Saturday, 10 February 2024
Saturday, 15 July 2023
Birding in Uganda
Overview
Partly for research reasons, I have visited Uganda a couple of times recently, a country that over the years I have grown to know well. It is quite likely that I will be visiting again in the near future, so thought it would be fun to produce some sort of hybrid trip report and birding guide to the region aimed primarily at those, like me, who like to mix a bit of independent travel and birding with some guided birding at hotspot locations in National Parks (where it is in any case necessary to be accompanied by wildlife authority staff for safety reasons). The former is, of course, a bit more satisfying. The latter gets you more species, but can also be a useful learning experience particularly in tropical forests where knowledge of calls is critical. It is helpful to learn from folk that know the calls.
Contents
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Shoebill - along with Green-breasted Pitta Grauer's Broadbill, probably the most sought after bird in Uganda. This one seen at Mbamba swamp - the well known site for this species.
When to go
Getting around is generally easier in the dry seasons, when birds are more active also. Uganda straddles the equator and has a tropical wet climate. Resultantly, it can and does rain at any time of year, but most of the country has two rainy seasons: one in March to May, and another in September to December, with the rainfall in the latter concentrated in November. The north, which is generally drier anyway, has one rainfall season: March to October. The northern hemisphere summer months, which are often convenient for travellers, coincides with one of the drier periods, and is therefore considered as high-season locally. It also offers good birding and is the time of year that Grauer's Broadbills can be found on territory. January and February, however, offer the additional spectacle of Palaearctic migrants. Less well known is that there is a lot of intra-African migrant movement, and certainly by this time, it is not just over-wintering birds that occur, but also large flocks of migrants as they make their way north, funnelled through the rift valleys. However, Green-breasted Pittas are particularly scarce at this time.
Getting there
For both trips I flew from
Heathrow via Nairobi, mostly with Kenya Airways. On the return leg of the
January trip I took a British Airways flight from Nairobi to London and was
able to check my luggage straight through from Entebbe to Heathrow. If just
transiting through Nairobi, you only need a Ugandan visa rather than the
slightly more expensive East African visa. There is an e-visa portal and visas
are normal processed within a few days, though I’d apply in good time to avoid
hiccups.
There are also various
cheaper, but more time-consuming options if you go via e.g. Dubai, Doha or Cairo. If visiting the south west of Uganda it is also worth considering that you’d
be closer to Kigali than Entebbe and RwandAir do direct flights there from
Heathrow. You’d need an East African visa if doing it that way. The border
crossing is pretty straightforward I think, even with a hire car. There are plenty of buses from Kigale to Kabale in Uganda.
Getting around
For the January leg I hired a Toyota Rav4 without a driver from Self Drive in Uganda for US$45 per day (http://www.selfdriveinuganda.com, info@selfdriveinuganda.com,
+256-791-266-636). Everyone in Uganda uses WhatsApp so it is easy to arrange
pick-up / drop-off. My main contact there is Lovy (+256 774 483-236) who kindly
dropped of and picked up the vehicle from my guesthouse in Entebbe (or more
accurately, as I was a little vague with times, he found me birding in Entebbe
Botanic Gardens and we wondered around for a leisurely pace for a bit looking
at parrots before sorting out the paperwork). I had no problems with it at all,
it was fully insured, and got me everywhere I needed to.
I am fairly used to driving in
East Africa, which can be daunting if you’ve never done it before, but I was
pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. Driving standards in Uganda have
improved considerably since my visits
there ~20 years ago, though the approach roads to Kampala can still be a bit
hairy with high volumes of traffic. Getting fuel is easy. There are petrol stations everywhere and they fill
it up for you.
Police checks are routine, but
they rarely ask for a ‘kito kidogo’ from tourists. The main hazard is speed
bumps, of which there are lots, though over-taking slow moving trucks is also a
necessity. Most of the main roads have crawler lanes now. Avoid driving at
night – occasional car-jackings occur, but the main hazard is vehicles with
defunct headlights and pedestrians and bicycles. I’ve done it a few times in my
younger days, and it seriously stressful.
In the June leg, as I had a
group of students with me, and as costs were covered by a research grant, I
arranged a minibus with a driver to take us down to Kabale (contact: Bagonza
Vincent on +256 776 278375), and because I was time-constrained and needed to
start and finish at different locations, I arranged a vehicle with a driver to
take me to Bwindi from Lake Bunyonyi and drop me off in Mbarara (Kigeza Vima
Safaris +256 771 611260). Ezera – my driver, was very helpful and helped
arrange a bird guide for me at Bwindi. Drivers normally arrange (and pay for) their
own accommodation, though a few times, out of courtesy and to make an early start easier, I offered to pay.
I took a bus from Mbarara to
Kampala and then arranged a taxi to take me to the airport through a friend.
Buses are fast, very regular and cheap and safety standards have improved a
lot, but they are still quite cramped if you have long legs like me. Nevertheless, they are
more comfortable and quicker than the share taxis you see everywhere. A
few times I took a Boda Boda – the motorbikes with a passenger seat. I’ve
always liked travelling that way, though it is quite dangerous, especially in
cites.
Though I've never used them, Uber operate in Uganda, and I suspect it's an easy way to get around in more urban areas.
Comms, budgets and money
It is easy enough to buy a
local sim card and data bundle (e.g. from the airport or Victoria Mall in
Entebbe). It takes about 30 mins to register the card etc, so be
prepared to sit around for a bit. There’s not much to choose from between
Airtel and MTN. Having bought a data bundle, I used Google Maps to navigate. Mobile phone coverage is good in Uganda, probably
as good or better than in the UK – 4G in most built environments. Internet in
most places is mobile-based, so rather slow.
While some major hotels
and all national parks (exclusively) take credit cards, cash is still the default.
You can usually pay with US$ or Uganda Shillings (USh), but you lose out on the
exchange rate with dollars. However, to save carrying huge wads of cash and
frequent trips to the ATM (though there are lots of those in Uganda), a few
high denomination dollars are useful for more expensive things. Make sure the
notes are new and in fairly mint conditions: the banks are fussy, meaning
most folk won’t accept old or tarnished notes.
Mobile phone-based money transfer is ubiquitous in East Africa (MTN’s MoMo money is most popular in Uganda, though lots of places handle M-Pesa). I haven’t quite figured out how to use it, but it probably provides a pretty convenient way to pay for stuff.
Modes of transport and where to stay are often determined by budgets. Some of my former PhD trips to Uganda were done on an extremely shoestring budget. Nowadays I am a very well-off professor, and a bit reluctant to suffer hardships in the name of foreign travel, so promised myself a little luxury in the form of a few more comfortable stays in fairly upmarket lodges. However, knowing Uganda quite well, I feel pretty comfortable arranging stuff myself and outside the usual tourist circuit, which saves quite a bit of money. I also feel fairly well placed to comment on how to bird the place on a variety of budgets, albeit that my shoestring days were quite a long time ago. At each location, I therefore offer thoughts on how budget might impact what you do, and what options you might have if you want to pay little for accommodation and travel by public means.
Birding resources
I’d highly recommend eBird and the Uganda pack for Merlin, both of which can be downloaded for free. I don’t think there is an eBird reviewer specifically for Uganda, so quite a number of extra-limital records need to be taken with a pinch of salt – I suspect to some extent this is simply a case of checklists not being uploaded to the correct hotspot locations. Lake Mburo seems to be particularly problematic: it is supposedly the most diverse hotspot in Uganda, but checklists from there are riddled with errors. For example, if Bates’s Nightjar genuinely occurs there I will eat my hat.
Stevenson and Fanshawe’s Birds
of East Africa is by far the best bird book for the region, and is also
available as an app for Android and iPhones. The app also contains sounds
recordings for most species, though those included with Merlin pack are
typically better quality. Xeno Canto is also helpful as an extra resource for
recordings. E.g. the papyrus yellow warbler recording on the Merlin app is off
the Zambian (sub)-species, and sounds completely different to those in Uganda.
This one from Xeno Canto is what they sound like in Uganda.
Below, I’ve also compiled what I hope
is a handy list of extra species you might find in Semuliki Forest. These are
essentially species that occur over the border in DR Congo, and would with some
dedicated searching potentially be found
in Semuliki, but haven’t yet made it onto the Uganda list.
Entebbe Botanical Gardens
Logistics: this
is more of a convenient stop-off location than a worthwhile birding destination
as likely one would need to spend time here before or after the airport.
On both trips I stayed at Precious Guest House – very nice, but a little
over-priced, but with the benefit of offering free airport transfer and being
located opposite Entebbe Botanical Gardens – the best birding site in Entebbe.
