Getting back into the cover of the forest we had our sole sighting of Hairy-breasted Barbet and a fleeting glimpse of a small troop of De Brazza’s monkeys, a very retiring and difficult to observe species, as they raced away from us into the thick forest. Though the sighting was exceptionally brief and I was definitely disappointed by the lack of photo, it really built up the excitement and the anticipation of seeing something excellent tomorrow. I will note that based on what I know, this area close to springs is where De Brazza’s are most often seen (i.e. opposed to on the main Kirumya trail). I think with a bit of patience a proper sighting is definitely possible. 

 

Hairy-breasted Barbet

 

We next continued onto the road which was moderately busy with an assortment of pedestrians, goats and motorcycles. The light was poor in the late afternoon and while we did see Village Weaver, Mantled Guereza and our first Grey-cheeked Mangabeys I will post more photos from later sightings taken in the morning with better light. A nice end to the walk close to Bumaga Camp was witnessing at least a dozen Piping Hornbills fly over from the national park into the surrounding hillside. This was definitely a great opportunity to practise shooting birds in-flight and also admire our first of our ‘Semliki special hornbills’. 

 

Mantled Guereza

 

Piping Hornbill

 

 

 

 

Edited January 12, 2022 by adamt123

[adamt123]

Semliki NP – Bumaga Camp 

 

Bumaga Camp was basic but adequate. The main reception/mess was housed in a large timber building which was the focal centre of the camp. Meals were on sofas and very informal, though it was nice to catch up with others here. The place had quite a 'Thailand backpacker lodge' feel to it, the difference being the clientele of course. We also thought the chef here was talented and food was actually very nice. Staff were honestly great too, particularly one of the women (I think she was the main manager) who helped with luggage and also charged one of our camera batteries in her home.  

 

Main Building

 

So, all of that was very nice but the room/banda/chalet could have done with a bit of TLC. Honestly, we weren’t expecting much so we weren’t disappointed or surprised and it was still perfectly adequate. We had the furthest chalet on the right which was more spacious as it was a four-person room with two beds on either side and the bathroom in the middle. There was no hot water, but the bucket shower wasn’t too bad, and the toilet worked without issue.

 

Our Banda

 

 

 

 

As for wildlife we saw some more Piping Hornbills but not much else, though we didn't actually dedicate anytime to walking around the camp to look for anything either. Something very cool that we did hear on the way to dinner was a very loud insect. It was dark and despite spending sometime looking for it we didn't find it, though it really was the most deafeningly mesmerizing call. 

 

Overall, then, Bumaga Camp was fine and probably a bit better than what we were expecting; despite the relatively large number of guests the camp was peaceful, and the chalets are built with good enough distance between them. It really wasn’t hot here at all and we didn’t miss air-conditioning, but I think a proper shower would have been nice. Therefore, as the only real option for visiting Semliki NP, Bumaga camp is really not bad at all and I actually came to quite like the place. Would stay again, 4/5. 

 

 

[adamt123]

Semliki NP – Kirumya Trail Full Day Walk

 

The main attraction of Semliki National Park is its Kirumya trail which bisects the park from a small ditch on the side of the main road in the east to the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo at the Semliki river in the west. Birding and to a more limited extent mammal watching along the trail is the primary activity in Semliki which allows one to venture deeper into the forest away from the visitors’ centre/hot spring area. Kirumya is characterized by a range of splendid trees and rich shrubbery – just as it attracts wildlife enthusiasts from around the world, I’m pretty confident any botanist would have a field day here too. 

 

This was perhaps the most highly anticipated day of the whole trip but, while we had encountered no rain so far on the trip, this was the morning when the rain came down bucket loads. We awoke pre-dawn for breakfast to heavy rain but agreed with Alfred that we would just wait to set off until the rain subsided. In the meantime, we relaxed in the banda watching some Netflix and sorting through photos. Luckily, by about 9 45 the rain had reduced to a drizzle and we were on our way. 

 

Accompanied by Alfred and UWA ranger Moses, we first stopped to pick up wellingtons (which were an absolute must) at the visitors’ centre before driving about 10 minutes south to the trailhead. I would recommend bringing one’s own wellingtons. Driving up to the trail we had yet more views of Piping Hornbill and Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill as well as Lesser Striped Swallow and a rather wet Banded-snake Eagle which was perched on a pole right above the road seemingly watching the local children on their way to school down below. 

 

Piping Hornbill

 

Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill

 

Piping (bottom) and Black-and-white-casqued (top) Hornbills

 

Banded-snake Eagle 

 

 

 

Starting on the trail proper, the entrance of which is just a small break in the foliage and easily missable, things began nicely with Chestnut-breasted Nigrita in the edge of its range. Just passed this a black thing the size of a cat just fell out from a tree in front of us; it was all very sudden and impossible to photograph but turns out it was a marsh mongoose. Back to the birds and we had a truly superb sighting of a tiny Yellow-footed Flycatcher which just sat on a branch hanging over the trail as we walked under it. Interestingly the diminutive flycatcher was sitting the same spot some 5-6 hours later when we were coming out of the trail. A cooperative Red-tailed Ant-thrush was another great find in this dense part of the forest.

