Ever wondered why Sir Winston Churchill referred Uganda to
“The Pearl of Africa”? The kingdom of Uganda is a fairy-tale. You climb up… and
at the end there is a wonderful new world. The scenery is different, the
vegetation is different, the climate is different, the people are different and
most of all (for the context of this blog) the variety of form and colour, for
profusion of brilliant life is magnificently different. Birds, insects,
reptiles and beast on a vast scale – Uganda is truly the pearl of Africa.
Our recent 10-day birding trip to several parts of Uganda
was enticingly rewarding. Both Lorenzo Rossi and I would not glitch to state
this. The accolades for Uganda’s birding delights are actually understated and
surely under-marketed.
Uganda has a special bird wherever you go. Be it the Mabamba
Swamps, The Royal Mile (Budongo Forest), Murchison falls NP, Fort Portal,
Kibale NP, Queen Elizabeth NP, Inshasha, Bwindi Impenetrable forest, The high
slopes of Ruhija, Lake Mburo NP or the Mabira forest reserve. There are special
birds in cities and towns. No wonder it has several world heritage sites and
important birding areas.
Moving around Uganda from one birding spot to another is no
way considered “boring”. The magnanimous landscapes and water bodies are
beautiful and are sites to remember. The lodging and meals are very comfortable
& delicious respectively, and the birding guides throughout Uganda are very
keen and knowledgeable. You couldn’t ask for more. And yes, the people are
extremely friendly with a permanent fixed smile. We even extended our tour with
trekking of Chimps at Kibale and the Gorilla’s at Buhoma in Bwindi impenetrable
forest which was a fantastic idea and once again truly gratifying. We became
good friends with Makara the huge Silverback & Kibayo the Black back of the
Habinyanja Gorilla family. They will keep the birdlife at the neck safe &
sound until we are back.
Our tour invariably turned up interesting with many
unexpected and stunning sightings. From the 350+ birds we ticked off, we had
many highlights. The elusive Shoebill, The White-spotted Flufftail, The
Chocolate-backed & Blue-brested Kingfishers, Denham’s Bustard, many Flycatchers
including the Red-bellied Paradise-flycatcher, Vanga, Cassin’s Grey, Chesnut-capped
and both the Blue Flycatchers, the Red-throated & Black Bee-eaters, Tullberg’s
& Brown-eared forest woodpeckers, Forest Robin, White-crested & Ross
Turacos, Red-headed Lovebird, Grey-throated, Hairy-brested, Yellow-spotted,
Black-billed, Double-toothed, Crested, Spekled & Yellow-billed Barbets,
Yellow-rumped & Yellow-throated Tinkerbirds, Chestnut & Jameson’s
Wattle-eyes, Dusky, White-winged & White-shouldered Tits, Ludhers,
Many-coloured & Bocage’s Bush-shrikes, Blue-throated Roller, Montane &
Western Black-headed Orioles, Bar-brested Firefinch, Papyrus Gonolek, Hartlaub’s
Marsh Widowbird, Pink-footed Puffback, African Pied, Piping & White-thighed
Hornbills, Abyssinian Ground-hornbill, Ansorge’s Greenbul (In Ruhija and not in
Kakamega), Red-tailed Greenbul &
Bristlebill, White-browed Crombec, lots of colourful sunbirds and many endemics
including Albertine Rift endemics such as the Strange Weaver, Regal &
Rwenzori Double-Collared Sunbirds, Rwenzori Batis, Collared & Mountain
Masked Apallis, Red-faced Woodland Warbler & Dusky Crimsonwing.
Many thanks to our excellent guide & brother Stephen
Baboineki for his knowledge, patience and arranging a fabulous trip for us. baboinekistephen@gmail.com / +256
772 184028