Entrance to the gardens is USh 20,000 (~$8) for tourists and is best visited in
the morning, as late afternoon and evening, it gets noisy with locals having
picnics and playing music etc. It is easy to find your way around, and it is a
good spot for lakeside and commoner forest and garden species, though the lake
shores are now pretty disturbed.
Birding on a budget: In general, accommodation in Entebbe is more expensive than Kampala. However, there are still stacks of places you can stay for less than £20 a night, a few at less than this and bookable online in advance (helpful particularly if arriving in the evening). Prices are negotiable pretty much everywhere in Uganda particularly for lengthier stays (though probably less so at upmarket tourist locations). However, expect a bit of a discount rather that a major bartering session. Booking online is often cheaper than advertised tourist prices, but is also less price-negotiable. Nevertheless, booking something though e.g. Booking.com is probably the easiest way to go. Entebbe is very safe and it's perfectly fine and pleasant walking around on foot, especially during the day. However, the town is some distance from the airport so if your accommodation doesn't offer an airport shuttle (many do), blue and white Share Taxis run from the airport into town.
Targets: prior
to going to Uganda and I drew up a list of target species for each location –
those that eBird suggested were moderately common, but I still needed. However,
at Entebbe I didn’t have that many targets. Initially, my main one was Blue-cheeked
Bee-eater. This bright green gem migrates though Uganda in good numbers
early in the year, but most of my prior visits had been in June-Aug. However, I
caught up with one in Kenya just before going to Uganda. Another target of
sorts was African Grey Woodpecker. I’d seen a few before, but at
a time when they were still lumped with Eastern Grey, and having recently seen
that I thought it would be nice to spot the difference. My only real prospect
of a lifer was Northern Puffback, a fairly common species, which for no
particular reason had just evaded me until now.
20th January 2023
A nice gentle pre-breakfast
re-introduction to Ugandan birds the morning after arriving in Uganda was the
order of the day. Notable birds included Blue-spotted Wood-Dove, Great Blue and
Ross’s Turaco, Klaas’s and Red-chested Cuckoos, Pink-backed Pelican, Striated
Heron, Palm-nut Vulture, Shikra, Malachite, Woodland and Pied Kingfishers, Grey
Parrot, African and Black-headed Paradise-Flycatchers, Grey-winged Robin-Chat
and various weavers including Northern Brown-throated. I also caught up with
all my targets: Northern Puffback (near the jungle area used as a film location
for 1940s Tarzan film), Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (5 migrating overhead) and
African Grey Woodpecker (seen later while having breakfast at the guesthouse
overlooking the gardens).
Full list here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S126523691
Eurasian Hobby and Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill. Two of the species seen in Entebbe Botanical Gardens
1st February 2023
A had a late afternoon visit here before heading to the airport on my return leg. More a wonder about than anything else, as there were no particular species I needed to see. Aside from the usual parrots and turacos etc, the most notable feature was lots of visible migration. The grassy areas were covered in yellow wagtails of various races, there were lots of bee-eaters moving through (mostly White-throated, but a few Blue-cheeked), and probably the most notable birds of the day: several Eurasian Hobbies.
16th June 2023
On my second trip, I arrived
in Entebbe on an overnight flight and had some business to sort out during the day. However, I had time for a
fairly quick meander around the gardens late afternoon, by which time it was
pretty busy. Nothing exceptional of note – mostly just the usual suspects less
some of the palearctic migrants, but a few paradise flycatchers of both species
and a chance to catch-up with a few sunbirds (green-headed, scarlet-chested,
olive-bellied and marique) were nice.
Full list here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S141726896
Mabamba Swamp
Logistics: after picking up the hire car from my guest house in Entebbe, I thought it would be easier to catch the free
Nakiwogo car-ferry across to the Mabamba Swamp Peninsula rather than taking the
more circuitous route via the Entebbe Expressway and Mpigi. The wait for the
ferry was slow, so was probably no quicker than driving round, but
it was certainly more fun – there is something authentically African about the
hustle and bustle of Lake Victoria’s ferry ports (the boats out to the Sesse
Islands also leave from here). I was booked into Nkima Forest Lodge – a little
expensive but a lovely lodge located on the top of a forested hill overlooking
the huge swamps around Mabamba and a genuinely great place to meander around
with binoculars. It’s not fenced in, which doesn’t seem to be a security issue,
and means you can walk from there and take in a bit of forest birding before
meandering down towards the swamp looking for things like Blue-breasted
Bee-eater. The views are astounding and in January, a great place to take in
some spectacular vis-mig. I lost track of the number of Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters
flying over. I really liked this place.
Birding on a budget: Nkima, at the time of writing, is the closets place to stay to Mabamba, but there are a few more budget locations closer to where the ferry gets in - e.g. Zion Lodge and Camping gets good reviews on Google and it sounds that you can basically camp in someone's back garden there. It is likely a little tricky to do Mabamba without your own vehicle because of the need to get to the swamp early for the best chance of Shoebill. However, you can cross from Entebbe as a foot passenger and I can't imagine it would be too hard to hitch a lift around, and take your chances with looking for Shoebills later in the day. Yonks ago, I hitched down there on a lorry and spent a bit of time birding and working around the swamps away from the main tourist site, camping in local village chairman's compound and hiring local fisherman to take me out by boat. I am sure something similar could be done still if you were so inclined. Another time, I stayed in one of the fairly cheap Banda huts in Mpanga Forest close to Mpigi and close to the Mabamba turn-off on the main Kampala-Masaka Road. I then got down to Mabamba on the back of a motorbike (a c. 40 min ride). This could potentially be done early in the morning if a willing driver were found. The final low budget option might be to ask the Nkima Forest Lodge about camping. They don't advertise this, but I made some tentative enquiries about the prospect of bringing a group of students here with tents, and the English family that run the place seemed quite amenable to this.
Targets: having seen Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
recently and Shoebill and Blue-breasted Bee-eater longer ago and it being the
wrong time of year for Montane Blue Swallow, I didn’t have any particular
targets in mind though I was keen to catch-up with Shoebill again and
Moustached Grass-Warbler, which I’d only seen a few times.
20th January 2023
I spent the afternoon
wondering through the woodland and open areas that surround Nkima before
meandering down the hill towards Mabamba swamp. A few Black-necked Weavers and
a couple of (heard only) White-spotted Flufftails
were my first proper forest birds. On the way down to the swamp I caught up
with Blue-headed Coucal, Moustached Grass-Warbler as
well as a couple of vocal Eurasian Reed Warblers, Diderick Cuckoo and
Golden-breasted Bunting. A Western Marsh Harrier quartering the swamp was also
nice, as were the regular flocks of bee-eaters flying over. A got a bit lost
along the network of footpaths that criss-cross the farmland walking down the
hill, and when I eventually reached the main road was further away from both
Mabamba Swamp and Nkima Forest Lodge than I had intended. Fortunately, one of the
local shoebill guides passed by on his motorbike and stopped for a chat. He
kindly gave me a lift part-way back on the bike, and then accompanied me along a
short cut-cut up the hill. On the way back, we also had nice views of a
Blue-breasted Bee-eater and I took the opportunity to arrange a trip out to
look for Shoebills early the next morning. After dinner and a couple of beers I
was treated to excellent views of a pair of African Wood Owls from the balcony
of my room as well as some nice views of a galago. These weird looking
nocturnal primates are fairly common across Uganda, but surprisingly hard to
see.
Full list here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S126538428
Blue-breasted Bee-eater - unusually for a bee-eater, confined primarily to swampy habitats and one of the specialities of Mabamba.
Long-crested Eagle - a common bird throughout Uganda, but always nice to see.
In addition to birds, Nkima Forest hosts a variety of mammals, including this African Giant Squirrel
21st January 2023
Before first light next
morning my guide picked me up on his motorbike and we rode down to Mabamba
swamp to meet the boatman we arranged. This location is definitely on the
tourist circuit now and gets pretty busy - very different from my first visit
there in the 1990s. The prices reflect that: Ush 50,000 for the boat + an additional USh 60,000 ‘tourist tax for seeing
the Shoebills’.
However, with the early start
we were first out on the water and it felt a bit more authentic than a zoo
visit as we had to work a bit to find them. Standing up at the front of the
boat, I was lucky enough to spot a partially obscured head that had the feel of
a Shoebill, and on closer inspection did indeed prove to one (encouragingly a
young bird, implying local breeding). We were eventually afforded excellent
views, after which we decided to move on and do a little more birding. I soon
spotted another Shoebill flying, this time an adult, and we were able locate where it landed. This one
also afforded excellent views, though by that time there were lots of other
tourist boats so the experience was less enjoyable.