 

Chestnut-breasted Nigrita

 

Yellow-footed Flycatcher

 

 

 

Red-tailed Ant-thrush

 

 

Travelling further we had Crested Malimbe and Red-headed Bluebill both of which were among the less obliging photo subjects. Deeper along the trail we found Splendid Starling, the nominate race of Crested Guineafowl and Palm-nut Vulture. The trail itself is wide and very walkable, without much undulating or difficult terrain. I was actually rather surprised just how easy-going the walking was, especially when compared with the demanding trekking at Bwindi just a few days earlier. With Semliki being a rainforest, it was always cloudy during our visit and the magnificent canopy of trees also provided extra cover, which further eased the walking without needing to worry about the heat. I actually didn’t find it hot at all on the trail, even in the mid-afternoon. The most precarious parts of the trail were at water crossings where we very carefully walked over some extremely slippery logs.  

 

Crested Malimbe

 

Red-headed Bluebill

 

Kirumya Trail

 

 

 

 

Splendid Starling

 

Crested Guineafowl

 

 

 

Palm-nut Vulture

 

Closer to the campsite (the mid-point of the trail where we stopped for lunch) we did get a glimpse of a  Dent’s Monkey, and I was able to get a shot of its back. The Dent's monkeys were following a group of Red-tailed Guenons but were unfortunately much more camera shy than their red-tailed cousins. I was elated we had seen this elusive animal and even though the photo could have been better, I was satisfied leaving the park with one of the three rare monkeys in what was my second favourite moment of the trip after the hogs. As for the Semliki Red Colobus, Alfred remarked that in his decades of visiting of the park he has only ever seen it twice!

 

Dent's Monkey

 

Dent's (left) and Red-tailed (right) Monkeys

 

Red-tailed Guenon

 

Some other cool things

 

 

 

 

Forest Elephant Dung

 

Stopping at the campsite for about 25 minutes we were surprised hot food was hand delivered to us and I must mention that I was equally pleased by the appreciable quality of the food (green aubergines, avocado and rice), which we ate sitting on a log while a family of nightmarishly difficult to photograph Black-billed Turacos  hopped from tree to tree in the distance. Even lunch in Semliki turned out to be memorable for all the right reasons. 

 

Campsite area

 

Lunch

 

Black-billed Turaco

 

We continued a little bit beyond the campsite but got nowhere near close to finishing the trail at the DRC border. In this part of the trail we had another Red-tailed Ant-thrush, more Piping Hornbills, a singing Xavier’s Greenbul and a rather confiding Fraser’s Rufous Thrush. This was together with one of the birds I was most hoping to see, black-casqued wattled hornbill, though it flew off before I could get a photo. 

 

I must mention here one of Alfred’s very useful skills: his ability to very accurately and quickly describe the exact whereabouts of something he had seen, for example he would say something like ‘in the large tree behind the tree with no leaves, near the top, one branch above the branch that forks, away from the trunk’. Before experiencing this in the field this wasn’t something I had ever considered but it was a vital skill to help us locate and then photograph so many birds throughout the trip, especially the shier and jumpier ones. 

 

Xavier’s Greenbul - the last bird we saw before turning back

 

Area beyond the campsite

 

 

Fraser’s Rufous Thrush

 

 

Piping Hornbill

 

Alfred doing his thing

 

Our return journey was defined by an unexpected occurrence. Rain in the Rwenzori mountains to the south of Semliki had caused the Semliki river to flood and a good section of the trail was submerged under water - half-a-metre+ high in some parts. Trudging through the mush of mud, silt and brown water was really fun and quite a laugh, though I definitely clung onto my cameras very tightly! 

 

Trail on the return walk

 

 

 

Sightings on the way back were a bit more difficult than the way up and while we had momentary observations of yellow-throated cuckoo and brown-eared woodpecker, I managed to shoot neither. I did, however, with Alfred and Moses’s help, get a Blue-throated Roller which posed rather handsomely for us together with another of those special hornbills, this time the Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill. We had actually heard them a few times in the day but at last they showed. Just as we started the walk with a backlit nigrita, so we finished it with one – this time it was the commoner Grey-headed Nigrita. 

 

Blue-throated Roller

 

Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill

 

 

Grey-headed Nigrita

 

With the sun coming down we reunited with Paul on the road, though the sightings were by no means over. On the way back to Bumaga we had Lizard Buzzard out in the open – a new raptor for me – as well as a very quick sighting of Congo (African) Pied Hornbill the photo of which I unfortunately I totally over exposed. More generally on photography I felt more comfortable now with MF and I actually found the dark forest interior to be be quite a fun challenge – as the photos illustrate there were some hits and some misses but I was well pleased with the yellow-footed flycatcher, red-tailed ant-thrush and Fraser’s rufous thrush shots in particular.  

 

The final hornbill of the day was the highly prized White-crested (Eastern Long-tailed) Hornbill; the sighting again was momentary and the focus blurred, but it was still great to see another one of Semliki’s headline species. Rounding off the fantastic day was our final Banded Snake-eagle of the trip – probably the same one as this morning, though now against a more appropriate green backdrop. This was of course our experience of walking the trail on just one particular day; it goes without saying one could take the trail daily for several months and always encounter something new and fascinating.

 

 

Lizard Buzzard

 

Pied Hornbill

 

White-crested Hornbill

 

Banded Snake-eagle