Other notable birds included Knob-billed Duck, Goliath and Purple Herons, Purple Swamphens, a couple of African Marsh Harriers and a Black-headed Gonolek. On the way back to Nkima, I also bumped into a Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike.
Full list here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S126591660
Immature (top) and adult (bottom) Shoebills. This strange looking bird, almost two metres tall, is a real speciality of Uganda and Mabamba Swamp in particular.
After checking out of Nkima I set of for Lake Mburu, stopping off briefly at a place where the Kasanje Road crosses a large papyrus swamp as back in my PhD fieldwork days this used to be a very easy place to see Papyrus Gonolek. A few White-winged Swamp Warblers were calling, but by this time the heat of the day was taking full effect and the gonoleks were remaining pretty silent. I gave it long enough to see a Sooty Falcon, but didn’t spend that long waiting for the goneleks. I saw 100s during my PhD fieldwork years (my PhD research was on papyrus endemics) and there would be other opportunities.
Full list here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S126621183
Lake Mburu
Logistics: I’d booked to stay a couple of nights at Mburo Eagles Nest, just outside the Sanga entrance to the park (staying at a lodge outside the park negates the need to pay park entry fees on a day of arrival). Google maps got me there without any issues, though the track from the main road and up to the lodge it is a bit bumpy, steep and slippery and I wouldn’t like to attempt it in a 2WD after heavy rain. It’s a nice enough place offering spectacular views over Lake Mburo National Park, but the surrounding area is a devoid of natural vegetation so is also pretty devoid of birds. Arriving later in the afternoon it is not worth paying park entry usually, and I was hoping to wonder around a bit on foot and do some birding. Resultantly, the lack of birds was rather disappointing.
Overall, while the high elevation affords some opportunity for vis-mig, this was nowhere near as impressive as at Nkima Forest Lodge. Overall I felt the place was a bit lacking in character and a bit over-priced for what you get.
Eagle's Nest, while offering spectacular views of Lake Mburu National park, is a bit devoid of natural vegetation, making for rather limited birding around the lodge itself.
Birding on a budget: for the budget traveller, Mburo National Park would be really difficult to do without a private vehicle, though I suspect it would be easy enough to get to Mbarara by public transport and then hire one there for a day or two. Accommodation prices are inversely related to distance from the park, with plenty of budget options in or on the outskirts of Mbarara, but nothing cheap close by.
Targets: I'd never been to Lake Mburu before, and my main targets for my time there were some of the southern savanna species: Crested and Red-faced Barbet as well as Tabora Cisticola. The lake itself is also the best place to see what would have been another lifer for me: White-backed Night-Heron. I caught up with Crested Barbet and Tabora Cisticola, but failed to see the other species.
21st January 2023
Upon arrival, to avoid any hassles getting into the park early in the morning, I drove down to the park entrance office and arranged entry for the following two days. I then spent a little while vis-miging from the seat outside room and wondering around trying to see a few species in and around the lodge.
Notable birds seen were
fly-over Wahlberg’s Eagle, Shikra, Red-headed Lovebird and European Bee-eaters.
Trilling Cisticolas were audible from quite a distant and evidently pretty
common around the park entrance, but overall I didn’t see anything too
exciting.
Full list here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S126621964
22nd January 2023
I set off early for the park after
overnight heavy rain. It was quite clear first thing and the birding was pretty
spectacular – one of the first birds I saw was an African Crake scurrying
across the road in the half light just after the park entrance. Though quite
common I had only once seen this species once previously.
Crested Francolins and Red-necked Spurfowl were pretty common around the tracks, and a large herd of buffalo caused a bit of a vehicle obstacle, but the insects surrounding them did a good job of attracting a spectacular flock of Yellow Wagtails of a variety of sub-species. Unaccompanied by an armed guard I was unable to leave the vehicle for most of the time owing to the presence of dangerous wildlife. I think it is possible to arrange an armed escort and do a bush-walk, and in hindsight this may have been worthwhile. However, slowly driving around the various trackways got me a few decent birds.
First off, my target Tabora Cisticola (several heard, but two eventually seen), 8 cuckoos (4 species: Levaillant's, Dideric, Red-chested and Black), a few Water Thick-knees, and photogenic Brown Snake and Tawny Eagles. However, by mid-morning it started raining torrentially and became rather birdless and in the end I decided that discretion was the better part of valour and headed back to Eagle’s Nest for an early lunch.
This Hammerkopf was happy to sit out the heavy rain
Brown Snake (top) and Tawny Eagle (bottom) posing for the camera, but dull light made photography tricky.
Water Thick-knee. Surprisingly similar to Senegal Thick-knee, which is out of range at Lake Mburu, but for which there are quite a number of eBird records. Needing Senegal Thick-knee, I was left wondering how many of the eBird records are perhaps erroneously identified.
After a couple of hours of sitting out the heavy rain I headed back into the park. Slowly driving down to the lake itself I was eventually to catch-up with a couple of Crested Barbets as well as a Spot-flanked Barbet and a few Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters.
After the rain had cleared I
arranged a boat safari around the lake hoping to catch-up with White-backed Night-Heron. This is easy to do upon arrival. You generally just need to wait for a few others to turn up as they prefer to take more than one passenger to make the trip worthwhile. However, despite scouring every available patch of bankside vegetation I could
see into I didn’t come up trumps. It probably didn’t help that their favoured
spot was full of hippos, so the boatman couldn't access it. Cracking views of
African Finfoot almost, but not quite made up for that, and an enormous Nile crocodile was also an enjoyable spectacle.
The total bird haul, despite
the rain, was pretty good at the end of the day (109 species – full list here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S126788327), but
was conspicuous in lacking a Night-heron or Red-faced Barbet.
One of my favourite waterbirds: the shy and strange-looking African Finfoot.
23rd January 2023
I had a morning in the park, but
no time for another boat ride, so set off pre-dawn for what was eventually a
rather fruitless search for Red-faced Barbet. I subsequently found out they are
most common near the Nshara gate, but having entered the park from the other
side I never passed this bit. A got a good haul of moderately common species,
including some I hadn’t seen for a while, but the highlight of the day was almost
certainly a family party of African Crakes crossing the road. Other than that,
another Wahlberg's Eagle, some Meyer's Parrots and a Black Cuckooshrike were
nice to see.
Full list here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S126788327
An early morning start
This family party of African Crakes crossed the road quite quickly, but I just had time to grab my camera and get a few shots.
A pair of African Openbills. These strange storks were rather common around the park, feeding on various critters after the heavy rain.
I had to reach Kibale Forest
before dark, so returned from the park late morning and headed on towards
Mbarara. Just before Mbarara I stopped-off at a supposedly good pond (here) for White-backed Duck (a lifer for me). A fence and
gate surround the area and appeared that public access wasn't permissible, so
I had to satisfy myself with rather distant views from the road. On my return
visit in June I passed this spot again and opted to make enquiries from a few
locals ay nearby roadside stalls. They
assured me that access was fine for a small fee (USh5000) and I
wondered down to get much closer views of five of these spectacular little
ducks swimming around in what essentially amounts to medium-sized pond. I’ve no idea
really why this species is generally quite hard to find in Uganda, but
certainly various ponds alongside the Mbrara road seem to be the place to see it.
A few Little Grebes were
keeping the white-backed duck for company. Partial checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S126791350
My only other stopover en-route to Kibale Forest was at a roadside papyrus swamp near Igora, where I chanced upon two Papyrus Gonoleks (alongside the more vocal White-winged and Greater Swamp Warblers and a Carruthers’s Cisticola). Partial checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S126788502
Kibale Forest
Logistics: I first visited Kibale Forest about 25 years ago (and then again a few years later). At that time it was really pretty underdeveloped. An at times, muddy and slippery murrum road wound itself down through dense forest, and at most a handful of vehicles passed by each day mostly en-route from Fort Portal to Kawenge. Tourist facilities, bar a basic lodge within the park itself and a rarely occupied, but expensive Montana camp were almost non-existent and I ended up staying at a local shack known as Charles’ Place, where food was cooked out of an old mettle suitcase. The road itself used to offer some of the best birding, without the need to pay park entrance fees, and the set-up within the park itself was almost exclusively geared towards the more lucrative chimp tracking. None of the park staff really knew much about birds. I used to really love this place and gave myself several days to catch-up on a few forest species.
About 20 years ago, Kibale Forest was pretty underdeveloped, and the road down to Bigodi, while offering excellent birding, didn't do my two-wheel drive car many favours.
However, in the intervening period the place has changed massively. The road is now smooth and tarmacked and really busy with vehicles and the forest itself has been cleared back extensively from the road, making roadside birding pretty unproductive as one can’t really view through the forest edge thickets or bird peacefully given the traffic volume.
For the first night I was
booked into the more reasonably priced Kibale Guest Cottages. For the next few
nights I had decided to live it up in style and stay in the rather more
expensive Turaco Treetops luxury lodge attracted largely by the prospects of birding the adjoining forest which is not part of the national park. In hindsight I am not really convinced
Turaco Treetops offered that much more in the way of luxury than Kibale Guest
Cottages, but the food was excellent by Ugandan standards and being located in wooded grounds on the
edge of a patch of forest, offered some pretty decent birding in downtime away
form the park. That said, Kibale Guest Cottages is itself right on the edge of the forest and also offered pretty decent
birding. Overall though, I think I stayed in Kibale a day longer than I needed
to and might have been better off spending an extra day in Semuliki.
Birding on a budget: There are lots of accommodation options around Kibale Forest, many clustered around the trading centre at Bigodi, though my impression is that the more budget options are now mostly located around the crater lakes to the north of the park. That said, I suspect there might be a few local guest houses and either the Bradt Guide or Lonely Planet would give you some info on that. Getting to either the park headquarters at Kanyanchu or to Bigodi by public transport is pretty easy as they are both on the main Fort Portal-Kamwenge Road. Just get yourself to the Taxi Park in Fort Portal. Getting between Bigodi and Kanyanchu is also pretty easy - its only about 10 mins on the back of a boda boda or taxi. It's about an hour's walk, but the birding isn't all it is used to be before the road was busy and I would certainly avoiding doing this early morning or late evening owing to elephants, and would keep a sharp eye and ear out for these during the day. If on a budget, you'd probably want to spend a bit of time birding in places that don't necessitate paying the US$90 park entry fee. You'd be allowed to bird for free along the road, the crater lakes make for quite good birding (see below) and organised Bigodi Wetlands Walks aren't too expensive - the Kafred one offers the best birding. Part of the Kafred walk takes you along the road down to Turaco Treetops, next to stream where I saw both Shining Blue Kingfisher and L'Hoest's Monkey, and there would be nothing to stop you just walking down there doing a bit of birding independently. There is quite a bit of decent swamp forest along one stretch. Quite a few of the guest houses and lodges have leafy gardens or are directly adjacent to the forest. If you were to call in for lunch or drinks, I suspect most would happily let you bird their ground.
Targets: My main targets at Kibale were a few forest species I’d failed to see previously: Black Bee-eater, Shining-blue Kingfisher, Grey-headed Barbet, Green-breasted Pitta and Buff-spotted and Brown-eared Woodpeckers.
23rd January 2023
Upon arrival late afternoon,
and before heading up the park headquarters to pay entry for the next morning and
an early Pitta hunt, I spent a fairly productive half an hour wondering around
the grounds of Kibale Guest Cottages catching-up with a few forest edge
species. An African Harrier-Hawk, a showy Pygmy Kingfisher, Yellow-throated and
Yellow-rumped Tinkerbirds, a photogenic Grey-green (Bocage’s) Bushshrike, Black-headed
Paradise, African Blue and African Dusky Flycatchers, and a Red-headed Malimbe
were among 30 species I chalked up in fairly short order, many of them new for
the trip. A few highly vocal chimpanzees added to the tropical forest feel.
Full checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S126792334
One of my favourite things about forest birding in Africa, is the sheer diversity of birds. Families represented by only one or two species in the UK, often have over a dozen of their congenerics in Africa. This Pygmy Kingfisher, one of quite a number of forest kingfisher, put on a good show.
24th January 2023
I set-off towards the park
headquarters at Kanyanchu pre-dawn to go and search for Green-breasted Pittas.
A close encounter with a Forest Elephant feeding at the edge of the road reminded
me why it is not quite as safe birding in Africa as it is in the UK, but fortunately
I saw it in time, and stopped briefly to give a few early morning on-foot
commuters a lift around it. I arrived at the park headquarters early and after
a bit of faffery and delay, set out with one of the very helpful Uganda Wildlife
Authority (UWA) staff in search of Pittas along this track here. However, bar one very
brief possible sighting a couple of days ago, none of the UWA guides had seen
the pitta recently – it tends to disappear from both Kibale and Semuliki in
January generally returning in about April. Resultantly, despite bashing through
the thick undergrowth in its favoured spots, we were unsuccessful. Forest
birding is always quite slow, but with birds more commonly heard than seen – a couple
of Narina Trogon, a few Brown and a Pale-breasted Illadopsis, quite a few
Tinkerbirds of various species, a Yellow-billed Barbet and the usual array of
Greenbuls, always audible, sometimes visible, and always quite tricky to ID. I
was confident of Joyful, Plain (curvirostris), Yellow-whiskered and
Little in the end. Probably the best bird seen in the morning was a Blue-breasted
Kingfisher, but definitely no Pittas. As the day warmed up, we decided to head back
to the park headquarters for one of my other targets: Black Bee-eater – just where
the track to the park headquarters leaves the main road is one of their
favoured spots. Though it took a while to find them, we did eventually catch-up
with a couple. Unfortunately the light was never great for photography.
Black Bee-eaters. Rather more colourful than the name suggests, but these ones were always very silhoutted making photography difficult.
After that we set of in search
of Shining-blue Kingfisher along several of the smaller forest rivers, but
unfortunately to no avail. Nice views of Western Nicator were some
compensation. Later we headed a few miles up to the road towards Fort Portal where
it crosses one of the main rivers. Still no Shining Blue-Kingfisher, but a
Giant Kingfisher, a Blue Malkoa, and best of all, two Cassin’s Flycatchers viewable
from the bridge, made up for the lack of shining blue flashes.
A rather showy Western Nicator.
Cassin's Flycatcher. This small forest flycatcher, generally found along rivers, was not a new bird for me, but is nevertheless one of the sought after species of Kibale Forest
By that time it was getting rather hot, and my guide kindly agreed to meet me later in the afternoon to go and search for Shining Blue at a site some distance from the main park infrastructure, where she’d seen them a few weeks previously. I picked up my stuff and then headed towards Turaco Treetops, also taking the opportunity for a spot of late lunch. Late afternoon we headed down to the southern sector of the forest, not normally accessible to tourists and stopped at one of the main river crossings. A Hammerkopf nest building provided some momentary interest, but other than that it seemed pretty quiet. However, just when I was about to give up, a caught a flash of something and bingo – Shining Blue Kingfisher perched right out in the open on a branch above the river. Just as went to grab my camera it flew off unfortunately. Nevertheless, a nice way to round off the day.
Full checklist for the day here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S126857129
A quick stop at Turaco Treetops before heading out in search of Kingfishers was a chance to photograph a Crowned Hornbill and a female Green-headed Sunbird on the nest hanging from a branch at the the entrance to the lodge.
25th January 2023
I arranged to enter the park super early with Benson, regarding as one of UWA's Pitta-finding experts. He was very helpful, and as we didn't see it, told me to stay in touch by WhatsApp and he'd let me know when they were around should I be interested in visiting in future. If you are after the Pitta you could do worse than message him on +256 780 458383. We drove up the track where we'd searched yesterday and almost the first birds we saw were two White-tailed Ant-thrushes. We then spent a fair bit of time slowly searching the undergrowth by torchlight in the pre-dawn gloom in the hope of catching a glimpse of the metallic wing sheen. No luck, but as the morning progressed so did our list of typical Kibale Forest species. Frequently audible, but never seen were several Brown and Scaly-breasted Illadopsis, drowned out by a noisy troupe of Chimpanzees. A Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo called as did several Black-headed Orioles, which after a bit of patient searching revealed themselves in the canopy. Speckled, Yellow-throated and Yellow-rumped Tinkerbirds uttered their typical repetitive whistling calls, the Speckled one sounding remarkably similar to a tree frog that also inhabits the forest - an example of convergent evolution if ever there was one. An African Shrike-Flycatcher also revealed itself, as did 3 Red-headed Bluebills and four Rufous Flycatcher-thushes, but in general, as is typical of primary forest birding, seeing birds was difficult, and far more was heard than seen. Nevertheless, later in the morning and after a bit of patient searching I did chance upon one of my targets - an innocuous Buff-spotted Woodpecker. The troupe of chimpanzees, happily habituated, also put in an an appearance - Benson knew them each by name!
Full checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S126892019
Western Black-headed Oriole. Easily heard, hard to see and even harder to photograph, hence the poor-quality photo.
Chimpanzees side-tracked us from birding for a bit.
By mid-morning the early morning crescendo of birds was starting to fade and we (Benson, a French birder and his guide and I) decided to head-off to Lake Nyabikere in search of Kingfishers. We parked at the CVK resort, who were happy to let us visit and search the adjoining lakeside for a small (USh5000) entrance fee. Some vocal Grey Parrots were feeding in fruit trees next to the car park. We then made our way don to the Lake shore. Overhead migrants first attracted our attention: a Black Stork, 2 White-backed and Palm-nut Vulture as well as a Long-crested Eagle and flock of Alpine Swifts. The lakeshore itself held Black-headed and Straited Herons. After a bit of searching we were duly awarded with a bevy of Kingfishers: 2 Malachite, 2 Woodland, 2 Giant, 4 Pied, and best of all 2 Shining Blue Kingfishers. Not bad for a bit of off-the-cuff birding. Unfortunately, unlike the Woodland Kingfisher, the Shining Blues proved to flighty to photograph.
Full checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S126892312
Grey Parrot
Woodland Kingfisher
By early afternoon
I decided it to call it a day and head back to Turaco Treetops. A bit of time
birding around the grounds turned up the most extensive species list of the
day, including Ross’s and Blue-headed Turaco, 2 African Emerald Cuckoos. Yellow-billed
Barbet, Brown- and Black-throated Wattle-eye, a photogenic Western Nicator,
along with a plethora of sunbirds, but best of all: one of my main targets, a Brown-eared
Woodpecker feeding right outside my room. I’d seen it very briefly the previous
day, but hadn’t got good enough views to positively identify it.
Full checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S126906660
Birding around Turaco Treetops proved remarkably fruitful. From top to bottom: Western Nicator, Green-headed Sunbird and Black-headed Waxbill.
26th January 2023
As I felt there was little to be gained by paying another US$90 park entry to search for Pitta's, and I had seen most of my other targets, with the exception of Grey-throated (headed) Barbet, I thought I'd visit the forest patch that adjoins Turaco Treetops.
This patch of forest lies outside the park and belongs to the lodge, but a guide, arranged at the lodge, is necessary to visit it owing to the presence of Elephants. The remainder of the day was spent birding solo in and around the lodge, but it proved quite a productive day. The day started well with an early morning a glimpse of Brown Illadopsis before breakfast and a flyover Ovombo Sparrowhawk - a new species for me, though not on my radar as a target. On the walk itself, good views of Blue Malkoha, Diderick, Klaas’s and African Emerald Cuckoo were obtained and over the course of the day I saw, Banded Snake Eagle, 2 Cassin’s Hawk Eagles, Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher, Grey-green (Bogage’s) Bushshrike, Green Hylia and a plethora of Greenbulls, including Little feeding right outside my balcony. Second only to the sparrowhawk, I finally connected with Grey-throated Barbet!
A total haul of 86
species. Full checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S126962473
Brown-throated Wattle-eye in the grounds of Turaco Treetops
Northern Fiscal and Lizard Buzzard long the road just outside the entrance to Turaco Treetops
Little Greenbul photographed from my balcony.
27th January 2023
My final day in Kibale Forest started with a morning visit to the Bigodi Community Wetland run by KAFRED. KAFRED is a Community Based Organization who’s purpose is to protect the local environment while advancing health, education and economic growth in the wider local community. It has been going for quite a long time and I first took part in one of their guided swamp walks back in 1999. At that time much of the area was still relatively intact swamp forest. In the intervening period most of the forest, except in the very wet areas around the swamp has been degraded or converted to farmland. Nevertheless, it is a pleasant enough walk and it is possible to see a good collection of bird species and primates. I didn’t get anything particularly unusual though I did see a variety of commoner forest species such as two White-breasted and a Grey-headed Nigrita, two Green Hylia, a White-tailed Anthrush, a Red-headed Bluebill and two Red-headed Malimbes. A couple of Double-toothed Barbets were nice to see as was a Grey-winged Robin-chat. The swamp itself hosted a few White-winged Swamp-Warblers and Papyrus Gonoleks. Probably the highlights were three Black-bellied Seedcrackers and another two Shining Blue Kingfishers. A L'Hoest's Monkey was also nice. On the way back, I stopped off in Bigodi trading centre briefly to see my first House Sparrows in Uganda. This ubiquitous species hadn’t yet reached Uganda in any numbers when I first visited, but is now spreading rapidly.
Full checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S127004375
White-throated Bee-eater. Relatively common around Bigodi when I visited.
One of three Black-bellied Seedcrackers in the fields adjacent to the swamp
L'Hoest's Monkey. Always nice to see.
From there I returned to Turaco Treetops for a bit of lazy birding before checking-out. Not much seen – a Black Goshawk (Great Sparrowhawk) being the highlight. Full checklist here (including a few I saw in the morning before departing to Bigodi): https://ebird.org/checklist/S127004531
Fort Portal Wetlands
27th January 2023
As I hadn’t booked accommodation
at Semuliki I wanted to get there fairly early the next morning. Resultantly, I
opted to spend the night in a hotel in Fort Portal. However, this afforded the
opportunity for a quick stop-over at Fort Portal Wetlands. It is a
small fairly urban and polluted wetland within walking distance of the town
itself, that in previous visits to Uganda had never occurred to me would be a productive
birding spot. The only reason I visited was owing to the fairly recent discovery
of a remnant of what seem to be Northern Masked-Weavers – the only site in Uganda
for this species (aside from a few localities with the odd record nearby and
one extra-limital record from Murchison Falls). The species has a patchy distribution
mainly centred in Ethiopia The only other known locations for this species in
East Africa are in Kenya: from Lakes Baringo and Bogoria. Why it should choose
a crappy wetland on the outskirts of Fort Portal in which to reside I have no
idea. Only by doing a bit of homework on eBird prior to my visit did I clock on
to this site, though Stevenson and Fanshawe do make passing mention of possible
sightings around Fort Portal.
Anyway despite heavy rain, I
did indeed manage to catch-up with 7 of them. The rain prevented any meaningful
additional birding, but I did see a Willow Warbler and a Hadada Ibis. Other
than that the rain flushed something very large and reptilian from the drainage ditch that runs from the side the road into the wetland. I didn’t
see it well, mostly just the vegetation moving, and common sense dictates that it was a Nile Monitor Lizard. At
the time, visions of a large and hungry python came to mind!
Presumed Northern Masked-Weavers, though comments welcome. These haven't got through the eBird police yet, though other photographed records from the same location have (one of the accepted photos is clearly a Baglafecht Weaver though)
Semuliki Forest
Logistics: After a spectacular drive down the Nyakabira Escarpment (see later) from Fort Portal I arrived at Semuliki Forest at about 10:30 in the morning and went to sort out some accommodation at the Bumaga campsite. This is really the only sensible place to stay in the area – more upmarket places are quite some distance from the forest itself precluding early morning birding. The campsite comprises a few basic Banda huts that can be hired for a very reasonable price, but there is no way of booking them in advance except by contacting Brian who runs the place (+256 703 321 324). However, I didn’t know his number and couldn’t for love or money find it anywhere on the internet. The huts are quite small, but have a bed, mosquito net (you’ll need it), a shower and toilet, but no hot water. The lack of hot water was not problematic when I visited though – it was sweltering and the only way of sleeping comfortably was to take a cold shower before going to bed - temperatures were easily well into the 30s (°C) when I went to bed, though much more comfortable in the morning. Daytime temperatures hit the high 30s, though in the forest itself were pretty OK. You can get food and beer from the canteen at the campsite. Brian cooks up some pretty passable food and has no problem providing early breakfasts etc. Most foreign visitors to the park are birders, though there are surprisingly few.
Map of Semuliki Forest area including some places mentioned in the text
I drove up the park Head Quarters at Sempaya to arrange and pay for entrance to the park the next day. Alex Turyashemererwa, the main bird guide for Semuliki was at there and this all went very smoothly. He advised there was little point in forking out to go into the forest in the heat of the day, as it is pretty unproductive and suggested we hit the forest early the next morning instead and gave me a few pointers on birding from the roadside and around the campsite. He resides in Bumaga campsite and we had a good chance to chat about targets. He’s incredibly knowledgeable – one of the best birders I’ve come across in Uganda and always willing to go above and beyond. One slight fly in the ointment is that it soon became apparent that getting some of my targets would involve going deep into the forest. As nobody had been in that far in for months, and owing to some recent ADF rebel incursions from DR Congo an additional armed escort would be necessary. In the event that was no problem to arrange, and bar a completely fair tip after trekking through the forest all day, didn’t cost me anything extra. Fortunately as I had been right up to the river on the Congo border on my previous visit to Semuliki some 20-odd years ago, I didn’t need White-throated Blue Swallow. You need to get right to the river to see that, which it seems that owing to security issues isn’t possible these days. Likewise it is also not possible to camp deep in the forest as it apparent used to be (though I never did this)
Birding on a budget: Semuliki
Forest is probably one of the most easily doable spots if you are birding on a
budget. The campsite is very reasonably priced, and though as everywhere park
entry costs a fair whack, you could easily do it without your own vehicle. The buses
to Bundibugyo (from both Kampala and Fort Portal) go directly past both the
campsite and the park HQ. They aren’t quite within easy walking distance from one another, nor is the Kirumya Trail head, but I reckon it would be easy to
get around on the a back of a boda boda.
Targets: Semuliki
is really part of the lowland Guinea–Congo Forests biome, and bar the river, is
contiguous with the extensive Ituri forest in DR Congo, which forms part of a
pretty much continuous forested area that stretches right across Congo. It is lies
at a significantly lower altitude than most of the forests in Uganda and hosts
a whole suite of species found nowhere else in East Africa that are more usually
associated with tropical forest in Congo. It regularly turns up new species for
East Africa, and I am sure that, with a bit
of concerted effort, additional ones could be found. I have
compiled a list of possible and provide a few notes at the end of this
account.
I’ve been to Semuliki once
before, but only spent a day there. Birding was still in its infancy, and for some
reasoned I decided to trek all the way to the Congo border, which went we had
to go at a fair pace, leaving not much time for searching. Resultantly there
were oodles of species I needed. Below is a list based on previous eBird
records.
I spent the afternoon doing a bit
of birding along the road, but this proved pretty fruitless, as out of the
shade the temperatures were uncomfortably hot – easily into the high 30s in the
shade, so certainly well into the high 40s in the sun. In fact, a quick check
of AccuWeather later in the day revealed temperatures to be much hotter than
usual, and at that time actually close to being the hottest place on earth. By
late afternoon, however, temperatures had cooled to a more comfortable level,
particular within the forest itself. I didn’t risk going deep into the forest
on my own, but there is a forest track direct from the campsite that eventually
comes out at the Sempaya hot springs, and walking even short distance down it
seemed to run up a few things. Most of the stuff I saw was pretty standard
fair, but a Banded Snake-Eagle and 7 Piping Hornbills were nice. By far the most
interesting sighting was a small group of Drongos, but I didn’t exactly cover
myself in glory with these. I get fairly brief views, too brief for photos, but
saw them well enough to see the red eyes. A quick check of the book revealed
that Velvet-mantled was the only possibility, but that didn’t quite feel right.
They were feeding quite low in canopy going into the undergrowth at times, which
is something I’ve never seen Velvet-mantled do. It was only when doing a bit of
reading some weeks later that I realised that this is classic Shining Drongo behaviour. This
species isn’t in the books as it has never been recorded in East Africa, but
given overall coverage of the region there are a surprising number of records
from just over the border in Congo, suggesting it is quite common there. Nevertheless, Velvet-mantled is a also a common species in Semuliki, and I can’t really say more about this sighting other than I wish that Shining Drongo had been on my radar at the time
Anyway I clocked up a few other
species including a flock of Great White Egrets that flew over at dusk. Full
checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S127106108
29th January 2023
Today was probably the highlight of the whole trip. We set off down the Kirumya Trail pretty early and it seemed that about every half hour or so I was turning up lifers. The first was a vocal Yellow-throated Nicator that showed briefly - this was a new 'seen' species for me (I'd heard several on my previous trip). Next was a rather hard to find, but eventually quite showy Yellow-throated Cuckoo. One of several Icterine Greenbuls and a White-crested (Eastern Long-tailed) Hornbill also showed themselves along the start of the trail. Deeper into the forest we encountered a vocal Blue-headed Crested-Flycatcher, but despite lengthy attempts to see it I failed. However, a bit further along the trail, my first Lowland Sooty Boubou, on the nest no less, more than made up for this.
Yellow-throated Cuckoo. A true Semuliki special.
Once we reached the Oxbow lakes about 8 miles down the trail I really began to feel in the thick of it. A small clearing turned up a couple of Black Bee-eaters - showing in better light that the ones at Kabale. A bit further along, just where the trail crosses the river, Alex heard the unmistakable sound of a Hartlaub's Duck. A short distances further we were likely enough to see two males fighting over a female, one of which stayed put long enough to be photographed.
Black Bee-eaters. I unexpected surprise in Semuliki as Kibale forest is a better known site for these.
We had lunch by a small river a bit further into the forest, and turned up a Brown-eared Woodpecker, and then headed further into the forest - as far as time and safety allowed. It was worth it though, as Alex pulled a cracking Yellow-footed Flycatcher out of the bag. After watching the flycatcher we headed back down the trail checking a small pool, where Alex and Ross Gallardy had been fortunate enough to find East Africa's first Grey-throated Rail. It being a lot drier I had no such luck, but the same pool did hold White-bellied Kingfisher and Grant's Bluebill. Final good bird of the walk was a Little Green Sunbird not far from the trail head.
Yellow-footed Flycatcher. One of the harder specialties to find in Semuliki.
After resting back at camp for a bit, we headed down the Red Monkey trail for a bit, closer to the park HQs. A mass of safari ants proved to be fruitful pickings for both Red-tailed Ant-thrush and its watchers. A nearby Fire-crested Alethe was also nice.
Red-tailed Ant-thrush (top) and Fire-crested Alethe (bottom)
Full eBird checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S127192492
30th January 2023
I awoke pre-dawn to the sounds of an African Wood Owl and headed to the canteen to grab a coffee and a 'rolex' (roll-eggs) from the canteen, only to be greeted by Alex running out half dressed to declare that the strange harsh laughing sounds that were clearly audible in the early dawn chorus were Spot-breasted Ibis! Full credit to him as I personally wasn't fully awake enough to have worked this out.
We then set out along the trail that leads down from the campsite and eventually joins the Red Monkey trail. Despite our best attempts at taping in Grey-throated Rail and one of the river crossings the best we could manage was a White-spotted Flufftail. By the previous day's standards, the early morning was a little unproductive, though a plethora of Cuckoos (Yellow-throated, Black and several Dusky Long-tailed) and Hornbills (Piping, Red-billed Dwarf and Black-casqued Hornbill) kept us entertained. We did also encounter a small party of Swamp Greenbuls (Swamp Palm Bulbuls) and my first ever Blue-billed Malimbe. The highlight, however, was a small group of Giant Forest Hogs, which scared the crap out of us as they charged unseen towards us, evidently scared by something. They were pretty noisy and it was quite unnerving hearing a group of large things crashing through the undergrowth towards you at speed. They didn't see us and we didn't see them until they were almost right un top of us, and face to face with the business end of Alex's gun, which he'd drawn and cocked as a precaution. They are pretty harmless though and took off at even greater speed when they saw us. Alex has the presence of mind to whip out his phone and grab a video. I didn't.
Swamp Greenbul. Surprisingly rarely photographed.
Later in the morning things picked up a bit. We hit some good stretches of forest after spending a lot of time navigated the flooded parts of the trail. Rufous-bellied Helmetshrike, several Yellow-breasted Forest Robins, two more Grant's Bluebills, and my first ever Forest Scrub-Robin were the highlights. Later in the afternoon, hard work paid dividends resulting in my first ever African Dwarf Kingfisher and Rufous-sided Broadbill. I love broadbills. Little more reminds me of African forests than these crazy sounding birds.
Rufous-sided Broadbill. One of the many highlights of a trip to Semuliki.
After walking the full length of the trail we headed back to camp for a rest in the heat of the day. After a late afternoon visit to the Nyakabira Escarpment (see below) I persuaded Alex that a post-dusk visit to the forest to look for Bates's Nightjars would be worth it for both of us. The ensuring half hour walk into the forest down from the campsite provided to be highly productive. Just as we left camp a pair of Spot-breasted Ibises flew over calling and it wasn't long before we could the strange conga-like sounds of a calling Ngulengu Rail. At darkness descended, the forest became more eerie and we were both on high alert for rebels and Elephants, both of which typically become a lot more active after dusk and kill a lot more people than Lion's do. I've spent a fair bit of time working around elephants in other parts of Africa, and tend to find they are quite smelly. That's usually a good clue to their presence even when you don't hear the branches cracking. Nevertheless, neither of us fancied putting Alex's gun to the test, so we were pretty careful and only entered in for about half a mile or so until we hit a nice clearing. Right on cue a Nightjar flew past us calling and we didn't have to wait too long before another put in an appearance. Get in! Too dark for photographs, the moonlight did nonetheless allow fairly good views to be obtained. After about 20 minutes, and despite being well-covered in high-grade Jungle formula, being eaten alive by various small beasties got the better of me, and we headed back to camp.
Full eBird checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S127277841
31st January 2023
I only had a morning left in Semuliki and we decided to try and specifically target a few of the birds I still needed rather than heading deep into the forest. First off we headed to the Sempaya hot springs in the hope of catching a Congo Serpent Eagle, but not before again hearing Spot-breasted Ibis at dawn from the campsite. We didn't have any joy with the eagle, but patient searching of the pigeon flocks did eventually get us a male White-naped Pigeon and on the way back, we lucked out with two Blue-billed Malimbes in the palms around the male hot springs.
From
the hotsprings, we headed off to a small set of cultivated gardens just past
the start of the Kirumya Trail, where Alex had previously seen Orange-cheeked
Waxbills. The site seemed no different from hundreds of others that cover most of
Uganda, and other than being at low altitude in the western extremities of the country I couldn't quite fathom why this is one of the only
known locations for this species in the country. However, after chatting
to the owner to explain the purpose of our visit and after offering a
small donation, he was very happy to for us to wonder around his land in search
of the Waxbills. I eventually managed to see a few among the more numerous Fawn-breasted, Common and Black-crowned and click off a couple of fairly
distant shots (the waxbills were surprisingly shy). A Peregrine along the roadside was the
only other bird of note.
Orange-cheeked Waxbills. Another of the west African species known in Uganda only from the Semuliki area
Full eBird checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S127324251
Nyakabira Escarpment
30th January 2023
One of my targets for the Semuliki area was Red-throated Bee-eater, and while it wasn't high on my agenda as a target species, Alex and I decided to take a break from forest birding and head back up the road towards a Fort Portal into the foothills of the Ruwenzori mountains, where a series of muddy banks right next to the road make for good bee-eater habitat. It's a spectacular site offering uninterrupted views across the forest and surrounding cultivated areas over to Congo.
While we didn't find Red-throated Bee-eater, it provided a productive little late afternoon visit. En-route we saw my only Piapac of the trip and a of the various bee-eaters present did turn up Blue-cheeked, European and Little Bee-eaters, along with a photogenic Grey-headed Kingfisher and several Green-backed Eremomela.
From top to bottom: Grey-headed Kingfisher, Green-backed Eremomela and Little Bee-eater
More surprisingly, however, we unexpectedly struck pay-dirt in the form of a Senegal Thick-knee and Cinnamon-chested Bunting. Both lifers for both of us, these were, however, completely off my radar.
A complete surprise: Senegal Thick-knee and Cinnamon-chested Bunting.
Full eBird Checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S127274510
31st January 2023
Having grown fond of this site on my previous visit, I stopped off again after leaving Semuliki on my way back to Fort Portal and Kampala. This time I lucked out and got the Red-throated Bee-eaters. Four of them hawking insects above a small gully. More surprising, however, were three Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters, as with the Senegal Thick-knee, new to me, and a complete surprise as their distribution is generally further north. A couple of overhead migrant Woolly-necked Storks were also nice to see.
In January, 100s of migrants make their way up the various rift valleys in Uganda, including this Woolly-necked Stork
Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters: an unexpected lifer.
Potential new birds for Uganda
I suspect most birders travelling to Uganda, take a copy of Stevenson and Fanshawe, and when confronted with a species they don't know, consult that without considering wider possibilities. While an effective approach in most places, Semuliki has the potential to, and regularly does turn up things that haven't previously been recorded in East Africa. However, without doing quite a bit of wider research and reading it is not so clear what possibilities there are as there is no convenient field guide for Congo. For that reason I've compiled a shortlist of possibilities - these are basically birds that have historically been recorded over the border in DR Congo, and are therefore are quite likely to turn up in Semuliki but don't appear in Stevenson and Fanshawe. However, I have also added a few that do, but which at first glance would appear to be way out of range as they are only known in the region from e.g. Kakamega Forest in Kenya.
It should be noted that eastern Congo and even most of central Congo, are seriously under-birded, and it is hard even to get a rough picture of where things occur there, as basis for compiling this list. However, I had a first stab at drawing up this list about 20 years ago when I first visited and before the new edition of the Birds of East Africa came out. In the intervening period, most of the new birds recorded that appear in the later edition of Stevenson and Fanshawe were on that list!
Anyway, for what it's worth, here's the list:
Has already occurred:
Red-billed Helmetshrike. This unusual helmetshrike with a bright red bill, a black back, and chestnut on the underparts is found in the canopy of lowland and mid-elevation humid forest. Four were recorded in Semuliki on 26th Jul 2022.
Green-tailed Bristlebill. This colourful rainforest bulbul, previously known only from West Africa, has been recorded five times at Semuliki, most recently on 29th May 2023.
White-crested Bittern. This species was recorded in Semuliki on 30th Jul 2007 though was unphotographed. Generally only known from west Africa, this unusual tiger heron was also recorded right on the border with Uganda further south at the Lulimbi station in Virunga National Park and is known historically to occur in central Congo.
Golden-naped Weaver. Historically, this species only known from a small part of the Ituri Forest in eastern Congo, where it had not been seen since 1926 until it was encountered several times in 1986. On the 14th January 2020, a local birding friend of mine, Jake Selby, photographed two of them in the forest. Two were recently seen again, including by Alex, on 10th July 2023.
Golden-naped Weaver in Semuliki. Photograph by Jake Selby
Likely to occur
Red-fronted Parrot. This one is in the book, as it's well known from Kenya, but it wouldn't be obvious to birders that is also quite likely to occur in Semuliki. There are a few records in eastern Congo the closest only ~35 miles east of Semuliki
Turner's Eremomela. This is another one that is in the book as it occurs in Kakamega and South Nadi Forests in Kenya. Less well known is that the subspecies kalindei has been found in east-central Congo - mostly from the south-eastern corner of the equatorial forest belt. However, there are historic record from a now deforested part of south-west Uganda and one from the Beni area of Congo about 40 miles east of Semuliki. One to keep half an eye out for, though probably not a dead cert.
Shining Drongo. This forest species is widespread across Congo, with several records just across the border from Semuliki from a a variety of altitudes, though mostly slightly further north. The closest record is from Mont Hoyo Reserve 47 km away.
Red-eyed Puffback. This bird of secondary forest and forest edge is thought to be widespread across Congo, with several records just across the border and at similar altitudes to Semuliki.
Chattering Cisticola. This common, nondescript bird is found near the ground in grassy areas in fields, along roads, and in larger treefall gaps in lowland rainforest. Not really a forest species, there are nonetheless quite a few records just across the border in eastern Congo.
Blue-headed Wood-Dove. This is shy dove of lowland tropical forest, rarely seen away from intact forest habitats. There are quite a number of records from just across the border in eastern Congo. Nonetheless, it is distinctive dove with a uniform ruddy plumage and blue-grey head and hindneck, quite unlikely other dove species of the region. If seen, it would be pretty easy to identify.
Black-collared Lovebird. This, short-tailed, mostly green miniature parrot is known from a few sites in eastern Congo not far from Semuliki.
White-spotted Wattle-eye. This pied wattle-eye occurs in lowland forest across much of Congo, though the nearest known location is from the Lolwa Mission Station about 50 miles NE of Semuliki.
Sladen's Barbet. This dark, chunky forest barbet with an odd buff tuft is usually found in small groups on and around dead trees in lowland rainforest and secondary growth. There are quite a few records from Congo pretty close to Semuliki
Red-crowned Malimbe. This glossy black forest weaver with a red cap looks superficially similar to other malimbes, but should be easy enough to identify. There are a few records from eastern Congo, though the records from there are rather sparser than some of the other species in this list.
Little Flycatcher. This easily overlooked small grey flycatcher of lowland forests has been recorded a few times in eastern Congo not far from Semuliki.
Square-tailed Sawwing. This dark swallow, usually seen above forest or along the forest edge is known from multiple locations just across the border in Congo. Probably the most likely of all the 'probables' to occur. I am genuinely surprised that it hasn't already.
Fine-spotted Woodpecker. This mid-sized, green-backed woodpecker is more of a savanna than forest species, but was recorded several times in the late 1970s by Peter Kaestner in Nyankunde village in Congo about 40 miles north of Semuliki, probably about the last time that area was birded. I suspect a bit of concerted searching in the grassier areas just north-west of the forest might pay dividends.
Bedford's Paradise-flycatcher. This slay-grey paradise-flycatcher is known only from a few locations just across the border from Semuliki in eastern Congo. Though only recorded a handful of times, records exist all along the border with Uganda and there is every possibility it occurs in Semuliki.
All images in this section, with the exception of that of Golden-naped Weaver (for which permission for use was granted from the photographer) are embedded as html code from source to avoid possible infringement of copyright. Please contact me if you would not like the image displayed.
Additionally, Trumpeter Hornbill, which is well known from southern Kernya and Tanzania has also been recorded over the border in Congo
The following is a list of species that might occur on the basis that they have recorded in eastern Congo, albeit not necessarily that close to the border with Uganda. However, they are less likely than those listed above.
Lake Bunyonyi
Nice as it is, situated in the Kigezi highlands, in one of the most densely populated rural areas of Africa, you can count the number of native tree species that have survived the onslaught of farming and eucalyptus plantation one one hand. There is really reason to go birding around Lake Bunyonyi and that is to see some of the sought after papyrus endemics. It is probably the best place in the world to see Papyrus Yellow Warbler. I did my PhD fieldwork here and spent several months surveying swamps around the lake back in the early 2000s. In 2014 and 2015, one of my PhD students, Lynda Donaldson, surveyed every swamp around the lake in both years. In June 2023, I led a team of students from the University of Exeter and staff and students from Kibale University to do some follow-up surveys. In short, I have a pretty good idea of the status of papyrus endemics around the lake and where best to see them. So rather than giving a blow-by-blow account of each visit, I've just summarised the information for each species, though I do briefly mention some of the other birds seen in my recent visit.
Logistics: Lake Bunyony is easy to get to form Kabale town. The road down to the Bufuka trading centre where most of the accommodation is situated is just north-west of Kibale town centre and any taxi driver will know where it is. There are loads of options to choose from when it comes to deciding where to stay, and budget is probably the most important determinate. I usually end up staying in Crater Bay Cottages, though for Mugandu swamp the Heritage Lodge on Habuharo Island is particularly convenient as they also have a boat you can hire to take you there. There are fewer options at the north of the Lake, near Muko, but there used to be a campsite there. I have no idea if it still exists.
The view form Crater Bay Cottages at dusk
I spent years working with two local guys: Johnson Ruhakana (+256 776 634115) and Stephen Katungi (+256 774 899044). They're not really birders, but they'll certainly know where to go to see the papyrus endemics and I am sure help get you decent rates on boat hire etc.
Birding on a budget: Lake Bunyonyi is pretty easy to do on a budget. Loads of buses go direct to Kibale. There are fewer public transport options to the lake itself, though on market days there are regular share taxis or pick-ups and at other times it's pretty easy hitch-hiking. It is also not that expensive to take a taxi form Kabale. Most of the really cheap places to stay used to exist have made way for for more upmarket places, but the overland camp is still pretty cheap. The rates at Crater Bay are also pretty negotiable and you can camp there for quite a bit less than it costs to stay in one of the cottages.
Where to see the endemics:
All of the papyrus endemics around Lake Bunyonyi persist as a meta-population - that basically means the regional population as a whole is pretty viable, and persist almost indefinitely in some of the larger swamps, but they colonise and vacate individual smaller swamps from year to year. That basically means if not visiting one of the core sites, it's a bit luck of the draw as to whether you'll see them visiting some of the smaller swamps near to Bufuka.
Papyrus Yellow Warbler. This species occurs in both pure papyrus swamps and in swamps dominated by a mixture of papyrus and miscanthidium and is actually a bit more common in the latter. In 2014 and 2015 Lynda surveyed 177 potentially suitable swamps around the lake and found it in 20 of them in 2015 and 27 of them in 2015. The easiest place by far to see them is Mugandu Swamp at the south of the lake. Slowly drifting along the waterward side of the swamp in boat in June 2023 I counted 15 of there. The other reliable spots for the species are the other large swamps near the south of the lake (e.g. here and here). The tour groups and bird guides normally take you to see them at Nyamamiro Swamp at the north of the lake as you can drive there. But they are pretty hard work there to be honest. At Mugandu they are dead easy to see from the boat along the edge of the lake. In some years it also occurs in Kyabahinga Swamp - the one that is within walking distance of the Bufuka trading centre here, but it is not a particularly reliable spot for them.
Unlike White-winged Swamp Warbler's, Papyrus Yellow Warblers are not too hard to see. The call is still the easiest way to locate them. Don't go off the one on the Merlin app though - that's what they sound like in Zambia. I suspect, given how different they sound, they are actually a different species there. They sound like this around Lake Bunyonyi.
For a group of species I've studied for so long, I have embarrassingly few photos of papyrus endemics. Back when did serious fieldwork on these, DSLRs weren't invented yet and I was too skint to afford a decent camera and slide film. Lynda has stacks of good photos. The best I managed on my recent trip there was this one. I was somewhat distracted by trying to teach the calls to a group of 15 people.
White-winged Swamp Warbler. This species is fairly widespread across Uganda and there is no need to make a special trip to Lake Bunyonyi to get the, Stop at any roadside swamp and listen and you'll hear them. They are a bugger to see though - virtually impossible to see decently unless you're prepared to get your feet wet and head into the swamp a bit, which is sometimes quite manageable if you make your way into the clearings that local's create to harvest papyrus. A bit daunting, for fear of beasties that might bite, but I've done that 100s of times and come to no harm. They then become pretty inquisitive and get within a few feet of you.
Lynda found the species in about 50 of the 232 patches of papyrus she surveyed around the lake. They are entirely restricted to papyrus and are found in any of the bigger stands of pure papyrus, including at Kyabahinga Swamp - the one within walking distance of Bufuka. In June 2023 I counted 24 of them in Kagoma Swamp - the largest pure stand of papyrus around Bunyonyi
Papyrus Canary. Lynda found this in 56 of the 519 swamps she surveyed for this species in 2014, and found it 84 swamps the next year. Though always associated with areas close to pure papyrus it is quite a mobile species and happily feeds on sorghum in fields next to the swamps, often mixed in with Western Citril (which also get into the swamps). The best way to find them is patient sifting through any feeding canary flock though you need to be a bit careful identifying them as though males are easy enough females and young birds are remarkably similar to female / young citrils. The bill shape is often a useful clue. I find the call, though supposedly quite distinctive, less so. To my ear it sounds really quite similar to Streaky Seedeater which is incredibly common around the lake. On most of my visits I have seen it at Kyabahinga Swamp.
Papyrus Canaries. Note the distinctive curved culmen.
Carruther's Cisticola. This species is dead common in virtually every any sizeable swamp around Lake Bunyonyi. Like Papyrus Yellow Warbler it occurs in in swamps dominated by a mixture of papyrus and miscanthidium and is actually a bit more common in the latter. Unlike Papyrus Yellow Warbler it is dead easy to hear and easy enough to see within walking distance from Bufuka - the swamp nearest the trading just by the pumping station next to the road is a good a spot as any.
Greater Swamp Warbler. Race foxi of this species is near-endemic to papyrus. Though almost always associated with papyrus, from time to time it can be found in sorghum and maize fields close to the swamps. It can be seen in pretty much any small fragment of swamp. Lynda found it in about 280 of the 518 swamps she surveyed for this species. It is easy enough to see at Kyabahinga Swamp
Papyrus Gololek. Unlike the other papyrus endemics, Lake Bunyonyi is not the place to see this species. It occurs sporadically at Nyamamiro to the north of the lake, but I've never seen it around the lake shores itself. It is a low altitude swamp and very common in any of the larger tracts of papyrus around Lake Victoria. Stop at any roadside there and likely as not you'll get it.
Other species. Probably the most notable other species you can see around Lake Bunyonyi is Highland Rush Warbler (recently split form its congeneric - Little Rush Warbler) It used to be quite common around Bufuka but seems to have disappeared from there. I found a few at Mugandu Swamp alongside Lesser Swamp Warbler, which is also not so common around the lake. Black Crake is also worthy of a mention - it can easily be seen in any of the swamps surrounding the lake. Mugandu and Kyabahinga Swamps are worth a visit regardless of the papyrus endemics, the latter is it is the best birding spot around the lake, the former as it is convenient to get to. Pink-backed Pelicans and African Marsh Harriers are both quite common at Mugandu, and it's a fairly good site for Sqaucco and Purple Herons . I also once saw African Finfoot here.
Kybahinga is a good place to see a variety of commoner species. From top to bottom: Mackinnon's Shrike, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Bronze Sunbird, African Stonechat, Yellow-throated Greenbul (flavigula race), White-browed Coucal (Blue-headed is also common) and Grey-crowned Crane.
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